Watch Barcelona v Werder Bremen on Tuesday 5 December and Manchester United v Benfica on Wednesday 6 December live on www.rte.ie and RTÉ Two.
So Celtic are through to the knockout stages for the first time in their history after beating Manchester United 1-0 at Parkhead. It was a terrific performance and they’ve done really well to get where they are. Gordon Strachan has done a great job and the fans deserve it.
They’ve made life more difficult for Manchester United than it should have been too. They only need a draw against Benfica at home in their final group match but it could be a nervous night at Old Trafford. They ended United’s European hopes with a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon last year before seeing off Liverpool in the group stages.
They’ve made a mess of it really; wrong attitude, bad team selections, playing players out of position… Even when Alex Ferguson has picked his best team he’s played his best players out of position! Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs were played out of position against Celtic. It’s impossible to understand.
United should be ok and still qualify but it won’t be easy, it will be a testing match for them but some of Ferguson’s decision are hard to understand.
Arsenal have to travel to Porto needing a point but their hosts only need a point also so they may just settle for that. Arsenal are a young team and that’s why they blow hot and cold – they’re definitely a team for the next two or three years and not just now in terms of contending for major trophies.
Arsene Wenger continues to find young talent and that’s one of his best assets.
Liverpool are through as group winners with a game to spare but they were in a handy enough group. Their season continues with Europe talking on more importance as they’re not doing it in the league, but it’s hard to see them contending for anything serious. It’s been a very disappointing season for them.
Gerrard hasn’t played very well this year, although he’s starting to show form. He played well against PSV, scored a good goal, but he has to do it week in week out in the league.
The club’s not doing well and the players don’t seem happy and Steve’s captain and the most important player so the spotlight’s on, him but he’s a difficult player to work out for any manager – it's hard to find his right position.
His favoured position is in the centre but he did well on the right for them last season and he may have to continue that role for the time being now that Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez are injured.
Chelsea are through but they’ve left Barcelona with a tough match after losing to Werder Bremen in Germany. Barcelona entertain the Germans at the Nou Camp in their final group match needing a win. The European Champions aren’t playing as well as they were last year so that’s going to be a very interesting match.
Werder Bremen are a good side and well capable of going to Spain and getting the draw needed to knock the defending Champions out.
But this week has been about Celtic qualifying for the next phase. And credit has to go to their their players, manager and fans - it's a massive boost for the club.
