Tonights Champions League games

mike65

Thanks to Milans date with the World Club Championship in Japan next week the two group D games are being played out tonight.

AC Milan - Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk - Benfica

A draw will suit both Milan and Celtic, Donetsk need to win and hope Milan previal. If Benfica win they go into the UEFA Cup and Celtic are through.

Mike.

Nunu

Milan 6/4 at home:eek:

I know they are already through and a draw does both teams but Celtic have 4 defenders out and Boruc nursing an injury(he goes in for knee surgery after this game). This coupled with Celtics atrocious away record, they don't seem to have learned at all over the last few seasons, makes a mockery of those odds!

OhNoYouDidn't

Nunu wrote: »

Milan 6/4 at home:eek:

I know they are already through and a draw does both teams but Celtic have 4 defenders out and Boruc nursing an injury(he goes in for knee surgery after this game). This coupled with Celtics atrocious away record, they don't seem to have learned at all over the last few seasons, makes a mockery of those odds!

Milan need a draw to top the group. Celtic need a draw for second. Milan are off to the World club championship the following week. Bookies arent stupid. Check the odds on 0-0.....

Nunu

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Milan need a draw to top the group. Celtic need a draw for second. Milan are off to the World club championship the following week. Bookies arent stupid. Check the odds on 0-0.....

I know all that...common sense says it will be a draw, but there are other factors - besides what I've already mentioned, Milan are much better than Celtic and they know it. After what happened at Celtic Pk in their first game nothing would please Milan more than to knock them out.
Also, fans are on their back because they are dropping points at home in the league, Champions league home wins have been a welcome respite for the players.

There's no pressure on Milan I can't see anything other than a home win. The only way both teams will play out a draw is if they are level with say 20 mins to go, but I expect Milan to be ahead by this stage.

Bubs101

I learned my lesson by backing both Porto at home against Arsenal last year and Milan at home to Lille last year. I'd be surprised if the result wasn't "arranged"

mike65

It should be noted that a certain Filippo Inzaghi can break Gert Mueller's european goal scoring record tonight. He might fancy a go (after 10 offsides!).

Mike.

IrishMike

Boring 0-0 draw with milan resting 4 or 5 players if you ask me.
Shahktar should win though, Benfica are missing 3 or 4 and the match is expected
to be played in freezing temperatures which i cant imagine a Portugese team liking.

Fwaggle

3-1 on Paddy Power for Celtic not to qualify. Decent value in that.

estebancambias

Is it on RTE?

eirebhoy

Nope. Setanta and Sky Sports. Apparantly it'll be the biggest ever audience for a CL group game because there's so little football on tonight.

Definitely plenty of value in that 3/1.

ninebeanrows

eirebhoy wrote: »

Nope. Setanta and Sky Sports. Apparantly it'll be the biggest ever audience for a CL group game because there's so little football on tonight.

Definitely plenty of value in that 3/1.

Cool, i was reading the morning rags and was wondering was this match actually on tonight!

I settled that it probably was not, but it is a nice surprise that it is on!

I reckon it will be a draw.

IrishMike

Teams:

Milan:

Kalac, Cafu, Bonera, Favalli, Simic, Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi.

Celtic: Boruc, Caldwell, Pressley, McManus, O'Dea, McGeady, Brown, Hartley Jarosik, Donati, Mcdonald.

Very strong team by Milan, didnt think they would play their best possible 11.
Can see them winning this by 2 clear goals if they are in the mood.
Celtic are there for the taking to say the least.
Milan are playing awful at home though, no win in 7.

Pighead

Definite draw for me. Celtic are gonna be happy with a draw, Milan are gonna be happy with a draw and I'd be happy with a draw. Therefore there shall be a draw.

Nunu

Did I just hear some Celtic fans boo Kalac's first touch of the ball...they think it's Dida:D

Pighead

1-0 Benfica. Great news for Celtic.

Gillie

2-0 benfica!

Eirebear

Unbelievable results soming from benfica...celtic really have carried their luck through this group....

Gillie

1-2 now

Pighead

Eirebear wrote: »

Unbelievable results soming from benfica...celtic really have carried their luck through this group....

Ah now wouldn't say that. They deserved all 3 of their home wins and they were a bit unlucky to lose to a last minute goal in Benfica. 5 games, played well in 3, ok in 1 and poor in 1. Deserve to go through I reckon.

muffler

For anyone who has a sky box but no sub the game is live on ITV1 Border Scotland. You will need to tune it in to the "other channels" - you can get the settings in this sticky

eirebhoy

That was nice and boring. Still fancy Milan though. Celtic haven't kept a clean sheet away from home in any competition in 14 months. A stat I'm very proud of considering the relative success in that time.

Celtic players afraid to get forward which means there's very little options when they're in the final 3rd.

ziggy

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mike65

As the two teams will now know Benfica are 2-1 up and a draw is proberly the worst that will happen in that match, can I rely on these two to play out a nil-nil?

Mike.

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mike65 wrote: »

As the two teams will now know Benfica are 2-1 up and a draw is proberly the worst that will happen in that match, can I rely on these two to play out a nil-nil?

Mike.

Are you joking? The way Celtic defend, there could be a huge fnck up and Milan score.

Don't put money on a 0-0.

ziggy

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A Dub in Glasgo

What a miss from Brown

Milan turning the screw!! What a miss from Inzagi!!!!

Eirebear

Pighead wrote: »

Ah now wouldn't say that. They deserved all 3 of their home wins and they were a bit unlucky to lose to a last minute goal in Benfica. 5 games, played well in 3, ok in 1 and poor in 1. Deserve to go through I reckon.

Also a bit lucky to win with last minute goals against Milan and Shaktar?
TBH they deserve to go through if they go through...i cant argue with that...just wish we had their luck sometimes

ziggy

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A Dub in Glasgo

Inzaghi makes up for his shocking miss earlier... unmarked as well

Come on Benfica

Eirebear

ziggy wrote: »

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That'll be the day!

Milan have been building up to that all night...it was almost a case of no one being allowed to have a shot untill Inzaghi scored

Guy:Incognito

Celtic will be fine, Shaktar are not goiung to score 2.

The Volt

commentators curse... shhh!!

smemon

Brutal atmosphere in Milan.. none at all from what i can see/hear.

Celtic were never going to get anything but a draw at best, even if it's a training match for Milan.

A Dub in Glasgo

I can hear Celtic fans singing for a lot of the game... maybe you had the sound turned down? Looks more than a training match for Milan, maybe you were not even watching the game?

Celtic are through thanks to the result in Donesk

ziggy

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smemon

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

I can hear Celtic fans singing for a lot of the game... maybe you had the sound turned down? Looks more than a training match for Milan, maybe you were not even watching the game?

Yeah a few celtic songs, but i was talking about the home fans more so..

I don't think Milan were all guns blazing. It wasn't a big night for them, there was no atmosphere or spark for them, and it was simply a case of turning up and getting the job done.

In the end Milan go away happy and so do Celtic.

Eirebear

Well done guys...at the end of the day over 6 games you deserved it (just!)
I just hope to god we can join you in the next round...then well see yous in the quarters

Raskolnikov

Rangers fans must be seething!

A Dub in Glasgo

It is more than I expected from this group considering the dreadful start from Celtic. I think Shakthar are a good side and they are now bottom

Guy:Incognito

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Rangers fans must be seething!

Obviuosly not:

Eirebear wrote: »

Well done guys...at the end of the day over 6 games you deserved it (just!)
I just hope to god we can join you in the next round...then well see yous in the quarters

eirebhoy

Only 5 goals concededed in 4 away games so far in the CL. An improvement in that department. Strachan is working miracles with that defence.

Necronomicon

Ah damn it to hell. I just realised that I can't make any changes next week to my FF team because tonight's games were the start of the gameweek. And I reckon there are a few in my team who won't play, Nesta and Oddo didn't play tonight.

Ah well, at least Lucarelli scored.

PHB

I'm happy Celtic are through, good for them. Really hope we get them in the knockout stages

Eirebear

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Rangers fans must be seething!

Not at all....i always knew they were jammy swines

I'll be pig sick if we go out...but thats only because were out, not because theyre through

OhNoYouDidn't

eirebhoy wrote: »

Only 5 goals concededed in 4 away games so far in the CL. An improvement in that department. Strachan is working miracles with that defence.

have you been watching the same games I have? Celtic are through despite Strachan.

Out of his depth in a puddle.

Eirebear

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

have you been watching the same games I have? Celtic are through despite Strachan.

Out of his depth in a puddle.

