Catching Up With the Champions League
By: Martha | August 31st, 2007
The Champions League draw was made yesterday and, as expected given their seedings, Milan and Inter have the easiest paths of the four Italian teams in the competition, with the Nerazzurri in particular coming away with a remarkably favorable group.
Having set the Champions League title as a goal for this season, Inter find themselves in a group that includes PSV, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce, three teams they certainly ought to be able to escape (though, given how poorly things started for them last year, it’s anyone’s guess whether Inter will actually turn up for the opening match at Fenerbahce). Milan, meanwhile, won’t be too unhappy facing Benfica (who they’ll host on the first matchday), Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk: Thr first two are well-known and well-respect clubs, but also a a pair that come from second-tier leagues and will surely be underdogs heading into their matches against the current holders.
For their part, Roma must have felt a chill go down their collective spine when they came out of the pot and ended up in Manchester United’s group — how many different songs do you think will ring out at Old Trafford on October 2 that involve the phrase “Seven goals”? Instinctive dread aside, though, given how good they looked last weekend, Roma must feel they can beat anyone, even the dreaded Man United — we’ll see if things are still so bright come October. Also in the group are Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev (Roma’s first opponents) so, even if things go horribly wrong again against Man U, Roma certainly have a fighting chance to advance to the knockout stages.
Lazio, meanwhile, are sort of screwed: Their group-mates are Werder Bremen, Olympiakos (who they’ll face first, away), and a little Spanish club called Real Madrid. Yikes.
Full groups are after the jump; a PDF of the match schedule can be found here.
Group A: Liverpool, Porto, Marseille, Besiktas
Group B: Chelsea, Valencia, Schalke, Rosenborg
Group C: Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, Lazio, Olimpiakos
Group D: Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group E: Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart, Rangers
Group F: Manchester United, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev
Group G: Inter, PSV, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce
Group H: Arsenal, Sevilla / AEK Athens, Steaua Bucharest, Slavia Prague
Category: 
Tags: Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
You’re right, if Inter don’t lose at Fenerbahce, they should easily advance, but I think CSKA Moscow will be the surprise winner of the group. PSV shouldn’t even be in the competition.
Posted from
United States
-
I think in the Midst of that 7-1 beating issued to Roma by Man-U, people tend to forget Roma Won and completely shut United down in the first leg. They left SAF (and the A means asshole to me) with a pricelss, dumbfounded look on his face. Roma was/is a young team in terms of players and maybe they were not quite ready for the 2nd leg and did not know how to close it out. They were probably nervous and over whelmed and finally buckled. But they should better this time around.
Inter better not fuck around and they better make easy work out of that group. I can’t stand to go through what happened last year in the group stage or how they have been getting eliminated in recent years… I won’t be happy unless they win… obviously. They have the weapons, I hope nothing back fires.
Posted from
United States -
I hope CSKA Moscow advances as well, which could happen, what with Fenerbahce’s main star being Mateja Kezman and all. And PSV should’nt be underestimated… Oh, who am I kidding. Inter’ll rip them all apart. *knocks on wood*
Posted from
United States -
Roma will be going into that game with the confidence of knowing they already beat Manchester and with much more knowledge on how to play an away game to a top side team on that stage of the champions league, we might lose on the away trip but we have to win in the almost all the home games… our team is now very experienced in europe and can compete with any team in the world…
Mexes has played like 4 champions league by now
Doni 2
Panucci countless
Totti like 8
De Rossi 2-4
Aquilani 1
Pizarro 1
MAncini 2-4
TAddei 2-4roma is much more experienced in europe by now
Posted from
El Salvador
Comments are closed
Home 
Euro 2008