Real Madrid and AC Milan paired in 'Group of Death'

Group G contained clubs who have won the famous trophy on 20 occasions.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Real Madrid and AC Milan in same Group G in Champions League draw
• Ajax and Auxerre also in 'Group of Death' who have won competition 20 times between them
• Champions Inter Milan to open against Tottenham, Werder Bremen and FC Twente
• Top two from each of eight groups go through to last 16 knockout stage

(CNN) -- Nine-time winners Real Madrid were handed a monumental task as the draw for the group stages of this season's Champions League was made in Monaco on Thursday.

Jose Mourinho's new charges were paired with seven-time winners AC Milan, four-time champions Ajax Amsterdam and French side Auxerre in Group G.

Real have failed to progress beyond the last 16 knock out stages for the past six seasons, but will need to be at their best to reach the second round with only the top two from each of the eight groups going through.

Title holders Inter Milan, coached to their triple triumph by Mourinho before he departed for the Bernabeu, have also been handed a difficult group.

English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, Bundesliga Werder Bremen and Dutch champions FC Twente will be their opponents in Group A.

It's a group of death, but we'll do what we need to
--Massimiliano Allegri

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said the two Milan clubs had been given very tough tests.

"Our group and Inter's are definitely the most difficult," he told AFP.

"It's a group of death, but we'll do what we need to."

The draw has also thrown up another "Battle of Britain" with three-time champions Manchester United in Group C alongside Scottish champions Rangers.

La Liga side Valencia and Champions League new boys Bursaspor of Turkey complete the group.

The 2009 winners Barcelona, one of eight top seeds, have been installed as the early favorites after drawing Greek side Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen of Denmark and Russian league winners Rubin Kazan in Group D.

The opening set of group games will take place on September 14 and 15, with the final scheduled for England's famous Wembley stadium on May 28, 2011.

Full draw:

Group A

Inter Milan (ITA)

Werder Bremen (GER)

Tottenham (ENG)

Twente (NED)

Group B

Lyon (FRA)

Benfica (POR)

Schalke (GER)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Group C

Man Utd (ENG)

Valencia (ESP)

Rangers (SCO)

Bursaspor (TUR)

Group D

Barcelona (ESP)

Panathinaikos (GRE)

Copenhagen (DEN)

Rubin Kazan (RUS)

Group E

Bayern Munich (GER)

Roma (ITA)

Basel (SUI)

CFR Cluj (ROM)

Group F

Chelsea (ENG)

Marseille (FRA)

Spartak Moscow (RUS)

Zilina (SVK)

Group G

AC Milan (ITA)

Real Madrid (ESP)

Ajax (NED)

Auxerre (FRA)

Group H

Arsenal (ENG)

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Sporting Braga (POR)

Partizan Belgrade (SRB)

Manchester City to face Juventus in Europa League group

Roberto Mancini's Manchester City have been drawn in the same Europa League group as Juventus.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Manchester City are drawn with Juventus in their Europa League group
• Austrian champions Salzburg and Lech Poznan are other teams in Group A
• Holders Atletico Madrid will face Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg and Aris Thessaloniki
• Liverpool paired with Napoli, Steaua Bucharest and Utrecht in their group

Roberto Mancini will take Manchester City back to his homeland after the English club were paired with Italian giants Juventus in the Europa League draw.

The Italian was coach at Inter Milan for nearly four years, leading them to three successive titles, before taking over at City in December 2009.

It also means a return to Italy for new City striker Mario Balotelli, who was signed from Inter earlier this month. The other two teams in Group A are Austrian champions Salzburg and Polish side Lech Poznan.

Elsewhere, defending champions Atletico Madrid, from Spain, have been paired with German club Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg, from Norway, and Greek side Aris Thessaloniki.

Spanish side Sevilla, who were knocked out of the Champions League in midweek, have been drawn with Paris Saint Germain, of France, German side Bayer Leverkusen and Karpaty, of Ukraine.

Liverpool will play Italian side Napoli, Steaua Bucharest, of Romania and Utrecht, of the Netherlands.

Their captain, Steven Gerrard, says he fully expects the club to be installed as favorites to win the competition. He told the club's official website: "It's a strong group and I'm certainly looking forward to the games.

