CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DATES SET

The dates for Chelsea's Champions League group games will be as follows:

Rosenborg - Tues 18 Sept - Home

Valencia - Wed 3 Oct - Away

Schalke 04 - Wed 24 Oct - Home

Schalke 04 - Tues 6 Nov - Away

Rosenborg - Wed 28 Nov - Away

Valencia - Tues 11 Dec - Home

The draw in Monaco on Thursday evening handed the Blues an early re-match with Valencia whom we played in the quarter-finals last season, drawing 1-1 at the Bridge and winning 2-1 in the Mestalla thanks to Michael Essien's dramatic late goal.

The Spaniards finished fourth in their domestic league last campaign and came through the Champions League qualifiers.

Although it will be the first time we have faced German league runners-up Schalke 04, we have played in their stadium in Gelsenkirchen. That was when our group stage match against Besiktas in 2003 was moved there following a terrorist incident in Istanbul.

Norwegian champions Rosenborg, from the city of Trondheim, will also be new opponents.

The full draw is

Group A
Liverpool
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Group B
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke 04
Rosenborg

Group C
Real Madrid
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiacos

Group D
AC Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

Group F
Manchester United
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

Group G
Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahçe.

Group H
Arsenal
Sevilla or AEK Athens
Steaua Bucharest
Slavia Prague