Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City have been pitted against holders Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage after the draw took place in Monaco on Thursday.
The Premier League runners-up will be relatively satisfied with their remaining opponents as CSKA Moscow and Victoria Plzen were also drawn in Group D.
Meanwhile, Arsenal were handed a considerably tougher test in Group F than the Citizens after being drawn against Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund.
The Gunners will also face Ligue 1 runners-up Marseille, who won the competition in 1993, as well as Coppa Italia winners Napoli, now managed by Rafael Benítez.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor David Moyes will be braced for potentially tricky trips to Spain and Ukraine after being pitted against Real Sociedad and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group A.
The Red Devils will also take on Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently managed by former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia.
Jose Mourinho is likely to be the happiest of the Premier League managers as Chelsea’s main test will be German side Schalke 04.
The west London side will also meet Swiss champions Basel, who the Blues beat in the Europa League semi-finals last season, with Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest completing Group E.
Finally, Neil Lennon’s Celtic were rewarded for the heroics in the play-off round with a group stage draw which sees them face La Liga winners Barcelona, AC Milan and Dutch champions Ajax.
Champions League group stage draw in full
Group A: Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad.
Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, København.
Group C: Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Olympiakos, Anderlecht.
Group D: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Victoria Plzen.
Group E: Chelsea, Schalke 04, Basel, Steaua Bucharest.
Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli.
Group G: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Austria Wien.
Group H: Barcelona, Milan, Ajax, Celtic.