UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 - Arsenal finish the English job

ARSENAL required a win last night and finished the English job of ensuring all four sides qualified for the knockout stages.  As the UEFA Champions League heads into its winter hibernation, the Gunners recorded a 3-1 win over the whipping boys of Group H, Partizan Belgrade, without being anywhere near their best.

BATTLE: Samir Nasri showed his class again last night

A tetchy first half hour was eased when Robin Van Persie went over and got a very fortunate penalty.  There seemed to very minimal contact from Marko Jovanovic, but the makeshift Arsenal captain couldn’t care less, as he confidently powered the penalty away, his first goal of any description since May.  If anyone thought that the floodgates would open, then they were to be seriously mistaken as the Brazilian Cleo bought the Serbians level, with a shot that took a wicked deflection off Sebastian Squillaci and looped over Lukasz Fabianski into the net.  A pin drop could be felt around the Emirates, as Arsene Wenger’s side looked on the edge.  Those growing fears were ultimately eased by substitute Theo Walcott, who took advantage of a poor cleared header from Jovanovic to produce an instinctive shot that Vladimir Stojkovic never saw.  Qualification for the next round was secure as Samir Nasri scored his 12^th goal of an impeccable season for the Frenchman, rounding off a brilliant team move, something the Gunners lacked all night.  Bakary Sagna was dismissed for clipping one of the Partizan strikers, when the last defender with four minutes to go.  It could be a costly dismissal, depending on who Arsenal ends up getting in the next round, but they dragged their way through for the eleventh year in a row.  The news was good elsewhere, as Sporting Braga’s dream was dismissed, seen off 2-0 in a tame affair by the group winners Shakhtar Donetsk.

TROUBLES: Salomon Kalou couldn't find a way through

Didier Drogba made an emotional return to the Stade Velodrome, but Chelsea continued their miserable record of late, beaten 1-0 in France by Marseille.  All the early threat came from Marseille, with Mathieu Balbuena hitting the frame of the goal in the first half and Gabriel Heinze having a flashing header ruled out for offside. However, Soulyemane Diawara was lucky to get away with two dodgy challenges in the box, one which was initially penalised by the referee, only to be over-ruled by the extra official behind the goal.  The only goal came with ten minutes remaining; Taye Taiwo’s shot was deflected, but fell perfectly for Brandau, who rolled the ball past Petr Cech.  Chelsea’s first slip-up in Europe this season, but how long has Carlo Ancelotti got left in the West London dugout.  Elsewhere in Group F, UEFA are bound to investigate the distasteful crowd scenes in the dead rubber between MSK Zilina and Spartak Moscow.  Play was held up for twenty minutes, with flares being thrown onto the field.  For the record, the Russians came from behind to win 2-1.

On Tuesday night, a far from clinical Manchester United got the point they required to top Group C. They fell behind to their rivals, Valencia; Pablo Hernandez put the Spaniards infront after a glaring error from Michael Carrick.  It was the first goal that United have conceded in Europe this season.  Anderson levelled the match, following up the quickest from Ji-Sung Park’s shot, which had been excellently stopped.  The major positive for Sir Alex Ferguson will be the return to top form of Wayne Rooney, who looked evidently dangerous all night for the first time in a long while.

CONFIDENT: Jermain Defoe looks back to his best

Spurs spectacular campaign continued, with another special match in Holland, but their 3-3 draw against FC Twente was enough to top Group A.  Tottenham took the lead three times in the game, the first coming when 40-year old goalkeeper Sander Boschker made a calamitous attempt to clear a Peter Wisgerhof back pass and the ball trickled in on 12 minutes.  It was a goal that would be perfect to grace any Christmas blooper DVD.  Denny Landzaat scored a retaken penalty to make it 1-1 at half-time, but two confident finishes from Jermain Defoe, either side of a good header from right-back Roberto Rosales had the visitors infront again.  Nacer Chadli drew the Dutch champions’ level again with a near-perfect free-kick, securing European football after Christmas for FC Twente.

