Poor Rafa...good for Lyon and Bordeaux!

Impressive victory for OL defeating Liverpool in the Champions League this week, and did this at Anfield. Having the full 9 points from the first 3 games places Lyon in pole position to go through. Knowing they will receive both Liverpool and Debreceni at home, it is not impossible to see Lyon with a sure 4 points from those 2 matches...at 13 points they should be safe. As for Rafa, with the Manchester United game looming might the Reds go 0-3 this week? Poor Rafa, at least with Gerrard and Torres hurt he has a built in excuse for the poor run of form.

Another Ligue 1 side is also surprising - Bordeaux. They too are sitting atop their group. The only points Bordeaux dropped were on the road to Juventus where they drew 1-1. Bordeaux will have to travel to Bayern for the next rounds of matches, where a draw would be a very respectable result. They will also have to travel to Maccabi, which will not be a simple match, but Bordeaux should be able to secure a draw. The key will be the return leg against Juventus back at Bordeaux, if Les Girodins can get another draw then they should be through.

Oh yeah the third team from Ligue 1 is Marseilles...they are 3 points behind Milan and Real. They will need to beat Zurich in the next round to have a chance before facing Milan and Real. It will be difficult but could be possible.

Anyways Ligue 1 is holding its own right now, but the true test will be if one of the clubs can get to the 1/4 finals or further. That will be the true barometer of the success of the clubs. Time will tell.