As we approach the business end of the opening stages of the Uefa Champions League, let’s have a look at how the English clubs have performed so far and what they can realistically hope for in this seasons Champions League.
We all know that finishing top of the group is something of a must in order to avoid European giants, not to mention getting to play the second leg of the first knockout tie at home. Before the competition started, all four English clubs identified topping the group as a priority, and for Chelsea, United and Arsenal this looked very achievable. Yet City were drawn in the ‘group of death’, and to even be in a position to qualify at all would be something of an achievement. So how well have our clubs done and are they in a position to qualify?
Arsenal
Starting with the North London club, it must be a strange concept for Arsenal fans to find themselves doing better in the Champions League than the Premier League so far this season – Wenger has joked about as much – and although after their shaky start in the league things are looking much brighter for Arsenal now, they had no such problems in group F this season.
When the draw was made, the Arsenal contingent could hardly have been too worried about Marseille, Olympiakos and Dortmund, with the trickiest away tie coming at Olympiakos more due to the atmosphere in the stadium than the quality of the players.
The group looked up for Arsenal’s taking, and so far they have duly obliged, topping the group with 7 points, the highlight being last round’s snatched 1 – 0 away victory against Marseille, sending them top. The home game against Marseille tonight, should the Gunners win, will basically secure their place as group winners baring some catastrophic losses during the final rounds of games, and with Van Persie in the form of his life, not to mention the confidence from a win at the Bridge, expect Arsenal to win by a clear margin tonight.
Chelsea
Another club who are not doing the business domestically, Chelsea are on a poor run of form and will be looking to, as with the last match against Genk, hammer in the goals and get a much needed boost not to mention three points ahead of a trip away to Leverkusen who are still in the running to win the group.
Although they top the group by a point, Chelsea will still be thinking back to the night at the Mestalla where they should have secured a hard fought victory but for a last gasp penalty conceded by sub Kalou.
The games against Genk are the ones Chelsea know are there for the taking, and Genk must fear for their chances when Chelsea will so clearly be looking for a response from the disastrous result at the weekend. Should Valencia do the blues a favour and take points from closest group rivals Leverkusen, Chelsea will look set to top the group yet again, and may well feel that the Champions League is their best chance of a major trophy this season.
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Manchester United
The form displayed by United thus far in the Champions league has been surprisingly poor, with the 3-3 home draw to Basel a low point. United are currently two points behind group leaders Benfica, and simply have to win, and win by a decent margin against group whipping boys Galati who visit Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
They then have to hope for either dropped points from Benfica or to beat the Portuguese outfit when they visit Old Trafford later in the month. The group is still in United’s hands, and although they have left much of the hard work until the business end of the opening stages, Fergie’s side still have enough quality and experience to win the group, and even if they qualify as runners up, will believe that they can make it through the knockout rounds regardless. It will be at this point Fergie brings out the cliché of ‘there are no easy ties in the knockout stages’ to enforce the point that failing to win the group is not the end of the world.
Manchester City
Whilst they may sit top of the Premier League by a nice cushion of 5 points, City have struggled somewhat in their first season in the Champion’s League. In Mancini they have a manager who always managed to take his former club Inter into the knockout stages, and fully expects to do so again here.
Whilst the game at the Allianz arena may have looked to be the one to break City, it has in reality been the turning point for the club, galvanising them and pushing them to the next level – something needed if they expect to qualify from their group.
Do not underestimate the importance of coming back to beat Villarreal in the last round – this gave them a vital three points and also the confidence to help win the derby that weekend. Now the hard work really starts for City however, as they are truly in the ‘group of death’ with Bayern, Napoli and Villarreal – there is no weak team in group A.
Each of their remaining games has to be treated like a cup final, starting with the game at El Madrigal this week. City cannot realistically hope to top the group, so will be looking to Bayern to take points from Napoli ahead of next round’s away tie in Italy. Both the next two games for City in the UCL are must wins, and it may well all come down to the home game in December in the final round against Bayern Munich.
All four English clubs are able to qualify, and whilst the London clubs look more likely to do so at the top of their group, write off United and City at your peril. Even if our Manchester sides went into the knockout stages as runners up, although they may face a European giant such as Real Madrid, they will have the belief that they can win the tie and progress – they certainly have the quality to. A nice little note for the teams who fight so hard to win their group – holders and ‘best footballing side in the world’ Barcelona currently sit second in their group and should this stay the same, one can only imagine the fear on the faces of the group winners during the draw for the next round!
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