UEFA Champions League Thread

[taz]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage (Matchday 2)

Group A

Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City
Napoli 2-0 Villarreal

Group B

CSKA Moscow 2-3 Inter
Trabzonspor 1-1 Lille

Group C

Manchester United 3-3 Basel
Otelul Galati 0-1 Benfica

Group D

Lyon 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax

Group E

Valencia 1-1 Chelsea
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Genk

Group F

Arsenal 2-1 Olympiacos
Marseille 3-0 Borussia Dortmund

Group G

Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 APOEL Nicosia

Group H

BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona
Milan 2-0 Viktoria Plzen

[RomaShield27]

– OCTOBER 2, 2011, 1:44 P.M. ET- By GABRIELE MARCOTTI

After Matchday Two last week, you may have noticed something unusual about the Champions League group tables. Casual fans could probably list the full Bulgarian cabinet as readily as they could name from memory the starting lineup of three of the eight group leaders – Turkey's Trabzonspor, Switzerland's FC Basel and APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus.

You have to go back to go back to 2007-08 to find the last time soccer's biggest club competition had these many clubs from outside Europe's five biggest leagues (France's Ligue 1, Italy's Serie A, Spain's Liga, England's Premiershit and Germany's Bundesliga) topping their respective groups at this stage of the competition. Last year, there was one – Denmark's FC Copenhagen - while in the two years prior there weren't any.

And even that tells only part of the story. The quartet who managed that feat back in 2007-08 were from second-tier leagues, but are bona fide blue bloods compared to the trio who did it this year. Glasgow Rangers, Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce are all the biggest or second-biggest clubs in their respective leagues and, between them average a healthy 36,000 fans for home games. Trabzonspor, Basel and APOEL combine for an average of just over 14,000.

But there's more. Basel may have dominated the Swiss League in recent years, but it has never advanced beyond the group stage of the Champions League. Its record signing, striker Alexander Frei, cost around $5 million, a pittance compared to the combined $75 million Manchester United spent to acquire Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones, the central defenders deputized to neutralize him on Tuesday. Yet Frei scored twice as Basel came from behind to take a lead it held until the final seconds, when a stunned United clawed its way to a 3-3 draw.

Trabzonspor, from the northeastern Turkish city of Trabzon, perched at the edge of the Black Sea, wasn't even supposed to be in the Champions League. Just over 24 hours before the Aug. 25 draw, UEFA informed the club that it would be replacing Turkish champions Fenerbahce, which was caught up in a match-rigging scandal. This forced Trabzonspor to scramble to bring in no fewer than four new players in the final few days of the transfer window. (If you qualify for the Champions League, the prize money for winning even just a few points in the group stage is such that it's worth gambling a little to strengthen your team, especially for clubs from second- or third-tier leagues).

Despite the seat-of-the-pants acquisitions, Trabzonspor won on the road against Serie A's Inter Milan, a team that won the Champions League just two years ago and spends nearly eight times as much on salaries.

And then there's APOEL, champions of Cyprus, a country with a population of just over 800,000. Last year it drew crowds of 9,600 to its GSP Stadium, which is a remarkable number whichever way you look at it. On the one hand, there are teams in League Two – the fourth tier of England's professional game – who draw more. On the other hand, it means that roughly one in 80 Cypriots goes to watch APOEL every weekend. In proportional terms, it would be equivalent to a German club drawing a million fans a game.

Cyprus is not a wealthy country, nor is APOEL a rich club. The starting lineup that shocked oil-rich Zenit St. Petersburg in Matchday One included just one player with any experience in a major European league: midfielder Nuno Morais, who spent two years at Chelsea … without starting a single league game. Yet this collection of mostly journeymen from average teams in second-tier leagues repeated the feat in Matchday Two, holding Shakhtar Donetsk, last year's quarterfinalist, to draw in Ukraine.

Two games obviously aren't enough to draw any definitive conclusion or suggest that the gap between Europe's five big leagues and the rest of the continent is narrowing. Luck, happenstance and a variety of imponderables may well be behind it and all three clubs could easily fail to qualify for the knockout rounds.

Yet this early relative success could provide Europe's minnows with some valuable ammunition the next time UEFA renegotiates the way it distributes revenues. Fifty-five percent of the roughly $1.2 billion it handed out to the 32 Champions League clubs last year was based on prize money, a barometer of how well a club does in the competition. But the other 45 percent, around $530 million, was allocated based on what UEFA calls "market pool," a metric which takes into account the size and value of the domestic TV market in each country's home nation. This explains why, for example, while both Roma and Copenhagen finished second in the group stage and were knocked out in the Round of 16 last season, the Italian club took home an extra $15 million in Champions League revenue.

The bigger nations obviously argue that it's their domestic TV markets that make the Champions League so lucrative and so, regardless of performance, they should get a larger slice of the revenue pie. That may be true to some degree. But the smaller ones, especially if they maintain this year's early success, can make a strong case that it's time revisit the split. After all, their results on the pitch show that, despite the lopsided resources, they can hang with the big boys.

Gabriele Marcotti is the world soccer columnist for The Times of London and a regular broadcaster for the BBC. His column appears on Sundays.

[taz]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage (Matchday 3)

Group A

Napoli 1-1 Bayern Munich
Manchester City 2-1 Villarreal

*On the next matchday, Bayern Munich will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Napoli and Manchester City do not defeat Villarreal.

Group B

CSKA Moscow 3-0 Trabzonspor
Lille 0-1 Inter

Group C

Otelul Galati 0-2 Manchester United
Basel 0-2 Benfica

*On the next matchday, Benfica will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Basel.

Group D

Real Madrid 4-0 Lyon
Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 Ajax

*On the next matchday, Real Madrid will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Lyon or they draw with Lyon and Ajax do not defeat Dinamo Zagreb.

**On the next matchday, Real Madrid will win the group if they defeat Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb defeat Ajax.

Group E

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Valencia
Chelsea 5-0 Genk

*On the next matchday, Chelsea will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Genk and Valencia do not defeat Bayer Leverkusen.

**On the next matchday, Bayer Leverkusen will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Valencia and Genk do not defeat Chelsea.

Group F

Marseille 0-1 Arsenal
Olympiacos 3-1 Borussia Dortmund

*On the next matchday, Arsenal will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Marseille.

Group G

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 Zenit St Petersburg
Porto 1-1 APOEL Nicosia

Group H

Milan 2-0 BATE Borisov
Barcelona 2-0 Viktoria Plzen

*On the next matchday, Milan will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to BATE Borisov and Barcelona defeat Viktoria Plzen.

**On the next matchday, Barcelona will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to Viktoria Plzen and Milan defeat BATE Borisov.

[taz]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage (Matchday 4)

Group A

Bayern Munich 3-2 Napoli
Villarreal 0-3 Manchester City

On the next matchday:

*Bayern Munich will win the group if they defeat Villarreal and Manchester City do not defeat Napoli or they draw with Villarreal and Napoli defeat Manchester City.

**Bayern Munich will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to Villarreal or Napoli do not defeat Manchester City.

***Manchester City will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Napoli.

Group B

Trabzonspor 0-0 CSKA Moscow
Inter 2-1 Lille

On the next matchday:

*Inter will win the group if they defeat Trabzonspor or they draw with Trabzonspor and CSKA Moscow do not defeat Lille.

**Inter will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to Trabzonspor or Lille defeat CSKA Moscow.

***CSKA Moscow will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Lille and Inter defeat Trabzonspor.

Group C

Manchester United 2-0 Otelul Galati
Benfica 1-1 Basel

On the next matchday:

*Manchester United will win the group if they defeat Benfica and Basel do not defeat Otelul Galati.

**Manchester United will qualify for the round of 16 if they do not lose to Benfica and Otelul Galati defeat Basel.

***Benfica will win the group if they defeat Manchester United.

****Benfica will qualify for the round of 16 if Otelul Galati defeat Basel or they draw with Manchester United and Basel draws Otelul Galati or they draw, scoring at least 2 goals.

Group D

Lyon 0-2 Real Madrid
Ajax 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb

On the next matchday:

*Real Madrid (qualified) will win the group if they defeat Dinamo Zagreb or Ajax do not defeat Lyon.

**Ajax will secure a spot in the round of 16 if they defeat Lyon or they draw, scoring at least 1 goal.

Group E

Valencia 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Genk 1-1 Chelsea

On the next matchday:

*Chelsea will win the group if they defeat Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia do not defeat Genk.

**Chelsea will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Bayer Leverkusen or they draw Bayer Leverkusen and Genk defeat Valencia.

***Bayer Leverkusen will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Chelsea.

Group F

Arsenal 0-0 Marseille
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Olympiacos

On the next matchday:

*Arsenal will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Borussia Dortmund or they draw with Borussia Dortmund and Marseille do not lose to Olympiacos.

**Arsenal will win the group if they defeat Borussia Dortmund and Marseille do not defeat Olympiacos.

***Marseille will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund do not defeat Arsenal or they draw with Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund lose to Arsenal.

Group G

Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
APOEL Nicosia 2-1 Porto

On the next matchday:

*APOEL Nicosia will win the group if they defeat Zenit St Petersburg.

**APOEL Nicosia will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to Zenit St Petersburg or Shakhtar Donetsk draw with Porto.

***Zenit St Petersburg will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat APOEL Nicosia and Porto do not defeat Shakhtar Donetsk or they draw with APOEL Nicosia and Shakhtar Donetsk defeat Porto.

Group H

BATE Borisov 1-1 Milan
Viktoria Plzen 0-4 Barcelona

On the next matchday:

*Barcelona (qualified) will win the group if they defeat Milan (qualified).

[taz]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage (Matchday 5)

Group A

Napoli 2-1 Manchester City
Bayern Munich 3-1 Villarreal

*Bayern Munich have won the group.

*On the final matchday:

*Napoli will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Villarreal or Manchester City do not defeat Bayern Munich.

**Manchester City will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Bayern Munich and Napoli do not defeat Villarreal.

Group B

CSKA Moscow 0-2 Lille
Trabzonspor 1-1 Inter

*Inter have won the group.

*On the final matchday:

*Trabzonspor will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Lille or they draw with Lille and CSKA Moscow do not defeat Inter.

**Lille will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Trabzonspor.

***CSKA Moscow will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Inter and Lille and Trabzonspor draw.

Group C

Otelul Galati 2-3 Basel
Manchester United 2-2 Benfica

*Benfica have qualified for the Round of 16.

On the final matchday:

*Benfica will win the group if they defeat Otelul Galati or both matches are draws.

**Manchester United will win the group if they defeat Basel and Benfica do not defeat Otelul Galati or they draw and Benfica lose to Otelul Galati.

***Manchester United will qualify for the round of 16 if they do not lose to Basel.

****Basel will win the group if they defeat Manchester United and Benfica do not defeat Otelul Galati.

*****Basel will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Manchester United.

Group D

Real Madrid 6-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Lyon 0-0 Ajax

*Real Madrid have won the group.

*On the final matchday:

*Ajax will qualify for the round of 16 if they do not lose to Real Madrid or Lyon do not defeat Dinamo Zagreb or they lose to Real Madrid, Lyon defeat Dinamo Zagreb and the total winning margins of Lyon and Real Madrid is 6 goals or fewer.

**Lyon will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Dinamo Zagreb, Real Madrid defeat Ajax and the total winning margins of Lyon and Real Madrid is 8 goals or more.

Group E

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Chelsea
Valencia 2-1 Genk

*Bayer Leverkusen have qualified for the Round of 16.

*On the final matchday:

*Bayer Leverkusen will win the group if they defeat Genk or Chelsea draw with Valencia.

**Chelsea will win the group if they defeat Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen do not defeat Genk.

***Chelsea will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Valencia or they draw 0–0 with Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen do not lose to Genk.

****Valencia will win the group if they defeat Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen do not defeat Genk.

*****Valencia will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Chelsea or they draw with Chelsea or they draw 0–0 and Genk defeat Bayer Leverkusen.

Group F

Marseille 0-1 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

*Arsenal have won the group.

*On the final matchday:

*Marseille will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Borussia Dortmund or they do not lose to Borussia Dortmund by more than 2 goals and Olympiacos and Arsenal draw or they lose to Borussia Dortmund by a maximum of 3 goals and Arsenal defeat Olympiacos.

**Olympiacos will qualify for the round of 16 if they defeat Arsenal and Marseille do not defeat Borussia Dortmund or they draw with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund defeat Marseille by either 2-0 or by 3 or 4 goals.

***Borussia Dortmund will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Marseille by 4 or more goals and Arsenal defeat Olympiacos or they defeat Marseille by 5 or more goals and Olympiacos draw with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund scores at least 2 goals more than Olympiacos will score against Arsenal.

Group G

Zenit St Petersburg 0-0 APOEL Nicosia
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 Porto

*APOEL NIcosia have qualified for the Round of 16.

*On the final matchday:

*APOEL NIcosia will win the group they defeat Shakhtar Donetsk or they draw with Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St Petersburg do not defeat Porto or Porto draws with Zenit St Petersburg.

**Zenit St Petersburg will win the group if they defeat Porto and APOEL Nicosia do not defeat Shakhtar Donetsk.

***Zenit St Petersburg will qualify for the Round of 16 if they do not lose to Porto.

****Porto will win the group if they defeat Zenit St Petersburg and Shakhtar Donetsk defeat APOEL Nicosia.

*****Porto will qualify for the Round of 16 if they defeat Zenit St Petersburg.

Group H

BATE Borisov 0-1 Viktoria Plzen
Milan 2-3 Barcelona

*Barcelona have won the group.

**Milan have qualified for the Round of 16.

[red]

More interesting conclusions to groups than normal.

[RomaShield27]

Latest UEFA Country co-efficient Rankings 2012 here on this site:

http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uef ... k2012.html

Shows you how far we are behind Germany:

1 England 79.160
2 Spain 72.329
3 Germany 68.186
4 Italy 55.124

[Lupa]

Well, good results for Italian teams today. 3 Italian teams through, and only 2 English teams. (although we're so far behind England the co-efficient, it doesn't matter much) Still, nice to see the two Manchester teams not get through.

[Brigate Rossonere]

[RomaShield27]

Yep, we're miles behind even ze Germans. But as far as the co-efficients go, the CL is not the problem for Italian clubs. Its UEFA's persistence with basing the system on the Europa League, too, a competition which, despite waking up a little to the implications it has, Italian sides just doesn't care about.

It was a great night last night in the CL, anyway. A glorious night. Napoli done well for themselves to get through, and all three Italian sides though. How fantastic it was to see Napoli go through at the cost of Man Shitty, and then an added bonus of seeing Man Poo fall in Basel. Only two english teams through, music to my ears. Serie A now has the most teams left in the competition with three.


------------------------

UEFA's 50 greatest players from 20 years of the CL (online magazine format) :

http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1U4ed90164a9dea853.cde

[RomaShield27]

Gazzetta have a poll goin to see if an Italian club can win the CL. Have a vote:

http://gazzaspace.gazzetta.it/gazzachal ... gue/585667

So far, 36% say yes, while surprisingly only 19.8% think Barka and 35.3% think Real, while 8.9% think it'll be won by another European club.


---------------------

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2914/cha ... n-inter-ac?

[juventino_italiano]

I have a feeling it'll be Madrid

[DavidP]

[red]

How the competition's leading scorer can be as low as 36th is beyond me.

[taz]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage (Matchday 6)

Group A

Manchester City 2-0 Bayern Munich
Villarreal 0-2 Napoli

*Bayern Munich and Napoli have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Manchester City enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group B

Lille 0-0 Trabzonspor
Inter 1-2 CSKA Moscow

**Inter and CSKA Moscow have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Trabzonspor enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group C

Basel 2-1 Manchester United
Benfica 1-0 Otelul Galati

*Benfica and Basel have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Manchester United enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group D

Dinamo Zagreb 1-7 Lyon
Ajax 0-3 Real Madrid

*Real Madrid and Lyon have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Ajax enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group E

Chelsea 3-0 Valencia
Genk 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen

*Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Valencia enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group F

Olympiacos 3-1 Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Marseille

*Arsenal and Marseille have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Olympiacos enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group G

Porto 0-0 Zenit St Petersburg
APOEL Nicosia 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk

*APOEL Nicosia and Zenit St Petersburg have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Porto enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

Group H

Barcelona 4-0 BATE Borisov
Viktoria Plzen 2-2 Milan

*Barcelona and Milan have advanced to the round of 16 as group winners and runners up respectively.

**Viktoria Plzen enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.

[RomaShield27]

/ Dec 14, 2011

As the draw of the Champions League takes place on Friday, the prestige teams from all around the world will be watching with bated breath(or emanating confidence, if you’re Barcelona) to see which side they will battle with for a spot in the last eight of Europe’s premier competition.

