Liverpool FC Forum

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:44 pm

So we have a draw against french opposition in marseille in the 4th round of the UEFA cup. a tricky tie but could have been a lot worse. i think we have a decent chance of progressing which would mean a possible quarter final against inter milan. all in all, the standard of teams left in compared to last year is much higher.

Fourth round draw

1 CELTIC v Barcelona
2 Genclerbirligi v Valencia
3 Bordeaux v Club Bruges
4 NEWCASTLE v Real Mallorca
5 Auxerre v PSV Eindhoven
6 Inter Milan v Benfica
7 LIVERPOOL v Marseille
8 Villarreal v Roma
Games to be played on 11 and 25 March

Quarter-final ties

1 Winner match 3 v Winner match 2
2 Winner match 7 v Winner match 6
3 Winner match 1 v Winner match 8
4 Winner match 5 v Winner match 4
Games to be played 8 and 14 April

Semi-final matches

1 Winner quarter-final 4 v Winner quarter-final 2
2 Winner quarter-final 3 v Winner quarter-final 1
Games to be played 22 April and 6 May

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:06 pm

Be interesting to see how Celtic fare against Barcelona (from a O'Neill point of view) The draw could have been better, but there aren't too many soft ties left

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:10 pm

celtic will beat barca at home. they always win at home even in the champions league. it's just a case of whether they can get a big enough lead to take to the nou camp because it will be difficult out there. there are no easy ties left i agree but we are in the slightly easier half of the draw i think.

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:12 pm

Inter or Benfica will be no pushover, didn't Inter beat Arsenal at Highbury?

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:14 pm

they did but then arsenal thumped them 5-1 in the san siro. they're a declining force just like ourselves really who are struggling in their own league.

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:24 pm

Or Arsenal simply outplayed Inter at San Siro. I watched the game and Arsenal were awesome! Not too many teams can claim to have beaten Arsenal this season, no team in domestic football has beaten a proper Arsenal XI (boro beat Arsenal reserves)

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:27 pm

arsenal seem to have some kind of mental block in europe. remember they were two minutes from going out in the group stage. i think they'll make the semis at least now.

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:33 pm

They have underachieved in Europe for years. manu haven't done that much better, it took them a while to get anywhere and they still haven't done that much overall bar one lucky win. The consecutive QFs "record" that comes up time and again from the mancs is rather feeble. If they were a force in Europe then they'd have 3 consecutive SFs, a couple of finals or something more impressive. All the QFs thing says is that they've consistently been among the top 8-10 european teams

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:35 pm

manure may have 8 consecutive QF's but only 1 final. even that was lucky. it was fate for them to win it that season, especially after being 2-0 down against juve aswell.

by **JBG** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:39 pm

Who says the UEFA Cup is a mickey mouse competition!!!!

The draw could be worse, and I reckon the two teams are evenly matched, although Pool clearly shade it on paper.

A tie against either Benfica or Inter sounds exciting.

There are a lot of big name sides left, and this is probably the most competitive UEFA Cup in years.

Liverpool, Barcelona, Mallorca, Villareal, Roma, Inter, Benfica, Valencia, Marseille, Celtic, PSV.....there are no small teams left.

Its true that many of those sides have seen better days, but there is some glamour there.

Even that unpronouncable Turkish team there is very competitive: they have handed out a few hammerings already.

by **JBG** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:42 pm

I also laugh at that Man UTD "record".

UTD are a competitive side in Europe and always handle the group stages easily, but every season (apart from 1999) there are at least 5 teams better than them.

If they were the force they claim to be they would have at least won one more CL, maybe another final appearance, and more SFs.

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:45 pm

JBG - If the teams were that good they'd be in the CL.

I assume it is top four to get into the CL from Spain and Italy as it is from England, anyone going straight to the UEFA would have not done that well in their comparative strengthed league. If they were knocked out of the 1st stage then that also doesn't say much for them either

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:47 pm

John Barnes' Granny wrote:I also laugh at that Man UTD "record".

UTD are a competitive side in Europe and always handle the group stages easily, but every season (apart from 1999) there are at least 5 teams better than them.

If they were the force they claim to be they would have at least won one more CL, maybe another final appearance, and more SFs.

manu thump average teams and struggle in the real test. It is no coincidence that they can afford to lose two games in the group stages and do well there, yet when it gets to knockout and they can't afford to lose that they fall short of "expectations"

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:53 pm

i think man u have played either olympiakos or panathanaikos every year for the last 6 years. oh yeah and throw in the imperious rangers and maccabi haifa aswell.

by **Owzat** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 4:54 pm

Sturm Graz - the dominant force in European football. The CL is much weaker than the European Cup format, manu wouldn't dare rest players in a knockout contest

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