The UEFA Champions League draw took place earlier today in Switzerland, and things couldn’t get much uglier for Premier League “frontgunners,” Aresenal.  Arsene Wenger and company drew defending champions AC Milan, who still sit in 11th in Serie A, but have been the best team outside Old Trafford in the Champions League.

It’s been a rough 10 days for Liverpool since their thrashing of Marseille to reach the CL knockout stages.  A loss to rivals United, a Peter Crouch red and defeat to Chelsea, and then a CL draw against Italian leaders Inter Milan.  Of course this time last year, Liverpool were drawn against Spanish frontrunners Barcelona, and we know where that got them.

The difference?  The first leg against Inter will be at Anfield, as opposed to the return leg as has been the case in past years.  During their runs to the Champions League final in 2005 and 2007, Liverpool had the luxury of hosting the second leg of nearly every crucial series in the knockout stages.  Whether it was Chelsea in the 2005 and 2007 semis or Barcelona in last year’s tournament, Liverpool was allowed to slow the game down in the 2nd leg and allow the KOP end to take control. 

Not this time around as they’ll finish in northern Italy, although that didn’t seem to hurt them against Juventus in 2005.