The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

In the first eight matches of this Champions League matchday, there was plenty of excitement to go around. Some sides like Chelsea have made sure that they’re going through top of the group, while others like Arsenal have complicated their Champions League campaign terribly.

In these eight games, there were 23 goals scored, making for an average of 2.8 goals per game. But what I find very interesting is that in these eight matches, there were four players sent off with red cards! All four sending offs were in the second half of the matches, and three were in the last five minutes. I guess it’s a sign that the tension is rising as teams need to qualify for the next round of the tournament.

The most exciting match which took place today was Roma – Bayern Munich, with the Italian side triumphing at home 3-2. Bayern started the scoring with Gomez taking advantage of shaky Roma defending in the 33rd and 39th minutes, leaving Ranieri’s side in a bit of disarray going into the second half. But Roma came out to win the match in front of their home fans, and Borriello pulled one back four minutes into the second half, then in the 81^st minute De Rossi scored to make it 2-2. And in the 84^th minute, Roma were awarded a penalty, and their legendary captain Francesco Totti stepped up and scored the winner.

A fantastic match which keeps Roma in second place, three points behind Bayern Munich, and three ahead of FC Basel. FC Basel defeated CFR Cluj at home 1-0, with Alerares scoring the only goal in the 15^th minute. Cluj had Piccolo sent off with a direct red card in the 88^th minute, and the player will miss their next Champions League match against Roma. So Group E is relatively tight with Roma needing a win if they want to qualify, while Bayern look pretty solid up in first place with a goal difference of +7.

Chelsea faced Zilina at Stamford Bridge, and while they went a goal down in the first half, Ancelotti’s side scored twice in the second half in order to win 2-1. Zilina scored from a quick give-and-go passing move which Bello poked past Turnbull. It was the youngster Sturridge who equalized, and Chelsea began to press on, with Drogba almost scoring from a free kick, and  youngster van Aanholt smacking an effort against the post. It was Florent Malouda who scored the winner in the 86th minute for Chelsea, helping his side get their fifth in a row in the Champions League, qualifying them mathematically for first place.

Behind Chelsea which has fifteen points, Olympique Marseille are second with nine, with Spartak Moscow following the french side with six points. Marseille defeated the Russian team comfortably 3-0 in Russia, with Valbuena, Remy, and Brandao scoring the goals while Welliton was sent off for Spartak. While it is mathematically possible for Spartak Moscow to steal Marseille’s second place and qualify for the next round, Marseille have a goal difference of +8, while Spartak’s is -4, so it’s very likely that Chelsea and Olympique Marseille will move on to the next round from Group F.

While Chelsea have qualified to the next round, Arsenal have made their qualification a little more difficult after their away loss to Sporting Braga. It was a 2-0 win for the Portuguese side with Matheus Nascimento scoring both very well taken goals. What will bother Arsenal fans the most is probably the fact that their side conceeded the goals in the 83^rd and 90^th minutes, and that they’ll probably have to win next Champions League matchday in order to qualify.

This is because Sporting Braga are tied with Arsenal with nine points, with the English side ahead by goal difference. Ahead of both of the sides is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk which defeated Partizan 3-0, which puts them first with 12 points. Watching all the action from the very bottom of the table is the Serbian side Partizan, the team has only scored one goal, and has zero points, and their chances of picking up some points next matchday are slim, considering that they’ll be facing Arsenal which will be fighting for qualification.

Jose Mourinho will be glad that his team, Real Madrid, conquered first place in the group with a 4-0 away win over Ajax, but he won’t be too glad about the two players which received red cards in the final minutes of the match. Everything was going perfectly all the way until the last five minutes of the match, the Spanish side were 4-0 up with Benzema and Arbeloa on the scoresheet along with Ronaldo who scored twice, of which one of the goals was a penalty.

But in the 87^th minute Xabi Alonso gets a second yellow card for time wasting (his first was for throwing the ball away during a stoppage of play), and therefore a red card, and just minutes later Sergio Ramos replicates his teammate and gets sent off for wasting time as well! But Jose Mourinho won’t care too much, especially considering that this win mathematically qualifies his side in first place.

