When I look at the league table I get a shudder down my spine.
Of course S*urs sitting higher than us in the league table contributes to that shudder massively, but what really causes that horrible feeling is that we sit outside the Champions League places.
Now don't get me wrong, the thought of that lot finishing above us is indeed truly horrific.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

There's only one piece of soccer news that really matters to American soccer fans today, and no, Eli, it's not that Philadelphia Union signed a deal with Rosenberg's Peanut Chews, which apparently are a source of some great conflict among the PSP staff.

Yep, it's Landon Donovan going to Everton.

Going into the Champions League group stages, there were likely a great deal of football bets placed on Premier League powerhouses Manchester United and Manchester City reaching the round of 16. But after flubbing a group that appeared to be a relative stroll, United are now looking ahead to the Europa League, and their archrivals are doing the same.

Following today's draws in the European club competitions one can't help but feel that there could've been some tastier matches upon the horizon going into the knockout rounds of each competition. Nonetheless the teams that do remain in each tournament will have their eyes firmly focused on the big prize.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW

Olympique Lyonnais v APOEL Nicosia

Napoli v Chelsea

AC Milan v Arsenal

Basel v Bayern Munich

Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona

CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid

Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica

Marseille v Internazionale

*The first legs will be played on Feb.

With AC Milan in the runner-up pot, the odds of a high-profile matchup in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League were quite high. As it turns out, the draw did not disappoint.

Arsenal got paired with Milan during Friday's Champions League draw, setting the stage for an intriguing battle in the tournament's Round of 16.

Learning from other sports is often a good exercise. I recently discussed how football could use a golf type handicap system to make the UEFA's Financial Fair Play easier to apply for some of Europe's most debt driven clubs. Football could also learn from tennis. I had already referred to this sport when debating on the current World Cup 1st round group stage which is contrary to the spirit of any cup type competition.

El sorteo para los octavos de final de la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA 2011-12 se celebrará el 16 de diciembre de 2011 a las 12:00 h (CET) en Nyon, sujeto a las condiciones que impedirán enfrentarse a equipos del mismo país ni del mismo grupo de la fase anterior de la competición entre ellos.

MONACO AUGUST 26: Adidas balls on show alongside the three main European club trophies, the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup during the UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw at the Grimaldi Forum on August 26, 2010 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Continúa la acción del torneo más importante de clubes del mundo: La UEFA Champions League 2011/12 que reúne a las mejores escuadras del continente europeo, he aqui los resultados:

Martes 6 de diciembre Grupo E

Stamford Bridge Londres

Chelsea (ING) 3 0 Valencia (ESP)

Goles: 1-0, 3′ Didier Drogba (C); 2-0, 21′ Ramires (C); 3-0, 75′ Didier Drogba (C).

It's do-or-die for Chelsea and manager Andres Villas-Boas, as the Premier League giants need to secure a result against Valencia in order to avoid an embarrassing early exit from the UEFA Champions League.

Even with that, Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres are starting the game on the bench, and Juan Mata gets the start against his former club, which played Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in their previous meeting.

