Thursday, August 28, 2008

Group D of UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Preview

This is definitely a tough group in the presence of some strong sides. Here is the preview of Group D of Champions League 2008-2008:


Clubs Drawn in Group D:


Club Name

Country Name

Performance in the last domestic season

Liverpool FC

England

Fourth

PSV Eindhoven

Netherlands

Champion

Olympique Merseille

France

Third

Atletico Madrid

Spain

Fourth


There is only one club who won the domestic title last season, but that does not exactly show how much competition there could be in Group D. Liverpool is one of the most successful clubs in Europe with five titles. Even though they have not been successful at home for a long time, they appeared in Champions League final twice in previous four seasons including their title win in 2004-2005 season. No doubt, Liverpool is the favorite for this year too, but it would not be so easy for Rafael Benitez boys to progress because the other teams drawn in Group D are strong too. Liverpool reached the group stage after defeating Belgian club Standard Liège in third qualifying round.


Dutch club PSV Eindhoven is the reigning champion of domestic league, while Olympique Merseille finished third in League 1 after Lyonnaise and Bordeaux. Spanish club Atletico Madrid had an excellent last season. They finished fourth in the La Liga, but their performance was really impressive. Atletico Madrid defeated German club Schalke 04 in the third qualifying round to reach the group stage of Champions League. I think, all three clubs have equal chances to make it to the next round. Even I guess, PSV Eindhoven, Merseille and Atletico Madrid all are capable of producing hard challenges for English giant Liverpool. To be honest, I would term it Group of Death.

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