Liverpool and Rangers drawn together in Champions League group stage

Liverpool will face Rangers in a battle of Britain after the pair were drawn together in the Champions League group stage.

The Reds, who were beaten finalists last season, have never played the Scottish giants in a competitive fixture, but they will meet twice in Group A.

Rangers booked their place in the group stage for the first time since 2010-11 by beating PSV in the final qualification round.

They will return to Holland as Dutch champions Ajax were also drawn in Group A, along with Serie A side Napoli.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said his side’s group would be far from straightforward.

“The first thing to say is this is a proper, proper challenge,” he told the club’s website.

“All of the clubs have quality, they all have pedigree and I would say they all have a chance. The good thing is that we do also, so it makes sense for us to look forward to the challenge and give it a try.

“We did not ask for any favours and we have not been given any, but this is not a competition where you can look for easy ways through because the standard is always unbelievably high.

“We will not have to look too hard to find information about our opponents, though.

“Rangers are a new opponent for us, but we know them, too. Their story over the last few years has been really interesting and they did really, really well to qualify for the group stage, given the teams they were up against in the qualifying matches.

“We also know a couple of their players well. Ryan Kent has had a great development since moving to Scotland and Ben Davies is just starting out on his journey with Rangers, so it will be good to come up against them.

“The only certainty right now is that all of the six games will be incredibly competitive and really intense. I’m excited about it. It is a proper football group and, like I said, a proper challenge.”

Erling Haaland will get a speedy reunion with former club Borussia Dortmund after Manchester City were drawn against the German club in Group G.

The Norway striker swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League this summer but will get the chance for a Signal Iduna Park farewell.

City, beaten in last season’s semi-finals, were also drawn against Sevilla and FC Copenhagen as they try and win the competition for the first time.

Celtic will face defending champions Real Madrid in a glamour tie in Group F.

The Scottish champions will also play RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk as they return to the group stage for the first time since 2017.

AC Milan defender Fiyako Tomori will come up against his former club Chelsea after the pair were drawn in Group E.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will also face Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb and will be favourites to progress to the knockout stage.

Tottenham were handed a favourable-looking draw.

Spurs, finalists in 2019 and back in the tournament for the first time since 2020 after a late-season rally under Antonio Conte last term, were drawn in Group D against Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting and Marseille.

All six British teams will have been delighted to avoid Group C.

Robert Lewandowski will also return to his former club as Barcelona were drawn with six-time champions Bayern Munich, who he left in the summer.

Inter Milan also join them in a group stacked with some of European football’s biggest names, with Viktoria Plzen the firm outsiders.

Group H also looks entertaining as Paris St Germain, Juventus and Benfica are joined by Maccabi Haifa.

Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge were drawn in Group B.