A lot of lesser-known teams are involved at this stage but the big upset of the day was SPL side Motherwell losing at home to Welsh opponents Llanelli. 42-year-old player-manager Andy Legg, who played for both Swansea City FC and Cardiff City AFC, called their 1-0 win at Motherwell “the best result that Llanelli have ever had”. I was not able to find highlights of the match but in looking at the minute-by-minute report, Motherwell seemed to dominate possession and there is still a long haul for Llanelli if they are to win this round and earn a second qualifying round tie against Albania’s KS Flamurtari.

The one club in this group that I have been watching over the summer has been Rosenborg. They’ve been ripping up the Norwegian league and are still leading by 4 points with 1 game in hand. They helped themselves to a 3-0 advantage in the first leg and will host the second leg against Faroe Islands side NSÍ Runavík. They should advance comfortably.

One other notable score was Cypriot side Anorthosis, who took part in last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, defeating Luxembourg’s UN Käerjéng 97 by a massive 5-0.

The complete first leg scores were:

Olimpi Rustavi (Georgia) 2-0 B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands)
Simurq Zaqatala (Azerbaijan) 0-1 Bnei Yehuda (Israel)
Dinaburg (Latvia) 2-1 Nomme Kalju (Estonia)
Banants (Armenia) 0-2 Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia/Herzegovina)
Sutjeska Niksic (Montenegro) 1-1 MTZ-RIPO (Belarus)
Lahti (Finland) 4-1 Dinamo Tirana (Albania)
Valletta (Malta) 3-0 Keflavik (Iceland)
Zimbru Chisinau (Moldova) 1-2 Okzhetpes (Kazakhstan)
Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) 2-1 Renova (FYR Macedonia)
Narva Trans (Estonia) 0-3 Rudar Velenje (Slovenia)
Szombathelyi Haladas (Hungary) 1-0 Irtysh (Kazakhstan)
Spartak Trnava (Slovakia) 2-1 Inter Baku (Azerbaijan)
Slaven Belupo (Croatia) 1-0 Birkirkara (Malta)
Grevenmacher (Luxembourg) 0-3 Veta (Lithuania)
Anorthosis (Cyprus) 5-0 Kaerjeng (Luxembourg)
Randers (Denmark) 4-0 Linfield (Northern Ireland)
NSI Runavik (Faroe Islands) 0-3 Rosenborg (Norway)
Sligo Rovers (Ireland) 1-2 Vllaznia (Albania)
Fram (Iceland) 2-1 The New Saints (Wales)
Buducnost (Montenegro) 0-2 Polonia Warsaw (Poland)
Lisburn Distillery (Northern Ireland) 1-5 Zestaponi (Georgia)
Helsingborg (Sweden) 3-1 MIKA (Armenia)
Motherwell (Scotland) 0-1 Llanelli (Wales)

Matchday 4 should be a pivotal one as many groups may well be decided once the games are completed. Who needs a win and who can afford to slip? Let’s take a look at Tuesday’s games.

Group A
Roma need to win at home against Chelsea but that is looking to be a tall order considering the run of form that Chelsea are on right now. They absolutely walked all over Sunderland on the weekend and Roma will likely play a counter-attack game again and hope to frustrate the London club. Should there be a winner in the Cluj – Bordeaux match and Roma do not pick up at least a point, the pressure will be on the Italian side. Roma, who lost 2-0 to Juventus on the weekend, have slumped to one of their worst starts in recent seasons and remain just two points off the bottom of the Serie A table. Manager Luciano Spalletti is under pressure from the fans and media, and if results do not turn around quickly he could become the next Champions League manager to be fired.

Group B
Werder Bremen need a win. There is no other way to say it. They have been poor thus far and another draw will not help them turn things around. They looked impressive on the weekend as playmaker Diego starred in a 5-1 drubbing of Hertha Berlin but is it another false dawn? Bremen have a very talented side but have thus far been unable to get the most out of that talent. Here’s hoping we see the same Bremen side in midweek that we saw this  past weekend. Panathinaikos need a win if even UEFA Cup is to be a possibility this season but I don’t see things going there way in Bremen.Anorthosis will hope to hold Inter to a draw, anything more would be a wonder result.With a win, Inter will pretty much have this group wrapped up.

