Champions League Thread 09-10

[mg91]

Okay, so Matchday 2 kicks off in like 6 hours.

Here's Sky's preview!

Liverpool travel to Italy, while Arsenal and Rangers have the benefit of home comforts on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League.

Click here to check out the various ways you can watch the best of the Champions League on Sky Sports this season. Remember you can watch games on your PC.

After making heavy weather of Debrecen in their opening fixture at Anfield, Liverpool travel to Florence to face Fiorentina, with the Serie A side in fine form on home turf domestically.

Cesare Prandelli, who oversaw a club record 100th victory in all competitions at the weekend, has seen his side win all three of their Artemio Franchi outings without conceding a single goal.

But the Reds are currently on a 21-game Champions League scoring run, and will equal Bayern Munich's record set between September 1998 and March 2000 if they find the net on Tuesday night.

Group E's other fixture sees Lyon, who overcame Fiorentina 1-0 in France in their first match, travelling to Debrecen's adopted home of the Ferenc Puskas Stadium to take on the Hungarian outfit.
Impressive

Arsenal fans heading to Emirates Stadium for their Group H encounter with Olympiakos would be advised to arrive on time following the breathtaking start to the Gunners' campaign against Standard Liege.

Arsene Wenger, who will celebrate 13 years at the helm of the North London outfit on Thursday, saw his side 2-0 down in the opening five minutes before mounting an impressive fightback to eventually prevail 3-2.

The Greek visitors will be under the guidance of Zico for the first time in Europe, with the Brazilian legend taking charge following Temuri Ketsbaia's departure.

Standard Liege must pick themselves up from their opening round disappointment when they travel to Holland to face AZ Alkmaar, who are also searching for their first point after going down 1-0 to Olympiakos last time out.

Rangers are well aware that their home form will be crucial to their hopes of progressing from Group G, with Walter Smith's men facing a thorough examination of their European credentials when Sevilla travel to Ibrox.

Gers claimed an impressive point from their opening weekend trip to Stuttgart, while the Spanish side saw off Unirea Urziceni at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in Spain.

Smith's men have stuttered somewhat of late, with their only victory since August coming in the Scottish League Cup against Queen of the South, and they meet a Sevilla side who trounced Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in their last domestic outing.

Holders

The excitement is building in Romania ahead of Unirea Urziceni's home bow in the competition at the Steaua Stadium, with former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu going head-to-head with ex-Liverpool man Markus Babbel, who is now at the helm of Stuttgart.

Holders Barcelona welcome Dynamo Kiev to Camp Nou with Pep Guardiola's side strong favourites to get their first win in Group F having been held to a 0-0 draw by Inter Milan on Matchday 1.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made a blistering start to life with Barca, scoring in each of their opening five league matches to set a new club record, although he was unable to find the net against his former club in the San Siro.

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan, who have not won any of their last six UEFA Champions League outings, take a trip into the unknown as they head to Russia to tackle Rubin Kazan, who went down 3-1 to Dynamo in their group stage debut.

Source

So the games tomorrow/tonight are:

Group E

Debrecen v Lyon
Fiorentina v Liverpool

Group F

Rubin Kazan v Inter Milan
Barcelona v Dynamo Kiev

Group G

Rangers v Sevilla
Unirea Urziceni v Stuttgart

Group H

AZ Alkmaar v Standard Liege
Arsenal v Olympiakos

 

[The Guid]

Inter drew with Rubin Kazan <_<

but Fiorentina (sans Gilardino) beat Liverpool 2-0 <3

 

[mg91]

Silly scousers got done

This Jovetic kid looks promising. He was good against Lisbon earlier in the tournament.

I'd love him at United, but I'm not sure we can fit him in...

 

[The Guid]

if Fiorentina is smart they'd hold on to Stevan..for a long time lol

He can play either as a winger to Gila and Mutu or even as a striker while Mutu can play back in more of an attacking midfielder's role (pretty sure he's not a natural trequarista). Either way, Prandelli needs to get all three into the attack because they can cause some problems up front.

