Champions League knockout phase – United’s first casualty
11 December 08 by Bill
Finishing first in the group stages means United will face a group runner up in their first knock out tie of the Champions League. The teams that finished second in their groups are: Chelsea, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Athletico Madrid, Villarreal, Lyon, Arsenal and Real Madrid.
Finishing group winner also ensures the second leg of the tie will be played at home and that could be a huge advantage.
Competition rules state teams from the same nation cannot meet in the first knock out stage, neither can the winner and runner up of the same group.
The draw will be made on 19 December and United will meet one of the following:
Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Athletico Madrid, Lyon or Real Madrid
Lyon is the only club United have a 100% record against having won both times the clubs have previously met. United have faced Sporting Lisbon four times, winning three times and losing once whilst United remain unbeaten against Inter playing only twice and recording one win and a draw (both of these matches were in the quarter final of the 99 Champions League on route to the treble). United have met Real Madrid 8 times in their history, winning only 2 of those games, drawing 3 and losing 3. The last match between the two giants was in the 02/03 season when United won 4 – 3 at Old Trafford. Unfortunately is was the second leg and United lost on aggregate by 6 goals to 5. The only team United have failed to beat is Athletico Madrid; playing twice in the 91/92 season. The first leg was a resounding 3 – 0 defeat followed by a 1 – 1 draw at Old Trafford.
Ignoring the statistics, I would see rather play Athletico over Real and if I had a choice, I would go with Sporting as our next opponent. The defeat to Sporting came way back in 1964 and we narrowly won both times we met last season.
Who would you like to see United draw in the next round of the cup?
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Personally, I’d want United to face Lyon. Not just because of the 100% record, but because I want Karim Benzema to see the team he should transfer to over the summer.
Cheers and thanks for this blog!
I’d like to see United face Inter…and win like 4-1 or something.
…It’ll be funny to see Mourinho’s reaction to that and to see who he would blame (Quaresma, Adriano…you never know who who’ll be next).
@Man U Mike: Would you not be worried about Benzema playing a blinder in bid to impress Fergie? Perhaps even scoring the winning goals that knocked us out?