Thats twice on the trot he has negotiated the group stage with celtic....yes he has varried his luck this season...but thats celtic for you.

redspider

A great win last night by ......... Benfica , which is enough to send Celtic through to the next round. I think hats off, kudos, etc to Celtic for getting through in this difficult group. Also a big thanks to Benfica who won away in Donetsk in difficult conditions and fought to get that Uefa place.

Celtic will more than likely have a difficult draw in the next round but that's what you get at this level. It can only be a good thing, and who knows what can happen in two-legged head to heads. Celtic showed no fear against Milan so why would any team scare them?

As for the performance, well, it could have been better. The 'false whistle' incident was a let-off, play the whistle people always say, yeah, but which one(?), but the defending for the goal and at other times was not good enough. Players need to get closer to their opponents and not give them so much space, and mark players in the box, so that means pressure on Kaka, follow the runs of Cafu, etc, and mark the Inzaghi's - closely. Defending could be Celtic's achilles heel, as well as a lack of a finisher. McGeady is as good as any other winger in Europe at times. I hope he starts some shooting practice though to increase the power of his shots. His improvement in form this season is an example that it is never too late to learn and improve. And if he could add powerful shooting to his repetoire, he would be a top class player.

As for Donetsk, I say Platini and Uefa are breathing a sigh of relief that the 'experiment' (see note*) to buy success in the CL failed, and doubly so as they failed to get through to Uefa as well. Platini will be another person who is glad to see Celtic qualify and Benfica in 3rd.

Not a brilliant european night for Celtic on the pitch but an overall achievement nonetheless .....

Redspider

Note * Rinat Akhmetov is the richest Ukrainian business oligarch with an estimated fortune of $4.0 billion. Akhmetov's main source of wealth is from his company, SCM Holdings (90% owned by him, 10% by spouse). He owns Shakhtar Donetsk.

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redspider wrote: »

Celtic showed no fear against Milan so why would any team scare them?

Did you watch the game last night? They were absolutely bricking it. No fear, my hole.

redspider wrote: »

As for Donetsk, I say Platini and Uefa are breathing a sigh of relief that the 'experiment' (see note*) to buy success in the CL failed, and doubly so as they failed to get through to Uefa as well. Platini will be another person who is glad to see Celtic qualify and Benfica in 3rd.


Note * Rinat Akhmetov is the richest Ukrainian business oligarch with an estimated fortune of $4.0 billion. Akhmetov's main source of wealth is from his company, SCM Holdings (90% owned by him, 10% by spouse). He owns Shakhtar Donetsk.

This is absolutely bizarre tbh.

Do other clubs not spend money to gain success, especially in the CL?

Have Liverpool, Manchester and the two London clubs not spent money?

Have Real Madrid not spent silly money building the Galacticos, with the express intention of CL Success?

So what if another club appears on the scene with money to spend?

Just because they aren't one of the "traditional" clubs.

PauloMN

First of all, phew... delighted we got through, obviously it's hard to celebrate after losing a game and my mood last night was nothing like last season when we qualified after beating Utd in CP. Still, we're through and that's the main thing.

Hats off to Benfica, I knew they'd give Shakhtar a game for the UEFA Cup spot, but I thought Shakhtar still might have edged it. Two early goals killed them off, and it should have been 0-2 at the end as that penalty was simply not a penalty.

As regards Celtic, something that struck me this season in the CL was how we are all still quick to blame our defence for our away performances, me included. Yes there have been some mistakes and we definitely need to improve, but looking at the facts, we conceeded 4 goals in our 3 away group games - 1 last night, 1 (very late) to Benfica and 2 to Shakhtar. Last season, we let in 3 to Benfica, 3 to United and 3 to Copenhagen. 4 goals this season vs. 9 last season. That is some improvement.

For me, what was lacking in last night's performance was fluidity and confidence in midfield. McDonald is the best forward we have, and has great control and the ability to turn players, but he simply didn't get enough of the ball. Our midfield was not able to contain the game even for short spells, which was disappointing when we had 5 men in there for most of the game. Aside from McGeady and Brown, I thought midfield was quite poor - Donati, Hartley and Jarosik were just not in the game. Most frustrating was when we did surge forward, it was only one player - the rest were too slow getting forward and possession would be squandered again. I saw that happen with Brown, with McGeady and with Donati. Compare with how Milan attacked - the individual runs and positions of the other players, just waiting for passes and giving numerous options to the player with the ball.

McGeady and Brown are technically very good players, and Nakamura when he's back will hopefully solve some of the problems, but they need to perform better as a unit, especially away from home.

So for me, hats off to defence , especially given the forced changes Strachan has had to make. Don't get me wrong, we still need to strengthen our defence come transfer time, but we also need to do something about our style of midfield play which simply isn't good enough.

redspider

DesF wrote: »

They were absolutely bricking it. No fear, my hole.

This is absolutely bizarre tbh. Do other clubs not spend money to gain success, especially in the CL? Have Liverpool, Manchester and the two London clubs not spent money? Have Real Madrid not spent silly money building the Galacticos, with the express intention of CL Success? So what if another club appears on the scene with money to spend? Just because they aren't one of the "traditional" clubs.

> Bricking It ... ???

I think I'll let other Celtic fans answer you on that one .... I certainly didnt see any 'bricks' last night, nor back in Parkhead a few weeks ago.

In terms of the Donetsk money, its fine for clubs to spend money on their teams, both purchases and players salaries, if this money is from the genuine fanbase. This is done at Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc, etc and many of the traditional clubs, and non-traditional too. What Uefa and many in the game dont like to see is some billionaire coming in and trying to buy instant success with his new toy as a play-thing, to run these clubs at a loss, etc.

Its true that there have been grey cases in the past, Blackburn Rovers success in the mid-90's, AC Milan's success with the backing by Berlusconi,etc, and there will continue to be. There is nothing that much wrong with some owners over-spending on their club, if it is within reason. But its all about scale.

With the Abramovich situation at Chelsea, it is clearly something that Uefa and Fifa and many in the sport dont want to see as a roadmap for success. So far, Chelsea have not won the CL which is Abramovich's clear aim, and Uefa are happy with that. If Chelsea would have won the CL for the last 3 years in a row, I suspect they would be less happy.

The story about Donetsk is that it was seen as a similar type of investment, this year at any rate, with substantial new funds being spent by the club, at a rate not matching that from the fan base. Also, you could end up in a situation with Donetsk meeting Chelsea and Chelsea winning. All murky with a couple of oligarch's involved. Uefa are watching these ownerships carefully, and they will be only too glad, off the record of course, to see Donetsk knocked out, I would think.

Redspider

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redspider wrote: »

> Bricking It ... ???

I think I'll let other Celtic fans answer you on that one .... I certainly didnt see any 'bricks' last night, nor back in Parkhead a few weeks ago.

Ok so, what about this?

eirebhoy wrote: »

Celtic players afraid to get forward which means there's very little options when they're in the final 3rd.

redspider wrote: »

In terms of the Donetsk money, its fine for clubs to spend money on their teams, both purchases and players salaries, if this money is from the genuine fanbase. This is done at Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc, etc and many of the traditional clubs, and non-traditional too.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the bulk of the United money came from a Stock Exchange floatation. hardly a genuine fan base is it?

And now they are backed by an American billionaire. Doesn't matter the nationality though. American, Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli, Irish (Celtic).

redspider wrote: »

What Uefa and many in the game dont like to see is some billionaire coming in and trying to buy instant success with his new toy as a play-thing, to run these clubs at a loss, etc.

Boo-hoo. Football is a business these days.

redspider wrote: »

Its true that there have been grey cases in the past, Blackburn Rovers success in the mid-90's, AC Milan's success with the backing by Berlusconi,etc, and there will continue to be. There is nothing that much wrong with some owners over-spending on their club, if it is within reason. But its all about scale.

Grey area? How exactly. Jack Walker money-rolled Blackburn Rovers to a title win. Same as Abramovic did with Chelsea. The only difference is that it took less money to do so in the early/mid 90s.

Ditto Milan.

redspider wrote: »

The story about Donetsk is that it was seen as a similar type of investment, this year at any rate, with substantial new funds being spent by the club, at a rate not matching that from the fan base. Also, you could end up in a situation with Donetsk meeting Chelsea and Chelsea winning. All murky with a couple of oligarch's involved. Uefa are watching these ownerships carefully, and they will be only too glad, off the record of course, to see Donetsk knocked out, I would think.

So, some friends own clubs.

Of course there has never been colusion between teams before, has there?