Arguably, the highest quality of professional soccer played occurs in the Union
of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) Champions League, a 32-team,
nine-month tournament pitting the best of the best clubs in Europe against one
another annually. Group-stage matchdays occur every two weeks on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays. The round of 16 begins in the spring, culminating in the Champions
League Finals in late May. Home teams are displayed first with team numbers
representing wins, draws and losses. See UEFA.com for more details.
Group A
(0-1-1) Liverpool FC 0-1 Olympique de Marseille (2-0-0)
(0-0-2) Besiktas JK 0-1 FC Porto (1-1-0)
Liverpool lost at home to French opposition for the first time in history. Porto’s
Ricardo Quaresma scored in added time to defeat its Turkish opponents.
Group B
(1-0-1) Valencia CF 1-2 Chelsea FC (1-1-0)
(0-1-1) Rosenborg BK 0-2 FC Schalke 04 (1-0-1)
Villa’s early goal for the Spanish side couldn’t stop the brutal attacks
leading up to Chelsea goals from Didier Drogba and Joe Cole.
German giants Schalke pulled through with goals from Kevin Kuranyi
and Jermaine Jones, sending Norwegian champions Rosenborg to the
bottom of the group.
Group C
(0-2-0) S.S. Lazio 2-2 Real Madrid CF (1-1-0)
(0-0-2) Werder Bremen 1-3 Olympiacos CFP (1-1-0)
Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Goran Pandev scored twice for their
respective teams in a match that saw the Spanish champions lose only
their second game of the year. The disappointing Bremen remained
winless after being up a goal at home to the Greek champions.
Group D
(1-0-1) Celtic FC 2-1 AC Milan (1-0-1)
(0-0-2) SL Benfica 0-1 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2-0-0)
In a weekend with both Scottish teams triumphing over great
adversity, defending champion AC Milan showed why no team has
ever successfully defended its European title. Ukrainian Shakhtar was
able to keep its energetic Portuguese opponents at bay, achieving the
best possible record in the Champions League so far.
Group E
(0-0-2) Olympique Lyonnais 0-3 Rangers FC (2-0-0)
(0-0-2) VfB Stuttgart 0-2 FC Barcelona (2-0-0)
French titleholder Lyon tied its second worst loss in the Champions
League’s history, set a fortnight ago on Matchday 1 at Barcelona. With
only four group stage matches left, German champion Stuttgart also
is in danger of falling by the wayside in the group of death, which is
arguably the most troublesome group to emerge from.
Group F
(2-0-0) Manchester United FC 1-0 AS Roma (1-0-1)
(0-0-2) Dynamo Kyiv FC 1-2 Sporting Clube de Portugal (1-0-1)
Though not as embarrassing as last season’s 7-1 quarterfinal defeat
against United at Old Trafford, Roma still succumbed thanks to a brilliantly
played through ball from Nani to Wayne Rooney. Portuguese
visitor Sporting earned its first points of the season by scoring two goals
in the first half against a Ukrainian side also looking for a victory.
Group G
(0-1-1) PFC CSKA Moskva 2-2 Fenerbah