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Champions League
Topic Started: Aug 13 2007, 02:00 PM (4,093 Views)
TCK
Liverpool FC till I die
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Great write up Simon!. This is a bigger miracle task than being 3-0 down against AC Milan and the 1977 Quarter Final 2nd Leg match against St Etienne. Hopefully we make the UEFA Cup and get some confidence in European competition. Our team has the players, yet, the team doesn't have the correct managerial tactics. Actually, ever since one of our "boot room boys" and a good friend of Rafas left, I think his nickname is "Pakka" according to my mum. Anyhow, Arsenal are on a run of their life, maybe they might win the Champions League for the first time ever. Group G is the tightest of the groups and looks very intriguing.

Is it safe to say that Stuttgart are the Liverpool of Germany?.
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Winslow
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Tuesday's scores...
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Group A: Liverpool 8, Besiktas 0; Porto 2, Marseille 1.
Group B: Schalke 0, Chelsea 0; Valencia 0, Rosenborg 2.
Group C: Lazio 2, Werder Bremen 1; Olympiakos 0, Real Madrid 0.
Group D: Celtic 1, Benfica 0; Shakhtar Donetsk 0, AC Milan 3.

"Do you believe in miracles? YES!" (Brits note: This is the US historical equivalent of "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over.. it is now!")

Liverpool sets a new CL record with that massive win, which included three fortunate deflections that should not detract from the Reds' utter dominance. But Porto's win over Marseille means the 'Pool still has to win its last two games to advance. (Porto's first goal was a stunner; Sektioui took the ball at midfield and plowed straight through the central defense before rounding the keeper.)

Another nightmare at the Mestalla, as the Norwegians now have a very good shot at the second round. Steffen Iversen (remember him?) scored both goals. Chelsea still leads the group. Lazio got a long-awaited win to leapfrog Bremen, while Real is still three points clear despite the scoreless draw.

As Simon sort of predicted, Celtic are golden again at Parkhead, while Milan didn't get going until Inzaghi came in at the hour mark; he quickly scored, then set up Kaka for the second, then scored again in the dying minutes.
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Simon
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So Liverpool robbed Besiktas with eight goals against the run of play! In all seriousness that's a huge win for Liverpool and should give them real momentum going into their final two matches. They still need to win both games following Porto's win over Marseille, and I don't think they can aspire to score eight against either Porto or Marseille! I'm always slightly underwhelmed by phrases such as 'Champions League record' or 'Premiership record' as either phrase really just means 'over the last 15 years'.

Liverpool have had bigger wins, such as the 11-0 triumph over Norway's Stromsgodset in the mid-70s (I think that was in the Cup Winners Cup) in the days when Norwegian sides were no hopers. That hasn't been the case for a good few years now, but it seems that Rosenborg have really pushed on to the next level this season. I confess to seeing their draw at Stamford Bridge as being all about Chelsea's deficiencies in what was the troubled final match of the Mourinho period. I thought the Rosenborg win over Valencia last time out was a one-off shock but it seems we all have to sit up and pay the Norwegians more attention and respect!

I watched the Schalke v Chelsea game, as I knew Liverpool would win and couldn't stomach watching it. This was actually a really absorbing game, played at a good pace with plenty of action. Chelsea didn't really have their game together and some uncharateristic disorganisation allowed Schalke to put them under the cosh at times. In fact Schalke can feel unfortunate not to have won, the came close to scoring a few times, none more so than when Lovenkrands hit the post at the end. There's been plenty of noise made about teenage Croat midfielder Ivan Rakitic and he certainly looks a fine prospect.

Celtic won at home once again, and now face a vital match-up on the last day with Shakhtar Donetsk, also at Parkhead. Decent point for Real Madrid, although apparently it maintains their record of having never won a game in Greece.
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xeneize
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Amazing score from Liverpool but Besiktas should really be holding their heads in shame. Good point about the difficult task still ahead for Liverpool in their group.

And Milan keep up their tion of Shaktor Donetsk with a 3-0 road win. Inzaghi scoring goals might be the cure to what has ailed Milan recently. It might also help him that a certain Ronaldo is getting healthy now.
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rosarino
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Amazing result for Rosenborg at Valencia. You beat a team home and away and you know that is not a fluke. I think Rosenborg's direct style caused Valencia troubles but Valencia doesn't have much chance in that group now. There is still hope for the outsiders as represented by Rosenborg. Shaktar Donetsk did well against both Benfica and Celtic but Milan just hammered them in both games they played. Milan look in good shape in that group and Benfica look compromised, I'm thinking that will come down to a fight between Shakhtar and Celtic for the 2nd spot.

