It’s important to not form any conclusions when the Champions League round of 16 draw is made.
There are two months between the draw and the first legs, and a lot of things can change. What looks like a walk for Team X in December could prove to be a challenge in February, and Team Y’s seemingly [...]

If you are looking for more certainty as to which clubs will advance to the knock-out round, Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League results did not help. Draws by the leaders of Groups B, C, and D drew trailing teams closer to the top, and while all the names at the top remain in the same, [...]

When juxtaposed, UEFA Champions League Groups C and D show us the best and worst about the competition’s group phase, with neither group having a monopoly on the good qualities.
The difference in the groups’ depth highlights the problem Champions League accepts with four-team groups. When a tournament spreads its teams into many small groups, [...]

Groups A through D resume UEFA Champions League group play on Tuesday, as the tournament’s initial stage enters its home-stretch: the reverse fixtures; second-half of the schedule; the point after which we can start comparing teams with more certainty.
To this point, we can only be reasonably confident that (from these groups) Chelsea, Porto, and [...]

It was not as big an upset as Tuesday’s result at Camp Nou, but Milan’s late goal at the Santiago Bernabéu – handing Real Madrid their first home loss of the Galactícos 2.0 era – was enough of a shock to knock Rubin Kazan out of the headlines, earning the Italians a 3-2 win.
Perhaps as [...]

Between them, Real Madrid and AC Milan have 16 European titles, finishing second another seven times. In the 54-year history of the European Cup and Champions League, roughly two-fifths of the finals have featured one of these clubs. Milan’s presence has been slightly less frequent, having made eleven finals appearances (winning seven), but [...]

You’re going to hear a lot about FC Zürich over the next two days (and rightfully so), but they were not the only little-club-that-could on Wednesday. They were just the most successful. Today, two other clubs that would not have been in this competition last season almost made a name for themselves.
In Bordeaux, [...]

Group A is the only group that does not feature a team from England or Spain, part of the reason why it is quickly becoming the UEFA Champions League’s most interesting quartet. There is no clear favorite. Your expert of choice could be backing any of Bayern Munich, Juventus, or Bordeaux. It [...]

What a difference three days made for Milan.
In that time, Leonardo revitalized the squad that only managed a scoreless draw Saturday at newly-promoted Livorno. Today, thanks to two goals from Pippo Inzaghi, Leonardo’s Champions League coaching debut ended with a 2-1 over Marseille and the Vélodrome.
This could be a crushing loss for Marseille and [...]

The world’s most prestigious club competition starts its tournament proper in a couple of hours, and while there is a a certain hum of anticipation around the footballing world, it is difficult to get too excited about a group phase that will last month amidst our beloved league competitions. To cut through that fog, [...]