Champions League 06/07

[#99]

The draw was set yesterday:

Group A
BARCELONA
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia


Group B
INTER MILAN
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow


Group C
LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasaray


Group D
VALENCIA
Roma
Olympiakos
Shakhtar Donetsk


Group E
REAL MADRID
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
Dynamo Kiev


Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Celtic
Benfica
FC Copenhagen


Group G
ARSENAL
Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburg


Group H
AC MILAN
Lille
AEK Athens
Anderlecht


As a Liverpool fan, I think our draw turned out fairly well. Not as soft a group as, say, group H (AC Milan has a cakewalk), but also nice to avoid Chelski (whom we couldn't have been grouped with do to UEFA regulations about having two teams from the same country in one group), Bayern, and Lyon from the "2nd pot." Can't imagine any of the seeded teams failing to advance, except for possibly Arsenal. Their group isn't overwhelming, but it is a challenge and the Gooners have some work to do if they are to survive. Can't help but laugh about Chelski having to face Barcelona yet again. Group A is the group of death with Werder Bremen presenting a formidable challenge.

[MountaineerDave]

Really? YOu think Bremen can pose a real challenge in Group A?ju
It's a tough group, but Chelsea and Barca both advance by beating everyone else and splitting their matches.

Also, who took Juve's spot? (And was Juve the only Italian club to be ejected from the CL?)

[#99]

I don't think Werder will advance from Group A either, but they're a really good team. I'd fancy their chances were they in any other group.

Juve is the only Italian team ejected from CL play, yes. Chievo Verona was the Italian side that stepped into their place, but Chievo lost their two-legged playoff to get to the group stages. I forget who beat them. I think it was Levski Sofia.

[#99]

Didier Drogba's fantastic goal against Barcelona was #1 on SportsCenter's top ten plays of the day. Pretty awesome. I can't think of a time that soccer has ever been the top play on this segment. I don't like Chelsea, but I'll take it.

We're halfway through the first round of group play. Here are the standings:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables?league=uefa.champions&stageId=2744&cc=5901

Keep an eye on Lyon. People tend to dismiss them because they're a French side, but they'll be in the semifinals at least.

Sloppy Liverpool win over Bordeaux 1-0, yesterday, but I'll take it. Go Reds!