Champions League 2008/09

[Rasputin]

Manchester United will face Celtic in a Battle of Britain in the UEFA Champions League and Fernando Torres can look forward to a return to Atletico Madrid with Liverpool following the draw in Monaco.

Last season's losing finalists Chelsea have been pitted against Italian side Roma, Bordeaux and Romanian champions CFR Cluj.

Fernando Torres will come up against his old side Atletico Madrid after Liverpool were paired with the Spanish side, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven in Group D.

Arsenal will be confident of progressing after being drawn against FC Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.

United and Celtic locked horns in the group stages two years ago, with both sides claiming one win apiece in the two meetings, and it will be Gordon Strachan who pits his wits against former boss Sir Alex Ferguson again.

Bruce Rioch's Aalborg and Spanish side Villarreal make up the rest of Group E.

Elsewhere, Group H looks the toughest one to call with nine-times winners Real Madrid, returning Italians Juventus, Uefa Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg and Belarus champions Bate Borisov making up the group.

Barcelona have been handed a favourable draw in Group C, as they face Sporting Lisbon, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Rome's Stadio Olimpico will stage the final on 27th May 2009.

The first set of matches are due to be played on 16/17 September.

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Group A

Chelsea

Roma

Bordeaux

CFR Cluj
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Group B

Inter Milan

Werder Bremen

Panathinaikos

Anorthosis Famagusta
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Group C

Barcelona

Sporting Lisbon

Basel

Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D
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Liverpool

PSV Eindhoven

Marseille

Atletico Madrid
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Group E

Manchester United

Villarreal

Celtic

Aalborg
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Group F

Lyon

Bayern Munich

Steaua Bucharest

Fiorentina
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Group G

Arsenal

FC Porto

Fenerbahce

Dynamo Kiev
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Group H

Real Madrid

Juventus

Zenit St Petersburg

Bate Borisov

[Rasputin]

لیگ قهرمانان اروپا قرعه کشی شد

منچستریونایتد در فصل 2006-2007 نیز با سلتیک هم گروه بود

منچستریونایتد، قهرمان فصل گذشته لیگ قهرمانان اروپا در مرحله گروهی فصل جدید مسابقات با سلتیک قهرمان اسکاتلند هم گروه شد.
این دو تیم بریتانیایی همراه با ویارئال و آلبورگ از دانمارک در گروه E مسابقات قرار گرفته اند.

در گروه A چلسی با آ اس رم، بوردو و کلوژ، قهرمان رومانی هم گروه شده است و لیورپول نیز، که شب گذشته در دقیقه 128 و وقت اضافه توانست لستاندارد لیژ را شکست داده و به مرحله گروهی راه پیدا کند، بر اساس قرعه در گروه خود (D) با پی اس وی آیندهوون، مارسی و آتلتیکو مادرید دیدار خواهد کرد.

آرسنال نیز با پورتو، فنرباغچه، و دیناموکیف در گروه G قرار گرفته اند.

چهار تیم انگلیسی که به واسطه سابقه خود در این تورنمنت رتبه های بالاتر را کسب کرده بودند، در صدر چهار گروه مختلف قرار گرفتند، اما سلتیک از این بخت برخوردار نبود.

منچستریونایتد و سلتیک در فصل 2006-2007 هم در مرحله مقدماتی در یک گروه قرار داشتند که سلتیک در خانه منچستریونایتد را 1-0 شکست داد اما در اولدترافورد 3-2 باخت.

همچنین در جلسه قرعه کشی که در شهر موناکو انجام شد، کریستیانو رونالدو، هافبک تیم منچستریونایتد نیز به عنوان برترین بازیکن فوتبال سال اروپا انتخاب شد.

رونالدو که در جریان لیگ قهرمانان اروپا هشت گل به ثمر رساند، به عنوان بهترین فوروارد اروپا نیز دست یافت.

پیتر چک، جان تری و فرانک لمپارد، بازیکنان چلسی نیز به ترتیب عناوین بهترین دروازه بان سال، بهترین مدافع سال و بهترین بازیکن خط میانی سال اروپا را به دست آوردند.

گروه بندی مسابقات که از رو 16 سپتامبر آغاز می شود به شرح زیر است:



گروه A
چلسی
آ اس رم
بوردو
کلوژ

گروه B
اینترمیلان
وردربرمن
پاناتینایکوس
آنورتوسیس فاماگوستا

گروه C
بارسلونا
اسپورتینگ لیسبون
بازل
شاختار دونتسک

گروه D
لیورپول
پی اس وی آیندهوون
مارسی
اتلتیکو مادرید


گروه E
منچستریونایتد
ویارئال
سلتیک
آلبورگ

گروه F
لیون
بایرن مونیخ
استوا بخارست
فیورنتینا

گروه G
آرسنال
پورتو
فنرباغچه
دینامو کیف

گروه H
رئال مادرید
یوونتوس
زنیت سن پیترزبورگ
باته بوریسوف

[abadani69]

[abadani69]

A goal in each half from Mancini and Adriano gave Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in their opening Champions League Group B game on Tuesday.

Mancini struck in the 27th minute when Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic held off two defenders to slide the ball through to him on the left-hand side of the box.

“We did enough to win, we were not lucky. I was very happy with the performance,” said Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho.

“Tonight’s game was not a surprise. I saw Panathinaikos play Sparta Prague so I was expecting a tough game.

“The result in Bremen was very important for us,” he said of Werder Bremen being held 0-0 at home to Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta in Group B.

“At the moment I can say that if we win the three home games in the San Siro we will qualify.”

Inter did not have it all their own way as Bryce Moon hit Julio Cesar’s crossbar and the Greek side missed several other opportunities to level at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

The home side dominated the second half but were undone five minutes from time when substitute Adriano latched on to a through ball from Ibrahimovic and lashed the ball past Panathinaikos goalkeeper Mario Galinovic.

Inter had the best of the first half with Patrick Vieira edging Gilberto Silva in the midfield battle between two ex-Arsenal team mates.

Ibrahimovic and Ricardo Quaresma both forced fine saves from Galinovic but Inter could not find a way to increase their lead.

After the break the Italian champions went off the boil as Gilberto Silva took control of the midfield. Panathinaikos created numerous chances, the best of them falling to Cleyton who narrowly missed twice.

While Inter turned to their substitutes bench bringing on Luis Figo, Sulley Muntari and Adriano, Panathinaikos began to wilt and Adriano finished things off in the 85th minute.

Panathinaikos coach Henk Ten Cate was left ruing his side’s missed chances.

“(Inter) had three chances and they scored two. We had three or four chances and didn’t score one. That was the story of the game,” he said.

[abadani69]

Champions League debutants CFR 1907 Cluj stunned AS Roma 2-1 in a Group A clash at the Stadio Olimpico here on Tuesday.

The Romanians thoroughly deserved their victory with Argentine Juan Culio scoring twice in response to Cristian Panucci's opener for the Italians.

Cluj, mostly a hotch-potch of little-known Portuguese and South Americans, were resolute at the back while showing confidence, speed and potency on the counter-attack.

Roma were missing first choice centre-back pairing Philippe Mexes and Juan while captain and talisman Francesco Totti started on the bench in his comeback from injury and they were second best throughout most of the game.

"This is a terrible result because this is a very important competition," said Roma coach Luciano Spalletti.

"In the first half we played well but after their second goal things went badly and we failed to maintain our composure."

However Spalletti refused to throw in the towel after just one match, despite the damage done to Roma's qualification hopes.

"We can get out of this situation by taking responsibility, by working hard, playing to our potential and above all not giving up or letting up."

Cluj's Italian coach Maurizio Trombetta said his team wouldn't get carried away by the result.

"It's a great personal satisfaction for me and for the boys to achieve a result that would have been unthinkable before the match but which was absolutely deserved," he said.

"We're still going for third place in the group (and a consolation place in the UEFA Cup) and we've already won a game where we never expected to have this result.

"Now we have two weeks to prepare for another match at home to Chelsea."

The hosts started well enough, though, as a sweeping move from left to right, typical of Roma, ended with Brazilian fullback Cicinho crossing for Mirko Vucinic to stab wide on 14 minutes.

The Montenegro forward then latched onto a long punt forward from Panucci and beat goalkeeper Eduard Stancioiu to the ball but prodded his effort onto the post.

