Dubious Champions League predictions - The Results

The dust has settled on the group stage of the 2010/11 Champions League finals and it's time to go over the dubious (meaning rubbish) predictions I made back in August.

Group A

I said

1. Inter
2. Werder Bremen
3. FC Twente
4. Tottenham

Results

1. Tottenham
2. Inter
3. FC Twente
4. Werder Bremen

0/4

Gareth Bale proved he's a better winger then a left-back and helped Tottenham to first place and made defending champions Internazionale and Maicon look poor in the process. Inter never looked convincing under Benitez but may yet surprise under new management. Werder lost out on Europa League competition after losing 2 - 0 at home to Twente.

Group B

I said

1. Lyon
2. Schalke
3. Benfica
4. Tel-Aviv

Results

1. Schalke
2. Lyon
3. Benfica
4. Tel-Aviv

2/4

Schalke and Lyon benefitted from superior competition in their local leagues. Benfica and Tel-Aviv couldn't get results away from home as I expected.

Group C

I said

1. Manchester United
2. Bursaspor
3. Valencia
4. Rangers

Results

1. Manchester United
2. Valencia
3. Rangers
4. Bursaspor

1/4

United cruised through this group without a loss. Valencia have showed all season that losing Villa and Silva has not left them too weakened. Rangers bagged a Europa League spot by seamingly playing 8-2-0 and Bursaspor were not the shock I optimistically thought.

Group D

I said

1. Barcelona
2. Panathinaikos
3. Rubin Kazan
4. FC Copenhagen

Results

1. Barcelona
2. FC Copenhagen
3. Rubin Kazan
4. Panathinaikos

1/4

Barcelona are an irresistable force at the moment and for a minute there it looked as though Copenhagen would prove to be an imovable object but the Catalans prevailed in the end. A victory over the Danes seperated Kazan and Panathinaikos.

Group E

I said

1. Bayern Munich
2. AS Roma
3. Basel
4. CFR Cluj
Results

1. Bayern Munich
2. AS Roma
3. Basel
4. CFR Cluj

4/4

Not much to say about this group but Roma's fightback against Bayern in the Stadio Olimpico must be noted.

Group F

I said

1. Chelsea
2. Marseille
3. Spartak Moscow
4. Zilina

Results

1. Chelsea
2. Marseille
3. Spartak Moscow
4. Zilina

4/4

Chelsea, dispite troubles in the Premier League, dominated. What I thought would happen pretty much did: This group will be more interesting then the previous two. Chelsea will win but will drop points at Marseille who will drop points to Spartak. Chelsea and Marseille will go through at Spartak's expense but Zilina will be absolutely pulverised home and away.

Group G

I said

1. Real Madrid
2. Ajax
3. AC Milan
4. Auxerre
Results

1. Real Madrid
2. AC Milan
3. Ajax
4. Auxerre

2/4

Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho combined was never going to be a picnic for any potential opponants. Milan's renaisance has been captivating. Now with added Cassano they could do what their city rivals could not and beat claim victory over Spurs. Ajax benefitted from Auxerre's terrible away results.

Group H

I said

1. Arsenal
2. Shakhtar Donetsk
3. Partizan Belgrade
4. Braga
Results

1. Shakhtar Donetsk
2. Arsenal
3. Braga
4. Partizan Belgrade

0/4

Shakhtar were the surprise of the group stages, only losing once to Arsenal on their travels. Partizan were beaten home and away in all their games and Braga turned 'The Quarry' into a fortress.

A total of 14 out of a possible 32 predict corrections. It's less then I would have hoped for but I shouldn't be too surprised judging by my Betfair account.