Second Half

The teams continued to attack as before, with no subs at the half. A cutting Messi run ended with him scorching a shot well wide but Barcelona have begun to push forward enough to force Man U into conceding corners. In the 58th minute, Tevez ripped a strong shot that Valdes deflected. The camera cut to Henry warming up in the 59th minute. The action was coming end to end, as Nani made a great run down the right, turning Milito this way and that the missing his chance. And in the 61st minute, on comes the Frenchman, the World Cup Winner of '98. Perhaps he'll lift his first Champions League cup ten years later. The ineffectiveness of Eto'o forced Rijkaard to sub him for Bojan a bit later. The game continued in fine fashion, as the close of the second half saw Puyol pushing up on the left, crossing a great ball in to Deco, who couldn't rise high enough to make contact. The ball fell in the box and Messi came forward but contact in the box took him down. It might have been a penalty, but not tonight in Old Trafford. Man U brought on an injury sub for Evra, as Mikael Silvestre came on for the left-back. The whole charade used almost three minutes of injury time. With three more minutes gone by, Ronaldo fouled Messi on the sideline and a free kick was given. Valdes came forward on the free kick but the Reds defense was awake, clearing the ball and thus earning their place in the final. A great game from the Stadium of Light, an entertaining second leg match that saw Man U as the hungrier side, deservedly winning. So it's an all-English final in Moscow. Tomorrow we'll know who Man U will face.

Champions League: Man u - Barcelona (2nd Leg)

Barcelona looked strong at the outset, attacking and controlling much of the possession. The return of Carlos Puyol saw the back four more confident and in control, passing the ball well and allowing the midfield to be creative and control the pace of the game. But Manchester United are such a brilliant team, all it took was a poor clearance at the back which fell to Paul Scholes, who settled the ball dribbling forward and crushed a volley from well beyond the eighteen yard box, a real cracker that curled right, above Valdes' head, which was turning in disbelief. Following the goal, Manc U seemed more in control, pushing forward, hungry for the second goal having drawn first blood. Messi had a great shot, cutting inside from the right wing, beating Evra and hooking a shot toward the far post, which Van der Sar was equal to. Barcelona's attacking flair continued, and Van der Sar had to step in to claim some balls, taking a knee to the face from Wes Brown and another kick later in the first half. He called for a trainer in the 39th minute and looked as if he might come off. With Kuszczak on the bench, Ferguson knows he has another solid keeper available. An attack late in the first half saw Messi beat two defenders and play a one-two with Deco but Rio was all the wiser, beating Messi to the ball over the top and clearing the ball to safety. The half ended 1-0, with wily Paul Scholes the difference maker. We'll see which of the tacticians makes a change, I wouldn't be surprised to see Iniesta come off for Henry. Could be interesting to see how Thierry does against some of his old rivals.

Barcelona's Sad Season

I suppose now is a good time to discuss Barcelona's lack of form this year. Last year the team was knocked out of the tournament by Liverpool in the first knockout round amidst lack of team cohesion as Barcelona dropped key points after the new year, eventually losing the title to Real Madrid. The key summer signings of Gabi Milito, Francois Abidal, Toure Yaya and Thierry Henry led many, myself included, to name them favorites for this year's Champions League. Unfortunately, Barcelona's form has been poor, as they have struggled to demonstrate their lost dominance. Today's result was a continuation of that trend, as they beat Schalke 1-0 on a messy goal by Toure. Barcelona attacked well, creating a number of chances, but the lack of a central attacking midfielder was felt, as both Deco and Ronaldinho were out with injury. Sunday's result of a goalless draw against Getafe was just an embarassment. Real Madrid have continued to drop points but Barcelona have haplessly let such opportunities slide. In retrospect, I would have to say that the signing of Henry was a bit of a mistake, as last year Barcelona won many of the games they have drawn or lost in Spain. The prolonged absences of Eto'o, Messi and Ronaldinho have had their effect and the defense looks a lot stronger with Abidal and Milito, but the attack has been choppy and inconsistent at best all year. I can't see them getting past Manchester United, especially with Puyol out for the first leg with two yellow cards. Hopefully Laporta and Rijkaard will let this team gel over the summer and we'll see our old faithful Barcelona next year. And most of all, please don't let Barca get rid of 'dinho, he's primed for a comeback. You heard it here first.

