UEFA Champions League 2011-12: Complete Group Analysis and Reaction to Draw

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(Bleacher Report)Barcelona triumphed last season for their second trophy in three seasons. However, their reign at the top is about to be tested as today set the groups for the 2011-12 edition of the UEFA Champions League.

The Group Stage start on September 13, with Groups E, F, G and H all starting the first match day. Groups A, B, C and D start their round robin mini-tournaments the 14th.

After last season's scintillating action from start to finish, once again we start the analysis and speculation of the events to come.

Manchester United and Real Madrid hope to have another chance to knock Barcelona off their throne, but returning giants Borussia Dortmund to the competition will also have high hopes.

This season's draw was much anticipated for several clubs such as Manchester City—making their first appearance in the competition—and also for Napoli, who return after many seasons absent.

Without further delay lets get to the results of today's event......CLICK HERE TO START THE SLIDESHOW.

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Ashley Young Wants Champions League Football and Manchester United can Provide

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(Bleacher Report) England wide man Ashley Young fired home the equalizing goal against Switzerland on Saturday and continues to show his massive talent even after the close season.

In an interview following the match, he was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying:

"I want to test myself at World Cups, European Championships and the Champions League.

"As a kid you always want to play in the best competitions. As a kid I wanted to play in the Champions League—and hopefully one day I will.

"People say the prime of your careers is aged 25, 26, 27. I'm 26 next month so hopefully I'm coming into my prime."

With that said it still remains unknown where he will end up.

The prospect of near-immediate playing time at Anfield will be the biggest bargaining chip for the Merseyside club. However, the likes of Manchester United, who seem to the be primary opponent in the race for the Three Lions attacker, offer Champions League football, as do also Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea who all could do with Young's skills.

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Champions League Final: Scoring Lionel Messi Vs Wayne Rooney

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(Bleacher Report) In the build up to Saturday's UEFA Champions League final Landon Donovan said that Lionel Messi "plays like I would against 15-year olds." By the end of the match many would agree with him and continue to believe that Messi truly has the skills to possibly be one of, if not the greatest ever.

On the other side of the ball was Wayne Rooney. The hard-nosed Englishman that has been in the press more than the highlights this season was in a position to make himself a hero in front of a national home crowd in many ways.

It was set to be a battle for the ages, a rematch from a final in 2009 that saw Manchester United shackled at all ends by a master class Barcelona side. A performance that saw Rooney, and his then counterpart Christiano Ronaldo, completely removed from the action as the Spanish giants decimated the English Champions.

This 2011 version of the Champions League Final now had the tables turned and it was now the English Champions that had their chance to make amends. Wayne Rooney now had the chance to take up the mantle of United and lift the team to the glory Ronaldo could not.

As the opening whistle blew and the Manchester giants took the opening kick off and took the attack to the Catalans. Rooney had a cross into the box within the first minute of the action and fed in another through ball to Javier "Chicharito," Hernandez, whose position in the starting eleven kick off a controversy of its own.

At the ninth minute it was reported that Dimitar Berbatov, United's leading scorer and the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot has left the match after not even having been named on the bench. At his age it appears that he will be moving on after his best season as a Red Devil as Sir Alex Ferguson appears possibly content with the pairing of Rooney and Hernandez for the future.

With the opening 10 minutes fooling many that Manchester United was going to truly come to life when they needed it to most, Barcelona began to take over control of the match. While Rooney had a great opening 10 minutes, so did Lionel Messi.

The Argentine had already began finding his way through the back line of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and by the fifteenth minute that game was swinging into Barcelona's favor. By now the Blaugrana had amassed 111 completed passes to the Red Devils 51 and were already owning possession at 66%.

Messi had already created two shots on goal, a corner, and his disruption of the defense lead to Pedro Rodriguez missing a sitter served up by Dani Alves and David Villa.

The next 12 minutes were all Messi and company, Rooney had several cameos in the mix but his lack of really tracking back to help his already tiring midfield were already costing the team desperately and he was on the verge of being frozen out much like he was two years ago.

That 12-minute spell of Barcelona dominance led to Pedro Rodriguez opening the scoring as the goal that had been coming finally was notched home, leaving Edwin Van Der Sar helpless.

Statistically and physically the Spanish side was still in dominant form as the stats at the 13th minute showed them still holding 66 percent of the ball while now up to 265 completed passes over the English side's 100.

Rodriguez's goal brought some life to the Red Devils as they tried to fight back into the game and Rooney had a free kick cleared out int he 31st minute. Finally there was a break in the Barcelona back line, and the return pass of Javier Hernandez set up Wayne Rooney with the chance to stake his claim to a heroic opportunity, and he delivered.

Despite having literally no real chance to impact the game in the first thirty minutes, the one opening he had to put his name on the game was grabbed as he blasted home the game tying goal from about 14 yards. A powerful drive that left Victor Valdez wanting would give Manchester fans hope, at least for now.

It was Rooney's first goal against a Spanish team after 600 minutes of match time, and was also the last time you would really see anything from him int he first half.

Messi again asserted himself in the match and his combination play with Xavi Hernandez and Villa controlled the rest of the half.

The second half began much like the first. Rooney tried to get his squad going forward with a great little bit of attacking play for a few minutes that would only lead to pushing Messi and company into all out attack and control once more. The little Argentine ran rampant creating with everyone around him from Gerard Pique to Andres Iniesta, and the results would prove deadly for their English opponents.

As only few people could do so effectively, Lionel Messi erased the memory of Wayne Rooney's goal from the minds of all those in the stadium with a powerful placed shot from 25 yards that had eyes all the way to the back of the net.

Again the game was all Barcelona's to loose and they would continue to push for the final knife in the coffin. Rooney again had a small window of building play around the sixtieth minute with Hernandez but nothing came to fruition.

By now the Red Devils had only managed to get two shots on goal while the Spanish giants had taken 13, and the possession was still just as lopsided.

In true fashion for the match, one chance for Rooney and Manchester United to edge back was met with another furious ten minutes of Barcelona pressure that saw Messi denied his second goal on two occasions and eventually led to David Villa making it 3-1 at the 69th minute.

Once again Rooney tried to bring his squad back with a great curled effort that ended up a few rows deep in the stands, and his two other chances to make a difference in the next 10 minutes failed to do so.

After the third goal Barcelona wrapped up shop and just played the Red Devils to the whistle. Messi's goal and contribution had completely outweighed the efforts of Wayne Rooney. His constant movement and pestering of the United defense assisted in his own goal and the creation of the other two.

While Rooney made a valiant effort to overcome the failings of himself and his former teammate in the previous clash of these two titans. His goal certainly gave much weight to that attempt, but he still was not able to make enough of his prescience felt to truly damage the effect of a masterclass performance of Pep Guardiola's side.

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Chelsea: 5 Things David Luiz Is Doing in Place of Fernando Torres

Nando isn't Making the Grade as Luiz takes Center Stage for the Blues

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
March 21, 2011

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Chelsea broke the English transfer window record by paying 50 million pounds to Liverpool for the services of Fernando Torres on the final day of the January transfer window. In the shadow of the Spanish international marksman was the 21-million-pound signing of David Luiz from Portuguese club Benfica.

Torres stole the spotlight with controversy and criticism, as Liverpool fans burned his kit on Sky Sports and fans protested outside of Melwood for the club having sold a player that the fans had welcomed into their hearts deeper than many others in the last few years.

It was a feeling of betrayal that was soon forgotten, as Torres made his debut against his former club and failed to live up to any of the expectations. As of late he is still failing to live up to the hype or his price tag. However, his fellow final-day arrival has eclipsed him in more ways than one and is quickly making people wonder not only if Torres was worth the money, but he might not even survive the summer at this rate.

Luiz is quickly becoming a fan favorite and is making the arrival of Torres seem like it wasn't what was needed. With that in mind, here is a glimpse of what he is doing that is displacing Torres as the Blues' best signing of the January window.......READ MORE AND START THE SLIDESHOW ON THE BLEACHER REPORT

Lucas Please Dont Leiva

Article first published as Lucas Please Dont Leiva on Technorati.
Despite having put up with more criticism than David Beckham's MLS career Liverpool's Brazilian Midfielder has i merged as a key influence in the side.

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
March 9, 2011

Lucas Coming of Age

Since his arrival on Merseyside young Lucas Leiva has been anything but loved by most if not all Liverpool fans. Rafael Benitez however, never faltered in his belief in the young Brazilian and Leiva has never bowed out to the criticism of the fans. Always wanting to win them over, he has crept his way in to many fans hearts this season as he continues to show his obvious talent.

Many forget that in his debut season for the Reds he was the first Brazilian to ever score for the club. Not to bad for someone that at the time was only 20 and had the weight of the world of expectations on his shoulders. For years he has been loathed by fans, but he never lost his faith, and never lost his drive to win over the Anfield faithful.

Rise to Fan Favorite

However, this season truly has many fans on the verge of conversion as his displays in midfield throughout the campaign have been steeped with promise. He was originally signed from Gremio for a fee of 5 Million Pounds and was generally used as an attacking midfielder. During most of his time at Liverpool since his arrival he has been used more as a holding midfielder.

The departure of Xabi Alonso last season left Lucas perhaps the biggest set of boots to fill aside from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at the time, and Lucas stepped up having arguably his best season as a Red as he was voted Young Player of the Season by his club and fans after making 39 total appearances.

Always A Fighter Despite Criticism

This season has shown his growth in both composure and understanding of the English game as he has been the heartbeat of the Liverpool Midfield all season despite the departure of Javier Mascherano and the constant reshuffling of the Reds central area around Steven Gerrard's nagging injuries. Lucas has 24 League Appearances this campaign only behind Reina, Skrtel, and Meireles for most games started in the league. He also has picked up the only Red Card of the season as proof of having to but in some of the grunt work that Mascherano left on the table in his departure for Barcelona.

Many arguments have been made in recent weeks as well, including interviews and opinions on, "Kop Talkin'"one of Liverpool FC TV's public opinion shows, that Lucas is not class enough, and that he would not make it on teams like Manchester United, or Chelsea. If this is so how does he continue to have one of the highest form ratings of any midfielder in the premiership.

Lucas has shown nothing but improvement year after year. He is only 24 and already has over 150 appearances for the club and has been a constant stalwart for the team as his toughness and ability to handle the rigors of the English league show through his ability to constantly avoid injury and stay fit.

One of the Longest Standing Squad Members at 24
PA Images

With all that said, as Liverpool looks to the future and for years of success it is only ideal that Lucas remain and be offered a new contract. With the system of investing in youth for the long haul as done with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, just as Liverpool's owners did with the Red Sox in their return to prominence, signing Lucas to a second major contract with the club is a no brainer as his prime years between 24 and 29 remain to be played.

He is already a proven young talent in the League and one of the longest standing players on the team only being out tenured by Jaime Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt, and Daniel Agger on the first team. Lucas has the ability to be vital to the return of Liverpool to former glories, and his dedication and hard work has been nothing but an example of professionalism. Lucas should stay on Merseyside and be a face of the future as he has the ability and the opportunity to become an Anfield legend.

What Comes Next for Liverpool? The Reds by the Numbers

Article first published as What Comes Next for Liverpool? The Reds by the Numbers on Technorati.

The King has the Reds on the Rise, But Just How Far Can We Go From Here

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
January 27, 2011

Its 7th Heaven for the Reds for the moment after a second straight win under Kenny Dalglish has propelled the club into the top half of the table. The Reds finished 7th last year and booked a UEFA Europa League spot, but knowing the King he will be aiming higher than that. Champions League Qualification is still a possibility believe it or not because of how crazy this season has been in the English Premier League. With the club finally mounting a climb in the table I thought it would be interesting to see just where the Reds could possibly end up based on a couple different situations.

Champions League?

I know it seems like a long shot but there is still that chance for the Reds. This year confined to the UEFA Europa League, which we reconvene on February 17 in Prague against Sparta Praha in the first leg of our Round of 32 knockout stage tie. Dalglish has the team and fans reunited, but can they push their new found confidence enough to challenge Sunderland, Tottenham, and Chelsea ahead of them for 4th.

Qualifying for the Champions League domestically will take even more effort but it is still possible. Liverpool sit 7th in the table with 32 points from 9 wins 5 draws and 10 losses. If the Reds win out the last 14 games of the season we would have a total of 74 points. That is the highest we can manage no matter what we do. However, if you look at the past five seasons the average number of points needed to place 4th or higher was 71. So it is possible. The highest total of the past five was 76 points which Liverpool amassed in the 07-08 season.

The statistics give us an outside chance on averages but it is still a long shot. Chelsea is currently in 4th place on 41 points with a game in hand. That means the Reds currently have a 9 point swing to make up for, if the Blues win the missing match it will be a 12 point swing. Best case scenario we start by beating the Blues for the double over them at Stamford Bridge on February 6th.

As much as I want to see Liverpool in the Champions League next season I truly don't know if we can over come the gap, nor keep Tottenham from beating us in that same race. If the planets aligned just right I see Liverpool getting out of the next 14 games with 9 wins 3 Draws and 2 Losses. That would bring our points total to 62.

The Lowest 4th place finish in the last ten seasons belongs to Liverpool from the 2003-2004 season where we finished with 60 points, and Everton Finished 4th on 61 Points the following season. So numbers wise if we can obtain at least 60 points we have 5/1 odds on a Champions League spot. Given as upside down as this season has truly been who is to say we cant still make it.

Transfer Impacts?

The final say in whether Liverpool add some extra ability to increase the likelyhood of such a push for the 4th spot in the table remains to be seen. The controversies surrounding all the transfer targets of the Reds is increasing, and with every waking moment the window is closer to being shut as there are only 4 days left. If deals are going to be made they need to be made now.

Luis Suarez is still the top target along with Charlie Adam. Stephen Warnock is still on the cards to replace Paul Konchesky, if the later does indeed return to Fulham, and the cash and time is available to complete a move for the former Liverpool Academy starlet.

Other outside transfer targets in and out of the media have been Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Ashley Young and Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), Eljero Elia (Hamburg), David Bentley (Loaned to Birmingham City), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), Matt Jarvis (Wolves), and even Ronaldinho was linked with both Liverpool and Blackburn before he marked his return to Brazil. Also Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) and Danial Sturridge (Chelsea) were mentioned looking at loan moves before the opening of the transfer window in January, but neither ever seemed to have carried any weight.

At the rate it is going I truly don't see many moves being completed, and the King will have to take what he has and mold it to his pass and move offense to get the best finish possible.

Christmas on Merseyside

As the Year 2010 comes nearer to a close, we take a look at the Christmas Wish List for the Liverpool Reds

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
December 23, 2010

Ho ho ho, and Merry Christmas to all of Fowler's Dockers, and all of those that have passed through the Shankly Gate. The Yule tide season is upon us, the Boxing Day match against Blackpool is close at hand and the January transfer window is just around the corner. With that in mind I wanted to make one last post before I take a few days off for Christmas and discuss what it seems the Reds will be looking to get from their Christmas list.

1. Stability
This has been an up and down season if I have ever seen one in recent years for the Reds. We play one great game then turn around and play like crap. Any chance at European Club Football in the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League will certainly require a more fluid turn of results.

2. End of Injury Woes
Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Jaime Carragher, Jay Spearing, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson...need I continue. Aside from stability in form, the Reds have had disastrous results as far as player injuries hacking up the line-ups and further increasing the learning curve to new management and tactics under Roy Hodgson.

3. Support in all areas
The Transfer window is going to be crucial this January for the Reds. The need of a full time strike partner to be able to partner and cover for Fernando Torres continues to be a black mark on the Merseysider’s misfortunes. The likes of many have been thrown about lately in this area and are listed in the transfer posts below.

The midfield also is in need of support on the wings and an additional man to carry the burden of defensive midfield duties because Christian Poulsen just hasn’t cut the mustard for the Reds in his new found position, hence why he has been spending most of his time on the pine. Joe Cole also has had a miserable start and has the club looking to bring in another winger to bolster the options for Hodgson.

Defense also has had its more than fair share of problems with injury more than lack of form. Jaime Carragher, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, and Glen Johnson have all had long absences due to injury and the interest that has been shown in the possible move for Inter Starlet David Santon is a prime example of this need. It is also quite possible Hull City will not get the renewal for Daniel Ayala to return to their ranks where he has had 12 starts on loan, because the first team really might have to use him.

With all that said at least it appears the teams new owners will be doing their level best to fill all the gaps over the next month that they can, and will be investing to ensure a more bright future for the club that has been seeing such dreary days the last two campaigns. With that food for thought I bit you all a due for the weekend and hope you have a very Merry Christmas. See you after boxing day. Reds 3 - Blackpool 1.

UEFA Champions League Draw

Bayern vs. Inter, Spurs vs. Milan, Barca vs. Arsenal, What an Interesting Round this shall be.

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
December 17, 2010
 
The Knock Out Stage of the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League Draw is over and the results are in. The most startling match up to come out of the draw hands down goes to defending Champions Inter Milan, under new boss Rafael Benitez, whom will face Bayern Munich in a rematch of last year’s final. The Italians will look to fend off Bastian Schweinsteiger and company as the Germany giants surely will be out for blood after last year’s scintillating final.

Another match up that will have all eyes watching is Pep Guardiola's Balugrana of Barcelona vs. Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. What looks to be a tie of epic proportions should the two side truly have a go at one another, which I cannot see Not happening, will most likely produce some of the fanciest footwork and passing artistry of the round. Cesc Fabregas, possibly the most coveted player by Barcelona, and his midfield partner Samir Nasri will be plying their trade against arguable the world’s best midfield duo in Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The back-line of Arsenal is what I most likely foresee as the undoing of the London club and I expect Barca to send the Gunners packing.

