Champions League Draw

Fresh off the presses, here is the Champions League draw for the Round of 16, which will take place on February 16/17 and 23/24 (Round 1) and March 9/10 and 16/17.

AC Milan v. Man Utd (2/16 & 3/10)

Lyon v. Real Madrid (2/16 & 3/10)

Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina (2/17 & 3/9)

Porto v. Arsenal (2/17 & 3/9)

VfB Stuttgart v. Barcelona (2/23 & 3/17)

Olympiakos v. Bordeaux (2/23 & 3/17)

Internazionale v. Chelsea (2/24 & 3/16)

CSKA Moscow v. Sevilla (2/24 & 3/16)

La Liga Breakdown:

• Barcelona got a favorable draw against Vfb Stuttgart in their quest to become the first team in the CL era to win the competition two years on the trot.
  
• As for their La Liga peers, Real Madrid will face a tough test against Karim Benzema's old club, Lyon. But apparently the French side are pleased, as they would rather face Real than say Chelsea...or Barca.
  
• Sevilla drew CSKA Moscow in the least glamorous draw of the La Liga teams. And it seems that the Russians are comfortable with their opponents, despite Sevilla taking first place in their group stage group.
  

Prediction: We tip all Spanish clubs to progress beyond this stage.

EPL Low-down:

• Looks like David Beckham got his wish; really, who is UEFA to deny old golden balls? In any event, Manchester will be looking to improve their record against their Italian opposition, which, historically, hasn't been the best. So even though Milan would appear to be the weaker side in terms of current league position, United will only have to look to their bipolar two leg experience in 2007 to understand the immensity of their opposition.
  
• In what should be a cracking match, Chelsea got Serie A leaders, Internazionale. Beyond pitting the league front runners against one another, the draw will bring the return of Murinho to Stamford Bridge. Let the posturing begin...
  
• Finally, Arsenal drew the lone Portuguese side, Porto. Considering, the north London club will get to play the second leg at home, they should be especially happy with the draw.
  

Prediction: Arsenal and Chelsea will move on, while Man Utd will fall to a Milan side that always gets up for CL games.

The Rest:

• Olympiakos and Bordeaux will meet in the knock-out stage. While an aura of mutual respect pervades, it will be difficult for the Greeks to overcome the French champions, if only for one game changer: Yoann Gourcuff.
  
• Bayern Munich received the more favorable draw of the two German sides and are set to face Fiorentina, currently in ninth place in Serie A. The Bavarians will be looking forward to this match for a variety of reasons, not least because of their relative success last year against the Italian side.
  

Prediction: Bordeaux and Bayern will be booking their places in the final eight.

So This is What a World Record Transfer Fee Buys You....

After sitting out the last two months owing to an ankle injury or a curse or some combination thereof, Cristiano Ronaldo has now featured in the last two Real Madrid CL matches against FC Zurich (as a sub) and Marseille (as the scorer of a brace) in addition to playing in El Clasico. He is currently the leading scorer in the Champions League and added what was probably one of the best strikes of the competition to his haul this week.

All this, and there's the fact that he's still "not 100%."

In other Champions League news, top spots went to: Bordeaux, which eeked out a 1-0 win against lowly Maccabi Haifa; Man Utd, with Michael Owen's hat trick capping an otherwise lackadaisical performance; Chelsea, which drew with Apoel Nicosia 2-2, but lost Michael Essien for at least a month; Fiorentina, which effectively ruined Steven Gerrard's 500th appearance for Liverpool.

There was also Barcelona, with Messi ensuring first place on a night when all four teams had a chance at the top two; Sevilla, which finally put Rangers out of their CL misery with a 1-0 win; and, Arsenal, which still managed to top the group despite losing 0-1 to an enterprising Olympiakos side.

Second place (in order of groups [A-H]) is as follows: Bayern Munich; CSKA Moscow; AC Milan; FC Porto; Lyon; Internazionale; VfB Stuttgart; and Olympiakos.

The draw for the Round of 16 matches will take place on December 18th and matches will begin on February 16th and 17th.

Champions League Round-Up

Ronnie returns.

• Higuain is scoring, Kaka is clicking and Ronaldo is returning. All is well for Madrid and just in time for El Clasico.
• As for their Clasico rivals, Barcelona seized initiative in their crucial match against Inter Milan, but advancement is still very much up in the air.
• Bordeaux took firm control of their group, leaving Juventus and Bayern to fight it out for second place.
• Chelsea and Arsenal pulled out wins against Porto and Standard Lige respectively, while Man Utd stumbled against Besiktas at home and Liverpool crashed out. But Rafa got a vote of confidence, well, um, until this...

• In the great tradition of Scouser/Manconian rivalry, Gary Neville then decided to rub salt into the Kop's open fleshy wound.

From the Mouths of Babes...

Sometimes footballers forget the lessons they learned in kindergarden. You know, like, don't hit people, share with others, etc. So, every now and then, it's nice to know that they remember how to mind their manners.

Such is the case with Femme Football fav Didier Drogba. The mercurial Blues man recently returned to Champions League action after serving a 3 match ban for his foul mouthed tirade during last year's tie against Barcelona. But he learned his lesson....all thanks to his 8 year old son.

It really is all about the kids.