Champions League draw, Group G: Mourinho set for reunion with Porto
Chelsea and its manager Jose Mourinho find both new and old faces in Group G of the Champions League.
Porto, Dynamo Kyiv, and Maccabi Tel-Aviv join the 2012 winners in one of Thursday's easier draws.
Chelsea has never played Kyiv or Tel-Aviv in any previous European competition. The London club last played Porto in the group stage in 2009 and won both games 1-0, but that was without Mourinho as manager.
For the first time in the Champions League, the "Special One" returns to Porto, where he rose to fame and won the 2004 Champions League title.
Mourinho will also face his former goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. Mourinho famously dropped Casillas from his starting position, which the Spanish 'keeper never truly recovered. Mourinho even started reserve goalkeeper Antonio Adan ahead of Casillas, who eventually left Madrid for Porto this summer.
Kyiv is back in the group stage after winning the Ukrainian league title. The club spent the past two seasons in the Europa League. The last time Kiev went past the group stage was 1999, losing to Bayern Munich in the semifinal.
The experience itself is an award for Tel-Aviv, which beat Basel in the Champions League play-off to reach the group stage for the first time in 11 years. Former Chelsea midfielder Slavisa Jokanovic, who played for the Blues between 2000 and 2002, coaches the club.
Tel-Aviv is the first Israeli team to make it this far since its local rival Hapoel Tel Aviv advanced to the group stage in 2010.
Chelsea has secured passage to the knockout stage in 11 of the past 12 seasons. It missed out during its title defence in 2012-13 after finishing behind Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group E. The Blues went on to win the Europa League.
Predicted finish
1. Chelsea
2. Porto
3. Dynamo Kyiv
4. Maccabi Tel-Aviv