RARE: Miller's first CL strike in four years wasn't enough

Rangers were already out of the qualification race in Group C, but they earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Turkey against Buraspor.  Kenny Miller scored his first Champions League goal in four years, but the hopeless Turks earned their first and only point of the group stage courtesy of a Sercan Yildiram effort.  Elsewhere in Europe and AS Roma’s 1-1 draw in Romania against CFR Cluj, good enough to qualify in Group E.  Marco Borriello’s early goal made it a comfortable night for Claudio Ranieri’s side, but it was a miserable week for the Italian sides.  AC Milan were shocking at home to Ajax and lost 2-0 in the San Siro in Group G, a perfect start to Frank de Boer’s caretaker reign after Martin Jol’s resignation on Monday.  Meantime, the job prospects are far from good for Rafa Benitez, after his witnessed his Inter side suffer an embarrassing 3-0 loss in Germany to Werder Bremen.  Ten points off the pace in Serie A, Rafa’s position is in severe jeopardy, especially if Inter don’t win the under-strength FIFA World Club Championship in Abu Dhabi later this month.  Finally, congratulations to FC Copenhagen, whose 3-1 win over Panathinaikos in Group D was enough for them to become the first Danish side to escape the group stages.  The Greeks miserable campaign was sealed by a stunning header for ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse.  Just a shame that it was in the wrong net!

Sixteen gone, sixteen remain and a quarter of the sides remaining are English.  Can Tottenham continue their fairytale?  Will Arsenal improve?  Can Chelsea hold it together?  Or have Manchester United got something in the tank?  We will find out more in February.  Happy Christmas from UEFA! 

UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 - Perfect Maximum For British Sides

Last week’s UEFA Champions League action provided us with plenty of cheer for the British sides, as they produced five victories out of five competitive games.  There was also a remarkable 13 penalties in the midweek sixteen encounters.

After throwing away a two-goal lead in Bremen a fortnight earlier, Tottenham Hotspur embraced Champions League football for the first time at White Hart Lane, with a thrilling match against Dutch champions FC Twente.  Spurs won 4-1, although the final scoreline does not tell the full story of a pulsating and unpredictable encounter.  It was a mixed night for the new hero in North London, Rafael van der Vaart.  Van der Vaart had a first-half penalty brilliantly saved by Nicolay Milihayov, then scored a splendid opener early in the second half.  Less than ten minutes later, he was heading for an early shower after two daft challenges left him with a red card.  For such an experienced player as van der Vaart, it was a costly and unnecessary dismissal which rules him out of Tottenham’s trip to the San Siro in three weeks time.  Experienced Norwegian ref Terje Hauge, who has once refereed a Champions League final had an awful night too, giving Spurs three penalties, of which two were very debatable indeed.  Van der Vaart may have had his spot kick saved, but Roman Pavyluchenko coolly dispatched the other two without any fuss.  Gareth Bale put the seal on the result and with Werder Bremen being ripped apart by Inter Milan, losing 4-0 to Rafa Benitez’s defending champions, thanks to a Samuel Eto’o hat-trick, Tottenham will feel in a strong position to qualify from Group A.

Whereas Tottenham’s match was a joy to watch, Manchester United’s display in the Mestalla was content and professional, if very tedious to endure.  Their 1-0 win over Valencia, the current La Liga leaders has put them in total command of Group C.  With Rio Ferdinand back from injury, United looked far more solid at the back, and restricted Valencia to very little sights on goal.  With five minutes left, Nani counter-attacked, fed in Federico Macheda, who set-up fellow substitute Javier Hernandez.  Hernandez’s finish was clinical, and with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs missing, this result could be the pivotal one in the group for Sir Alex Ferguson’s campaigners.

After six successive home UEFA Champions League losses, Rangers stopped the rot in United’s group, recording a 1-0 win over Turkish rookies Buraspor.  Buraspor may have done extremely well to beat the likes of Besiktas and Fenerbache to win the Turkish championship, but they looked far out-of-their depth in Scotland, and had it been a more clinical side, could have received a tonking.  As it was only Rangers, the scoreline consequently looked far more respectable on them.  Rangers only goal came on 18 minutes, scored by the very dangerous Steven Naismith, diving in bravely to beat the goalkeeper to Kirk Broadfoot’s header.