Champions League: Liverpool v Arsenal (2nd Leg)

Well, the past week has seen two 1-1 draws at the Emirates in London, and I for one was ready for a change. The first half of today's match saw Arsenal attacking in concerted fashion. The initial twenty five minutes saw both teams attacking from end to end, with Liverpool on the losing end. As Arsenal sent bodies forward they began to create confusion in the box and a loose ball was played out, but fell to Hleb, who deftly put the ball on the feet of Abou Diaby. The tall winger stretched forward, ricocheting the ball off Reina's shin and into the net. Arsenal continued to push forward, looking for the second goal. But Liverpool held off the charge and then equalised in the 30th minute, the goal coming off Hyppia's head on a corner. Senderos completely blew the defense and his future presence in the Arsenal side should really be questioned. His lack of any attempt to play the ball, or the player, lead me to question his ability to defend in important matches. Wenger is a great scout but perhaps he got this one wrong.

Second Half
The game recommenced in similar fashion, with both teams continuing to show their class and determination. In the 69th minute, Fernando Torres scored his 29th goal of his debut season, and his 22nd at Anfield, settling a volley and turning inside, losing Senderos in the process and scorching the ball past Almunia. The keeper stood no chance and Torres demonstrated his ability to open games on his own, as the striker had been kept silent up to this point. Arsene Wenger brought on Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie soon thereafter and the decision paid benefits. In the 84th minute, Walcott ran three quarters of the field in posession, beating at least four defenders before lightly passing inside to Adebayor who converted, tying the match and seemingly setting Arsenal up to advance to the semis. But it was not to be at Anfield, not today; just two minutes later, supersub Ryan Babel was pulled down in the box from behind, resulting in a penalty. And who better than Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain and scorer supreme, unfazed in late European competition, a practiced hand, who slotted the ball beyond the diving Almunia. Finally, with Arsenal continuing to struggle, displaying their tenacity, sent too many men forward and got caught, as Ryan Babel scored the insurance goal, ending a beautiful four-goal half of topnotch European soccer. Truly, this has been the best match I've watched since El Classico last spring (Real 3-3 Barcelona). This one should be on ESPN for a few weeks, be sure not to miss it.

Champions League: Barcelona v Celtic

This game has lingered in the back of my mind for the past month, or however long it's been since the bracket was announced. With Celtic my favorite club, and Barca second, obviously I felt torn. So I sit here at the office, wearing my Celtic kit, ready to cheer on my two favorite teams. The game started well, as both teams were determined to get the opener. In the 16th minute, Celtic played the ball down the left flank, and Barca's defense was unable to clear as the ball bobbled around in the box, eventually crossed by a Celtic player into the diving head of Venegoor of Hesselink, who drove the ball past Valdes. Barcelona, always dangerous, stepped their game up while Celtic were patting themselves on the back. Messi and Deco linked up for a one-two to tie the game, as Messi one-timed his shot over the diving Boruc. Nearing the end of the second half, which Barca controlled for the vast majority, another Celtic possession in Barca's half, this time the cross came in behind the attacker, Robson, leaning off balance, he nudged the ball toward goal, a desperate attempt that nonetheless beat Valdes, who paid for his positioning as the perfect lob fell over his outstretched hand. I was ecstatic and had to hold in my joy, as watching soccer is not necessarily the most kosher thing to do in an office. As halftime came, I found myself just hoping for the status quo to hold. Unfortunately, Barcelona had something to say about that.
A few minutes into the second half, Henry curled a beautiful goal from the top-left corner of the box, bending the shot to the left into the side netting. Boruc had no chance and this goal shows Henry back in form, the type of shot that made Henry famous. In the 79th minute, as Celtic's defense continued to tire, Barcelona scored again, with Messi the malicious messenger. A failed Celtic clearance ricocheted off another defender and fell to Messi's feet. He made a quick move and struck, scoring the winner and once again exhibiting his quality. A sad result but a great game, it will be hard for Celtic to not only win at the Camp Nou, but win while scoring at least 3 goals. Quite a challenge.