Also, bthew, he sports a pretty rockin' Brian May-type curly mop on his head haha

 

[mg91]

I haven't watched much Serie A at all this season, but I might just give Fiorentina a bit of a look.

Those three players could certainly do some damage up front.

What nationality is Jovetic btw?

 

[mg91]

Here's the round up:

Champions League round-up

Liverpool lost to Fiorentina and Rangers were thumped by Sevilla, but Arsenal overcame Olympiakos on a dramatic night in the UEFA Champions League.

Elsewhere there were wins for Barcelona, Lyon, while Inter Milan, Stuttgart and AZ Alkmaar were held to draws.

Liverpool were in irresistible form against Hull City in the Premier League at the weekend but their defensive shortcomings were exposed in a 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina at Artemio Franchi.

Stevan Jovetic latched onto a fine pass from Cristiano Zanetti to slot home Viola's opener after 28 minutes and the Montenegro international grabbed his second of the evening with a clever flick nine minutes later.

The Reds improved after the break but Fiorentina withstood long periods of pressure to join them on three points in Group E, three points behind leaders Lyon.

Hungarian champions Debrecen showed they were capable of competing with Europe's elite when they narrowly lost to Liverpool at Anfield but they were crushed 4-0 by Lyon in their opening home game.

Kim Kallstrom fired the French giants ahead after just three minutes and Miralem Pjanic doubled their advantage with an exquisite free-kick 10 minutes later.

Sidney Govou's header deflected off Peter Czvitkovics to make it 3-0 and Bafetimbi Gomis added a fourth early in the second half to seal a convincing win.

Arsenal's progression to the last 16 was expected to be straightforward after the draw for the group phase was made but, having been given a major scare by Standard Liege in their opening game, Olympiakos provided equally stiff resistance at Emirates Stadium before eventually going down 2-0.

The Gunners put together a number of typically slick, eye-catching moves in the first half but they could not find the finishing touch as Olympiakos, who had lost on their previous eight visits to England, somehow managed to stay level.

The second half followed a similar pattern as Greek goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis pulled off several stunning saves before Robin van Persie finally tapped home following good work by Eduardo in the 78th minute.

Andrey Arshavin's cheeky backheel from Cesc Fabregas' cross in the 86th minute made the result safe and took Arsenal three points clear at the top of Group H.

Arsenal's position was strengthened when Moussa Traore salvaged a 1-1 draw for Standard Liege against AZ Alkmaar with a goal in the 90th minute.

Mounir El Hamdaoui's clever finish on 48 minutes had given the Dutch side an advantage and it looked like proving decisive until the last-gasp leveller.
Capitulation

Rangers slipped to a 4-1 defeat against Sevilla after a second-half capitulation at Ibrox.

Walter Smith's men were denied a penalty towards the end of the first half when Steven Naismith appeared to be brought down by Abdoulay Konko, but the referee waved play on.

Sevilla were ruthless in making the most of their reprieve and in a cruel twist of fate it was Konko who put them ahead with a header from Jesus Navas' cross on 50 minutes.

Adriano slotted home a second for the Spanish side 14 minutes later and Luis Fabiano and Fredi Kanoute inflicted further damage with two goals in the space of three minutes (72 and 74).

Nacho Novo netted a consolation goal for Gers with two minutes remaining, but the heavy loss leaves them with a lot of work to do in their remaining four games.

Romanian minnows Unirea Urcizeni battled back to hold Stuttgart to a 1-1 draw in the other game in Group G.

Serdar Tasci opened the scoring for Stuttgart with a close-range finish after just five minutes, but Dacian Varga drew Unirea level three minutes after the interval.

Barcelona took control of Group F with a 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi broke the deadlock on 26 minutes with a trademark run and shot from the left and Pedro doubled their advantage with a fine strike 14 minutes from time.

Inter Milan's winless sequence of results in the competition continued with a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan in the day's early kick-off, although Jose Mourinho's side will have been pleased to claim a point from a difficult trip to Russia.