Roma's pressure told and they took the lead on 17 minutes after Daniele De Rossi dispossessed a dawdling Culio near the corner flag and crossed for Panucci who stooped to head home at the near post.

But that seemed to spur on the visitors who responded in style and exposed Roma's makeshift centre-half pairing of Panucci and Marco Cassetti.

Argentines Sebastian Dubarbier and Culio, as well as Uruguayan Alvaro Pereira all had chances on the counter before the Romanians levelled on 27 minutes.

Left winger Culio made up for his earlier mistake by shrugging off Rodrigo Taddei, playing a one two with Eugen Trica and taking the return - a back-heeled flick - in his stride before firing home low past goalkeeper Doni.

Towards the end of the half Roma fans started jeering their own team as Cluj had clearly wrested the ascendancy from the hosts.

Things could have been worse too for the Italians as Portuguese midfielder Dani forced Doni into a sprawling save six minutes from the break.

Whatever Spalletti told his side during the half-time interval it had no effect as Culio grabbed his second with a left-foot volley after Cassetti only partially cleared Trica's chip into the box.

That prompted Spalletti to introduce Totti into the fray instead of John Arne Riise with Vucinic switching to the left flank.

Even then Cluj went closest to scoring as Gabriel Muresan curled a freekick just past the post before Cicinho escaped with a bearhug that prevented Culio from running clean through on goal.

The visitors remained the more dangerous and Argentine substitute Sixto Peralta was unlucky to see his 71st minute header from a Tony cross crash back off the bar.

It was only in the dying moments that Roma started to exert any real pressure but it was too little too late and the jeers at the final whistle from a spartan crowd told their own story.

[abadani69]

Atletico Madrid celebrated their first Champions League match in 11 years with an impressive 3-0 win at PSV Eindhoven in Group D on Tuesday.

The Spaniards, who lost Uruguay striker Diego Forlan to a hamstring problem after half an hour, scored either side of the injury blow with Argentine striker partner Sergio Aguero’s double giving them a comfortable advantage at the break.

PSV never troubled the visitors throughout and were restricted to long range efforts.

Atletico settled the match nine minutes into the second half when Maniche added a third goal to put his team on top of the group.

“This is a fabulous result and besides the three goals my team also did some great defensive work and hardly gave away anything,” coach Javier Aguirre told reporters.

“We don’t have to get too euphoric but my team is professional enough to realise that we also need to focus on the Primera Liga and not only the Champions League.”

“Only the injury Forlan picked up is terrible but it was to be expected as he returned tired from Uruguay but he really wanted to play.”

EARLY WARNING

PSV received their first warning after just 40 seconds when Forlan set up Aguero but Andreas Isaksson saved.

The Dutch champions proved offensively toothless against an Atletico back line led by Dutch international John Heitinga and after nine minutes Aguero scored his first, netting from close range after poor defensive work of Jeremie Brechet.

Danny Koevermans had the home side’s best chance to equalise 10 minutes before the break when he broke through but goalkeeper Leo Franco blocked the ball and on the counter attack Florent Sinama-Pongolle set up Aguero for his second goal.

PSV moved forward after the interval but their most dangerous moments were long drives from Edison Mendez and Ibrahim Afellay, both forcing saves from Franco.

Atletico stuck again through Maniche with their first meaningful break of the second half and despite chances for Koevermans and Danko Lazovic, PSV were unable to grab a consolation goal.

“We knew that this was a tough opponent to play and conceding an early goal did not help at all” PSV coach Huub Stevens said.

“They hardly gave us any space and forced us to make mistakes and then we had no answer.”

“But the lessons we can learn from this match is how direct they play. That is fantastic and also something I want my team to do in the future.”

[Rasputin]

Champions League Tables

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/champions_league_tables/default.stm

[abadani69]

Villarreal held defending champion Manchester United to a 0-0 Champions League draw and a referee sent off the wrong player in Aalborg’s goalless tie at Celtic.

On another night of surprises and comebacks, Arsenal snatched a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Dynamo Kiev and Lyon hit back from two goals down with 17 minutes to go to draw 2-2 with Fiorentina.

Daniel van Buyten captured a 1-0 victory for visiting Bayern Munich at Steaua Bucharest in a meeting of two former European champions and nine time winner Real Madrid beat BATE Borisov 2-0.

Veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero netted the only goal as Juventus returned to European football’s premier competition with a 1-0 victory over UEFA Cup champion Zenit St. Petersburg.

FC Porto, winner under Jose Mourinho four years ago, captured a 3-1 victory over Fenerbahce, guided by Luis Aragones, the man who led Spain to its Euro 2008 triumph.

After Romanian champion CFR Cluj upset AS Roma 2-1 on Tuesday, more surprises followed in Wednesday’s matches.

Villarreal hit the post at Old Trafford and followed up its two draws with Manchester United from 2006 with another. In a bad omen for Alex Ferguson’s team, his side was eliminated in last place in its group three years ago after tying twice 0-0 with the Spanish club.

Not even the return of Cristiano Ronaldo made a difference. The Portuguese star, who said he wanted to move to Real Madrid but decided to stay at the club, returned after being sidelined with an ankle injury and went on as a second half substitute.

While Ronaldo was given a warm welcome by the Red Devils fans, there were some embarrassed faces at Celtic Park in the other Group E game.

Barry Robson fired a 30th minute penalty straight at goalkeeper Karim Zaza after Aalborg defender Steve Olfers brought down Shaun Maloney.

Ten minutes from the end, Aalborg’s Michael Jakobsen hauled down Celtic striker Giorgios Samaras and was amazed to see Italian referee Matteo Trefoloni show the red card to teammate Michael Beauchamp.

The results leave all four teams level on one point with no goals scored.

Bayern Munich, a four-time winner aiming to capture the title for the first time since 2001, tops Group F after its triumph in Bucharest.

Fiorentina will be furious it couldn’t hold on to a two-goal lead at Lyon after Alberto Gilardino scored first half strikes in the 11th and 42nd minutes.

Frederic Piquionne replied in the 73rd and Karim Benzema equalized with five minutes to go.

Likewise Ismael Bangoura’s 64th-minute penalty appeared to be guiding Dynamo Kiev to victory at home to 2006 runner up Arsenal, which seemed to be headed for another miserable result on its travels to eastern Europe. But Gunners defender William Gallas leveled in the 88th for a Group G point.

Porto went top of the standings with Lisandro Lopez (11th) and Lucho Gonzalez (14th) putting the Portuguese team in charge at home. Spanish striker Daniel Guiza replied for Fenerbahce in the 30th but Lino added a third in the final minute.

Juventus was back in the Champions League group phase for the first time since it was relegated from Serie A over a match-fixing scandal that shamed Italian football.

Veteran Del Piero scored the only goal of the game in the 76th minute and Juve is neck and neck with another European powerhouse, Real Madrid, which brushed aside Belarussian side BATE with goals by Sergio Ramos (11th minute) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (57th).

[abadani69]

Juventus marked their return to the Champions League after a two year absence with a hard-fought 1-0 Group H victory over UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg here on Wednesday.

There was little to choose between the two sides until veteran Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero's swerving 30-yard freekick deceived goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Zenit had more of the ball but failed to take advantage of their chances although their Dutch coach Dick Advocaat vented his fury at Belgian referee Franck De Bleeckere after the game.

"In my opinion he was a little bit impressed by the Italian team," he said wryly.

"But I can understand that, I know how this world works."

Despite the set-back Advocaat was pleased with his team's overall performance.

"I'm disappointed. Today showed that if you don't take your chances, you will lose and that happened in a really Italian way.

"If you saw the game I saw Zenit played the better football but football is about scoring and we failed to do that."

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri showed off his team's attacking strength in depth by restoring Del Piero and David Trezeguet to the starting line up at the expense of Amauri and Vincenzo Iaquinta, who had started at the weekend against Udinese.

Yet despite the weapons at his disposal, he agreed with Advocaat's assessment of the game.

"He's right," he admitted. "We knew we were playing a great team and they proved their worth here.

"It wasn't easy, Zenit were stronger than us physically as they are coming towards the end of their season.

"We weren't fluid, we didn't pass the ball well and we couldn't find the right solution.

"It was very difficult, playing on this (bumpy) pitch was very difficult and because of these difficulties I was delighted with the spirit of sacrifice the team showed."