The Special One's, Jose Mourinho's, Los Blancos of Real Madrid will take on Olympique Lyonnais of France. Although not league champions in several years the French Giants will be looking to upset the European Legends. Karem Benzema has finally started to stake a claim to his spot on the Real front line, and he will no doubt relish the reunion with his old club. The Spanish Giants look to continue their strong run of form and advance on to the next round.

Tottenham Hotspur were a revelation in the group stage with Gareth Bale helping to propel the Lily Whites forward. The London club may be new to the Champions League as of late but they made a statement early on with their dominance over Inter Milan and a Group A winning start to their UCL campaign. Harry Redknapp will be looking to continue the progress of his club and a victory over the Rossoneri in a two-legged tie would do even more to stamp Tottenham's ticket for success. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and company will be searching for a renewed vigor after a mediocre group showing that only produced at the height a draw against Real Madrid thanks to a now injured Filippo Inzaghi. It will be an interesting tie to say the least.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United take on French side Olympique Marseilles. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola feared the French club for their ability to be physically dominant. However, I have never seen Sir Alex Ferguson to fear anyone or anything, and I fully expect the wiring ole Scot to take the fight to the boys from the Mediterranean coast. It will be a hard fought battle but I look to see the Red Devils in the next draw.

Chelsea take on FC Kobenhaven from Denmark. The Danish side is through to the Round of 16 in their clubs second time in the Champions League. Their first foray into Europe was the UCL in the 2006-2007 season where they did not get past the group stages. With what was deservedly a winning performance, resulting in only a draw, against Barcelona at home in the group stages, the Danes hope to garner some confidence, and the poor run of domestic form of the Blues lately may just give the Lions the little they need to pull off an upset.

The Final two match-ups seem to be the least popular but could turn out to be two of the more highly competitive ties. AS Roma will try to continue their march by taking a bite out of Ukrainian Champions FC Shakhtar Donetsk. If the Wolves can get an edge on the away leg they should be able to hold of the Ukrainians at the Olimpico. Ranieri will have to buckle down and pull his squad together because they are in desperate need of some more results as a struggling league campaign is turning around as they find themselves only four points away from second place in a tightly packed group at the top of the Serie A table.

Germany's FC Shalke 04 has been falling to shambles in the league but have been dominant in the Champions League topping Group B with only one loss. Making the trip to the Veltins Arena will be Spain’s Valencia. Despite the loss of both David Villa and David Silva Los Che have their stride at the perfect time as they are dancing around the UCL spots of La Liga in fifth place, and are in the last 16 of the Champions League with the other Spanish giants. The Shalke strike duo of former Real Madrid front men Raul Gonzalez and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will look to use their knowledge of Valencia from the past in order to strengthen their clubs chances of advancement.

With the stage set for the next round it looks to be as exciting a knockout stage as ever. Their will be chants of glory, chants of rage, and tears of agony as the UEFA Champions League is now ready to return to action February 15, 2011.

Liverpool Update as of December 16 2010

Liverpool FC have dismal week despite Europa Qualification

by Rhydon Atzenhoffer
December 16, 2010

It has been a frustrating week for the Reds fan base to say the least. After an unexpected thrashing of 3-1 away at St. James Park despite having 21 shots on goal the Merseysiders have to once again scratch their heads in the Premiership. Pandew's reign got of on the right foot as his side seemed to handle the Reds with ease on paper. Magpie skipper Kevin Nolan's return from injury certainly boosted the club and a driving performance by Joey Barton helped to typify the Reds inability to perform away from Home.

Roy Hodgson will once again feel the pressure after comments from Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner called the clubs performances, "unacceptable," at a press conference this weekend. Though I feel Hodgson is safe under NESV and new owner John W. Henry it is not going to be a quick turnaround. As former Reds left and right including Robbie Fowler have recently stated the teams need to invest in new talent in the January transfer window in order to push the club during the run in.

Many names have been thrown around as of late including the likes of Ronaldinho, Ajax's Luis Suarez, former Fulham charge and USA international Clint Dempsey, Ryad Boudebouz of French side Sochaux, and most recently a 5 Million Pound offering to Tottenham for out of favor winger David Bentley. Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez is reportedly on the radar for LFC, as well as FC Nuremburg midfielder Mike Frantz. It is truly unclear what the plans will be in January but it can be assured there will be at least one or two new faces coming to the club.