The hosts took the lead courtesy of an excellent goal from Alejandro Dominguez after 11 minutes, but Inter equalised through Dejan Stankovic's header and held on after Mario Balotelli had been sent off for a second bookable offence early in the second half.

Source

SCORES:

Group E

Debrecen 0 Lyon 4
Fiorentina 2 Liverpool 0

Group F

Rubin Kazan 1 Inter Milan 1
Barcelona 2 Dynamo Kiev 0

Group G

Rangers 1 Sevilla 4
Unirea Urziceni 1 Stuttgart 1

Group H

AZ Alkmaar 1 Standard Liege 1
Arsenal 2 Olympiakos 0

 

[The Guid]

I haven't watched much Serie A at all this season, but I might just give Fiorentina a bit of a look.

Those three players could certainly do some damage up front.

What nationality is Jovetic btw?

Montenegrin

also, if you check out Serie A, take a look at Sampdoria. Currently on top of the table with Juventus and Inter trailing by a point and two points, respectively. Cassano and Pazzini are quite the attacking duo as well.

 

[cruzg24]

I like Inter Milan as well cuz they have Ivan Ramiro Cordoba and he's colombian, lol.

 

[mg91]

2-1 to United this morning, but not a great performance.

The only player to truly inspire was Berbatov for me. First half he was brilliant, faded for 15-20 minutes in the second but other than that he was brilliant. Giggs too had a good game, although he had a poor first half I felt, he made up for it with another goal and an assist. Outside of those two players, I dunno, no one really impressed me. Maybe Anderson could be included...

PIG (when will I learn to spell his god damn name without having to look it up!???) had a solid performance. Did everything right and won't do himself any harm when it comes to selection for Sunderland.

Rio and Vida were shakey, O'Shea had nothing to do, Evra was solid again but didn't give us much up front, and Valencia had a decent game. Nothing special though.

Anyway, big result for another 3 points. They will go a long way to securing us progression.

Haven't seen much from the other games, but lol at AC Milan. How far they have fallen...

Champions League round-up
Man Utd and Chelsea made to scrap for wins

Manchester United came from behind to beat Wolfsburg as Chelsea claimed a narrow win in Cyprus.

FC Zurich caused a major upset by beating AC Milan, while Real Madrid maintained their excellent form and Bayern Munich drew with Juventus.

Manchester United moved three points clear at the top of Group B with a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg at Old Trafford.

Both sides had won their opening matches and Wolfsburg demonstrated why they are the reigning Bundesliga champions in an intriguing but goalless first half, while United also looked threatening despite losing Michael Owen to injury early on.

Wolfsburg broke the deadlock in the 56th minute when Edin Dzeko directed a powerful header past Tomasz Kuszczak from Zvjezdan Misimovic's cross, but United responded just three minutes later as a Ryan Giggs free-kick took a wicked deflection off the defensive wall.

Michael Carrick then provided the finishing touch to an excellent move when he curled home a winner with just 12 minutes remaining.

CSKA Moscow showed they could also be a force to be reckoned with in Group B, especially on the artificial surface at the Luzhniki Stadium, with a 2-1 victory at home to Besiktas.

Alan Dzagoev opened the scoring with a spectacular early strike and Milos Krasic made it 2-0 before Ekrem Dag grabbed a late consolation for the Turkish outfit, who remain without a point.

Chelsea bounced back from their shock defeat to Wigan in the Premier League with a 1-0 success at Apoel Nicosia.

Nicolas Anelka netted the winner against Porto in the absence of the suspended Didier Drogba and he took up the goalscoring mantle again in Cyprus with a superb finish from Juliano Belletti's cut-back on 18 minutes.

The Blues withstood an intense period of pressure in the second half and clung on until the final whistle to tighten their grip on top spot in Group D.

Porto are three points further back in second after prevailing 2-0 in a hard-fought contest against Atletico Madrid in Portugal.

There was nothing to separate the sides until Falcao's clever backheel on 75 minutes and Rolando then made it 2-0 seven minutes later.

AC Milan have endured a miserable start to the Italian domestic season and their poor form continued with a 1-0 loss at home to FC Zurich.