Grupo A PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Bayern Munich 13 5 4 1 0 11 4 7 Napoli 8 5 2 2 1 8 6 2 Manchester City 7 5 2 1 2 7 6 1 Villarreal 0 5 0 0 5 2 12 -10
Grupo B PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Inter Milan 10 5 3 1 1 7 5 2 Trabzonspor 6 5 1 3 1 3 5 -2 Lille 5 5 1 2 2 6 6 0 CSKA Moscow 5 5 1 2 2 7 7 0
Grupo C PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Benfica 9 5 2 3 0 7 4 3 Manchester United 9 5 2 3 0 10 6 4 FC Basel 8 5 2 2 1 9 9 0 Otelul Galati 0 5 0 0 5 3 10 -7
Grupo D PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Real Madrid 15 5 5 0 0 16 2 14 Ajax Amsterdam 8 5 2 2 1 6 3 3 Lyon 5 5 1 2 2 2 6 -4 Dinamo Zagreb 0 5 0 0 5 2 15 -13
Grupo E PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Bayer Leverkusen 9 5 3 0 2 7 7 0 Chelsea 8 5 2 2 1 10 4 6 Valencia 8 5 2 2 1 12 4 8 Racing Genk 2 5 0 2 3 1 15 -14
Grupo F PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Arsenal 11 5 3 2 0 6 3 3 Marseille 7 5 2 1 2 4 2 2 Olympiakos 6 5 2 0 3 5 5 0 Borussia Dortmund 4 5 1 1 3 4 9 -5
Grupo G PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Apoel Nicosia 9 5 2 3 0 6 4 2 Zenit St Petersburg 8 5 2 2 1 7 5 2 FC Porto 7 5 2 1 2 7 7 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 2 5 0 2 3 4 8 -4
Grupo H PT JJ JG JE JP GF GC DF Barcelona 13 5 4 1 0 16 4 12 AC Milan 8 5 2 2 1 9 6 3 Viktoria Plzen 4 5 1 1 3 2 9 -7 BATE Borisov 2 5 0 2 3 2 10 -8 Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

Martes 22 de Noviembre de 2011

3 Bayern Munich vs Villarreal 3
Grupo A 2 Napoli vs Manchester City 2
Grupo A 0 CSKA Moscow vs Lille 2
Grupo B 1 Trabzonspor vs Inter Milan 1
Grupo B 2 Manchester United vs Benfica 2
Grupo C 2 Otelul Galati vs FC Basel 3
Grupo C 0 Lyon vs Ajax Amsterdam 0
Grupo D 6 Real Madrid vs Dinamo Zagreb 2
Grupo D
Miércoles 23 de Noviembre de 2011


2 Bayer Leverkusen vs Chelsea 1
Grupo E 7 Valencia vs Genk 0
Grupo E 2 Arsenal vs B Dortmund 1
Grupo F 0 Marseille vs Olympiakos 1
Grupo F 0 Zenit vs Apoel Nicosia 0
Grupo G 0 Shakhtar vs FC Porto 2
Grupo G 0 BATE Borisov vs Viktoria Plzen 1
Grupo H 2 AC Milan vs Barcelona 2
Grupo H Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

This round of the 2011-12 Champions League has been splendid, as teams are struggling to get over the last hurdles to the next round of the tournament.The Premier League leaders of Manchester City have not had an easy time in Group A. A great Napoli side, with two goals by the perhaps best striker in Europe right now, Edison Cavani, defeated City 2-1, and just need to defeat Villarreal to make it

This week - it's not all good for ACL finalists, Al Sadd: and, minnows on the brink and Leeds humbled at home.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In this week's review section, minnows on the brink, how to reach a final and not make friends, and Leeds humbled at home. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In this week's review section, minnows on the brink, how to reach a final and not make friends, and Leeds humbled at home. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

APOEL vs Porto 2-1 Highlights Video Goals Champions League 2011 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

APOEL vs Porto 2-1 Highlights Video Goals Champions League 2011 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter APOEL vs Porto 2011 ( APOEL Nicosia v FC Porto) Final score and result:- APOEL vs Porto 2-1 ( Ailton, Manduca/ Hulk) NEO GSP Stadium, 1 November, 2011- Champions League Late drama in Cyprus [.

It's around the fourth matchday of the UEFA Champions League that things start to really take shape atop group tables and those with ground to make up feel the pressure even more as their European hopes start to tick away. That's where plenty of teams stand entering Tuesday's critical matches.

Well, David Luiz' magic hands seemed to do the trick, didn't they? In all sorts of ways. Image: AP Photo/Tom Hevezi.

The photographers at this week's round of Champions League fixtures are not on our payroll. We feel the need to mention this today, for some reason.

