Grading the UEFA Champions League teams Group E through H

So part two of the grades for the UEFA Champions League teams goes a little something like this:



GROUP E

Fiorentina
Group Winners, 15 points
La Viola were left to rue their chances last season in a difficult group featuring Lyon and Bayern Munich. This time around, they secured qualification when it was largely expected that they'd be the Europa League team here. The thought was that they would fail to win at home on Matchday 5 against Lyon, and get pantsed by Liverpool on Matchday 6, sending the Reds through and law and order would be restored. Never happened, neither outcome. Fiorentina went at Lyon and got a penalty to win 1-0 and played to keep their result. And when it was thought Lyon would reclaim top of the group because Fiorentina would lose today to Liverpool, well the Tuscans came through with a late winner. 5 consecutive league wins after a 1-0 loss in France on Matchday one, and without Adrian Mutu for most of it. Played Lyon evenly, and beat Liverpool twice. 14 goals scored over their 6 games is second only to Real Madrid.
GRADE: A



Lyon
Group Runners Up, 13 points
Were thought to be the 2nd best team in this group going in, to Liverpool. So this position shouldn't surprise them, though the team that outlasted them is. Obviously quite dominant over their three games but what was most impressive was conceding only 3 goals, especially when they had matches with a midfielder deputising in the center of their defense (Jeremy Toulalan). One of the goals they conceded ultimately cost them a group win and leave them with a difficult knockout round opponent. Conversely though, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sevilla and Arsenal will be happy to avoid them.
GRADE: B



Liverpool
Third in Group, 7 points
The classic example of why it is so important to finish games off. Liverpool have the quality to win this group, but late goals in three matches send them to the Europa League. Matchday 3, they drop a point by losing at home to Lyon late. Matchday 4, they drop two points at Lyon by allowing a late equaliser. Matchday 6, they drop another draw at home to Fiorentina on a late goal. Keep those points and by my calculations they finish 2nd in the group behind Fiorentina, sending Lyon to the Europa league. Rafa Benitez needs to look at the lack of discipline his side showed in these games as the reason they will probably be among the favorites to win the Europa League (if they care enough about it).
GRADE: F



Debrecen
Bottom of Group, 0 points
Not going to spend a lot of time on this one. Way, way, way, way overmatched and had to expect to be in this position. Still, a couple thrilling games with Fiorentina and kept it close against Liverpool.
GRADE: C-

GROUP F

FC Barcelona
Group Winners, 11 points
Well, much ado about nothing. The defending European Champions suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Rubin Kazan at the Camp Nou and at that point it appeared their campaign was in jeopardy. After drawing the return match with the Russians, they beat Inter in a match where it didn't even seem like the Nerazzurri touched the ball. They followed that up with today's success at Dynamo Kiev to seal the group win. They had to deal with some injuries, but overall they have the quality to perform a lot better than they did.
GRADE: B

Inter Milan
Group Runner-Up, 9 points
They add Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder, and Lucio, and they still manage to underachieve on the big stage. They open up with 3 consecutive draws and then their campaign was in serious jeopardy in Kiev, until they rallied in the final 5 minutes. The secured 2nd spot in this group with a win today at home against Rubin Kazan, but that no show at Barcelona is an indicator of how far off they are from threatening to be European champions.
GRADE: C+

Rubin Kazan
Third in group, 6 points
The Russian champions had to see Barcelona and Inter and had to believe that they were playing for a Europa League place, so they can't be too disappointed with landing here. Yet, they took us on a pretty interesting ride, starting with that stunning upset at Barcelona. They proved it wasn't a fluke by drawing the Blaugrana at home. They also have a draw with Inter to their credit. They'll be disappointed to not have gotten more out of their matches against Dynamo Kiev, but ultimately they remain in Europe and will be a dangerous out in the Europa League.
GRADE: B

Dynamo Kiev
Bottom of Group, 5 points
They are bottom of the group, which might have been expected. However, they were closer than you think to advancing out of this group to the knockout stages. They had Inter on life support on Matchday 4, and couldn't close them out. They hold that 1-0 win, and they are on 8 points and 2nd today. Dynamo also opened with an early lead against Barcelona today before finally succumbing to defeat. They gave a tremendous account of themselves in what turned out to be the toughest group in the legaue stage.
GRADE: B