AC Milan have also mathematically qualified for the knockout round in second place after their 2-0 win away from home against Auxerre. And it was Ibrahimovic who scored a fantastic goal, a truly unstoppable rocket which shows that the Swede has been playing wonderfully and scoring plenty of goals to help his side, whether it be in the Champions League, or the Serie A. Ronaldinho got the other goal in the 90^th minute, a sly dribbling move finished by a curled left foot shot onto the far post.

What are your thoughts regarding these matches? Will Arsenal qualify? What about Roma? Can they catch Bayern? Share your comments below!

After a truly fantastic matchday of Champions League action, there are so many things to review, especially after so many goals were scored. There were 53 goals scored in all 16 matches of the Champions League this midweek, that’s an average of 3.31 goals per game! Not bad at all.

Real Madrid travelled to Milan to play the rossoneri, and while Jose Mourinho added a little spice to the crowd by waving with three fingers (which indicates the treble he won last season with Inter Milan), the match was full of excitement. The first goal came at the 45 minute mark when Higuain took advantage of a slightly disorganized Milan backline, received a simple pass with his back to goal, and turned around to slot it into the back of the net.

Then in the second half, Allegri put on Inzaghi for Ronaldinho, and the Italian striker was phenomenal for AC Milan. He scored two goals to give the home side the lead, and surpass Gerd Muller’s all time scoring record in the competition by scoring his 70th goal in the tournament.

But Mourinho is a sly and lucky man, and in the 94th minute of the game, substitute Karim Benzema picked out another substitute Pedro Leon with a defence-splitting through pass, and Leon finished through Abbiati’s legs for an epic equalizer. With this point, Real Madrid have qualified for the knockout stages, but AC Milan will have to do will in their upcoming two matches against Auxerre and Ajax to make sure they qualify as well.

There was another story of revenge in this Champions League midweek, with Eduardo’s side Shakhtar Donetsk defeating his former club Arsenal. Things looked a little worrying for Shakhtar when Samir Nasri clipped the outside of the Ukrainian goal in the beginning of the match. After that, just ten minutes into the match Theo Walcott scored a wonderful goal from a deadly counter-attack finished by a sublime low curling shot. Arsenal needed a win to cinch qualification, and things were looking good for the gunners early on.

But Shakhtar fought back right away, and managed to hit the woodwork and then forced Fabianski to an excellent save. Finally Shakhtar scored, and it was the former Barcelona player Chygrynskiy who headed home from a free kick, and Fabianski couldn’t do much since there was a slight deflection as the ball flicked off of Eastmond’s head. Then, the true blow for Arsenal fans arrived, and it was their former player Eduardo who delivered it. A composed first-touch finish by Eduardo from a low pass across Arsenal’s penalty box gave the home side the winner. And while Arsenal fought back, it wasn’t meant to be as Shakhtar held on for an amazing home win.

Tottenham defeated Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane, with another outstanding performance by Gareth Bale. The Welsh international dominated the left wing and assisted two goals for Harry Redknapp’s side, and it was Samuel Eto’o who scored a lovely goal for Inter Milan.

Chelsea also got a big win, 4-1 over Spartak Moscow, and it was Bratislav Ivanovic who scored a brace! Drogba also made his Champions League season debut this match, and had the captain’s armband on for the English club as he scored as well.

Roma fought for a good 3-2 win away against Basel, a particularly inspired Menez gave the Romans the lead, and then Totti followed up with a penalty. After that Frei pulled one back for the home side, but the youngster Greco scored Roma’s third to make sure that Basel didn’t get their hopes up. Shaqiri scored the final goal of the match to make it 3-2, as Roma pull off an important win in this Champions League campaign.

Bayern Munich travelled away and pummelled CFR Cluj 4-0 with Mario Gomez scoring a hat-trick, but that wasn’t the biggest scoreline of this midweek. Marseille defeated Zilina in Slovakia, with Gignac scoring a hat-trick, and even former Real Madrid defender Heinze getting a goal.

There were plenty of amazing matches, and sadly I can’t cover them all. Please comment below about any of the matches which happened in the Champions League today, or any which will be happening in the Europa League tomorrow!

With the another matchday of the Champions/Europa League group stages coming up, I’ve decided to take  a look at what could be the more interesting matches of the 40 which will be played in the two competitions. The way I’ve chosen these matches is by looking at the teams which are playing, how they’ve been doing recently, and whether it’s make or break time for them.

Tottenham Hotspur – Inter Milan

After the fantastic 4-3 match which the two sides played out last matchday at the San Siro, I couldn’t not not include this return fixture which will take place at Tottenham’s stadium, White Hart Lane. But this match looks to be slightly different from the previous one, especially with Inter Milan probably missing Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and their main keeper, Julio Cesar. But Tottenham have missing players as well, their main playmaker Rafael van der Vaart limped off holding his thigh on the weekend, so he might not be able to play against Inter. And Tottenham’s first choice keeper Gomes is suspended after the red card he received last game against Inter.

My prediction for this match is a 3-1 win for Inter Milan. I expect Rafa Benitez’s side to create and finish opportunities, especially with Samuel Eto’o up front, and I think that they’ll be a little more wary of Gareth Bale. Do you agree or disagree? Share your prediction below by commenting!

CSKA Moscow – Palermo

This match is a very interesting match, although Palermo have been playing some beautiful football in the Serie A, with their brilliantly talented playmaker Javier Pastore, they haven’t started well in the Europa League. The Italian side are second-last in the group with only three points, meanwhile CSKA Moscow are top of the table with nine points having won all three of their matches so far. But what I think makes this match very interesting is the fact that Palermo need to get a result, and they have the players to do it in style. So could we see a full-out attacking match by the Italian side which will be fighting for whatever it can get away from home? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big scoreline from this match.

AC Milan – Real Madrid

This is a strange match, and while at first it may look like a clash of giants, I think that the game will be very one-sided for the Spanish side. The two historic sides faced each other at the Santiago Bernabeu last matchday, and that match was dominated by the home side which comfortably won 2-0. While you think that AC Milan will be able to pull something off at their home stadium in order to regain some pride, they just lost to Juventus 2-1 with the San Siro crowd booing the home side. As for Jose Mourinho’s side, Real Madrid are top of the La Liga table having scored 25 goals in just nine matches.

My prediction is a 2-1 win for Real Madrid. I think that Jose Mourinho is too meticulous and careful to detail to let this disorganized AC Milan side stop his team’s good run. And Cristiano Ronaldo looks sure to score considering that he has been playing wonderfully for Real. Agree or disagree with me? Well, make sure to share your thoughts on how this big match will go by commenting below!

FC Basel – Roma

This is a big match for Group E, with Bayern Munich in first with nine points, and the rest of the sides all tied up below the Germans with three, this could decide who goes through to the next round. Roma have been doing terribly in the Champions League, and having already faced FC Basel at their home stadium, the giallorossi were humiliated losing 3-1 in Rome. But Claudio Ranieri’s side has gained momentum, and after their latest 2-0 victory over Lecce, their were plenty of positive things which could be transferred in their away trip to Switzerland. So can Roma manage to win away against Basel to claim the second place in the group? We’ll have to wait and see until Wednesday before we get an answer.

If you have any thoughts or comments regarding matches in the Europa/Champions League, be sure to share them below by commenting!

(photo courtesy of uefa.com)

Wow. There are some really great match-ups that have emerged from today’s draw at UEFA headquarters. I’m going to give a quick rundown and early predictions though I reserve the right to change my mind before kick-off of the this round!

The tie that will likely generate the most press is the Inter Milan – Manchester United clash. It is a return to English soil for former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho and Alex Ferguson have always been cordial but there have been tense moments between the two. One was brought on by Mourinho’s celebratory run down the touchline at Old Trafford in March 2004. Jose celebrated Francisco Costinha’s last-minute equaliser as if he had scored it himself. That goal knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League and Porto went on to victory in the final, which elevated Mourinho to the status of being one of the eilte managers in the game.

In another interesting twist, Chelsea will welcome back another one of their former bosses as Claudio Ranieri’s Juventus have been paired with Chelsea. Completing the Anglo-Italian showdown is the clash of two attack-minded sides as Arsenal take on AS Roma.

A thought for poor Lyon who were matched up against the current form team in Europe, Barcelona. It’s going to be a tall mountain to climb for the French champs but it is not impossible.

