CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Chelsea and Liverpool set out today on their Champions League adventures with early French tests in their opening pool games.
While Liverpool, who travel to a Marseille side against whom they enjoyed mixed fortunes last season, and United have both savored European success, Chelsea fans are hoping this will be the season they break their duck.
John Terry’s missed penalty in Moscow handed United the title last May, while under Jose Mourinho the Londoners twice found Liverpool a bridge too far.
Under Luiz Felipe Scolari the Blues are already top of the Premiership following Saturday’s win at Manchester City, and will be odds on favorites to put three points on the board against a Bordeaux side held at home by Marseille in the French league on Saturday.
Bordeaux have started the season slowly with just seven points from five games — six behind table-topping Lyon.
The other encounter in the group pits AS Roma against Romanian newcomers Cluj.
While Cluj have nothing to lose Roma, in contrast, must shrug off a 3-1 weekend loss at Palermo which left them on a solitary point from two league games.
Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez swiftly bolstered his reputation in winning the Champions League in his debut season at Anfield in 2005 with a heart-stopping win over AC Milan, though the same opponents secured revenge two years later.
But Benitez, with the club’s cashflow-minded US owners at his back, has not only to show his European savvy anew, but also doff his cap in the direction of critics who suggest it is about time the Premiership trophy arrived at Anfield.
Liverpool’s last league title came 18 years ago.
A first league win over United under Benitez’s tenure on Saturday has boosted the Spaniard even if he may not risk the fit again Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Last season, Liverpool stumbled to a home group loss against Marseille but when the chips were down rattled through the rest of their program, including a 4-0 win in France.
Marseille will hope former Liverpool man Boudewijn Zenden will be on his game and coach Eric Gerets will keep his fingers crossed that Mathieu Valbuena, who scored a cracker to shock Anfield last autumn but who hasn’t played since summer groin surgery, can play some part.
PSV Eindhoven meet Torres’ former club Atletico Madrid in the same Group D.
In Group B, Jose Mourinho will bid to do with Inter Milan what he managed to with Porto on a shoestring budget in 2004 but then failed to manage with cash kings Chelsea in the three following seasons and that’s win the Champions League.
Inter, fourth after a win and a draw to date in Serie A, travel to Greece to face Panathinaikos while Cypriots Anorthosis head for Germany to tackle Werder Bremen and make their competition bow as the first side from the island to play in the group stage.
Barcelona host Sporting Lisbon in their first Group C match while Switzerland’s FC Basel take on Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
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