Another glaring bore of a game by the Reds was played out on Wednesday night against FC Utrecht, former club of Dirk Kuyt. The bottom club in the Red's UEFA Europa League Group K looked for some confidence boosting while the Merseysiders already have their ticket punched to the next round. With that said in mind the Liverpool stars did little to impress, nor little to do anything as the crowd was disappointed in a lackluster 0-0 draw. Joe Cole continued his poor class of the season and is looking to have been possibly a mistake. Time will tell for the England international but he is continuing to look more and more overrated. The most enthusiasm of the night was from the Utrecht fans when Kuyt came on as a substitute in the later part of the second half.

As we look ahead to the last few weeks of the year it is paramount that the Reds snatch some points before the January window. The club is in mid table and is now nine points away from fourth placed Chelsea. It is going to take a huge turn around for the club to snatch a Europa Spot for next year and right now the best chance of Champions League qualification looks to be winning the UEFA Europa League outright.

The second half of the reason is going to be a bumpy ride, and it starts when the Reds face Fulham on the weekend. Hodgson's form club now under Man City reject Mark Hughes will be looking for revenge and the Cottagers could do even more damage to the already fragile hopes of Liverpool fans on the remaining half of the season. It looks to be another weekend of grief, pain, or pure quick joy and then the realization that there is so much more to go.

UEFA Champions League Knockout Stage is Set

The Top 16 Teams from across Europe look to Square of and await the Knockout Stage Draw on December 17, 2010

By Rhydon Atzenhoffer
December 9, 2010

The last 16 of the UEFA Champions League have been decided. Some squeaked by, others dominated, and some surprised even the most hopeful in their campaign towards Europe's most elite club championship. With all the teams from Europe's three biggest leagues, English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italian Serie A, advancing the remaining qualifiers will be tested once again by Europe's finest clubs.

Tottenham Hotspur and Internazional Milan battled it out in Group A with the Lilly Whites taking the top spot in the group. Many did not predict this, nor did many predict the mercurial form of Gareth Bale to step into the spotlight in such a fashion. With the help of Spurs newcomer Rafael Van Der Vart, and midfield maestro Luka Modric, the London club look to continue their demolition of competition in the next round. Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez led his new charges at Inter to the second place spot and will look to continue marching on despite his squads injury problems at the back.

Despite their horrid domestic form, German Bundesliga's Shalke 04 took top honors of Group B. The club will look to continue their European success in the light of a struggling league campaign despite the ranks of Klaas Jan-Huntelaar, legendary Raul, and captain fantastic goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. French side and prominent Champions League club Lyon continue onto the knockout stages through their second place finish.

Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils of Manchester United cruised through to the second round atop of Group C. The Rooney saga of the early season seemed to have little affect on the wildly successful Scot's charges. Spainish side Valencia also had a relative dominant group stage and advanced by a margin of five points ahead of third place Rangers whom will have to ply their trade in the Europa League.

Barcelona and FC Copenhagen were the advances from Group D as both moved on with comfortable margins. The Danish club were nearly able to shock the dominant Spanish side but only managed a draw that was not deserved by the Catalonian Giants in any form, and Copenhagen will have to put up that same kind of challenge against whomever they face over their two legged tie.

Group E produced some fine matches and out of the frenzy. German Champions Bayern Munich advances in first place while Italian slumpers AS Roma side the coattails of success into the knockout stages. Chelsea crushed nearly all in their path on the way to winning Group F while Marseilles and Spartak Moscow fought till the final day to see whom would move on with the French side taking the honors and Moscow dropping to the second tier Europa League.

Spanish Giants Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho obliterated Group G with a draw against AC Milan thanks to Mourinho's only fear, Fillipo Inzaghi. The Serie A table toppers took the second prize with an 8 point gap behind the Madrid wrecking crew, barely staving off Ajax Amsterdam. They will hope for better performances in the Knockout Stage or else they will be set for a quick return home to the peninsula.

Group H saw Shakhtar Donetsk advance from the top stop while Arsenal had to punch their ticket to the next round on the very last day. Arsene Wenger's men are in fine form at the moment and with the timely return to health of Robin Van Persie, whom captained their 3-1 win over Partizan Belgrade to see them through, the London club may be hitting health and form at the right time.

The draw for the knockout round is set for December 17th and we will await the match-ups with great anticipation. It will be very interesting to see what happens with the draw and this could prove to be one of the best knockout stages of the last few years.