Following their narrow 2-1 loss to Anzhi Makhachkala at the weekend, Spartak coach Unai Emery must decide whether to give on-loan attacking midfielder Jurado a starting place in the team. The youngster’s creativity may be needed with Spartak playing at home, and the desperate need for points, especially given that Aiden McGeady is still injured.

The rest of the line-up will most likely be similar to the side that played on Saturday, with Rafael Carioca retaining his place in the team as Romulo is out for the long term, and Dmitri Kombarov likely to drop back to left-back. Sergei Parshivlyuk and Soslan Gatagov are still missing with knee injuries.

However, Juan Insaurralde serves a one-game ban following his red card on Matchday 2, meaning that 19-year-old starlet Sergey Bryzgalov will most likely take his place.

The visitors have almost a fully fit squad to choose from. With Luisao not playing due to his continuing ban, Jardel will continue at the back with Ezequiel Garay. In midfield Nemanja Matic will supply the robustness as Aimar, Gaitan and Carlos Martins try to provide the ammunition for Oscar Cardozo to fire home.

• Spartak Moscow lost their third successive league game when losing to Anzhi on Saturday – their worst run since November 2009.

• Spartak’s home record in the Champions League against teams from Portugal is W1 D2 L1.

• So far the Spartachi are without a point in Group G after two 3-2 defeats: away against Barcelona and at home to Celtic, as Spartak conceded a 2-1 lead in both games.

• Benfica have the unenvious record of being the team to have committed the most fouls so far in this season’s Champions League: 43 offences.

• The Eagles have scored 348 goals in total in the European Cup.

VAN THE MAN: RVP is in scintillating form for the Reds  (pic: Google)

It is Match Day Three in the Champions League on Tuesday night and victories for some of the tournament’s bigger names will almost assure them of qualification for the knock-out stages.

Manchester United v Braga (7:45pm, ITV1)

Sir Alex Ferguson seems to have his edge back when it comes to fighting for the European Cup. Manchester United currently top Group H having won their opening two games.

However, the Red Devils will need to be wary of a Sporting Braga team who have a knack for out-playing English opposition. Liverpool fell to the Portuguese giants in the 2010/11 Europa League tournament, while Birmingham had no reply when clashing with the club the following season.

One reassuring note for Manchester United fans is that the team hold a home record of eight wins and three draws against Portuguese opponents.

If the Red Devils increase this to nine wins on Tuesday night they’ll be nearly home and hosed in Group H.

Money Back Special: If there’s a goal in injury time, Paddy Power will refund all losing Next goalscorer bets on the match.

• Manchester United v Sporting Braga 

Shakhtar Donetsk v Chelsea (7:45pm, Sky Sports 4)

Chelsea are riding high in the Premier League and the reigning European champions will look to bring some of that swagger into Tuesday’s tie with Shakhtar Donetsk. A 2-2 draw (after leading 2-0) with Italian giants Juventus left them disappointed but thrashing FC Nordsjaelland 4-0 will have raised their spirits in Group E.

Roberto Di Matteo’s side are 15/8 to leave the Ukraine with another three points, even though Donetsk have taken the scalps of  Spurs and Arsenal before and are 7/5 to do the same again here.

• Shakhtar Donetsk v Chelsea

Spartak Moscow v Benfica (5:00pm, Sky Sports 2)

Spartak Moscow sit at the bottom of Group G after failing to register a single point from their opening two games, though Benfica haven’t fared much better and only have one point on the board.

Home advantage could  favour the Russians, who are 9/5 to record their first win of the campaign, though the fact they have only won once as hosts to Portuguese teams is sure to boost the spirits of Benfica. They are 6/4 to head back west with all three points secured.

• Betting: Spartak Moscow v Benfica 

Barcelona v Celtic (7:45pm, Sky Sports 2)

It’s hard not to skim over this fixture and think Barca win.  The Spanish giants are top of La Liga, scoring for fun and deserve to be long odds-on.  Celtic registered their first away win in the Champions League last time out against Sparta Moscow but have lost nine and drawn three against Spanish opposition over the years.

But Bhoys’ supporters still remember their team’s 1-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in an epic 2003/04 UEFA Cup fourth round tie.

It proved that miracles can happen in football though at 25/1 they may have to say their prayers for Celtic to repeat history at the Nou Camp.

• Betting: Barcelona v Celtic 

Champions League Matc Day 3: sdafsdgfd (pic: Graphic News)

BATE Borisov v Valencia (7:45pm, Sky Sports 4)

BATE Borisov. No we hadn’t heard anything about the Belarusian champions prior to this season’s Champions League either.

However,with powerful victories over Lille and Bayern Munich in Group F – suddenly the club is the talk of Europe. So can they overturn their six previous defeats against Spanish opposition and continue their phenomenal run against Valencia

Valencia look set to be their toughest challenge yet as they bid to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group F.

• Betting: BATE Borisov v Valencia 

FC Nordsjaelland v Juventus (7:45pm, Sky Sports 4)

The Danish champions are still searching for their first point in the Champions League, though trying to gain this against Juventus seems a bit cruel.

FC Nordsjaelland have home advantage but even at 4/11 a Juventus win seems the best play here.

• Betting: FC Nordsjaelland v Juventus 

Galatasaray v CFR Cluj (7:45pm, Sky Sports 4)

Galatasaray have to approach this tie with an ‘all or nothing’ mentality.

After defeats against Manchester United and Braga, the Turkish champions are propping up Group H against a CFR Cluj side who have won their last three Champions League away ties.

Despite this Galatasaray are 4/6 to turn their Champions League campaign around but the 9/2 about CFR Cluj to make it four wins out of four can’t be dismissed.

• Betting: Galatasary v CFR Cluj

Lille v Bayern Munich (7:45pm, Sky Sports 4)

The Germans got a major wake-up call after suffering a shock 3-1 defeat against BATE Borisov last time.

The face French opponents Lille on Tuesday night and in their 29 clashes with French opposition they’ve won 15 of these and lost nine

Bayern Munich are odds-on at 1/2 to beat Lille  who may be overpriced at 6/1 – especially on their home turf.

• Champions League coupon 

Author: Sergey Khudiev

June 20th, 2012

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/on-atheistic-fanaticism/

A Typical Attack

There are different ways to talk about religion and atheism. A deep, thorough discussion is possible, and I have had occasion to encounter serious, thoughtful atheists who are sincerely aspiring towards an honest and independent judgment. I am genuinely indebted to certain atheistic writers for helping me to acquire a most valuable habit: that of thought. However, a serious discussion about serious questions is often replaced by highfalutin propaganda designed for an audience that is ill-informed and, more regrettably, intellectually lazy. Both believers and atheists can become prone to such propaganda; it is harmful, first of all, in that it encourages and forms a habit of intellectual laziness and dishonesty.

In this article I would like to consider one of the clichés of atheist propaganda. A commonplace of this propaganda is the referral to crimes committed under the banner of religion: have a look, they say, at the madness to which faith in God leads. Therefore, this faith itself is foolish and harmful. This argument, which is repeated constantly, can be found in Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion, which “has had an enormous sales success” according to the BBC website. The arguments that Dawkins puts forward are wholly typical; therefore I will use his book to reply to one of the most typical atheistic arguments. Dawkins writes:

“In January 2006 I presented a two-part television documentary on British television (Channel Four) called Root of All Evil? From the start, I didn’t like the title and fought it hard. Religion is not the root of all evil, for no one thing is the root of all anything. But I was delighted with the advertisement that Channel Four put in the national newspapers. It was a picture of the Manhattan skyline with the caption ‘Imagine a world without religion.’ What was the connection? The twin towers of the World Trade Center were conspicuously present.

