The path to Kiev became clearer for the 32 teams competing in the Champions League after learning what awaits in the group stage following Thursday’s draw in Monaco.

Clubs vying for a chance to compete in next May’s final at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex in the Ukrainian capital discovered their opponents for the next phase of the competition, with titleholder Real Madrid lumped in a group that includes Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, and APOEL.

Meanwhile, last season’s runner-up, Juventus, faces a tough route to the knockout stage after being drawn with Barcelona, Olympiacos, and Sporting CP.

Here’s how the draw played out:

Group A

Benfica, Manchester United, FC Basel, CSKA Moscow

Group B

Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Anderlecht, Celtic

Group C

Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma, Qarabag

Group D

Juventus, Barcelona, Olympiacos, Sporting CP

Group E

Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Liverpool, Maribor

Group F

Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City, Napoli, Feyenoord

Group G

AS Monaco, FC Porto, Besiktas, RB Leipzig

Group H

Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, APOEL

The first matchday of the world’s most lucrative club football competition will kick off Sept. 12 and 13.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene is endorsing Cyrus Mehri in his candidacy for NFLPA executive director.

Mehri, a civil rights attorney who co-wrote the NFL’s Rooney Rule, said last week that he plans to challenge DeMaurice Smith for his job as executive director of the NFL Players Association.

“We need someone well versed in labor law who is also a people person capable of relating to players,” Greene said in a statement. “Cyrus has that perfect mix. I have known him for a number of years through the Fritz Pollard Alliance and he knows our League very well. He will fight for players past, present and future. He is an extraordinary candidate and I am so grateful he has put his hat in the ring. The players should have a choice.”

Greene joins Jim Brown, Harry Carson and Kellen Winslow Sr. as former NFL stars who are supporting Mehri’s candidacy.

There is a chance, however, that Mehri won’t even be given a chance to run against Smith.

The NFL Players Association changed procedures for electing its executive director, creating the possibility that Smith could be reappointed without challengers this fall, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Union rules now call for a selection committee to vote by Oct. 15 on whether to extend Smith’s contract, which expires in March 2018. If approved by all 14 members of the committee, Smith will continue as executive director for another term. The job will not be declared “open” unless less than half of the committee votes its approval.

Information from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert was used in this report.

How anti-climactic.

After leading Real Madrid’s march to the summit of La Liga and a second consecutive Champions League title, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won UEFA’s Men’s Player of the Year award Thursday for the third time in four seasons.

Ronaldo stiff-armed eternal rival Lionel Messi and evergreen goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for the accolade.

The 32-year-old is the only player to claim the nascent honour on three occasions, breaking a tie with Messi.

Although Ronaldo scored just two goals in last season’s group stage, he came to life when Madrid most needed him. The Madeira native followed up a two-goal performance in the quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich with a hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu, and produced another treble in the semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

Another two goals in the final sealed Madrid’s 12th win in the competition at the expense of Juventus.

Ronaldo enjoyed success in a more traditional No. 9 role, as manager Zinedine Zidane limited his minutes against smaller clubs in league and cup play.

What Madrid had by the end of the season was an in-form player whose ruthlessness helped Los Blancos make modern history in the Champions League.

FRISCO, Texas — Due to the flooding from Hurricane Harvey, Thursday’s preseason game between the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys, originally scheduled to be played at NRG Stadium, has been moved to AT&T Stadium.

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  The Astros will play their upcoming home series against the Rangers in St. Petersburg, Florida, after the teams were unable to agree to a scenario in which they would play this week’s games in Arlington, Texas.

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  The AdvoCare Texas Kickoff between BYU and LSU, originally scheduled to be played at NRG Stadium in Houston on Saturday, has been relocated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans due to the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey.