Disaster for Manchester! All the Drama from the Champions League!

Matchday 6 of the Champions League was billed to be full of drama - and it hasn't disappointed.

Marseille's stunning, last gasp winner at Dortmund sent them through to the 2nd round and sent more misery to already beleaguered Greeks who thought they had won respite after doing all they needed to do against Arsenal's B team.

Man City score - but it's not very happy indeed.

But what tops it off was the collapse of the two Manchester clubs tonight. Man City may have won on the scoreline over Bayern Munich - 2-0 it finished - but they lost the war as Napoli won 2-0 in Villarreal.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, Basel have done it again to an English club. This time a 2-1 win was enough to send Man United out of the Champions League and end Sir Alex's hopes of winning his 3rd European Cup win.


Incredibly, it means both Manchester clubs will be in the Europa League after the New Year!

Another result on the night: Dinamo Zagreb 1-7 Lyon. With Ajax thumped at home by Real Madrid 3-0, it means the French go through instead on goal difference!


So here's who's through as winners and runners-up..

Winners - Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, APOEL, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Benfica

Runners-up - AC Milan, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, CSKA Moscow, Zenit St Petersburg, Lyon, Napoli, Basel

Will post the results of the draw on 17 December. But here are some highlights..










Match of the Round:

UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 Preview

3 Premier League clubs are on the brink of seeing their Champions League hopes crushed.

It would be quite unbelievable but not quite unprecedented if all of them were relegated to the Europa League at this stage.

But there is football outside the Premier League and still plenty at stake for at least one German, French, Dutch, Italian & Spanish club.

KEY GAMES:
Wednesday morning:
Chelsea v Valencia
-Win or at worst draw, Chelsea go through. Lose to Valencia & AVB will face the wrath of a Russian oligarch who is hellbent on Champions League glory for the club he bought nearly 8 years ago. Chelsea to win a tight one, I think they've turned the corner as evident by that game against Newcastle on the weekend. 

Racing Genk v Bayer Leverkusen
- A Bayer Leverkusen win will see them go through as group winners regardless of what happens in London. Even a draw will be enough. Bayer Leverkusen win, Genk are actually quite bad - not as bad as Dinamo Zagreb though.

Olympiakos v Arsenal
- Arsenal will probably send their B team to Greece since they've won the group which would suit Olympiakos very nicely as they need to win to boost their chances of further European football.

Borussia Dortmund v Marseille
- Dortmund is a tough place to get a result and Marseille aren't in the best form at the moment.

Olympiakos and Dortmund win but Olympiakos go through to the 2nd round while the Bundesliga champions will have to be satisfied with Europa League football. 

Porto v Zenit St Petersburg
- Porto have resurrected their Champions League hopes with a late win in Ukraine. It's a winner takes all now in Portugal.

APOEL Nicosia v Shakhtar Donetsk
- APOEL are through but probably will want to win the game and the group in front of their home fans.

Porto to win and join APOEL in the 2nd round. 
 

Thursday morning:
Manchester City v Bayern Munich
- Manchester City have to win. Even then it might not be enough. Bayern are already through and will probably send the B team to Manchester which could help City's chances.



Villarreal v Napoli
- If Napoli win, they go through to the 2nd round and Villarreal is probably the best place for them to do it; the side in yellow have been out of sorts in Europe and in the league.

Man City win in dramatic style to go through to the 2nd round, I can see Villarreal sneaking a draw against Napoli. 

Basel v Manchester United
- Man United just need a draw to go through against a side who have knocked out English sides on this Matchday of the Champions League in the past. Back in 2002, Basel were 3-0 up against a Liverpool side needing to win - the game finished 3-3 but it wasn't enough for the Merseysiders. That same result will do fine for United though in what has been an underwhelming European campaign so far.


Benfica v Otelul Galati
- Benfica just need to better or match Man United's result to win the group. They should do that against last-placed Galati.

Man United and Benfica both win. 

Ajax Amsterdam v Real Madrid
- Ajax have one foot in the playoffs. Even if they lose against the stars from Madrid, they should go through regardless of what happens in Zagreb.

Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon
- Lyon will need Ajax to lose heavily while they win big time in Zagreb. Even then it might not be enough.

Ajax lose but still go through to the 2nd round.



Thus, the draw for the 2nd round of 16 will comprise of:

Barcelona
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Arsenal
Bayern Munich
Internazionale
APOEL Nicosia
Benfica
Manchester United
Trabzonspor
Olympiakos
Chelsea
Bayer Leverkusen
Manchester City
Ajax Amsterdam
Porto

Whats Happening to British Clubs in Europe?

After years of domination in Europe, 2011-12 has seen the English clubs stutter somewhat in both Champions and Europa Leagues.

Incredibly going into the last round robin fixtures of the Champions League, only Arsenal are through to the next round - the same Arsenal who have been struggling in the league this season.

Incredibly, the league leaders, Manchester City are on the brink of relegation to the Europa League and could be followed by Manchester United and Chelsea if results don't go their way.

In the Europa League, Tottenham could be heading out early after losses to Rubin Kazan and PAOK have dented their hopes of progression. And Fulham & Birmingham could be following Spurs out too along with Scottish giants, Celtic.

Incredibly, only lowly Stoke are safely through the next round of the Europa League.

So what has happened to British clubs in Europe this season? After confidently striding through to the semis of both competitions, they are struggling to make it out of the first round.

True, it may be early days with most big sides firing usually in the New Year. But the strange thing is even when they weren't firing early in the competition, at least they got qualification for the 2nd round done and dusted by Matchday 6.

Perhaps they have become victims of their own success. With the Premier League now the world's most followed league, Premier League sides are now prized scalps by other European sides.

Playing at hallowed grounds like Old Trafford and Parkhead must surely inspire minnow sides to lift their game and this probably doesn't help the home side who have more to lose in front of their home fans in a game they're usually expected to win.

Then there's the fact of priorities.

Harry Redknapp has reiterated many times with his words and selection that a return to the Champions League in 2012 is a priority.

Or in plain English, the Europa League is a waste of time, I'll just blood the youngsters.

The race for the title and top 4 in the Premier League meaning the likes of United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea & Spurs have to give more focus and energy to stay ahead - perhaps affecting their performances in Europe.

And it also has to be said, Stoke, Fulham & Birmingham are probably the lowest ranked sides to represent England in Europe. That they're in the running for the next round shows how much they've overachieved.

Finally, like all sporting competitions, British clubs' Euro performances come in cycles and they've had a very good run since Liverpool began a 5-year period of at least one English club in the Champions League final. Consider also Celtic and Rangers' appearances in the old UEFA Cup final in the last decade along with Middlesbrough and Fulham and it's not been a bad run.

And who's to say that the Brits won't bounce back next season if a British club isn't in the Final of the Champions or Europa League this season?

Meanwhile enjoy the fact Europe is open this season & enjoy the football Bayern, Real and Barca are playing this season.

Midweek Football - Gary Speed Day

It's the first proper round of football action since the sudden death of Gary Speed on Sunday with the Carling Cup quarterfinals and several Championship games - there was even La Liga and Serie A action involving several of the top teams.

Tributes were made to the Welsh manager before kickoff nationwide.



Leeds and Forest fans sang the "There's Only Gary Speed song" for 11 minutes from the 11th minute of their game at the City Ground. Midway through, Leeds scored through Rob Snodgrass. It finished 4-0 to Leeds and lifts the Yorkshire club deep into the playoff spots.

Other scores, Blackburn and Chelsea continue to plumb new depths, both lost 2-0 to Cardiff and Liverpool respectively while Manchester City beat Arsenal in the dying moments of the game to ensure that a Manchester derby for the semifinal is very much on.

Juventus drew 3-3 with Napoli after being 3-0 down while Barcelona thrashed Rayo Vallecano 4-0 to claw the deficit to Real Madrid to 3 points. 

Bad Night For Manchester

Well Matchday 5 of the 2011/12 Champions League turned out to be a bit of a mare for the city of Manchester.

Man United struggled to a 2-2 home draw v Benfica. It means they need to go to Basel and get a result just to make the 2nd round.

