Leeds brought back to earth

The staff at Elland Road will have produced a large and sharp intake of breath on three separate occasions yesterday morning. They will have come fast after one another, too, as Leeds United's officials were informed of who they would be playing in their first taste of the Champions League.

The sight of two games with Barcelona is always stimulating, but for AC Milan to then be drawn in the same Group H must have almost induced dizziness at Leeds. Thirty-six hours after they had clinched their place by winning in Berlin, here was evidence that u £15 million sterling could be made from reaching the first group stage.

However, giddy expectation must then have been replaced by cold reality when the Turkish side Besiktas completed the group quartet. Besiktas are from Istanbul, scene of the murder of two Leeds fans when the club met Galatasaray in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final in April.

The draw immediately led to calls for Leeds supporters to be banned from the game in Turkey, and Besiktas fans to be banned from Elland Road, and the Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale said: "We will take opinions from the Football Association, the Foreign Office and Besiktas about the match. I hope that it will be an opportunity for common sense to prevail and that it will give people a chance to look forward." Practically as an addendum, Ridsdale said: "With Barcelona and AC Milan, it is a very tough group."

David O'Leary said it would be "a miracle" if Leeds got through, but added: "It will be brilliant when Barcelona visit us. The likes of Rivaldo playing at Elland Road, can you imagine that? Barcelona are probably my favourite club in the world."

It will indeed be an achievement if Leeds do make it to the next group stage, but the three other British qualifiers, Manchester United, Arsenal and Rangers should all progress.

United, in Group G, take on PSV Eindhoven - beaten 4-1 by Rangers at Ibrox at this stage last season, Ruud Van Nistelrooy scoring a penalty - Anderlecht and Dynamo Kiev. Only the latter team, without both Andrei Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov now, should be capable of making life uncomfortable for the English champions.

Accustomed as they are to European football, the prospect of playing at this stage of the competition will hardly set pulses racing at Old Trafford. United captain Roy Keane yesterday admitted as much when he said: "It probably drags on a bit from the fans' point of view, especially with the group matches at the start when they are not the most glamorous teams.

"You have to play a lot of games now to win the European Cup and maybe the first few games are boring for the fans. But having said that, you have to give these teams a chance." Arsenal, while having to face the competition's favourites Lazio, will fancy themselves against both Sparta Prague and Ukrainian side Shaktar Donetsk. Arsenal fell at this stage last season, having lost at home to Barcelona and Fiorentina but those defeats came at Wembley. That experiment has ended and Arsenal will play their home games at Highbury.

Arsenal will still have one self-inflicted disadvantage for away games, though - Dennis Bergkamp's fear of flying. All three away venues would require major train or car journeys, both outward and return, for Bergkamp to feature. That thought made Arsene Wenger all the more grateful that he had signed Sylvain Wiltord before the Champions League deadline.

"Wiltord will play an important part for us," said Wenger. "Rome and Prague look too far away for Bergkamp. I can't see a way we can get him there and back."

Rangers, close to getting through last year when faced with PSV, Bayern Munich and Valencia, will hardly find the proposition of Monaco, Sturm Graz and Galatasaray more intimidating. Sturm Graz lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United last year, so the crucial matches for Dick Advocaat's side will be in Monte Carlo and Istanbul. With a Turk, Tugay, in their team, Rangers ought to receive a kinder welcome than Leeds.