United ready for Euro draw

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Having reached the semi-finals last season, only to be knocked out by eventual winners AC Milan over two legs, Sir Alex Ferguson's reinforced squad will resume their bid to win the competition for a third time.

The final will be held in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on May 21, 2008, but 13 matches stand between the Reds and the trophy, and their opponents for the opening six matches will be revealed on Thursday as Monaco hosts the annual group stage draw.

United cannot be drawn against top seeds AC Milan, Barcelona, Internazionale or Real Madrid, or English sides Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea.

They will face one team from each of Pots 2-4, with the potential challengers ranging from the difficult (Valencia, Lyon, Roma) to the virtually unknown (Besiktas, Slavia Prague, Rosenborg).

Arsenal, Liverpool and Celtic successfully negotiated the qualifying rounds to reach the group stage, while Ajax were the highest-profile casualties after losing both legs to Slavia Prague

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One step further for Reds

Wes Brown says United will be aiming to go one step further in this season's Champions League, ahead of this afternoon's group stage draw.

The Reds, who are one of the seeded teams, will discover who they'll be pitched against at 17:00 BST today when the draw is made in Monaco.

Since winning the trophy in 1999, the Reds have since failed to progress beyond the semi-final stage, the same hurdle they fell at last season as an injury-ravaged United side were blitzed by AC Milan in the second leg at the San Siro.

Brown insists the Reds are raring to get going this time round and are aiming to improve upon last season's final four finish.

"I can't wait for the Champions League to start and all the players are the same," he told ManUtd.com. "Last season we did really well up until the second leg of the semi-final, but injuries and tiredness went against us.

"This year we know we'll be as good if not better. We've got the squad and the confidence to do well and hopefully we can go one step further."

Despite the disappointing manner in which United bowed out of the tournament last season, the team produced some stunning performances along the way, not least the 7-1 thrashing of Roma and the dramatic victory over Milan at Old Trafford.

"Last season the performances got better and better as the tournament went on," recalls the 27-year-old defender. "Our wins at Old Trafford against Roma and Milan really brought something out in the players, knowing that we could play that well against some of Europe's top teams.

"We'll be taking that into this season's campaign and will be looking to do really well."

omgukilledkenny SG

would be interesting if we got roma again lol.

imprezaWRXSTi22B SG

definitely no 7-1 again

omgukilledkenny SG

oh boy lol..really tio Roma again. Razz

CKeer SG

Roma. Laughing

Cheers.
CK

omgukilledkenny SG

hoho! sporting lisbon!

Nani and Ronaldo should be pretty happy with that draw. Very Happy

CKeer SG

My guess the last slot will go to Rangers.
United always drew with an Italian club, a Portugese club and a Scottish one. Laughing

Cheers.
CK

zocoss SG

Group F

Manchester United - Eng
Roma - Ita
Sporting Lisbon - Por
Dynamo Kiev - Ukr

omgukilledkenny SG

ahh shux..gotta fly all the way to Ukraine.

CKeer SG

Ok, a fine draw to me. But i dont think there'll be the 7-1 repeat. Laughing

Cheers.
CK

zocoss SG

Yeah i was hoping they wouldn't pull Group F out when Dynamo Kiev name came out of the pot... Neutral

omgukilledkenny SG

Hmm we'v got two pretty offensive teams in Roma and Sporting.

No idea how Kiev play though. Confused

Scouts gonna have to work overtime.

zocoss SG

FERGIE RELISHING ROMA RETURN

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United's rematch with Roma will provide the talking point of their Champions League campaign. Last season's quarter-final tussle between the pair was scarred by violence, with fighting marring both legs. United supporters were attacked by fans and police in the Stadio Olimpico, with the hosts fined £31,000 for the behaviour of their supporters, while United were ordered to pay out £14,500 by UEFA.

The trouble overshadowed one of the finest European performances of all-time by Sir Alex Ferguson's men, who thrashed the Serie A outfit 7-1 at Old Trafford after losing the first leg 2-1. "That will be the talking point after last season," said Ferguson.

However, the United boss also has other major challenges to ponder, not least a testing trip to Dynamo Kiev and two encounters with Sporting Lisbon, the club which provided the Red Devils with both Cistiano Ronaldo and Nani.

