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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