“Imagine, with John Lennon, a world with no religion. Imagine no suicide bombers, no 9/11, no 7/7, no Crusades, no witch-hunts, no Gunpowder Plot, no Indian partition, no Israeli/Palestinian wars, no Serb/Croat/Muslim massacres, no persecution of Jews as ‘Christ-killers,’ no Northern Ireland ‘trouble,’ no ‘honour killings,’ no shiny-suited bouffant-haired televangelists fleecing gullible people of their money (‘God wants you to give till it hurts’). Imagine no Taliban to blow up ancient statues, no public beheadings of blasphemers, no flogging of female skin for the crime of showing an inch of it.”

One can, generally speaking, agree that in a world without religion there would be no Talibans destroying Buddhist statues, for lack of Buddhism; and no one would have persecuted the Jews, because there would be no Jews. The same goes for other peoples, civilizations, and cultures created by religions. However, so far as I understand, the author is not so much speaking about this, but rather stating that religion, in his opinion, is the source of all this evil. The author does not know that “honour killings” or militant nationalism can manage perfectly well without any religion; he seems inclined to attribute all evil taking place in non-atheistic societies to religion. Dawkins writes in his book: “we have a pusillanimous reluctance to use religious names for warring factions. In Northern Island, Catholics and Protestants are euphemized to ‘Nationalists’ and ‘Loyalists’ respectively. The very word ‘religion’ is bowdlerized to ‘communities,’ as in ‘inner-community warfare.’”

I would note parenthetically that many participants in the Northern Ireland conflict (as is the case in many other conflicts) are just as much atheists as Dawkins; for them, “Catholic” and “Protestant” signifies their national self-identification. We can, however, equally well turn the accusation of having a “pusillanimous reluctance” to call things by their names against Dawkins himself.

In fact, we know what we are talking about when it comes to fanaticism, intolerance, and persecution for convictions. Our country (Russia) has suffered a great deal from fanaticism and intolerance – more so, I think, than any other country in the world, with the exception of Cambodia. The horror of these events should never be forgotten. We should preserve the memory of them as unyieldingly as the Jews have preserved the memory of the horrors of the Holocaust – because the words “he who forgets the lessons of history is doomed to repeat them” are not only sobering, but actually true. We should remember the victims of fanaticism who were shot in the back of the head, who were chopped to pieces, who were starved to death, or who were killed in many other ways; we should remember the works of culture and art destroyed by fanatics; we should remember that these fanatics created one of the most horrible tyrannies in history. Moreover, we should remember that this fanaticism was atheistic.

It was not churchmen who shot atheists at Butovo; it was exactly the other way around. The historical reality is that atheistic fanatics have killed far more people than Islamic extremists and the Inquisition combined. By this I do not mean to say that all atheists are completely bloodthirsty fanatics – that is not the case – but only to draw attention to the fact that one of the most devastating forms of fanaticism, Bolshevism, was in fact atheistic. Therefore, to think that hatred, fanaticism, and persecution to be the products of religion – and, moreover, to recommend atheism as a remedy for all these calamities – would mean declaring the entire history of twentieth-century Russia (and not just Russia) to be non-existent. Dawkins writes: “What matters is not whether Hitler and Stalin were atheists, but whether atheism systematically influences people to do bad things. There is not the smallest evidence that it does.”

Both in our country, and in others, people who loudly proclaimed their atheistic convictions persecuted believers with the specific purpose of imposing atheism and eradicating religion. When people burned down churches and killed priests and laity ­– here, in Mexico, and in many other places – they did so precisely under the banner of atheism. But for Dawkins (and those with him) “there is not the slightest evidence” that atheism influences people to do bad things. What can one say to this? Dawkins reproaches Protestant fundamentalists for not being convinced of the reality of evolution by any evidence whatsoever while he, as an honest scholar, is always ready to reconsider his views. But the theory of evolution is still a theory describing facts, while atheistic persecution is a fact in itself. The multitude of Russian, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese (and many other) new martyrs – whose names and circumstances of death are often well known – who suffered precisely from atheists and precisely for faith do not exist for Dawkins. I do not think that Dawkins is consciously lying. It would be wrong to imagine him slyly winking while muttering to himself: “Great! I’ve deceived these foolish readers of mine!” I think he believes himself in exactly the same way that, for instance, the revisionist David Irving is sincere in his denial of the Holocaust. Someone can simply completely ignore anything that does not fit into his picture of the world, regardless of whether he is a believer or an atheist. Atheism is by no means a cure for all this.

The “argument from historical atrocities” sounded fairly impressive from the mouths of, say, the figures of the Enlightenment. They (and their audience) had no point of comparison. But soon Europe saw no fewer spectacular crimes committed under the banner of Enlightenment and Reason. General Turreau and his colonnes infernales [“infernal columns”] engaged in Franco-French genocide in Vendee. Revolutionary soldiers began to shoot nuns for refusing to renounce their vows. Since then, the experience of French, Spanish, Mexican, and especially Russian atheism has demonstrated that fanatical persecution, massacre, tyranny, and witch hunts have been perpetrated under anti-religious banners on a much larger scale than under religious banners.

There is an obvious method for establishing whether factor X is responsible for phenomenon Y: does this phenomenon continue following the removal of the factor? If we get rid of killer doctors, but patients continue to get worse, then we have probably wrongly accused the doctors; if a suspect is arrested and executed, but the serial killings continue, that means that we had the wrong man; if, finally, we get rid of religion and believers, but the disasters and atrocities previously ascribed to religion not only do not end, but grow even larger in scale, then that means religion was not the problem. If atrocities in situations in which it is absolutely impossible to blame religion have only grown worse, this means that religion was by no means the cause of the atrocities. Recognition of this does not mean rejecting atheism as such; it means a rejection of a phobia along the lines of “all things bad, all things sinister, come from the crafty minister.”[1] This also means a more sober – that is, a more pessimistic – view of human nature.

Some Objections

In discussions on the Russian Internet, people often say that Communism is a religious surrogate and that Communists cannot be considered atheists in the strict sense of the word: Holy Scripture was replaced by the works of the Founders of Communism, the Martyrs and Saints by the fallen fighters for the People’s Happiness, and religious ritual by Communist ritual. Here it is important to avoid a confusion of terms. Richard Dawkins himself is such an ardent and zealous missionary of atheism that some of his fellow atheists ask him: “Doesn’t your hostility mark you out as a fundamentalist atheist, just as fundamentalist in your own way as the wingnuts of the Bible Belt in theirs?”

Dawkins displays certain features that we are accustomed to see in religious people (and, I would add parenthetically, not in the best of them) – so does he thereby cease being an atheist? Can we declare that, say, a patriot who honours his flag or a politician deeply committed to his party is a believer? Are Spartak fans believers in a Spartak cult? Theoretically, we can declare anyone a believer, but then we lose the very meaning of the words “religion” and “atheism.”

Therefore, let us use these words in their dictionary meaning. In the dictionary meaning of the word, Communists were atheists, adherents of a secular ideology that included militant atheism as a mandatory component; according to that same dictionary meaning, they were by no means religious. As T. P. Samsonov, head of the secret unit of the Cheka, wrote to F. E. Dzerzhinsky, director of the Cheka, on December 4, 1920:

“Comrade Latsis is profoundly correct when he says that Communism and Religion are mutually exclusive; he is also profoundly correct in saying that religion can be destroyed by no other apparatus than by the Cheka.”

If we use the words “religion” and “atheism” arbitrarily, then we can of course assert anything we want: but such affirmations would be meaningless, as argued above.

Does one need to hold on to a worthless argument?

