The Mid-week Review

by Danny Wright

Chelsea proceeded into the next phase of the Champions League with a comfortable 4-0 win over Danish outfit Rosenborg. Avram Grant’s men never really looked troubled as Didier Drogba lead the charge with two early goals and home keeper Lars Hirschfeld was left embarrassed by an Alex free-kick which somehow crept in, meanwhile Joe Cole completed the rout; the England winger following up Michael Essein’s blocked effort. Chelsea top the group with 11 points and can relax ahead of their tie with Valencia in a fortnight’s time.

Liverpool needed to win against Porto to keep their qualification hopes alive and they did just that with an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Portuguese side. The Reds, buoyed by a pre-match rally in support of under pressure manager Rafa Benetiz, struggled early on as Porto hit back following Fernando Torres’ early header, Lisandro Lopez the scorer. The home side piled forward in search of the decisive goal and Torres proved to be the hero on 78 minutes when he scored his second of the night to set Liverpool on their way, Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch completing the win. Benetiz’s men now lie in third level points with Marseille in second and must win their remaining game against the French side to progress.

Arsenal – already qualified – went down to a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla and missed out on the chance of topping the group. Eduardo had put the Gunners ahead with a well taken goal, however the Spaniards hit back with some aplomb as Seydou Keita lashed one home with the outside of his foot, and Luis Fabiano nodded home to put Sevilla ahead. Frederic Kanoute tucked home a late penalty to seal the win as Arsenal face Steaua Bucharest in a dead rubber match in 11 days time.

Rangers went down to a disappointing defeat to VfB Stuttgart, 3-2 the final score in Germany. Charlie Adam had put the Scottish side ahead with a neat finish but Cacau levelled with a clever back heal. Pavel Pardo put Stuttgart in front only for captain Barry Ferguson to level, capitalising on some hap-hazard defending however it wasn’t going to be enough for Walter Smith’s men who lost out to Ciprian Marica’s late winner. The Scottish side still have a good chance of qualification despite the defeat, however they must avoid defeat against Lyon.

Celtic are also in great stead to qualify for the knockout stages, now only needing a point in Milan a week on Tuesday to progress. Gordon Strachan’s men defeated tricky Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Celtic Park to put themselves in the healthy position, the Glaswegian giants indebted to former Chelsea misfit Jiri Jarosik and Massimo Donati's goals having fallen behind to Brandao’s first-half strike. Should Celtic, Rangers and Liverpool progress it would be a clean sweep for the British team’s, an impressive feat considering the apparent ‘disastrous’ nature of the home game at the minute.

Aston Villa won for the fourth game in a row last night, thumping high-flying Blackburn 4-0 at Ewood Park. The home side had dominated, forcing beleaguered Villa keeper Scott Carson into making three great saves early on, however Martin O’Neil’s men dominated thereafter thanks to goals from John Carew, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Marlon Harewood. The win takes Villa up to sixth in the table.

The managerial merry-go-round has been in full swing this week with several changes made in the hotspots of Britain’s top sides. Scotland manager Alex McLeish left the national side to join Birmingham, with Steve Bruce leaving the Midlands outfit to join Wigan. After a drawn out affair regarding compensation Bruce finally joined the Latics earlier this week after the Lancashire side unceremoniously sacked struggling Chris Hutchins. England are still without a manager this week, with popular choice Jose Mourinho not ruling himself out of the role after being badgered for an interview by Sky Sports News outside his home.

Another England managerial candidate made the headlines this week, as Harry Redknapp was arrested by police and released on bail as part on the on-going football bungs enquiry. Amdy Faye – former Charlton and Newcastle donkey – is apparently being held by the old bill, meanwhile Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie and former chairman Milan Mandaric were also questioned. The questioning couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Pompey chief, who is being strongly liked alongside Mourinho to take the England job.

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