Jose Mourino desperate for a special recovery in CL
-
Jose Mourino desperate for a special recovery
Italian job: Dynamo Kiev forward Andriy Shevchenko
Take a look at the scene above -just why is the self-confessed Special One feeling a little less than, er, special right now? The answer comes after a quick glance at the Group F table which shows Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan rock bottom after three winless matches.
A 2-2 draw at home to Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday only added to Mourinho's woes, with the fact that it was a certain striker named Shevchenko who ran the show only adding to the Portuguese's frustration.
Inter have now gone eight Champions League matches without a win and the pressure is mounting.
Victory in their next match, in Kiev, is an absolute must.
How they stand
Chelsea and United in cruise control but Liverpool and Jose Mourinho's Inter are way off the pace in the race to the Bernabeu
Something to shout about: AC Milan's Alexandre Pato
It was supposed to be boring. The big guns waltzing past the minnows and easing through to the knockout stages without even having to break sweat.
Oh how wrong the doubters were! At the halfway stage of the Champions League group stages there is still plenty to play for, and, for the competition's traditional powerhouses, everything yet to lose.
Of all Europe's big guns, only Chelsea, Manchester United, Lyon and Sevilla have a 100 per cent record while, in stark contrast, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are among those in real danger of suffering the most premature of exits.
We've had our fair share of shocks, too, with Zurich beating AC Milan in the San Siro, champions Barcelona losing at home to Russians Rubin Kazan and Romanians Unirea smashing four past Rangers at Ibrox. Whether we'll see a new name in the Champions League final at the Bernabeu on May 22 remains highly debatable.
But, at least for now, the underdogs look intent on giving the favourites a serious run for their money.
Goal-den boy: Milan's Alexandre Pato scores in the 3-2 victory over Real Madrid
Galacticos grounded
Two defeats in their last three matches and suddenly Real Madrid are in crisis, wondering how they can cope without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo. Karim Benzema - one of the galacticos brought to the club in a £225million summer spending spree - admits the club's attacking talents are struggling to gel.
'We don't manage to spread the game to the flanks,' says the France star. 'We all get in each other's way.'
AC Milan boss Leonardo has also been under pressure after poor results, but sublime Brazilian compatriot Alexandre Pato got him off the hook with a well-taken double in the 3-2 win at Real worthy of the No 7 shirt he inherited from Andriy Shevchenko.
Beware of the Russians
It is no surprise if Rubin Kazan are a new name to you. They developed from a club linked to a secretive Soviet munitions plant and even once had the bizarre name 'PO Box 747'. But coach Gurban Berdiyew has polished a team with few stars and would dearly love to sign top scorer Alejandro Dominguez, who is on loan from Zenit St Petersburg. CSKA Moscow, who lacked ambition against Man United, should take note.
-
hmm, after Eto and that swedish striker switch, fortune is not favouring them.. but maybe, only now..
-
Inter wil qualify lar, together w Barcelona dun worry.