Sport

Celtic to face Barcelona & Manchester City in Europe

Celtic's players celebrate their qualificaiton for the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night
Celtic's players celebrate their qualificaiton for the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night Celtic's players celebrate their qualificaiton for the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night

CELTIC have been handed a daunting task on their return to Uefa Champions League action proper.

Brendan Rodgers' side, who qualified for the group stages on Thursday night, have been drawn to face Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach and Pep Guradiola's Manchester City in Group C of Europe's premier competition. Celtic reached the group stage for the first time in three years via a tortuous qualifying route, involving ties against Lincoln Red Imps, Astana and Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Guardiola will return to Barcelona with Manchester City after his new club were paired with the Catalan giants. City's new manager, who twice won the competition during his illustrious spell in charge at Barca, guided City into the group stage with victory over Steaua Bucharest in the play-off round.

Meanwhile, surprise Premier League winners Leicester came out in Group G at Uefa's draw, with Porto, Bruges and Copenhagen. Arsenal will face Paris St Germain, Basle and Bulgarian side Ludogorets in Group A, with Tottenham playing CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco in Group E. Holders Real Madrid will meet Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw, while last year's beaten finalists Atletico Madrid were pitted against Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Rostov.

Yet, there was no doubting the most eye-catching group, with Guardiola given a trip back to the Nou Camp as well as Celtic Park. The 45-year-old also won La Liga three times in four years at the Barca helm. But while he will be highly familiar with the club, many of City's players will also know them well.

The Spanish champions beat City at the last-16 stage in both 2014 and '15, while goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has just completed a move from Barca to Guardiola's new side. City also played Monchengladbach in the group stage last year, en route to the semi-finals.

Arsenal are playing in the Champions League for a 19th successive season, while Spurs are returning for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW


Group A


PSG, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets



Group B


Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas



Group C


Barcelona, Man City, Borussia M'gladbach, Celtic



Group D


Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV, Rostov



Group E


CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco



Group F


Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting, Legia Warsaw



Group G


Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen



Group H


Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb