I thought I might as well start up this year's Champions League thread seeing that the qualification rounds are soon to be over, and we'll now who the lucky 32 are.

The last game of the third and final qualification round is coming up this week. Here are the encounters:

Crvena Zvedza - Rangers (Rangers won the first match 1-0)
Dinamo - Lazio (first game, 1-1)
København - Benfica (Benfica won the first game 2-1)
Elfsborg - Valencia (Valencia won the first game 3-0)
AEK - Sevilla (Sevilla won the first game 2-0)
Liverpool - Toulouse (Liverpool won the first game 1-0)
Anderlecht - Fenerbache (Fenerbache won the first game 1-0)
Dynamo Kyiv - Sarajevo (Dynamo won the first game 1-0)
Besiktas - Zurich (1-1)
Arsenal - Sparta Praha (Arsenal won the first game 2-0)
Slavia - Ajax (Slavia Praha won the first match 1-0)
Shakhtar Donetsk - Salzburg (Salzburg won the first match 1-0)
Dinamo Zagreb - Bremen (Bremen won the first game 2-1)
Celtic - Spartak Moskva (1-1)
Rosenborg - Tampere (Rosenborg won the first game 3-0)
FC Steaua - BATE (2-2)

Thanks for starting this Linda!

By now, you should know that Roma are in the same group as Man Utd!
Arrrggghhh! I really don't want to go through all that again!

Anyway here are this week's results, followed by the draw for the group stage...

Red Star Belgrade 0 - 0 Rangers
Dinamo Bucuresti 1 - 3 Lazio
Liverpool 4 - 0 Toulouse
Dynamo Kyiv 3 - 0 FK Sarajevo
Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 1 SV Salzburg
Besiktas 2 - 0 Zurich
Steaua Bucuresti 2 - 0 BATE Borisov
Anderlecht 0 - 2 Fenerbahce
Dinamo Zagreb 2 - 3 Werder Bremen
Slavia Prague 2 - 1 Ajax Amsterdam
Pen. Celtic * 1 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Elfsborg 1 - 2 Valencia
FC Copenhagen 0 - 1 Benfica
Arsenal 3 - 0 Sparta Prague
Rosenborg 2 - 0 Tampere United

THE DRAW!!!!!

Group A
LIVERPOOL
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Group B
CHELSEA
Valencia
Schalke 04
Rosenborg

Group C
REAL MADRID
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos

Group D
AC MILAN
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
BARCELONA
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

Group G
INTER MILAN
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce

Group H
ARSENAL
Sevilla/AEK Athens
Steau Bucharest
Slavia Prague

I don't like the Roma-group at all. I think it is harder than one presumes at first glance. I don't even wanna start to think about Roma at Old Trafford again....the only bright side to this is that they MIGHT drive away the horror of that quarter-final game by a better performane this time around. Anyway....I'm sure there will be some spectacular encounters as always

Matchday 1, tonights results.

Porto - Liverpool 1-1
Marseille - Besiktas 1-0
Chelsea - Rosenborg 1-1
Schalke - Valencia 0-1
Real MAdrid - Werder Bremen 2-1
Olympiacos - Lazio 1-1
Milan - Benfica 2-1
S. Donetsk - Celtic 2-0

Good start for Milan, Lazio also got a nice result(cannot really feel any joy about it, never liked them and probably never will...although I usually give unquestionable support to the Italian teams )



Tomorrows matches are the following(fingers crossed for Roma):
Rangers - Stuttgart
Barcelona - Lyon
Roma - D. Kyiv
Sporting - Manchester United
PSV - CSKA Moskva
Fenerbache - Inter
Arsenal - Sevilla
Slavia - Steaua

Linda.... did you watch Chelsea v Rosenborg?????

You should have been REALLY proud of them. To get a draw away is great for Rosenborg... they were a real shock to Chelsea and have made a great start to be 2nd in their group! CONGRATULATIONS!

damn! its been ages...but i'm back for champions league..well all i can say is GO BARCA!

WELCOME back Ali-gol! Hope you are fully recovered? Are you doing OK???

Well... last night's results,

Group E
Barcelona 3 - 0 Lyon
Rangers 2 - 1 Stuttgart

Group F
AS Roma 2 - 0 Dynamo Kyiv
Sporting Lisbon 0 - 1 Manchester U.

