Two goal from Radamel Falcao helped Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 win over fellow Spaniards Athletic Bilbao and their second UEFA Europa League trophy in three seasons.

Falcao, who became the first player to win successive Europa League/UEFA Cups with different sides having scored the winning goal for Porto last season, opened the scoring on seven minutes with a spectacular goal, taking the ball into the box and curling the ball round three defenders and the keeper from the edge of the box for his 11th goal in 15 Europa League games this season.

Note: All game times are in Eastern Standard Time and additional UEFA Champions League matches will be re-playing Tuesday through Friday.


Saturday (14th):
- EPL: Tottenham vs. Manchester City - 7:30am - ESPN2
- EPL: Aston Villa vs. Wigan - 10am - FSC
- EPL: Blackburn vs.

Read the column here.

UEFA Champions League games this week include:

today

BSC Young Boys (SUI) vs. Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) FSN
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) vs. AFC Ajax (NED) Fox Soccer Channel
Rosenborg BK (NOR) vs. FC København (DEN) Fox Soccer Plus

Wednesday

Werder Bremen (GER) vs.

Yes it's that time again and just like the rest of you I am pumped to see how the group stages are going to play out. For the draw, the 32 teams are split into four seeding pots depending on each club's coefficient. Every group will contain one team from each of the seeding pots, though no club can play a side from their own association and there are further procedures determining the exact placing of each contender.

Hello again. It's been a long time since I've posted here. Life had taken me in some different directions and I had settled into retirement from football punditry. As the cliche goes, old habits are hard to break so here I am again for another Champions League season.

I plan to review each group in more detail before the group stages kick off on September 14.

PARIS, France— UEFA announced Thursday it had started disciplinary proceedings against Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and two of his players, Xabi Alonso and Sergi Ramos, over a 'time-wasting' controversy. The pair are suspected of deliberately time wasting to get sent off in the closing minutes of Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League win at Ajax and [.

The Turkish side, Trabzonspor, is said to be a "tricky" side as they found out that they will be the opponents of Liverpool in the play-offs. Aston Villa will have to travel to Austria to meet Rapid Vienna and Manchester City will be facing the Romanian side FC Timisoara.

Scottish sides Celtic, Dundee United and Motherwell will take on Utrecht, AEK Athens and Odense respectively whereas CSKA Sofia will face the Welsh side The New Saints.

One of the more surprising requirements made of the Dutch team playing in this week's World Cup final is that it is not enough for them merely to win the tournament. They are still widely expected to win it with style, and this level of expectation is largely the responsibility of one man Rinus Michels.

You may not have noticed, but the Uefa Champions League is already under way with the third qualifying round scheduled for the coming weeks. In the draw are some teams that have made a big splash in the European competitions of the past.

Celtic were the first ever British winners of the famous trophy.

There are 20 teams competing for the final 10 places in the 2011 Champions League group stage, which let's face it is the only part of the Champions League that really counts. The Playoff Round draw was this morning, which set up 10 games, of which the 10 winners will move on to the group stage.

With the feature game being Manchester United vs Rangers today at 1:30 pm on Fox Sports Midwest (HD),

The Champions League website offers a nice preview

Three European giants will lock horns in Group G, but the tussle between AC Milan, Real Madrid CF and AFC Ajax is just one of many intriguing stories set to unravel over the coming months.

Real Madrid vs Ajax
Champions League
Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Wednesday, September 15 2010
19:45 BST (+1 GMT)

The two clubs, Real Madrid and Ajax have met six times in European competitions, with Ajax winning in four whereas Madrid triumphant only in one in 1967.

Former Dutch Eredivisie champions Feyenoord crashed to the worst defeat in club history over the weekend, losing 10-0 to league leaders PSV Eindhoven. Feyenoord played the majority of the game with 10 men after Kelvin Leerdam was sent off early in the game.

By Ollie Irish

And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you pesky kids

To my great surprise (and no little delight), UEFA have charged Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho after launching an investigation into whether Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso deliberately incurred red cards during Tuesday's Champions League group match at Ajax.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has been handed a one-match Champions League ban and a fine after UEFA found him guilty of improper conduct relating to the recent dismissals of players Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos.

Mourinho has been banned from the touchline for two UEFA competition matches, the second of which is suspended for three years, with the club fined 120,000 euros after the two players seemed to deliberately incur second bookings, therefore wiping out previous cautions ahead of the Champions League knockout stage.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has been handed a one-match Champions League ban and a fine after UEFA found him guilty of improper conduct relating to the recent dismissals of players Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos.

Mourinho has been banned from the touchline for two UEFA competition matches, the second of which is suspended for three years, with the club fined 120,000 euros after the two players seemed to deliberately incur second bookings, therefore wiping out previous cautions ahead of the Champions League knockout stage.

Danny Blind.........wasn't he that Dutch bloke with the dodgy perm who brought down Paul Ince for the penalty at Euro 96?

It seems the current AFC Ajax Director of football is remembered more for his resemblance of a Harry Enfield sketch than his playing career.

A complete travesty if you ask me.

NYON, Switzerland AC Sparta Prague drew Liverpool FC while BSC Young Boys will have the unenviable task of tackling FC Zenit St Petersburg following the UEFA Europa League round of 32 and round of 16 draws in Nyon. Roy Hodgson's Liverpool are bidding to lift this trophy for the first time in its new [.

Saturday (11th):
- EPL: Everton v Manchester United - 7:40am - FSP
- EPL: Manchester City v Blackburn - 9:55am - FSP
- EPL: Chelsea vs. West Ham - 9:55am - ESPN2
- EPL: Arsenal vs. Bolton - 10am - FSC
- EPL: West Brom vs. Tottenham - 12pm - FSC
- Championship: Burnley v Preston North End - 12:10pm - FSP
- Serie A: AC Milan vs.

Following previews of groups where one team stood head and shoulders above the rest followed by teams competing for second, we reach the 'Group of Death'. Every international soccer competition has one and Group G is this year's version. With three former Champions League winners (A.C. Milan, Real Madrid, and AFC Ajax), and a relative newcomer from a top 5 league (AJ Auxerre), this group is tough from top to bottom.