Friday, August 27, 2010

Spurs get holders Inter, Real's group of death

Tottenham will face reigning champions Inter Milan in the Champions League group stages, while they also face German side Werder Bremen and Steve McClaren's former side FC Twente. Spurs' first attempt on European club football's top prize is not an easy task with Rafa Benitez now at the helm at the San Siro and Bremen, who finished third in the Bundesliga last season.
Manchester United face up against Rangers in another 'Battle of Britain' after their last clash in 2003-04 and must contend with Valencia as well - although the Spanish side have been weakened by the summer exits of David Villa and David Silva - and shock Turkish champions Bursaspor.

Didier Drogba gets a reunion with former club Marseille as Chelsea are drawn in a group with the French champions, but they also face a tough trip to Spartak Moscow and Slovakia's MSK Zilina. Marseille boss Didier Deschamps got the better of Chelsea in 2004 when in charge of Monaco but, having lost two of their first three league games, will have to turn things around.

Arsenal will be reunited with Eduardo after the striker moved to Shakhtar Donetsk, while they also face Braga - who hammered Sevilla in the play-offs - and Serbian side Partizan. The Gunners lost 3-0 in Donetsk back in 2000, but turned it around in the second leg as they sealed a thrilling 3-2 win thanks to Martin Keown's two late goals.

The group of death is undoubtedly the one containing AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre. Real and Milan clashed last season in the group stages, with Milan coming out 3-2 winners at the Bernabeu, but Milan will have extra motivation this year as former Inter coach Jose Mourinho is now at the helm of the Madrid side.

Conversely, Barcelona have been granted one of the easiest groups ever seen in the Champions League. They have a tough trip to Rubin Kazan - who beat them at the Nou Camp in the group stages last season - but Copenhagen and Greek side Panathinaikos shouldn't prove too much of a test for Lionel Messi and company.

DATES: September 14-15, 28-29; October 19-20; November 2-3, 23-24; December 7-8.

Group A
Team P W D L F A Pts
Inter Milan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Werder Bremen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tottenham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FC Twente 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group B
Team P W D L F A Pts
Lyon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Benfica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Schalke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hapoel Tel Aviv 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group C
Team P W D L F A Pts
Manchester United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Valencia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rangers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bursaspor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group D
Team P W D L F A Pts
Barcelona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Panathinaikos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Copenhagen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rubin Kazan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group E
Team P W D L F A Pts
Bayern Munich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Roma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Basel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CFR Cluj 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group F
Team P W D L F A Pts
Chelsea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Marseille 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Spartak Moscow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MSK Zilina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group G
Team P W D L F A Pts
AC Milan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Real Madrid 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ajax 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Auxerre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0







Group H
Team P W D L F A Pts
Arsenal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shakhtar Donetsk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Braga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Partizan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0






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