Italy will be one nation that will be going into the draw brimming with confidence, fresh from the group stage heroics that saw three sides from the peninsula make it to the last 16, a moment that must have tasted even sweeter after UEFA’s decision to take a CL qualifying spot away from Italy and give it to Germany, who are flying high after the recent success of the Bundesliga. In this article championsleague.ca will take a look at the draw from a Calcio perspective, and analyse the potential matches, and outcomes as the best clubs in the world vie for a place in Munich.


Group Position: 2nd
Potential Opponents: Bayern, APOEL, Benfica, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid

Despite finishing second in their group behind the seemingly invincible Barcelona, Milan are perhaps the best equipped side to take real stab at continental glory than the other qualified teams in the peninsula. Strength in depth, masses of experience and a fearsome front line are just some of the strengths that Milan can point to that could warrant a quarter final, or even a semi final appearance. Many neutrals will point to APOEL as the “easy” draw to get, but Milan tend to struggle to put away sides that defend doggedly and look to hit on the counter, making the Cyprian’s an awkward tie, to say the least. The other, more obviously intimidating sides that the Rossoneri will look to avoid will be Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The former, despite not being as dominant domestically as in previous years and lacking the defensive bite that made them so hard to defeat in European nights gone by, boast a world class front line led by one of the most in – form and improved strikers in the game, Mario Gomez, as well as the wide threat of Robben and Ribery. Milan could struggle if pitted against the Bavarians. The latter, Real Madrid, are only second to their bitter rivals Barcelona in terms of favourites to win the tournament, and it is hard to think that Milan would be able to keep out Ronaldo and company, especially away from home. If Milan avoid those three, then they have a great chance to progress. Chelsea, despite possessing on paper one of the strongest sides on the planet, are going through what appears to be another transitional phase, and defensive weakness combined with offensive confusion regarding the now wearisome Drogba/Torres debate could allow Milan to take advantage of the Londoners slippy form of late. The same can be said of Arsenal, who contrary to the outstanding form they, and Robin Van Persie have shown, still flag up defensively, with occasional lapses in concentration allowing them to slip points. Same with Benfica. If Zlatan Ibrahimovic is firing on all cylinders, and Nesta and Thiago Silva are defensive partners, then Milan have what it takes to test most sides.


Group Position: 1st
Potential Opponents: Basel, Lyon, Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Marseille and Zenit

Despite being in domestic dire straits, Inter perhaps have the best chance to progress into the quarter finals, as the Nerrazzurri topped their group and therefore avoid some of the more fearsome names on the Champions League roster. Of all the teams that Inter can face, perhaps the one that could cause Inter the most worry would be Bayer Leverkusen, Quick, strong, and having already experienced in taking bites out of bigger apples this year, Leverkusen represent all the things that Inter have struggled with this season. Shocking form in Serie A this season has highlighted a defensive insecurity previously foreign to the 2010 winners as well as a seemingly crippling fear of scoring, all strikers available to Inter going through some kind of lapse, for reference see Giampalo Pazzini’s comedy penalty miss against Udinese a couple of weeks ago. That said, if Inter can shake themselves together and find some form, there’s a decent run in for them this year. The likes of Basel, although dangerous against Manchester United, benefited greatly from the English Champions arrogance and can be beaten. Marseille and Lyon are inconsistent to fault, and between them struggle defensively, as do Benfica, who did excellently in their own group, but couldn’t beat a weakened Manchester United and as a result, arguably haven’t really proved their abilities against a powerhouse of the European game. There could difficulties for Ranieri’s Inter side, who will be looking for a decent European run to boost confidence, but it’s difficult to back against players like Sneijder, Maicon and Cambiasso to perform when they are most needed. If Inter can pull themselves together, a quarter final spot beckons.


