Score another one for the Barca side in the escalating El Clasico war. Today, Lionel Messi won the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe award, selected by sports journalists representing each of UEFA’s member associations. Read more here.
The award was presented after the groupings were announced for the UEFA Champions League opening stages. Matches start Sept. 14. Here’s how they broke down. (* for the teams I think will advance to the next round.)
Group A
FC Bayern München*
Manchester City FC*
SSC Napoli
Villarreal CF
Group B
Trabzonspor AS
LOSC Lille Métropole*
PFC CSKA Moskva
FC Internazionale Milano*
Group C
Manchester United FC*
FC Basel 1893
FC O-elul Gala-i
SL Benfica*
Group D
Olympique Lyonnais
GNK Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid CF*
AFC Ajax*
Group E
Valencia CF*
Chelsea FC*
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
KRC Genk
Group F
Arsenal FC*
Olympiacos FC
Olympique de Marseille
Borussia Dortmund*
Group G
FC Zenit St. Petersburg
FC Porto*
FC Shakhtar Donetsk*
APOEL FC
Group H
FC BATE Borisov
FC Barcelona*
AC Milan*
FC Viktoria Plzen