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Radio France Internationale
Sport

PSG, Marseille and Rennes discover their Champions League rivals

Marseille boss André Villas Boas will lead the side into the Champions League for the first time in seven years. AFP/Archives

Bayern Munich, the side that robbed Thomas Tuchel's expensively assembled squad of ultimate glory, will start the defence of their crown against Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Rennes, who are making their debut in the Champions League after finishing the 2019/20 Ligue 1 season in third place, will feature in Group E with the Europa League champions Sevilla as well as Chelsea and Krasnodar.

Marseille, runners-up to PSG in the French top flight, will play Manchester City and Olympiakos in Group C.

The Marseille boss, André Villas-Boas, will also return to his former stomping ground at Porto.

The draw on Thursday evening was made at the offices of European football’s governing body, Uefa, in Geneva.

"Football brings hope to people," said Uefa boss Aleksander Ceferin. "It brings positive energy. It was extremely important from the society perspective to finish last season's tournament."

The 2019/20 competition was suspended during the last-16 as European countries tried to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Change

Uefa eventually scrapped the traditional home and away legs for a straight eight-team knockout tournament in the Portuguese capital.

After annihilating Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-final, Bayern swept past Lyon 3-0 before disposing of PSG to hoist their sixth European crown.

The victory completed a treble for Bavarians who also claimed the Bundesliga title for an eighth season in the a row as well as the german Cup.

La Liga winners Real Madrid will take on Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Borussia Monchengladbach in Group B while the 2019 champions Liverpool will test their wits in Group D against Ajax, Atalanta and the Danish club Midtjylland.

Group G's heavyweight clash features Juventus against Barcelona.

Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Bruges feature in Group F.

Uefa said the first round of matches will take place on 20 and 21 October.

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