I will do a more thorough breakdown in the weeks leading up to the next round but for now, here are my early predictions based on current form:

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

Who do you think will advance? Which match-up are you most anticipating?

There are some pivotal battles to be fought in the upcoming Matchday and while some groups look to have clear patterns emerging, others could go down to the wire. Let’s take a whirlwind tour of the current state of the groups along with my speculations on the ties on Matchday 5.

Group A
A win for Chelsea over Bordeaux will take them through, regardless of the result between second place AS Roma and bottom club CFR 1907 Cluj. Roma and Bordeaux are currently tied on points with Roma holding the edge on goal differential. Chelsea hammered Bordeaux 4-0 on Matchday 1 but I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that scoreline. I still see Chelsea winning but perhaps only by a single goal. A draw would be a good result for Bordeaux and would keep their hopes alive. Top through bottom is seperated by only three points in this group so Cluj can still make things uneasy for everyone with a win over Roma at home. Roma played well against an uninspired Chelsea side on Matchday 4 and will hope to keep the momentum going. I’m going to go for a draw in this match. I think Cluj will come out with an inspired performance.

Group B
Leaders Internazionale can advance with either a victory or a draw at home to Panathinaikos. Inter could even advance if they lose should there be a draw between Anorthosis Famagusta and Werder Bremen. The suprising Anorthosis side can achieve a knockout round spot if they win and Inter do likewise. Werder Bremen must win in order to keep their hopes alive. I wouldn’t bet on Bremen to get a win in Cyprus considering their up and down form this season.

Group C:
The main business is complete: Barcelona and Sporting are both through to the last 16 after taking care of business on Matchday 4 when the Spanish side drew with FC Basel 1893 and the Portuguese team beat FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The two leaders face-off in Portugal while Basel will hope to get a result on the road in the Ukraine.

Group D:
Pacesetters Club Atlético de Madrid and Liverpool FC will extend their Champions League campaigns into the new year by winning at home to PSV Eindhoven and Olympique de Marseille respectively. Atlético can also book up for the knockout stages if they draw and Liverpool avoid defeat. A point would also be enough for Liverpool – who like Atlético have eight points – provided PSV do not prevail in Madrid.

Liverpool will be bolstered by captain Steven Gerrard, who is expected to play in Wednesday’s tie against Marseille after recovering from the groin injury which forced him to miss Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Fulham.

Group E:
With Manchester United FC and Villarreal CF sitting pretty with a six-point cushion over Celtic FC and Aalborg BK, both are likely to qualify for the next round. The two leaders are pitted against one another on Matchday 5 and I picture a draw from their match. The real game of interest in the group is between Aalborg BK and Celtic, which is a battle for the UEFA Cup spot. The Danish champions have won four and drawn four since Allan Kuhn replaced Bruce Rioch, a sequence which has seen them climb to seventh in the Danish Superligaen, progress to the Danish Cup semi-finals and twice come from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at home to Villarreal CF last time out. Also working against Celtic is the fact that they are trying to secure a first away Champions League victory in their 20th attempt. Celtic are still without a number of first-team players due to injury, including Massimo Donati, Marc Crosas and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. They will be hoping to have Georgios Samaras and Aiden McGeady available after their own injury problems. I’d have to go with the home side in this one as the odds are truly stacked against Celtic. It will be a massive win for them if they can beat the Danes at home. If they do make it into the UEFA Cup spot, I could see them enjoying an extended run in that competition.

Group F:
This group looks to be all wrapped up. Olympique Lyonnais enter Matchday 5 knowing exactly what they must do to proceed: avoid defeat at Fiorentina. FC Bayern München may trail Lyon on goals scored, but they find themselves in an even more luxurious position – only the twin occurrence of Bayern losing at home to rock-bottom FC Steaua Bucuresti and Fiorentina beating Lyon will stop the German team celebrating. Fiorentina must win to keep alive their hopes of making the next round.

