Lack of time has prevented me from keeping up with Serie A. But then again, when Inter is sitting comfortably at the top and you know that they're going to win it once again, it's not that hard to drop off from that league. Anyways, here are the results from last weekend.
The Champions League group stage concluded this week and Juventus was the second giant to fall out of the competition after Liverpool. In Group F, Barcelona and Inter both clinched their qualification on Wednesday while Real Madrid and AC Milan did the same on Tuesday. Read on for the full results.
- Group A -
Bayern Munich clinched their ticket to the next round with a decisive victory over Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico. Bordeaux were already through but still grabbed three more points with a 1-0 win over Maccabi Haifa.
CSKA Moscow surprised everyone by grabbing the second spot in Group B ahead of German champions Wolfsburg. Despite facing a depleted Manchester United squad, Wolfsburg couldn't get the much needed win that would get them through. As for United, their defense is falling to pieces with injuries but still they keep rolling along. You've got to admire that in a team.
In Group C, the two giants clinched their qualification on the final day of action. For a while it looked like Marseille would go through but two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo sent the French club crashing back to Earth.
Chelsea were already through to the next stage before this week's matches, but a disappointing 2-2 against APOEL is raising questions. How will they fare without their African players in February?
Inter and Barcelona both got their ticket to the next stage on Wednesday. Barca looked subdued by the frigid Russian weather but woke up in the second half to finally win 2-1.
Just one game to in the Champions League group stage. While some teams were already qualified in Matchday 4, this week's games clarified the situation in some groups while one group is still wide open. Here are the full results.
- Group A -
With Bordeaux's victory over Juventus, Bayern Munich still have a chance for second place as they defeated Maccabi Haifa 1-0. Juventus only need a draw in the final game (against Bayern) to ensure their qualification.
Since Manchester United are already through to the next, second place is up to grabs as CSKA and Wolfsburg are sitting with an equal number of points. Wolfsburg only have themselves to blame for this situation after they let CSKA come back in the second half of Wednesday's game.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally came back from injury this week (just in time for the clasico) as he stepped off the bench in Madrid's win over Zurich. Behind them, Milan and Marseille fought to a 1-1 draw which keeps both team in the running for second place. First place is also up for grabs as Milan is only two points behind Madrid.
Nothing to report in this group since Porto and Chelsea are both qualified for the next stage.
FC Porto – Chelsea: 0-1
APOEL FC – Atletico de Madrid: 1-1
- Group E -
How far have the mighty fallen? Liverpool, winner in 2005 and a regular fixture in the semi-finals, have been kicked out of the Champions League after five games and will continue their continental quest in the Europa League. Their win against Debreceni on Tuesday was simply too little too late. With the Premier League title getting further and further away, Liverpool will have to fight for a Top Four finish in the Premiership.
Inter Milan had the chance to deliver a crushing blow to the defending champions on Tuesday. Instead, fans got to see the same Inter Milan who choked against Manchester United last year. Indeed, the Nerazzurri came out flat against Barcelona, letting them waltz to a 2-0 lead before half-time. The usually-vibrant Eto'o was invisible against his former teammates. The Italians seemed to be completely absent in midfield where Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta laid down the law as to who was in control. In the other game, Dynamo Kyiv were held to a draw against Rubin Kazan. Both results leave things wide open in this group as no team have ensured their qualification.
An unknown club from Romania, Unirea Urziceni have played the spoilsport in this group, beating both Rangers and Sevilla. The result doesn't affect the Spanish club much since they're through, but Stuttgart will have to beat Urziceni if they any hopes of going through to the knock-out stage.
Arsenal will easily finish at the top of this group. The question is who will be second as Standard de Liege are three points behind Olympiacos and could steal second place if the Gunners thrash the Greeks in the final match.
After being undefeated in October, AC Milan is back in the title race seven points behind Inter who drew 1-1 against Roma on Sunday. Between the two Milan clubs, Juventus is firing on all cylinders thanks to a 5-2 victory over Atalanta. Sampdoria dropped out of the top three with only one win in their last five games and you have to wonder if they'll run out of gas in the second half of the season. The Full results follow.
Several teams booked their tickets to the next round this week but two superpowers now have their backs to the wall as the end of the group stage draws near.
Apologies for not posting the Week 10 results last week. The midweek fixtures kinda caught me by surprise and I didn't have time to make a post. Anyways, we have now reached the eleventh week in the Calcio and Inter Milan already look like they will once again run away with the title. After some difficulties early in the season, AC Milan have bounced back and are now sitting in fourth place, two points behind Juventus and Sampdoria. Here are last weekend's results.
Another week, another win for Inter and Sampdoria. Juventus and Milan joined the parade by adding three points to their total as well. Here are the full results.
It was an interesting round of the Champions League this week as several results went against most experts' predictions. Several teams who were expected to be punching bags in their respective groups are surprisingly pulling great results out of thin air, making some groups' outcome difficult to judge even after three games.
Juventus are slowly losing gas as the season progresses. Their draw against Fiorentina on Saturday dropped them off four points behind Inter Milan who exploded offensively against Genoa. AC Milan are back in the Top 10 thanks to their third win of the season coming against a struggling AS Roma. The full results follow.
What was bound to happen finally happened. Since the beginning of the season, Juventus players looked out of shape, many of them not fully at 100% but they still managed to win games. This weekend, they suffered their first loss of the season against Udinese which slides them out in third place while Inter Milan take the number one spot in the standings. As Inter is looking to dominate the Serie A like last year, their city rivals, AC Milan, are in a downward spiral with no end in sight. With only two goals scored in their last five games, the Rossoneri have been relying on draws to keep their head above water. They'll have no choice but to explore the transfer market during the winter if they want to improve.
After two games played, we're getting a better picture of the standings in the Champions League group stage. While some powerhouses are making a good case for themselves (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United), others (Liverpool, Inter, Milan) are finding the task more difficult and should kick it up a notch in Matchday 3.
Sampdoria and Juventus still lead the parade so far in Serie A. Injuries are starting to take their toll on Ferrarra's side which is looking increasingly uneasy with several starters either on the bench or in the infirmary.
So, the Inter Milan-Barcelona game wasn't as exciting as I anticipated so I won't be posting an individual recap of that game but read on for my thoughts on Day 1. There are several games for which I didn't find any highlights. Video sites are quick to take off links these days, so there's not much I can do about that.
After three weeks of competitive play, AC Milan are already showing signs of slowing down with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Livorno. Juventus kept up its winning streak by defeating Lazio 2-0. However, Inter isn't too far behind them after winning their encounter against Parma. The big shock comes in when one looks at the table and sees Genoa (!) sitting atop of the Serie A thanks to their goal differential. The full results follow.
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