UEFA Cup: Bayern Munich v Aberdeen

In the ugly duckling of European club competitions, we saw today a giant club (Bayern) in one of the best leagues take on a good team (Aberdeen) in a truly B-level league (Scotland). The game began with some real back-and-forth action, as both sides strove to score the opener. Bayern came into this match a two or three goal favorite and I think the 11 from Aberdeen were the only ones who thought they stood a chance. Well, 24 minutes in, a ball bounced around in the Bayern area, was controlled by Aluko who deftly laid off a pass to an oncoming Walker, who bent the ball right around de Michelis and under diving keeper Rensing. The boys in Red had done it, scoring the opener in fine form. But Bayern is a beast, as all fans know, the counterattack coming strong as a ball forward from Lucio came into the top of the box, Luca Toni headed the ball in Klose's direction. The Polish-born striker crushed a volley across the face of goal into the upper-left corner. All credit to Bayern, but even more to Aberdeen, as the young Scots battled forward time and again, their will keeping them in the contest. And, with less than five minutes to go in the half, it paid off, as the men in red rushed forward on a counter, the ball was quickly played on, a one-touch putting Aluko one-on-one with a defender with the ball at chest height. Aluko touched the ball to his chest, turning inside on the defender, chested the ball to his left foot and ripped his running volley under Rensing. Another great goal for Aberdeen. The second half saw more of the same, but Bayern's depth showed, as Philip lahm played a strong role in the second half in place of Christian Lell, and a penalty was conceded on a handball in the box. Altintop struck well but the Aberdeen keeper stopped the shot, only to have the rebound fall to Altintop for a poke-in finish from inside of five yards. A great game of football which saw a lot of heart, this was a huge upset for Aberdeen even though they only drew. It will be hard for them to advance, as the second leg will be played at the Allianz Arena.

EPL: Arsenal v Newcastle United

Arsenal played a more conventional lineup today than last week, starting Adebayor, Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini, giving them a considerable advantage in midfield against a Newcastle United side that tried to push forward and were rewarded with (at last count) eight offsides penalties, many of which were too close to call. Nonetheless, Arsenal struck when they had chances, as in the 40th minute when Mathieu Flamini attacked down the left flank, hurtling a defender's tackle and running toward the flag. Flamini's cross was perfect, meeting an onrushing Adebayor who outmuscled his opponent to the ball and headed it home. Arsenal dominated the possession battle (59-41) and the second half saw more of the same, as Owen and Smith were called offside more often than they deserved. Arsenal's second goal came in the 73rd minute, when Flamini blasted a curling shot from the upper-left side of the box: the ball curled to the outside, away from the goalkeeper and into the side netting. Arsenal's final goal came in the 80th minute, and should have been called offsides, but the refs seemed a bit preferential and let it go, allowing Bendtner to one-touch the ball to Fabregas who ripped a volley with his left into the back of the net. Arsenal played very well, Hleb looked electrifying, Fabregas played his role well as usual but Flamini made the game his, tackling well and assiting on the game-winner and scoring the insurance goal on a play he created himself, from outside the box. Newcastle's scoreline could have differed quite a bit but the offsides calls hurt their determination and some were simply wrong.

Chelsea v Everton Carling Cup

The second-leg clash between Everton and Chelsea turned out to be (more or less) just as expected, with Chelsea defending well in the first half, albeit with little possession, while Everton's attacks came to nothing. The second half saw Everton believing they could win, resulting in some great attacking soccer in the first 15 minutes of the second half. However, Cech came up with some tremendous saves and once Chelsea scored, the wind in Everton's sails died. As Chelsea trapped Everton coming forward, a ball was played out to Malouda just inside Everton's half and he alertly crossed the ball forward, perfectly into the on-coming run of Joe Cole, who touched the ball once to settle it, then crushed a right-footed volley past Tim Howard to the near post. Chelsea's aggregate lead of 3-1 forced Everton to push forward and Chelsea was able to create a couple more threatening counterattacks but the score remained at 1-0. Man of the Match: Petr Cech, displaying his usual brilliance in goal and his vision and passing skills were on display as well, as the Czech keeper slotted in perfectly with his shielding four defenders, spreading the ball from one of the back to the other.