Hannu Tihinen's audacious pirouette put Zurich ahead after 10 minutes and Milan created few chances to equalise as the Swiss side held on for a famous, and deserved, win.

A three-goal blitz midway through the second half extended Real Madrid's winning run in all competitions as Marseille were swept aside at the Santiago Bernabeu in the other game in Group C.

Real were not able to break down a spirited Marseille backline until Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home from Pepe's pass on 58 minutes.

But Kaka then scored from the penalty spot after Souleymane Diawara had been harshly sent off for a foul on Ronaldo, before the Portuguese forward added a third.

The big game in Group A saw Bayern Munich do battle with Juventus but the two European heavyweights could only play out a goalless draw.

Franck Ribery produced a few moments of sumptuous skill in the first half but the second period was less inspiring as the match ended in stalemate.

Bordeaux drew level on four points with Bayern at the top of the group following a 1-0 triumph at home to Maccabi Haifa.

Michael Ciani proved to be the match-winner for Bordeaux with a header seven minutes from time, while Baram Kayal was dismissed for the Israeli side in the closing stages.

Source

 

[mg91]

Huge week in the CL coming up!

Lots of big teams with a lot of injury troubles at a time where they are trying to survive through the group stages, or book their flights for the next round.

United have a mountain of injuries to contend with and surely won't be risking anyone with a trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday...

Absentees mount up for United

Manchester United look set to be without a host of first-team stars, including Wayne Rooney, for the UEFA Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow.

The England international missed training on Monday ahead of the match at Old Trafford as speculation mounted that his wife Coleen was about to give birth to their first child.

The 24-year-old only returned from a calf injury against Liverpool last week but the striker's absence is thought to be due to the imminent birth of his first child with the baby already nine days overdue.

Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs were also missing from training after all three missed the 2-0 win over Blackburn at the weekend.

Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Vidic (calf) can recover in time for the top-of-the-table match with Chelsea on Sunday while he is less optimistic about defensive partner Ferdinand (calf) and Giggs (knee).

Also absent was forward Dimitar Berbatov although winger Park Ji-sung was able to train after a recent knee injury.

Ferguson had stated on Friday that the South Korean international was expected to be out for another two weeks but it seems the 28-year-old's fluid on his knee has reduced significantly.

Three points against the Russian champions would seal the Red Devils' passage into the knock-out phase of the competition.

Source

United however, have a buffer zone of 5 points between themselves and 2nd placed Wolfsburg and are 6 points ahead of CSKA, so even a loss would hardly be disastrous, however a draw should be well within the capable of any side Fergie should chose to field against CSKA at Old Trafford.

In a much worse of position is Liverpool. With only one win from three, and having already lost to Lyon at Anfield, Liverpool face the daunting prospect of travelling to France, after a demoralizing defeat to Fulham in domestic action at the weekend, without inspirational captain Steven Gerrard and a Fernando Torres who is still seemingly struggling with injury...

Reds travel without Gerrard

Liverpool will be without inspirational captain Steven Gerrard for Wednesday's vital UEFA Champions League trip to Lyon, but Fernando Torres has travelled to France.

The Reds skipper has failed to shake off the groin problem which has ruled him out over previous weeks and he will again be unavailable to under-fire boss Rafa Benitez.

Speculation has suggested that Gerrard could require surgery to cure the injury, with the England star undergoing continued examinations.

Benitez said: "Gerrard won't travel to Lyon. He has no chance. He is improving but we have to wait. He has had an injection but we have to wait two or three days and see how he reacts."

However, the Liverpool boss, who saw his side suffer a sixth defeat in seven games when losing at Fulham on Saturday, has been boosted by the fact that Torres is a part of his squad.

The Spain international was substituted after an hour in the loss at Craven Cottage, with the change coming under scrutiny, but the decision has paid off.
Aquilani optimism

Benitez is hopeful £20million summer signing Alberto Aquilani will be able to feature after a virus, but Martin Skrtel is still sidelined with a muscle complaint.

