FanHouse Champions League

Let's face it, the European method of pulling names out from the proverbial hat to determine the pairings for its knockout competitions is, well, a foreign concept. About the only Stateside comparison is the selection committee drawing up the NCAA Tournament brackets every March.

To whit, Thursday in Monaco, UEFA staged its annual gala to determine the groups for the 2009-10 Champions League replete with glitz, glamor and the former Miss Switzerland pulling balls out of pots. Certainly a far cry from a group of middle-aged men sitting together in a hotel room discussing RPI.

Two things you don't have to happen when you make a road trip to watch your favorite team play: One, your team loses. And two, you get billy-clubbed in the head repeatedly by Italian cops in riot gear.

Many Manchester United fans experienced both of those unpleasant sensations today. United lost 2-1 to Roma, and violence erupted in the stands just before halftime. Cops confronted some Manchester United fans for allegedly throwing things ... and not being ones to back down, the cops and fans got into it, and as they usually do, the cops won.

One guy was seen laying motionless on the ground while police continued to pound him, and others were seen with blood pouring from their heads.

Meanwhile, the players they were there to support were seen on the field losing 2-1 to AS Roma, which is disappointing, but they did pick up an ever-crucial road goal. Should the two teams be tied on aggregate goals after leg two (which would take only a 1-0 United victory), the tiebreaker is away goals. The second leg is Tuesday.

With three Premiership sides in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, they were lucky enough to avoid one another in the quarterfinal pairings, which were announced this afternoon. They are as follows:

Liverpool vs. PSV Eindhoven.
Chelsea vs. Valencia.

Manchester United vs. AS Roma.
AC Milan vs. Bayern Munich.

Chelsea and Liverpool could renew their Premiership rivalry in the semifinals, should they both advance. And truthfully, they both probably got the easiest draws. Liverpool's actually played Eindhoven before in the Champions League, playing them twice in the earlier group stage, getting a draw on the road, and beating them 2-0 at home.

But then again, Liverpool was bounced by Benfica last year in the Champions League, so who knows ... another choke job is not out of the question.

Roma probably got the toughest draw, having to face Manchester United in the first round. Man U is generally acknowledged (by everyone but Jose Mourinho, anyway) to be playing the best soccer in Europe at the moment.

It was a fine day of soccer in the Champions League -- including this scoreless Valencia/Inter Milan draw that sent Valencia through to the quarterfinals -- and what would a day of soccer be without a little violence?

Actually, I'm not even sure if this qualifies as violence. I'm not sure what started the initial scuffle, but one guy runs in and accosts another, and then that guy runs like hell. Someone tried to kick him, but couldn't catch him. Video is below.

Watch for the guy in the yellow entering the right side of the frame, just a few seconds into the video. I believe that's Nicolas Burdisso. Burdisso comes into frame, and then David Navarro (a Valencia sub, who never got into the game), wearing gray, comes in and clocks Burdisso, breaking his nose. And then, and this is my favorite part, Navarro takes off running like Forrest Gump. I love that. No back-pedaling, no fake "hold me back" stuff ... just unapologetically running scared. You could argue that there's courage in that ... being so unafraid show the world you're terrified.

A couple of guys tried to trip him, but couldn't get to him. Had they taken him off his feet, Navarro would still be getting beaten right now. All of that happened after the initial scuffle (which isn't included in this video -- sorry, I'm looking for a better one [UPDATE: Found a better video]) between Burdisso and Valencia's Carlos Marchena.

The European Champions League goes from sixteen teams down to eight over the next two days, with some sweet matchups on the schedule. All matches are in their second leg (they play a home-and-home series, with the team scoring the most goals in two matches advancing). Let's get you primed and ready.

On Tuesday:

Liverpool vs. Barcelona. The glamour match, pitting the winners of the last two Champions Leagues against each other. Liverpool upset Barcelona on the road earlier, giving them a huge advantage in moving on (in the event of a tie, the team with the most road goals moves on). But Barcelona can score like George Clooney at a taping of The View, so Liverpool's work isn't yet done.

Chelsea vs. FC Porto. Chelsea needs just a tie to advance. Playing at Stamford Bridge against an inferior team, they'll have no problem letting the air out of the ball. If you're watching, bring a pillow. Chelsea's going to advance, and sadly, there's not much anyone can do about it.

Lyon vs. Roma. A scoreless first leg leaves it wide open. Playing in their own building, I like the Frenchies to get it done and send Francesco Totti and Roma home.

Valencia vs. Inter Milan. Valencia got two road goals in the first game, but Inter Milan's been whomping some Italian booty in Serie A recently. I like their chances to get the win here and advance.

And on Wednesday:

Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven. Arsenal hasn't been very good at this cup-winning business recently. In the last 14 days, they've been knocked out of the League Cup, and then the Carling Cup. They're already down 1-0, and their confidence has to be bottoming out.

Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid. Madrid won the first leg, 3-2, but Jose Antonio Reyes and David Beckham are damaged goods for the 2nd leg in Germany. Bayern Munich's not been their dominant selves in the Bundesliga (I love saying that) this year, but they're picking it up as of late. I'd still go with Madrid.

AC Milan vs. Celtic. It was a scoreless first game ... in fact, Milan hasn't scored a goal in their last three Champions League games. Still, the fact remains that they're better than Celtic, and playing at home.

Manchester United vs. Lille. United's already up a road goal, and they've been good and lucky recently. They'll cruise.