Following an embarrassing Premiership slip-up at home to West Brom the previous Saturday, Arsenal couldn’t afford any errors in Serbia and there weren’t any, with a 3-1 win against Partizan Belgrade in a challenging environment doing the power of good for Arsene Wenger’s young-guns.  Andrei Arshavin buried the Gunners infront early on, set-up by a cute backheel from the impressive teenager Jack Wiltshire.  Partizan levelled before half-time, when Denilson handled in the penalty area and the resulting penalty was dispatched.  On the hour mark, defender Jovanovic was dismissed for hauling down Marouane Chamakh when the Moroccan was clear in on goal.  However, Arshavin spurned the chance, by having his penalty saved.  Luckily for the Russian, headers in the last twenty minutes from Chamakh and centre-back Sebastian Squillaci saw Arsenal home, and there was even time for Lukasz Fabianski to save a second Partizan penalty.  All in all, this was a very satisfying night for the red half of North London.

Chelsea had little trouble in easily dispensing the French champions Marseille, cruising to a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.  Slack marking from the visitors allowed John Terry to ghost in at the near post and strike the Blues ahead after only seven minutes.  Nicolas Anelka dispatched a second from the penalty spot on the half hour mark and Carlo Ancelotti’s men took their foot off the gas in the second half, with Arsenal around the corner in the Premiership.  Despite that, both Alex and Michael Essien (twice!) struck the woodwork in the second half.  For Didier Deschamps, the coach of Marseille, it was a meek display to watch and a very unhappy return to the club which he played for in the 1999/2000 Champions League campaign, Chelsea’s inaugural attempt at winning Europe’s premier club competition.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bayern Munich left it very late in Group E to win 2-1 in Switzerland against FC Basle.  Two goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, the second in the 89^th minute sealing the victory and with Louis van Gaal about to sign a contract extension, things are looking up for last season’s runners-up.  In Group C, Barcelona escaped from Russia with a very fortuitous 1-1 draw against FC Rubin Kazan, who took four points off Pep Guardiola’s team last season.  The main positive for the bookies favourites is the return of Lionel Messi from injury, far quicker than anyone anticipated.  Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama scored from the penalty spot, but couldn’t prevent Hapoel Tel-Aviv from losing 3-1 at home to Lyon in Group B, who have made a shocking start to the French domestic season that has them in the bottom three, whilst substitute Angel di Maria scored the only goal in Real Madrid’s scrappy 1-0 Group G win in Auxerre.  The battle lines have been well and truly drawn, only after the next matchday can we start beginning to separate the contenders from the stragglers.

UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 - Mixed Fortunes for English Clubs

Europe’s premier club competition made its annual return this week, with mixed fortunes for the English clubs, though the gulfing class between Europe’s best and the minnows was still in full evidence for everyone to see.

Tottenham Hotspur made their bow, with a thrilling draw in Germany against Werder Bremen, though they will be disappointed to have thrown away a 2-0 lead.  It was a dream first twenty minutes for Harry Redknapp’s side, who charged infront courtesy of a Petri Pasanen own goal, and a fantastic header from Peter Crouch.  Spurs were giving their more established opponents the run-around on their own pitch.  Sadly for them, the momentum swiftly turned once Hugo Almeida headed Bremen back into the match two minutes before half-time.  In the second half, Marko Marin quickly bought the game level, and despite Crouch missing a great chance late on, Tottenham clung onto their precious point at the end.

Tuesday was also a flat night for Manchester United, as they were held to a disappointing goalless draw by Scottish champions Rangers at Old Trafford.  Sir Alex Ferguson made ten changes for this match, with his focus clearly on Liverpool’s Premiership visit at the weekend.  His gamble backfired, as his side misfired badly.  Long-range efforts from youngster Darren Gibson were the order of the night, as Rangers very negative tactics took any form of class out of the game.  Wayne Rooney made his first club appearance since the revelations about his private life had been exposed in the newspapers, and he was left a forlorn figure throughout.  A dismal night for the 2008 winners was compounded by a horror injury to Antonio Valencia.  Valencia’s ankle buckled underneath the Old Trafford turf whilst competing for possession with Kirk Broadfoot.  The instant reaction for his fellow professionals could tell that the Ecuadorian winger was in agony, with Sky television refusing to show any replays of the unfortunate incident.  Valencia has been diagnosed with a broken ankle, and is likely to be out of action until February at the earliest.

