Not a game for the ages, but tonight we saw some world class players show how effortless this game can be. We also saw the difference between victory and loss can be wafer thin.

This was the last game of the champions League group stage, Seattle were already through and Monterrey (the defending champions in this competition) came loaded and needed a result to ensure qualification for the knockout stages next spring.

Among the talent on show tonight (and Monterrey has plenty of it) was Humberto Suazo, a top class player who spent last season with Real Zaragoza in the Spanish top flight. He looked like he was going to do something special every time he got the ball. Add Argentinian Cesar Delgardo, Mexican Luis Perez and the rest of the international and this was an excellent team Seattle took on tonight.

Seattle fielded a side with seven changes from the squad that started Saturday against San Jose. This included Brian Meridith making his first start for the club in goal.

Monterrey needed a win tonight and opened the scoring three minutes in when Dario Carrena got onto the end of a lofted through ball from Suazo. A defensive breakdown when no one pressed the Suazo. It was a nicely taken ball and the keeper never really had much of a chance.

I was not able to go to the Sounders-Colorado game at Qwest tonight, work got in the way of those plans. It was interesting to sit here listening to Arlo White calling an OK Sounder performance while tapping away on my laptop. Evens looked sharp initially, if he plays like this I can see why Sigi is so high on him. Montero finally got onto the scorecard with a brace and set up the JK Hurtardo for the first goal with a well placed free kick. New boys White and Friberg both played a part in Montero’s goals.

A little worry over Zakuani and Evans maybe picking up injuries, hopefully neither is nothing serious. A solid performance, but it gets serious now.

A lot to be positive about tonight in Sounderland, would have been nice to be there to watch the champions take on the cup holders. A trip to South Carolina may put paid to the home opener and I’m not happy about that prospect. I’m trying to get out of it, but stuff like that happens on this program.

In the champions League Harry Redknapp’s Spurs side came out with a game plan and executed flawlessly against AC Milan tonight at White Heart Lane. Spurs were defending a 1-0 lead earned on a memorable night in the San Siro three weeks ago.

Milans tactics were predicable, they had to take the game to Tottenham and be more adventurous than they were in the first leg. And they did just that, they played well, had a good passing game and Clarence Seedorf (who I think played when I saw Ajax in 1995) looked especially sharp and was very effective in spreading the ball around.

There are huge risks to sitting back and absorbing pressure and Milan had a couple of decent chances, the last one falling to Robinho in injury time. It’s a testament to Redknapp and Tottenham that they really had the measure of the Italian Champions tonight.

With the job done and Tottenham in the draw for the quarter finals they can feel good about where they are. It would be easy to be awed by playing a side with the heritage and players of AC Milan, but they were not and that’s a testament to Redknapp and his style.  Tottenham have proved they have the discipline and ability to alter heir game to match the circumstances.

It may be the London clubs first run in the champions league, but they played like they belonged there and there is no one they should be afraid of at this point.

I believe any side that wants to win this tournament is going to have to meet Barcelona at some point, clearly they are the best team in Europe once again. But last year Inter showed even the Catalonians they can be beaten. The final is at Wembley in May, dare we hope of an all London final? Imagine the atmosphere at a Tottenham verses Chelsea final.

Look down the fixture list of any football club (actually any sports team) and there are big games. The games against Portland and Vancouver stand out for the Sounders this year. I think the Houston games have a little extra bite to them.

These are the games you put a little asterisk against and make sure nothing else is going on that day.

Then there are the massive games, these are the ones matter to the fans of the game rather than just fans of the team. Titans clash and there is something on the line.

These you plan your entire week around, anticipate, think about, and obsess. These are the huge nights. This week there has been a couple of these massive games in the UEFA Champions League.

Last night was Tottenham in the San Siro. Before the game Spurs manager (and ex Sounders player and manager) Harry Redknapp engaged in a few mind games. He said “we will have a right go” and Harry was true to his word. They took the game to Milan from the first minute and at half time they were right to feel they had held their own against the reigning European and world club champions.

This performance and result was proof that this Spurs side not only belongs at this level but if they raise their game like this deserve to be regarded as genuine contenders. To provide a little perspective, this was the current champions (and Serie A leaders) and they were comprehensively beaten in their own stadium.

Tottenham came with a plan and executed wonderfully, but with a lot of discipline, especially at the back. They soaked up huge amounts of pressure and pressed forward quickly when given a break. As for the goal, it was made by Aaron Lennon’s wonderful run, the defender came out to stop him and Lennon made sure he missed. Crouch’s positioning was perfect, the keeper could not cover both players and the finish was made to look easy.

Harry Redknap knows the job is not done. They have to defend the lead at White Hart Lane, but Spurs have given themselves a wonderful chance to go through to the last eight, and there is no one they should be scared of.

Tonight was Barcelona playing Arsenal in London. Last year these teams met in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and we were treated to 30 minutes of Barcelona putting on a clinic, they played maybe the best football I’ve ever seen. I was in Guildford and watched the game sitting with dad. We both sat there in silence, just astounded by how good this team was.

I’ve watched Arsenal play a few times this year and they are a very attractive team to watch, they play a beautiful passing game and Arsene Wenger knows how to win games. This had the makings of a great game, two sides that play the game the way it’s supposed to be. And it delivered.

Before this match there were a lot of idea put around about how to beat this Barcelona side. Some said play a more physical game; others said play them tight and take away space. Last year in this fixture it did look like Arsenal gave Barcelona too much space and respect.

That never happened this time, they pressured every time Barcelona had the ball. It seemed to work for a time and there were times the Spanish leaders were forced to hoof the ball clear. Very uncharacteristic and a sign that Arsenals tactics were working.

Arsenals tactics did lead to the Barcelona goal, the midfield pushed up, was unable to close them down and gave David Villa the space to finish. As the first half wore on Barcelona did seem to play better and better, by the break Barcelona did look somewhat in control and were moving the ball around well.

Wenger did seem to change things a little at half time, they ran at them a little more and the defenders were caught high a couple of times.

The home side definitely had better chances as the game wore on, with a high back four when Barcelona were caught on the break they did look venerable to pace through the channels and a number of decent chances came to both sides, but as the game went on Arsenal looked the more composed side and adsorbed the pressure well.

Van Persie scored the equalizer. He did well to get onto a ball through played through the back four and did well to beat the keeper on the near post from a tight angle. The winner was a classic Arsenal end-to-end counter attack. The Barcelona attack broke down and the ball went from Nasri to Arshavin who hit a beautifully controlled shot past the keeper.

The game was as good as I’d hoped, both sides played their part and Arsenal found a way to press Barcelona and used their pace to get behind the defense. Barcelona had moments of dominance, but were unable to really break the defenders down constantly.

These games set up a pair of fascinating ties in three weeks time at the Camp Nou, and White Hart Lane, and that’s another two massive games for fans of the game.

Not a pretty game at times, Seattle was already eliminated from advancing any further in the CONCACAF Champions League. Saprissa still controlled their destiny and would advance to the last 8 with a win tonight.

Sounders largely played their reserves tonight. Terry Boss apparently picked up an injury shortly before the game and Keller started in goal. Keller was among those who did not have a good night.

A beautiful Seattle night

First the positives, Seattle look solid down the middle; they have depth in both defence and midfield. Tyrone Marshal, Alvaro Fernandez and Taylor Graham all looked good today.

Nate Jaqua had a decent game; he had little support, but did well playing as a classic, physical centre forward and was a clear presence in the box. Created a couple of good chances and his positioning on the Seattle goal was excellent.

There has to be some not so good. Miguel Montano is a long way from the finished article and clearly not ready to start. He played 30 minutes tonight and while fast need to be more disciplined with the ball. Also took a dumb yellow card for diving.

For all the depth in defence and the middle of the field, they looked awfully short of creative options up front. Levesque and Estrada did not have good games. Neither player seemed to have a first touch worth the name and when it got really chippy with lots of pushing in the Saprissa box neither could do anything when they got the ball. Very disappointing.

Lastly was the execution on set pieces, free kicks especially were particularly bad this evening. Nothing more to say, other then Nyassi and Montero were missed.

Seattle had the best of the play in the first half and deserved their goal. A well-taken chance by Fernandez just inside the box that was stopped, the rebound fell to Jaqua who finished well.

The goal came a few minutes after a huge scramble in front of the Saprissa goal. The ball ended up in the back of the net, but somewhere in the scramble the referee saw an infringement and did not give the goal.

Saprissa looked dangerous on the break and  equalized a few minutes after Seattle went ahead, an awful goal to concede too. The ball was behind the defence and there seemed to be a miscommunication between Keller and Scott, neither went for the loose ball and it needed up as an easy tap in for the impressive looking Jairo Arrieta.

The last time we will see the subtle and understated third kit this year.

After the break the game degenerated with some rather physical play from both sides. Seattle seemed to be on the receiving end of the more blatant stuff and the card kept on coming out. Inevitable someone was going to get booked a second time and it was a Saprissa player sent off for a second yellow.

The sending off was just after the second Saprissa goal. The score came with only a couple of minutes left in regulation and it was totally on Keller, the ball just slipped through his hands. I’m sure he’d like to have another chance at that.

It was a beautiful October night in Seattle and the game attracted a decent crowd of over 11.000. The game was entertaining at times, very frustrating at others. Saprissa needed a win and had a little luck tonight in getting it.

Overall results in this competition have been disappointing. Seattle have played six, won one, lost five. It looked like a tough group when it was drawn with both Monterry and Saprissa. Two clubs with lots of success in this tournament. It turned out to be a very tough group, but Seattle will be back next year, a little more experienced and hopefully a little more successful.

Liverpool are not having a good year and tonight they were knocked out of the Champions League. It’s the first time since Benitez arrived in 2004 that the team has failed to make the knock out stages.

Liverpool were in a position where they needed other teams results to start going their way. They had to win and Fiorentina needed to drop points to Lyon. Liverpool beat Debrecen 1-0 in Budapest, however the Italian club beat Lyon by the same score.

The board has given him a vote of confidence and like the players, publicly state are fully behind the manager.

Saturday they play away at Everton in the first of the Liverpool derbys this year, while it’s not a must win game, they are 13 points behind the leaders and 6 points away from a place in the Champions League next year.

They need to start winning, clearly the Premier League is beyond them once again. I find it staggering that it’s been almost 20 years since the mighty reds last won the title. They were the team to beat in the 70’s and 80’s and at their height under Bob Paisley were possibly the best club side Europe has ever seen.

Real Madrid with Puskas or Liverpool with Dalglesh, two teams that were technically superior to anyone else. It would have been something to see.

As with every other failure in European Football there are significant financial implications. Making it into the first round of the knock out phase was worth maybe $4 Million, going al the way to the final was worth an estimated $70-80 to Barcelona last year. Again the sums money being thrown around is just staggering.