Last nights Champions League action was far less exciting than Wednesday's, although isn't everyone's day just slightly better when Man Utd lose? Clearly not for Utd fans, but for the rest of us it just perks up your day, puts a skip in your walk and puts some magic in your tea. With Wolfsburg losing in Moscow all Utd needed was a point to clinch top spot, but with a young team they failed to capitalise on some good early chances and were punished by a deflected strike. They now go into the last game away at Wolfsburg knowing that if they lose then they'll have to settle for 2nd place in the group - and FYI the Germans aren't through yet so they'll be giving it everything. The merits of finishing 1st or 2nd in the group stage have long been argued back and forth. Firstly, the guys who tend to say that it doesn't matter are the ones who tend to finish 2nd, no surprise there. Secondly, if you look at the 2 groups with Madrid, Milan and Barca, Inter in then it's clear that there will be very tough runners up anyway. And thirdly, it probably is an advantage to play your home leg second, with the crowd behind you etc etc, but it's only an advantage if you get a good result away. Taking that all in teams will always want to finish top, you send a message out to other teams, it means your winning matches so breeding confidence, but ultimately, as long as you're there that's what counts. Just ask Liverpool.
An increasingly impressive Bordeaux side dismantled Juve with a 2-0 in France, clinching them top spot in group A. They have played great this year and are a point off the top in Ligue 1 to boot. Bayern won their game which sets up a great clash between them and Juve on matchday 6, a winner takes all bout between 2 of Europe's most decorated clubs. Madrid are in control of group C with a win against Zurich, but are still not technically over the line - it would take a 4-0 defeat to Marseille if my maths serve me correctly (and they rarely do). Milan slipped up to a 1-1 draw against the French last night, and by golly did they almost lose it. Brandao hit the bar from the six yards out and then collapsed in his disbelief, and in the dying minutes Dida could only watch a header smack the base of his post and shoot off to safety.
Chelsea came away with an impressive 1-0 in Porto to clinch top spot in their group. I have to say I really can't wait now for the Arsenal v Chelsea game on Sunday. I have to admit that I'm genuinely a little nervous, I'm not gonna say worried, worried is what I'm not feeling at all, I swear. They look very strong all over the pitch and Anelka and Drogba are flying right now, not to mention the impending return of Lampard. His 3 week prognosis has soon become a 2 week one (horse placenta much?) so he's expected to be back for the London derby. It's a bit early to start previewing the tactics but the first goal could be massive in this one. If Chelsea get it then it's going to be a struggle to break them down, if we do though, we could have 'em. The Arsenal injury news will come through today so fingers crossed no-one else has died since Tuesday and we can put out our strongest lineup, which I think Wenger will go as; Almunia, Sagna Gallas Vermaelan Traore, Song Denilson Cesc, Arshavin Eduardo Nasri. I don't think this is the right one for Walcott to come back into, particularly when you saw how well Nasri played on Tuesday. I fancy him though to start against City next week in the Carling Cup - big game after big game, I LOVE football.
The London derby is probably not the biggest in Europe this weekend, it's gotta be El Clasico, Barca v Real. There's a lot of interesting blogs and video pieces on the BBC Sport site to get stuck into, and I learned a lot about the Spanish game and the history of this fixture from having a browse. It's the battle of Castile (under General Franco's reign) v Catalunya, where a lot of the Catalans still want independence and still consider themselves as a different country to Spain. Apparently during Franco's very bloody reign in charge, the Camp Nou was the only place in Spain where people could go and talk about how much they hated the government and discuss overthrowing him, without getting arrested. Incredible stuff. All that makes for a tasty game between 2 of the best teams in the world and Madrid will be smarting over Barca's treble, and the small fact that at last May's game at the Bernabeu, Barca smashed Madrid 6-2. Ouch! Take her easy.
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