Real Madrid secured a swashbuckling 5-2 away win against FC Zurich in their last Champions League game, with world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two trademark freekicks. But their defensive frailties were again evident, despite coach Manuel Pellegrini playing them down. Can this hastily assembled team of superstars actually win the thing?
Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa
Group B: MANCHESTER UNITED, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich
Group D: CHELSEA, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL
Group E: LIVERPOOL, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen
Group F: FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dinamo Kiev, FC Rubin Kazan
Group G: Sevilla, RANGERS, Stuttgart, Unirea
Group H: ARSENAL, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard
Where next for United? After their defeat to Barcelona, there is a definite feeling that they have been revealed as flat track bullies who fell short against the very best. What does Alex Ferguson need to do to elevate them above Barcelona’s ethereal level?
All four of the English sides have progressed to the Champions League quarter finals; Liverpool serenely, Man Utd and Chelsea edgily, and Arsenal by the skin of their teeth. They are joined by Bayern Munich, Porto, Villarreal and Barcelona.
Barcelona are the team everyone will want to avoid – with Villarreal or Porto the preferred draw for the Premiership sides. Despite the Last 16 second legs taking place on the 10th/11th of March, the draw itself isn’t until Friday March 20th.
Chelsea in the end went through comfortably as Bordeaux lost to Roma, and Liverpool’s impressive 3-1 win in Holland cemented top spot in the group.
The BBC have a lovely little round up of last nights action, with all the results and scorers and who finished where in Groups A – D.
You can watch all the [...]
Dull games all round last night. Here is the BBC’s round up of all the action:
Wednesday’s Champions League review
GROUP A
Chelsea drew in Bordeaux and know that a win over lowly Cluj at Stamford Bridge in the final round of games will secure qualification.
However, a draw will be enough for the Blues unless Bordeaux win at [...]
Man Utd huffed and puffed to a stalemate with Villareal at the Madrigal – the fourth consecutive Champions League 0-0 between the two clubs. With both sides needing just a draw – bar freak results – to qualify, this was never going to be one for the purists.
Utd had the best of it, with Diego [...]
Chelsea 1-0 Roma
Roma were desperately disappointing – coach Loopyold Spaghetti adopted tremendously negative tactics, often with 10 men behind the ball – Roma didn’t have a single shot on target in the entire 90 minutes.
I just don’t know what he was hoping to achieve. Yes, they were disciplined, and only lost because of a superb [...]
Manchester Utd 3-0 Celtic – Men against Bhoys
Wee Gordon Strachan said after this game that Utd were the best team he had ever played as a manager – the best of a group including Inter, Juve, and Barcelona. They were dominant throughout against Celtic, who had little or nothing to offer. Admittedly, Berbatov’s two goals [...]
Last night saw wins for Man Utd – 3-0 away to Aalborg, and Arsenal – 4-0 at home to Porto, and a brave defeat for Celtic, going down to a Marcos Senna inspired Villareal 1-0 in Spain.
Utd and Arsenal both missed a hatful of chances – for Utd, Berbatov got two but should have had [...]
