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Liverpool landed holders Real Madrid on their Champions League return on Thursday but were given every chance of qualifying from Group B after also drawing Basel and Bulgarian rookies Ludogorets.But Premier League champions Manchester City were handed a nightmare draw for the fourth season in succession after being paired in Group E with Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Roma – the first two for the second straight year.

Arsenal were also drawn to face Borussia Dortmund once more, along with Galatasaray and Anderlecht in Group D.

And a third Anglo-German rivalry was repeated when Chelsea were paired again with Schalke in Group G, which also contained Sporting Lisbon and Maribor.

Liverpool’s five-year absence from Europe’s elite club competition put them in real danger of a hellish draw but the five-time champions will be delighted with a group they will be expected to qualify from along with Real.

Much has changed since they famously thrashed the Madrid giants 5-0 on aggregate back in 2009, a result they are unlikely to repeat against the defending champions.

City will be cursing their luck after drawing Bayern again along with Roma, but it is a re-match with CSKA that may be of most concern following the racist abuse suffered by Yaya Toure in Moscow last season.

However, the English champions did win both clashes against the Russians and all their other games bar a home loss against Bayern, a result they spectacularly avenged.

Arsenal did the same against Dortmund after being beaten at home and they will be looking to do the same again against Galatasaray, who famously defeated them in the 2000 Uefa Cup final.

Chelsea will be happiest with their draw against teams they will be expected to beat in all six of their fixtures. — The Guardian