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2008-2009 UEFA Champions League - Football Slate

2008-2009 UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 Results

November 7th 2008 01:50
Group A
A win by both Bordeaux and Roma leave things wide open in Group A where any team can now go through.

CFR Cluj – Bordeaux: 1-2

Roma – Chelsea: 3-1


Group B
Scolari wasn't the only one furious with his team Tuesday night as Mourinho's men were unable to defeat the intruder of the group, Anorthosis.

Anorthosis – Inter: 3-3

Bremen – Panathinaikos: 0-3

Group C
I managed to catch only bits and pieces of Barcelona's first half, and from what I've seen, they were simply going through the motions, not bothered at all by Basel.

Sporting – Shaktar: 1-0

Barcelona – Basel: 1-1

Group D



Liverpool – Atletico: 1-1

Marseille – PSV: 3-0

Group E
Aallborg – Villareal: 2-2

Celtic – Manchester United: 1-1

Group F
It seems like all the French teams are on the same wavelength. When one wins, they all win, when one loses, they all lose. That's pretty weird.

Fiorentina – Bayern: 1-1

Lyon – Steaua: 2-0

Group G
Perhaps it's time to shake things up at the Emirates. This disappointing result shows that the Gunners poor form isn't exclusive to the Premiership.

Arsenal – Fenerbahce: 0-0

Dynamo Kyiv – Porto: 1-2

Group H
How can anyone criticize Del Piero? The guy gets better with every year that passes. His two goals at the Bernabeu show that he is a real leader that can carry his team through hostile territory. Let's just hope he won't get exhausted by the end of the season. It's simply a delight to watch him play. What I don't understand though, is how the Madrid defenders could let him score from the exact same spot he scored in Matchday 3.

BATE – Zenit: 0-2

Real Madrid – Juventus: 0-2
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2008-2009 UEFA Champions League - Matchday 3 Results

October 23rd 2008 23:35
Group A

Bordeaux – CFR Cluj: 1-0

Chelsea – Roma: 1-0

It's a tight race for second place in this group. By losing against Chelsea, Roma are now in third place behind Cluj and tied with Bordeaux. They should be thankful that Bordeaux defeated the Romanians since a win by Cluj would've put a considerable gap between the teams. As it stands, Chelsea is the incontestable leader of the group while there's only one point separating Cluj from the other two teams.

Group B
Inter Milan – Anorthosis: 1-0

Panathinaikos – Werder Bremen: 2-2

Group C
Shaktar – Sporting: 0-1

Basel – Barcelona: 0-5

It was a walk in the park for Barca on Wednesday where they crushed Basel 5-0 despite resting Eto'o. The match was mostly a one-way affair as the visitors kept the ball firmly planted in Basel's end. Bojan had a strong game with two goals (he almost got an hat-trick but his lob over the keeper landed on the roof of the net) while Dani Alves is proving to be a very important acquisition. Hleb returned to action in this game and was great in the second half with nice runs on the left wing. After a wobbly start to their domestic campaign, we can now safely say that they're firing on all cylinders.

Group D
Atletico – Liverpool: 1-1

PSV – Marseille: 2-0

Group E
Villareal – Aallborg: 6-3

Manchester United – Celtic: 3-0

Two goals by Dimitar Berbatov (both times offside) got things going for the Red Devils who couldn't find a way through Celtic's crowded box in the opening stages. Rooney added a third one at the 75th minute, extending his streak to seven games.

Group F
Bayern – Fiorentina: 3-0

Steaua – Lyon: 3-5

Group G
Fenerbahce – Arsenal: 2-5

Porto – Dynamo Kyiv: 0-1

It's funny. When you expect Arsenal to have a tough game, they manage to play their best football, completely dominating their opponents in the process. When they're supposed to have easy games, they find a way to make life complicated for themselves. They're very unpredictable in both Europe and the Premiership. If they have serious ambitions, they should get themselves some consistency.

Group H
Zenit – BATE: 1-1

Juventus – Real Madrid: 2-1

We're only three games in the Champions League but one must wonder if the term 'overrated' doesn't apply to the Zenit St. Petersburg. They only have a point so far from a game that they should have won. Maybe rose too high too fast. Meanwhile an early goal in each half was enough for Juventus to defeat Real Madrid. Alessandro Del Piero seems to be getting better and better with age. It's a shame that he'll have to retire at some point. As for Madrid, I don't understand Schuster reasoning in putting Robben on the bench instead of on his starting eleven for a confrontation like this, especially with Heinze as the left-back. The same problem pops out every time it happens: Heinze is too slow to properly support the attack and to keep up with the other team's speedy wingers, and without Robben to counterbalance that weakness, Madrid's left flank becomes a vulnerability easily exploited.