I would like to be understood correctly. I am not going to say something along the lines of “atheists killed millions of people, so let them now keep mum.” I do not think that any one group of people – including atheists– can be blamed for the crimes of others. The majority of my atheistic opponents has never harmed anyone and does not approve of doing harm. Moreover, I do not question the right of atheists to challenge my faith; I think that arguing about faith is an essential part of the search for faith. But right now I am not talking about faith, but about basic intellectual honesty.

I acknowledge that depraved people can use religion for depraved ends; and, moreover, that even sincere believers can sin and err horribly. I do not consider this as evidence against the Gospel: it is in the Gospel itself that the Saviour says: the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service (John 16:2); and that He in fact never knew some of those who prophesized in His name (cf. Matthew 7:23). Scripture does not promise the Church either the purity or personal sinlessness of its members, but rather prepares us for the contrary.

Although a good deal can be attributed to “malicious libel” and propagandistic exaggerations, the history of the Church has witnessed many sins; God is not working with clay figures, but with sinful people living in a sinful society. Grave atrocities and injustices have indeed been committed under the banner of Christianity and I have no intention to justify them.

It seems to me that it would be natural for atheists also to admit that, yes, mass atrocities have been committed under the banner of atheism; that there have been bigots of the darkest kind among atheists; and that atheism by no means insures its adherents against hatred, fanaticism, or blind trust in leaders. Some atheists do admit this. Valery Kuvakin, for example, writes that any idea – including the ideas of atheism and secular humanism – can be distorted in the most anti-human manner. Acknowledgment of the fact that more blood has been shed under the banner of atheistic ideology than under that of religion does not imply acceptance of the reality of God’s existence. One can remain an atheist – in the sense of not recognizing a supernatural reality – and still acknowledge these crimes. However, for a certain type of atheist, such an acknowledgment is unacceptable – and this, I think, is the line between atheism as a worldview and atheism as a phobia, between argumentation and propaganda, and between the desire for understanding and the desire for simple (and false) answers.

Two sides of atheism

In such a multifaceted phenomenon as atheism, one can distinguish two sides: I would call them atheism-as-worldview and atheism-as-phobia. Someone might suppose that there is no God and that anyone who believes that there is, and who worships Him, is mistaken. Such a conviction, generally speaking, does not necessarily imply hostility to faith and to believers. This kind of atheist might show tolerance (“well, let them do as they wish”) or even benevolence (“it benefits society”) towards faith and believers. Such atheism could still be called “non-militant.” I would not claim that lack of belief in God induces people to persecute their neighbours. I simply want to point out that atheism does not in the least insure one against falling into fanaticism, hypocrisy, and completely ignoring unpleasant facts – vices that atheistic propaganda has traditionally described as specifically religious.

Atheism-as-phobia repeats the common features of phobias in general, whether national or confessional, and the similarity of this kind of atheism with anti-Semitism, for example, has been frequently remarked upon. A certain group of people is declared to be the source of all misfortune and calamity and a great threat to society; the history of this group is described as criminal; and the more repellent members of this group (“the Jewish commissar,” “the Islamic terrorist,” “the greedy televangelist,” “the depraved monk”) are put forward as typical representatives characteristic of the group as a whole.

I have seen an intelligent, gentle preacher of atheism who was himself horrified by seeing how the people listening to him turned his views into a primitive hatred towards faith and believers. He did not have this in mind at all. But – and it seems that he lost sight of this – there is a demand for phobias; people will take material from wherever they can, including from him. There is always a definite demand for an explanation of where all misfortune and calamity comes from, of who drank all the water from the faucet.[2] In the dark recesses of the human psyche – alas! – there is something that responds eagerly to the temptation of fitting reality into a simple scheme in which certain people – Jews, Muslims, Americans, Russians, churchmen, cyclists – are declared to be the root of world evil. A refined philosophical discussion about the strength of the proofs for God’s existence will hardly attract many supporters; but storm and stress, bold generalizations, broad strokes – and, most importantly, the proffering of an enemy that can be despised, feared, and hated – will. This is, after all, a respectable and socially approved phobia.

That the atheistic regimes of the twentieth century in fact demonstrated a fanatical passion for persecution, witch-hunts, and the cruel suppression of dissent – of everything that atheistic propaganda has accused religion – is precisely what this phobia renders impossible to admit. This alone does not disprove the thesis that “there is no God.” But it does wholly disprove the thesis that “all things bad, all things sinister, come from the crafty minister.” But there are those who cannot put aside this phobia.

This kind of dishonesty is all the more regrettable given that nothing critical for affirming one’s own atheistic position is found therein. Admitting the reality of atheistic fanaticism does not necessitate rejecting atheism; but it does necessitate giving up the primitive picture that “all things bad, all things sinister, come from the crafty minister.” Once these crafty ministers had been gotten rid of – and even in the process of getting rid of them – misfortune and trouble only multiplied.

(This article was originally written in Russian)

PRAGUE – Veteran goaltender Dominik Hasek appears to be done with ice hockey after giving up hope of returning to the NHL once again.

The 47-year-old goalie resumed training ahead of this season hoping to get picked up by an NHL club, but told Czech daily Sport on Tuesday that it is “very unlikely” he would play again after no team offered him a contract amid the current lockout.

Known as the “Dominator,” he was twice named the NHL’s most valuable player, and took home the Vezina Trophy six times.

Hasek announced his retirement in 2002 after winning his first Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, but came back and then retired from the NHL again in 2008.

At 45, however, he led his hometown club Pardubice to the Czech league title and then played a season for Spartak Moscow in the KHL.

-=From The Canadian Press=-

Original story here: http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=407040

Quincy Owusu Abeyie

Ghana midfielder Quincy Owusu Abeyie says he enjoyed his spell in Russia despite suffering racist abuse in the country’s top-flight.

The Panathinaikos player has earned a reputation as a journeyman since he left Arsenal, representing no fewer than eight teams since moving on from London in 2006.

The Ghanaian has had spells at Spartak Moscow, Al-Sadd, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Celta Vigo and Malaga. The “maddest” experience during his globe-trotting was his spell at Spartak Moscow, where he played for two years before being sent out on loan four times.

He was subjected to racism in the Russian capital, but prefers to gloss over the problem. “Yes, I had that problem once or twice,” he added.
“But I just overlooked it. I was there to play football.

“(The racism) didn’t bother me. I just kept my head down. “It was hard for me to go to Russia. I went there, played two seasons and it was a great experience.”

http://sports.peacefmonline.com/soccer/201210/138743.php

In case you missed it, what actually transpired was a 3-2 victory for Milan.  I was extremely upset.  I’m still extremely upset.  Here goes my venting.  Here’s 5 reasons, in ascending order, that Zenit lost.

5.  The Petrovskiy

This isn’t a real reason they lost, I’m just using this as a platform to whine about the stadium situation.  Coming into the match, Zenit were unbeaten at home in Europe going back to 2008 (16 matches; a loss to Real Madrid).  The fans were ridiculously loud, and in full voice until Tomas Hubocan’s own goal (as were Zenit fans all over the world, including in San Jose, CA).  The pitch wasn’t as wonderfully hellish as it was last year against Benfica, but it was satisfyingly frosty for early October.  And yet something was missing.

The Petrovskiy is a sweet ground, and it’s one with a great culture.  But Zenit desperately need to get their new stadium done.  20,000 fans just doesn’t cut it if they want to be a real elite club, no matter how loud they sing.  And there’s just something about the exposed bowl and the blue track that screams 2nd-tier.

After the embarrassing encounter with President Medvedev (http://en.rian.ru/sports/20120901/175555832.html), the stadium seems once again dead in the water.  Gazprom, please, this club is on course to be one of the best in Europe, and you can make it all come crashing down if you continue to piss around when it comes to the stadium.  Just get it done!

4. God

This might be higher on my list if I hadn’t decided to include #3.  Anyways, obviously God hates Russians.  Atila the Hun, the Mongols, Ivan the Terrible, Every other Czar, over 3 million dead in WWI, Joseph Stalin, over 23 million dead in WWII, the gulags, the mafia… the Big Guy is obviously out to get Russia.  Tonight he really did beautifully.  The first goal was just sucky.  It was a sucky free kick, a sucky deflection, and it sucked going in.  It made me want to gouge my eyeballs out, terminator style.

Of course, the divine intervention wasn’t done just yet.  No, because UEFA didn’t credit the first as an own goal, God decided he’d give those knuckleheads over at UEFA an own-goal they couldn’t miss.  So just as Hubocan shimmied into place to make a simple clearance, God saw fit to freeze time, move the ball a few inches, and then resume the world.  The result was a stupendous ricochet that looked like something out of AYSO u12 (sorry, Ozzie) and ended up in the Zenit goal.  I shouldn’t patronize the Eternal One too much, though, because I’m typing on my blog in the middle of Shabbat dinner.  Speaking of which, Ill finish this post up later.  Oh, the suspense.

3. That Bald Guy

“I am not ashamed to proclaim my political beliefs. I share [the] ideals of fascism, such as the fatherland and the values of the Catholic religion.” – Christian Abbiati
Yeah, that’s the butt-head who decided to go all Facist-Ninja on Zenit’s chances.  He’s also the guy who edged out God for #3 on my list, with a series of ludicrous saves.  He parried a Lombaerts header, dove to tip over a knuckling/corking long ranger from Hulk, stopping a Shirokov header on the goal-line, and made that stupidly impressive save off of Hulks low free-kick.  After being quieter in the second half, he was called into action in the games waning moments as Aleksandr Anyukov ripped a volley goalwards, only to be denied by a sprawling airborne Abbiati.

God I hate fascists.

2. “No. I’m not here.”

In 2005, then Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss was asked about a rumor that Oakland might acquire Terrell Owens.  ”Am I here, or am I not here?”, Moss responded.  ”…uhm… you’re here, Randy” muttered an exceptionally brave reporter.  ”No.” said Moss “I’m not here”.

Obviously, none of Zenit’s players are as… outspoken as Moss or T-O, but the issue is similar.  In football, there is an invisible elephant in the room issue that many teams face: not enough balls to go around.  While many will tell you that not enough balls to go around is a completely made up problem in football, I think it is something that affected Zenit on Wednesday.

Nearly every attack that Zenitchiki threw at Milan was funneled through Hulk.  Strategically looking at things, 2 goals isn’t too shabby, especially considering how the Facist-Ninja played in goal.  Tactically looking at things, Hulk was pretty darn good, he had a goal and an assist, and was robbed by Abbiati of more.  Something that really pissed me off though, was at about 80 minutes when the announcers (who btw obviously knew nothing about Zenit) commented on how poor a match Aleksandr Kerzhakov was having.

Along with Samuel Eto’o, Kerzhakov is the best striker in the Russian Premier League.  He is also a regular for the Russian national team, recently scoring a brace in a world cup qualifier at the Ramat Gan against Israel.  But he’s not an Inzaghi type striker who can touch the ball 3 times a match and have a hat-trick; in fact Kerzhakov is quite the opposite.  The Saint Petersburg bred forward is at his best when he is drifting towards the midfield, getting touches on the ball and involved in the team’s movement.  Basically, in the past the attack has always funneled through both Kerzhakov and Danny, and there was never really a problem with this.  Against Milan, though, I thought there was a problem with Kerzhakov not seeing enough of the ball, as it was consistently swung towards the sideline and a waiting Hulk.

I’m not sure if this was just a one-match thing, because it hasn’t really been a problem domestically.  I’m afraid that it will come up again in Europe, though, especially if Zenit find themselves trailing again.  Oh yeah, one more thing, that guy Danny is still out.  We’ll see if his return complicates matters, because I’m not convinced right now that there are enough balls to go around at the Petrovskiy.

Remember, Kerzhakov was one of two players very upset with the wages being paid to Hulk and Axel Witsel (who, btw, played like poop and probably deserves a place on this list). Who was the other one again?

1. Igor

Is Igor Denisov Zenit’s best player? No. He might not even be one of their 5 best players. But he is far and away the most important part of the team.  Denisov is a force of nature at defensive center-mid.  When he’s not roaming forward picking up fortuitous goals and assists, Denisov holds down the fort while Zenit unleash a ruthless 5 man onslaught from their ranks (Hulk, Kerzhakov, Witsel, Shirokov, Fayzulin, Bystrov, Danny, Lazovic, Bukharov, Zyryanov, Semak; take your pick).  But however potent the attack, it can never compare to the ferocity with which Denisov defends.  You can count on the Russia captain to make crazy tackles touch line to touch line in front of the back four.

Off the field, Denisov has a hobby of punching people, although this sometimes translates to the training ground where he has a habit of punching his own coaches.  This once translated into a match, when he went after a Spartak Moscow coach.  Needless to say, the initial attack and ensuing brawl made him just that much awesomer (for those who aren’t aware, Spartak sucks).

Along with Kerzhakov, Denisov advertised particular disappointment with the wages of the new signings.  Both protesters were sent to the reserves, however the striker was reinstated in time to face Milan.  Igor Denisov was not.

Despite all the unlucky bounces, all the silly saves, and the dull routine of the attack, there is one image that I will always remember from this match above all.  As Stephan El Shaarawy blew past lethargic blue shirts left and right in the 16th minute, I kept expecting Denisov to come flying in, jar the ball loose, and send the unruly teenager tumbling.  Again and again, I backed up the game.  Every time I watched the play, I expected Denisov to arrive, but the tackle never came.  In 10 years, I might not remember El Shaarawy jabbing the ball past Malafeev and in, but I know I will always remember the tackle from Denisov that never came that night at the Petrovskiy.

Le Classique between Marseille and PSG is one of four derby fixtures in Europe this Sunday

A Summer of sport to remember. That’s what will stand out when looking back at the year 2012. And of all the sporting events it is the London Olympics and Paralympics that will dominate the memory more than any other.

At the height of its command of a fascinated viewing public, BBC’s coverage unleashed Super Saturday – a day of British achievement so good that you’d think it had been scripted. But, for once, the storyline was true and a nation admired the sparkling efforts of Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford for the Team GB cause. A Saturday so absorbing, emotional and downright uplifting that the day was afforded its aforementioned adjective.

With the images, noise and drama still fresh in the mind from an exhilarating Olympics it was the turn of the Paralympics to take centre stage. A quieter build-up introduced the ‘superhuman’ spectacle onto our screens and Channel 4 was rewarded for its hard work in promoting the second instalment of the Games with its own day of domestic destiny. Ellie Simmonds swam faster than the competition, blade-runner, Richard Whitehead, stormed to victory in the 200m and Natasha Baker won her dressage event.

On the same day, husband and wife pairing, Barney and Sarah Storey won the highest accolade in their events; Barney succeeding with partner, Neil Fachie, and Sarah, individually, in the cycling. It was Britain’s most successful day in the history of the Games and was quickly dubbed ‘Super Saturday 2’ in a nod to Britain’s most notable and dramatic 24 hours in the Olympics.

The Olympics & Paralympics elate like no other but, alas, are gone too soon

Olympic and Paralympic Fever had swept Britain and, in the wake of the awe-inspiring competitions, commentators and the public alike moved to denounce football for its supposed opulence and greed in the professional ranks. The rhetoric contended that the humble, honest Olympians and Paralympians were deserving of the lavish praise heaped on them whilst footballers, forever earning bad press for their vulgar lifestyles, were less deserving of the public’s time and money.