Group Position: 2nd
Potential Opponents: Barcelona, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Benfica, APOEL

After the heroics of the group stages put the Partonepei on the map, the Napoli faithful will be hoping that their talented forward threat can provide another surprise and send them into the last eight. The chances of them drawing a big name side are high, so it will be on Napoli’s shoulders to pull out another wonderful performance to see them through. However, despite all the talent that their first XI have at their disposal, strength in depth is a key issue for Walter Mazzarri’s side, and the strain that a multi faceted trophy charge will have on the Azzurri’s small squad is one that could prove fatal. However, the fairy tale is still on, and tactically, you could argue that Napoli would be better off facing a favourite, such is the dynamic that their gameplan relies on. As shown against Manchester City, Mazzarri’s side utilise the counter attack as the chief attacking weapon, allowing the pace of Lavezzi and the wit of Cavani to take advantage of the space left behind. If Napoli are intent on the counter, then it relies on the opponent attacking first and consequently leaving the space behinf for forwards to run into. Bearing in that in mind, a team like Chelsea would be perfect, while APOEL, or maybe even Benfica, who would both depend on reactionary attacking charges rather than offensive initiative, could therefore nullify the Neapolitans who, like Milan tend to struggle against more defensivvely minded outfits. It would take a brave man to back them against Real Madrid or Barcelona, but with a pinch of fortune and momentum on their side, Napoli could progress once more.

By Sam Lewis (@SamCalcio)

[RomaShield27]

I like this headline:



Arsenal and Chelsea in Champions League draw while Manchester plays second fiddle

ROBIN SCOTT-ELLIOT FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2011 – http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 77649.html?

Manchester will have to vacate, at least temporarily, its position as England's pre-eminent football city as Arsenal and Chelsea discover their opponents in the last 16 of the Champions League at lunchtime today. An hour later – siesta time in some countries – City and United receive their Europa League assignments.

As group winners, the London clubs are in the same pot as Barcelona and Real Madrid and so avoid the Spanish favourites, as well as Bayern Munich, distant third favourites ahead of the remaining English clubs.

The two Italian clubs, Milan and Napoli – the latter helped end City's first experience of the competition – will be the names neither Arsène Wenger nor Andre Villas-Boas will want to see emerge alongside their sides from the unseeded pot. A journey to Russia in February may also be something best avoided, with CSKA Moscow's plastic surface further complicating such a fixture. Basle, despite their part in United's elimination, will be the team in demand.

"There are a lot of top teams also in those runners-up spots," said Villas-Boas yesterday. "One team with seven European titles [Milan] and, for sure, those will be the ones to try to avoid.

"The synthetic pitch is also always difficult at CSKA but it's something that we think our players can handle. Zenit is a different story, a natural pitch. Of course, very, very cold. But normal circumstances.

"Any team from now on is extremely difficult. We've had [in recent seasons] Chelsea going out in all the knockout phases, from last 16, from last eight, from semi-finals and from the final. It gets pretty difficult now."

Lyons might have scored seven times in their last game in Zagreb to qualify but they would be welcome opponents for either Arsenal or Chelsea as their form, both domestically and in Europe, has been sketchy. Marseilles, who followed Arsenal through, are Chelsea's other possible draw, while Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Villas-Boas's side in Germany before qualifying behind them as runners up, could be picked to face Arsenal.

Barcelona's defence of the trophy they won at Wembley in the summer will have to continue without David Villa after the Spain striker yesterday broke his leg playing in the Club World Cup, Fifa's tournament too far for the winners of each continental club competition. Barça beat Al-Sadd 4-0 to reach Sunday's final against Santos but were left lamenting Villa."It's a massive blow for the team," said Pep Guardiola. "We are all very sad for him. It takes a long time to return after a break like this." Villa will almost certainly miss the rest of the season and will also struggle to be fit for Spain's defence of the European Championship next summer.

The Manchester clubs will both be in the seeded pot for the Europa League draw. Stoke are in the unseeded one but cannot be drawn against English opposition. They will have a similar wish list to Arsenal and Chelsea – avoid the Italians, Lazio, and a trek to Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow.

Wayne Rooney insists it is a competition United are looking forward to featuring in for the first time in 16 years. "Definitely," said Rooney. "I don't think the manager's won the Europa League, so I'm sure he will want to win it."

[taz]

UEFA Champions League 2011-12- Round of 16 draw

Lyon v APOEL Nicosia
Napoli v Chelsea
Milan v Arsenal
Basel v Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona
CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica
Marseille v Inter

[Lupa]

Other than the two Italy v England matches, not a lot of excitement in these draws, and I don't really see upsets coming out of the other matches.

[RomaShield27]

Ha, Serie A v the Premiershit once again. This time round, though, the Serie A sides have a fairly decent chance, I think. Not a bad draw for them all the same, could have been a lot worse.