We haven't won a trophy for four years so it's important we put a good show on in all the cup competitions
--Steven Gerrard, Liverpool captain

"The media will make us early favorites I'm sure, because of our experience in the Champions League and last year in the Europa League. I'm confident we can get out of the group but it will be tough. The draw has given us some difficult challenges.

"I don't think the Europa League is the priority. Everybody knows that our league position, where we finish at the end of this year, is the priority.

"But it's another trophy, it's a big cup. We haven't won a trophy for four years now so it's important we put a good show on in all the cup competitions and try to reward the fans with a final."

The Europa League draw in full:

Group A: Juventus, Manchester City, Salzburg and Lech Poznan.

Group B: Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg and Aris Thessaloniki.

Group C: Sporting, Lille, Levski Sofia and Gent.

Group D: Villarreal, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb and PAOK.

Group E: AZ Alkmaar, Dynamo Kiev, BATE Borisov and FC Sheriff.

Group F: CSKA Moscow, Palermo, Sparta Prague and Lausanne Sports.

Group G: Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, AEK Athens and Hadjuk Split.

Group H: Stuttgart, Getafe, Odense and Young Boys.

Group I: PSV Eindhoven, Sampdoria, Metalist Kharkiv and Debreceni.

Group J: Sevilla, Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Karpaty.

Group K: Liverpool, Steaua Bucharest, Napoli and Utrecht.

Group L: Porto, Besiktas, CSKA Sofia and Rapid Vienna.

The first group games will be played on September 16.

Alonso quickest in Belgium GP practice

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was quickest at Spa, even during the rain-affected morning session.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is quickest in practice for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix
• Alonso posts lap of one minute, 49.032 seconds at Spa circuit
• Force India's Adrian Sutil came second with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton third
• Championship leader Mark Webber of Red Bull was 2.6 seconds off Alonso

(CNN) -- Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso set the pace during practice for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions as his rivals for the drivers' championship lagged behind.

Alonso posted a lap of two minutes, 0.797 seconds in a rain-hit morning session but improved to record a second lap of one minute, 49.032 seconds in the more favorable afternoon conditions.

Force India's Adrian Sutil was 0.125 seconds behind Alonso, while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton came third. Drivers' championship leader Mark Webber was left trailing by a full 2.6 seconds.

Webber told Formula One's official website: "Today was a bit of a messy day with the changing conditions, but it was actually pretty good for us. We got some good information to go through and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

"There are a few quick guys out there, but we're not slow either. It's hard to get a feel for what everyone's doing with the changing weather. It's a beautiful track here, it's special - today we got to sample it in all conditions."

After the morning session was dominated by rain, the afternoon stint was delayed by a red flag, then concerns for the crowd after spectators appeared to climb onto fences for a better view of the track.

It has definitely been a positive day, because the car seems to respond well in all track conditions
--Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

RELATED TOPICS

• Formula One Racing
• Formula One World Championship
• Fernando Alonso
• Mark Webber
• Felipe Massa

It led to a chaotic end to the final session, but Alonso managed to complete his quickest lap of the day shortly before time ran out.

Alonso told the Formula One website: "The impression one gets on Friday does not always get confirmed on Saturday and Sunday, therefore we have to evaluate today's results with a lot of care.

"Having said that, it has definitely been a positive day, because the car seems to respond well in all track conditions that we encountered today."

Renault's Robert Kubica came fourth, Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was fifth, Sebastian Vettel came sixth in the Red Bull, while Jenson Button was seventh overall -- four places behind McLaren teammate Hamilton.

"The weather made it a bit of an up-and-down day," Hamilton said. "It started off very wet, so we didn't do too much running in the morning. But we got a few more laps this afternoon on the intermediates and then the option tire.

"Because the rules don't allow us to use too many wet-weather tires - we only have three extremes and four intermediates - we really need to look after them, so we were very cautious, just in case we need to use them later on in the weekend.

"We're definitely making small steps forward. This track does seem to suit our car better [than in Hungary], but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

"If it rains, then we seem to be competitive, but we have realistic expectations for this weekend - I didn't score in the last race, so it's important that we get more points on the board on Sunday."