Real Madrid had more of the ball in Athens but couldn't beat Olimpiacos' gray haired goalie, who was the same guy who led Greece in Euro 2004. He's a quality goalkeeper. Good win for Lazio over Werder Bremen. That group is still wide open for the 2nd position behind Real Madrid.
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TCK
Liverpool FC till I die
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Winslow,Nov 6 2007
11:00 PM
"Do you believe in miracles? YES!" (Brits note: This is the US historical equivalent of "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over.. it is now!")

That quote from USA beating Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Ice Hockey?.

Well, what can I say?. Is this the turning point of the season for Liverpool?. Excellent result, the play on the field was almost perfect. A chance for Besiktas late on with a diving header, could've been 7-1. The result has silenced the critics and fellow doubters. Rafa Benitez didn't smile once throughout the match, someones suffering from depression haha. Steffen Iversen?. He used to play for Tottenham Hotspur?.

Yeah, as you said Simon we've had bigger wins like the one you mentioned aswell as an Old Division one game which was 9-0 against Crystal Palace in 1989 I think.

Well then, let's see what Arsenal and Man United can do tonight. Oh, and Rangers.
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LIVERPOOL FC!
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Winslow
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rosarino,Nov 6 2007
10:55 PM
Real Madrid had more of the ball in Athens but couldn't beat Olimpiacos' gray haired goalie, who was the same guy who led Greece in Euro 2004. He's a quality goalkeeper.

He's also a dead ringer for George Clooney IMO. Wednesday's scores...
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Group E: Barcelona 2, Rangers 0; Lyon 4, Stuttgart 2.
Group F: Man United 4, Dynamo Kyiv 0; Sporting Lisbon 2, Roma 2.
Group G: Inter Milan 4, CSKA Moscow 2; Fenerbahce 2, PSV Eindhoven 0.
Group H: Steaua Bucharest 0, Sevilla 2; Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 0.

So Man U and the Arse are officially in the second round, though it sure looks as if Sunday's big match took a lot more out of the Gunners. Sevilla is almost certain to move on after its win, while Fenerbahce is now four points ahead of PSV, who now have to win in Moscow later this month to have any real shot to advance.

Inter actually was down two goals, but fought back, getting a pair each from Ibrahimovic and Cambiasso. Roma took an early lead, then fell behind thanks to some comical defending, but Pizarro tied it in the closing minutes. Lyon is now just a point behind Rangers and closing fast.
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robdog
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I don't know if L'puke can win @ Marseille. I watched the Porto - OM match. Very, very entertaining. Good action on both sides of the ball. OM is starting to come together with Julien Rodriguez & Samir Nasri finding health. Now once the cohesion comes around, I believe OM will be very tuff indeed.
Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis
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Dr. Z
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Barcelona were easy winners over Rangers, and in fact let the Scottish team off easy by only winning 2-0. Rangers rarely looked like they wanted to attack even when down 1-0 and 2-0 in this game. Of course Rangers did the same in their home leg a few weeks ago and celebrated that 0-0 draw.

I also saw Lyon's 4-2 win over Stuttgart and it was a pretty good game. nice play from Lyon, whose defense looks a little shaky but offensively Lyon looked good and their young players, especially Ben Arfa and Benzema are very dangerous. So is their Swedish midfielder Kallstrom. Lyon are starting to play better and I think they have a good chance of beating Rangers who look like a very limited team to me.
Poniendo el pecho a las balas!
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valenciano
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Good preview Simon, thank you for providing that. Well Valencia have really shot themselves in the foot with these home and away losses to Rosenborg. Credit to the norwegian club but Valencia can't seem to put together two good games in a row. They looked pretty good at Mallorca over the weekend but against Rosenborg the team looked lost more. I do think the directness of Rosenborg troubled Valencia but there are plenty of players on the team who've faced such a style before and succeeded against it. I'm simply hoping the team can make the UEFA Cup and that Koeman can get this team united again and have them play up to their potential. Right now Valencia are without a doubt the biggest disappointment in this year's Champions League.
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Sergio
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I thought Lyon looked very good in beating Stuttgart. Now it is true that Gomez did well for the Germans but other than he, Stuttgart had few answers to Lyon's passing game and Hatem Ben Arfa had a tremendous match.

