UEFA Champion League 07/08 draws

UEFA Champion League for season 07/08 groups draw has been done on last thursday after the qualifying matches finished.

Here are the draws:

Group A		Group B		Group C		Group D
Besiktas		Chelsea		Lazio		Ac Milan
FC Porto		Rosenborg		Olmpiacos		Benfica
Liverpool		Schalke 04		Real Madrid		Celtic
Marseille		Valencia		Werder Bremen		Shaktar Donetsk

Group E		Group F		Group G		Group H
Barcelona		Dynamo Kiev		CSKA Moscow		AEK Athens/Sevilla
Lyon		Man Utd		Fenerbahce		Arsenal
Rangers		Roma		Inter Milan		Slavia Praque
Vfb Stuttgart		Sporting Lisbon		PSV Eindhoven		Steaua Bucuresti

Source: Soccernet.com

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Man City Thai up deal for defender Sukha

Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Thailand defender Suree Sukha, according to owner Thaksin Shinawatra's lawyer.

The Chon Buri full-back, who recently shone for his country in the AFC Asian Cup in July, is one of three Thai players currently on trial at City.

Thaksin has stressed since taking over the club that he is keen to bring Thai players to the Barclays Premier League and should Suree complete the move he will become the first player from his country to play in England's top flight.

'Suree will be the first Thai player to play in the Premier League. His work permit is now being processed,' confirmed lawyer Noppadon Pattama.

Thailand's national team manager, Chanvit Polchovin, who recently returned to Thailand after staying with the players in Manchester, admitted the move will be a great boost for Thai football.

'It is a good news and a great boost for Thai players who dream of playing in the Premiership,' he said in the Bangkok Post.

'To be part of the first team for the Thai player is a great honour for him. But please don't expect too much. He is unlikely to go straight into the first team line-up.'

Source: Socccernet.com

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Chelsea confirm Lampard thigh tear

Both Jose Mourinho and Steve McClaren are sweating on the fitness of Frank Lampard after Chelsea confirmed the midfielder sustained a tear in his thigh.

The 29-year-old pulled up at the end of training today as Chelsea continued their preparations for Sunday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa.

It is not yet known how long Lampard will be out but he is a huge doubt for England's Euro 2008 double header with Israel and Russia.

'It is too early to say how long the injury will keep him from playing,' read a statement from Chelsea.

The injury is on the same leg as the toe he broke earlier in the season.

For England boss Steve McClaren the news is arguably of more importance than for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

While Mourinho can call on any number of replacements from his multi-talented squad, McClaren's options are somewhat limited.

At a time when David Beckham, Kieron Dyer and Wayne Rooney are all missing from international duty the loss of Lampard, whose experience at the highest level is invaluable in the situation England presently find themselves in, would be a grievous blow.

In fact, the only positive McClaren might be able to draw is that he will be spared the repeated dilemma of who to leave out of a central midfield consisting of Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves.

If Lampard is ruled out it would make it even more imperative that Gerrard plays despite being ruled out of Liverpool's Premier League encounter with Derby tomorrow with a broken toe.

Source: ManUtd.com

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Saha should face Black Cats

Sir Alex Ferguson expects Louis Saha to be involved in Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with Sunderland at Old Trafford.

The French striker was pencilled in to play some part against Tottenham last weekend, only to be left out of the final 16-man squad. After another intensive week of training, however, Sir Alex has revealed that he should feature against Roy Keane's Black Cats.

"Louis is such an important player for us," Sir Alex told his pre-match press conference. "I don't think he'll start, but he can be a very important player if he comes on. He gives us another option, there needs to be more of a cutting edge about our game."

The 29-year-old striker has not appeared for United since a substitute cameo in May's defeat to AC Milan, and has been recuperating from a knee injury all summer.

Fellow injury victim Anderson could also feature on Saturday, having trained after suffering a hamstring strain earlier this month.

The Brazilian could make his United debut after arriving in a summer transfer from Porto, and he has impressed his new manager with his commitment to succeeding in England.

"I'm really pleased with Anderson's development over the last couple of weeks in terms of his training," said Sir Alex, who also confirmed that Gary Neville will not be fit in time for Saturday's match.

It'll be Roy Keane's first visit to Old Trafford as a manager having steered the Black Cats to the Championship crown last season. Still worshipped by United fans following his 12-year career with the Reds, Sir Alex fully expects the former skipper to be granted a special welcome on Saturday.

"He'll get a great reception," insisted the boss. "That's one of the things that makes me so proud to be manager of this football club. The reception our fans give to former players who come back to Old Trafford, both as a player and a manager, tells you what a great club we are.

"You only need to look at the ovations they've given Bryan Robson, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce, it'll be the same for Roy on Saturday."

Source: ManUtd.com

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Rooney 'not far' from return

Wayne Rooney is making promising progress in his recovery from a fractured foot, although he will not play any part in Saturday's game against Sunderland.

The 21-year-old was expected to be out for around eight weeks after suffering the injury on the opening day of the season against Reading.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed last week that he is already keen to return to action and, while the striker won't be rushed back, a scan next week could provide the all-clear to make an early comeback.

"Wayne's still got a bit to do yet, but he's not far away," the manager told his pre-Sunderland press conference.

"He's been working really hard in the gym and he won't have a lot to pick up when he comes back, in terms of his fitness because he had a really good pre-season. He's going for a scan at the end of next week and hopefully that will give us a good result."

