Loading...UEFA Champion League Schedule on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Group D:
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
UCL: Shakhtar Donetsk v Celtic: Preview
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Celtic manager Gordon Strachan called for perspective as he insisted the Parkhead side's dreadful away record in the Champions League is improving.
The Scottish champions have never won away from Glasgow since the old European Cup was rebranded, but they have another chance to make amends against Shakhtar Donetsk at the RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium in their first Group D fixture.
Strachan's side lost 5-0 to Artmedia Bratislava in his first Champions League qualifier at the start of season 2005/06, a result which effectively ended their European aspirations for that campaign.
Last season, the Parkhead side were beaten away by Manchester United, FC Copenhagen and Benfica but still managed to get through to the group stages with nine points garnered at home.
Celtic lost to eventual winners AC Milan in the last 16 through a Kaka goal in extra-time at the San Siro.
The Parkhead side drew 1-1 against Spartak Moscow in the Luzhniki Stadium in the first leg of this season's third qualifying round before going through on penalties to join Shakhtar, AC Milan and Benfica in a tricky group.
Strachan bristled at the inevitable mention of Celtic's away form in the Champions League.
He said: ``If you count AC Milan taking over 100 minutes trying to score against us last season and then us drawing against Spartak as poor, then fair enough. I think it's good.
``Most teams have a better home record than away record, but we are getting better.
``I can't answer for every Celtic team that has played away in the Champions League.
``I can only deal with what I've been dealing with and I think we have improved over the last couple of years.
``This is a new side and so far this new side has knocked out a very good side (Spartak) so we have to use that.
``I can't use results from six or seven years ago to talk to my team, because that has gone, it's finished.
``We look to the future and the future is tomorrow night.''
Strachan insists the structure of the group stages makes the game against Shakhtar less intense than the pressures of trying to qualify past Spartak Moscow.
He said: ``We enjoyed the intensity about the home and away aspect of the Spartak Moscow tie.
``It was like going back 15 years, there was an excitement and a thrill about those games that you don't get in the group stages of the Champions League.
``People ask me if it will be a disaster if we lose tomorrow.
``Well, we lost the first game at Manchester United last year and still qualified. That is the difference.''
Shakhtar spent £40million re-building their squad over the summer and that investment looks to have paid off given their position at the top of the table.
Strachan said: ``They have lots of skill, lots of flair and their players have different styles but it all comes together.
``They are top of the league and so they will be happy.
``They are two excellent sides with excellent players but as we have proved this year, we have excellent players as well.
``Hopefully our good players will be better than their good players.''
Celtic go into the game having scored five goals in each of their last three Clydesdale Bank Premier League games, the 5-0 thrashing of Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the weekend taking them top of the table for the first time this season.
Midfielder Scott Brown is hoping the Hoops can transfer their domestic form to the European stage.
He said: ``We have scored quite lot of goals in the SPL so hopefully we can take it a bit further and start scoring in the Champions League.
``Whatever XI goes out on the park will give it 110% just like any other game and hopefully we will play well.''
Source: Soccernet.com
UCL: Chelsea v Rosenborg: Preview
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Jose Mourinho is determined to avoid having egg on his face as he prepares for the most important Champions League campaign of his Chelsea tenure.
Chelsea face Norwegian side Rosenborg in their Group B opener at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night with the English side favourites to make short work of their opponents.
But injuries to Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and England midfielder Frank Lampard will again rob the Blues of an attacking edge that saw the pair contribute more than 50 goals last season.
Mourinho's side have failed to hit the net in their last two league games but Chelsea's Portuguese coach maintains it is important his side remain committed to playing attractive, stylish football.
However, in a typically bizarre analogy, Mourinho admits that without his best players, it is like trying to make an omelette without the best eggs money can buy.
Mourinho declared: ``The style of how we play is very important. But it is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs.
``In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes.
``So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem.
``When you have Drogba, Lampard, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho injured you are speaking about 40% of the team. You are speaking about the spine of the team - one central defender, two midfield players and one striker.
``After that you go to Claudio Pizarro. He is the second target man on the team and should be the direct replacement for Drogba. He is out too. But Wayne Bridge is also out and so Ashley Cole is the only left-back we have.
``He is playing games, every minute for Chelsea and the national team. The problem is not the number of injuries but which players they are and their importance for the team.
``That is the problem. In this moment when you speak about Lampard and Drogba, you are speaking about more than 50% of the goals the team scores.
``They are important injuries for us. That is the reality. I don't want to cry about it. I want to work with the players I have available, try to play the best and try to get results.''
Chelsea have a formidable record in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge and while chief executive Peter Kenyon maintains winning the competition is the `Holy Grail' for the club, Mourinho is content to look no further than victory over Rosenborg.
Mourinho added: ``We play how we can. We have to win the game tomorrow, it is as simple as that.
``Every time we start the Champions League, especially at home, every team has the ambition to win it. I think it is very important to start the group with a victory, especially at home.
``It is important to start well or if not, the risk of making a mistake and being punished is bigger. If the team doesn't want to be under pressure and wants to go quietly to the next phase in a difficult group like we have, it is important to win.
``Of course we have respect for our opponents but we think we are a better team. They are a well-organised team and they know what they are doing on the pitch.
``The team I saw was well organised defensively with three good attacking players. I am waiting for a team that will try to be compact, solid and defend well. They will also try to punish us on the counter-attack.''
But despite his respect for the Norwegians, Mourinho does not expect Chelsea to miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages.
Mourinho added: ``In football everything is possible but I believe in my players and Chelsea has the conditions and quality to qualify for the last 16.''
Source: Soccernet.com
UCL: Marseille v Besiktas: Preview
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Marseille coach Albert Emon knows his job is on the line as he prepares his troops for Tuesday's opening Champions League Group A encounter with Besiktas.
OM have made a sluggish start to the new Ligue 1 campaign, with just one win in eight outings leaving them hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone having been touted as title candidates in pre-season.
A win against Besiktas would go a long way towards easing the early-season jitters at the Cote d'Azur club, and give Emon some breathing space after club president Pape Diouf hinted that he may ring the changes unless there is an upturn in form.
Diouf told www.om.net: 'Should the moment come that I feel the only way out is to effect changes among the staff, I will do so without seeking anyone's permission.'
However, the OM supremo added: 'Albert Emon will be at the helm against Besiktas.'
A home defeat to Toulouse at the weekend has dampened spirits yet further in the Marseille camp, but Emon is adamant he is going nowhere.
'I'm not throwing in the towel,' he said. 'I'm moving forward. I'm not sure where to, but I'm going to keep moving forward.'
Victory against last season's Turkish Super Lig runners-up would be a huge fillip for the embattled coach, who is determined to enjoy the challenge of Champions League football.
'The Champions League is a party,' Emon told www.om.net. 'The club wanted so much to get there and now here it is. We're preparing well, we fought for 12 hard months last year to get here.
'This Besiktas game could be the moment when we lift our heads again. We'll see how the competition gets under way. It could be a good back door for us in terms of the problems we've been experiencing.
'We need to free ourselves up, so we're throwing ourselves into this competition that can do us a lot of good.'
However, the former France international believes that Besiktas will be no pushovers, and has called on his team to perform to their best.
'They are a good side with some Brazilians and some very technically talented players,' Emon continued.
'They play hard and never give up. They'll come here looking to really play. We need to be completely focused and really rise to the challenge.'
The OM coach will be boosted by the return to the line up of captain Lorik Cana, who missed the weekend defeat to Toulouse through suspension.
Besiktas coach Ertugrul Saglam has named a 21-man travelling party for the first leg at the Stade Velodrome, which includes experienced goalkeeper Rustu Recber, a summer signing from city rivals Fenerbahce.
The Istanbul outfit, who are competing in the Champions League for the first time in four seasons, will be without the suspended Ali Tandogan and the injured Gokhan Zan.
Source: Soccernet.com
UCL: FC Porto v Liverpool: Preview
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Rafael Benitez wants his Liverpool team to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League long before the end of the their group matches.
The Anfield chief has already admitted he sees the Barclays Premier League as his priority for this season, a statement made well ahead of their opening Champions League group A match here in Porto.
In recent seasons, Liverpool have frequently had to rely on last-day heroics - something skipper Steven Gerrard has been forced to specialise in - to make sure that the club reaches the last 16.
That, insists Benitez, has to change if the club are to have any chance of managing their Premier League campaign successfully.
Last season was the first time in the competition's current format that they went into the final group game in Istanbul against Galatasaray with their destiny already assured.
And now Benitez wants that scenario repeated so that when they arrive in Marseille for their last group match in early December, their fate will already be decided.
He said: ``It is clear that the perfect situation is to get to the last game and already be qualified for the next stage. Last season we achieved that and by the time we went to Galatasaray for the last group match, we had already qualified.
``This is something we must achieve regularly. The way to do that is to win from the very first match in the group, if you do that it is easier to manage the rest of the Champions League games and to be able to concentrate on the Premier League as well.''
With the Premier League title now the prize Benitez covets above all else, he does not need Champions League problems getting in the way of that vision.
Benitez, who will be without full-back John Arne Riise in Portugal because of a groin injury sustained playing for Norway last week, has a very clear objective as the group matches unfold over next three months.
He says: ``We are not thinking of drawing this one, like we did with last season's first group game in Eindhoven, we are aiming to win.
``I feel we need 12 points to get through to the next stage. Some people say 10 is enough, but if we win our three home games and then achieve one away win, that should be enough.
``So it is important that we win early in the group, and not have to depend on the last match. It is best to have the points now, that is what you need and that is why we aim to win here in Porto.
``I know the group and the quality of the teams, it will be difficult but we know what we need to do.
``We have confidence and experience in Europe, we should be able to manage the situation.''
As the domestic season hots up, Benitez wants to rotate his large squad to make sure the title campaign stays on track, with the Champions League qualification already in the bag.
That is the real step up Liverpool, despite two final appearances in three seasons, have to make.
That is how the real top teams in Europe manage their seasons. And it is something that Liverpool, apart from last term, have struggled to achieve.
But this is a new Liverpool. One with vast money spent on rebuilding Benitez's squad, and they will be expected to act with the confidence and arrogance Manchester United and AC Milan have done over the years.
Benitez adds: ``As a top side you must think of winning every competition, everything is a challenge, but right now we can concentrate on the Champions League.
``If we win this one, it will give us the opportunity to clinch qualification early. That is important, if we can start winning now it makes it easier later on.
``Then you can start counting the points, we will be happy then and then think about everything else we are chasing.''
Liverpool face a Porto side with a 100% record at the head of the Portuguese league after four successive wins.
Benitez continued: ``We have confidence and experience in Europe, we should be able to manage the situation.
``But Porto are a difficult opponent. Every season they seem to sell very good players, but always they have a good team and do well in Europe.''
Benitez is expected to start with Gerrard and Fernando Torres, both on the bench for the 0-0 draw at Portsmouth on Saturday, with Dirk Kuyt expected to partner the Spanish star up front.
Source: Soccernet.com
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