Whilst Tuesday was a frustrating night for the English clubs, Wednesday’s action was seamless.  Arsenal crushed Sporting Braga 6-0 at the Emirates; with another vintage performance from Arsene Wenger’s chargers that rolled back the years.  Cesc Fabregas was fantastic all evening, scoring twice and unlucky not to score his first professional hat-trick.  Carlos Vela came off the bench to score a late double, and there were also strikes from Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh.  Having beaten Celtic and Sevilla in qualification for the group stages, Braga were desperately poor and folded once Chamakh had made it 3-0 after half an hour.  Consequently, although Arsenal’s performance was magnificent, it will be difficult to judge their potential this season until they meet a far better opponent.

Chelsea continued their goal scoring spree in Slovakia, winning 4-1 against MSK Zilina, making their debut in the Champions League.  The match as a contest was over inside half an hour, with the Blues 3-0 up, through Michael Essien and a Nicholas Anelka double.  After the break, they relaxed a fraction and Zilina deserved their goal for effort and commitment.  Daniel Sturridge scored his first goal in Europe for Chelsea, and with a side missing Frank Lampard to injury and Didier Drogba due to suspension, this is was a signal of intent from the West London side.

Elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona fell a goal behind, but showed their pedigree, with a 5-1 demolition of Panathinaikos in the Nou Camp.  Defending champions Inter Milan stuttered to a 2-2 draw in Holland, against Dutch champions FC Twente.  Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid got off to a winning start in Group G, beating Ajax 2-0 in the Bernabeau, courtesy of a double from Gonzalo Higuain.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both goals in AC Milan’s 2-0 success against Auxerre of France, and German World Cup stars Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose both netted in Bayern Munich’s convincing 2-0 triumph over AS Roma in Germany.

After the first set of games, the jury is out on some and there is still a long way to go, before anyone can predict the finalists at Wembley in May 2011.  However, do expect the usual suspects from Spain, Italy and England to be in the reckoning in the latter stages of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League.

Steve McLaren - A Dutch Master

Do we all remember England’s shambolic failure to qualify for Euro 2008 in Austria/Switzerland?  The ‘Wally in a Brolly,’ headlines and the failure that was Steve McLaren.  Well, things have changed since that soggy, miserable Wembley night in November 2007, for both parties.

Whilst under the guidance of Fabio Capello, England have breezed into the World Cup finals in South Africa this summer, making the world sit up and take notice whilst doing so.  Meanwhile, McLaren has been attempting to rebuild his destroyed coaching reputation at the unheralded Dutch side, FC Twente.  This he has managed to do rather impressively and he will have bound to have raised a few eyebrows across Europe with the success over the weekend.

FC Twente became Dutch champions on Sunday, McLaren leading them to their first Eredevisie success in their 45-year history.  Facing Europa League hopefuls NAC Breda on Sunday, FC Twente stayed cool under the pressure and overcame the 10-men 2-0, with goals from Chelsea loanee Miroslav Stoch and their club-record signing, Bryan Ruiz.  It meant that Twente held on to win the league, one point clear of Martin Jol’s Ajax side.

Ajax may have won their last 14 games, including a 2-0 win over their title rivals a fortnight ago and amassed a staggering goal difference of +86, but Twente held on for a historic triumph, in an incredibly consistent season, which saw them lose just two games.  With the likes of AZ Alkmaar and former European Cup winners PSV Eindhoven beaten comprehensively into submission, this is a very impressive statistic.

McLaren, who turned 49 today, may not have the best Dutch accent around, but he has been able to master the Dutch game for sure.  Last season, his first season in charge, he took the club to 2^nd in the table and a Dutch Cup final appearance.  To have gone one better is very impressive, for a man, who when he took over in June 2008, it looked like a desperate move for a manager on the verge on liquidation.  He also steered FC Twente to Round three of the UEFA Europa League this season, eventually going down in a bruising encounter with German neighbours, Werder Bremen.

Despite successful spells as No.2 at Derby, and as Sir Alex Ferguson’s right-hand man at Manchester United, plus a five-year reign at Middlesbrough, which saw the Teesiders win the 2004 Carling Cup and reach a UEFA Cup final, it’s his England reign that will haunt his career.  His failure to get through a seemingly easy group on paper was galling, especially some of his questionable selections throughout the Euro 2008 campaign, including dropping David Beckham altogether and playing the has-been likes of David Nugent upfront.  However, his spell at FC Twente has been nothing short of a success and I wish them all the best in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League next season.

Congratulations to FC Twente and Steve McLaren, he truly is a Dutch Master!