But the four-year pinnacle of man’s attempts to enthral through ever-improving physical endurance and skill in a country fortunate enough to host these everyday heroes is a brief and intense sensation not long enough to satisfy a sports-hungry nation like ours. The Games are the ice cream surprise replete with sparklers that you’re treated to every once in a while to football’s bread and butter. And without the bread and butter, as befits the traditional advice, you get no dessert.

The football season has kicked off again and the tide of resentment towards the national game has subsided as the public’s love/hate relationship with the sport effortlessly sifts back into our culture. Supporters bemoan ticket prices yet attendances are high, players are despised and idolised in equal measure (none more so than John Terry) and divisions are formed between those whose first language is football and those who shudder at the very mention of the game.

It’s a reassuringly predictable state of affairs and indicative of a large part of British culture in the 21st Century. In embracing the very best aspects of our own identity the scope to branch outside of these isles and appreciate developments taking place around the world gets diminished.

What was noticeable about the coverage of the 2012 London Games was the overtly British slant to the broadcasts which engendered a feelgood factor across the UK that has rarely been experienced since the turn of the Millennium. Team GB heroes were loudly lauded and splashed across as large a surface area of print as they could possibly be afforded. A welcome process for a nation short on such ebullient patriotism like the US, and thankfully so. But, aside from the long-legged brilliance of Usain Bolt, who remembers the other non-British medal winners.

Of course, there are the students of sport who’d probably be able to name every single dressage bronze medallist since 1948 but, for the vast majority, the enduring images will be those of Ennis tearing up on the podium and Jonnie Peacock raucously celebrating a powerful surge of pace for gold. Both brilliant moments and deserving of their elevated places in recent sporting history but replayed a million times and designed to increase national pride in a recession-hit public.

Football incorporates a melting pot of nationalities in our game but for those not playing within Britain’s parameters, their efforts can often go unnoticed. This Sunday, four derby fixtures take place on the continent and it would be rude to ignore the undoubted high-adrenaline drama these games are sure to provide as football showcases the very best of regional encounters that generate atmospheres quite unlike any other sporting contest.

The day’s exciting schedule starts at 3pm (6pm local time) in Moscow as Spartak host CSKA in Russia’s most eagerly-anticipated football fixture. Attendances can sometimes belie the country’s genuine appetite for football – partially due to every top-flight game being shown on terrestrial television – but for two days every season supporters from all around the country stop to catch the Luzhniki Stadium accommodate the largest crowd of the season for a game between two of the best sides in Russia.

The scoreboard’s ready but who’ll claim Moscow pride?

Since CSKA’s two championship wins in 2005 and 2006 the teams have swapped the end-of-season bragging rights equally as Zenit St Petersburg and Rubin Kazan have become the dominant forces in Russian football. Last season’s one-off 44-game marathon saw Spartak pip CSKA to Champions League qualification in second place. The achievement doesn’t look set to spur Unai Emery’s team onto greater success and their European adventure looks set to end at the first round proper after a double dosage of 3-2 reverses to Barcelona and, latterly, Celtic.

With no club yet to obviously set the pace in the Russian Premier League, Spartak’s inconsistency has not been fully punished and The Meat find themselves in fifth place and four points behind leaders, Anzhi Makachkala, before Sunday’s game. CSKA couldn’t even make it to the group stage of the Europa League after falling to Swedish side, AIK Solna, in the qualifying rounds.

The Army Men’s Swedish surrender looks to have been a blessing-in-disguise as, without European distractions affecting their league campaign, CSKA have recovered from two early defeats in the season to string together the most consistent run of form in the league before Dinamo Moscow won 2-0 at their temporarily-shared Arena Khimki last week. The recent pattern of Moscow supremacy suggests CSKA will finish above their bitter rivals and the two more points secured over Spartak, though a slim advantage, looks likely to increase over the season. But, Sunday’s game at the Luzhniki will be a fierce and unpredictable tie, and perhaps prove me wrong in the most compelling of fashions.

At 6.50pm, a global audience will take in ‘El Classico’ and sit glued to their screens as Barcelona host Real Madrid at the imposing footballing mecca that is the CampNou. Not a derby in the true geographical sense of the word, this rivalry has grown in popularity since the personal battle of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has been waged. Generally considered the two best footballers in the world, with Neymar also touted for the honour by some, the annual red, blue and white explosion of passion and worldwide interest has taken on an extra subplot to an already fascinating mix of national and regional pride in España.

The San Siro will be split in half at 7.45pm as AC Milan and Internazionale commence battle to claim the most treasured win in Italy’s fashion capital. ‘Home’ team Milan currently sit in 11th position after six games which have yielded just the one clean sheet. Defeats to Sampdoria, Atalanta and Udinese have had supporters of the Rossoneri squirming in their seats although Wednesday’s away victory at Zenit St Petersburg will have placated the voices of dissent to a certain extent.

Stephan El-Shaarawy – a potential match-winner in Milan

Massimiliano Allegri’s side features a potential gem of the future in Stephan El-Shaarawy and will be aware of the need to ease fears that AC will not challenge for the title. Inter moved up to third after securing their first home win of the Serie A season against Fiorentina and will hope the San Siro is a happy hunting ground once again as they look to trouble the early pacesetters of last year’s champions, Juventus, and the Edison Cavani-inspired Napoli.

Finally, France beckons Le Classique between Marseilles and Paris Saint-Germain at 8pm. The derby is directly modelled on the aforementioned El Classico and pits the country’s two most prestigious clubs together in a match renowned for its special atmosphere. It’s more than city v city as the affair is seen as a north v south encounter. PSG travel to the chief capital of southern France on Sunday and, adding to the intrigue, whoever wins will sit on top of the tree in Ligue 1.

It looks set to be a wonderful assortment of football and whether it’s borsch, paella, pizza or a baguette you’re after, you’re unlikely to be disappointed. Don’t miss out on a running order of Olympic proportions. Tuck in.

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrey_belt

The Iron Curtain did more than just separate Europe politically. It drove a wedge in a footballing sense too. In the entire history of the continent’s senior club competition only two teams from the east, Steaua Bucharest and Red Star Belgrade, have emerged triumphant, and both did so in the years immediately preceding the fall of communism. In the old Soviet Union the situation is even worse. No team from within this vast tract of land has so much as reached the final. Many of these sides represented workers groups in particular industries, while others had more sinister affiliations with the army and secret police. Now, the situation could not be more different. A new middle class grown fat on the ownership of formerly state controlled utilities such as oil and gas is moving into the sporting arena, investing in clubs and using financial incentives to lure top players from abroad. It may not be long before the grim statistics of underachievement are swept away. But exactly how far are we from the day when the Champions League trophy finally crosses this great divide?

Both Russia and Ukraine each have two representatives in the group stages of this year’s tournament, so I thought I would spend the second round of fixtures taking a closer look at where they currently stand. And the first revelation is in the cosmopolitan composition of the teams. We are conditioned to overwhelmingly white, technically gifted yet ruthlessly drilled outfits presided over by stern faced coaches with all the charisma of a Politburo official. Not any more. Spartak Moscow, who kicked off the week’s entertainment, fielded just three domestic players in their starting line-up. As well as four Latin Americans, they had a Swedish playmaker, a Nigerian forward, a Dutchman and even an Irishman, and were guided from the dug-out by Unai Emery, last seen patrolling La Liga touchlines with Valencia. Shakhtar Donetsk appeared to have implemented a policy of buying Brazilian to augment their home grown products, and had a Romanian in charge. Likewise Zenit St Petersburg, who included ex-Porto striker Hulk and could afford to leave regular Portugal international Bruno Alves on the bench, and Dynamo Kiev, with four Africans on their books, also highlight this trend.

