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Champions League
Topic Started: Aug 13 2007, 02:00 PM (4,092 Views)
Pique
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I couldn't resist and wanted to include this link and headline,

Ferguson Predicts Bright Future For Pique

:D

Gerard Pique does have a good future and as the linked article says he improved a lot last year while out on loan at Zaragoza. Good to see him scoring his first Manchester United goal this week against Dynamo Kiev. He'll get a chance to spell Ferdinand and Vidic throughout the year. You have to admire the attacking qualities of Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tevez and as somebody brought up Nani and Anderson also are developing nicely now too.
Esas son las leyendas de futbol mexicano,
En todo Mexico hay un Chiva hermano!
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Simon
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Back to the Champions League for the penultimate round of group games.

Tuesday Fixtures:

Group E
Stuttgart v Rangers
Lyon v Barcelona

Rangers made a great start to the group but they must be looking over their shoulders now. This is a key game for them against a revitalised Stuttgart that have put together a run of wins and finally look to have recaptured the form that made them champions last season. A Rangers win would put them through if Barca beat Lyon. The Scots must hope that Barcelona win that one, although Lyon's insistence that they will go right on the attack tonight makes that game look very attractive. Rangers will feel quite good if it comes down to their last game at home to Lyon as they've already stuffed Lyon 3-0 in France.

Group F
Dynamo Kyiv v Roma
Man. United v Sporting Lisbon

United are already through and are expected to play some of the younger lads and reserves tonight, although Ferguson will try to achieve a balance as we still want to win the game and thus win the group. Roma are on a good recent run of form and will advance if they get a better result in Kiev than Sporting achieve at Old Trafford.

Group G
CSKA Moskow v PSV Eindhoven
Internazionale v Fenerbahce

Good game in prospect at San Siro, between the two leading sides in the group. Inter are looking for qualification but have already lost to Fener, who are looking to make the last 16 for the first time. I really thought SCKA would do better than they have, but they must fancy their chances of recording a first win at home to struggling PSV

Group H
Sevilla v Arsenal
Steaua Bucharest v Slavia Prague

Arsenal won quite easily at home to Sevilla, which is maybe what's prompted Manuel Jimenez to label them the best team in the world. Either way, it will be tougher for Arsenal in Seville although their record in Spain is good and they have yet to concede a goal in Group H. A Sevilla win would give them a chance to win the group and they will be encouraged that Arsenal have left some players at home for a rest, such as Gallas and Adebayor.

Wednesday Fixtures

Group A
Besiktas v Marseille
Liverpool v Porto

Liverpool's poor start left them with the task of 3 straight wins to qualify. Well, it's one down two to go after their record-breaking demolition of Besiktas. Whatever the friction off the pitch, Liverpool are still doing okay on it although they were hardly tested in their 3-0 weekend win at Newcastle. It's a tight group, Porto just a point clear of Marseille. However bad Besiktas were at Anfield, Marseille should be aware that they're a diffrent prospect at home in Istanbul.

Group B
Rosenborg v Chelsea
Valencia v Schalke

Avram Grant has done a good job with Chelsea since their previous game with Rosenborg marked the end of Mourinho's tenure. Since then, Rosenborg's surprising back to back wins over Valencia have put them within reach of qualification. Whoever wins this one will be through, while a draw will also be good enough for Chelsea if Schalke avoid defeat in Valencia.

Group C
Werder Bremen v Real Madrid
Lazio v Olympiacos

Real need only a draw in Germany to qualify, while Werder are two points adrift at the foot of the table and must win. Encouragingly for Werder, Real have won only one of their last 8 away CL games and have surprisingly only ever won once in Germany in 21 attempts, including 14 defeats. Lazio and Olympiakos are neck and neck behind Real and this is hardly a foregone conclusion. Lazio have struggled this season while the Greeks have put in a couple of good away performances including a very rare win in Bremen.