Source: ManUtd.com

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Middlesbrough 2-0 Northampton: Fab-ulous strike

	Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Northampton 53' Fabio Rochemback 1 - 0 66' Dong-gook Lee 2 - 0
2		0

Match Stats
	Middlesbrough	Northampton
Shots (on Goal)	17(8)	14(7)
Fouls	9	14
Corner Kicks	5	8
Offsides	0	4
Time of Possession	56%	44%
Yellow Cards	0	1
Red Cards	0	0
Saves	7	5

South Korean striker Dong Gook Lee finally grabbed his first Middlesbrough goal as the 2004 winners rode their luck against Northampton to book their place in the Carling Cup third round with a 2-0 win.

Lee drove home a powerful low shot from the edge of the box in the 66th minute to wrap up victory for Gareth Southgate's men after Fabio Rochemback's free-kick had broken the deadlock.

But it could have been a different story for spluttering Boro had the bright Coca-Cola League One outfit capitalised on early chances, the best of which saw Ian Henderson's diving header hit the post.

Lee, who had failed to hit the net in his handful of appearances since joining Boro in January, was one of six new faces introduced by Southgate after Sunday's draw with Newcastle.

Full Report: Soccernet.com

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Newcastle 2-0 Barnsley: Owen back on target

	Newcastle 2 - 0 Barnsley 57' Michael Owen 1 - 0 86' Obafemi Martins 2 - 0
2		0

Match Stats
	Newcastle	Barnsley
Shots (on Goal)	15(12)	4(1)
Fouls	14	8
Corner Kicks	8	2
Offsides	3	1
Time of Possession	61%	39%
Yellow Cards	1	2
Red Cards	0	0
Saves	2	6

Michael Owen ended his 20-month wait for a Newcastle goal as the Magpies finally saw off stubborn Barnsley with a 2-0 win.

The 27-year-old England international struck 12 minutes after the break, finding the net in a competitive game for his club for the first time since December 17, 2005.

It was just Owen's 14th start and 17th appearance in total for Newcastle and came two days before he celebrates two, injury-wrecked years on Tyneside.

If Owen and his manager Sam Allardyce were delighted, both by the goal and the passage it helped to secure to the Carling Cup third round, it will have been no less welcome to England boss Steve McClaren, whose dearth of strikers ahead of vital Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia makes the form of his most experienced hitman a cause for national concern.

Full Report: Soccernet.com

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Bristol City 1-2 Man City: Bianchi's matt finish

	Bristol City 1 - 2 Manchester City 17' 0 - 1 Emile Mpenza 69' Bradley Orr 1 - 1 81' 1 - 2 Ronaldo Bianchi
1		2

Match Stats
	Bristol City	Man City
Shots (on Goal)	13(6)	12(4)
Fouls	9	13
Corner Kicks	6	1
Offsides	9	6
Time of Possession	54%	46%
Yellow Cards	0	0
Red Cards	0	0
Saves	1	2

Sven-Goran Eriksson's most expensive purchase as Manchester City manager spared his embarrassment at Bristol City as the Blues squeezed into the Carling Cup third round with a 2-1 win.

At £8.8million, Rolando Bianchi did not come cheap. But the former Reggina star was the City hero, lashing home from 20 yards to give the Blues victory.

The win was totally deserved and should have been achieved without the late fright Bradley Orr provided Eriksson with when he levelled Emile Mpenza's first-half opener.

But Bianchi's name figured prominently in a list of missed City chances, and a nervy ending would have been given a dramatic injury-time twist had Mark McIndoe's cheeky back-heel not correctly been ruled out for offside.

When the two finalists take their place at Wembley on February 24, 32 years will have elapsed since City last won a major trophy.

Full Report: Soccernet.com

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Middlesbrough 2 - 2 Newcastle

	Middlesbrough 2 - 2 Newcastle United 22' 0 - 1 Charles N'Zogbia 28' Mido 1 - 1 77' 1 - 2 Mark Viduka 80' Julio Arca 2 - 2
2		2

Full Report: Soccernet.com

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Man Utd's Super-Substitute, Solskjaer, set to retire from football

Manchester United's legend and former Norway forward, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will announced his retirement from football today.

The 34-year-old bowed to the inevitable after consultation with medical staff and is expected to confirm the news today, with concern about the impact on Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad outweighed by the sense of loss felt by all at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer is certain to be remembered as one of the most popular players in United’s history, having scored the dramatic stoppage-time goal that beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Barcelona in 1999. Teammates often joked that he could have retired on the back of that goal, but, almost as much, it was his professionalism that secured his place in the affections of United’s supporters, players and officials, with the club eager to find a position that will enable him to stay on in either a coaching or an ambassadorial role. He is also certain to be offered a testimonial in view of his service since joining United from Molde for a bargain fee of £1.5 million in the summer of 1996.

Ferguson will lead the tributes to Solskjaer today, having often described him as the best substitute the game has seen and one of the most loyal servants in the club’s history. It was partly in a bid to reward that loyalty that the club offered him a new two-year contract in March 2006, after he had spent 2½ years fighting what had appeared a losing battle against cruciate ligament damage. Against all expectations, Solskjaer made a significant contribution to United’s title success last season, scoring 11 goals, including seven in 19 Premier League appearances.

Solskjaer, having scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United, was hopeful of reappearing this season when he underwent a minor knee operation in Norway in June, but his rehabilitation has been more problematic this time. He recently admitted that he expected this to be his last season, but a setback in the past fortnight led to renewed fears about his future and, finally, after consultation with numerous experts, he has taken the decision to retire.

Full Report: timeonline.co.uk

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