He said: "Aquilani trained today (Monday) but was a little bit weak. Hopefully in two days' time he will be better.

"Skrtel has no chance. He has a small muscle problem. It's not too big but he is feeling something."

Meanwhile, Benitez will make late fitness calls on the recovering Daniel Agger (back), Glen Johnson (calf), Fabio Aurelio (calf) and David Ngog (ankle), none of whom travelled to Craven Cottage.

He said: "Agger is improving - he will travel and we will then decide. He felt something in his back but it's much better now. We have to wait and see how he reacts.

"Fabio is improving but he still has a small problem in his calf, so we will have to wait. Ngog is much better, so he could be available.

Doubt

"Johnson is training and working with the physios but he is a doubt at this moment. He will travel to Lyon and we will see."

Benitez again explained his decision to substitute Torres at Fulham, saying: "I was surprised with the criticism after the game because Fernando has had problems in the last month after the international games.

"We are trying to manage because he was close to having an operation. Still this morning, two days after the game, he is feeling something.

"He is not comfortable. He has not got the power he had before, so we have to manage and try to protect him. He cannot play well if you keep pushing him. Maybe if you push him he will be injured for a long time.

"So, I am really surprised with the critics. When you talk about big names, people just analyse the names and not how the player is when he is on the pitch. He was not 100 per cent fit.

"We have to take Fernando to Lyon because we don't have too many options. We have to keep working with him and the rest of the players."

Source

Anything but a win could prove disastrous for Liverpool, especially with a tough match against Fiorentina to follow, albeit at Anfield.

Inter Milan too are facing their share of injury troubles:

Inter hit by injury crisis

Jose Mourinho will be without a number of key players for Inter Milan's clash with Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday.

The Nerazzurri travel to Ukraine for a crunch UEFA Champions League game, having drawn their three previous matches in Group F.

Inter currently lie bottom of the group, an will be without Sulley Muntari, Thiago Motta, Wesley Sneijder and possibly Mario Balotelli for the trip to East Europe.

"Muntari can't walk now," the Inter boss told Sky Italia. "Thiago Motta won't probably recover for Wednesday too.

"We recover Chivu, and I hope to recover Balotelli too, who is a new opportunity in attack.

"As for Sneijder today (Sunday) he worked without the ball. He worked with intensity, but playing a game it's different.

"It seems really difficult that he will play."

Muntari picked up an injury in Inter's game against Livorno on Sunday, which the Nerazzurri won 2-0 to extend their lead at the top of Serie A.

Source

TUESDAY MATCHES
AC Milan vs Real Madrid [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Apoel Nicosia vs FC Porto [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Bayern Munich vs Bordeaux [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Besiktas vs Wolfsburg [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Man Utd vs CSKA Moscow [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD2]
Marseille vs FC Zurich [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]


WENDESDAY MATCHES
Rubin Kazan vs Barcelona [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD2]
Arsenal vs AZ [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD2]
Dynamo Kiev vs Inter Milan [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Fiorentina vs Debrecen [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Lyon vs Liverpool
Sevilla vs VfB Stuttgart [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Standard Liege vs Olympiacos [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]
Unirea Urziceni vs Rangers [Expected to be shown on Sky Sports Extra]​

 

[mg91]

What a comeback from United...

3-1 down in the 50th minute and the game ends 3-3. A draw should be enough to secure progression.

 

[The Guid]

badly need a win tomorrow, idc what Mourinho says.

 

[mg91]

Inter will be in deep trouble if they don't pick up 3 points. Is Eto'o back?

 

[mg91]

Champions League round-up

Manchester United and Chelsea both came from behind on Tuesday evening as they booked their places in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

At one point Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti's sides both looked like they were heading for defeat in their respective clashes against CSKA Moscow and Atletico Madrid - but they both drew to go through.

United drew 3-3 with CSKA at Old Trafford, which was enough for them to seal their passage from Group B - whilst Chelsea played out a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid which was enough for them to progress from Group D.