Group D
Benfica v AC Milan
Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk

We seem close to seeing the achetypal Celtic group stage performance - 3 home wins and 3 away defeats. They and Shakhtar are level on 6 points each and both will fancy their chances of qualifying. Should the Ukrainians win, they would advance to the last 16 but the Bhoys have just about the best home record in all of UEFA competition and would hope that that will see them through tonight. Watching Milan at times this season, it's been easy to forget that they are European champions. But a win in Lisbon will qualify them, as would a draw provided there's a winner at Parkhead.
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Manzanares
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Nice preview Simon. The Group E games today look quite good, Lyon, like Stuttgart, are a much better team now than when they started group play. Add in Barcelona's struggles away from the Nou Camp and a Lyon win tonight isn't out of the question. Mario Gomez might not be able to play for Stuttgart with a back injury and with them mathematically eliminated from the group the odds are he'll be rested to make sure he's OK for weekend league play. If that's true you can't blame Stuttgart. But no Gomez is a big advantage for Rangers. But are Rangers like their city rivals Celtic and awful away from home?

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kevin
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I've mentioned this in another place that shall remain nameless, but I'm hoping that Fergie will not completely rest the starters. With an eye toward upcoming games, a good effort tonight can play dividends with little effect on United's next match. That's because United have -- unusual for the club -- a Monday match against Fulham coming up. That's an extra day's rest and a relatively weaker opponent.

But if the match against Roma is still a decider between first and second (and there is a marked benefit to finishing first if you look at the currently likely matchups in the 2nd round), then it gets followed with a crucial league match vs. the Scousers 4 days afterward.

I think he's likely to sit Van Der Saar, which doesn't bother me and start O'Shea and Fletcher, which I can live with. But I still want to see at least Saha and/or Tevez out there (prefer the former to start, the latter to come on at 60 mins or so) and paired up with Anderson, Nani or Giggs. I do hear that Ronaldo, rested on Saturday, will play, so that will still provide some pep to the attack.

This is a very winnable game, so my view is, just win and then rest for the Roma game. Don't make things harder then and end up possibly facing Inter, AC, Barca or Real in the 2nd round when you could have had some middle of the road team like Lazio, Marseille or Rosenborg.
'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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Winslow
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Tuesday's scores...
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Group E: Lyon 2, Barcelona 2; Stuttgart 3, Rangers 2.
Group F: Dynamo Kyiv 1, Roma 4; Man United 2, Sporting Lisbon 1.
Group G: CSKA Moscow 0, PSV Eindhoven 1; Inter Milan 3, Fenerbahce 0.
Group H: Sevilla 3, Arsenal 1; Steaua Bucharest 1, Slavia Prague 1.

Barca, Roma, Inter, and Sevilla are all good for the next round after their results. Man U is still perfect thanks to a C. Ronaldo winner in injury time; Sporting was very lucky to hold on as long as it did, after giving up an early lead. PSV got the win it needed to make a run on the final day, but Fenerbahce is still in second and can clinch with a home win over CSKA.

Stuttgart finally got off the pot as Magnin scored with five minutes to go to beat Rangers; Pavel Pardo also scored for the Germans. Lyon's point at home doesn't make much of a difference; Rangers is still second on goal difference and just needs a draw at home to advance. But for me, the most interesting result is Arsenal's first loss in 29 matches; it puts Sevilla in the driver's seat to win the group, and that makes the second-round draw more perilous for the Gunners.
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Hector
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Winslow,Nov 27 2007
02:33 PM
But for me, the most interesting result is Arsenal's first loss in 29 matches; it puts Sevilla in the driver's seat to win the group, and that makes the second-round draw more perilous for the Gunners.

