Soccer Central

After Chelsea’s defeat and Liverpool’s draw last night; Arsenal and Manchester United were hoping to bring some European glory to England this evening as they played Fenerbahce and Celtic respectively. Arsenal could only manage a 0-0 bore at home to Fenerbahce, Manchester United meanwhile left it until the 84th minute to bring the game level against Celtic at Celtic Park.

Both teams were quite unlucky not to have won their games, ultimately it was two more draws for English teams in Europe however, and whilst Manchester United only now need one more point to qualify; Arsenal require a win against Dynamo Kiev in order to guarantee qualification to the next stage and keep their Champions League dream alive and kicking. A home win against Dynamo Kiev on November 25th shouldn’t be too much to ask for; in the Champions League you just never know what could happen however, and the Ukrainian side could well throw a spanner in the works for Arsenal’s progression hopes and dreams.

Whilst Manchester United do technically require a further point to cement their position in the next round of the Champions League; Celtic would have to make up 10 goals on Man United over the course of the next two games, AaB Aalborg meanwhile would face an even greater challenge of overcoming a goal difference deficit of twelve. It looks as though Man Utd and Villareal will be the two teams to progress from Group E, Arsenal’s Group G is far tighter however, and whilst the team currently sits top with two points greater than all else; the next game is all important for Arsenal and whilst a win would ensure that the side progresses, a defeat would take the group right to the wire.

These are tough times for English football teams in the Champions League right now; it could have all been so easy, but as all four teams representing England have failed to win in Europe these last few days it’ll therefore be a few more weeks yet before we know the fate of our four UEFA Champions League teams in Europe. The English Big Four have come a cropper, it’s been a bad couple of days for English football, all four will still be hoping to progress to the next round however and their next games in Europe will now be incredibly crucial.

It’s now Champions League make or break time for the best four teams in English football.