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Archive for the ‘Champions League’ Category

Arsenal will not meet Barcelona in the Champions League for another two months but minutes after Friday’s draw there were exchanges of a rather less physical nature between the two teams.

The Catalans appear to be as keen on Twitter as their contemporaries in the Barclays Premier League because Carles Puyol responded to the news by immediately firing a message to Cesc Fabregas. ‘Arsenal oooooooohhhh!’ he tweeted to Arsenal’s captain.

Fabregas did respond in Catalan and appeared to mention something about mucus, and it would be wrong to suggest Puyol was celebrating the fact that his side would be meeting
a team they beat 6-3 on aggregate in last season’s quarter-finals.

But Puyol’s message served as an eerie reminder of last season’s tie. Those words that appeared on the giant screens at the Nou Camp after 20, 37 and 41 minutes and one more time after the interval. Read the rest of this entry »

by.Auls

Manchester United

Manchester United have not played a game for 7 days, with some of the senior players not playing for 10 days, thanks to the weather this weekend but they come into this game with a chance to wrap up the top of their Champions League Group and avoid the likelihood of playing Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next stage.

United need just a point from this game to top the group after securing 13 points from their opening 5 games. This game also represents a chance for a bit of history for the Red Devils as the first side to keep 6 clean sheets in the group stage of the competition. United beat Bursaspor twice, Rangers in Glasgow and have also won at Valencia.

This game also represents a chance for the side to get back to winning ways as the fringe players lost last time out at West Ham United in the Carling Cup. That is the only defeat United have suffered this season in all competitions and the first since a home loss to Chelsea back in April. The side have won 6 consecutive games at Old Trafford. Read the rest of this entry »

On the same site that Real Madrid lifted their seventh European Cup, the Whites clinched the top seed in Group G on Tuesday with an impressive 0-4 victory against Ajax. Benzema and Arbeloa scored the first two, while Cristiano Ronaldo rounded out the night with a brace for his 50th and 51st in 54 matches played for Real Madrid.

With Carvalho, Khedira and Higuain out due to injury and Pepe and Di Maria on the bench for the start, Real Madrid presented itself with several different faces in its starting eleven. Albiol and Arbeloa stepped in on defense, Lass and Pedro Leon took position in the midfield and Benzema got the nod in attack.  With everything on the line for Ajax, Martin Jol included three forwards in his lineup. The move back-fired as the Dutch lost the battle in the midfield, where Xabi Alonso, Lass and Pedro Leon quickly gained the upper hand.

Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema had little trouble at the onset and with only 25 minutes off the clock Real Madrid had already accumulated six shots on goal and penalty that went unrewarded. It was of little consequence, however, and the Whites soon jumped into the lead. Xabi Alonso curled in a cross on 36’, Ozil back-healed a brilliant ball to Benzema, who fired into the left corner of Stekelenburg’s net. Read the rest of this entry »

MILAN – Below is what coach Allegri and the Rossoneri players had to say following the match against Real Madrid:

GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA: “We’re sorry for the result. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time that we concede a goal in injury time. At a certain level these things are unacceptable. We need to be more careful, nevertheless, despite the result we shouldn’t have regrets, seeing that we did a lot in order to win. We wanted to make up for the loss against Juventus, it’s a shame we conceded that goal at the end.
Sometimes you have to pay fatigue, this is what happened to us in the 94 minute. These are mistakes to avoid, but people shouldn’t forget that we played against a great team.
Inzaghi? He’s very dangerous in the Champions League, he deserves compliments.” Read the rest of this entry »

CHELSEA

Chelsea lead their group with 3 wins from 3, comfortably beating todays opponents Moscow 2-0 in Russia 2 weeks ago. I expect this one to be even easier, seeing as how Moscow are likely to hand this game to Chelsea on a platter.

Chelsea are rock solid at Stamford Bridge, so home advantage is a huge deal here. Plus, Chelsea have had some tough matches recently, some they really could have lost, but they’ve plugged away and won ugly, despite what happens.