Arsenal v Tottenham - Carling Cup

Arsene Wenger made a mistake yesterday, by not starting Adebayor, Fabregas or Eduardo. These three players came off the bench and, while Eduardo and Fabregas were kept quiet, Adebayor scored within five minutes of his advent, crushing a shot from outside the box. I honestly don't think Bendtner and Walcott can be a good partnership in attack, as was shown by their inability to control balls played forward and their lack of chemistry was apparent throughout the first half. All in all, though, Tottenham just outplayed Arsenal, as the Gunners looked like the team of last year, ineffective in attack, fragile in defense and without control in midfield. Jenas opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, followed by a Bendtner own goal in the 27th minute. I believe Fabregas came in soon thereafter, but to no avail. The Gunners relied on long balls forward but Bendtner and Walcott were unable to settle on the ball or link up with each other or Hleb. The Arsenal attack was anemic, until the introduction of Adebayor and Eduardo in the 65th minute. But by that time, Tottenham had already added another two goals, from Robbie keane in the 48th minute and Aaron Lennon in the 60th. Adebayor's goal was a beauty but the 5-1 aggregate deficit was too much and Tottenham scored another insurance goal in the 90th minute, as Stead Malbranque scored. Arsenal's strength lies in their central midfield and the starting absence of Fabregas and Flamini left a vacuum which the Spurs took immediate advantage of, playign great counterattacking football and feeding their strikers with good passes. This is how Tottenham should always play, with their level of talent, on a day when Berbatov didn't score but they came away with 5 goals against a weak Arsenal squad. Perhaps Wenger really doesn't care about the Carling Cup, that would be reasonable, but the alleged headbutt of Adebayor to Bendtner should be a cause for concern, as well as the severe dressing-down the Gunners received yesterday at the hands of their cross-town rivals.  Arsenal will face Newcastle United at home in their next two matches.

Transfer Rumors

Perhaps more than any other sport, soccer's trade rumors fly fast and thick, with most of them proving to be pure speculation. Some of today's latest rumors have Ronaldinho going to Inter, Drogba to Barcelona, Giovanni Dos Santos leaving Barcelona, Tottenham trageting Fred, etc. It seems that any time a player opens his mouth during the two transfer periods, hope and change reign supreme. If a player says he would like to play with someone on another team, or would like to play under a certain coach, the presses start rolling, the rumors fly across the continent. Enough, I say. Let me know when Nicholas Anelka has been bought for $30 million. Let me know when Barcelona loses some great players. Until then, let the fans speculate and don't get our hopes up. Plus, Drogba on Barca? They're enemies (if you haven't seen the knockout rounds between Barcelona and Chelsea from 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, check them out now), and Barcelona already has too much attacking talent, even with injury-prone stars such as Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, not to mention Gudjonsen, Ronaldinho, Bojan Krkic (kid is amazing) and Giovanni Dos Santos. Barcelona doesn't need another goalscorer, or another player anywhere else, except perhaps a natural right-back. Barcelona signed enough great talent over the summer, just let them gel: Gabi Milito has been a rock at the back, Toure Yaya is a great d-midfielder, Eric Abidal has been great on the left, and Henry had his best game of the season against Murcia this past weekend.

FA Cup: Liverpool v Luton Town

Luton defended admirably in the first half, attacking the Reds as they crossed midfield, often with crunching tackles. Unfortunately, their lack of skill on the ball led many Luton counterattacks to failure, as balls forward would be mistimed or could not be controlled. At the end of the first half, a Liverpool counterattack succeeded, as Fernando Torres slipped the ball around a Luton defender to the feet of Ryan Babel, who settled the pass and then struck hard with his right foot, blasting the ball into the far side of the goal. Liverpool enters the second half with a monkey off their back and we could well see Torres or Crouch subbed early in the second half as it seems unlikely that Luton will be able to create real scoring chances. Expect to see some young players in the second half and perhaps another goal or two from the Reds.
-Update-
Well, they scored four more in the second half and I can't say I'm too surprised.  Gerrard bagged a second half hat-trick and his second and third goals were crackers from outside the box.  I watch Liverpool and they look so good, but continue to underperform in the EPL.  I think they'll take out Inter in the knockout stage.  If you play against 3 of the best 10 teams in thew world, (Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U) you know how to play strong competition.  I'm not sure if Inter's in the same league (figuratively).