AC Milan 2-0 BATE Borisov

For best results when using this product, we recommend avoiding anything north of the forehead.

Arsene Wenger knows Olympique Marseille quite well from his years in French soccer, and the Arsenal manager will hope to turn that knowledge into points for his side when it faces Marseille in a key UEFA Champions League battle.

Marseille and Arsenal are in the top two positions, respectively, in Group F, and their meeting is one of the more intriguing matchups on Wednesday's slate.

(Champions League, Septiembre 28, 2011)
Valencia 1 – Chelsea 1

Arsenal 2 – Olympiakos 1

BATE Borisov 0 – Barcelona 5

AC Milan 2 – Viktoria Pilsen 0

Shaktar Donetsk 1 – Apoel Nicosia 1

Marseille 3 – Borussia Dortmund 0

Bayer Leverkusen 2 – Genk 0

Zenit St Petersburg 3 – FC Porto 1

(Champions League, Septiembre 27, 2011)

Manchester United 3 – FC Basel 3

Bayern Munich 2 – Manchester City 0

Zenit St Petersburg 3 – FC Porto 1

Bayer Leverkusen 2 – Genk 0

Real Madrid 3 – Ajax 0

Oţelul Galaţi 0 – Benfica 1

Napoli 2 – Villareal 0

Trabzonspor 1 – Lille 1

CSKA Moscow 2 – Inter Milan 3

Juan Mata has made a nice impression since joining Chelsea this past summer, but if he is to influence the Blues' next match, he'll do so at the expense of his former employer.

Mata and Chelsea take on his former club, Valencia, at Estadio Mestalla in one of Wednesday's high-profile UEFA Champions League group matches.

Martes 27 de septiembre de 2011 2 Bayern Munich vs Manchester City 0 2 Napoli vs Villarreal 0 2 CSKA Moscow vs Inter Milan 3 1 Trabzonspor vs Lille 1 3 Manchester United vs FC Basel 3 0 Otelul Galati vs Benfica 1 2 Lyon vs Dinamo Zagreb 0 3 Real Madrid vs Ajax Amsterdam 0 Miércoles 28 de septiembre de 2011 Bayer Leverkusen vs KRC Genk 13:45 hrsValencia vs Chelsea 13:45 hrsArsenal vs Olympiakos 13:45 hrsMarseille vs Borussia Dortmund 13:45 hrsZenit St Petersburg vs FC Porto 11:00 hrsShakhtar Donetsk vs Apoel Nicosia 13:45 hrsAC Milan vs Viktoria Plzen 13:45 hrs Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

AC Milan salvaged a 2-2 draw against Barcelona thanks an injury-time header from Thiago Silva, while Arsenal were also denied a win late on by Ivan Perisic's volley for Dortmund. Elsewhere, Porto, Chelsea, Apoel Nicosia and Marseille opened with wins.

Chelsea followed up on Frank Lampard's urgency for Champions League glory by opening their campaign with an impressive 2-0 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Second half goals from David Luiz and summer signing Juan Manuel Mata sealed all three points for Andre Villas-Boas' men at Stamford Bridge at the expense of their German visitors.

