Ronaldo set for Old Trafford return

Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford, but playing for Juventus in the Champions League [Courteys]

Cristiano Ronaldo can look forward to a return to Old Trafford in the Champions League this season after his new team Juventus came out in the same group as Manchester United in Thursday’s draw in Monaco.

Ronaldo, who was not in Monaco despite being nominated for an individual award, spent six years at United, winning the Champions League in 2008, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.

He will come up against his compatriot Jose Mourinho, under whom he played during his time at Real, while United midfielder Paul Pogba can also look forward to facing his old team. United host Juventus on October 23 before going to Turin on November 7.

While those sides will be favourites to progress to the last 16 from Group H, they will have to be wary of Valencia, with the Spaniards returning to the group stage for the first time in three years.

Swiss champions Young Boys, group-stage debutants, look to be the makeweights in the section, and host United on the opening matchday on September 19.

“It’s a manageable group, but it all depends on us. Our destiny is in our own hands,” said Juve CEO Giuseppe Marotta.

Thursday’s draw ceremony at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum, a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean Sea, threw up several other fascinating groups, with last season’s beaten finalists Liverpool set to have their work cut out alongside the Paris Saint-Germain of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, as well as Napoli, in Group C.

A meeting between Liverpool and PSG means a confrontation between two German coaches, Jurgen Klopp and his successor at Borussia Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel.

“I expected a difficult group, we have a difficult group and that’s what the Champions League is all about,” Klopp told Uefa, with Liverpool hosting PSG in their first game on September 18.

Carlo Ancelotti, who became coach of Napoli in the close season, will return to the French capital, where he led PSG to the title in 2013. That group is completed by a famous old name in 1991 European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade.