Champions League
Rome exposes chinks in the empire
Oli Dinsmore on Chelsea and Liverpool’s Champions League struggles.
The art of fighting, without fighting
Ricky Majer on a rejuvenated Liverpool side looking intent on capturing the Premier League this season.
Pain for Liverpool, but Uefa were right to punish Atlético
Liverpool fans will suffer, but Uefa were completely right to stamp down on the aysmal behaviour of some of Atlético Madrid’s supporters.
Mourinho must make an instant Inter impact
Matthew Day looks at José Mourinho’s start to life as Inter Milan coach, as rows with the press off the pitch and unconvincing performances on it dominate the new season in Serie A.
Just who will emerge from Group F?
Group F threatens to be the most fascinating of them all as three of the continent’s big sides fight it out for the two qualifying spots, Celtic proved useless away from home again as Villarreal starred while Juventus failed to impress and Porto continued their fall from grace.
Da Silva Lining
Rafael Da Silva - a seemingly unknown 18-year-old twin snapped up by Manchester United in January. But after starring once again in United’s victory over Aalborg, Da Silva is hot property - and is a genuine full-time contender for the right-back spot.
Great - just not in the trophy-winning sense
Arsenal are not quite there yet; and, so reluctant to spend big and to compromise with their style, perhaps they never will be. These fatal flaws are part of what makes them such a delight - and they are great, just not in the trophy-winning sense. But on nights like this, complaints seem rather callous.
Euros expansion threatens to lower quality threshold
Matthew Day reflects on Uefa’s decision to expand the Euros from 16 to 24 nations, the hopeless rebranding of the Uefa Cup and why Michel Platini is so keen to keep Poland and Ukraine as hosts of Euro 2012.