United were almost shocked by Russians CSKA and looked to be heading for their first Champions League home defeat for four-and-a-half years as they trailed 3-1 with less than ten minutes left.

CSKA had taken the lead after 25 minutes when Tomas Necid chested the ball down to Alan Dzagoev, who continued his run into the box before firing into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

Just moments later United levelled as Antonio Valencia's cross was flicked on by Nani and Michael Owen turned and fired home for his first goal in the Champions League for five years.

But that equality lasted just a matter of minutes. Again Necid was the creator as he held up the ball on the edge of the box before releasing Milos Krasic and he took the ball past Edwin van der Sar, before turning back on himself and firing into the empty net.

Just after the break, if Old Trafford was not already stunned, then they were well and truly silenced as Vasili Berezutsky got on the end of Dzagoev's free-kick to head home from within the six-yard box.

But with just seven minutes left, United gave themselves hope when Paul Scholes headed home Gary Neville's cross brilliantly into the top corner.

The grandstand finish was now on, and the equaliser came in stoppage time - but it was so cruel for CSKA.

Valencia had the shot, but it was way off target before it took a deflection off Georgi Schennikov and left Igor Akinfeev flat-footed and helpless to prevent it going in.

The drama was still not over as there was still time for CSKA to be reduced to ten men as Deividas Semberas was booked for second yellow card.

Also in United's group Wolfsburg tightened their grip on second place as they sealed a 3-0 win over Besiktas in Istanbul.

The opener came from their skipper Zvjezdan Misimovic after just 14 minutes. He ran unchallenged through the midfield before lashing the ball into the top corner from 25 yards.

The German champions then added two goals in the final ten minutes to seal the win as Ashkan Dejagah fired home from the edge of the box before Edin Dzeko slotted the ball past Hakan Arikan after being sent clear.

In Group D, Chelsea drew 2-2 with Atletico in an action-packed encounter at the Vicente Calderon.

Atletico went ahead just after the hour when Sergio Aguero - who started the match on the bench - volleyed home wonderfully from just inside the box as John Terry headed clear from Antonio Lopez.

Chelsea then came back strongly and levelled when Florent Malouda broke down the left and floated across a great ball into the six-yard box for Didier Drogba, who rose highest to head home from close range.

Drogba then looked to have sealed the win for the home side, as he bustled his way through and fired home past Sergio Asenjo at the second attempt.

But Atletico were not finished and it was their own striking talisman Aguero who curled home a wonderful free-kick to level and seal a share of the spoils.

But Atletico's hopes of progression in the Champions League are over, as Porto joined Chelsea in the next round after they claimed a 1-0 win at Apoel Nicosia.

The winner arrived just five minutes form time when Falcao fired home from the edge of the box.
French champions through

Bordeaux joined the two English sides in the next phase as they sealed their passage from Group A with a 2-0 win at Bayern Munich.

A goal in each half sealed the win for the French champions, although it was a night to forget for Bayern keeper Hans-Jorg Butt.

The opener came when Wendel's free-kick found an unmarked Yoann Gourcuff and he headed down and in, although Butt will be disappointed he could only push the ball into the net.

If Butt could be excused for the first goal, there was no hiding his blame for the second as a long ball over the top saw the German keeper come rushing out - but he missed out, which allowed Marouane Chamakh to slot into an empty net.

Juventus are firmly on course for second spot ahead of Bayern after they claimed a 1-0 win in Israel against Maccabi Haifa.

The only goal arrived just before half-time when a sweeping move saw Diego play a great ball out to the flank for Martin Caceres, he pulled the ball back to the penalty spot where Mauro Camoranesi was to slam the ball home.

Group C is the most evenly contested affair as just one point separates the top three.

AC Milan remain on top after they played out a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the San Siro.

Madrid went ahead on the half-hour and it was another gaffe from Milan keeper Dida as he spilled Kaka's drive into Karim Benzema's path and he fired into the corner.

But Milan secured a draw as they levelled just six minutes later with Ronaldinho firing home from the penalty spot after Pepe handled in the box.