A good win for Sevilla too. The defense, as has been happening recently, fell asleep and allowed Eduardo to bring a cross down and flick the ball past Palop but after that Sevilla came into the game, Keita scored a nice long range goal, Luis Fabiano headed in a Dani Alves cross with a powerful header and late in the game Kanoute converted a penalty when he was fouled in the area. It puts Sevilla in a comfortable position and with Slavia Prague already qualifed for the UEFA Cup Sevilla's last game at Slavia may just be a formality. Still Sevilla must win in order to assure first place in the group. The ability to avoid teams like Manchester United, Inter, Milan and Chelsea in the octave finals is a goal worth achieving so Sevilla should be motivated to go for the win in two weeks in Prague.

Nice goal from Cristiano Ronaldo to win the game for Manchester United as they remain unbeaten in group play. Barcelona were pretty good against Lyon on the road and could have won the game in France but without Henry and Ronaldinho, the offense was not at full strength. But Lyon's draw gives them a do or die game at Rangers in the final set of matches. That will be one of the last day's best matchups. With Lyon's recent improvement and the skill in their team they'll give Rangers a good game.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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Simon
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Some good games today. Probably only about 3 or 4 of Arsenal's regular starters were on duty tonight, which as has been said is pretty short-sighted of Wenger in what would have been a tough away fixture even with his strongest XI. Okay, they're already through, but tonight's defeat has almost certainly landed them with a far tougher task in the second round. The way Arsenal are playing right now they shouldn't have to fear anyone, but will they still be playing as well in February? I see Wenger took defeat as graciously as ever, ranting at the 4th official so much he was eventually sent to the stands.

United were sleepwalking in the first half at Old Trafford, and trailed to a bizarre goal smashed inside the near post intentionally or otherwise by Abel. Fortunately United took Kevin's advice and went for the win on the night. Giggs and Tevez came on as subs and both greatly improved United's attacking verve on a night when I felt Nani and Saha disappointed. Carrick and Anderson were superb though, as was Evra, and even though Ronaldo's excellent winner came late, it was merited IMO. I'm very pleased to have maintained the CL's only 100% record and won the group, it allows us to play the reserves in Rome and rest the first team ahead of the massive match with Liverpool.

Entertaining game in Germany too, Rangers seemed slightly unfortunate to lose as they had other chances they nearly scored with, but Stuttgart do seem to be belatedly back to where they were last season. On the face of it Rangers should be able to get the point they need to advance, but Lyon can beat anyone on their day. Another excellent goal for Ibrahimovic for Inter, underlining how good he is and how ridiculous it was for him not to be on the FIFA Player of the Year shortlist. To my mind, Inter, like their Swedish striker, still are not getting the credit they deserve. I for one am very pleased that United will not have to run into them for another round yet! Conversely, PSV don't look much to me at all. They were embarrassed by Liverpool last season and if they were to sneak through I think they'd be one of the weakest sides in the last 16.
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Merengue
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Simon,Nov 27 2007
04:44 PM
Some good games today. Probably only about 3 or 4 of Arsenal's regular starters were on duty tonight, which as has been said is pretty short-sighted of Wenger in what would have been a tough away fixture even with his strongest XI. Okay, they're already through, but tonight's defeat has almost certainly landed them with a far tougher task in the second round. The way Arsenal are playing right now they shouldn't have to fear anyone, but will they still be playing as well in February? I see Wenger took defeat as graciously as ever, ranting at the 4th official so much he was eventually sent to the stands.


Arsene Wenger complaining about officiating??? Well he's not also called Arsene Whinger for nothing! There must have been something in the air in Europe as even Frank Rijkaard got sent off for arguing in Barcelona's 2-2 tie with Lyon. Bizarrely what set him off seemed to me like a harmless foul in a cleanly played match. Rijkaard is usually a calm sort of guy, unless Rudi Voller is nearby, but he got sent off in this game.

I'm with Simon and the others that Arsenal may live to regret fielding a lot of reserves today, that is usually something reserved for the final match day when you've already assured not only your classification to the next round but your group placement (first, second, etc.). If so then Wenger's arrogance could come back to haunt him. Sevilla needed that win today to help themselves after their recent league struggles in Spain. Luis Fabiano is in as good a form as any forward in Europe right now.