Spartak Moscow striker Ari sums up the mood of the evening

Perhaps I caught Spartak on a bad night, for it was difficult to believe that they had run the mighty Barcelona close at the Nou Camp in their opening match. Though several of their players showed a neat touch, no better exemplified than in their equalising goal when Kallstrom’s expertly weighted diagonal ball was cushioned by Ari into the path of Emenike, they repeatedly failed to capitalise on the possession turned over all too readily by their Scottish opponents, Celtic. Furthermore, they were vulnerable to the movement of Hooper and to counter attacking down the flanks, their full backs looking hesitant when passes were played in behind to chase. Once Insaurralde was correctly dismissed their defensive concerns only multiplied.

The artificial surface at the Luzhniki Stadium did neither side any favours. Technologies might have progressed since the exaggerated bounce of Loftus Road in the 1980s, but the football rattles rather than rolls over the ground, an observation given more clarity by lower level camera shots. You winced every time a player twisted or changed direction sharply. I find it odd that UEFA, so reticent in other matters, allows this state of affairs. Another throwback was Celtic’s 3-2 success, their first European Cup win away from Glasgow since Perestroika first hit these parts.

Zenit should be better bet to go further. They are after all the Russian Champions and reside in a group with a susceptible favourite in AC Milan, who provided their opposition on Wednesday. They are discovering the hard way though that riches do not necessarily bring any guarantees, their heavy spending creating fissures in the dressing room, and this was reflected in a disjointed exhibition as they quickly fell two behind. A lack of pace in rear was exploited by the Rossoneri, whose wingers were both able to bring the ball inside onto their stronger foot. The Italians are fragile themselves and as the hosts’ midfield three gradually asserted, we got an impression of their potential. Without a distinguished contribution from goalkeeper Abbiati, Zenit would have more than turned matters around, Hulk proving a muscular presence and scaring the back line with his belligerence. It was more open than anticipated and this was a consequence of some ordinary defending. A major scalp was there for the taking but the offer was spurned, and a decisive late own goal left another Russian side propping up their section.

If my admittedly restricted sample is anything to go by, Shakhtar Donetsk will carry expectations most assuredly. By chance I had stumbled across one of the games of the week as the team in orange and black stripes tore into Juventus, whose compact new home welcomed them as its maiden guests in the competition. Set up 4-2-3-1, time and again the visitors got midfield runners in advance of the front man Luis Adriano, with Willian a constant threat as Vidal struggled to shut down their snappy passing. Wide men Srno and Rat were given sufficient cover to make rapid incursions into the attacking half, giving Shakhtar an extra man at times and causing immense discomfort among the crowd.

No doubt mindful of how Juve eventually forced Chelsea deep at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago, the Ukrainian team declined to slacken the pace, continued to probe and were consistently dangerous. When asked questions at the back, they suffocated their opponents with tight man marking. It was a rousing encounter, ending all-square, and an unexpectedly vivacious display. Yet consistency counts for so much. Shakhtar will need to repeat their heroics when the teams next meet, and before then a double header against the holders awaits. For all the quality they demonstrated, they are still third favourites to get out of the group. Quarter-finalists two years ago, they definitely have a chance to emulate that performance, but the odds must be against.

Willian of Shakhtar Donetsk forces Buffon into action

Compatriots Dynamo Kiev have had a lean spell and their clash with Zagreb was more about the consolation prize of dropping into the Europa League. It was correspondingly poor fare; Oleg Blokhin has taken over the reins and will soon relinquish his role with the national side to concentrate on restoring their reputation. They are a long way short at this level. Ironically, the most eye-catching result involving a club from the far-flung reaches of the continent came from BATE Borisov of Belarus. Thanks to the imbalance of resources created by successive qualifications for this top-tier event, they are now the dominant force in their own country and are beginning to flex that muscle outside their borders. In their coliseum-like home they downed Bayern Munich, last season’s beaten finalists, and with maximum points from two games they might be as good a hope as any Eastern contender to lay down a marker.

But still, progression to the knockout stages probably remains the yardstick, and that is some distance from where these newly moneyed institutions aspire to be. The Russians have brought their season into line with the established nations to avoid being disadvantaged by the divergent calendars. Despite the salaries on offer, the glamour of England, Spain, Italy and Germany still holds sway when it comes to player recruitment. Geography is a limiting factor, both in terms of travelling between matches and the harshness of the winters. There are ongoing issues concerning racism and hooliganism, and the whiff of corruption, a legacy of the turbulent past, has not been completely eradicated. However, change is afoot and as the region develops, so its football clubs are likely to attain greater prominence. On the basis of what we have seen, they are not ready to challenge seriously yet, and Financial Fair Play regulations should prevent them ripping up the entrenched order with undue haste, so we might have a wait a good deal longer before we first see the trophy engraved in Cyrillic.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon celebrates with Johan Mjallby and Gary Parker

Remember the night- Tuesday October 2, 2012, the night that Celtic Football Club won its first ever away match in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Celtic, a club enriched in so much history and tradition, still reigns as one of the biggest clubs in world football despite the financial difficulties that face Scottish football these days. Yet for one so huge, the club’s European away record in recent years has been abysmal at best. An embarrassing defeat against Danish side Aalborg springs to mind, as well as the unforgettable 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Artmedia Bratislava after which ex-manager Gordon Strachan deemed his “worst night in football.”   Well that bogey was diminished once and for all when Neil Lennon’s side travelled to the intimidating Luzhniki Stadium venue to take on Russian giants Spartak Moscow- and in some style.

Spartak winger Aiden McGeady lined up against his former club

A performance of true grit and spirit saw the Glasgow club break its duck and defeat the opponents by 3 goals to 2. Celtic had lined up against former fan favourite and ex-winger Aiden McGeady (above), now a regular in Giovanni Trappatoni’s Republic of Ireland team. He had even said prior to the game that the match would be “strange” for him. McGeady made a total of 185 appearances in the green and white hoops, scoring 31 times, including a goal on his senior debut against Hearts back in April 2004 when Martin O’Neil was still manager. A Celtic fan at heart, the winger’s cheeky taunt at Rangers back in 2008 when Celtic secured a third successive league title on the last day of the season, will undoubtedly always be remembered in Glasgow’s East End.

Celtic striker and goalscorer on the night Gary Hooper hurdles a challenge

However on the night McGeady didn’t make the impact he would have wanted to and Celtic took advantage. In the 12th minute, English striker Gary Hooper (above) deftly flicked Mikael Lustig’s cross into the net to give the Glasgow side an unlikely lead. Hooper, who was a thorn in Spartak’s side all night long with his pace and touch, will surely be catching the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson with performances like this on the big stage. Yet four minutes before half time a sucker punch came. Kim Kallstrom floated a long diagonal in behind Kelvin Wilson of which Moscow striker Ari knocked down for Emmanual Emenike to steer home past Fraser Forster.

That took us to deadlock at half time and 3 minutes after the break Celtic’s defence switched off, with a square ball across goal leading to another Emenike tap in. This prompted scenes of disgust from the sidelines as passionate Lennon lambasted his defence for a lack of concentration. What’s more, Celtic were staring down the barrel again and that oh so familiar feeling of deja vu had returned.