Martes 13 de septiembre de 2011 Chelsea vs Bayer Leverkusen 13:45 hrsKRC Genk vs Valencia 13:45 hrsBorussia Dortmund vs Arsenal 13:45 hrsOlympiakos vs Marseille 13:45 hrsApoel Nicosia vs Zenit St Petersburg 13:45 hrsFC Porto vs Shakhtar Donetsk 13:45 hrsBarcelona vs AC Milan 13:45 hrsViktoria Plzen vs BATE Borisov 13:45 hrsMiércoles 14 de septiembre de 2011 Manchester City vs Napoli 13:45 hrsVillarreal vs Bayern Munich 13:45 hrsInter Milan vs Trabzonspor 13:45 hrsLille vs CSKA Moscow 13:45 hrsBenfica vs Manchester United 13:45 hrsFC Basel vs Otelul Galati 13:45 hrsAjax Amsterdam vs Lyon 13:45 hrsDinamo Zagreb vs Real Madrid 13:45 hrsMartes 27 de septiembre de 2011 Bayern Munich vs Manchester City 13:45 hrsNapoli vs Villarreal 13:45 hrsCSKA Moscow vs Inter Milan 11:00 hrsTrabzonspor vs Lille 13:45 hrsManchester United vs FC Basel 13:45 hrsOtelul Galati vs Benfica 13:45 hrsLyon vs Dinamo Zagreb 13:45 hrsReal Madrid vs Ajax Amsterdam 13:45 hrsMiércoles 28 de septiembre de 2011 Bayer Leverkusen vs KRC Genk 13:45 hrsValencia vs Chelsea 13:45 hrsArsenal vs Olympiakos 13:45 hrsMarseille vs Borussia Dortmund 13:45 hrsZenit St Petersburg vs FC Porto 11:00 hrsShakhtar Donetsk vs Apoel Nicosia 13:45 hrsAC Milan vs Viktoria Plzen 13:45 hrsBATE Borisov vs Barcelona 13:45 hrsMartes 18 de octubre de 2011 Manchester City vs Villarreal 13:45 hrsNapoli vs Bayern Munich 13:45 hrsCSKA Moscow vs Trabzonspor 11:00 hrsLille vs Inter Milan 13:45 hrsFC Basel vs Benfica 13:45 hrsOtelul Galati vs Manchester United 13:45 hrsDinamo Zagreb vs Ajax Amsterdam 13:45 hrsReal Madrid vs Lyon 13:45 hrsMiércoles 19 de octubre de 2011 Bayer Leverkusen vs Valencia 13:45 hrsChelsea vs KRC Genk 13:45 hrsMarseille vs Arsenal 13:45 hrsOlympiakos vs Borussia Dortmund 13:45 hrsFC Porto vs Apoel Nicosia 13:45 hrsShakhtar Donetsk vs Zenit St Petersburg 13:45 hrsAC Milan vs BATE Borisov 13:45 hrsBarcelona vs Viktoria Plzen 13:45 hrsMartes 1 de noviembre de 2011 KRC Genk vs Chelsea 14:45 hrsValencia vs Bayer Leverkusen 14:45 hrsArsenal vs Marseille 14:45 hrsBorussia Dortmund vs Olympiakos 14:45 hrsZenit St Petersburg vs Shakhtar Donetsk 12:00hrsApoel Nicosia vs FC Porto 14:45 hrsBATE Borisov vs AC Milan 14:45 hrsViktoria Plzen vs Barcelona 14:45 hrsMiércoles 2 de noviembre de 2011 Bayern Munich vs Napoli 14:45 hrsVillarreal vs Manchester City 14:45 hrsInter Milan vs Lille 14:45 hrsTrabzonspor vs CSKA Moscow 14:45 hrsBenfica vs FC Basel 14:45 hrsManchester United vs Otelul Galati 14:45 hrsAjax Amsterdam vs Dinamo Zagreb 14:45 hrsLyon vs Real Madrid 14:45 hrsMartes 22 de noviembre de 2011 Bayern Munich vs Villarreal 13:45 hrsNapoli vs Manchester City 13:45 hrsCSKA Moscow vs Lille 11:00 hrsTrabzonspor vs Inter Milan 13:45 hrsManchester United vs Benfica 13:45 hrsOtelul Galati vs FC Basel 13:45 hrsLyon vs Ajax Amsterdam 13:45 hrsReal Madrid vs Dinamo Zagreb 13:45 hrsMiércoles 23 de noviembre de 2011 Bayer Leverkusen vs Chelsea 13:45 hrsValencia vs KRC Genk 13:45 hrsArsenal vs Borussia Dortmund 13:45 hrsMarseille vs Olympiakos 13:45 hrsZenit St Petersburg vs Apoel Nicosia 11:00 hrsShakhtar Donetsk vs FC Porto 13:45 hrsAC Milan vs Barcelona 13:45 hrsBATE Borisov vs Viktoria Plzen 13:45 hrsMartes 6 de diciembre de 2011 Chelsea vs Valencia 13:45 hrsKRC Genk vs Bayer Leverkusen 13:45 hrsBorussia Dortmund vs Marseille 13:45 hrsOlympiakos vs Arsenal 13:45 hrsApoel Nicosia vs Shakhtar Donetsk 13:45 hrsFC Porto vs Zenit St Petersburg 13:45 hrsBarcelona vs BATE Borisov 13:45 hrsViktoria Plzen vs AC Milan 13:45 hrsMiércoles 7 de diciembre de 2011 Manchester City vs Bayern Munich 13:45 hrsVillarreal vs Napoli 13:45 hrsInter Milan vs CSKA Moscow 13:45 hrsLille vs Trabzonspor 13:45 hrsBenfica vs Otelul Galati 13:45 hrsFC Basel vs Manchester United 13:45 hrsAjax Amsterdam vs Real Madrid 13:45 hrsDinamo Zagreb vs Lyon 13:45 hrs Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