Barcelona had the ball a lot against Lyon but they marked Messi pretty well (double teamed him often) and the rest of Barcelona's attackers had trouble breaking through Lyon's solid defense. Ronaldinho came on as a sub but had little impact. Lyon missed Benzema as he was injured but if he's back as expected for the Rangers game in 2 weeks then they'll have the offense to trouble Rangers even in Glasgow. That should be an exciting game to watch. Fred by the way played today in Benzema's absence and looked what he is, a guy out of match practice.

Simon, I think a lot of teams are going to be hoping to avoid Inter this year. After many years of European failure this should be their best hope ever to challenge seriously for the title. There doesn't look to be many weaknesses on their team.
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enganche
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Ronaldo's game winner for Manchester United was a great free kick. I didn't know he was that good on free kicks but that shot was perfectly placed. Sporting's goal was a blistering rocket which broke away from the goalie and I do think it was an attempted hard, low cross but it ended up being a hell of a goal. I was a neutral but I'm with Simon, Manchester United were the better team and deserved the win.

Inter played at half speed and still won against a decent Fenerbahce club. This is an Inter team with so many varieties in attack and their depth is impressive. Ibrahimovic is certainly one of the 10 best players in the world now. How he didn't make the FIFA Player of the year list makes that award seem like a sham. Ibra made Roberto Carlos stop in his tracks in scoring his goal as the defender had no idea what Ibrahimovic would do. For a tall man he has such quick feet.
Prefiero morir de pie que vivir arrodillado
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Sergio
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A strange game between Barcelona and Lyon, I thought Barca controlled the game but only occasionally dangered Lyon's goal. The French club had a couple of decent chances other than their two goals (one via a PK) but they too didn't trouble Valdes much in Barcelona's goal. Overall it was a pretty good game even if it missed a cutting edge to it and Barca were able to rest Henry and only used Ronaldinho as a late sub.

Sevilla have sewn up first place in their group yet. Remember they'll still have to go to Prague and must win, assuming Arsenal take care of Steaua in the other group game. But Sevilla are where a team wants to be, classified and with it's own position still controlled by themselves. I agree with the praise for Luis Fabiano, he and Kanoute are forming a dangerous attacking duo and Sevilla should do their best to hold on to them both.
"You left as a champion, you will always be in our hearts. Rest in Peace Christian Benítez."
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valenciano
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That definitely was what Sevilla needed last night even if it was against an Arsenal team filled with reserves. It still was Arsenal's first loss since April! Daniel Alves was ever dangerous on the attack and he and Navas helped control their side of the field but as shown on Arsenal's goal, Alves leaves a lot to be desired defensively. He just left Eduardo all alone on that play. So Sevilla and Barcelona assured classification yesterday, Real Madrid can do the same today at Werder Bremen (although Madrid has a poor record in Germany), only Valencia of the Spanish clubs is in a compromised situation. Valencia will need to win today at home versus Schalke to move into the 3rd spot and it's correpsonding UEFA Cup slot. A win and Valencia still may have an outside chance at finishing 2nd in the group but that is a slim chance. Right now I'd settle for the UEFA Cup. Good news is Vicente is finally looking healthy although I don't want to jinx the skilled winger with the glass ankles.

Cristiano Ronaldo's goal yesterday was top class. I too didn't know he was a good free kick taker but it is just one more weapon added to his arsenal, excuse the pun! I'm with enganche, Sporting's goal was a rocket but looked more like a cross that went in. Well the same could be said for Lyon's first goal against Barcelona too. Hit the ball near goal and good things can happen!
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Dr. Z
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Rijkaard's expulsion was out of the ordinary for him, I believe that was the first time he's been sent off as Barcelona's coach but I believe he was trying to light a fire under his team in the hope they'd assure classification in that game and that is what they did. Although Lyon drew the game, it was a pretty good result for Barcelona away from home and they were still able to rest Henry and for most of the game Ronaldinho to get them ready for this Saturday's league game against Espanyol. I'm not certain when Deco is supposed to return but he's msised several weeks now with an injury too.

