again after they were drawn in the same Champions League group as the
club Diego Costa is determined to rejoin.
Antonio Conte's side will face Atlético, Roma and FK Qarabag in a
tough Group C, but it is Tottenham Hotspur who have landed in the
dreaded 'group of death' against European champions Real Madrid,
Borussia Dortmund and Apoel.
Manchester United have been handed the most favourable draw of the
English clubs, while Manchester City and Liverpool will also be
optimistic.
The most eye-catching moment of the draw in Monaco was when Atlético
were placed alongside Chelsea. Costa remains on strike, with Chelsea
and Atlético yet to agree on a fee and the 28-year-old accusing Conte
of treating him like a "criminal."
Even if Costa gets his wish, the striker will not face Chelsea as he
could not play for Atlético until January under the terms of the
Spanish club's transfer embargo. The tension between the clubs
pre-dates the Costa affair, with the cracks first surfacing in 2014.
Then manager Jose Mourinho was furious that goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois, who was on loan at Atlético from Chelsea, was allowed to
face his parent club in the semi-finals of the competition.
Chelsea had inserted a clause into the loan agreement that would have
meant Atlético had to pay around £5 million to field Courtois against
them, but it was overruled by Uefa. Atlético knocked out Chelsea, with
Courtois playing both legs, to reach the final.
Costa signed for Chelsea in that summer, but they have since been
upset by Atlético's repeated public attempts to take him back. Chelsea
have written to Atlético on two separate occasions threatening to
report them to Fifa over public comments made by club officials over
their desire to re-sign Costa. Stamford Bridge officials believe
Atlético have contributed to Costa never fully settling at Chelsea.
Atlético have been far more guarded in their pursuit of Costa this
year, but that will do nothing to ease the tensions between themselves
and Chelsea when they meet twice in the group stages.
Chelsea have won only one of their five games against Atlético in
European competition and also face a tricky test against Roma. Conte's
team must also make a 5½-hour flight to Baku to play Azerbaijan's
Qarabag.
Having failed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League
last season, Tottenham's hopes of a favourable draw were dashed.
Mauricio Pochettino's team will have to face Real, who last season
became the first team to defend the Champions League successfully, and
2013 finalists Dortmund.
Full draw
Group A
Benfica, Man Utd, Basel, CSKA Moscow
Group B
Bayern Munich, PSG, Anderlecht, Celtic
Group C
Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Qarabag
Group D
Juventus, Barcelona, Olympiakos, Sporting
Group E
Spartak Moscow,
Sevilla, Liverpool, Maribor
Group F
Shakhtar, Man City, Napoli, Feyenoord
Group G
Monaco, Porto, Besiktas, RB Leipzig
Group HReal Madrid, Dortmund, Tottenham, APOEL
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