Well the draw happened on friday and a soccer fan's dream has come true with Barcelona and Arsenal getting drawn together. This is the best and most interesting match up of the bunch with out a doubt. But first I'm gonna talk about the others.
Man U v. Bayern Munich... Interesting match up here. Obviously a rematch of the '99 Champion's League final which Man U won with 2 stoppage time goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Man U will definitely be the favored side in this tie but Bayern could cause a scare for the Red Devils. Man U will have the advantage of the second leg being at home but if they are not careful Bayern can score at home and put this matchup in doubt. With Robben and Ribery causing problems down the flanks, Bayern have a definite attacking scare. I still think Man U will win this tie (and eventually make it to the final) but I think Bayern win's at home but Man U gets the away goal and then finishes it off at home.
Lyon v. Bordeaux... The all French match up. These two teams obviously know each other very well being from the same league. In fact, they will play 3 games in quick succession as they play in the league right after the second leg of this tie. Bordeaux have the second leg at home and are currently in better form than Lyon, sitting atop the Ligue 1 table with Lyon in 5th (but only 5 points back). Lyon have the experience on their side as they have made the knock out stage in the past 6 years. I like Lyon in this matchup because of the experience and having defeated Real Madrid in the previous tie. Though this one is almost 50-50. The winner of this tie gets Man U in the next leg and will have the second leg at home. Man U will be favored against either of these teams and I think Bayern would be too. I see Man U moving on to the final.
Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow... Inter had a great showing against Chelsea and get the "benefit" of the draw against the least well known side. However, playing against Eastern European teams and having to travel there is always difficult (just ask Barca: Rubin Kazan, Dynamo Kiev, and Shaktar Donetsk). Mourinho will have his team ready to go and will have the advantage of the second leg at home. I think the game in Moscow will be tight and tough but the game at the San Siro will be defining and send Inter through.
Barcelona v. Arsenal... Without a doubt the best match up of this stage. Two teams with a similar style who wont sit back and play ugly soccer (are you listening Chelsea?) Barcelona will be favored in this match up as they are arguably the best team in the world at the moment (they would be favored against everyone they play right now though it would be almost 50-50 against Man U). Henry will be facing his old club and Cesc will be doing the same, though Cesc may also be facing his new club as Barcelona want to buy him this summer. Barcelona have the second game at home. This is also a rematch of the '06 final which Barca won 2-1 coming from behind late. I think the game at Arsenal will be high scoring and very exciting (3-2, 2-1, 3-3 type game). I think Barca will, however, once again take advantage at home and win the tie. The other interesting thing about this tie is that the weekend after the second leg Barca must go to the Bernabeu while Arsenal must take on Tottenham. These two games could cause the teams to play different but I don't see too much changing. The winner of this match gets Inter or CSKA in the next round and will have the second leg at home.
I picture it being Barcelona v. Inter and Man U v. Lyon in the semi's. Again I see Man U making the final and in the rematch of the group stage I think Barcelona will once again get by Inter in a very tight match up. This would obviously lead to a rematch of last years final which Barca won. Not sure who would be favored in this game at these are the top 2 teams in the world at the moment. Rooney and Messi are on amazing form and are scoring all the time. Barca's defense is weaker but their attack and possession is much stronger. I am biased so I will say Barca repeat but remember no team has repeated since it became known as the Champion's League. Also, the game will be in Spain which may help Barca and with it being at the home of your rival it could give Barca another advantage. Also, with Mourinho facing Barca it could be very interesting as he may take over for Real next season or Barca in 2 seasons (Guardiola unsure if he wants to continue after next season).
More to come on the Barca-Aresnal match up when it gets closer
Showing posts with label Champions League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Champions League. Show all posts
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Real crash out as United cruise to the quarters
Wow what a day. Real Madrid unable to move on again, embarrassed on their home field.
The first game for me was Man U vs. AC Milan. It was always going to be a tough job for AC Milan to reverse a 3-2 deficit at Man U and they failed at doing so miserably. They did however nearly have the opening goal with a header from Ronaldinho that went just wide. Unlucky as they were to not score, they did nothing to help themselves a few minutes later as Rooney headed home another goal and essentially put the match out of reach, with Milan now needing 3 goals to win the tie. Rooney slotted home another before Man U walked away with the game 4-0. Milan, knowing it was over, put little effort in the rest of the game. It was nice to see Beckham play against his old team and nearly score, but it was not Milan's night.
