The Champions League group stages have been extremely exciting this season, and as the knockout stages draw nearer, we’re beginning to see the sides which will take part in the latter stages of the competition. Right now, the sides which have qualified are: Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Manchester United – Valencia

Manchester United sealed their qualification in first place of the group after drawing 1-1 against Valencia at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started with a bit of complacency, they were sloppy, and unable to transition quickly like they were able to do in their 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, mostly because Valencia closed them down quickly and efficiently. Berbatov and Anderson both had great opportunities to score, but poor finishing was what stopped United from taking the lead. Then Michael Carrick lost the ball (not for the first time) and allowed Pablo Hernandez to score the opening goal for Valencia.

What Manchester United were lacking was a bit of spark, a midfield maestro, or an experienced playmaker in the middle of the park. The second half began, and Rio Ferdinand had to be substituted in the 50th minute, when his hamstring seemed to be causing him problems. Chris Smalling was placed in the center of defence, and the big defender struggled against a Valencia side which was looking for another goal. But Manchester United got the final goal of the match, tying up the result which qualifies them in first place of the group.

It was the lively Anderson who got on the end of Park Ji-Sung’s parried shot, and the Brazilian tucked away his first goal at Old Trafford. It was a good game, and Valencia looked very dangerous against a slightly complacent Manchester United side. It’ll be interesting to see which side will have to face Valencia, and I’m sure that the Spanish club will give their next opponents a tough game.

FC Twente – Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur also qualified in first place of their group after their 3-3 draw, away against FC Twente. Harry Redknapp’s side had a lucky start when the FC Twente goalkeeper Boschker scored a comical own goal in the 12th minute. Boschker was about to clear a pass from his defender, Wisgerhof, and the keeper completely missed the ball, allowing it to roll into the back of his own net! But Twente recovered and eventually equalized when they were awarded a penalty about ten minutes later when the ball bounced off of Assou-Ekkoto’s arm.

In the second half the two sides alternated scoring goals, with Jermain Defoe scoring a brace, and Chadli scoring a fantastic free kick which equalized the score at 3-3. It was a great result for Tottenham, especially with their rivals for first place, Inter Milan, being humiliated 3-0 by Werder Bremen.

Other games

Barcelona had few problems defeating Rubin Kazan 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Josep Guardiola put out a very young side, and his youngsters proved him right with 21 year-old Andreu Fontas and 23 year-old Victor Vazquez scoring the two goals.

Copenhagen also qualified in the same group with Barcelona after their 3-1 win against Panathinaikos. The Danish side had no trouble until the 90th minute, when Kante scored a consolation goal for Panathinaikos, making the final score 3-1 for Copenhagen.

Schalke 04 qualified in first place of their group after a fantastic 2-1 away win against Benfica. Schalke were two up with Jurado and Howedes having scored the goals when Luisao scored a consolation goal for Benfica. This win is fantastic for Felix Magath’s side which hasn’t been playing too well this season. Maybe this is where their season turns around?

Lyon qualified second behind Schalke 04 after their exciting 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv thought that they’d managed to win when Zahavi scored their second goal with a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 2-1, but it was the youngster Lacazette who ruined their victory dreams. If the Israeli side had managed to hold on for the win, they’d have qualified for the Europa League, but instead it will be Benfica which will be playing in the Europa League this season.

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With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

The penultimate matchday of the Champions League group stages is coming up, and it’s make-or-break time for some big clubs. These midweek matches could even decide the future for some coaches, like Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan, who’s been getting some bad results with the holders of the Champions League. Plenty of teams have the chance to qualify for the knockout round, but they’ll have to do the business, and see how they match up against Europe’s other elite sides.

Roma – Bayern Munich

This is a match of huge proportions for both sides, while Bayern Munich have already mathematically qualified, the Bavarian side has been having lots of difficulty in the Bundesliga. Louis van Gaal’s side is 8th in Germany’s top league, with 14 points to make up between them and the table-leaders Borussia Dortmund. So this match is relatively important if Bayern want to begin to string together some wins, and have a hope of retaining the Bundesliga title this season. Roma on the other hand have six points in the group, and they lead the other two sides by three points. Claudio Ranieri needs to win this match if he wants to go deep into this competition with the giallorossi, and it seems like his squad has the momentum. The frenchman Menez has scored great goals so far this season, and he looks like a very dangerous player for any opposition defence, the question is, will he be able to pierce Bayern’s?