And as Liverpool and Juventus fans would know, Basel is never an easy place to get a vital result especially when their tails are up.



The biggest casualty of the night was Manchester City, however.

A 2-1 loss to Napoli means they're now banking on Villarreal to shock Napoli whilst getting a win at home v Bayern Munich who booked their place in the 2nd round as well as locked up top spot in the group.

Bayern's nemesis distant and recent past have also booked their places in the 2nd round - Inter and Ajax did just enough away from home with draws.

Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb must surely be the worst club to feature in the Champions League. They went 3-0 down to Real Madrid inside 10 minutes. After it looked like they may be on a hiding to nothing, the Croats kept the losing score 2-6.



So the Manchester clubs have it all to do next time to ensure they're still playing in the Champions League in the new year.

SNAPSHOT: UEFA Champions League Matchday 5

Matchday 5 of the Champions League has always been important - it's do-or-die for clubs in regards to their future in the competition. Win here and club could go a long way towards more games in Europe. Lose and elimination from Europe or relegation to the 2nd tier Europa League beckons.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 
GROUP A - 
The group of death is living up to its reputation although Villarreal on 0 points can only hope for Europa League football at best.

Bayern Munich on 10 points have the edge in the group and a win against Villarreal at home will seal a place in the 2nd round.



Napoli and Manchester City are battling for what probably will be the runners-up spot in the group. Their battle culminates in a big match in Naples between the sky blue clubs in the game of the round.  

GROUP B - 
Inter (9 points) will book a spot in the 2nd round with a win at Trabzonspor (5 points) - the same side who shocked them at the San Siro.

CSKA Moskva (5) will go a long way to joining Inter if they beat Lille (2) in Russia.

GROUP C - 
Whoever wins the Man United  v Benfica game will probably win the group - both are on 8 points.

Benfica may rue that home draw against Basel (5 points) last matchday, but could still book their place in the 2nd round if Basel lose in Romania.

GROUP D - 
Real Madrid have already qualified. Ajax Amsterdam will join them if they beat Lyon in France. Lyon must win or they have no chance of making the 2nd round.

GROUP E -
Chelsea will qualify with a win against Bayer Leverkusen. A Valencia win at the same time will help the Spanish side tremendously and if Chelsea are already qualified, Valencia may have a good chance of getting a result in London.

GROUP F - 
Arsenal host a Borussia Dortmund side high on confidence and are hoping to surge and snatch a spot in the 2nd round after a slow start. Arsenal will be looking to clinch qualification this time round after missing out against Marseille last week. The Germans will be hoping Olympiakos can upset Marseille in France or else they could be out.

GROUP G - 
APOEL are on the verge of making history by becoming the first Cypriot team to make the 2nd round. They'll need to do it in St Petersburg which is never an easy place to win. Porto have it all to do to avoid early elimination - they need to go to Donetsk to snatch a win, another difficult place to win.

GROUP H - 
Barcelona and Milan have qualified for the 2nd round. What is up for grabs now is top spot in the group.

Joys of Midweek Football 3 - More Champions League and a bit of Championship Football

Champions League Matchday 4 continued with some big, big clashes this morning.

The most high profile matches were in the so-called Pool of Death with high-flying Manchester City travelling to Villarreal looking to get another win to push their claims for a spot in the 2nd round while Bayern Munich hosted delightful Napoli in the Allianz Arena.

Yaya Toure: Man City's Man

In the end, the teams' respective league positions reflected on the pitch in Spain this morning - Villarreal struggling in La Liga, Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. City dominated and won deservedly 3-0 to lift them to 2nd behind Bayern Munich in their pool and with a spot in the 2nd round firmly in their control. The Germans were imperious at home beating Napoli 3-2 and should clinch a 2nd round spot next weekend against Villarreal at home if current form is anything to go by.

Man United were also back at home for the first time since their 6-1 mauling to Man City, hosting Romanian champions, Otelul Galati. Again United put on a mixed performance against the Romanians although Rooney was in fine form scoring one of United's goals in their 2-0 win. Benfica's draw at home with Basel meant Man United overtook the Portuguese at the top of their pool.

Ronaldo: Still a dick in my book but a very good one.

