Leeds United have been drawn in one of the toughest groups for the next phase of the Champions League with Real Madrid, Lazio and Anderlecht. The draw for the next phase of the competition took place in Geneva this morning. Meanwhile, top seeds in Arsenal's Group C are Bayern Munich while Manchester United are included in Group A with last year's runners-up Valencia. The top two in each group will progress to the quarter-finals. The second phase starts on November 21-22 and will be concluded on March 13-14. Two matches will be played before Christmas and the last four will be played in the New Year.
Leeds chairman Peter Risdale was very positive about the draw. "We said it would be a miracle to get this far and coming back on the plane yesterday we were all dreaming about playing Real Madrid and going back to Rome again after playing in the Olympic Stadium in each of the last two seasons - so we have got our wish. I am very excited about this. I am sure all the Leeds United supporters and all the players will be as well. But I think that there will be a few teams in Europe worried about coming to Elland Road after our performances this season."
Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein said: "Our aim is to win the Champions League. We will do our best but it won't be easy. We will try hard. It is never easy at this level but we think we have a good side. The last time we played Spartak we lost 8-4 on aggregate so we have something to prove." Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards said: "I think it is a good group. It could have been worse, as they say, and it's a draw which gives us a good opportunity of progressing. But having said that, whomever we play we would always fancy our chances but yes, it's not a bad draw. We obviously know Valencia and Sturm Graz, we had a good record against them last year so obviously we're hopeful of progressing again. With the league stages now in the Champions League we find we're playing the same clubs more often and it helps because we know more about them."
The groups in full are:
Group A
Valenica, Sturm Graz, Man Utd, Panathinaikos.
Group B
Milan, Deportivo La Coruna, Paris St Germain, Galatasaray.
Group C
Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Spartak Moscow, Lyon.
Group D
Real Madrid, Anderlecht, SS Lazio, Leeds.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
