It's been a great week for Scottish football, which has been much maligned for so many years. Hot on the heels of Rangers' stunning three-goal win in Lyon - six-in-a-row Ligue 1 champions, let's not forget - comes possibly an even more amazing result: a 2-1 victory for Celtic over the reigning European champions Milan.
Let's not get carried away: in both matches, the Scottish sides were outpassed by technically superior sides, and both sides lost out in terms of possession. But that's not to say neither team was a worthy winner: they worked hard, sticking to their game-plan, and took their chances brilliantly when they came.
So can both Scottish sides get through? And are these results the first green (and blue) shoots of recovery which, along with the results of the national team, will see Scottish football blossom and grow over the next few years? Are the European glory years of the 60s, 70s and 80s coming back?
Meanwhile, Chelsea put their recent problems behind them to overcome Valencia in a composed, mature performance. Is this is the start of a Chelsea comeback? Does it show the players are behind Avram Grant? Were they playing for themselves or the manager's pride? Ashley Cole was excellent - as he has been since Jose Mourinho left - is he happier than he was under the more restrictive Mourinho? And is John Terry - fractured cheekbone and all - now officially the Bravest Man In England?
Liverpool, by contrast, looked lethargic and disjointed as they deservedly lost to Marseille, who became the first French club ever to beat them at Anfield. What went wrong for Rafael Benítez's men? Did starting Peter Crouch encourage them to resort to long balls too readily? Or did they only opt for route one because the French had gained total control of the middle? Will they still make it out of the group? Does Benítez need to alter his management style, and make his teams more assertive rather than reactive?
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