By Myles Palmer
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CELTIC HAVE THE TOUGHEST GROUP, while Arsenal and Chelsea have a Champions League draw which most people would call “manageable.”
Arsenal will play PSV Eindhoven, Panathinaikos and Rosenborg.
Jose Mourinho goes back to Porto, the club he made Champions of Europe 13 weeks ago.
Chelsea will also play Paris St Germain, a short flight, and CSKA Moscow.
Yes, Moscow.
Abramovich’s mobile is bleeping already. He didn’t know he had so many friends.
MANCHESTER UNITED have Lyon, Sparta Prague and Fenerbahce.
Liverpool drew Monaco, Deportivo and Olympiakos.
If they defend properly they can get through that group, but it will be difficult.
Celtic drew the short straw in Group F with AC Milan, Barcelona, plus Shakhtar Donetsk, a long-haul deep into the Ukraine.
If you don’t do well, you never get seeded, and it is hard every year.
Good luck, Martin O’Neill, especially against Ronaldinho and Henrik Larsson.
I would not fancy Brian Clough in that group.
Three national champions face each other in Group G : Valencia, Werder Bremen and Anderlecht will all have a chance of beating under-achievers Inter Milan.
Bayern-Juventus-Ajax-Maccabi Tel-Aviv is Group C.
Real Madrid should cruise through against Roma, Leverkusen and Dynamo Kiev.
But maybe not !
In the year of Porto and Greece, let’s not make lazy assumptions.
The 50th European Cup Final will be played in Istanbul on May 25.
LAST NIGHT’S 3-0 victory over Blackburn broke the 26-year old record of Nottingham Forest and stretched the unbeaten run to 43 games.
FABREGAS, who scored the second goal off his knee, got a standing ovation when he was subbed.
Henry had one of his best games, scoring the first, taking a terrific corner for the second, which was headed by Gilberto to Fabregas, and setting up sub Reyes for a sweet third.
At breakfast I asked my son Michael, “Who can beat Arsenal?”
“Not Chelsea,” he said.
He would say that.
He’s a Gooner.
August 26th 2004.