Game day six and it's head-to-head in Group A with potentially interesting matchup in Moscow. Meanwhile, for Milan, the soap opera continues. You can, as always, follow along on our Twitter feed, @championsonfox, which will have all the goal flashes and other major news. If you cannot be near a TV today and want to watch on your laptop, visit www.championsonfox, where you can stream the games legally, for a small fee.

Yesterday’s games: What can you say about a day in which: Only one home team wins; you see two legit upsets and two unexpected stalemates; and you see a storied team collapse in nearly unutterable fashion? (OK, you can say a lot.)

Let’s start with the collapse: Rangers have now lost two games in a row by scores of 1-4 at home. Yesterday, it was the Romanians Unirea that picked the Glaswegians apart, but on the evidence, anyone could currently repeat the feat. Did we mention that the day saw a stunning flurry of goals?

Rangers looked horrid all over the pitch: Their set pieces were hopeful belters; their midfield interchange was non-existent, and their defending was ghastly. As is the case with the woeful Cubs of Chicago, Scottish fans still will pack Ibrox (and Parkhead, mind you) weekly in a world-famous show of support. There are signs this is starting to end and to be honest it must if this team’s going to improve.

Last night we were all treated to the grim sight of Ibrox emptying with 25 left to play, and the fans raining abuse down on their team. (Some of that abuse came toward our own Maurice Edu, who wrote on Twitter (a post he later removed) that said “It's sad n embarrassing that people follow me so they can write racist comments. It's '09, people, let's grow up n mature a lil bit."

Now the upsets: Who would have thunk that Rubin Kazan, a Russian debutante, would waltz into Camp Nou, overpower Bracelona, and walk away with a 2-1 win? Not I. And while that’s not exactly what happened, Rubinwas full value for their win.  This was one of the great upsets in European Cup history, and it was well-deserved. Rubin’s Aleksandr Ryazantsev gave the Russians a shock lead after two minutes and when Barcelona’s midfield coughed the ball up late in the second, Gokdeniz Karadeniz brought the hammer down. The real story of the game, though, was Rubin’s stout defense. Barcelona came out roaring to start the second half, but could not do anymore than get level. And when they did that, the expected Barca assault never materialized.

Then there’s Liverpool, who are enduring their worst start in 23 seasons. They followed up a freak loss to Sunderland with a game in which they were comprehensively outworked by Lyon. Now, you can say a lot of things about Liverpool, but “outworked?” Rarely. Yet, last night, that was the case.

Manager Rafa Benitez, who would surely be on the job line this morning if the club could afford to sack him (they cannot) gambled and failed with the introduction of Steven Gerrard. That backfired when the injured captain re-did his groin and had to come off after 25 ineffective minutes. That injury now means Gerrard is likely to miss Liverpool’s vital game against Manchester United on the weekend, to boot. It was a gamble Benitez obviously felt he had to take; when Gerrard walked off, Liverpool seemed to sink without a captain to guide the ship.

With the loss, Liverpool is staring at the abyss: They could effectively be out of the running for the Premiership title by Monday, and they sit in third place with just three points in Group E with one home game remaining.

Then there’s the underachievers: Did anyone think Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan would be  dead last in Group F? No. But this one is proving to be the group of death as, like Rubin Kazan did to Barcelona, Dinamo Kyiv showed up last night and stonewalled the homers 2-2 at the San Siro. Kyiv was consistently the better team on the night, and were it not for a bit of great play from Walter Samuel, Inter would have been stuck with the loss.

Arsenal have to be hopping mad after conceding a stoppage-time goal to AZ Alkmaar, but the Gunners have no one to blame but themselves. They dominated the game effortlessly…and that lulled them into a false sense of security. Time after time, Arsenal had chances to end the match. They didn’t, and now see their lead atop Group H reduced to a single point. Note to Arsene Wenger: The Mannone experiment? Let’s end it.

Last but not least, the Hungarian goal-fest. Fiorentina scored four goal in the first half alone in a match that ended up 3-4 for the Italians over Debrecen. Talk about wild: Three goals in the first ten minutes as Debrecen and La Viola traded blows, then a late strike from Coulibaly that seemed tnearly tipped the game the homer’s way. This is one to re-watch.

The other games were easy: Squillaci and Jesus Navas made short work of Stuttgart as Sevilla cruised to a 3-1 win; Olympiakos got a late winner to down Standard 2-1 at home.

TODAY:
Maccabi Haifa is already bringing up the rear in Group A but the Israeli side may yet play a part in which two of three heavyweights advances from perhaps to toughest qualifying group. Bordeaux hosts Bayern tonight, the teams level on four points atop the section. Obviously, these are three points the French champions need badly if they are to maintain a challenge for a top two finish. Juventus, two points behind after draws in their first two games, needs to find its true Euro form against Maccabi in Torino to make sure they take three points and gain on someone -- maybe both -- from the other match. Which brings us back to the Israelis: any point they get from any game could be the one that alters the final balance.

Manchester United is already cruising ... they have taken over the top spot in their EPL title defense and have full points from their Group B start. Everything is lined up for Sir Alex Ferguson to have a nice cuppa Sunday night as long as his lads don't get jet-lagged or upset this week. The journey to Moscow is never easy and CSKA will be looking to tie for the group lead. But United has fared very well in such circumstances in the past. Then comes a little weekend trip to Anfield Road where the Red Devils could pretty much bury one of their big EPL rivals. United has not always looked pretty this season but SAF's bunch continues to get results.

Real Madrid is already in charge in Group C but things have not gone as expected elsewhere. Marseille is pointless, Milan lost at home last time out to FC Zurich and suddenly it is the Swiss who stand to profit tonight if they can beat the French side. You know about the hang-wringing in Milan; the questions are already there over the future of Leonardo as team boss and although it was totally to be expected that the Serie A club would seek compensation for the loss of Oguchi Oneywu the plain fact is that they probably could have used the big American somewhere in this CL group stage. The Galacticos will manage without Cristiano Ronaldo you imagine -- more openings for Kaka perhaps.

Group D already looks over. Chelsea can go to nine points by taking care of business against Atletico Madrid tonight while Porto would keep APOEL pinned to the bottom alongside the Spanish club if they win in Portugal. It's going to take something very strange to keep Chelsea and Porto from a smooth stride into the knockout stage.

TV
Today's pairings with Directv channels. All kickoffs are 14:45 Eastern except for the game in Moscow, which kicks at 12:30.
Group A
Bordeaux vs. Bayern Munich (DTV 462); Juventus vs. Maccabi Haifa (DTV 463)
Group B
CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester United (FSC/FSE, Setanta, DTV 469, 12:30 kickoff); Wolfsburg vs. Besiktas (DTV 465)
Group C
Real Madrid vs. AC Milan (Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports Espanol and DTV 467); FC Zurich vs. Olympique Marseille (DTV 464)
Group D
Chelsea vs. Atletico Madrid (Setanta, DTV 468); FC Porto vs. APOEL Nicosia (DTV 466)

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