Group G:
Arsenal FC hold a two-point advantage over FC Porto and will qualify for the knockout stage with a  victory at home to FC Dynamo Kyiv. Arsenal have been struggling lately and have a number of injury concerns. Compounding their poor form were unhelpful comments from captain William Gallas, who questioned the bravery of his team-mates as well as the dressing room spirit. Gallas was not in the lineup against Manchester City this past weekend, a match the Gunners lost 3-0. Manager Arsene Wenger has had little choice but to reinstate Gallas to the team for the clash with Dynamo Kiev as his squad is depleted by injuries. Wenger will have to field a makeshift defence with nine first-teamers out. Wenger has selected 21-year-old Spaniard Cesc Fabregas to permanently replace Gallas as captain.

Porto will advance if they can beat Fenerbahçe SK in Turkey, unless Dynamo win at Arsenal. Fenerbahçe will welcome back last season’s goal scoring hero, Deivid, and will hope to play the spoilers for Porto while giving themselves a shot at UEFA Cup football.

Group H:
By gaining back-to-back victories against Real Madrid CF, Juventus have assured themselves a place in the knockout stage. Real Madrid will also advance if they can defeat FC BATE Borisov in Belarus and Zenit St. Petersburg fail to beat visiting Juventus. Juventus are going to be fielding plenty of their reserve/bench players so the odds are not in Real Madrid’s favour. I am hoping that the final Matchday showdown between Real and Zenit will have a knockout stage place on the line.

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.

The group stage kicks off in about two weeks so until then I will be doing previews of the group stage in alphabetical order. I wanted to wait until after the transfer window had closed so that I would be able to judge the rosters fairly. There were some last minute moves that could have a huge impact on certain teams (e.g. Berbatov to Manchester United) and other moves that were rumoured to be happening that did not (e.g. Robinho to Chelsea FC) which could also affect club’s fortunes. Enough preamble, on to the analysis!

CFR 1907 Cluj

How They Got Here: 2007-08 Liga 1 Champions — automatic berth to group stage

Star Performer: MF Eugen Trica — though he is 32, he is ranked as one of the very best players in the Romanian League. He has vast experience which includes some UEFA Cup experience with CSKA Sofia.

Key To Success: Like most underdog teams, Cluj will need to make the most of their home matches and try not to be blown out in away games.

Transfer Ins: FW Yssouf Koné (Rosenborg)

Transfer Outs: FW Antonio Semedo (Steaua Bucharesti), LB Mikael Dorsin (Rosenborg)

Talking Points: There has been a change of manager already — never a good sign. Maurizio Trombetta, a former Romanian international defender, has replaced Ioan Andone as the club look to improve on a poor start to their Romanian Liga 1 campaign. The loss of Portuguese forward Antonio Semedo will not help matters as he contributed several timely goals to their winning campaign last season. Argentinians Sebastián Dubarbier, Sixto Peralta and Diego Ruiz, brought in during the January 2008 transfer window, will be expected to make up the loss of offence from Semedo’s transfer.

Cluj were the first team in the history of Liga 1 to field a starting XI without a single Romanian player. There are some Romanian players on the squad but the majory of the squad are from Portugal, Africa and South America. The club has developed a talent development partnership with Portuguese giants Benfica.

Predicted Finish: Last place — they might nick a couple of points but I don’t see them having enough to edge out the other clubs in this group.

Chelsea FC

How They Got Here: 2nd place in English Premier League — automatic berth to group stage

Star Performer: Michael Essien. The engine of the team. This guy can and does play everywhere and does well no matter role he’s asked to play. Often overlooked on this star-studded squad but I feel he’s their MVP.

Key To Success: Staying focused and not taking any of these squads lightly. The other key will be to keep their

Transfer Ins: MF Deco (Barcelona), Jose Bosingwa (FC Porto)

Transfer Outs: MF Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen), Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa), Claude Makelele (Paris St Germain), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Tal Ben Haim (Manchester City), Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

Talking Points: What does it mean for Chelsea to have been outbid in the transfer market by the newfound wealth of Manchester City? New manager Luiz Felipe Scolari had to have been looking forward to the club acquiring Robinho but City, backed by the deep pockets of the Abu Dhabi United Group, splashed a British record transfer fee of about £32m to acquire the Brazilian forward.