Some good games in store today too Liverpool-Porto; Rosenborg-Chelsea; Lazio-Olimpiacos and Celtic-Shakhtar as the teams look to solidify their classification in these groups. There is a lot to play for today and hopefully that will lead to some entertaining games.
Poniendo el pecho a las balas!
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Winslow
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And Wednesday's scores...
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Group A: Besiktas 2, Marseille 1; Liverpool 4, Porto 1.
Group B: Rosenborg 0, Chelsea 4; Valencia 0, Schalke 0.
Group C: Werder Bremen 3, Real Madrid 2; Lazio 1, Olympiakos 2.
Group D: Benfica 1, AC Milan 1; Celtic 2, Shakhtar Donetsk 1.

A good night for EPL fans; the Blues do the Trondheim Hammer Dance to book their second-round spot, while the Reds set up a grandstand group finish (with help from Besiktas, who could jump from last to first in two weeks).

Unlike the other half of the draw, there's a lot to play for in the final matches. Milan is the only other team sure to go through, after taking a point in Lisbon. Celtic got a late winner over the Ukrainians (after both teams scored thanks to comical defending), but Donetsk can still advance with a win and a Celtic loss.

Can you really call Lazio's home loss an upset? I mean, wouldn't we expect Olympiakos to do well at Stadio Olimpico? At any rate, the Greeks will advance if they don't lose at home to Bremen, who forced Real to get a point out of its final game with Lazio.

And now Rosenborg needs a point at Schalke to advance, but they've been much better on the road so far. The Gelsenkircheners will make the second round if they win.
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rosarino
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There definitely be some good matchups in the final day of today's groups. Chelsea just hammered Rosenborg with an inspired Drogba. But I liked how quickly Chelsea played the ball and how they looked to take the game to Rosenborg from the opening whistle. It is the type of aggressiveness you like to see from a visiting team and their strategy paid off. Liverpool secured their win late as porto held on to 1-1 for a long time but besiktas' win in that group really shows how evenly matched thsoe 4 teams are despite Liverpool's previous big win over the Turks.

Real Madrid paid how much for Pepe? The centerback not the poster here! It was money not well spent. He's a waste and without Cannavaro (injured), Madrid's defense was vulnerable against Bremen's quick attackers. Plus the usually reliable Van Nistelrooy missed an easy one, he later scored a much more difficult goal but that miss proved costly. Still you have to think Madrid will still qualify, they now just have to pay more attention on the final day at home vs Lazio.
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gaviota
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Bremen-Madrid actually was a pretty good game, plenty of action from both teams and some good looking goals, especially Robinho's and van Nistelrooy's for Madrid and Sanogo's for Bremen. I think rosarino is right though to point out Madrid's defensive deficiencies in this game. They just gave too much room to Bremen who won even though they missed Diego, Almeida and Frings. Madrid are still in good shape to advance and win the group with a home victory against a slipping Lazio on the last match day but that's two less than great games from Madrid since the players came back from the international break. Olimpiacos took a giant step to advancing to the octave finals with their road win in Rome against Lazio. Kovacevic with the game winner. He made a good move getting out of San Sebastian and the resulting mess that now is Real Sociedad.

Valencia meekly went out of the competition with a 0-0 home draw with Schalke, who remain alive. Fernando Torres was a big reason Liverpool were able to put Porto away at the end of the game. But with Besiktas' win, that group has been turned upside down and trying to predict what will occur there on the final day won't be easy. Should be some intriguing games ahead. But I'd favor Porto to beat Besiktas while Liverpool at Marseille is a toss up where home advantage could come into play.
CHAMP13NS
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