Group G
Fenerbahce 1 - 0 Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven 2 - 1 CSKA Moscow

Group H
Arsenal 3 - 0 Sevilla
Slavia Prague 2 - 1 Steaua Bucuresti

Barca did just GREAT... another fantastic night for Messi (well it looked it on the highlights)

Pleased that Roma won and obviously pleased that Man Utd did too!
That's gonna set a real challenge for both teams in the next match which is Man U v Roma at Old Trafford!

Nervous Linda???????? I can tell you.... I certainly am!!!

Forgot to say.... BIG shock over here in England today, Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea!
Seems like the defeat againt Rosenborg was the final straw. I'm REALLY sad about it... he made an absolutely delightful contribution to English football and he will be really missed!

Rudy... if you still visit this forum, what are your views about this???

Here's how it was announced....

Mourinho makes shock Chelsea exit
September 20 2007

Chelsea have confirmed that coach Jose Mourinho has left the club.

The Barclays Premier League club reacted to speculation over the future of the Portuguese coach by revealing the two parties had agreed to part company today by mutual consent.

Mourinho is understood to have contacted five senior players on Wednesday afternoon to inform them of his departure and by midnight the entire first team squad were aware he was going.

Peter Kenyon, the club's chief executive, Bruce Buck, the chairman, and Abramovich's key aide, Eugene Tenenbaum, were called to an emergency meeting at Stamford Bridge last night to discuss the emerging crisis.

Former Israel coach Avram Grant, recruited in the summer as director of football, is expected to take charge of the side for Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United.

A statement on the Chelsea website confirmed: "Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have agreed to part company today (Thursday) by mutual consent."

Mourinho led the club to two Barclays Premier League titles after joining the club in June 2004 but their disappointing start to the new season had taken its toll on him.

He still had three years left on a contract worth a staggering £6.5million a year.

At the time he signed that deal, Mourinho said: "My heart is with Chelsea and the fantastic group of players that I have but the vision of the owner and the board for the future of Chelsea is also one I want to be a part of.

"I cannot imagine another situation or another club where I could be happier. I am totally behind this project."

But the Chelsea board are thought to have become increasingly unhappy over the team's form at the beginning of the campaign.

The Blues are currently fifth in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Arsenal after six games, and their 1-1 draw with Rosenborg in their opening Champions League game on Tuesday night - played in front of less than 25,000 fans - did not help Mourinho's cause.

Yes, I saw the match Katy, and I am very pleased with the result. I really really really don't like clubs who buy their success in the way Chelsea has done, so nothing amuses me more than a little no-money club upsetting a giant like Chelsea...That it was my own Rosenborg just made the icing on the cake that much sweeter

I think I know what you mean about Mourinho, he sure was amusing(and in a good way) at the press-conferences before and after the Rosenborg match.


And then the Roma-ManU game. Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it. What comforts me a little is the good result they got in the last game and the 9 points in serie a...I believe they are in good form. And I know the experience from the last encounter must have taught them something...so fingers crossed.

Are you as nervous as I am Katy?
Any last minute gossip from the United camp...missing any players ?

I will be able to watch this. They are broadcasting it live and I cannot wait

Yessssss, Linda.... I am REALLY nervous!!!

All the talk is about the fans here, hoping there isn't a repeat of the trouble from last year. So far so good, though... the italian fans that have arrived so far have been really well behaved!

Van Der Sar is missing, which is sad for us.
Sir Alex says last time's result was most definitely a 'one-off' and will probably make Roma more determined!

Here are a couple of articles from Football Italia, the 2nd one says Totti wants to win 7-0!!!

Anyway... MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!!!

Spalletti: Reaction not revenge Tuesday 2 October, 2007

Roma boss Luciano Spalletti doesn’t want his men to view tonight’s game at Manchester United as a quest for revenge. “It’s not the right word.”

The Giallorossi will hardly be short of motivation as they travel to Old Trafford to take on the Red Devils in their second Champions League game of the current campaign.

United hammered Roma 7-1 in the last 16 last year on a humiliating night that will live long in the memory.

Spalletti’s side have an added will to win after being humbled 4-1 by Inter last weekend in their top of the table crunch match.

While captain Francesco Totti has been happy to talk about revenge, Roma’s Tuscan tactician would rather his men focused on responding to the task at hand.

“The right word is reaction rather than revenge,” he told Sky Sports Italia. “The idea of revenge suggests the wrong kind of attitude and rash actions.

“It is a difficult game to prepare for because we are playing a strong team. But in a way it has become easier because I believe my lads will want to get themselves back on track so much.”

