10 Things We Learned From The Champions League Group Stages

By: chris | December 11th, 2008

It’s Barcelona’s to lose.

Even the four one seeds teams who find themselves as potential opponents (Chelsea, Arsenal, Lyon & Inter – and they’re Barca’s only potential opponents) are desperately hoping to avoid the Barcelona lottery. The Catalans are simply, undeniably playing the best football on the planet right now. Not only getting victories, but doing so through pure and utter domination. Their goal difference in La Liga is a staggering +35, with the runner up at a modest +12 – that being Atletico, who Barca beat 6-1. Not to mention their +10 difference in the CL, even with a loss on the final day fielding their B team, is also tops in Europe. Football’s juggernaut at the moment, and there isn’t even a close second.

Maybe next summer’s big fad will be less buying pitch talent and more clearing out locker rooms?

He who laughs last laughs best.

Remember Cluj, Anorthosis & BATE? Last, last & last. Nice stories, but this is the Champions League and, at the end of the day, the universe tends to right itself. They is what they is.

They is what they is.

Quick poll: raise your hand if you had Miroslav Klose, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema or Steven Gerrard as top group stage scorers?

Oh. Right.

Maybe not Gerrard, but the other three are tried and true hitmen. But there wasn’t a single person who stood out from the group, all three currently sitting on 5. Does this mean the four will share next year’s Ballon D’Or?

Adrian Mutu is the worst finisher ever.

The Romanian posterboy for why you shouldn’t do drugs managed to lead the group stages in both shots on target, shots wide and total shots (amazing, huh?). He took, according to UEFA, 27 shots, 15 of which went somewhere nowhere near the keeper. And he scored only one goal for his troubles. Who knows what a bit more selection would’ve done for Fiorentina’s knockout hopes.

Franck Ribery had a legitimate gripe.

Anyone watching the Bundesliga last season knows quite just how much Franck brought to the Bavarian behemoths. Ballon D’Or voters clearly don’t watch the Bundesliga, as Monsieur Ribery was only afforded 16th place in the BDO voting, which made him very displeased.

Fast forward to this season and Bayern have won their group after an embarrassing relegation of sorts to the UEFA Cup last year. They scored 12 goals in 6 games; in 5 games Franck scored 1, assisted 5 (which led the groups). All after coming off a major injury sustained at the Euros, making his reentry in late September. 16th best my ass.

Group B inexplicably had the most parity.

What was supposed to be a six game friendly tour for Inter turned out to be anything but. The Nerazzurri gained promotion on Matchday 5, but did so embarrassingly having to come second to a team you couldn’t name 5 players for previous to the group stages (and probably still can’t). What it did turn out to be is the most evenly fought of all the groups, with only four points separating top from bottom and goal differentials of +1, +1, 0 and -2.

Surely just what the forefathers were hoping for when the Champions League began, yes? But maybe not Jose Mourinho.

However….

Panathinaikos isn’t the Cinderella, Atletico is.

No, their group wasn’t overly difficult. However, Atletico is actually the lowest seed to advance, not Panathinakos. Atletico was in group 4 before the draw, whereas Pana was in group 3. In fact, the Panathinaikos coefficient was more than 15 points higher (52.5) than the Madrid club’s (36.2).

The Greek club probably deserves more props for winning the group, but at least statistically, they aren’t the lowest club going through.

Ukrainians are the best of the rest.

The Ukrainian Premier League is a growing league with a lot of money being funneled into certain projects and it’s starting to reap dividends, as both Shakhtar and Dinamo Kyiv will go to the UEFA Cup featuring the two highest point totals for a third place team (Shakhtar 9 & Dynamo 8). It might be some ways off a Sheva-Rebrov Dynamo semifinal repeat, but don’t be surprised if one or both of these teams start to sneak into the knockout rounds with regularity.

One seed is the new two seed.

Winners and second placers separated by their seeding for the group stage draw in August:

Group winners.:

1st: 3 (Barca, ManU, Liverpool)
2nd: 4 (Roma, Porto, Juventus, Bayern)
3rd: 1 (Panathinaikos)

Runners Up.:

1st: 5 (Real Madrid, Lyon, Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter)
2nd: 2 (Villarreal, Sporting)
4th: 1 (Atletico)

Five first seeds failed to win their groups. Betcha didn’t see that coming. So maybe it isn’t as predictable as first glance would indicate?

The draw on December 19th will be more exciting than most in recent history.

What’s the point of being a one seed this year? So you can face Chelsea, Real Madrid or Inter? What happens if Arsenal rights itself? Or if Lyon finally comes good as France’s yearly submission? Yeah, it’s mostly the usual suspects, but this year’s edition is anything but run of the mill. Too many flopped seeds. Just dreamy thinking of a Round of 16 matchup between could-be finalists Barcelona and Chelsea. And anyway, isn’t that what the Champions League knockouts are supposed to be about?

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