I agree that Barcelona were easy winners over Rangers. The Scottish team is tough at home but on the road they struggle and their main idea is just to put a lot of men behind the ball. But Barca have the players who can pick apart even a packed in defense. And slowly but surely Ronaldinho is recovering his form.
"You left as a champion, you will always be in our hearts. Rest in Peace Christian Benítez."
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kevin
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It is very difficult not to get excited if you're a Manchester United fan. I keep telling myself that it was only Dynamo Kiev, who are absolutely horrible, that the first goal should have been disallowed for, in my view, not one (Tevez, when the ball hit him and deflected to Pique) but two (Vidic, who was clearly offside when he was right in front of the GK and must have distracted him), and that there's a long way to go, with plenty of ups and downs.

But the fact is that this team has scored 22 goals in 6 games, the only time it hasn't hit 4 in that run was against the current league leaders on the road and that it looks like these guys finally know each other. It's just easy right now for the attackers.

It has been a very fun last few weeks.

Now that I've built United up, I must downplay Liverpool. Yes, they scored 8 goals and it might help their confidence, but what happens when they get stymied again in the league? They found themselves in stride on a great night when they were playing an opponent in complete disarray that essentially gave up. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Besiktas had a demoralizing loss to rivals Fener on the weekend and made significant changes in the side for this match. They were just waiting to be demolished.
'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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Hector
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I continue to be happy with how Manolo Jimenez is getting Sevilla back to the way the team were plaing last season. It helps in Europe that their group is relatively easy but it isn't just in this Champions League where the team is recuperating form.

Valencia have been probably the biggest disappointment in the group stages with Rosenborg and Fenerbahce the surprise teams.

Kevin, you should be optimistic as your Manchester United team are playing well and perhaps most important are looking good while doing so. Plus the team now has a core of very talented young players.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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Yogi
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I was getting excited when I saw CSKA Moscow were 2-0 up on Inter but Cambiasso and Ibrahimovic scored twice as Inter came from behind to win 4-2. Most of these groups are going to plan with as Hector wrote several exceptions notably Valencia, Fenerbahce and Rosenborg. How about Rosenborg? They all but eliminate Valencia and run Jose Mourinho out of Chelsea! Not a bad few months for them.

Kevin, I believe you are right Besiktas were coming off a tough loss to rivals Fenerbahce and Liverpool caught them at the right moment. Liverpool aren't that good nor is Besiktas that bad. Let's see what the enxt few weeks provide for both clubs.
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Martin
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Dr. Z,Nov 7 2007
10:33 PM
Barcelona were easy winners over Rangers, and in fact let the Scottish team off easy by only winning 2-0. Rangers rarely looked like they wanted to attack even when down 1-0 and 2-0 in this game. Of course Rangers did the same in their home leg a few weeks ago and celebrated that 0-0 draw.

I also saw Lyon's 4-2 win over Stuttgart and it was a pretty good game. nice play from Lyon, whose defense looks a little shaky but offensively Lyon looked good and their young players, especially Ben Arfa and Benzema are very dangerous. So is their Swedish midfielder Kallstrom. Lyon are starting to play better and I think they have a good chance of beating Rangers who look like a very limited team to me.

I 100% agree with Dr. Z's comments about both games. Barcelona were way too much team for Rangers and Ronadlinho does look like he's starting to get back in form. While Lyon looked quite good in defeating Stuttgart. As mentioned Ben Arfa, who looks like a double of Andres D'Alessandro, Benzema and Kallstrom were superb for Lyon who struggled at the beginning of the current season as they were restructuring their team. Now they look to be hitting on all cyliners both domestically and in Europe. But they dug a hole for themselves and likely will have to go to Rangers and win plus they'll have to avoid losing at home to Barcelona in order to have any hopes of advancing.

Sporting Lisbon by giving up that late deflected goal to Roma and tying 2-2 probably lost out on their best chance to gain ground on Roma for 2nd place behind Manchester United in that group. I agree with the other posters that Valencia have been the big disappointment after 4 of 6 group games so far with Rosenborg, Fenerbahce and I'd add Marseille being the pleasant surprises. remember Marseille are in the bottom half of the French league now but are in 2nd place in their Champions League group and are ahead of Liverpool.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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