United supremo Peter Kenyon has admitted that he was happy to have side-stepped Scottish champions Glasgow Celtic in the Champions' League first round draw.
Kenyon, who was present at the draw in Monaco, said that anyone who drew Celtic would have a match on their hands - a reference to the two bruising friendlies the teams have played in the last few months.
Kenyon added that the Champions' League was crucial to United in terms of finance and he believes that with the acquisitions of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Veron the Reds have a squad ready to compete with anyone.
The Reds' chief said he was aware that this being Sir Alex Ferguson's last season would see the club attracting more attention than ever - especially as the Champions' League final is due to played in Fergie's home city of Glasgow.
However he said that no-one could be underestimated as he looked towards the club's opening clash, away at Olympiakos.
- Liverpool found themselves seeded amongst Europe's elite seeds but that proved to be no help at all as they walked into a group with Borussia Dortmund and the formidable presence of Dynamo Kiev.
And the Merseysiders also found that they must face Kiev back-to-back.
- Arsenal, who finished runners-up in the Premiership, have also got a daunting first group that includes another tough German side, Schalke 04, as well as Greek side Panathinaikos and emerging Spanish team Real Mallorca.
- Glasgow Celtic were one of the fourth seeds and so can be content with a Group E draw that sees them pitted against Juventus, FC Porto and Norway's Rosenborg.
GROUP A
Real Madrid
Roma
Locomotiv Moscow
Anderlecht
GROUP B
Liverpool
Borussia Dortmund
Dynamo Kiev
Boavista
GROUP C
Arsenal
Real Mallorca
Schalke
Panathinaikos
GROUP D
Lazio
Galatasaray
PSV Eindhoven
GROUP E
Juventus
Porto
Rosenborg
Celtic
GROUP F
Barcelona
Lyon
Bayer Leverkusen
GROUP G
Manchester United
Deportivo la Coruna
Olympiakos
Lille
GROUP H
Bayern Munich
Spartak Moscow
Feyenoord
Sparta Prague