Group C
Top and bottom of the group may well be decided if Barcelona steamroll FC Basel again. The scoreline was an emphatic 5-0 last time and while I don’t expect the same number of goals, I do think the result will be the same. That leaves Sporting and Shakhtar to battle it out for 2nd place. The 1-0 win that Sporting claimed at RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium on Matchday 3 has them sitting three points clear of Shakhtar. A second win against the Ukrainian side will propel them into the last 16. Sporting currently have a perfect record against Ukrainian opposition and while they will be without defender Tonel, I think Sporting will have enough depth and enough incentive to get the result at home.

Group D
The feature matchup in this group is the return fixture between Liverpool and Atlético Madrid. A victory for either side will put them in the driver’s seat in the group. Momentum is on Atlético’s side as they won at the weekend, while Liverpool lost despite playing very well. However, it will be a tall order for Atlético to go to Anfield and take all three points. I think this one will likely end up a draw but should one of the two slip, PSV will be hoping to overcome Marseille and close the gap on second place. The Dutch side currently sit third on 3 points, 4 back of the joint leaders of the group. PSV and Marseille both won at the weekend and the last match was close despite the 2-0 scoreline. Marseille moved within a point of Ligue 1 pacesetters Olympique Lyonnais with a 3-1 victory at home against AS Saint-Etienne,while PSV defeated Willem II by a 2-0 scoreline to move within 1 point of top spot in the Eredivisie.

To use a golf analogy, the teams in the group stage of the Champions League make the turn today and tomorrow with the completion of the first three games of the group stage. And while it’s early, for some teams, it’s make-or-break time.
Group by group, here’s an analysis of who needs to win:

Group A:

ROMA Needs To Win: Misery may love company, but it seems to love Roma too. Last weekend’s humbling 4-0 home defeat to Inter Milan is hardly the way Roma wanted to head into the lion’s den known tomorrow as Stamford Bridge. Roma also had to shudder at Chelsea’s 5-0 smashing of Middlesborough with what essentially a B team. Still, a good result keeps Roma in the hunt. And you can bet that Roma hopes Cluj wakes up from its dream campaign in Europe soon.

Group B:

ANORTHOSIS Needs To Win: Yes the team from Cyprus, y’know, those guys who are leading Group B. Anorthosis has a win and a draw over Bremen and Panathinaikos, but its most crucial match is today against Inter at the San Siro. Mourinho says his team is cautious about the match, and well it should be. Minnows can bite, especially in a tournament such as this; over-confidence is a killer.

Group C:
SPORTING and SHAKTAR Need To Win: If ESPN had any stones, this would be the match it would televise on Wednesday. This match, as well as the return leg in Lisbon on Nov. 4 will surely be bookend epic battles. These two are fighting for second behind Barcelona in the group, with Basel already all but an afterthought. Both clubs have 3 points. Sporting pounded Basel a month ago, while Shaktar lost a heartbreaker to Barcelona. Sporting may suffer from its lack of meaningful activity coming into this one due to the international break and having played only a domestic cup match.

Group D:
PSV EINDHOVEN Needs To Win: With Marseille on the docket today and the Frech club less than inspired, Eindhoven needs a precious three points tomorrow to keep pace with Liverpool and Atletico–two teams in top form right now. A draw does neither Eindhoven nor Marseille any good. Liverpool and Atletico meanwhile, has the makings of a classic, though Liverpool could be dragged down by injuries.
Group E:
CELTIC Needs To Win: With Manchester United finding its pace–surprise surprise that it coincides with Ronaldo finding his form and Rooney finding the back of the net–Celtic cannot be looking forward to today’s trip to Old Trafford. Celtic has one point from the first two matches, and cannot afford to lose today and be six points–or two matches–behind United with three to play. The math, in that case, just does work in Celtic’s favor, especially with Villareal having a sitter today against AaB.
Group F:
FIORENTINA Needs To Win: Fiorentina has an opportunity today to make waves in this group with its visit against shaken Bayern Munich. Fiorentina has two points from two matches, even with Lyon, which figures to get a result against Steaua Bucharesti today. Bayern is struggling, having taken only three points from its last four matches in Germany. It leads this group with four points. A Fiorentina win certainly makes the final three matches much more interesting. Fiorentina is three points out in Serie A and has won three in a row.

