United Hope for a Gift From Greece
Manchester United hope to meet Panathanaikos in the next round of the Champions League; a draw against Liverpool, however, would half the chances of the cup returning to England.
The chances of the European Cup returning to England this season were reduced by a third when Arsenal went out of the Champions League on Wednesday night. Today they will be halved if Manchester United and Liverpool are drawn together in the quarter-finals.
At least this would guarantee a Premiership presence in the semis and certainly Liverpool would be undaunted at the prospect since they have beaten United five times in a row, with successive doubles over them in the league and this season's Charity Shield win in between.
Yet if England is going to be represented in the final at Hampden Park on May 15 it might be advisable for the nation's survivors to be kept apart at this stage. And if Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna, the leading Spanish contenders, find themselves facing one another so much the better for English interests this would be.
Now that the Champions League has reached the knockout stage the only provisos are that the four second-phase group winners meet the four runners-up, with the latter playing the opening leg at home, and that teams from the same group cannot be drawn together in the quarter-finals.
This means that United will avoid Bayern Munich and Liverpool, Barcelona. But Bayern, who finished second behind United, could meet Bayer Leverkusen, the surprise winners of Arsenal's group, which might not please the Germans.
If Sir Alex Ferguson has a preference, and if his extraordinary luck in Champions League draws holds, United will today renew acquaintances with Panathinaikos, their opponents in the second phase last season and possibly the weakest link now, having finished eight points behind Real Madrid in Group C.
Deportivo, on the other hand, would be bad news for Ferguson's team, who lost twice to the Spanish side in the first phase. The good news for Liverpool is that they will avoid Deportivo today as well as Barcelona, the bad that they could get Real Madrid.
In spite of Liverpool's recent good record against United, Gérard Houllier and Phil Thompson might prefer to meet Leverkusen's wobbly defence for a place in the last four. Just how the Leverkusen side that defended as badly in losing 4-1 at Arsenal last month as Germany did in England's 5-1 win in Munich last September have managed to win their second-round group is a mystery worthy of Hercule Poirot.
It is of course down to the quirks of the league system, which will always give a lame duck a chance, especially in a group comprising teams all liable to perform on any one night with a waddle and a quack. Deportivo might have twice outclassed Arsenal but they also lost twice to Leverkusen, while Juventus were for the most part sad shadows of their illustrious predecessors.
Arsenal went out on Wednesday mainly because, unlike Liverpool, they did not take the main chance when it arose. A victory over Deportivo at Highbury last week would have spared Arsène Wenger and his players the frustration of trying to beat Juventus in a largely deserted Stadio delle Alpi while receiving increasingly depressing news from La Coruna, where Bayer's 3-1 win made Arsenal's 1-0 defeat irrelevant.
What a contrast to Liverpool's masterly 2-0 defeat of Roma at Anfield the previous night, their first victory in the second round after a defeat and four draws, and therefore all the more creditable for its timing and execution. No, United would prefer to avoid Liverpool for the moment.
Quarter-finalists
Group A Manchester United, Bayern Munich
Group B Barcelona, Liverpool
Group C Real Madrid, Panathinaikos
Group D Bayer Leverkusen, Deportivo La Coruna
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At least this would guarantee a Premiership presence in the semis and certainly Liverpool would be undaunted at the prospect since they have beaten United five times in a row, with successive doubles over them in the league and this season's Charity Shield win in between.
Yet if England is going to be represented in the final at Hampden Park on May 15 it might be advisable for the nation's survivors to be kept apart at this stage. And if Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna, the leading Spanish contenders, find themselves facing one another so much the better for English interests this would be.
Now that the Champions League has reached the knockout stage the only provisos are that the four second-phase group winners meet the four runners-up, with the latter playing the opening leg at home, and that teams from the same group cannot be drawn together in the quarter-finals.
This means that United will avoid Bayern Munich and Liverpool, Barcelona. But Bayern, who finished second behind United, could meet Bayer Leverkusen, the surprise winners of Arsenal's group, which might not please the Germans.
If Sir Alex Ferguson has a preference, and if his extraordinary luck in Champions League draws holds, United will today renew acquaintances with Panathinaikos, their opponents in the second phase last season and possibly the weakest link now, having finished eight points behind Real Madrid in Group C.
Deportivo, on the other hand, would be bad news for Ferguson's team, who lost twice to the Spanish side in the first phase. The good news for Liverpool is that they will avoid Deportivo today as well as Barcelona, the bad that they could get Real Madrid.
In spite of Liverpool's recent good record against United, Gérard Houllier and Phil Thompson might prefer to meet Leverkusen's wobbly defence for a place in the last four. Just how the Leverkusen side that defended as badly in losing 4-1 at Arsenal last month as Germany did in England's 5-1 win in Munich last September have managed to win their second-round group is a mystery worthy of Hercule Poirot.
It is of course down to the quirks of the league system, which will always give a lame duck a chance, especially in a group comprising teams all liable to perform on any one night with a waddle and a quack. Deportivo might have twice outclassed Arsenal but they also lost twice to Leverkusen, while Juventus were for the most part sad shadows of their illustrious predecessors.
Arsenal went out on Wednesday mainly because, unlike Liverpool, they did not take the main chance when it arose. A victory over Deportivo at Highbury last week would have spared Arsène Wenger and his players the frustration of trying to beat Juventus in a largely deserted Stadio delle Alpi while receiving increasingly depressing news from La Coruna, where Bayer's 3-1 win made Arsenal's 1-0 defeat irrelevant.
What a contrast to Liverpool's masterly 2-0 defeat of Roma at Anfield the previous night, their first victory in the second round after a defeat and four draws, and therefore all the more creditable for its timing and execution. No, United would prefer to avoid Liverpool for the moment.
Quarter-finalists
Group A Manchester United, Bayern Munich
Group B Barcelona, Liverpool
Group C Real Madrid, Panathinaikos
Group D Bayer Leverkusen, Deportivo La Coruna
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