All of the Group A matches

Group A is extremely tight right now, you have last season’s competition winners, Inter Milan, second only by goal difference to the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides on seven points, and below those two, Twente have five points, while Werder Bremen only have two! So the matches taking place in this group are crucial to see who will pass through to the next round, and who will come first.

First you have Inter Milan hosting Twente, and the Dutch side get to face Benitez’s team at the perfect time. The nerazzurri are in total disarray, having not won once in their past five matches, and the team is devastated by injuries to many key players. So if Twente can pull off a surprise win away from home,they’ll have a good chance of going through to the next round in place of the holders of the competition.

The other Group A match is first placed Tottenham Hotspur hosting Werder Bremen, and it’s the German side which has been doing badly this season. They’re 12th in the Bundesliga table, just four points away from the relegation zone, and in the Champions League group, qualification would take a miracle. Tottenham on the other hand are coming in to this match having just won a fantastic North London Derby against Arsenal where they came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, away from home! So while on paper this looks like a pretty simple Tottenham win, Werder Bremen might pull out a sneak result, putting a stick between the spokes of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

I haven’t been able to adress all the matches which will be taking place this midweek, but if you have any comments or thoughts regarding any matches in the Champions League, make sure to share them below!

Inter succeeded in defending their Serie A title after winning against Siena in the last round of league fixtures. Once again the hero was Diego Milito who has left his mark by scoring the winner against Siena after hitting the winning striker against Roma in the Coppa Italia final.

The Nerazzurri have been consistent in recent weeks and their efficiency was visible in the two-legged clash against Barcelona. Inter were able to overcome Barca 3-2 on aggregate after limiting the Catalans to a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou in the return leg of the Champions League semi-final. The outspoken Jose Mourinho admitted beating Barca was the greatest achievement of his managerial career and he will now turn his attention to completing the job by aiming for a win in Madrid to secure a historic treble for Inter. The Nerazzurri have a strong defensive line led by Brazilian duo Maicon and Lucio while their midfield is run by Esteban Cambiasso and playmaker Wesley Sneijder. In attack they have hero Milito as well as the experienced Samuel Eto’o who has scored in the Champions League final before.

As for Bayern Munich, the players have succeeded in winning the Bundesliga and then added the DFB-Pokal after crushing Werder Bremen 4-0 in the final this weekend. The unstoppable Arjen Robben and the threat posed by Franck Ribery have been key to securing the domestic double and reaching the Champions League final. Ribery will most likely miss the final in Madrid unless his suspension is overturned a couple of days before the highly anticipated match. In his absence the responsibility of creating the scoring opportunities and providing the inspiration will fall upon the unpredictable Dutchman Robben.

While some might argue Inter were challenged till the end by Roma and have had to deal with tougher opposition in Europe since they played Barcelona on four occasions, Bayern made a remarkable return in the Bundesliga after a slow start when coach Louis van Gaal was close to being sacked with reports claiming the Bavarian club’s management was unhappy with the results early in the season. Next Saturday Bayern will have the opportunity to complete a historic treble and despite missing Ribery they will still be a dangerous team since they tend to play as a unit as opposed to individuals. Clearly Robben has the freedom to roam and move around in order to create and score from various parts of the pitch.

Having limited Barca star Lionel Messi in the two matches of the semi-final clash it will be hard to bet against the Nerazzurri succeeding in putting the clamps on the dangerous Dutchman Robben. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid player is having one of the best seasons in his career and will be looking to clinch the coveted European trophy in order to finish the remarkable season on a high note.

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.

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.

This leg of our European tour starts in France where Bordeaux revived their Ligue 1 title hopes when Pierre Ducasse’s stunning 25-metre strike in stoppage time earned them a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille on the weekend. Second-placed Bordeaux, on 71 points with two games left, are two points behind leaders and six-times champions Olympique Lyon, who drew 0-0 at Nice on Saturday. Marseille now sit fourth, two points behind Nancy, who hold the qualifying spot for the Champions League third preliminary round following their 3-0 thrashing of strugglers Racing Strasbourg on Saturday. St Etienne stay fifth, four points adrift of fourth-placed Marseille with Lille a further point behind.