Celtic captain Scott Brown tries to get away from Kim Kallstrom in Moscow

However, just after the hour, lightning struck the hosts. Hooper got in behind the defence and bared down on goal. As he was about to shoot, Juan Insaurraide pulled him back and Hooper fell to the turf- a straight red card. Spartak were down to ten men and Celtic’s flame was re-ignited. A few minutes later, Charlie Mulgrew’s left sided cross found Hooper in the box. He squared off to substitute James Forrest and the winger’s shot was initially saved by Sergei Pesiakov only for the ball to ricochet off defender Dmitri Kombarov and into and into the goal. 2-2

Kris Commons celebrates with Georgios Samaras

Then, as time was petering out, Celtic’s glory moment finally arrived, not so long after another dark night in Europe looked set to be the destiny. Honduran left back Emilio Izaguirre crossed for much maligned, gangly striker Georgios Samaras (above) to loop a header home passed the diving Pesiakov. Cue pandemonium on the bench and for Celtic fans in the stands. The night was their’s and Samaras had once again paid back his manager for the remarkable backing he has received. Lennon after the game declared he was “the proudest man in Europe”.

So not only was it a big night for Celtic, but a big night for Scottish football. Former Rangers manager and Ibrox legend Walter Smith said a few years back on his team’s remarkable run to the Europa League final that it was as important as ever for the Old Firm to perform in Europe to get Scotland’s co-efficient back up with regards to performances ranked by UEFA. Nowadays the champions of Scotland no longer qualify for the group stages of the Champions League automatically. Instead they have to go through the difficult aspect of qualifiers so early on in the season. Celtic’s result in Moscow will at least go a little way to changing that again. After the fixture, Irish owner Dermot Desmond said “the best years of Lennon were still to come” as a manager. Only time will tell to see if that turns out to be the case.

Neil Lennon salutes the fans after win in Moscow

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Barcelona’s Carles Puyol (L) receives assistance after falling and sustaining an injury during their Champions League Group G soccer match against Benfica at the Luz stadium in Lisbon – Photo by Reuters

LONDON: Belarussian side BATE Borisov caused one of the biggest shocks ever seen in the Champions League when they stunned last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich 3-1 on Tuesday.

The other likely title contenders all won with European champions Chelsea easily beating FC Nordsjaelland 4-0 away while Barcelona saw off Benfica 2-0 in Lisbon but lost Carles Puyol with a dislocated elbow before Sergio Busquets was sent off.

Like Barca and BATE, Manchester United maintained their perfect start with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over CFR Cluj in Romania where Robin van Persie scored both their goals.

The game between Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk, both regarded as dark horses in this season’s Champions League, finished 1-1 in Turin where the Italian side chalked up a European competition record of eight successive draws.

There were wins for Valencia, who beat Lille 2-0 to condemn the French side to a second successive defeat, while Celtic ended a run of 20 Champions League away matches without a win after a last-minute 3-2 triumph at Spartak Moscow.

Braga, in contrast, maintained their fine European record on the road, winning 2-0 at Galatasaray to remain unbeaten in seven matches away from home.

The biggest upset was in Minsk where BATE earned their first ever Champions League home victory as they beat a Bayern side who had won their last nine matches in all competitions.

Bayern dominated the first half, hitting the post through Toni Kroos, but they ran out of ideas as BATE chalked up an unexpected win against the four-time European champions.

Goals from Aleksandr Pavlov, Vitali Rodionov and Renan Bressan gave the BATE a famous victory and all the Bavarians had to show for their efforts was a late Franck Ribery goal to pull the score back to 2-1 in the closing stages.

However, the Belarus champions still had time to score again through Bressan deep into stoppage time.

The victory took BATE to the top of Group F after they had recorded their first ever win in the competition by the same score against Lille two weeks ago. Valencia are level with Bayern on three points and Lille are bottom with none.

BATE midfielder Aleksandr Hleb said: “This was a sensational result for us. We will celebrate for a bit but we need to keep working hard. Bayern are still favourites in our group.”

Unlike Bayern, holders Chelsea brushed aside the debutants of FC Nordsjaelland in Group E in Copenhagen with Juan Mata netting twice and David Luiz and Ramires also scoring – although three of their goals only came in the last 11 minutes.

Chelsea keeper Petr Cech made an important save after 73 minutes when he turned a shot from Joshua John on to a post to preserve their lead.

Minutes later Luiz scored from a free kick, prompting a defensive collapse from the Danish champions.

“We were looking for the second goal to close the game off, but they had nothing to lose,” said Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo as he commended Cech for his save.

Kasper Hjulmand, Nordsjaelland head coach, added: “It could have been fun to see the score 1-1 – to see what would happen.”

Chelsea’s win, and Juventus’s draw with Shakhtar in Turin, left them top with four points, the same as the Ukrainians.

Juve have two and the Danes are bottom with no points and no goals.

Barcelona’s rivalry with Benfica goes back to the 1961 European Cup final which the Portuguese side won 3-2.

Barca have not lost to Benfica in five European meetings since and won Tuesday’s Group G game, though Puyol’s injury has ruled him out of Sunday’s ‘Clasico’ with Real Madrid.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas left the Catalans top with six points from their two games – two points ahead of Celtic who won a thriller in Moscow.

Benfica have one point and Spartak none after the Russians held a 2-1 advantage against Celtic early in the second half before having Juan Insaurralde sent off in the 63rd minute which handed the initiative to the Scots.

Gary Hooper gave Celtic the lead before Emmanuel Emenike scored twice to put Spartak in control.

A Dmitry Kombarov own goal and a 90th minute header from Giorgios Samaras gave Celtic their first away win in UEFA’s elite competition since a victory over Shamrock Rovers in the European Cup in 1986.

Manchester United also came from behind to win at Cluj who took the lead after Pantelis Kapetanos capitalised on some poor defending after 14 minutes.

Van Persie equalised with a goal that came off his head and shoulder 15 minutes later before scoring a sublime second with the outside of his left foot after 49 minutes.

United top Group H with six points, followed by Cluj and Braga on three and Galatasaray with none after a second successive defeat.

Matchday Two continues on Wednesday with teams in Group A-D in action including Real Madrid playing at Ajax Amsterdam and English champions Manchester City meeting German champions Borussia Dortmund in Manchester.

The Champions League returns this week for the 2nd time so far this season. This year’s competition looks set to be a thrilling one after the Euro’s and summer of spending.

The first week of games went quite well for the UK clubs. Despite a couple of the results, all clubs played really well on their first game.  Here’s a preview on this week’s champion’s league games

Nordsjaelland v Chelsea

Nordsjaelland are Champions of the Danish league. They are newcomers to this stage of the Champion’s league. They lost their first game against Shaktar Donetsk 2-0 after going for defensive and cautious play. Their manager Hjulmand has said that his side are “facing a huge test against Chelsea”. They have no injury worries.

Chelsea drew their first game against Juventus 2-2. They played fantastically but were denied a win after conceding a 2 goal lead. Oscar scored two magnificent goals in the space of two minutes. Chelsea’s only injury is Daniel Sturridge with a hamstring injury, but they might rest a few key plays such as Cole, Terry and Ivanovic.

CFR Cluj v Manchester United

The Romanian side CFR Cluj won their first game against SC Braga 2-0 last week where they outplayed the portuguese side. They look solid defensively and their main strength is their counter attacking ability. Maftei returns after a 1 game suspension. They have Deac, Vass, Sare and Ronny out injured.

Manchester United

Man U won their first game against Galatasaray after Michael Carrick scored a goal early on. United had to work really hard throughout the game to hang on to their lead. After a loss at the weekend I think Fergie’s boys will be looking to bounce back. Man U are without Carrick and Giggs due to a virus, Valencia has a knee injury and Scholes is being rested due to playing a full game at the weekend.

