The second phase of the Champions League is sending Liverpool to hell, Manchester United to a comparative paradise and may well leave Arsenal in limbo. Last season three English teams reached the knockout stage; this time the Premier League will be fortunate if one gets through.

There was never going to be an easy passage to the quarter-finals no matter how yesterday's draw worked out. This is the strongest second round the tournament has seen.

Yet Manchester United have still enjoyed what luck was available, while Liverpool, the only team from England to win a first-round group, must be wondering exactly what privilege the achievement was supposed to bestow.

United will renew old acquaintances with Bayern Munich, whom they beat in stoppage time in the 1999 final but who were their nemesis last season, and face possibly awkward opponents in Nantes and Boavista. Against that, they have managed to steer clear of the Spanish opposition that habitually makes life more difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson's teams.

Liverpool, on the other hand, not only have to play Barcelona and Roma but face the trip to that devil's kitchen in Istanbul. Doubtless the all-singing, horn-blowing fans who support Galatasaray will welcome Liverpool to hell in the usual way. The opposition, too, can be fairly daunting.

Arsenal's fitful progress in the first round does not inspire confidence in the ability of Arsene Wenger's side to succeed in a group containing Juventus and Deportivo la Coruna, with potentially sticky German opponents in Bayer Leverkusen.

All in all this promises to be the most intriguing second round in the Champions League to date. An early choice of quarter-finalists would be: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Porto, Juventus and Deportivo. And that, so far as English interests are concerned, is being super-optimistic.