Note: I'm sorry for the lack of commentary this time around. If you guys noticed, I didn't even put up my reports of Serie A and Liga matches from Sunday. Studying for midterm exams is taking most of time now. I could only watch Manchester United and Juventus' games in their entirety. Everything should be back to normal by next week.
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2008-2009 UEFA Champions League - Matchday 2 Results

October 3rd 2008 03:09
Group A
Chelsea – CFR Cluj: 0-0
Cluj are continuing to impress everyone on the European stage. After defeating Roma 2-1 on Day 1, they held Chelsea to a scoreless draw which keeps them in second place. Granted, Chelsea didn't play very well. Without Joe Cole on the wing, they lacked the mobility necessary to stretch Cluj's compact defense. The Blues started with a 4-3-3 formation but suprisingly looked better with a 4-4-2 once Anelka came on in the second half. However, Drogba's injury before the hour-mark erased all the momentum they had at the start of the second period while Cluj gained in confidence as time went on. The Romanian even tested Cech late in the game but everyone could tell that they were equally satisfied with a draw.

Bordeaux – Roma: 1-3
In my previews, I had picked the French club to cause the surprise in this group. Instead, they seem to be really struggling while Cluj aren't intimated at all. It's a good thing that Roma took the opportunity to get all three points out of this match as it keeps them close to the two leaders.

Group B
Anorthosis – Panathinaikos: 3-1

Inter – Bremen: 1-1
Mourinho's men were held to a scoreless draw at the San Siro, but they still top their group, so we'll take that one as a slight misstep.

Group C
Sporting – Basel: 2-0

Shakhtar – Barcelona: 1-2


Group D
Liverpool – PSV: 3-1


Atletico – Marseille: 2-1

Group E
Aalborg – Manchester United: 0-3
Rooney opened the scoring and Berbatov scored a double (both goals assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's came from Giggs' pass) to provide United a convincing win over the Danish club. There was a price to pay for those points however as the defending champions lost midfielder Paul Scholes for 10 weeks, striker Rooney who may miss their next league game, and youngster Rafael who put up an impressive display once again. Faced against flying fullbacks (Evra and Rafael), tricky wingers (Ronaldo and Nani), and dangerous strikers (Rooney and Berbatov), Aalborg were simply overwhelmed defensively. I still think that Nani is a defensive liability for United, he should work on helping out his teammates when they don't have possession.



Villareal – Celtic: 1-0

Group F
Fiorentina – Steaua: 0-0

Bayern – Lyon: 1-1

Group G
Arsenal – Porto: 4-0
After a disappointing performance in the Premiership, Arsenal schooled FC Porto to win 4-0. I expected a much tighter result between the two clubs. We'll see how it goes in the return leg.



Fenerbahce – Dynamo Kyiv: 0-0

Group H
Zenit – Real Madrid: 1-2
It looks like Zenit is already flaming out of this competition but it isn't for a lack of trying though. They had more scoring chances than Madrid on Tuesday but couldn't capitalize. I wonder if anyone can figure out Ruud Van Nistelrooy's ratio for goals/shots because the guy doesn't seem to miss very much. He is the complete opposite of Adebayor.



BATE – Juventus: 2-2
Juventus had quite a scare on Tuesday as they found themselves two goals down against newcomers BATE. Thankfully a double by Iaquinta salvaged a point for the Italians who will face Real Madrid on Matchday 3.

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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Matchday 1 Results

September 20th 2008 01:48
Group A

Chelsea – Bordeaux: 4-0

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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Group H Preview

September 17th 2008 02:37
The group of death has fans and analysts alike foaming at the mouth with excitement. Real Madrid, Juventus, and new sensation Zenit St. Petersburg all bundled together. Could you ask for more?

Real Madrid
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Group G Preview

September 17th 2008 02:00
If I had to give a name to this group, I would call it the Boys Club. All four teams have a strong contigent of young players who haven't won anything on the international stage (though Arsenal and Fenerbahce have some Euro winners among their ranks). Here are the teams.

