Manchester City draw Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League group stage

Holders Chelsea will be up against Juventus, while Bayern Munich face Barcelona

Lionel Messi has been reunited with his old Barcelona teammate Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain. AFP

Manchester City will take on Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain in this season's Champions League group stage.

In the draw that took place in Istanbul on Thursday, the English Premier League champions found out they will be taking on PSG's superstar squad in Group A, as well as German side RB Leipzig and Belgium's Club Bruges.

City and the Ligue 1 side faced off in the semi-final last season, when Pep Guardiola's team ran out 4-1 winners on aggregate before they were defeated by Chelsea in the final.

Thomas Tuchel's reigning champions were drawn against Serie A giants Juventus, Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg and Malmo of Sweden.

Messi's former club Barcelona will take on 2020 winners Bayern Munich - for the first time since the Germans ran out 8-2 victors at Camp Nou during that same campaign - in Group E, along with Portuguese club Benfica and Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev

Manchester United find themselves in the same group as Villarreal in a repeat of last season's Europa League final that the Spaniards won 11-10 on penalties. Italy's Atalanta and Young Boys of Switzerland complete Group F.

Liverpool, who last won the competition in 2019, find themsleves in a tough Group B up against La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, Portuguese runners-up Porto and seven-time European champions AC Milan of Serie A.

The first round of group matches take place on September 14/15, while the final will be held at the St Petersburg Stadium in Russia on May 28.

DRAW IN FULL

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

Group B Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan

Group C Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas

Group D Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol

Group E Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kiev

Group F Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys

Group G Lille, Sevilla, FC Salzburg, Wolfsburg

Group H Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Malmo

Gallery: Chelsea win 202/21 Champions League