What Chelsea have now is a team that will not be happy to come and park the team bus and hope for an opportunity, like many domestic teams tend to do. Moscow will come here to try and get a result due to their own position and so Chelsea will be given a chance to unleash that devastating counter attack that has seen them mount teams in unforgiving fashion.

Chelsea have a game against Liverpool coming up this weekend, but I can’t see the Blues taking it easy. Away, perhaps. But not at Stamford Bridge. Malouda is reportedly out for this match, but Drogba is available for selection again. Ancelotti also has the likes of Anelka to rely on for goals. The Frenchman got on the scoresheet this past weekend, when finishing off the teams comeback against Blackburn by scoring the winner in that 2-1 win. Read the rest of this entry »

AC Milan

AC Milan have a rich history in this competition, but suffice to say this side is not one of their best that they have had. The team was allowed to age during their recent period of success and the lack of funds in Italy has made it harder to attract the best players and suitable replacements. Milan have a tough task ahead of them to get out of this tough group and sit on the same number of points as Ajax, both teams 5 adrift of Real. The Rossoneri beat Auxerre 2-0 here and then draw with Ajax 1-1 in Amsterdam before losing to Real 2-0 last time out.

They have kept tabs on the top sides in Serie A too as they look to get back to the top of a mountain they have not seen since the early part of this decade. Milan are 3rd in the table, 5 points behind Lazio and only 1 point back from local rivals Inter Milan. They have a 3-1-1 record at the San Siro where they have scored 10 goals and conceded 4. Read the rest of this entry »

Bursaspor

Bursaspor were the surprise Turkish Champions last season, breaking the traditional stronghold of Istanbul, but they have had a harsh reality check in their first season in the Champions League. They have now suffered 3 consecutive defeats to leave them with a tough task to gain access to the Europa League let alone the next stage of this competition. Bursaspor have failed to score a goal in their 3 games, losing their only game at home 0-4 to Valencia.

Regardless of their struggles in Europe, Bursaspor are making a strong effort to retain their title in Turkey. The team is topping the table once more, compiling a 7-3-0 record, and holding a 1 point lead. Bursaspor are 3-2-0 at home, scoring 7 goals and conceding 4 in the Turkish Super Lig.

The Green Crocodiles have picked up 4 points in their last 2 games since losing at Old Trafford on Match Day 3. They have failed to win their last 2 home games, drawing on Friday night against Fenerbache here. Read the rest of this entry »

TOTTENHAM

Tottenham come into this Champions League fixture against the defending champions on a low, thanks to Nani, whose goal for Manchester United this weekend was not without controversy. Having watched Nani handle the ball, the Spurs keeper rolled it out for a kick, only to have Nani score into an open net because the ball was still in play. Anyway, 2-0 the final result and the last time Spurs actually won at Old Trafford was before Gareth Bale was born!

It didn’t go so well for Tottenham in the last Champions League game either, in Milan against these very opponents. Finding themselves 4-0 down early, Spurs fought back, but you don’t get extra points for a 4-3 loss. Still, the tournaments newest competitors from London are in 2nd place in this group, and with a win here can make their chances of getting to the next round a whole lot better. Read the rest of this entry »

Eduardo can be forgiven his mixed feelings in returning to Arsenal, the club where he endured a horrific injury, as his new club Shakhtar Donetsk arrive on Champions League business tonight.

The 27-year-old Brazilian-born Croatian striker spent three years as a Gunner from 2007. Broadly speaking, the first was spent establishing himself, the second in recovery from the double leg break sustained against Birmingham in February 2008, and the third trying to re-establish himself. Then he was shipped out for a fee of around £6m to Shakhtar to make way in the summer for Marouane Chamakh.

“It was the hardest decision of my career to leave,” he said last night. “When you spend three years at a club you have great moments but some problems, [like for me] when I was injured. But I’m nearly 28 and I think I made a good decision to play for Shakhtar.” Read the rest of this entry »