Champions League Draw: Newcomers stand in Inter's path

Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre are in this season's 'Group of death'.

26 August 2010, 12:00am

2 min read

FC Internazionale Milano will start the defence of their title in Group A with games against SV Werder Bremen and two debutants at this stage, Tottenham Hotspur FC and FC Twente.

UEFA Champions League holders FC Internazionale Milano will begin the defence of their title in Group A with matches against SV Werder Bremen and two newcomers to this stage, Tottenham Hotspur FC and FC Twente.

The 32 clubs were split into eight sections of four with last season's runners-up FC Bayern München drawn in Group E alongside AS Roma, FC Basel 1893 and CFR 1907 Cluj. José Mourinho will make a swift return to Italy as his Real Madrid CF team meet AC Milan, as well as AFC Ajax and AJ Auxerre. FC Barcelona, winners in two of the past five seasons, will take on Panathinaikos FC, FC København and FC Rubin Kazan.

The group-stage fixtures will be played on 14/15 September, 28/29 September, 19/20 October, 2/3 November, 23/24 November and 7/8 December. The group winners and runners-up will progress to the first knockout round in the spring, with the final to be staged at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 28 May 2011. Teams finishing third in each section will transfer to the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage

Group A: FC Internazionale Milano (ITA), SV Werder Bremen (GER), Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG), FC Twente (NED)

Group B: Olympique Lyonnais (FRA), SL Benfica (POR), FC Schalke 04 (GER), Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group C: Manchester United FC (ENG), Valencia CF (ESP), Rangers FC (SCO), Bursaspor (TUR)G

Group D: FC Barcelona (ESP), Panathinaikos FC (GRE), FC København (DEN), FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)

Group E: FC Bayern München (GER), AS Roma (ITA), FC Basel 1893 (SUI), CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU)

Group F: Chelsea FC (ENG), Olympique de Marseille (FRA), FC Spartak Moskva (RUS), MŠK Žilina (SVK)

Group G: AC Milan (ITA), Real Madrid CF (ESP), AFC Ajax (NED), AJ Auxerre (FRA)

Group H: Arsenal FC (ENG), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), SC Braga (POR), FK Partizan (SRB)

Source: uefa.com