GRAHAM DUNBAR Associated Press

MONACO — Paris Saint-Germain was handed a tough start to the defense of its Champions League title when the draw was made Thursday with no opponent from any of the lower-ranked nations.

PSG was drawn against Bayern Munich and Barcelona from the pot of top-ranked teams, while Tottenham came from the pot of third-seeded teams in a repeat of their tight Super Cup game two weeks ago. And the French champion was paired with arguably the two toughest opponents from the lowest-ranked teams: Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao.

Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta and Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon complete the title holder's slate of eight games in the 36-team league phase.

"It's always difficult," said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, whose team stumbled to 15th place in

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