Zenit had the first clear chance of the match with Danny almost turning home a sweeping move on 11 minutes after Igor Denisov headed Pavel Pogrebnyak's left wing cross back across goal for the Portugal forward, who shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Minutes later, though, Zenit gave the ball away in midfield and Del Piero almost capitalised, crossing for Trezeguet who disappointingly headed well wide.

Del Piero almost freed his French strike partner in the box on 20 minutes but Trezeguet couldn't quite stretch his leg out far enough to bring the ball under control.

The hosts were gradually getting the upper hand and on 26 minutes Argentine-born Italy midfielder Mauro Camoranesi clipped the outside of the post with a close range header from a Del Piero free-kick.

Pogrebnyak almost bundled his way through late on in what was a largely tepid half but that chance, like most others, was snuffed out.

Zenit visibly grew in confidence after the break and started to see a lot more of the ball with the previously ineffective Andrei Arshavin increasingly getting involved.

They were denied a freekick on the edge of the Juve box when Denisov went to ground a little too easily under a challenge from Momo Sissoko.

But on 56 minutes Arshavin played in Radek Sirl only for Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to rush out and block the leftback's shot.

Juve started to come back into things, though, as Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen forced Malafeev into a sprawling save with a flicked header from a Pavel Nedved freekick on 74 minutes.

Just two minutes later came Del Piero's winning strike.

Zenit, who seemed to have missed their chance, had one last opportunity as Arshavin burst past two tackles and into the box but centre-back Giorgio Chiellini stood his ground and stopped the little magician in his tracks.

[abadani69]

به گفته يک منبع آگاه از اتحاديه فوتبال اروپا (يوفا)، امتياز ميزباني مسابقه فينال جام قهرمانان باشگاه هاي اروپا (چمپيونزليگ) در سال 2011 به ورزشگاه "ومبلي"* لندن داده خواهد شد.

اين منبع آگاه به خبرگزاري رويترز گفت: حل مسائل حقوقي و مالياتي بين يوفا و دولت انگليس، راه انتخاب ورزشگاه ومبلي را در نشست آينده کميته اجرايي اين اتحاديه که در ماه دسامبر برگزار خواهد شد، هموار تر کرده است.
در سال جاري پس از اينکه دولت انگليس نتوانست اطمينان دهد، بازيکنان حاضر در مسابقه فينال جام قهرمانان باشگاه هاي اروپا در سال 2010، از ماليات معاف هستند، ورزشگاه برنابئو شهر مادريد به عنوان ميزبان اين ديدار انتخاب شد اما اکنون به نظر مي رسد که همه چيز حل شده و مشکلي براي انتخاب ومبلي وجود ندارد.
يک منبع آگاه ديگر در اين باره گفت: ممکن است اختلافات موجود در نشست آتي کميته مسابقات در ماه نوامبر بر طرف شده و کميته اجرايي در ماه دسامبر تصميم خود را براي انتخاب ومبلي اعلام کند.
يوفا معتقد است بازيکنان فوتبال بايد در کشورهايي که در آن اقامت دارند ماليات بدهند اما پرداخت ماليات در هر کشوري که در آن مسابقه مي دهند، غير منصفانه و غير ضروري است.
ورزشگاه هاي ومبلي لندن، برنابئو مادريد،"المپياستاديون" برلين، "آليانز آره نا" مونيخ و "مستالا" والنسيا پنج نامزد ميزباني فينال مسابقات 2010 و 2011 جام قهرمانان باشگاه هاي اروپا هستند.
گفته مي شود ورزشگاه "لندزداون راود" دوبلين نيز مدعي کسب امتياز ميزباني فينال مسابقات جام يوفا در سال 2011 است.

[abadani69]

Goal.com takes a look at the Champions League group stage games involving teams from the English Premier League, Spanish Primera Liga and Italian Serie A on Tuesday.

Manchester United at Aalborg

Currently third in group E, Manchester United know the table does not explain the full picture. All four teams that make up group E only picked up one point in their opening game with nothing separating them as both fixtures remained goal-less. Villarreal and Celtic do battle in the other tie and the victor, should one emerge, could end up being United’s main rival for the top spot.