Marseille find themselves just a point behind Milan and Madrid, as they destroyed FC Zurich 6-1 at the Stade Velodrome.

Marseille went ahead after just four minutes when Silvan Aegerter headed past his own keeper after Fabrice Abriel curled a free-kick into the box.

Abriel then got on the score-sheet and it was almost a carbon copy of the opening goal, except this time nobody got a touch and the ball flew straight into the corner of the net.

Zurich got back into the game on the half-hour when Alexandre Alphonse hammered the ball home from the edge of the box - but their hope was fleeting as Mamadou Niang soon restored Marseille's two-goal advantage just after the break as he flicked the ball into the net after a great ball from Bakary Kone.

Marseille then moved into overdrive with three goals in the final ten minutes as Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou and Brandao all scored.

Source

TUESDAY RESULTS


Bayern Munich 0 - 2 Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa 0 - 1 Juventus
Besiktas 0 - 3 Wolfsburg
Man Utd 3 - 3 CSKA Moscow
AC Milan 1 - 1 Real Madrid
Marseille 6 - 1 FC Zurich
Apoel Nicosia 0 - 1 FC Porto
Atletico Madrid 2 - 2 Chelsea​

 

[cruzg24]

AC Milan and Real Madrid tied 1-1. Im not sure if that was champions league or not though....

 

[The Guid]

Inter will be in deep trouble if they don't pick up 3 points. Is Eto'o back?

yeah, hopefully he can find his touch. personally, i'd like to see him and Balotelli (if he's not hurt) at the front because it would allow them to be a bit more open and they can get the ball if a guy like Sneijder isn't there to feed them it.

 

[mg91]

Yeah well I think that's the problem. Your midfield. You struggle to get the right service to your front men. I personally rate Eto'o higher than Ibra, and I honestly believe that if you service Eto'o correctly and can control the midfield you will take the next step up. Ibrahimovic was too much of a choker on the big stage. Not one goal in the CL knockout stage is absolutely unacceptable. Eto'o on the other hand has spear headed two Barcelona CL winning teams...

 

[BlueNation]

Look on the bright side Liverpool fans. At least we have a win and aren't in last place.

Man U is doing work in their group. I'm just going to go out on a limb and say they win that group, even though Wolfsburg is only 3 points back they don't got much of a shot.

Porto (don't really know much about them) is hanging in there with Chelsea, but I'm kind of upset that Atletico Madrid is so far back.

 

[mg91]

Champions League round-up

Arsenal virtually booked their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, while Liverpool and Rangers' hopes continue to hang in the balance.

Sevilla secured their place in the knockout stages, but the likes of Inter Milan and Barcelona continue to make hard work of their efforts to secure a safe passage out of the group stages.

Arsenal knew three points at home to AZ Alkmaar would put them on the brink of qualification and they duly saw off the Dutch champions 4-1 at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners dominated from the off and it came as no surprise when they broke the deadlock on 25 minutes.

Sergio Romero appeared to have a hopeful effort from Cesc Fabregas well covered, but he somehow allowed his low drive to sneak inside the post.

Arsene Wenger's side then pulled further ahead two minutes before the interval as Samir Nasri skipped past his man on the edge of the box and coolly slotted home.

Fabregas then put the seal on a comfortable night's work seven minutes into the second half when he curled a delightful effort into the far corner and Abou Diaby notched a fourth on 72 minutes when he added the final touch to a rapid counter attack.

Jeremain Lens pulled one back for Ronald Koeman's side on 82 minutes, wrong-footing Manuel Almunia, but there was no way back for the visitors.

Greek giants Olympiakos continue to occupy second spot behind Arsenal in Group H, but they came unstuck against Standard Liege on Matchday Four.

Deiudonne Mbokani showcased his considerable talents with a buccaneering run and unerring finish after half an hour to open the scoring and Milan Jovanovic headed home a second after 88 minutes.

There was no such joy for Liverpool as their European misery continued with a 1-1 draw in Lyon.

The Reds enjoyed the better of the first half chances, with Andriy Voronin spurning a glorious opportunity when he fired straight at Hugo Lloris after being presented with a clear sight of goal.