In what was the second game for me, Real Madrid looked to reverse a 1-0 deficit to Lyon. The night started out wonderfully for Real and Ronaldo scored a scorcher in the 6th minute and Higuain hit the post and should have scored. Kaka also had a great opportunity but failed to capitalize. Real will look back at these chances and cry, I think, about being unable to finish. Real completely dominated the first half but the second half was a different story as Lyon seemed to get into their stride and work the ball better. Yes they were still counter attacking but they were holding more possession and looking more dangerous. Finally in the 75th minute, Pjanic finished a brilliantly worked move by Lyon to equalize on the night and give a 2-1 aggregate in their favor. Real then pushed hard to respond now needing 2 goals to move on. Raul was brought on for a poor Kaka but he was unable to do anything of positive note (the only thing of note he did was make a fool of himself at the end against Cris). Lyon held and are now moving on to the quarters joining Man U, Arsenal, and Bayern so far. I have to say that Lyon were great at the back and special mention must be made of Cris, who seemed to head away every ball, and Delgado, who blocked many cross attempts, set up the Lyon goal and nearly scored himself.
As much as I would have liked to see my boys, Barcelona, knock Real out of the Champions League (preferably in the final) I am still happy to see them out. This marks the 6th straight season that Real have crashed out in the knock out stages early on. They have not made it past the quarters in those 6 years. After spending over 250 million pounds in the summer and making a priority of the Champions League, this is a big disappointment for los Blancos who will now have to settle on fighting for the la liga title with Barcelona.
That is all for this week, some great games and great goals. I will post again next week after the Champions league activities of Barca-Stuttgart, Sevilla-CSKA Moscow, Bordeaux-Olympiakos, and Chelsea-Inter Milan.
The first game for me was Man U vs. AC Milan. It was always going to be a tough job for AC Milan to reverse a 3-2 deficit at Man U and they failed at doing so miserably. They did however nearly have the opening goal with a header from Ronaldinho that went just wide. Unlucky as they were to not score, they did nothing to help themselves a few minutes later as Rooney headed home another goal and essentially put the match out of reach, with Milan now needing 3 goals to win the tie. Rooney slotted home another before Man U walked away with the game 4-0. Milan, knowing it was over, put little effort in the rest of the game. It was nice to see Beckham play against his old team and nearly score, but it was not Milan's night.
In what was the second game for me, Real Madrid looked to reverse a 1-0 deficit to Lyon. The night started out wonderfully for Real and Ronaldo scored a scorcher in the 6th minute and Higuain hit the post and should have scored. Kaka also had a great opportunity but failed to capitalize. Real will look back at these chances and cry, I think, about being unable to finish. Real completely dominated the first half but the second half was a different story as Lyon seemed to get into their stride and work the ball better. Yes they were still counter attacking but they were holding more possession and looking more dangerous. Finally in the 75th minute, Pjanic finished a brilliantly worked move by Lyon to equalize on the night and give a 2-1 aggregate in their favor. Real then pushed hard to respond now needing 2 goals to move on. Raul was brought on for a poor Kaka but he was unable to do anything of positive note (the only thing of note he did was make a fool of himself at the end against Cris). Lyon held and are now moving on to the quarters joining Man U, Arsenal, and Bayern so far. I have to say that Lyon were great at the back and special mention must be made of Cris, who seemed to head away every ball, and Delgado, who blocked many cross attempts, set up the Lyon goal and nearly scored himself.
As much as I would have liked to see my boys, Barcelona, knock Real out of the Champions League (preferably in the final) I am still happy to see them out. This marks the 6th straight season that Real have crashed out in the knock out stages early on. They have not made it past the quarters in those 6 years. After spending over 250 million pounds in the summer and making a priority of the Champions League, this is a big disappointment for los Blancos who will now have to settle on fighting for the la liga title with Barcelona.
That is all for this week, some great games and great goals. I will post again next week after the Champions league activities of Barca-Stuttgart, Sevilla-CSKA Moscow, Bordeaux-Olympiakos, and Chelsea-Inter Milan.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Arsenal vs. Porto
Well with Arsenal already putting a 4 spot on Porto I decided to write this before the game actually ends. Arsenal!!!!! Just brilliant. Arsenal have always been a very gifted attacking minded team (similar to Barcelona) and this game was no different. You could definitely see at times when Arsenal looked suspect at the back and they will definitely be looking for some center back help come this summer but when you attack this well who needs defense?