Cristiano Ronaldo is returning to full fitness and will be eager to retain his individual UEFA awards (Forward of the Year, Footballer of the Year), and the Champions League is the only arena he will be able to do that in. The Portuguese wing wizard has already opened his goal account for the season as he converted a spot kick in the Old Trafford side’s last EPL game and therefore shouldn’t be shy around goal on Tuesday evening.

One man who has thus far failed to find the net while sporting Manchester red is $60 million signing Dimitar Berbatov, but Sir Alex Ferguson has said that goals will eventually flow for the silky Bulgarian as his teammates become accustomed to his play. Berbatov has yet to play in Europe’s premier competition for an English side and will be keen to justify his heavy price tag against a side he has already scored against while at Tottenham in the UEFA Cup.

Two players who didn’t make the trip are Owen Hargreaves, who is still struggling with a knee injury, and Gary Neville. A recall for Wes Brown is in the cards.

Aalborg are propping up most of the Danish Superligaen and are currently managed by Bruce Rioch – a head coach who is yet to be on the losing side when facing Sir Alex. The former Arsenal, Bolton, and Wigan boss took over AaB in June.

– Alan Dawson

FC Porto at Arsenal

The Gunners contend in the other Tuesday game against a side that boasts a South American contingent that complements the existing Portuguese flair. Despite losing key players like Jose Bosingwa to Chelsea and Ricardo Quaresma to Inter Milan, Porto still boast players that can stifle the Gunners attack, such as newbie Freddy Guarin – should he start – and Lucho Gonzalez, who returns after his league rest.

After his side’s shock home defeat to Hull, Arsene Wenger will be stressing the importance of “bouncebackability” to his fledgling stars, especially as they will again be playing in front of the Emirates regulars. A win and they can leapfrog Porto to the top of Group G.

Arsenal will be boosted by the return of high-profile French signing Samir Nasri, who looked impeccable at the beginning of the season. Prior to his Arsenal career, he featured for Marseille in the center of the park, and even though Denilson has looked good going forward, his defensive play remains suspect. An option open to Wenger is to play Nasri next to Cesc Fabregas with the latter concentrating on his playmaking duties while the former can fulfill the “Pirlo” role.

The ramifications of a home loss could be severe, as Arsenal would then be five points behind Porto after only two games. So the Professor will certainly press for the win. But a few underperforming players may be dropped for the burgeoning youth. Carlos Vela could replace the ineffective Robin van Persie, one of Kolo Toure or William Gallas may make way for Johan Djourou, and Denilson could also be “rested.”

– Alan Dawson

Real Madrid at Zenit St. Petersburg

Madrid are perhaps chief among the sides, being the reigning La Liga title holders, but their wins of late have not come easy. Against BATE on Matchday 1, they scored just twice against a club a miniscule fraction of their side, raising eyebrows across Europe.

Considering that this result came hot on the heels of a hard-fought, 4-3 win over Numancia, clearly Madrid’s recent form isn’t quite all that it’s made out to be. Still, there’s no arguing with the fact that they’ve now managed five straight victories, including among them a credible 2-0 win at Racing and that famous 7-1 thumping of Sporting Gijon.

They needed Ruud van Nistelrooy to get them out of jail late on at Betis this weekend, but nonetheless they are in bullish mood heading towards Russia on Tuesday. Ruud himself may be called upon once more as the second-highest goal scorer of all time in this competition with 54; the only man to have managed more is none other than teammate Raul with 61.

Captain Raul has been open to a great deal of scrutiny of late due to some declining performances, but he was absolutely masterful against Sporting, leading some to say that he has, in fact, still got it.

Despite the happy news up front, Madrid still have some worries. First, Wesley Sneijder is still out injured; secondly, defensive wobbles have seen them keep just two clean sheets in six competitive matches this season.

– Ewan Macdonald

Celtic at Villarreal

The Yellow Submarine conjures up images of something bright, bold, whimsical and swinging. How strange it is, then, that this craft slips by almost unseen, unnoticed and undetected.

It’s more like the Hunt for Yellow October as, despite sitting top of the table, Villarreal continue to shy away from the limelight. Yes, the club from the Madrigal towers above all others in Spain at the moment, level at the summit with Valencia.

