CL Matchday 3: The Spanish Challenge
The big two came off the rails at the weekend, the first game back after the international break proving too tough for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Valencia and Sevilla, meanwhile, managed impressive wins, but what does it all mean for the European challenge? All four sides are in a top two berth at present, but can they keep it up?
All four Spanish sides currently occupy qualification berths in their respective UEFA Champions League groups. However, it's not as simple as saying that all of them are strolling.
Valencia, after all, have already lost to group favourites Chelsea, sitting in second place on mere goal difference ahead of Schalke.
Sevilla, meanwhile, are similarly above Slavia Prague on head-to-head record only, having lost heavily to Arsenal on Matchday 1.
Real Madrid's away draw at Lazio almost cost them dearly as they sit on four points from six, with only Barcelona having maintained a 100% European record thus far.
But all of that could be different by midnight on Wednesday. The beauty of the Champions League is that so much could change after a single matchday and, as the third one fast approaches, it remains to be seen if the Spanish clubs can maintain their challenge...
Real Madrid
Real Madrid sit second on goal difference in Group C, having followed up their home win over Werder Bremen with a draw in Rome against Lazio.
For Bernd Schuster's men, this is something of a disappointment; they sorely need to win their group and to have dropped points already is not encouraging.
Domestically, too, things aren't as easy as they first seemed. A jaded Madrid side, battered and bruised after the international break, lost out 2-1 at Espanyol on Saturday to shed their unbeaten record in La Liga.
They still sit top of the league, albeit by the narrowest of margins, but it's the psychological blow that matters more. The air of invincibility about the Bernabeu has been shattered ahead of the visit of Greek giants Olympiacos.
The Piraeus men are high on confidence as they sit top of this group, and Real Madrid will underestimate them at their peril. True, coach Schuster will have a largely fit squad at his disposal, including centre-back Christoph Metzelder, who came through the weekend intact, but that must not breed complacency.
For the likes of Arjen Robben are still out and, as we saw against Werder, not even home advantage gives Real Madrid the divine right to crush visiting teams in Europe's premier competition.
There is a growing amount of discontent around Schuster's tenure at the Bernabeu, but one must retain perspective. They're still favourites to progress, top of the league, and have a wealth of talent at their disposal. They should win on Wednesday.
But, if anything, the massive pressure brought on by such expectations could in fact work against them...
Barcelona
Barcelona, just like Madrid, fell to an away defeat at the weekend. Manuel Pellegrini's Villarreal comprehensively dismantled los culers, winning 3-1 at the Madrigal.
True, it was an injury-hit Barcelona side that limped onto the Vila-Real pitch - Eto'o, Zambrotta, Toure, Ronaldinho, the list of absences seemed endless - and an even more weakened one that left, with Deco being added to the casualties ahead of Tuesday's visit to Glasgow to face Rangers.
But Ronaldinho is back, and he will know more than most how important it is for Barcelona to continue their fine European run.
They've won both games so far, thrashing Lyon at home before beating Stuttgart in Germany, and are keen favourites to do the business at Ibrox.
But teams with a healthy, team-based attitude towards defence often frustrate the likes of Barcelona and, with Rangers on a high after their excellent Old Firm victory at the weekend, the Catalans, much like their Madrid rivals, cannot take anything for granted.
The talismanic Ronaldinho will return to the still-weakened Barca squad for this one, but he is in the strange position of not being guaranteed a start. Young Bojan Krkic (pictured), after all, became the club's youngest ever goalscorer after netting in Villarreal, and coach Rijkaard could give him a run-out here alongside Messi and Henry.
But whoever is picked, it is the defence and central midfield that's bound to cause the most concern for the Dutch manager. After all, Rangers managed three against Lyon: putting one past Barcelona certainly isn't beyond them.
Yet the blaugrana are favourites for a reason. Until that loss in Villarreal, they had quite rightly been praised Europe-wide for some tremendous domestic performances. They're still flying high in La Liga and, on their day, even an injury-stricken Barcelona can prove unstoppable.
Will it be a night to remember, or a night of frustration in sunny Govan?
Valencia
For the outsider, the idea of coach Quique Flores being in fear of losing his job is laughable. After all, his team's just one point off top spot in La Liga, and is still in with a great chance of qualification from the CL group stages.
Yet the Che fans expect more. Many of their six Liga wins thus far have been scraped, close-fought affairs against teams that do not exactly comprise the leading lights of Spanish soccer, and Quique is feeling the pressure as a result.
What's more, his defence has shipped 11 goals in the Liga - over 1.5 per game - the likes of Ivan Helguera failing to settle into the side after their high-profile arrivals this summer.
So it is with no small measure of trepidation that Valencia visit Norway to take on Rosenborg. Much as when the Trondheim men took on Chelsea, it's a game in which the 'bigger' side have everything to lose, and little to gain. That's because a win is both vital and expected, and dropping points is simply unthinkable.
Still, Valencia returned to domestic duty with a bang and, even minus David Villa up front, stuck four past bogey team Deportivo La Coruna at the Riazor. (Trondheim is only slightly further into the frozen north than Galicia, so Los Che can consider themselves already acclimatised, too.)
But they conceded two goals against a Depor side not exactly renowned for its free-scoring ways, setting alarm bells ringing. Things will need to tighten up considerably at the back ahead of the Lerkendal meeting.
Nonetheless, confidence is once again high; the injury list is shorter than it was two weeks ago, and the likes of Gavilan have returned to excellent effect.
Quique knows that there is absolutely no room for complacency - that's one of the advantages of being under constant pressure from a demanding fanbase - and will set up his side accordingly here.
Sevilla
Don't talk to Juande Ramos about pressure. After losing four Liga games in a row, he's finally removed some from his shoulders by virtue of a routine 2-0 win at Levante.
That ended a shocking run of four straight Liga defeats that had seen Sevilla go from being title hopefuls to mid-table strugglers. One wonders, though, if it's not just a flash in the pan: after all, Levante are, with all due respect, rubbish.
Still, it's another three points on the board, and one that puts the Andalucians in good stead for the visit of Steaua Bucharest.
The Romanians have zero points so far, having lost to both Arsenal and Slavia Prague, while Sevilla also fell foul of the English side but defeated the Czechs at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan recently.
Sevilla will fancy their chances at home, but Steaua have undergone a bit of backroom reshuffling of late, and certainly won't collapse as they did at the Evzena Rošického against Slavia.
Javi Navarro is still out, but the brilliant Fredi Kanoute is set to return up front as Sevilla go chasing a vital three points. Even if they're falling behind domestically, Europe has been their forte in recent seasons, and qualification from this group is a must.
CL Matchday 3: The German Challenge
The German 'challenge’ hasn’t really begun yet in the Champions League with all three teams disappointing. They will all be looking to improve on Matchday three, although all three face difficult challenges.
Stuttgart, Schalke and Werder Bremen have not exactly set the Champions League alight so far this season with only the Königsblauen with any points on the board. Two consecutive defeats for champions Stuttgart and Werder have given the two sides an uphill struggle if they are to make it through to the next stage.
Even with their win in Norway, Schalke has a massive task ahead of them if they are to clinch qualification ahead of either Chelsea or Valencia.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is a team in crisis. Last season’s Bundesliga champions are struggling in the league and have made the worst possible start to their Group E campaign.
The Swabians lost their opener with Rangers at Ibrox despite taking a second half lead and looking the more impressive side for much of the first hour. However a spirited comeback from the Scottish side rocked Armin Veh’s team and sent them home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Two weeks later and Spanish giants Barcelona arrived at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion- just what a struggling side needs! Again, despite showing enough attacking impetus to trouble the Catalans, two second half goals from Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi condemned Stuttgart to their second defeat in a row.
With Rangers beating Lyon at the Stade de Gerland, it means Stuttgart and Lyon are both pointless, with Barca and Rangers both on six. This situation makes the clash with Lyon on Tuesday all the more vital.
The problem for Armin Veh is that the Champions League form is not in isolation from his side’s league form. Stuttgart currently lie a lowly 14th in the Bundesliga with six defeats already this term. Their 19 game unbeaten run at home was shattered by Hannover in Round 9.
On Saturday, an injury ravaged VfB slumped to their third league loss in a row going down 4-1 at the hands of Hamburg. Such is the lack of choice available to Armin Veh, that he was forced to select David Pisot from the clubs second team as centre back, and play midfielder Alexander Farnerud as a makeshift left back.
Both Stuttgart and Lyon will be looking at Tuesday’s game to provide them with some salvation and a glimmer of hope as they attempt to make it through to the next stage.
Schalke
Things would be looking a lot brighter for Schalke in Group B if only they had taken their chances against Valencia in their opening game at the Veltins Arena. However a clinical 63rd minute strike from David Villa secured the win for Los Che.
The Königsblauen showed improved form in their second match with a 2-0 away victory over the Rosenberg. Second half strikes from Jermaine Jones and Kevin Kuranyi enabled the German side to secure their first points and get them back into the reckoning.
With only a single point separating Chelsea, Valencia and Schalke, the clash on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge and the return leg two weeks later could prove decisive for both teams.
In contrast to Stuttgart, Mirko Slomka will be satisfied with his side’s league form. Schalke have been beaten only once this season, although too many games have been drawn when three points seemed available. After the loss to Valencia, last season’s Bundesliga runners-up went on to win their next four games, only to surprisingly lose at home to newly promoted Karlsruhe.
The one thing worrying Schalke fans is the lack of a regular, guaranteed goal source other than Kevin Kuranyi. The Germans have never met Chelsea in European competition, but will be facing a side slowly coming around after the shock of the departure of Jose Mourinho.
A defeat in London on Wednesday would increase the pressure on Mirko Slomka’s side ahead of the home leg in two weeks time. A point against Avram Grant’s side may be the best Schalke can hope for. A defeat and a Valencia win against Rosenberg, would be a big blow to their chances.
Werder Bremen
Two losses in their first two Group C matches means Werder are playing catch up already. With Real Madrid clear favourites for top spot, the competition comes down to Werder, Lazio and Olympiakos for the second qualification berth.
Bremen put up good account of themselves in their opener at the Bernabeu against Madrid, and inspired by midfielder Diego could have secured a valuable point. However, the German side were downed 2-1 with Ruud van Nistelrooy grabbing his 50th Champions League goal.
If there were plenty of positives to take from the first game, the second match was the complete opposite. Werder slumped to a terrible 3-1 defeat at home to Greek side Olympiakos. On German Unity Day, the fans at the Weser Stadion were left with nothing to celebrate as Thomas Schaaf’s side surrendered the lead given to them by Hugo Almeida. Three goals in the final twenty minutes gave the Greek champions their very first Champions League away victory.
The upcoming double-header with Lazio is pivotal for Werder. Currently bottom with no points, nothing less than three points from Wednesday’s match will do.
Thomas Schaaf will go into the Lazio game however full of confidence as his side’s league form of late has been excellent with four wins and a draw in their last five matches. Werder lie second in the Bundesliga and are currently the closest challengers to Bayern Munich, although they do have a six point deficit to make up.
Many of the injury worries that affected the first weeks of this season have cleared up and the return of midfield dynamo Torsten Frings has been a big boost. The form of Diego has been excellent, so Werder will be looking to get their 'challenge’ up and running with a win over the Roman side this week.
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