UEFA Champions League

Villareal 1-0 Celtic- Group E- 30/9/08- Champions League

A stunning second half free kick from Marcos Senna gave Villareal a crucial 1-0 win over Scottish giants Celtic in a Group E Champions League encounter on Tuesday night at El Madrigal. In the other Group E fixture, Manchester United beat Aalborg 3-0, with Dimitar Berbatov grabbing a brace.

Gordon Strachan swapped his 4-4-2 for a 4-2-3-1, with Greek striker Samaras playing alone upfront, and Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady on the wings. The Hoops played well in the first half, and had a glorious chance to go ahead just before the break, but Villareal goalkeeper Diego Lopez denied Samaras after a moment of madness from Submarines defender Godin.

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Fergie to field strongest possible team against Aalborg

Ahead of tonight’s trip to the Energi Nord Arena, Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that he will field his strongest possible team against Danish side Aalborg. The Danish champions are coached by Bruce Rioch, the man who brought Dennis Bergkamp to Arsenal, and who certainly knows a thing or two about beating United.

United, who drew 0-0 with Villareal two weeks ago, know that a slip up against tiny Aalborg could cost them dear. Barring Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves, Sir Alex has most of his stars ready to take the pitch, and we could see Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov all in action today. The last time United visited Denmark was in 2006, when a second string lineup lost to FC Copenhagen.

Manchester United 08-09 Cristiano Ronaldo away

Aalborg drew 0-0 with Celtic at Parkhead in their first group game, with Barry Robson missing a penalty for the Scottish giants.

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UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round Draw

The draw for the third qualifying round of the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League has been announced. It pits Arsene Wenger against former Boro and England manager Steve McLaren as the Gunners face Dutch side FC Twente. The last time Wenger met McLaren ( if my memory serves me right), resulted in a 7-0 thrashing for Boro at Highbury. Twente finished fourth last season under the guidance of Fred Rutten, whose current team Schalke 04 face Atletico Madrid. The Enschede club have lost some key players- Orlando Engelaar has gone to Schalke. Karim El Ahmadi has moved to Feyenoord.

A couple of other tricky draws ( apart from the Schalke vs Atletico)that I see-

Galatasaray vs Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina vs Slavia Prague

The first leg will be played on 12/13 August, with the return legs taking place a fortnight later- on 26/27 August.

UEFA Champions League Third Round Draw

Anorthosis/Rapid Vienna vs Olympiakos

Vitoria Guimaraes vs IFK Gothenburg/Basel

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