All the Roads We Have to Walk Are Winding

Remember all of the pathos captured in this post?

Well, as of today, all has been forgiven.

Liverpool, in a dominating 4-nil victory over Olympique de Marseille, secured a place in the final 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Goals were scored by Steven Gerrard (4th minute), Fernando Torres (11th minute), Dirk Kuyt (48th minute), and substitute Ryan Babel (90th minute).

Here's video of all 4 goals as the Reds become the first English side to ever win at the Stade Velodrome:

Tomorrow the final matches will be played for Group E, F, G, and H.

The following teams have already qualified for the knockout stages:

FC Porto (Portugal)

Liverpool FC (England)

Chelsea FC (England)

Schalke 04 (Germany)

Real Madrid CF (Spain)

Olympiacos (Greece)

AC Milan (Italy and Current Holders of Champions League Title)

Celtic FC (Scotland)

FC Barcelona (Spain)

Manchester United FC (England)

AS Roma (Italy)

Internazionale Milan (Italy)

FC Sevilla (Spain)

Arsenal FC (England)

Essentially, the final two spots in the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League knockout stages come down to matches between Rangers FC (Scotland) and Olympique Lyonnais (France) in Group E and Fenerbahce (Turkey) and PSV Eindhoven (The Netherlands) in Group G. For the record, my money is Rangers and Fenerbahce to claim spots in the Final 16. You know, if gambling were legal.

In the excitement over the Reds living to fight on another Champions League day, one crucial point might have been missed. Due to the fact that they finished one point behind FC Porto in Group A, Liverpool must now face one of the clubs that finished atop their given group.

For instance, the Champions League has regulations that restrict a team from facing a member of their group or a team from their home country in the first knockout stage, in the Round of 16 Liverpool will either face Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Internazionale Milan, or Sevilla. Although each of those teams are obviously very talented, I would probably want to face either Real Madrid, Sevilla, or AC Milan in the next round.

Also, don't think that my ears are deaf to the "Milan beat Liverpool in last year's Champions League final" statements. If anything, it's time for a little revenge, which as we all we know, is a dish best served cold.As always, You'll Never Walk Alone.