Arsenal play the formation that I wish the US men's national team would employ and they did it to perfection tonight. With Sagna and Clichy making overlapping runs all night and creating havoc was fun to watch. Diaby and Song played great in their defensive/holding midfield roles. And Nasri, Arshavin, and Rosisky played great in their attacking/wing roles. Nasri had a brilliant game even if he didn't score the goal of the week for Arsenal's third. Arshavin has brilliant in his touches and runs and attacks and created two of the goals and should have scored one himself. My only problem with Arshavin is his tendency to get lazy at times during the game but he more than made up for it. Bendtner scored the first two but really he did nothing more than be in the right place at the right time (which is a hard thing to do). Eboue's goal was created by Arshavin making a great run and laying it off for Eboue to make a move and then slot it home. Porto looked slow and behind the ball most of the game but did have some nice moments with Hulk and Varela working well together and making moves on their own.
Arsenal look like a dangerous team in this competition and have some amazing talent in their squad, though it is mainly in the attack. Their defense still leaves a lot to be desired but when you produce this type of performance without Cesc you can rest a little easier.
Really looking forward to tomorrow's games. Lets see if Real can reverse their tie with Lyon and how Man U does at home with the lead against AC Milan
Arsenal play the formation that I wish the US men's national team would employ and they did it to perfection tonight. With Sagna and Clichy making overlapping runs all night and creating havoc was fun to watch. Diaby and Song played great in their defensive/holding midfield roles. And Nasri, Arshavin, and Rosisky played great in their attacking/wing roles. Nasri had a brilliant game even if he didn't score the goal of the week for Arsenal's third. Arshavin has brilliant in his touches and runs and attacks and created two of the goals and should have scored one himself. My only problem with Arshavin is his tendency to get lazy at times during the game but he more than made up for it. Bendtner scored the first two but really he did nothing more than be in the right place at the right time (which is a hard thing to do). Eboue's goal was created by Arshavin making a great run and laying it off for Eboue to make a move and then slot it home. Porto looked slow and behind the ball most of the game but did have some nice moments with Hulk and Varela working well together and making moves on their own.
Arsenal look like a dangerous team in this competition and have some amazing talent in their squad, though it is mainly in the attack. Their defense still leaves a lot to be desired but when you produce this type of performance without Cesc you can rest a little easier.
Really looking forward to tomorrow's games. Lets see if Real can reverse their tie with Lyon and how Man U does at home with the lead against AC Milan
Bayern Vs. Fiorentina
Just finished watching Fiorentina win 3-2 over Bayern in the Champions League. This win means that Bayern move on to the next round 4-4 on aggregate on the away goals rule. Fiorentina looked inspired the entire match and were pushing the game. The first half was a little sloppy and the first goal was due to poor keeping but it was a deserved goal. In the second half Bayern really pushed hard but left some space at the back (like they did all game) and Fiorentina was able to get a second. Fiorentina looked to have Bayern on the ropes but Van Bommel's brilliant strike put the game back in doubt. Also, if you want to learn how to score on a ball moving across the body, then watch Van Bommel because he strike was not some wild blast but a controlled strike, slotting the ball exactly where he wanted it. Great finish. Fiorentina managed to strike back again fairly quickly with Jovetic scoring his second by fending off the weak challenge and finishing between the keepers legs. Great goal and this would have put Fiorentina through to the quarters except for their lax defense and a brilliant strike from Robben. A left footed (obviously considering he can't use his right foot for anything) rip from outside the box into the upper corner.
Both of Bayern's goals were spectacular. Overall its hard to say which team deserved to go through more but Bayern did enough, coming from behind twice, to put themselves through. An extremely entertaining game to watch for the casual observer like myself. Can't wait for the Arsenal-Porto match which is just about to start for me!
Both of Bayern's goals were spectacular. Overall its hard to say which team deserved to go through more but Bayern did enough, coming from behind twice, to put themselves through. An extremely entertaining game to watch for the casual observer like myself. Can't wait for the Arsenal-Porto match which is just about to start for me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