AC Milan v Celtic

The final group stage match sees Celtic and Milan separated by a mere point. Unfortunately, the game is in Milan and Celtic have never won an away Champions League match. Nonetheless, Celtic come into the match prepared to play for a draw and thus qualify to the round of sixteen. The first half saw lots of attacking play from Milan but Celtic's defense has stood strong, allowing few shots on goal and closing down scoring chances. Kaka did get free for a shot around the edge of the box but his shot sailed high and wide; I doubt Kaka will miss that chance again. If Celtic are to score, they'll probably need to do it off a set-piece of some sort, as they aren't bringing forward enough players in support to attack Milan's impenetrable defense. Celtic need to continue to defend well and play possession football in order to pull out a draw. A win would take first place in the group while Celtic can still qualify if they lose. On the one hand, I want to see some goals, on the other, if Celtic score it will probably pull Milan out of its funk and bounce back to score a couple goals, making Celtic's status unsure.
Milan continued their strong attack, finally forcing Celtic to concede a Filipo Inzaghi goal in the 70th minute. Boruc had some great saves for Celtic and the late subsitution of Jan Venegoor of Hesselink looked like Celtic could pull even with the defending champions but Milan stood tough. Thankfully, the other result ended in a 2-1 victory for Benfica and Celtic supporters in Italy began to celebrate the club's second consecutive year advancing in the Champions League to the knockout round of sixteen.

Manchester United v Fulham

The return of Rooney prompted my attention for this match, a nice way to get the afternoon off to a pleasant start on Monday. The reunion of Tevez and Rooney took a back seat to Cristiano Ronaldo, recently the runner-up for France's Ballon D'Or, the award for European Footballer of the Year, which, somewhat predictably, went to AC Milan's Kaka. Ronaldo, perhaps feeling a bit snubbed, showed great attacking pace on the right. United looked strong as usual on the wings, attacking well and putting shots on goal early. Rooney looked good alongside Tevez and both players created some havoc in the Fulham backfield, leading to Ronaldo's first goal in the 10th minute. On a defended cross, Ronaldo somehow found the ball at his feet and crushed a volley across the face of goal, past a helpless keeper. The United attack continued, but as the half drew near, Fulham missed a great chance to equalize on a cross, sending the header wide. In the second half, United continued their attack, leading to a beautiful cross from the right, a beautiful cross from John O'Shea which led Ronaldo over his defender to crush his header into the lower right. United continued to press forward, as Ronaldo sought his first hat-trick for Man U. A wonderful ball froward from Giggs put Ronaldo one-on-one with the keeper but he was carded for diving, which the replay could not confirm or deny. It sure must have been tempting for the Portuguese winger to try to complete his hat-trick from the spot but I'm not sure of the call. Nevertheless, a good performance from Manchester as they pulled to second place in the standings.

Champions League Matchday 4

Besiktas vs Liverpool
Following their defeat two weeks ago in Istanbul, Liverpool sit with 1 point from three games in the Champions League.  They got off to a great start, missing Fernando Torres, as their attack split wide down the flanks.  Voronin got the first scoring attack started, running down the left and playing the ball into Peter Crouch, who benefited from defensive lack of concentration  before cracking a shot at the Besiktas keeper, who made a good save only to have Crouch gather he rebound and strike it past the keeper's outstretched fingers.  Liverpool continued to attack and Besiktas had some strong play of their own but Liverpool really took control of their destiny in the 32nd minute as Voronin played a beautiful cross to Benayoun open in the box.  The Israeli settled the ball and then volleyed it into the lower-left corner, under the diving keeper.  Liverpool had a great half and will probably slow the play in the second half and play their traditional, conservative brand of football with a lead like this.