Group G:
FC PORTO Needs To Win: If for no other reason than confidence in this group, Porto needs to win today at home against Dynamo Kyiv. Porto has regained the lead in the Portuguese first division, but its 4-0 drubbing last time out at Arsenal was humbling and revealing. Porto is vulnerable and cannot afford another slip, especially with an Arsenal win today basically pushing the Gunners through to the next round.

Group H:

ZENIT St. PETERSBURG Needs To Win: The darling UEFA Cup winners of 2007-2008 desperately need to get going in this group. With zero points from two matches, Zenit certainly welcomes Bate Borisov today to Russia. With Juventus hosting Real Madrid, Zenit quickly needs to close the gap on the top two, or else it will indeed be defending its UEFA Cup triumph–maybe.

Champions League debutants CFR 1907 Cluj came from behind to beat Roma and record a stunning 2-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Beyond the absence of Totti, Roma had a strong squad out on the field and will be disappointed with their performance. There has been a bit of turmoil off the field recently with the death of club president Franco Sensi and the decision of American billionaire George Soros to back away from buying the club, apparently after seeing the depths of Roma’s debts (reported to exceed 500m US).

That is not to take anything away from Cluj who made the most of their debut and produced one of the biggest upsets in recent Champions League history. Argentinian midfielder Juan Culio was the hero for Cluj scoring both goals, the second a lovely volley. On the basis of that performance, Romania plans to give Culio citizenship so that he can play for their national side. There is truly a feel good story about Culio, who worked as a bricklayer in Argentina to support his family for six years from the age of 13. He started out playing at senior club level for Independiente Buenos Aires in 2005-2006. The 24-year old player came to Cluj after a brief stay with Deportes La Serena of Chile in 2007.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari took the Cluj upset as a warning shot and despite his team winning 4-0 over Bordeaux, Scolari was critical of the performance. In his post-game press conference he told reporters:

“We made many mistakes in the second half. We did not control the game enough, we let them have too much of the ball. We did not play very well. We could be punished by other teams who get in front of goal faster and with quality. That is dangerous for us. When you are winning 2-0 at half-time you need to work the ball and control the game. You don’t need to win 5-0.” He then added: “You see that Cluj beat Roma. That is a warning for us for the next game.”

Chelsea got goals from Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka but Scolari hinted that his players did not perform as he wanted and were not following his tactical plan. It’s probably a warning to the players ahead of their massive English Premier League match against Manchester United this weekend.

In Group B, Jose Mourinho enjoyed a successful CL debut with Inter Milan as goals from Mancini and Adriano (both courtesy of brilliant setup work by Zlatan Ibrahimovic) gave them a 2-0 win over Panathinaikos. The Greek side did have a number of chances to score and I thought that they might have snuck a draw if their luck had run a bit better. In the group’s other game, Champions League debutants Anorthosis Famagusta secured a surprise point away at German side Werder Bremen in a 0-0 draw. Bremen failed to convert time and time again as Claudio Pizarro, Hugo Almeida and others missed many clear chances to score. Bremen put an amazing 14 shots wide of goal, while on 5 shots were on target. That will need to improve if they are to get their season up and running.

In Group C, Barcelona finally recorded a win this season defeating Sporting Lisbon 3-1 at the Nou Camp. Goals from Rafael Marquez, Samuel Eto’o and Xavi secured the win for the 2006 Champions League winners. Shakhtar Donetsk joined Barca at the top of the group on three points with a 2-1 victory in Switzerland against Basel.

Atletico are the early leaders in Group D after an impressive 3-0 victory away against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Sergio Aguero was the star of the match with two goals while a player I think is not rated highly enough by many, Maniche, scored the third after he and Luis Garcia combined to carve apart the PSV defence. They had done so early in the first half to set up Aguero’s first goal and paired again in the 54th minute to put the game beyond doubt.

Though the stats will show that PSV had the bulk of possession, Atletico controlled the game and were rarely troubled. The Atletico midfield passed the ball at will and the scoreline could have been much higher. All was not rosy as Aguero’s striker partner and former Golden Boot winner, Diego Forlan, limped off through injury.

I’d named Atletico as one of the teams to watch in the CL this season and their performance on Tuesday certainly made me look good. I don’t know if they will match the performance of my “dark horse” pick from last season but I do think they’ve got the depth and talent to make it to the knockout stages. I’m looking forward to seeing them matched up with Liverpool on Matchday 3.

Speaking of Liverpool, they continued their strong start to the season with a 2-1 win over Marseille. Steven Gerrard scored both goals for Liverpool, who were coming off a massive 2-1 win English Premier League victory over last season’s champions Manchester United. Liverpool are finding ways to win games early in the year, which is something they struggled with in past seasons. If they can keep this going and retain their late season form of the last couple of years, they should be fighting for honors on several fronts.

Group B is home to a surprising Cypriot side, a Greek side in transition, a German side sometimes called ‘everyone’s second team’, and an Italian club with a little something special. Confused? Let me explain!

Anorthosis Famagusta FC

How They Got Here: Became the first and only Cypriot football club to reach the group stages of the Champions League by defeating Olympiacos FC of Greece in the third qualifying round.

Star Performer: ST ?ukasz Sosin. The Polish striker has continued the excellent strike rate he posted in the Polish league and has notched 20 goals in 37 apperances for Anorthosis.

Key To Success: Make the most of their matches against Panathinaikos and perhaps catch Werder on an off-day. The prospects don’t seem great considering their UEFA Cup outing last season when they were worked over by Tottenham Hotspur 7-2 on aggregate.

New signing Traianos Dellas will be called on to play at his best in defence and the hope will be that he can show the “Colossus of Rhodes” form that helped him lead Greece to the 2004 European Championsip win.

Players In: MF Tiquinho (AEL Limassol), DF Traianos Dellas (AEK Athens F.C.), MF Cédric Bardon (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.)

Players Out: FW Milan Beli? (AEP Paphos FC), MF William Boaventura (Metallurg Donetsk), Hamad Ndikumana (to AC Omonia)

Talking Points: One positive for the club is that the transfer of Hamad Ndikumana means that his rows with the club’s manager, Temuri Ketsbaia, come to an end, which will be good for overall team spirit. Ketsbaia, while not a seasoned manager (he arrived at Anorthosis in the summer of 2002 as a player-coach) does have playing experience in Greece and England.

Predicted Finish: Last place — the fairy-tale run ends here. I don’t see them edging out Panathinaikos for third.

Panathinaikos FC

How They Got Here: Defeated Sparta Prague 3-2 on aggregate in the Third Qualifying Round

Star Performer: Striker Dimitris Salpigidis was one of the most expensive transfers between Greek teams ever. He rewarded them last season by being the third highest scorer in the league with 15 goals. A quick note to say that Marcello Mattos looks to be a potential star as he featured regularly in the same Corinthians side that Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano starred in.

Key To Success: Their defensive record was fine last season, the problem came in scoring goals. Beyond Salpigidis, the rest of the team only managed 29 goals in their domestic league and that’s simply not good enough. When you consider they missed out on the title by only four points, a few more goals might have made all the difference. That fact will only be magnified in the Champions League as the defences they will be facing will be of a higher quality than in their domestic league.

Players In: MF Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), ST Rodrigo de Souza Cardoso (Flamengo), DF Gabriel Rodrigues dos Santos (Fluminense), FW Ante Rukavina (Hejduk Split)

Players Out: DF Nasief Morris (loaned to Recreativo de Huelva), DF Takis Fyssas (retired), FW Manucho (loan return to Manchester United), FW Hélder Postiga (transfer to Sporting Lisbon)

Talking Points: Panathinaikos FC has a tumultuous year finishing third in the Greek Super League (after most supporters believed the team had no option but to win in honor of their centenary) leading fans to protest against the long time owners of the club, the Vardinogiannis family. Just days later, club president and main shareholder, Giannis Vardinogiannis gave a press conference in which he announced that his family would be reducing their share in the club to 50 per cent. How that will affect the team’s on-field fortunes remains to be seen.They did not hesitate to spend money in the offseason and have added a lot of Brazillian flavour to the side but it is actually a Croatian that might be the best buy. Young striker Ante Rukavina has lit it up for his national side at the U21 level and had a decent goal rate with Hejduk Split in the Croatian league. It’ll be interesting to see if he can step his game up another notch.