Lyon did pose problems on the counter, though, and Lisandro Lopez and Michel Bastos were a menace throughout.

The French goal led a charmed life at times after the interval, with some heroic defending denying Lucas and Dirk Kuyt and leaving Rafa Benitez to ponder what he has done to deserve such wretched luck.

Ryan Babel did crack home a thunderbolt of an opener with seven minutes left on the clock, to revive the Reds' dreams, but Lisandro broke their hearts with a last-minute leveller.

Fiorentina's comprehensive 5-2 victory over Debrecen will have done little to lift Benitez's mood, with the Italians now five points clear of their Group E rivals from Anfield.

Adrian Mutu's stopping header after 14 minutes opened the scoring, before Gergely Rudolf squared things up on 38 minutes when he volleyed home at the back post.

The Viola were not to be denied, though, and three goals in the space of 10 frenetic minutes turned the tie in their favour.

Dario Dainelli bagged a brave header after 52 minutes, Riccardo Montolivo poked home seven minutes later and Marco Marchionni scored the goal of the night when he provided a delicate finish to a flowing move just past the hour mark.

Adamo Coulibaly nodded one back for Debrecen after 70 minutes, but it was nothing more than a consolation, and Alberto Gilardino wrapped things up for the hosts with a glancing header 16 minutes from time.

Rangers remain bottom of Group G after they were held 1-1 away at Unirea Urziceni.

Walter Smith's side were much improved from their meeting with Dan Petrescu's Romanian outfit a fortnight ago and Lee McCulloch's fierce drive, which slipped through Giedrius Arlauskis, had them in front after 79 minutes.

They were unable to hang onto that lead, though, as a spectacular strike from Marius Onofras, with just two minutes remaining, hauled the hosts level.

Unfortunately, while matters on the field will fail to make the headlines, the unruly behaviour of a section of Rangers supporters probably will.

Sevilla allowed their 100 per cent record at this stage of the competition to slip after they were held 1-1 at home by Stuttgart.

Jesus Navas appeared to have preserved the Spaniards' perfect run, after he slotted home on 14 minutes, but Zdravko Kuzmanovic snatched an equaliser for the Germans 11 minutes from time.

Group F remains intriguingly poised, with reigning champions Barcelona failing to produce the fireworks expected of them.

Pep Guardiola's side got the action up and running on Wednesday, in freezing Russia, but they were held 0-0 by Rubin Kazan.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic came closest to forcing a goal, hitting the post after just two minutes, but Rubin held on to take their points tally against the Catalan giants to four following their shock success at Camp Nou last time out.

Inter Milan were expected to push Barca close in the race to the last 16, and they clambered to the top of the pile with a dramatic 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev.

Former AC Milan favourite Andriy Shevchenko's superb dipping volley after 21 minutes had the Ukrainians in front for much of the contest.

Inter, though, hit back late on as goals from Diego Milito (86) and Wesley Sneijder (89) got Jose Mourinho's men out of jail.

Source

WEDNESDAY RESULTS

Lyon 1 - 1 Liverpool
Fiorentina 5 - 2 Debrecen
Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev 1 - 2 Inter Milan
Sevilla 1 - 1 VfB Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni 1 - 1 Rangers
Arsenal 4 - 1 AZ
Standard Liege 2 - 0 Olympiacos​

As much as I hate Liverpool...that was haaaaaarsh. I think Lyon were worthy of a draw, but Christ...that would've stung. That said, I expect you'll beet Fiorentina at home, so you'll still qualify.

Baggs will be happy with Inter's result, even if they had to do it in the last 10 minutes....

LOL at Barca as well. Ibra just suuuuuucks in Europe.

 

[The Guid]

haha, i was freaking out. i'm pissed i didn't get to watch it though, they weren't showing it, but they are showing it late tonight so i'll DVR it and watch tomorrow.

and I saw Ibra hit the post within the first 5 and couldn't help but laugh...feel for the guy though, he's still one of my favorite players.