Champions League! (part two)

 Arsenal    0-0   AC Milan

There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this match and despite the score it really did not disappoint. Both sides had great opportunities to get on the board and although it pains me to say it, Arsenal should have won this game. They held FIFA World Player of the Year Kaka at bay throughout the match. The Gunners on the other hand got some really good chances Emmanuel Adebayor, Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner all had great shots on goal. Adebayor should have stolen the show in stoppage time, but he hit the bar with his header. If Arsenal plays this well in Milan they should knock the Italian side out a lot earlier than expected. My opinion: AC Milan will win the replay and take the tie.

 Celtic  2 – 3  Barcelona

WOW! I don’t know of anyone who predicted this score. Even Celtic supporters were hoping to keep this a low scoring affair. Why wouldn’t they? Celtic are a free flowing club who can move the ball well, but could they score on the Catalan side? Celtic played well enough to win this except for the fact that Barcelona had a healthy Lionel Messi. Messi had a double in Glasgow and Thierry Henry buried a gift from Gary Caldwell that gave the visitors a valuable three away goals. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink opened the scoring for the Hoops after an opening thrust by Barcelona and Barry Robson made his debut memorable with the goal that gave his club their second lead of the game. Barcelona will win the return match at the Nou Camp, but the Scots can hold their heads up as the won’t go down without a fight.

                 

 Fenerbahce  3-2  FC Sevilla

Another fantastic tie today. I was shocked that Fenerbahce was not only able to hang in with Sevilla they showed me that they can be a serious competitor for the big cup. Both sides kept the match interesting throughout as goals were spread evenly and made this the tie of the week. The home side was strong all over the pitch and had Edu Dracena not put the ball in his own net they would have had quite a big victory against the Spanish club. Fenerbahce will go to Sevilla and finish this tie off. I don’t want to face these guys next round.

            

 Lyon   1-1   Man Utd

Two things: First, I told you that Carlos Tevez was a great signing for Manchester United. How many times this season has he scored late to get points from nothing? Second, why didn’t they sign Karim Benzema? Benzema is an amazing striker and he will only get better. His goal in the 54th minute showed great skill as he split Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic  then placed the shot in the corner. United had the lion’s share of chances of shots and possession, they just couldn’t score. Things looked bleak as the clock neared 90 minutes. Tevez was in the right place at the right time when Nani’s deflected shot came to him and he buried it for the crucial draw. The Red Devils will win at Old Trafford in a fortnight, and they need to close the deal on that Benzema kid (he’s pretty good).

          

          

Champions League! (part one)

 Schalke 04   1 - 0  FC Porto

Kevin Kuranyi fired home an early goal and put the hosts up in their first trip to this stage ever. Porto were under the gun for awhile and while they had stretches when they turned the tide, they just couldn’t find the net. Shalke have to strategize well for the trip to Portugal in a fortnight. If they sit back and defend their aggregate lead they will open themselves up for Porto attackers Ricardo Quaresma and Lucho Gonzalez to make them pay. The German side tired at the end of the match and if Porto can run them earlier in the match they just may be able to turn this around.

 Roma   2 - 1   Real Madrid

If you look at the stats for this one the score line must be wrong. In fact when Raul netted early at the Stadio Olimpico it looked like it would be a long night for the hosts. Real made things rough on Roma as time and again they threatened the Italian side’s goal. A Ruud Van Nistelrooy death-stroke was disallowed for a clear offsides. David Pizarro gave the Roma fans hope when he knotted the score in the 24th minute and Alessandro Mancini finished off the Spanish champions and gave his side a slender lead for the return leg in the 58th. Roma gave up a critical away goal to Real Madrid and that could be bad unless they can return the favour in Madrid.

 Olympiacos   0 - 0   Chelsea

The Blues went to Athens and got what they needed. They didn’t lose. They had their opportunities to salt this tie away, coming close on a few occasions, but the couldn’t solve the Olympiacos defense. The Greek side rarely threatened Petr Cech’s goal and if they don’t step up the attack this tie will be over. I don’t see them holding off the Blues forever. But, if they force a shootout you might as well flip a coin.

