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The Champions League action is back on the football timeline with all the 8 groups confirmed after the group stage draw took place in Monaco on Thursday.
Reigning champions Barcelona and the returning three-time European winners Manchester United were handed favourable draws in the competition. The Blaugranas plan to become the first team to win the prestigious tournament in two consecutive seasons began smoothly as Lionel Messi and co were paired with Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov in Group E.
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While the Red Devils were also given a smooth re-entry into the Champions League as they were handed fixtures against CSKA Moscow, PSV Eindhoven and Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg.
Manchester City were once again pitted in the toughest of groups amongst all the English teams this season as they were paired with the last year's Champions League runners-up Juventus, Borussia Monchengladbach and Sevilla while Chelsea found themselves in the midst of a relatively favourable draw as they were paired with FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Group G.
Spain: Most Champions League Winners
Ten different countries have yielded tournament winners in the new format of the tournament. The Spanish clubs have been the most successful, winning a total of 15 Champions League titles. Italy and England are joint-second with 12 trophies to their name while the other multiple-time winners are Germany with 7, Netherlands with 6, and Portugal with 4.
The only other countries to provide a tournament winner are Scotland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and France.
| Rank | Country | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 15 | 10 | Barcelona(5), Real Madrid (10) |
| 2 | Italy | 12 | 15 | AC Milan(7), Internazionale(3), Juventus(2) |
| 3 | England | 12 | 7 | Liverpool(5), Manchester United(3), Nottingham Forest(2), Chelsea(1), Aston Villa(1) |
| 4 | Germany | 7 | 10 | Bayern Munich(5), Hamburg(1), Borussia Dortmund(1) |
| 5 | Netherlands | 6 | 2 | Ajax(4), Feyenoord(1), PSV Eindhoven(1) |
| 6 | Portugal | 4 | 5 | Benfica(2), FC Porto(2) |
| 7 | France | 1 | 5 | Marseille(1) |
Greece, Belgium and Sweden have all provided losing finalists.