On to Germany, where there were some mid-week games and of importance was Werder Bremen winning 1-0 at Hamburger SV despite finishing with nine men. The win clinches a top-three finish for Werder, and at least a place in the Champions League qualifiers, for themselves and Schalke 04. Hamburg and VfB Stuttgart are in fourth and fifth on 51 points, meaning the best they can now hope for is qualification for the UEFA Cup. Bayer Leverkusen, who were beaten 2-1 at home by Hertha Berlin on Wednesday, remain in sixth place on 48 points.

Next we stop off in Romania and say congratulations to CFR Cluj, from the city of Cluj-Napoca, who were crowned Romanian champions for the first time on Wednesday after a 1-0 win over Universitatea Cluj. CFR finished on 76 points, one point ahead of Steaua Bucharest who ended their campaign with a 5-0 rout of Gloria Buzau. CFR Cluj becomes the first team outside of Bucharest to win Liga I in 17 years. A penalty 15 minutes into the second half from Manuel Riccardo Cadu, after Brazilian Correia Edvan had fouled Argentine substitute striker Diego Ruiz, handed CFR victory. Unfortunately it was not all happy times as riot police had to fire tear gas to disperse Universitatea fans who attempted to attack CFR supporters. A special congrats to Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld after leaving Norwegian club Rosenborg BK.

In Bulgaria, CSKA Sofia claimed their 31st Bulgarian league title finishing well ahead of Levski and Lokomotiv Sofia, both of whom will take part in the Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round. CSKA Sofia are entered into the 3rd Qualifying Round. CSKA had a truly dominant season allowing only 9 goals in 28 matches while scoring 50 times.

In Serbia, Partizan Belgrade recently won their 10th national cup with a 3-0 rout of second division neighbours Zemun thanks to a hat-trick by Senegalese striker Lamine Diarra. Zemun could become the first third-division Serbian side to play in Europe as they are four points adrift of safety with as many matches remaining in the second tier but they will qualify for the UEFA Cup if league leaders Partizan complete the double. They are currently 3 points up on last year’s champions FK Crvena Zvezda. The winner of the league is entered into the Champions League Second Qualifying Round, while the runner-up is in the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round.

The champions of Croatian football are once again Dinamo Zagreb, who won the league title last month with six games to spare. They will enter the competition at the very first qualifying round of the Champions League while runners-up Hajduk Split will be entered into UEFA Cup qualifying.

In the Czech Republic, Sparta Prague are closing in on their 35th league title but dropped valuable points at the weekend after a 2-0 loss to FC Brno. That allowed their bitter city foes Slavia Prague to come within a point after a win over Olomouc. With two games left Slavia’s title challenge is back on after leading the table through much of the early season then faltering in form. In recent weeks Sparta and Slavia have taken turns faltering which has made the run-in quite exciting and unpredictable. Whoever wins the league will get a place in the Third Qualifying Round while the runner-up starts in the Second Qualifying Round.

Next door we check in on the Slovakian Corgon Liga where FC Artmedia Petržalka (FC Artmedia Bratislava) can now claim their first ever league and cup double after taking home the Slovakian Cup (Slovenský Pohár) by defeating FC Spartak Trnava 1-0 in Zilina. Artmedia are sitting six points ahead of second-place side MSK Zilina in the league.

In Turkey, Galatasaray held off the challenge of rivals, and this year’s surprise package in the Champions League, Fenerbahçe. Shabani Nonda led the way for Galatasaray with 14 goals after his transfer from A.S. Roma. Nonda also had a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers before moving permanently away from Italy. The real strength of the team was at the back as they only allowed 23 goals in 33 games in a league that can be quite high-scoring. The backline was bolstered by the emergence of Emre Güngör who pushed former Liverpool defender Rigobert Song to the substitutes bench in the second half of the season. The 23-year-old was rumoured to be sought after by Fenerbahce but he ended up signing with Galatasaray and they will hope to keep hold of him for a few seasons.

Finally we stop in Greece, where the Super League was won by Olympiacos finishing ahead of AEK Athens by a mere two points. Caretaker manager José Segura has done an admirable job guiding the team to the title after Takis Lemonis was fired for sub-par league performances despite a strong run in the Champions League. A special attaboy to Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski who finished fourth in the Greek league scoring with 14 goals from 21 appearances for AC Skoda Xanthi.