Chelsea only have Nicolas Anelka, the oft-injured Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou as experienced strikers. I say only somewhat hesitantly as that is a decent stash of talent for any squad. I can see where Chelsea would have wanted another player around to cover injuries/suspensions. There are a lot of fixtures and it will be interesting to see how Chelsea fare as the season wears on. I suspect they will lean heavily on their star-studded and over-packed midfield. They may even need to adopt a system similar to what Manchester United and AS Roma have played in the past, which resembles a 4-6-0 at times.

Predicted Finish: First in group, advancing to the knockout phase. A favourable draw considering their circumstances. It will allow Chelsea a chance to load up another striker come January.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux

How They Got Here: 2nd place in Ligue Une — automatic berth to group stage.

Star Performer: I may be indulging in some hyperbole here but Bordeaux’s new loan signing Yoann Gourcuff is going to be a fantastic player for the squad. He has already demonstrated his skill and leadership in a 2-1 French league win over Caen. The 22-year-old Gourcuff, scored once and generally controlled the midfield with his pace, vision and technical ability. The hope is that Gourcuff and Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi can form a lethal 1-2 punch.

Key To Success: Like Cluj, Bordeaux will need to make the most of their home matches and tighten up a bit defensively both at home and in away matches. The back four has been fairly sound in domestic action but will be tested to a higher degree by Chelsea and Roma’s attacking power. That said, they must remain positive in their approach and not simply sit back in a defensive shell that will let the ‘bigger’ clubs overrun them.

Transfer Ins: MF Yoann Gourcuff (on loan from A.C. Milan), LB Placente (San Lorenzo)

Transfer Outs: Johan Micoud (out of contract), Jemmali (Grenoble), Alonso (Monaco), Bregerie (Metz), Manga (Angers), FW Youssef Sekour (Sedan), Ecuele Manga (Angers), DF Paul Baysse (Sedan)

Talking Points: Will relative rookie boss Laurent Blanc be able to keep up with the master tacticians he’s going to encounter in this group? Both Scolari and Spalletti have deeper sides so Blanc will have to get his game plans spot on in order to try and finish higher than third.

Predicted Finish: 3rd Place, UEFA Cup berth

AS Roma

How They Got Here: 2nd place in Serie A — automatic berth to group stage

Star Performer: When it came to Champions League nights, Mirko Vucinic was a key figure as he was often asked to play in a variety of roles. He was used as a winger in Roma’s 4-2-3-1 system. Totti often plays as the lead forward but in a unique fashion. He is used as a playmaker and relies on the 3 to make intelligent runs in order to create channels for Totti to distribute to. Vucinic can also play as the lone forward if called upon. His versatility and goal-scoring (4 goals in 8 CL appearances) will be vital to Roma’s success this season.

Key To Success: Moving away from their over-reliance on talisman and captain Francesco Totti. When Totti is healthy, he is still capable of scoring plenty of goals for this squad. However, when he’s not in the lineup, no one seems prepared to step up and take the team by the collar and lead them forward. Totti should return soon from his ACL injury that required him to have surgery in the off-season.

Transfer Ins: DF John Arne Riise (Liverpool), MF/FW Julio Baptista (Real Madrid), MF Jeremy Menez (Monaco)

Transfer Outs: MF Mancini (Internazionale), MF Ludovic Giuly (Paris St Germain), DF Matteo Ferrari (out of contract),

Talking Points: With Mancini gone, can new signing Jeremy Menez step up and fill the playmaker role? Menez is the youngest ever scorer of a hat trick in Ligue 1, the youngest ever winner of Ligue 1′s Player of the Month award and like most other young talented French footballers has had the albatross hung around his neck — he has been compared to Zinedine Zidane.

Cicinho recently had a training ground row with Luciano Spalletti…will team chemistry be an issue?

Predicted Finish: 2nd in group, advancing to the knockout phase

I’ll have more analysis and comments later but for now just a quick update on the results of today’s drawing. Some of the groupings, as in past seasons, was almost a bit too predictable but there are some interesting matchups ahead (Real Madrid – Juventus springs to mind as does Manchester United – Celtic and Arsenal – Fenerbahce).

I think that Barcelona and Manchester United look to have received the best groupings of the top seeds while Arsenal and Bayern Munich are going to be in a very tough groups. Liverpool are also in a tough group but should be able to advance as should Atletico Madrid.

The groupings are as follows: