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| December 12, 2003 | Friday | Shawwal 17, 1424 |
English trio put down marker for draw
LONDON, Dec 11: English clubs put on a show of strength in the Champions League group phase that bodes ill for the opponents of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in the knockout second round.
All three English sides topped their groups to guarantee ties against second-placed teams in Friday’s draw for the last 16.
Chelsea and United won their groups easily, enjoying the luxury of playing their final matches this week safe in the knowledge that they had already qualified.
Arsenal’s progress was altogether different. They lay bottom of their group at the halfway stage but, inspired by Thierry Henry, Arsene Wenger’s team recovered in style.
The 5-1 victory in their penultimate match at Inter Milan was one of the all-time great European performances.
Inter’s demise meant Italy were unable to match the feat of the English trio — who also occupy the first three places in the premier league — but in holders AC Milan and Italian champions Juventus they are more than amply represented.
Juve’s record 7-0 thrashing of Olympiakos on Wednesday, the biggest winning margin in Champions League history, was a reminder of their potency.
AC Milan also dominated their group and the Italian pair have a big advantage over their English rivals in terms of pedigree.
Between them Juve and AC Milan have won Europe’s elite competition eight times. United have won it twice, but neither Arsenal nor Chelsea have ever won it.
The favourites, though, remain nine-times winners Real Madrid who also won their group with little fuss.
Spain is in fact the best represented nation in the last 16, with Real joined by Deportivo Coruna, Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo.
The three latter teams, though, finished second in their groups and so must face a group winner in the second round.
Germany’s Bayern Munich, who scraped through in second place in their group, are probably the team most of the group winners would like to avoid, together with Deportivo and Portugal’s Porto, the UEFA Cup holders.
French pair Olympique Lyon and Monaco did well to win their groups and their reward could be a relatively easy path to the last eight.
The draw is scheduled for 1100 GMT at ruling body UEFA’s Nyon headquarters in Switzerland on Friday.
Teams from the same country cannot be drawn to face each other, while teams who faced each other in the group phase will also be kept apart.
In the case of Real Madrid that means they will face either Bayern Munich, Lokomotiv Moscow, VfB Stuttgart or Sparta Prague.
The first legs will be played on February 24/25 with the returns March 9/10. The group winners have the supposed advantage of playing the home leg second.
The final will be staged in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 26.
The 16 second round qualifiers are:
Group winners — Olympique Lyon, Arsenal, AS Monaco, Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, AC Milan.
Runners-up — Bayern Munich, Lokomotiv Moscow, Deportivo Coruna, Real Sociedad, VfB Stuttgart, Porto, Sparta Prague, Celta Vigo.—Reuters
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