The Second Half
Going contrary to my opinion, Liverpool opened the half attacking fiercely, on their way to Champions League history, scoring six goals in the second half to set a new record for goal difference in a CL match, surpassing Arsenal (Oct 2007) and Juventus (2003), who both won their games 7-0. Benayoun scored his second of the match off the rebound of a strong Riise shot from just inside the box, which the keeper parried but was unable to control. Just two minutes later, Gerrard struck a free kick low and hard as Benayoun again got on the end of the rebound to one-touch it home. The attack continued, with Gerrard scoring in the 69th minute off a 1-2 exchange between himself and Voronin, ending with Gerrard one on one with the keeper, blasting the ball into the opposite side of the net with his considerable power. In the 78th minute, Ryan Babel scored the goal of the match, delicately back-heeling a low cross by Benayoun into the left side-netting. Just three minutes later, Reina destroyed a goal kick which the first defender could not clear and fell to the second, one on one with Babel. The defender tried to clear the bouncing ball but Babel's speed was too much, as he turned and the ball struck his back, lobbing the onrushing keeper into the net. Babel crushed a cross into the crossbar a couple minutes later, barely missing the hat-trick. In the 89th minute, Benayoun provided another beautiful ball into the center of the box and Crouch, unguarded by either of the center backs, headed the ball home. A great game from Voronin, Riise, Gerrard, Benayoun, Crouch and Babel saw Liverpool capitalize on all of their talent and put on a real show for the home fans. Man of the match: Benayoun with 3 goals and 2 assists. 

Champions League: Matchday 3

Barcelona v Rangers
First off, I hate Rangers. Second, I love Barca. Obviously, I watch this game with some extreme bias. I'll try to check it at the door.
The first half has seen Barca dominate possession, creating a number of chances on goal while executing their passes with the expected precision. With that said, Rangers have done an admirable job defending, cutting off the incisive passes from midfield that make Barca so hard to defend. Rangers have clogged the box, marked Henry and Messi with serious determination and emerged from the first half with a 0-0 tie. However, Barca will likely continue to grind the defense into the ground, with overlaps and their constant attack-and-possession style of play. One example of this in the first half was the attacking play of Puyol on the right, something I have rarely seen. Thankfully Victor Valdes has looked solid in goal but Rangers have had some uncomfortably strong attacking play in the first half. The absence of Deco, the coagulating agent of midfield, has been felt, as Xavi and Iniesta have struggled somewhat. In particular, Iniesta and Xavi will need to contain Rangers counterattacks while supporting the play of Gudjohnsen, Henry, Messi and Ronaldinho. It should be an excellent second half.

The Second Half
Barcelona continued to press forward while Rangers held Henry and Ronaldinho in check, double-teaming and fouling the two stars. Meanwhile, Messi was kept silent on the right flank, with few touches in the second half and none of his typically straightforward brilliance in attack. It has been said before, and it'll be said again: Deco makes Barca run. Without his pinpoint passing and control of the game from central midfield, all the rotating parts of Barcelona have no axle to turn, no node to connect to. Almost every time Henry or Roni touched the ball, they were hacked. And when Barca won free kicks, Ronaldinho sky-ed the first one and hit the crossbar on the second. Otherwise, Rangers continued to clog the top of the box and defended admirably on the wing. Barcelona's offense never quite got into high gear and the fouls and deep counter-attacks kept the Blaugrana from getting into any sort of cogent rhythm. In order to win the group, Barca will have to play better, with or without Deco. As a fan, this match was a bit of a disappointment.

Fernando Torres is the man

He scored a hat trick yesterday against a Reading side determined to play physical.  Catch the highlights at footytube.com.

Champions Lague Matchday 1: Barcelona v Lyon

First things first: Lyon is a damn good team and showed it for 80 minutes against what could well be the most talented team in Europe. They gave up an own goal off a Messi shot in the 21st minute and did a strong job of blocking the middle while not permitting Barca to attack easily down the flanks. That said, their excellent defense broke down for the final ten minutes and allowed Barcelona the space to create, leading to the two cushioning goals, by Messi in the 82nd minute and Henry in the 90th. Interestingly, Barca looked their best without Ronaldinho, who was removed in favor of Andres Iniesta in the 64th minute. For the most part, Henry and Messi were held in check by the Lyon defense, through hard tackling and offside traps. Henry looked sluggish and unable to control the ball or work well in the post. Messi continues to develop as one of the world's most exciting players and created space for himself and his teammates. In this game, he occassionally looked like he was trying to do too much, but in the end he created two goals and led his team to success. Messi has to be considered the man of the match in this game.