Arsenal
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League Group F Preview

September 17th 2008 01:36
Group F should be an easy one with Olympique Lyon and Bayern Munich going through over Fiorentina and Steua Bucaresti. The question is, which club will finish first?

Olympique Lyon
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Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League
   


2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Group E Preview

September 17th 2008 01:06
The defending champions, Manchester United, find themselves in a group where the battle for second place will be especially fierce between Scottish giants Celtic and the tough Yellow Submarine – Villareal. Danish club Aalborg is only there for appearance's sake.

Manchester United
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Group D Preview

September 15th 2008 19:20
Things get more balanced in Group D where Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will face his old teammates of Atletico Madrid. Rounding out the group are Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and French regulars Olympique de Marseille.

Liverpool
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League - Group C Preview

September 15th 2008 16:55
Once again, a powerhouse (Barcelona) got lucky in Group C where the opposition doesn't inspire much fear.

Barcelona
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League – Group B Preview

September 14th 2008 16:02
Like Chelsea in Group A, Inter won't have much competition on their way to the second round facing German club Werder Bremen, Greek giants Panathinaikos, and Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta.

Internazionale Milano
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2008/2009 UEFA Champions League – Group A Preview

September 14th 2008 15:03
Last year's finalists, Chelsea, seem to have found an easy group to get through as their competition will be Serie A club AS Roma, Ligue 1 club Girondins de Bordeaux, and Romanian club CFR Cluj.

Chelsea
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CL Qualifying (Third Round): Arsenal Easily Knock Out FC Twente with 4-0 Win (6-0 agg.)

August 28th 2008 17:35
There were two surprises in Arsene Wenger's starting line-up yesterday. First, Fabregas, who has been in the infirmary for the past two weeks, started the game. Secondly, Adebayor was dropped to the bench, leaving his place to Nicklas Bendtner.

It's amazing how one player can influence a team's mentality. With Fabregas back in the line-up, Arsenal players seemed a lot more calm, and could count on the midfielder to find them anywhere on the field. Fabregas also helped defensively, supporting his teammates with tackles here and there and winning back the ball. Since Arsenal dominated the midfield, it should come as no surprise that they were the ones to open the scoring at the 26th minute. In the play, Walcott's cross - sent to no one in particular – was intercepted by a defender. Then, a determined Van Persie tackled the player to win back the ball which made its way to Samir Nasri. The French midfielder got rid of two defenders by feinting the shot, entered the box, and beat the keeper with a low left-foot shot to the far post. Ten minutes later, Van Persie missed a wide open net to the bemusement of everyone watching. With all the time in the world and a goalkeeper out of position, the Dutch striker somehow found a way to strike the ball outside of the left post instead of shooting straight in the middle. The Gunners would waste another opportunity right before half-time when Walcott, alone against the goalkeeper, decided to cross the ball to Bendtner who was arriving late. This tendency to always look for his teammates, although honorable, is major flaw in Walcott's play. It's like this process is hardwired into his brain – run down the wing, cross; run down the wing, cross; that's all he seems to do when playing on the right wing. Although the first half only ended 1-0, Twente had a mountain to climb if they were to have any chance of going through since they were down 3-0 on aggregate


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Arsenal Grabs 2-0 Win Against FC Twente Despite Lacklustre Performance

August 15th 2008 05:06
The Gunners must've thought that this away-leg of the Champions League qualifyer would be a piece of cake. After all, FC Twente aren't that big of a club, having won the Eredivisie once in their history (in 1926 no less) and grabbing the UEFA Cup silver medal in 1975. So Arsene Wenger's troops took the game lightly and offered one of their worst performances I've ever seen.

The absence of first-choice midfielders didn't help matters for Wenger. With Fabregas and Nasri injured, Arsenal had to rely on young Aaron Ramsey and Denilson to construct plays while Eboue had to play as a winger. The first half was a complete mess as the Gunners clearly missed Fabregas' vision. Sometimes they would do short passes when a long ball to Adebayor would be ideal, and sometimes they would send the ball to the striker when a pass to one of the wingers was the more viable option. Walcott was completely invisible. In fact, if he wasn't on the starting-eleven list that I copy before every game, I wouldn't have known that he was playing. Meanwhile Twente players were impressing their crowd with nice dribbles and skills here and there. Unfortunately, their shooting abilities weren't as great, and Arsenal were lucky to find themselves still tied 0-0 at half-time


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