There had been reports that veteran defender Christian Panucci had been left out of the squad due to a rift with Spalletti, but he concluded his interview by rubbishing that suggestion.

“He hasn’t been picked because he has a back ache and he wasn’t sure of his fitness,” he revealed.

“I would have chosen him at the end of training, but I spoke to the doctor and we decided to leave him at home.”

Manchester United (probable): Kuszczak; Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown; Carrick, Giggs, Scholes, Ronado; Rooney, Tevez

Roma (probable): Doni; Cicinho, Mexes, Juan, Tonetto; De Rossi, Aquilani, Giuly, Perrotta, Mancini; Totti

************************************************

Totti: I want 7-0! Monday 1 October, 2007

Roma captain Francesco Totti calls for his side to deliver a crushing revenge on Manchester United and hints that he may return to the Azzurri set-up.

The Giallorossi return to the scene of last season’s 7-1 evisceration at the last 16 stage of the Champions League when they travel to Old Trafford tomorrow.

Much of the pre-match talk has inevitably centred around the capital club’s desire for revenge and Totti is refusing to play that down.

“I’d love to beat them 7-0,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “The Champions League is the only title that I haven’t won and I dream of doing so even though I know it is difficult to do it with Roma.

“I think that Barcelona are the favourites as they have Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o all together.

Football Italia

HAhahahahaha.....Totti sure sets his sights high. I believe a point would be an excellent result for Roma, but I'll settle for a good game and a fair result. How is Tevez working out for United? Is he playing tonight?

I hope the fans behave and I suppose Old Trafford is a very safe place to be a football fan.

Matchday 2, results:

Group E
Lyon-Rangers 0-3
Stuttgart-Barcelona 0-2

Group F
MAnchester United-Roma 1-0
Dynamo Kyiv-Sporting 1-2

Group G
CSKA Moskva-Fenerbache 2-2
Inter-PSV 2-0

Group H
Steaua-Arsenal 0-1
Sevilla-Slavia 4-2



Congrats on a good result Katy. It was a nervewrecking game. With a bit more presision Roma could have gone home with that point, but in all fairness it was a result that reflected the game. Roma obviously learned something from their last encounter, and I belive they will do better in this years CL. United is nearly through allready. IT was fun to see Tevez on the field

Another good win by Barcelona, and a goal by Messi. Did any of you watch the game?

Also a great reasult by Rangers, that will be heard throughout Europe for sure. Beating Lyon away 3-0 is a superb effort.

Yes... a great result by Rangers, Linda... but what about Celtic tonight beating Milan??? I don't follow Scottish football at all, but I bet the Scots are absolutely DELIGHTED with those 2 results!

As for last night.. it was a very even match and a draw would have been fair... but obviously I'm quite pleased with the result!

Tevez is settling in just fine. I think he's gonna be much loved by United's fans!

Oh.... and good news for us Linda.... Liverpool LOST!!

Anyway, here are tonight's results...

Wednesday 3rd October 2007

Liverpool 0 - 1 Marseille

Besiktas 0 - 1 FC Porto

Rosenborg 0 - 2 Schalke 04

Valencia 1 - 2 Chelsea

Benfica 0 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk

Werder Bremen 1 - 3 Olympiacos

Lazio 2 - 2 Real Madrid

Celtic 2 - 1 AC Milan

PS.. Sorry abouit Rosenborg, Linda!

Yup....the Liverpool defeat was a boost. Go Marseille.
Good result by Celtic, the Scots are having a great start to this years CL.

As for Rosenborg.... There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the team's season here at home, and the manager doesn't seem to be able to get the team to work together. When that is said they were at bit unlucky last night.

yea katy i'm fully recovered..and m doing just fine...thnx...sorry for the late reply...well Barca are in gr8 form...and especially lionel messi...he score another again sttutgart...and scored another in the league againt atletico madrid...the match against sttutgart was good...both team played well...

Glad you are back with us Ali-gol!

Anyway... here are the fixtures for the next 2 days....

Tuesday 23rd October
UEFA Champions League
19:45 Arsenal vs Slavia Prague
19:45 Rangers vs Barcelona
17:30 CSKA Moscow vs Inter Milan
19:45 VfB Stuttgart vs Lyon
19:45 Dynamo Kiev vs Man Utd
19:45 PSV vs Fenerbahce
19:45 Roma vs Sporting
19:45 Sevilla vs Steaua Bucuresti


Wednesday 24th October
UEFA Champions League
19:45 AC Milan vs Shakhtar Donetsk
19:45 Benfica vs Celtic
19:45 Chelsea vs Schalke 04
19:45 Besiktas vs Liverpool
19:45 Werder Bremen vs Lazio
19:45 Marseille vs FC Porto
19:45 Real Madrid vs Olympiacos
19:45 Rosenborg vs Valencia

I think the Rangers v Barca should be interesting! Heehee.. let's see how they do against Barca!

