"HE is one classiest players in the world and it is great to see Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero doing so well. Del Piero led Juv to victory over Roma last weekend with a stunning 30 yard free kick which is his trademark. Then he set up Marchionni for the other goal. And this week he led the Italian giants to a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium by scoring both goals and sending his side into the knockout stage of the Champions League. Del Piero first played in the Champions League 12 years ago and it seems Italian clubs have Real Madrid's number in this competition.

Real Madrid fans are certainly not known for applauding an opposing player ¿ in fact I believe they have only done so for Maradona and Ronaldinho. But this week they rose up and gave Del Piero a standing ovation for his performance. That really says something. In fact we should all applaud Del Piero who is 33 years old now but playing some magnificent football. It is amazing when you think that he first joined Juv back in 1993! He has been a class act on and off the field and has kept himself in good shape ¿ an example to all footballers. He has great skill and such vision. He has also been a great asset to the Italian national team although some have in the past viewed him as too old. But if he keeps playing like this you will be hard pressed to keep him out.

Also joining Juventus in the knockout stages of the Champions League are Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon.

Defending champions Manchester United are almost through following their 1-1 draw at Celtic. United were hoping for a victory which would have sent them through but they are in a very comfortable position.

Arsenal were held 0-0 at home by Fenerbahce which is a bit strange considering they beat the Turkish team 5-2 in Istanbul ¿ a very tough place to play.

Arsene Wenger's team has eight points, two ahead of Porto, who won 2-1 at Dinamo Kiev. Kiev have five points and still in contention.

Chelsea, who crushed Sunderland 5-0 last weekend in the Premiership, were stung by Roma and lost 3-1 in Rome but I would still bank on them getting through while Liverpool certainly had a lot of luck in getting a point against Atletico de Madrid on Tuesday with a very, very dubious penalty. Atletico have reason to be angry especially since that penalty was in extra time.

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STOKE

I have always appreciated Arsenal manager Wenger but I think he was a bit out of line this week complaining about the tackles his players took against promoted team Stoke last weekend. I couldn't see anything wrong with them at all. I know he must have been unhappy at losing to Stoke but those things happen and fair play to Stoke. They played hard and really use those throw-ins well especially since they play on a narrow field.

In fact those throw-ins into the box by Rory Delap cause havoc for the opposing team. Although Delap throws the ball a long way it is how flat he throws it that cause defenders to panic. Stoke beat the Gunners 2-1 and both of Stoke's goals came from Delap's throw-ins. They have really developed the tactic as a weapon. I don't know why opposing teams do not place a player 10 yards in front of Delap and try and force him to loop the ball in which would be easier to defend. Also any team going to Stoke should really practice defending those throw-ins because you know they are going to use them ¿ often with deadly effect.

After last weekend's loss and the Champions League scoreless draw this week, Arsenal now have to face Manchester United on Saturday and I believe that the Gunners may have a couple of players out injured so it will be a test for them against the defending champions who found themselves in a tricky situation against giant killers Hull City last weekend when they were 4-1 up but only managed to come away with a 4-3 victory.

After taking four points from his first two games in charge of Spurs, Harry Redknapp managed get another valuable three points last weekend when Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1.

Spurs have a new life under Harry and they are getting on with it with a lot more enthusiasm. It didn't look good at the beginning of the game when Dutchman Dirk Kuyt fired Liverpool into the lead only after a few minutes. Liverpool were looking good until, about 20 minutes from time when Jamie Carragher scored an own goal and then to the relief of Spurs fans and players Roman Pavlyuchenko got on the end of David Bentley's parried shot to win the game right before the whistle. As I have said before, if anyone can get Spurs out of this sticky situation it is Harry.