The Champions League draw dealt José Mourinho an unwelcome visit from Cristiano Ronaldo while Tottenham and Liverpool have fiendishly difficult tasks ahead to escape their respective groups. But there was better news for Manchester City as a relatively easy draw paved the way for Pep Guardiola’s team to redress the club’s history of underperforming in the competition.

Mourinho scarcely needed additional pressure after a dire start to the domestic season for United and he now has the impending return to Old Trafford of the club hero Ronaldo looming large on the horizon. Relations between the pair famously deteriorated while they were together at Real Madrid and scrutiny on Mourinho is already intense after United lost two of their first three Premier League games for the first time since 1992.

Juventus, meanwhile, have been buoyed by the arrival this summer of their £100m signing, who is bidding for a fourth consecutive Champions League title.

The former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel expects a tough task for his old side, who are joined in Group H by Valencia and the Swiss champions, Young Boys. “Juventus is probably the hardest team to play against in Europe right now because of the signing of Ronaldo,” he said on BT Sport. “Everyone sees them as rebuilding the whole Italian football scene again. But you want to be in a group which can produce some great matches.”

Quick Guide Champions League group stage draw Show Group A Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Club Brugge Group B Barcelona, Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Group C Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, Liverpool, Red Star Belgrade Group D Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto, Schalke, Galatasaray Group E Bayern Munich, Benfica, Ajax, AEK Athens Group F Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon, Hoffenheim Group G Real Madrid, Roma, CSKA Moscow, Viktoria Plzen Group H Juventus, Manchester United, Valencia, Young Boys

Manchester City, in the top group of seeds, did the best of the English sides, landing in a group containing Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon and Hoffenheim, from which they would expect to graduate without too many problems. The Premier League champions broke a number of records on their way to the title last season and Guardiola has huge ambitions of bringing a maiden Champions League trophy to the Etihad. They have typically struggled in the competition although their fortunes have improved under the Spaniard as they reached the quarter finals last season, though they went out 5-1 on aggregate to Liverpool.

There were positive omens for City in being placed in Group F, which has produced 40% – or six – of the last 15 Champions League winners under the current formula since 2003-04. Meanwhile, Group G, home of reigning champions Real Madrid, is the only group not to have produced a single winner in the last 15 seasons.

But if Tottenham or Liverpool are to be crowned champions they are likely to have to do it the hard way. Mauricio Pochettino’s team have a mouth watering meeting with Barcelona, while PSV Eindhoven and Internazionale will also prove stern opposition in Group B.

Liverpool, runners-up in May, could stake a claim to being in the group of death as they are pitted against the French giants Paris St-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade in Group C. Jürgen Klopp was pressing the reset button. “Last season is last season,” the Liverpool manager said. “Now we have to do it again. It will be difficult but still we want to go through. That’s the plan, so now let’s start working on it.”

Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum hosted the great and good of football for the Uefa draw and their end of season awards.Luka Modric was presented with the player of the year accolade in recognition of his role propelling Real Madrid to a third straight Champions League title and inspiring Croatia to the World Cup final.

David Beckham joined an illustrious group including Bobby Robson, Bobby Charlton, Eusébio and Johan Cruyff by winning the president’s award, clapped by his wife, Victoria, in the audience.

Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos was named defender of the year, giving a mischievous tap on the shoulder to Mohamed Salah as he exited the stage to take his seat in the auditorium. Salah appeared not to acknowledge Ramos, possibly revealing lingering ill feeling over the shoulder he dislocated under a heavy challenge from the Spaniard in last season’s final, which hindered his participation in Egypt’s World Cup campaign.

Earlier, Uefa confirmed it is considering the introduction of a third club cup competition, below the Champions League and Europa League, after a club competition committee discussed the idea. A statement from the governing body read: “Uefa is constantly reviewing the format of its competitions and is looking at a variety of options in this respect.”