GROUP G

Sevilla
Group Winners, 13 points
They proved their worth as a seeded team that on paper looked like a tricky group to get through. They blitzed their way through each of their opponents the first time around, with a 100% record through the first three matchdays, and scoring 9 goals in the process. They had a less than inspiring draw with Stuttgart on Matchday 4 and a head-scratching defeat to Unirea Urziceni on Matchday 5, temporarily jeopardizing the stronghold they had on this group. They closed out with a home win over a disappointing Rangers team and if Luis Fabiano can get healthy, this team will continue to be a dangerous out in the knockout stages.
GRADE: B+

VFB Stuttgart
Group Runners Up, 9 points
Sack Markus Babbel, appoint Christian Gross as manager, score 3 goals in the first 11 minutes in the deciding match against Unirea Urziceni. That was simple, wasn't it? The 3-0 win on Matchday six will sugar coat what was an overall disappointing league run. Ultimately, Stuttgart achieved qualification. However, with the squad they have, it should have been a smoother ride. Victory at Rangers was helpful for their cause as well.
GRADE: C+

Unirea Urziceni
Third in Group, 8 points
When this group was put together, one could hardly be argued with if he felt the Romanians would not be good enough and would be the bottom team. To our surprise, Unirea went into Matchday 6 needing just a draw at Stuttgart to progress to the knockout stages. What happened in Stuttgart today was an indicator that they were not ready for the big stage after all. Yet, it's safe to say they still overachieved, and it's Unirea and not Rangers that are in the Europa League.
GRADE: B

Rangers
Bottom of Group, 2 points
Celtic's performance in the preliminaries and their failure to reach the league stage of the Champions League had to be a worrying sign for Scottish football. Rangers' dud in the league stage is confirmation of how far the Old Firm have fallen. Ibrox Stadium was a charity house for visitors, as Rangers got no points and were outscored 10-2 in those three games. They could only manage 4 goals over the 6 games altogether and just drew two matches. A team that probably felt it had a shot at progressing to the knockout stages even failed to reach the Europa League. It could have been worse, last year, they went out in the 2nd preliminary round to a Lithuanian team.
GRADE: D

GROUP H

Arsenal
Group Winners, 13 points
Ho hum. Like Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal were expected to win this group. It didn't start with a bang, though, as they spotted Standard Liege 2 goals in their opener in Belgium. Since then, they stepped up and outperformed their opposition as they were expected. The loss was at Olympiakos on Matchday 6, and Wenger played the kids in that one. If they can get healthy, they could make a deep run in the knockout stages.
GRADE: B

Olympiakos
Group Runners Up, 10 points
Olympiakos advance to the knockout stage, and realistically this group was about who would finish 2nd between three teams that were pretty balanced with respect to each other. I favored the Greeks, and they came through. They will be a tougher out for whoever they draw in the knockouts than you think, as manager Zico will have them organized and disciplined. They hold the most interesting stat, as they managed 10 points in their group while being outscored 5-4 in their 6 league matches.
GRADE: B

Standard Liege
Third in Group, 5 points
I have to say that Standard overachieved here. Gave favorites Arsenal a scare as I mentioned, and AZ Alkmaar had more overall talent. Their ability to beat Olympiakos gave them a brief chance at qualifying for the knockout stages, but that was dashed when Arsenal beat them on Matchday 5. They found themselves in a battle today with AZ Alkmaar for the Europa League place, and got the goal and the point they needed to stay in Europe.
GRADE: C+

AZ Alkmaar
Bottom of Group, 4 points
The Dutch Champions had to like their chances of at least staying in Europe beyond the group stage, whether in the knockout stages or the Europa League. But they struggled to cope with the pressure of the European stage, and failed to win a single match in this competition. Needed a win at Standard on Matchday 6, and surrendered a late goal to end their European season altogether.
GRADE: C-

So the teams have been graded, and we're 9 days away from the draw. How would you grade your team's performance in the Champions League group stage? Hit me up with your thoughts.