A Real shocker.

England-4, Italy (and Spain)-0.

So, all my talk of England's elite looking forward to this week's Champion's League games with trepidation has proved totally unfounded. It's been a very good couple of nights for the English clubs, but there is still a lot of work to be done. First up, on Tuesday, were Manchester United in Milan and Arsenal at home to Roma. United should, and probably will, be feeling that they should be ahead in their tie with Internazionale. They dominated for long periods and had a number of very good chances. Ryan Giggs', in particular, was one that the Welsh wizard should have done better with. Inter rarely threatened, but did show at times that they have quality at their disposal; and with Sr. Mourinho at the helm I expect a nervy night at Old Trafford in two weeks time.

Arsenal will also be sensing opportunities missed. Roma rarely had a sniff, and Arsenal should really have snatched another goal or two. I highlighted their profligacy in front of goal in recent times, and that trend continued on Tuesday. However, they got the goal advantage and didn't concede, so they should go to Rome confident of shutting Spalletti's men out. Sounds easier than it is, though. I don't expect Roma to be as poor as they were at the Emirates in front of their home fans, but I do expect Arsenal to have enough quality to edge this one.

Wednesday, conversely, saw less dominance for the English clubs, but arguably two better results. Chelsea scored early against Juventus at Stamford Bridge, and appeared to sit back a little after that. Guus Hiddink was understandably frustrated at Chelsea's response to going ahead, and Juve will feel a bit disappointed at not having grabbed a crucial away goal. Again, Chelsea won't have it all their own way in Italy, but I fear Pavel Nedved's dream of ending his career with a Champion's League triumph might just be over in a couple of weeks.

And so to the Bernabeu, where Liverpool secured a memorable win against the might of Real Madrid. Ok, Real weren't exactly mighty, but it was still another brilliant win for Rafael Benitez to add to his scrapbook. Apart from the odd flash of brilliance from Arjen Robben, Real simply didn't show up. Liverpool, meanwhile, set about harassing and closing down their opponents at every opportunity. It worked, and although the free kick Heinze gave away was disgraceful, and the marking was non-existant, Fabio Aurelio's sweetly struck free was well headed by Yossi Benayoun past Iker Casillas, and Liverpool had the vital away goal. Only a fool would write Real Madrid off, but if Gerrard and Torres are fit it will take a monumental effort for them to turn this tie around at Anfield.

Banker of the Week (II).

Harry Redknapp and Martin O'Neill have, perhaps understandably, insisted that they will play weakened sides in tonight's UEFA Cups ties with Shakhtar Donetsk and CSKA Moscow respectively. Redknapp is clearly focussed on Premiership survival, and will almost certainly have an eye on Sunday's Carling Cup Final against Manchester United. O'Neill has the luxury of concentrating on something much more lucrative - Champion's League football. For those Villa fans who have made the trek to the plastic pitch of the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, and the Spurs fans intent on attending the Lane, I would have advised you to spend your money more wisely.

Mark Hughes has different views on this competition. Manchester City will want to make some sort of statement of intent in Europe - their summer transfer dealings may well be a little smoother if they can do so. Hughes should field his stongest XI against FC Copenhagen tonight, and they should have more than enough to see off the Danes. Thus, that brings me (belatedly) to only my second ever Banker of the Week. A £5 treble with William Hill on CSKA (8/13), Man City (1/2) and Shakhtar (7/5) will return just less than £30. For the adventurous among you, chuck in Hull City at 11/10 and the same stake will return just over £60.

Woods to face the new pretender?

Tiger Woods' much awaited comeback took place yesterday at the World Match Play Championship in Arizona yesterday. And it wouldn't be a Tiger Woods comeback if he didn't win; he duly did. Woods plays South Africa's Tim Clark, and should he progress a mouthwatering match-up with Northern Ireland's very own golfing superstar, Rory McIlroy (who plays Hunter Mahan today), is in the offing. If both players win today, I'm backing McIlroy to upset the world number 1, who looked a little bit rusty yesterday and struggled a little to close out the match. McIlroy's odds of 33/1 look very appealing, and are obviously due to the fact that he would play Woods next. A few quid on that would make things interesting, and I don't expect to see better odds than that for McIlroy for the rest of this year, majors included.