Cada equipo jugará seis veces en una fase de grupos que se disputará del 13 de septiembre al 7 de diciembre.

Los dos mejores de cada grupo avanzarán a los octavos de final que comienzan en febrero, y los ocho terceros pasarán a la UEFA Europa League.

Los 32 equipos compartirán 754 millones de euros (1.

Si el mejor toeno de clubes del mundo esta listo con los equipos que se enfrentaran en la fase de grupos El Barcelona comenzará la defensa de su título en el mismo grupo que el Milan, dos grandes europeos.
El Barça se reencuentra con Ibra y el Real Madrid repite con Lyon y Ajax de Holanda.

The UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw took place on Thursday and while we didn't quite get the ultimate Group of Death, we did see some juicy match-ups and one VERY tough group.

Manchester City's first foray into the Champions League will see the boys in Blue compete in the clear choice for Group of Death as City takes on Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli in Group A.

FC Barcelona has been drawn into Group H of 2011-12 UEFA Champions League Goup stage. AC Milan from Italy, Bate Borisov from Belarus and FC Viktoria Plzeň from Czech republic joined Barca in Group H to make for an interesting group. AC Milan is seven times Champions whereas Borisov is playing in Champions League for the second time and FC Viktoria Plzeň will make their Champions League debut this season.

Refresh for updates (F5)

Group A
Bayern Munich
Villarreal
City
Napoli

Group B
Inter Milan
CSKA Moscow
Lille
Trabzonspor

Group C
Manchester United
Benfica
FC Basel
Otelul Galati

Group D
Real Madrid
Lyon
Ajax
Dinamo Zagreb

Group E
Chelsea
Valencia
Bayer Leverkusen
KRC Genk

Group F
Arsenal
Marseille
Olympiakos
Borussia Dortmund

Group G
FC Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk
Zenit St Petersburg
APOEL Nicosia

Group H
Barcelona
AC Milan
Bate Borisov
Viktoria Plzen

POT 1: United, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Porto and Inter Milan.

Five spots in the UEFA Champions League group stage will be claimed on Tuesday as the final play-in round winds down in Europe.

Bayern Munich will look to hold on to its 2-0 aggregate lead over FC Zurich, while Villarreal will try and overturn a 1-0 deficit to Odense BK in two of the more intriguing second-leg matches.

The draws for the first two qualifying rounds of the two main European club competitions were made in Nyon, Switzerland this afternoon just 23 days after FC Barcelona claimed their fourth UEFA Champions League crown at Wembley Stadium.

The UEFA Champions League begins on June 28th with two-legged ties involving the bottom four ranked national champions from UEFA'S Co-Efficient table which measures the progress of each country's clubs in European competition over a five year period.