Blues to face RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in Group G
City will face RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in the group stage of the Champions League, as they look to defend the trophy they won in Istanbul.
The draw in Nyon on Thursday evening saw the Blues placed in Group G alongside the reigning Serbian and Swiss champions. City have never played either Red Star or Young Boys previously, although Leipzig are a familiar opponent with the two sides having faced each other in last season's knock out stage.
Txiki Begiristain, the club's Director of Football, reflected on meeting the Geman side again.
“Tough start, again. We are going to visit them,” he said.
“The first thing I thought was Josko Gvardiol. He’s going to visit his friends and I thought of him.
“But it’s going to be amazing. We have good friends in RB Leipzig. We have done business together and it’s always a pleasure to meet them.”
Groups in full:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray
Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV, Lens
Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, RB Salzburg, Real Sociedad
Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
Group F: PSG, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle
Group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys
Group H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Royal Antwerp
Match dates:
Matchday 1: 19–20 September
Matchday 2: 3–4 October
Matchday 3: 24–25 October
Matchday 4: 7–8 November
Matchday 5: 28–29 November
Matchday 6: 12–13 December