In the Manchester United v Sporting Lisbon match, again the underdog did a strong job defending goal and the box, forcing United to look wide for their chances. In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo was the difference as he scored the decisive goal against his former club. Ronaldo looked great with the ball at his feet but Rooney apparently wasnt ready for the game. Additionally, it was good to see Vidic and Ferdinand together at center-back. Van der Sar saved an almost-certain goal in the 79th minute with a fingertip save. United will have to improve their form if they expect to perform as they did last year in this tournament.

The Return of Owen

England finally came together as EPL fans know they should, winning 3-0 today over a strong Russian team. With Emile Heskey acting as a decoy, Michael Owen was able to work around him, flitting off on the edges and attacking the middle of the pitch, keeping the Russian defence guessing. The first goal came in the 4th minute, as Owen controlled a cross from Gareth Barry from the right flank and quickly dispatched the ball into the right side-netting. England looked the side to beat today, herding the Russian strikers into the center of the field and dispossessing them, with Ferdinand and Terry both living up to their reputations. Sean Wright-Phillips looked good on the right flank while Joe Cole was unfortunately denied by the Russian keeper on a good strike from just outside the box. England's long passing game looked great, as their timely counterattacks kept the Russians from sending more than one or two men forward at a time. In the 30th minute, Michael Owen scored again, this time striking a volley across the goal, just beyond the reach of Malafeev. The half ended just as England could have wished, up 2-0 and looking the strong favorites to take the points.
The second half began with more of the same, as long balls were played into Heskey, who did well to direct them into the paths of oncoming attackers like Owen, Cole and Wright-Phillips. Russia looked anemic and ineffective throughout the game, but showed a bit more panache at the beginning of the second half; England's mastery of the pitch proved too much though, as they continued to attack. Finally, in the 84th minute, England took a corner short, playing the ball into Owen at the edge of the 18, who froze the two defenders in front of him and threaded a short pass in to Rio Ferdinand (A short aside: Rio Ferdinand is one of the best defenders in the world, whose pace can match that of nearly any striker, who has one of the coolest heads in soccer and communicates superbly with his goalie. Additionally, he's good in the air and has a strong scoring record for a defender.) who pulled the ball back then burst past his defender before smashing the ball under the diving Malafeev. Owen had to be the man of the match and looked as good as he has in years. Here's to a successful campaign for Newcastle United and England. Good to have you back, Michael.

Breakdown of Champions League Groups

Courtesy of Lucas Hollister:

First, the Arsenal analysis. Arsenal have a history of favorable group stage draws, and this one was no different. While I think that the Liverpool, Porto, Besiktas, Marseille group is the easiest, if AEK Athens pulls off an upset, Arsenal are looking at perhaps the easiest group in the history of the competition. I will now go out and buy an AEK Athens jersey. That said, Arsenal also have a history of making easy draws much harder than they need to be. Prague and Bucharest were close to best-case-scenario teams for their pots. For pots three and four, the most important thing was to avoid a trip to Turkey (Fenerbahce are dangerous, as are their fans!) or Russia (they spray paint their fields green to hide the fact that they are frozen dirt!).

Now, for the group by group analysis:

Group A (Liverpool, Porto, Marseille, Besiktas):
Tough trips to Turkey, but Besiktas aren't that good a team. Liverpool and Porto should be easily better than Marseille and Besiktas. Marseille could slip ahead of Porto, but I don't see it happening. The departure of Ribery deprives Marseille of the one world-class player they had. The French league has been Lyon and everyone else for four years now. I don't see that changing this year. Benitez is the best Champion's League coach bar none. He has reached four finals in the last ten years, winning one. Never bet against his tactical acumen in a two game tie. Plus, Steven Gerrard is money under pressure and Riise gives you that "goal out of nothing" capability. Like most people, I like Liverpool better this year than last year.

Group B (Chelsea, Valencia, Schalke, Rosenborg):
Chelsea is a given. Mourinho is another great coach, in addition to being a great douchebag. Coach aside, they beat this group on squad strength alone. Valencia has been underrated this decade, in my estimation, but they don't look that strong this year. It's not so much a question of talent for them as chemistry. Read Phil Ball's latest article and you'll see that this is a club in turmoil. Villa is one hell of a striker, though. I still like Valencia to go through, but only because I don't think much of Schalke or Rosenborg. Schalke could be surprising, but the German league hasn't shown much these last few years. Rosenborg have a reputation for being difficult to beat at home, but they can't hang with any of the top three in this group. They'll be lucky to get two points.

