Friday, December 19, 2008

Champions League draw

The draw for the Champions League knockout rounds was held on Friday and here's what we have before us:

Manchester United vs Inter Milan
AS Roma vs Arsenal
Panathinaikos vs Villarreal
Barcelona vs Lyon
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Bayern Munich vs Sporting Lisbon
FC Porto vs Atletico Madrid
Juventus vs Chelsea

To me, the two most attractive matchups are Man U-Inter and Liverpool-Real Madrid. Each team is capable of making a deep run in the Champions League but two of their respective dreams will be shattered almost immediately.

Jose Mourinho's former club failed to beat Manchester United a year ago in this same tournament with Chelsea. Can he overcome his former EPL nemesis in Man U with a different team? Meanwhile, Liverpool (five titles, last in '05) and Real Madrid (nine titles, last in '02) each have had their share of success in Champions League as this is the series with the most history behind it.

Every one of these matchups is top-notch, which is what we've come to expect from the Champions League.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Wasn't Avram Grant in charge of Chelsea when they played in the Champs League? I might be wrong, but I think it was Grant.

L.B. said...

Thanks for the catch. What the hell was I thinking? That's what I get for skipping my coffee this morning.

Mike said...

No problem. I wish it was Mourinho, but hopefully United will be knocking him out of the Champs League very soon. Keep up the good work and I am glad you kept blogging after sidelineviews.