Since stumbling to a 1-1 draw on opening day, Villarreal have won every single match they’ve played, and what’s more, in all but one they’ve kept a clean sheet. That’s sure to raise spirits ahead of a visit from Celtic, a side who, while quarterfinal regulars in recent seasons, tend to struggle on their travels.

But another look at Villarreal’s recent form shows that goals are thin on the ground. In fact they’ve scored just seven in six competitive games – compare that to Madrid’s 18.

That’s largely due to injury. Guille Franco and Nihat Kahveci have each endured spells on the sidelines, as has Giuseppe Rossi, and it looks as though it’s going to be left to Llorente to lead the line against the Bhoys.

Still, at the back things are brighter. Diego Lopez in goal is in particularly good form, while the defensive four has looked stronger with each passing week.

– Ewan Macdonald

Steaua Bucharest at Fiorentina

One of the most equally balanced groups in the Champions League this year is Group F, where all four teams – Fiorentina, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Steaua Bucharest – are likely to take points off one another.

The Viola should have kicked off with three points after they led 2-0 in Lyon in Matchday 1, but they were pegged back to 2-2 after the seven-time French champions indulged in a lack of sportsmanship by scoring their first while Luciano Zauri lay on the pitch injured in his own penalty area.

Nevertheless, it was still a fine result for Cesare Prandelli’s men, and they can put themselves in a good position if they win against Steaua on Tuesday night.

The Romanians are not to be underestimated, though. They were very unlucky to lose 1-0 at home to Bayern, and they also possess a number of Euro 2008 stars such as Mirel Radoi and Dorin Goian.

Fiorentina will want to avoid a repeat of the shock Roma had at home to Romanian opposition, and they go into the game in not the best of form, having already lost twice in Serie A this season. The Tuscans, though, picked up a much-needed win on Saturday night when Alberto Gilardino scored the sole goal in the win over Genoa.

– Anthony Sormani

Juventus at BATE

Juve returned to Europe’s premier club competition following a two-year Calciopoli-imposed exile, and they are certainly fired up to do well.

The draw was not kind to the Bianconeri, who were matched up with Spanish champions Real Madrid, UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg and minnows BATE Borisov of Belarus.

Claudio Ranieri’s men kicked off their campaign with a tense 1-0 win over an impressive Zenit side in Turin, with Alessandro Del Piero scoring a stunning 75th-minute free kick to earn all three points.

Juve have started the season well and are still unbeaten. However, they have lapsed in their last two Serie A games, drawing with both Catania and Sampdoria, meaning that they are now down to sixth in the table.

Opponents BATE have won the Belarus championship three years in a row, but they are unlikely to make much impact in this group. However, they must not be taken lightly, and they put up a spirited performance against Real Madrid on Matchday 1.

Viktor Goncharenko’s side was expected to be on the end of a cricket score in the Santiago Bernabeu, but they only conceded twice to the European superpowers, earning praise in the process.

[abadani69]

Belarus underdogs BATE Borisov chalked up their first point in the Champions League with a 2-2 draw against Italy's Juventus in this Group H tie here on Tuesday.

BATE, spurred on by the sold out 40,000-seater Dynamo at Minsk, seized the initiative by pinning Juventus back and clinching a 2-0 advantage in the first half an hour.

Sergei Kryvets put the Belarus minnows into a 17th minute lead, beating the Juventus defence on a breakaway to receive a slicing pass from Igor Stasevich and sending the ball into the net after rounding helpless keeper Alexander Manninger.

Six minutes later Stasevich made it 2-0 for BATE, when he headed the ball in from the edge of the six-yard box after teammate Pavel Nekhaichik's precise left-handed cross.

Juventus pulled level before the break through Vincenzo Iaquinta, who netted a double scoring both times from Sebastian Giovinco's precise passes in the 29thminute and in first half injury time.

After the interval neither team managed to gain supremacy in midfield to leave BATE with a well deserved point.

Real Madrid, who beat 2-1 Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg earlier in the day, top the table with six points after two matches, two points ahead of Juventus.

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri described his team's first half showing as "a nightmare".

"The BATE players were running like they were 22. We were really naive for their second goal," the former Chelsea boss said.

Ranieri added: "Happily we resisted, then reacted, and we had some decent chances in the second half.

"We didn't take Borisov for granted, but they surprised us, that's for sure.