Yipeeeeee... Man U and Roma both won!
Hopefully that means they'll both go through!

Rangers held Barca!
And Arsenal won 7-0!
Anyway... here are the results....

Rangers 0 - 0 Barcelona
Stuttgart 0 - 2 Lyon
AS Roma 2 - 1 Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kyiv 2 - 4 Manchester U.
CSKA Moscow 1 - 2 Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven 0 - 0 Fenerbahce
Arsenal 7 - 0 Slavia Prague
Sevilla 2 - 1 Steaua Bucuresti

Yess.....!! congratulation to both of them.... Man U & Roma Hope they'll win again...! yahooo...!!

A fantastic Champions League week for our teams.
Congrats on ManU Katy, I saw some parts of the game and they were superb. A really entertaining match.

Very happy for Roma. I was worried quite some time into the second half, but they pulled it off


Here are tonights results:

Milan - Shaktar Donetsk 4-1
Benfica - Celtic 1-0
Real Madrid - Olympiacos 4-2
Marseille - Porto 1-1
Werder Bremen - Lazio 2-1
Chelsea - Schalke 2-0
Rosenborg - Valencia 2-0
Besiktas - Liverpool 2-1


I am so happy for my Rosenborg tonight. It has been a very emotional time here because the team has been going through it's most dreadful season ever, but tonight they played with their hearts and they completely outplayed Valencia.

And Liverpool lost....hihihihi......

Yet another team changes coach.....


Valencia part with Sánchez Flores
UEFA.com

Valencia CF have dismissed coach Quique Sánchez Flores after Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Sevilla FC followed a second successive loss in the UEFA Champions League.

Official statement
The 42-year-old, who spent nine years at the Mestalla Stadium as a player, took over from Claudio Ranieri in the summer of 2005 and was sacked in the early hours of this morning following an emergency board meeting. An official statement said: "After analysing the team's situation, which is considered to be irretrievable after defeats in the league and UEFA Champions League, the board has decided to dismiss Quique Sánchez Flores."

Mixed emotions
Sánchez Flores said: “On one hand I feel disappointed but on the other I’m relieved. I want to thank Valencia for giving me the chance to coach a top-class team and for giving me enough space to allow me to continue growing as a coach. I leave feeling convinced that we were ready to achieve our objectives at the end of the season, but if this is the best solution for everyone, I accept it willingly. I lose a job, but get my life back."

Temporary solution
The loss in Seville left Valencia fourth in the Primera División, just four points adrift of Real Madrid CF, while Sánchez Flores's side lost 2-0 at Rosenborg BK in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday to leave them third in Group B with three points from three games. Reserve team boss Óscar Fernández has been placed in temporary command while the club seek a permanent replacement for the outgoing coach.

Seventh departure
Sánchez Flores is the seventh UEFA Champions League coach to leave his post since the start of the group stage. Already gone were Albert Emon at Olympique de Marseille, Chelsea FC's José Mourinho, Gheorghe Hagi from FC Steaua Bucureşti, Anatoliy Demyanenko at FC Dynamo Kyiv and, most recently, Sevilla's Juande Ramos and Rosenborg's Knut Tørum, meaning Valencia will welcome the Norwegian side on 6 November with both teams having changed coach in the fortnight since their previous encounter.

************************


Three of the coaches in group B has been forced to leave. I'm sure Schalke's manager begins to feel the heat also

Matchday 4
Thuesday

Liverpool - Besiktas 8-0 !
Porto - Marseille 2-1
Valencia - Rosenborg
Schalke - Chelsea 0-0
Lazio - Werder Bremen 2-1
Olympiacos - Real Madrid 0-0
Celtic - Benfica 1-0
Shakhtar - Milan 0-3

Tomorrow's matches
Lyon - Stuttgart
Barvcelona - Rangers
Man. United - Dynamo Kyiv
Sporting - Roma
Inter - CSKA Moskva
Fenerbache - PSV
Steua - Sevilla
Slavia - Arsenal

Fingers crossed for ROMA

PS: Overjoyed at Rosenborg's win at Mestalla. Well deserved.

