'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The draw for the 2018/19 Champions League group stages was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and it threw up some exciting encounters. Individual awards were also given out for performances from last season with Luka Modric walking away with the UEFA Player of the Year award.
The group of death was arguably Group C with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, and Liverpool while Barcelona were drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan and defending champions Real Madrid drew AS Roma.
Elsewhere, Manchester United will face Juventus and Valencia while Manchester City drew Shakhtar Donetsk and Lyon.
How the Champions League Draw works
26 teams received a direct entry (including four each from the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, and Serie A) while six teams qualified through the playoffs.
The teams were split into four pots of eight teams each. Pot 1 had the defending champions Real Madrid, Europa League winners Atletico Madrid, and six other champions from the top leagues in Europe. Pot 1 alone had 25 trophies between them with Real winning 13.
The rest of the teams were spread across the other three pots based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings, which is why we see groups of death. The club coefficients are calculated based on their performances from the last five years, which is why last year's finalists Liverpool were in Pot 3.
The first group stage fixtures will take place on 18/19 September and the final group fixture will take place on 11/12 December. TV schedules also decided which groups teams would go into to avoid clashes and teams from the same country playing on the same day (unless there were four).
UEFA Awards given out
The draw ceremony also doubled up as an awards night with the players winning the following awards. And it came as no surprise to see Real Madrid sweeping the awards.
- Goalkeeper of the Season: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
- Defender of the Season: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
- Midfielder of the Season: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Forward of the Season: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Here's how Twitter reacted to the draw.
Fans clearly weren't happy that the draw took as long as it did.
While there were a few tweets on the various awards given out too.
Manchester United were drawn with Juventus - which meant only one thing. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford and Paul Pogba to Turin.
Translation: Challenging group, with teams of absolute value, great tradition and historical stadiums: this is the new Champions League!