Other fixtures for tonight are

Juventus v Shakhtar Donetsk

Juventus have not lost in their last 45 Serie A games and are on the back end of a well earned draw with Chelsea. Shakhtar Donetsk have won their last 25 games in all competitions. The game between the unbeaten is set to be a good one.

Pepe could possibly be out for Juventus but other than that both teams are full strength. Juventus manager Conte is on a ban tonight so assistant coach Carrera will be standing in.

Galatasaray V Braga

Both teams lost their first games in this competition. Galatasaray played so well against Man United in the last game, they didn’t deserve to lose. Braga lost to CFR Cluj and they were caught short after expecting it to be an easy win.

Galatasaray have Elmander out due to food poisoning, Ujfulasi and Riera are out and Altintop is 50/50.

Braga have Carlao out with thigh and Elderson’s been dropped for Ismaily.

Benfica v Barcelona

Benfica drew with Celtic 0-0 in the last game after the Scottish side put up an impressive defensive display. Barcelona won their game against Spartak Moscow 3-2. With the El Classico this week, Barcelona will have to focus for this game.

Benfica have Cardozo out after injury in their weekend game.

Barcelona have Alcantara out after ligaments injury from the Seville game

Spartak Moscow vs Celtic

Spartak lost their first game against Barcelona but still managed to score some goals. Celtic played fantastically against Braga last week and they are intending to stick to the defensive pattern

Spartak have no injury worries.

Celtic have Nouioui out with calf injury and will assess Matthews

Enjoy watching wherever you are

NOTHING LESS THAN A WIN WILL ROO: Wazza and co. are odds on in tonight’s match with CFR Cluj

By Lee Dover

The Champions League is back, following a one-week gap to allow the usual benchwarmers of the Premier League big boys to stretch their legs in the Capital One Cup.

CFR Cluj v Manchester United (7:45pm, ITV1)

Manchester United are flying high after taking down Galatasaray 1-0 in their opening Champions League group match of the new campaign.

Sir Alex Ferguson and company will not want to get too carried away though. After all, they only won one game on their travels in the Champions League last term.

CFR Cluj are on cloud nine too, after a 2-0 away win against Portuguese heavyweights Braga in matchday one. With all of this in mind, fans will want to muse over Manchester United’s price of 4/6 for victory, while odds of 9/2 for a CFR Cluj victory must not be quickly ruled out.

• Betting: CFR Cluj v Manchester United

Spartak Moscow v Celtic (5:00pm, Sky Sports 2)

Due to the time jump between Western Europe and Russia, Celtic will kick off tonight’s Champions League action with an away day to Spartak Moscow.

The Scottish giants do not cope well with travelling in the Champions League – they have lost 19 out of 20 matches on the road – which makes Paddy Power’s price of 4/7 for Spartak Moscow to nab the victory a very tempting bet.

Celtic were victorious the last time the two teams met though, with the club sneaking through the 2007/08 Champions League third qualifying round on penalties. As such, the odds of 5/1 for a shock Celtic win and 14/5 for a stalemate cannot be ignored.

• Betting: Spartak Moscow v Celtic

FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea (7:45pm, Sky Sports 2)

Chelsea did not have the perfect start to their Champions League defence, allowing a two-goal lead at home to Juventus slip in miraculous style.

However, the Blues will be confident of recording their first victory of the competition tonight, when they become the first visitors to the ground of Denmark’s Superliga winners FC Nordsjaelland in the Champions League.

The Danish giants fell to a 2-0 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk in matchday one, with Chelsea 4/11 to deal the club their second loss in the competition. For those with more money than sense, or feel that a giant upset is waiting in the wings, they can take a FC Nordsjaelland home win at a huge 8/1.

• FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea

CFR Cluj v Manchester United, 7.45pm, ITV1

Manchester United need to get their defence sorted at the moment. They’re leaking goals and while the focus is on them you’d have to ask whether they’re getting enough protection in front of them.

Is Nani doing enough and are the likes of Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick doing enough in midfield to protect the centre-backs?

I think United will score and they’ll win even though they won’t play their strongest side. Darren Fletcher should get another run-out on his road to recovery.

I’d take United at 4/6 to win in Paddy Power’s online betting and Wayne Rooney to score first at 4/1 or at anytime at 11/10.

• Betting: CFR Cluj v Manchester United 

Spartak Moscow v Celtic, 5pm,  Setanta & Sky Sports 2

It’s difficult to see Celtic breaking down Spartak Moscow but what have the Bhoys to lose?

Spartak’s home record is fantastic but Celtic have got better in recent games and have kept a couple of clean sheet which should help them

But the Moscow side look a fair bet at 4/7. Celtic may be lucky and sneak a draw but I can’t see them winning the game.

• Betting: Spartak Moscow v Celtic 

FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 2

There’s the length of the M1 between these two sides. Chelsea are the reigning European champions and Nordsjaelland are a Danish Division One side.

The Blues are 2/5 in Paddy Power’s online betting and that’s about right. They will make changes but they mustn’t get sloppy because you can come unstuck against European opposition – especially in their own back yard.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Nordsjaelland scored one goal which is a 6/4 chance - but I think Chelsea should win comfortably – at least by two goals.

A 3-1 scoreline gets you 10/1 for your hard-earned money in tonight’s game.

• Betting: FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea 
• Betting: Champions League Coupon 

Football

QPR remain rock-bottom of the Premier League after a 2-1 home defeat to London rivals West Ham. Rangers now have two points from their opening six games and are still looking for their first win of the season. Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te put the Hammers in control before the break before Adel Taarabt pulled one back in the second half. Mark Hughes’ side are 11/4 to be relegated at the end of the season.

• Betting: Premier League relegation
• Betting: Premier League outright

The Champions League is back underway tonight with Chelsea, Manchester United and Celtic all in action away from home.

Celtic travel to Spartak Moscow in the 5.00pm kick-off and are 5/1 outsiders to leave Russia with all three points. The Red Devils head to Transylvania to face CFR Cluj and are odds on at 4/6 to take three points despite some of the senior players such as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes being left at home. Chelsea face Danish champions FC Nordsjaelland looking to recover after dropped points against Juventus at home in the opening week. The reigning champions are firm 4/11 favourites to notch their first group win of this campaign.

• Betting: Spartak Moscow v Celtic
• Betting: CFR Cluj v Manchester United
• Betting: FC Nordsjaelland v Chelsea
• Betting: Champions League match coupon

Cricket

The Twenty20 World Cup continues in Sri Lanka without the reigning champions England. The three lions crashed out yesterday after an impressive bowling performance from the hosts left England whimpering towards a 19-run defeat.

Australia face Pakistan today in the first of two very close games. Australia are the narrow 8/11 favourites with Pakistan at 6/5 in the betting. That’s followed by India against South Africa with both teams eyeing up a semi-final clash with Sri Lanka. There’s hardly anything to seperate these two in the betting with India at 10/11 and South Africa at 20/21.

Australia are the 9/4 favourites to lift the trophy with Sri Lanka just behind them in the betting at 5/2.

• Betting: Australia v Pakistan
• Betting: India v South Africa
• Betting: World Cup outright

Racing

Racing today comes from Ayr, Wolverhampton and Sedgefield with the meeting at Folkestone abandoned because of a waterlogged track.

The Sun newspapers top tipster Templegate is napping Sovereign Street in the 3.40pm at AYr and his next best is Ebble in the 2.00pm at Woverhampton.

‘Sovereign Street is the right way to go at Ayr. Ann Duffield’s fast-improving sprinter loves the mud and, despite winning his last three, is still on a very handy mark’.

Ebble was only two lengths behind the winner when third in a fair Chepstow maiden last month. The second franked the form by romping to a 12-length victory at Catterick next time out’.

• Betting: All Tuesday’s cards, form and odds