"It is a very tight group," he added. "Dynamo Kiev are a good side. "We also have two of Sporting Lisbon's former players, so we know a bit about them."

Ferguson has already set his side the task of gaining 10 points to get them on the road to bettering last season's semi-final berth.

"The whole group possesses some very interesting aspects," he said. "We hope we can get 10 points. It will be difficult but if we can get that I think we will qualify."

omgukilledkenny SG

Crerand: Dynamo most difficult

United legend Paddy Crerand, a European Cup winner in 1967/68, gives his reaction to the group stage draw for 2007/08...

I think the draw's smashing. No disrespect to the other three teams but we've not really got any of the big European sides in our group. United are capable of beating them all.

I don't think we'll beat Roma 7-1 again, that will be a much more difficult match this time. But it's a good draw. I've been to all three places before. Kiev was a long journey and we got a no-score draw. I think that will be the most difficult match of the lot.

It's an amazing situation, drawing Sporting Lisbon when we've got Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo at our club.

I played against Sporting Lisbon during my time at United. We beat them 4-1 at Old Trafford when it could have been 14-1.

We all thought, 'Well that's us through.' Then they beat us 5-0 in the second leg! Our goalkeeper had an absolute nightmare that day, he let in two goals in the space of three minutes or something.

That's European football for you. You've got to treat it with the respect it deserves and not think that any game's an easy game.

zocoss SG

Manchester United Champions League Fixtures

Wed 19 Sep - Sporting Lisbon away
Tues 2 Oct - AS Roma home
Tues 23 Oct - Dynamo Kiev away
Wed 7 Nov - Dynamo Kiev home
Tues 27 Nov - Sporting Lisbon home
Wed 12 Dec - AS Roma away

United will face AS Roma, Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev in this season's Champions League group stage.

The Reds kick off their pursuit of the trophy on Wednesday 19 September, away to Sporting Lisbon. United will then entertain Roma in their second group game on Tuesday 2 October at Old Trafford. The Italians will be out for revenge after the Reds dumped them out of the competition at the quarter-final stage last season.

The Reds went down 2-1 in the Italian capital last April amid violent scenes on the terraces. Wayne Rooney's fine away goal then proved incidental as the Reds thumped Roma 7-1, on a night described by Sir Alex Ferguson as "the best European night in my time at the club."

Next up after the Roma clash is a trip to Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday 23 October, followed by the return leg two weeks later on Wednesday 7 November.

Sporting Lisbon - Cristiano Ronaldo's and Nani's former team - will be in town on 27 November, before the Reds' final group game on Wednesday 12 December away to Roma.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage

Group A: Liverpool, Porto, Marseille, Besiktas
Group B: Chelsea, Valencia, FC Schalke, Rosenborg
Group C: Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, Lazio, Olympiakos
Group D: AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group E: FC Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart, Rangers
Group F: Manchester United, AS Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev
Group G: Internazionale, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce
Group H: Arsenal, Sevilla or AEK Athens, Steaua Bucharest, Slavia Prague

omgukilledkenny SG

Great,Roma(away) is the last fixture.

Maybe we can rest a few players if we already qualified. Mr. Green

omgukilledkenny SG

De Rossi Seeking Revenge Against Manchester United

The Roma midfielder is looking forward to face the Red Devils and avenge the 7-1 drubbing suffered by the Giallorossi during last seasons Champions League edition.

Daniele De Rossi has set as his main objective for the season that of seeking revenge against Manchester United following the humiliating defeat suffered by Luciano Spallettis side last season at Old Trafford.

Its an encounter of great fascination, just like it would have been fascinating meeting Barcelona or Real Madrid, he told Roma Channel.

We will also have a great desire of revenge from our side, because in that game we suffered the biggest defeat of our career. A defeat which still burns us, as it cannot be cancelled or forgotten, but we cannot go back.

However its also important, apart from going through to the next round of the Champions League, which is the best competition there is, also to remove some ghosts.

De Rossi is certain that things will be different this time.

We often said that if we had to re-play it a thousand times, it would never end in that way. We have the opportunity to play it again: you can lose it or win it and also draw it, but surely we shall not make such a bad impression this time.