WOW Linda... Rosenborg are 2nd in their group now!!

I'm hoping both Man Utd AND Roma will progress from their group!
Good Luck to both teams tonight!

Forgot to say.... Liverpool!

Tonight's results....

Barcelona 2 - 0 Rangers
Lyon 4 - 2 VfB Stuttgart
Sporting 2 - 2 Roma
Man Utd 4 - 0 Dynamo Kiev
Fenerbahce 2 - 0 PSV
Inter Milan 4 - 2 CSKA Moscow
Steaua Bucuresti 0 - 2 Sevilla
Slavia Prague 0 - 0 Arsenal

Now, Linda... we need Man U to beat Sporting in the next match and Roma to beat Kiev, which will take them both through!

Man Utd are already through, but they want to be top of the group so that should give them an incentive to beat Sporting! Ohhh I hope so. It would be AWFUL to have to wait until the last match to see if Roma have made it!

Roma was very lucky last night. Saved in the nick of time. I hope one more win will be enough for Roma to get through, I think Kiev is difficult to play in Ukraine.

Man U looks very impressive Katy, I saw the game last night and they were never really in danger. Great goal by Tevez Fingers crossed that they continue their great winning streak against Sporting

YOHOOOOO
Roma are through


Here are tonight's results:

Man U - Sporting 2-1
D Kyiv - Roma 1-4
Stuttgart-Rangers 3-2
Lyon-Barca 2-2
CSKA-Moskva - PSV 0-1
Inter - Fenerbache 3-0
Sevilla - Arsenal 3-1
Steua - Slavia 1-1


Inter, Barcelona, Sevilla, Arsenal and Roma join Man U for the play-offs. Very happy Roma made it. The last game between Roma and ManU will be quite boring now with nothing to play for.

Tomorrow Rosenborg host Chelsea here in snowy Trondheim, and I just hope we wont concede too many goals. It would have been fun to advance.

SHOW OF STRENGTH DELIGHTS SPALLETTI



Ludovic Giuly celebrates scoring for Roma

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti praised his side's resilience after they made light of a string of injuries to defeat FC Dynamo Kyiv 4-1 to confirm their place in the UEFA Champions League last 16. Roma were without Francesco Totti, Philippe Mexes, Alberto Aquilani and Simone Perrotta but still ran out comfortable winners thanks to goals from Christian Panucci and Ludovic Giuly follwed by two from Mirko Vučinić. Dynamo were also weakened by injury and coach Oleh Luzhny bemoaned his side's lack of strength in depth as defeat ended their hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup.

Luciano Spalletti, Roma coach
Our lads played so well they deserved better than having to settle for second place in the group. We deserved to fight for first place but Manchester [United FC] played like they did [and beat Sporting Clube de Portugal] and there is nothing we can do. I fielded Taddei to see how he would cope but he got tired quite quickly so I took him off, but there is nothing serious the matter with him. I have always said you need a squad of players capable of replacing those who are out. Roma have such a squad. You just have to find the right balance. It's not important who scored the first goal, what is important is that the team played well and produced the right result. Football is a team sport and individual achievements are not that important. The Manchester United match [on Matchday 6] will not be easy for us because we have our honour to play for and must perform well in front of our fans. Today we won because we were trying hard, we were focused and approached the match with the right mentality.

Oleh Luzhny, Dynamo coach
[Goalkeeper] Olexandr Rybka played normally, but I couldn't see the first goal we conceded properly so it is difficult for me to tell [what happened]. I fielded all the players we had who were capable of getting on to the pitch tonight. We lost because we lacked concentration from the very first minutes and because of slack defending, especially from our centre-backs. We have no other players. We cannot rise higher than the level of the Ukrainian league.

Tonight's results

Benfica - Milan 1-1
Celtic - S Donetsk 2-1
Werder B - Real Madrid 3-2
Lazio - Olympiakos 1-2
Rosenborg - Chelsea 0-4
Valencia - Schalke 0-0
Besiktas - Marseille 2-1
Liverpool - Porto 4-1



Rosenborg was absolute crap today. And Chelsea was superb. I've never been an fan of Chelsea, but tonight I ALMOST became one
Rosenborg are still number two though and could still go through

Wow...! Linda Chelsea are Really on some fireballs in this game.. BIG Scores i should say... nothing can stop them now huhu....!

and for Rosenborg Adois...! Gud Luck Next Time.!
thanks for the results Linda