Kenyon welcomes Porto tie

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is looking forward to meeting Porto in the group stages of the Champions League – where the current Stamford Bridge manager will face his old club.

Jose Mourinho’s side will also face Paris St-Germain and CSKA Moscow as they try to make an impression on Europe.

“That’s the way it works,” Kenyon said. “I guess that was always one of the predictable ones.

“You have to be happy with the group and I think we’re in for some interesting football. We’re all looking forward to it.

“But we shouldn’t forget the other teams. There are no easy games.

“We had a good run and all you hope is to be in the draw. We’ve got some great experience from Jose who’s won the competition. Some of the boys have got experience with Chelsea or won it with Porto.”

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry insists his club’s priority this season is the Premiership – despite a favourable Champions League draw.

Parry said: “We’d like to do better in the Premier League first and foremost and close that 30-point gap to Arsenal. That’s out first objective and everything else is a bonus.

“We’re just delighted to be in it. There are no easy teams when you get to this level. We’ve avoided the lengthy trips, which is an advantage.

“Rafa (Benitez) will know all about Deportivo, Monaco didn’t do badly last season and Olympiakos we’ve been to before so we know a bit about the teams and it could have been worse.

“We’ve avoided the very biggest but that doesn’t mean we’ve avoided the best. We saw last year it was some of the smaller teams that did very well. We treat them all with respect but not with fear,” he told Sky Sports News.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill was happy with his club’s favourable draw – and believes manager Alex Ferguson will also be pleased with facing Lyon, Sparta Prague and Fenerbahce.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting draw,” Gill said. “We will have to ask Alex but I am sure he will be extremely happy.

Gill was confident UEFA will ensure their safety when United travel to Turkey, but admits there will be “added spice” against their old European rivals.

“I am sure it will be an great spectacle,” he added. “The name of the game now is to be first in the group, but we’ve got six tough games.”