Follow @TheScore_ie for updates. Send your comments to adrian@thescore.ie, Facebook us or tweet your opinions.
10.04pm Okay boys and girls, that’s all she wrote. It was cagey, stilted, often shouty stuff. If you want a change of pace, click through to the coverage of the Leaders’ Debat…. oh.
Niall will be back with another liveblog tomorrow evening when Manchester United face Marseille in France and Inter Milan host Bayern Munich in a repeat of last season’s final . Tasty.
10.03pm Carlo ancelotti didn’t say much, but he seemed pleased. Listen: carlo
10.01pm FULL TIME Blackpool 3 Spurs 1
9.52pm GOAL! Roman Pavlyuchenko pulls one back for Spurs but we’re surely too late for a comeback.
9.48pm TV3′s host and Leeds fan Matt Cooper is being pleasant enough with Keown and Cas. He probably hasn’t yet learned that Leeds managed to throw away two point in the derby clash with Barnsley: 3-3.
Check out the rest of the Championship scores
9.44pm GOAL! Blackpool 3 Spurs 0 Wow, does this mean Blackpool are better than AC Milan?
“Matt Phillips surges forward and gets inside the Spurs box before being hustled off the ball by Benoit Assou-Ekotto… who fails to spot Brett Ormerod following up. Ormerod beats Heurelho Gomes with a precise low shot, for his first Premier League goal for seven years. Surely there is no way back for Spurs now? We are inside the last 10 minutes.”
Here’s the Campbell goal that made it two, earlier:
.37pm FULL TIME Copenhagen 0 Chelsea 2 All too easy for the Blues. The TV3 panelists Martin Keown and Tony Cascarino were impressed by the new Torres-Anelka axis.
They agree it’s time for Drogba to sling his hook.
9.35pm FULL TIME It’s all over in Lyon. 1-1. Nicely poised for the second leg, I suppose.
9.34pm Busy night in the Championship too; from the BBC – “Football League Macca: “It’s Leeds’s turn to poke their noses in front at Elland Road as Max Gradel puts 3-2 ahead against Barnsley. Paul Konchesky has got Forest back to 1-1 as Preston’s resistance finally resisted. Reading now 2-1 ahead against Millwall and Bristol C are doing likewise at Watford. Pompey lead 1-0 against Palace, as do Hull at Derby. It remains goalless at QPR-Ipswich and Cov-Swansea. Lower down, Daggers have pegged back Huddersfield and Wycombe have a fourth against Burton.”
9.28pm Flourent Malouda is booked as he walks off the pitch to be replaced by Zhirkhov. The ref thought he wasn’t walking as fast as he’d like.
Ancelotti goes understandably mad on the touchline but it’s hard to take him seriously in a silly blue hat.
9.26pm GOAL! Lyon 1 Real 1 (Gomis 83″) Real’s terrible run in the south of France looks set to continue. Gomis made up fro his earlier miss to convert a deflected free-kick at the back post. Bad defending.
9.25pm We missed it earlier but here’s that Benzema goal:
9.18pm Didier Drogba comes off the bench for Chelsea, with two-goal Nicolas Anelka making way. Blues lead 2-0. Drogs can’t like being third-choice these days, particularly as Torres once again spurns a good chance on 75 minutes.
9.10pm GOAL! Lyon 0 Real Madrid 1 (Benzema) The visitors break the deadlock. Ozil skips across the pitch before Benzema picks up the loose ball and scores against his old club. He’s on the pitch about a minute.
9.02pm Am I going to add a slow-mo video of Jose Mourinho high-fiving 22 children? Yes. Yes, I am.
8.57pm GOAL! Copenhagen 0 Chelsea 2 (Anelka 54″) I missed it due to Oscar waffle. Will let you know after the replay.
8.55pm Alan McInally is waffling on about the Oscars and best supporting actress on Sky Sports. I fancy Amy Adams. To win.
8.54pm GOAL! Blackpool 2 Spurs 0 (Campbell) From the BBC: Amazing scenes at Bloomfield Road. Blackpool are getting battered but they have just scored a glorious second goal. A swift break sees DJ Campbell bring the ball forward before the impressive Sergei Kornilenko frees James Beattie inside the box with a delightful backheel. Beattie’s whipped cross finds Campbell running in to slot home at the far post, and he makes no mistake. A superb counter-attacking goal.
8.53pm Ramos hits the top of the crossbar in Lyon with a strong header. The game looks a lot more open than the first period.
Before that C-Ron whips in one of those trademark dipping free-kicks from a tight angle and it cannons back off the post.
8.49pm We’re up and running again in Copenhagen. Lawro reckons the hosts are gone 4-5-1.
More importantly, here’s Charlie Adam’s latest strike for the Seasiders.
8.36pm We’re getting the kettle on. Chelsea are cruising in copenhagen, despite he narrow lead and the game in Lyon has yet to really catch fire.
8.30pm Here’s that Anelka goal. It’s almost half-time:
8.22pm GOAL! Blackpool 1 Spurs 0 (Adams pen 15″) The Scot pops up with another spotter for Ollie Holloway’s men.
8.2opm What a miss from Lyon. Bastos swings in a cross, Casillas comes and drops it before Gomis lashes it high and over the bar. He gets a corner but it looks a generous decision.
8.16pm The Portuguese hits it straight on, it dips and bounces off the greasy turf like the Tipp hurlers’ technique ears ago. The keeper Lloris bats it away, as it were.
8.15pm Torres has had a handful of chances now and he’s made a complete bags of all of them. In France, Ral are piling on the pressure. Ronaldo is standing over a free kick 30 yards out.
8.03pm GOAL (Copenhagen 0 Chelsea 1, Anelka) The Frenchman picks the ball up one third down the pitch. He drives forward and shoots under the ‘keeper from the edge of the box. Easy.
7.55pm The ball broke to Torres inside the box. Let’s just saw his second touch was a tackle on the goalkeeper.
7.53pm We’re haven’t forgotten the Premier League either. Spurs kick off at Blackpool in the next five minutes.
The BBC’s Les Roopanarine reports: “Belarus international Sergey Kornilenko makes his Blackpool debut tonight, slotting into a three-man attack which also includes James Beattie. In two further changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Aston Villa last time out, midfielder Ludovic Sylvestre comes in for the injured Elliot Grandin and Neal Eardley returns in defence.
“Tottenham welcome back Luka Modric from injury, and the Croatia international will be joined in midfield by Wilson Palacios and Aaron Lennon. In the only other change to the side that won 2-1 at Sunderland, Sebastien Bassong slots into defence, where injury problems mean William Gallas will feature at right-back.”
7.49pm Paul Ring previewed the two Champions League games for us this morning. He writes: “Didn’t get one team sheet correct. My head is subsequently hanging in shame.”
7.47pm Torres leads the first attack for Chelsea in Copenhagen, eventually allowing himself to be jockeyed to the touchline where he lofts a cross to the back post. Malouda balloons it over and wide but it’s the proverbial bright start.
7.43pm this is the set-up I’m rocking in an attempt to see all the action. I feel like an extra in Apollo 13.
7.40pm Jose saunters down the tunnel and high-fives every one of the 22 little mascots. What a guy.
7.21pm It’s a cold night in the Danish capital by all accounts tonight with temperatures below zero. It’s been snowing all day.
Does anyone else remember this game in 1997? It was all white on the night for Tromso:
7.12pm Here’s the teams. And, as always, anyone have any wagers they fancy this evening? Torres starts for the Blues, by the way.
FC Copenhagen: Wiland, Pospech, Jorgensen, Antonsson, Wendt, Bolanos, Kvist, Claudemir, Gronkjaer, Santin, Ndoye. Subs: Christensen, Bengtsson, Kristensen, Zohore, Vingaard, Hooiveld, Delaney.
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka, Torres. Subs: Turnbull, Drogba, Mikel, Zhirkov, Ferreira, Kalou, McEachran.
Lyon: Lloris, Reveillere, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho, Michel Bastos, Gourcuff, Toulalan, Kallstrom, Delgado, Gomis. Subs: Vercoutre, Gassama, Diakhate, Briand, Pjanic, Gonalons, Pied.
Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Arbeloa, Di Maria, Alonso, Khedira, Ozil, Ronaldo, Adebayor. Subs: Adan, Kaka, Benzema, Diarra, Granero, Marcelo, Albiol.
Early reducer: Carlo’s rag-tag Chelsea boys rock up to Copenhagen and Jose’s Real Madrid visit Lyon. After last week’s Champions League drama expect Jesper Gronkjaer to loaf whoever replaced Ray Wilkins on the Blues’ bench.