"We're disappointed as we wanted to win, especially as Real Madrid won their game (2-1 against Zenit St Petersburg). But one point is better than nothing.

[abadani69]

Champions League collated results of Tuesday’s matches

Group E

At the Energi Nord Arena, Aalborg

AaB Aalborg 0 Manchester United 3

Scorers: Wayne Rooney 22, Dimitar Berbatov 55, 79

Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 10,346

Referee: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal)

- -

At El Madrigal, Villarreal

Villarreal 1 Celtic 0

Scorer: Marcos Senna 67

Halftime: 0-0

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

- -

Group F

At the Allianz Arena, Munich

Bayern Munich 1 Olympique Lyon 1

Scorers:

Bayern Munich: Ze Roberto 52

Olympique Lyon: Martin Demichelis 25 own goal

Halftime: 0-1

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)

- -

At the Artemio Franchi stadium, Florence

Fiorentina 0 Steaua Bucharest 0

Halftime: 0-0

Referee: Mike Riley (England)

- -

Group G

At the Emirates stadium, London

Arsenal 4 Porto 0

Scorers: Robin van Persie 31, 48,

Emmanuel Adebayor 40, 71pen

Halftime: 2-0; Attendance: 59,623

Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)

- -

At Sukru Saracoglu stadium, Istanbul

Fenerbahce 0 Dynamo Kiev 0

Halftime: 0-0

Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

- -

Group H

At Petrovsky, St Petersburg

Zenit St Petersburg 1 Real Madrid 2

Scorers:

Zenit St Petersburg: Danny 25

Real Madrid: Tomas Hubocan 4og, Ruud van Nistlerooy 31

Halftime: 1-2

Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

- -

At Minsk

BATE Borisov 2 Juventus 2

Scorers:

BATE Borisov: Sergei Kryvets 17, Igor Stasevich 23

Juventus: Vincenzo Iaquinta 29, 45+3

Halftime: 2-2

Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)

[abadani69]

New signing Dimitar Berbatov scored twice to lead holders Manchester United to a comfortable 3-0 victory over AaB Aalborg in Group E of the Champions League on Tuesday.

United lead the group with four points, ahead of Villarreal on goal difference after the Spanish side beat Celtic 1-0.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring for the visitors in the 22nd minute after Ryan Giggs threaded a pass through the Danish champions’ defence to launch the England striker clear in the penalty area.

Berbatov blasted home his first goal as a United player in the 55th minute after a poor touch by Thomas Augustinussen gifted him the ball on the edge of the box.

The Bulgarian, who joined United from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season for 30.75 million pounds ($55.69 million), doubled his tally in the 79th minute with a beautiful sideways scissors kick after a cross from Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He’s joined the club for the money he’s joined, so it’s always an issue getting that first goal,” United manager Alex Ferguson said told Danish television.

“Now that he’s got it, he’s on his way. His second goal was taken very well, a real goal scorer’s goal.”

Berbatov came close to a hat-trick, but he volleyed wide in the sixth minute when the ball found him alone in the box after Ronaldo blocked a clearance by Aalborg keeper Karim Zaza.

UNITED IN CHARGE

United controlled the match, with right back Rafael making frequent dangerous raids into Aalborg territory to set up chance after chance for the holders.

Zaza prevented a more embarrassing defeat for Aalborg with several good saves. In the 33rd minute, he managed to punch away a powerful shot from Ronaldo even after it had been deflected by a defender.

Ronaldo had another golden chance to score in the 85th minute, but he shot wide when he found himself alone with Zaza after a quick counter-attack.

“We missed a few chances, but before the game if you’d said 3-0 we would’ve taken it,” said Giggs.

“We created a lot of chances and could’ve scored more, so perhaps that’s disappointing but we’ve got our first victory. If we play to our ability we can go all the way.”

Aalborg, who held Celtic to a goalless draw in Glasgow in their first match, tried to counter with speedy attacks on the flanks and long range shots. They suffered from poor finishing and managed only one shot on target to United’s nine.

“The second goal was the one that really damaged us,” Aalborg manager Bruce Rioch said. “The ball bounced off our skipper’s ankle and Berbatov finished it with a fantastic goal.”

[flashnest]

Obviously Man U.... Come on you REDS!!!