In other news, Real Madrid joined arch rivals Barcelona in booking their spot in the 2nd round after Cristiano Ronaldo's 100th and 101st goals for the Meringues clinched a 2-0 win in Lyon. Ajax and Lyon will now battle it out for the other spot behind Real Madrid in the group.

Inter appear to have bounced back from their shock loss to Trabzonspor earlier in the season and now convincingly lead their pool.

Shelvey: Liverpool reject, no more?

The late Brian Clough's former clubs were at home tonight in the Championship - Leeds and Derby County that is. However, it wasn't to be their night - that statement in itself is an understatement. Leeds were thrashed 5-0 by Iain Holloway's Blackpool. Liverpool loanee, Jonjo Shelvey scored a hat-trick while Derby County lost 3-0 to a resurgent Cardiff City.

Halloween came a bit late for Leeds and Derby - mind you every day in those cities is one in the house of horrors to be honest.

Anyway here are the highlights:

Joys of Midweek Football 2 - Champions League (& some lower league English football)

More midweek club football this morning - this time the Champions League returned for Matchday 4 with some key clashes.

Sadly though for Arsenal and Chelsea fans, they didn't quite get the results they were after.

Arsenal appeared to suffer from the hangover of their thrilling victory on the weekend at Stamford Bridge only drawing 0-0 with Marseille at home - Marseille actually dominated the game and van Persie only came off the bench. It means Marseille and Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund are right back in the hunt for a top 16 spot and Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund in a few weeks time will be key now.

Chelsea also got stumbled to a 1-1 draw in Belgium against Genk. However, they owe Valencia a big thank you as they stopped the Germans Bayer Leverkusen from taking top spot in the group. Chelsea v Valencia in a few weeks time will be key now.

In other fixtures, Barcelona thrashed Viktoria Plzen 4-0 to move up to top spot in their group ahead of Milan who could only draw 1-1 an hour before the Barca game in Belarus. APOEL Nicosia pulled off the result of the night with a 2-1 win over occassional European giants, Porto to lead the group ahead of Russian champions, Zenit St Petersburg.

I remember watching APOEL play Kobenhavn a few seasons ago in a Champions League qualifying game. They've got some wild fans including this very hot blonde girl in the crowd whom they showed a shot of in stoppage time. Anyway, great to see the Cypriots doing quite well with more fancied sides and now it looks like they have a glorious chance of continuing their European odyssey into the new year.

Back in England, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest and Leicester got their seasons back on track with wins. Middlesbrough beat Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium (glorious name isn't it) 3-1; Donnie's 1 goal came from lead scorer, Billy Sharp who showed tremendous courage to come back to the side just days after the tragic loss of his 2 day old daughter. 


Thoughts and prayers with the Sharps during this difficult time.

The Saints from the South Coast continued to march on while the Hammers could only muster a draw against lowly Bristol City. Some long-term concerns with Kiwi defender, Winston Reid limping off with a shoulder injury - shame for him as he had been establishing himself in the starting lineup after a disastrous debut season last year.

More Champions League football tomorrow including a tasty encounter in Spain between English league leaders, Man City and Villarreal.







Anyway here are some highlights from this morning's games:

The Joys of Midweek Football 1

If you were a football fan, you would have been nirvana during the last two mornings.

There were key Spanish and Italian league games with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona stretching their lead over the rest in Spain, while Napoli closed the gap to Juventus in Italy.



In England, there were 8 Carling Cup ties. Manchester United travelled to lower league side, Aldershot Town and won quite comfortably (3-0)..


So did Manchester City at Wolves, a side which definitely played like a lower league side in a 5-1 thumping.


Thursday morning saw some cracking ties. Liverpool finally won at Stoke City,


Chelsea needed extra-time to beat Everton,

But the pick of the ties was Blackburn hosting Newcastle.


Blackburn were set for a 2-0 win as the match closed that the Telegraph erroneously produced the final match report on its website even though the game was still very much on! I wish I had the screenshot.

So we await the Carling Cup draw in the next few days and I'm pleased that Liverpool are still very much in the hunt for Kenny Dalglish's first trophy since his return to management, and a guaranteed ticket to Europe.