Champions League Draws – Part 3
German side Bayern Munich lead Group E. Historically speaking, the German club has fared well in Champions' League competitions. Bayern defeated Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last year. However, they won the German Bundesliga to show the world what they were capable of.
The German Champions currently have great players in their ranks. Flying Dutchman Arjen Robben and Frenchman Franck Ribery are both part of the German club side. Sooner or later, they are going to be assisted with Thomas Mueller, who is dubbed as 'the best young striker in the world'. Mueller was the man who won the golden boot award in FIFA 2010 when he scored 5 goals for Germany along with 3 assists for his side.
Italian side Roma were paired with Bayern Munich and the match between them is definitely going to be a thriller. Roma was the side that gave the “hardest time” to Inter Milan in Serie A. The other two teams that have been paired up with them are new comers Basel and CFR Cluj. This group is not very open as two “big” teams are part of it and it is predicted that they might be the two teams which will qualify for the next round as the UEFA Champions league gets underway.
English Champions Chelsea head Group F. The team has lost a number of its star players off late, including German star Michael Ballack and Portuguese sensation Deco. Many thought it was a mistake by Chelsea letting their “main men” go but their manager Carlos Ancelotti had something else in mind. The English Premier League has already kicked off and the “blues” are totally on fire. They have already scored 12 goals in only 2 matches that they have played. Chelsea managed to bag themselves a healthy sum of 6 goals despite rumours before the game that the team was out of form.
Frenchmen Malouda and Anelka are back on track and they are back to their goal scoring form. Other than that, striker Didier Drogba is just not planning to get old. Drogba is in good form and he has managed to score a hat-trick in the first match along with 4 assists in the second match. Therefore, Chelsea is definitely going to provide tough competition to any side in the world.
But on the contrary, Chelsea is considered to be a “cursed” team in European competitions. Last year, they met Inter Milan and they had to face defeat to their former boss, Jose Mourinho. They performed really well in the Champions League prior to this one until they met Barcelona. Chelsea played amazingly well at the Nou Camp and even managed to score a goal in their home leg at Stamford Bridge. But, bad luck swooped once again. It was Andres Iniesta’s last minute goal that helped the Spanish side advance to the next round through the “away goal rule.”
However, the score line did not tell the entire story of the match as many referee decisions were not correct and were in favour of Barcelona. Even though they are famous for their “bad luck” they are still a very tough side and they will definitely give tough competition to all the teams. This time, they have been paired with French Champions Marseille. They are in pretty good form as they have won the French League last season.
Spartak Moscow and MSK Zilina are the other two sides that these teams are going to compete with and this group is pretty much sorted out - two experienced teams vs. two underdog teams. Many are predicting that Marseille and Chelsea are the two teams that are going to come out with flying colours in this group but football is a unpredictable game and anything can happen.
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