Predicted Finish: Third place — Bremen and Inter will need to have complete meltdowns for the Greek side to finish higher.

SV Werder Bremen

How They Got Here: 2nd in Bundesliga — automatic berth to Champions League group stage.

Star Performer: Midfield maestro Diego Ribas da Cunha (Diego for short) is the star player on this squad, no question about it. As he goes, so goes the performance of the squad. A stellar passer and clever dribbler, Diego creates many chances as well as scoring a few goals of his own.

Key To Success: Consistency. For every 8-1 win (last season over Arminia Bielefeld) there seemed to be a 2-1 loss (against Bochum) to offset it. In particular they played poorly in the Champions League, only winning two matches (against Real Madrid) and losing the rest including both matches against Olympiacos. The team needs to perform to its best each and every time out as with the losses of talent they have had over the past couple of seasons (Miroslav Klose in particular), they simply cannot cruise through games. The talent is there to win but manager Thomas Schaaf must get the most out of his squad.

Players In: FW Claudio Pizarro (on loan from Chelsea FC), DF Sebastian Prödl (transfer from SK Sturm Graz),

Players Out: FW Ivan Klasnic (transfer to FC Nantes), MF Tim Borowski (transfer to FC Bayern Munich), LB Pierre Womé (transfer to 1. FC Köln)

Talking Points: German club Werder Bremen have been called ‘everyone’s second team’ and with their attractive, attack-minded football featuring the talents of midfield maestro Diego Ribas da Cunha, it’s easy to see why that might be the case. Despite winning the Bundesliga in 2003-04, the club has often failed to continue that success and good starts to the season (such as in the 2006-07 season) have gone for not.

It will be intersting to see how the team compensate for the loss of Tim Borowski who was an integral part of a strong Bremen midfield. The departure of Klasnic, while not perhaps the best from a football point of view, will remove an unhappy figure from the dressing room. Klasnic had fallen out with the team over medical treatment he received for his kidney ailment and accused the team doctor of negligence. A lawsuit was filed and settled out of court but it was best for both parties to have Klasnic move on. He will suit up for Nantes in Ligue 1 this season.

Predicted Finish: Second place — Bremen and Inter will need to have complete meltdowns for the Greek side to finish higher.

FC Internzionale

How They Got Here: Serie A Champions — automatic berth to group stage.

Star Performer: Julio Cesar. Often overshadowed by Buffon, Cesar is one of the best keepers in Serie A, and perhaps the world as well. He made numerous crucial saves down the stretch last season to help Inter hold onto their lead depsite their dip in form. He has also established himself as first-choice goalkeeper for Brazil ahead of Roma’s Doni and Dida of AC Milan.

Key To Success: Discipline. After dominating their group last season (5 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss), Inter were beaten on aggregate 3-0 by Liverpool and knocked out in the Round of 16. In both legs of the tie with Liverpool, Inter had a player sent off for receiving two yellow cards.

Players In: MF Ricardo Quaresma (bought from FC Porto), MF Mancini (bought from AS Roma), MF Sulley Muntari (bought from Portsmouth)

Players Out: FW David Suazo (loan to Benfica), MF Santiago Solari (end of contract), FW Alvaro Recoba (released)

Talking Points: The biggest change in the off-season was at the manager position. Out went Roberto Mancini, in came ‘The Special One’ Jose Mourinho. Mourinho has already changed the look of the team. Expect to see Inter go with a 4-3-3 look most of the time with Quaresma and Mancini as the width players and Zlatan Ibrahimovi? (or possibly a rejuvenated Adriano) as the target man in the middle. Mourinho has been a little more humble since moving to Inter, a club with a lot of success in their past. He knows he’ll need to do more than talk a good game if he is to be judged favorably by the rabid but knowledgeable Inter fans.

Predicted Finish: First place — they’re just a notch above the other squads in overall quality and that will help them to take first place. They could be devastating in attack if their front trio gel quickly.