Group C (Real, Werder, Lazio, Olympiakos):
Great group. This should be an exciting one. Real finally looks like they might have a balanced squad. They lost Beckham, which was more of a hit than some people might think. More importantly, they fired Capello for no reason. All he did was lead them to a Spanish league title. This guy's been a winner wherever he's gone, and Madrid fired him because he dared to coach defense. As always, the talent is there in spades for Madrid and, as always, chemistry will be the main question mark. Werder are the best German side. I love watching them play. They attack with passion and flair, but give up goals. They know from past experience that they can beat Real, and won't be afraid to take the game to them. I don't know much about Lazio, besides the fact that they fascists and play for my least favorite league in Europe. They may be the second best team in this group, but I'll be rooting against them. Olympiakos have a history of playing hard when outgunned, and Greek sides usually have discipline on defense. This is a fun group.

Group D (AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar):
Boring group. Milan deserved to win the CL last year, but they didn't deserve to be in the competition. Italian football is a disgrace and these guys are cheaters. That said, they've got some very elegant players. Portuguese teams remind me a lot of French teams from the mid-90's: technical, inventive, disciplined. Porto and Benfica are never easy games, especially away. Celtic pulled off a great win against Spartak Moscow. Nakamura is a game changer from set pieces. I don't see them having enough to get through. Shakhtar will be dangerous at home, and no one wants to have to travel to the Ukraine. I won't be watching any games from this group, supposing they are even televised.

Group E (Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart, Rangers):
Very obvious group. Lyon continue to be a great side. Even without Malouda, they are strong at every position. I think that the injury to Eto'o may benefit Barca in the long term. Henry is going to be very good for them. This lets him get familiar with the team.
Stuttgart will be ok. Rangers don't have the quality, though they have the fight. Fun games, but predictable outcomes.

Group F (Manchester United, Sporting Lisbon, Roma, Dynamo Kiev):
Hardest group. Not a single pushover here. Roma will be out for revenge and Sporting Lisbon are another great, technical Portuguese side. Manchester United's injury situation will be key coming into these draws. I'm always pulling for Dynamo Kiev. For those who don't know, the movie Victory is maybe 1/10 as astonishing as what Dynamo Kiev actually did against the Nazi's during WWII. I've told this story to so many of my friends, that I hesitate to put it up on plans, but if anyone hasn't heard it, let me know and I'll type it up. ESPN is constantly overplaying the human interest, drama, glory aspects of various mundane sports stories. Dynamo Kiev's history is legitimately one of the greatest of all time. It deserves to be remembered alongside Jesse Owens' victories in Berlin.
That said, that was then and this is now: they aren't getting out of this group.

Group G (Inter, Moscow, Fenerbahce, Eindhoven):
Inter is competing with Arsenal for weakest 1 seed in the CL. This is an incredibly evenly matched group. Fenerbahce was the 4 seed that no one wanted to draw. Playing in Moscow in the winter is borderline insane. Eindhoven always have talent, although losing Alex to Chelsea (for $1) doesn't help their cause. Unpredictable group. Should be fun games.

Group H:
I've already talked a lot about this one, but I should mention that Sevilla is a really, really good team. If they keep Alves and Juande Ramos, as it looks like they might, watch out. If this team had qualified, they easily could have won the CL last year. They are pure class.

Liverpool v Toulouse

In some hot Champions League qualifying action, Liverpool took the game straight to Toulouse, attacking and controlling the ball throughout both halves.  In the 19th minute, Dirk Kuyt served a beautiful cross to a sliding Peter Crouch, who snuck the ball between the post and the keeper.  Liverpool had many strong chances in the first half, with many coming from service on the wing, one of the major weaknesses Liverpool displayed in the Champions League final against AC Milan.  This Liverpool side, without Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher, dominated all aspects of the game and came away with what could only be described as a fair result.  The trend continued in the second half, with an early goal in the 49th minute from Sami Hyypia's head off a corner kick.  Liverpool refused to let up, with Dirk Kuyt scoring in the 86th and 90th minutes.   Liverpool looked like the great attacking side they can be, without Gerrard or Torres.  This bodes well for Liverpool and gets them off to a great start in another Champions League campaign.