Chelsea face Juventus after Champions League draw

Chelsea will face Juventus, FC Zenit and Malmo in the Champions League group stage this season after being drawn in Group H.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are the reigning European champions after their 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final last year.

They followed that up by winning the Uefa Super Cup at the start of this season, beating Villarreal in Belfast.

Now the Blues will travel to Italy, Russia and Sweden as they start their defence of the title.

Juve have re-appointed former boss Max Allegri for the current campaign, having failed to challenge for the Serie A title under Andrea Pirlo last year. They may yet be without Cristiano Ronaldo for the European campaign, who is linked with a move to Manchester City.

Malmo was the first senior club of Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Zenit hail from the city of St. Petersburg - where the 2022 Champions League final will be played.

The draw in full was as follows:

Group A: Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge

Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan

Group C: Sporting, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas

Group D: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Sheriff

Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kiev

Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys

Group G: Lille, Sevilla, Red Bull Salzburg, Wolfsburg

Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Malmo