 Liverpool   2 - 0   Inter Milan

I’m not a Liverpool fan at all, but they pounded Inter in this match. The goals came late in the game from Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard to finish off what was a long night for the Serie A champions. The Reds had 70% of the possession and out shot Inter 25 to 4. The visitors went down a man when Marco Materazzi saw his second yellow card at the half hour mark. I would be shocked if Liverpool went to the San Siro in two weeks and got knocked out. This performance was strong throughout the line up. Where has this club been in the last couple of months? And does this mean that Barnsley is better than Inter Milan?????

                    

Quarter-final Cup draw is out

The draw has been announced and the ties are going to be interesting:

Barnsley v. Chelsea

If the Tykes play with the passion that they showed against Liverpool they have a great chance against the holders. The element of surprise is gone however and Avram Grant will not want to go down the same road as Rafa Benitez. Chelsea have a cadre of better strikers and they have something the Reds didn’t, Michael Essien. When he sets his mind to taking over a match he’s a right terror. Barnsley do have something over the Blues though, they have absolutely NOTHING to lose in this match. no-one expects them to win, they shouldn’t have gotten this far, blah, blah, blah. The fact is that if they win they will go down in history as giant killers of the highest order, but if they don’t they’ve achieved more than they could have hoped already.

Barnsley have a back line that plays with reckless abandon, giving Luke Steele extra confidence in goal. Where they lack though is in the attack. There goals against Liverpool came from the defenders. That’s not a bad thing, but is brings into question their vulnerability to counter attack by a very quick Chelsea squad.

The Blues rested some of their top players against Huddersfield and they never really needed them. Grant won’t hesitate to bring them in for this game as they are the holder’s and can’t afford to crash out to a League One side.

Bristol Rovers v. West Brom

Bristol came out quickly against Southampton and they will need to repeat the feat when the Baggies come calling. West Brom showed an ability to score at Coventry City with five goals in the score column. Rovers will need to be tight defensively or stay home for the semis. West Brom didn’t outplay the Sky Blues in any aspect but the scoreline so they too will need to be vigilant. This match could send a League One side on so it holds the underdog interest for me.

Sheffield United/Middlesbrough v. Cardiff City

Hard to pick out the impact for this until the host side is settled. I think that Cardiff would beat Sheffield United but lose to Middlesbrough. Odd I know. However, there is a difference between the Riverside and Bramall Lane as we’ll see in the replay. Boro will play better at home and move on to host the Bluebirds. For their part Cardiff City have done well in the tournament so far, they just don’t have enough to beat Boro.

Manchester United v. Portsmouth

This match will be good. Pompey have shown an ability to beat the Red Devils, therefore they will not go into Old Trafford all nervy. BUT, if United comes out like they did against Arsenal and Portsmouth repeat their performance against Preston this match could get UGLY early. Sir Alex sat out some of his big timers against the Gunners. Don’t look for him to change things up too much for Harry and the lads. United will be ready for this tie and Rooney should give them fits from the start. I’m glad that Manchester United drew a Premiership club for this round so they won’t be looking past a team that could shock them. They will be concentrating on the task at hand when Portsmouth come to town so this should be a great game.

FA Cup 5th round Sunday

Blades fire blanks at Bramall Lane.Kevin Blackwell took the reigns at Sheffield United this week and his reward was a run out with visiting Middlesbrough. Not necessarily how you want to start a new job. The Blades responded by leaving it all out on the pitch as they gave Boro all they could handle. Middlesbrough came to play too, although they started out the lesser enthusiastic of the two. James Beattie gave the home supporters some excitement in first half stoppage time as he rattled the post. Middlesbrough fans got their excitement in the second half by way of a Mido overhead strike that brought out the best in United keeper Paddy Kenny and Emmanuel Pogatetz’s header was cleared off of the Blades line in the waning moments of the match.

These two will meet up again February 26th at the Riverside in the replay. Sheffield United 0-0 Middlesbrough.

      

                        

 Pomey weather Lilywhite storm at Deepdale. David James can be brilliant at times and today was one of those times. Preston were not very hospitable to their visitors as they kept Pompey working throughout the match. James made great saves on Simon Whaley’s penalty and Neil Mellor’s curler from ouside the box. Darren Carter scored a beautiful point blank goal in the dying moments to send Portsmouth into the quarter-finals. He plays for Preston (do the math). Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve. Sadly for Preston they won’t get another shot at the next round. Preston North End 0-1 Portsmouth.