UEFA Champions League last 16, second leg - Three out of four for England

THE second legs of the last 16 took place in the UEFA Champions League in the last fortnight.  Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea all booked places in the final eight, but England was denied a full quota by an inspirational Lionel Messi and a scandalous referee decision.

ORDERS: Van Persie receives a shock red card as Arsenal crash out

     It was heartache for Arsenal last Tuesday, as the Gunners lost their 2-1 first leg advantage over competition favourites Barcelona.  Barcelona overturned the deficit in Spain to win 3-1, with Lionel Messi the destroyer again, scoring twice.  When you consider that Arsenal didn’t have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes, there can be no complaints that the better side won and deserved to go through.  However, Arsene Wenger’s side were given a cruel twist of fate in the second half.  The game was tied at 1-1, through a Messi goal and an own goal from Barcelona shielding player Sergio Busquets.  Robin van Persie, only just back from a short injury lay-off was flagged offside, and kicked the ball away about half a second later.  The Dutchman claimed that he couldn’t hear the whistles, which is understandable, considering there were 90,000 spectators in the Nou Camp.  However, experienced Swiss official Massimo Busacca wasn’t interested and gave Van Persie his marching orders.  Wenger and Samir Nasri have since been charged and banned for one match each by UEFA following post-match comments.  With only ten men, Arsenal had little hope and a beautifully executed goal by Xavi, followed shortly afterwards by a Messi penalty had Wenger’s men down and out.

     One side who would have enjoyed Barcelona’s victory were Tottenham Hotspur.  Arsenal’s insult was completed by Tottenham’s progression to the quarter-finals, at the expense of AC Milan.  The Serie A leaders dominated the match at White Hart Lane, but failed to create many clear-cut chances and consequently, failed to overturn Peter Crouch’s sole winner at the San Siro three weeks earlier.  The 0-0 draw was good enough to see Spurs through 1-0 on aggregate.  After all the heroics and entertainment of Tottenham’s inaugural Champions League campaign, this game was a damp squib in all sense of the words.  However, Tottenham’s defending display was fantastic, and by limiting Milan to a single desperate goal-line clearance from a scuffed Robinho shot, they managed to comfortably nullify the Italian threat. 

     Despite an increasing injury crisis in defence, Manchester United made it through into the quarter-finals for the seventh successive season, seeing off Marseille 2-1 at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.  After a goalless draw in France, it was always going to be a tense night for the 2008 winners and injuries during the match to John O’Shea and Rafael only made things harder.  Sir Alex Ferguson has his new goal poacher Javier Hernandez to thank for further progression in the Champions League.  The Mexican scored a brace to make sure that Wes Brown’s late own goal was of little consequence.  Marseille will rue the lack of adventure they showed in the home game between these two sides.

     Chelsea made it through into the quarter-finals, following a comfortable, if uninspiring 0-0 draw against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday.  This meant that the two Nicholas Anelka goals in the first leg in Denmark were easily enough.  Chelsea’s performance wasn’t great in midweek and the lack of goals in the team since the arrival of Fernando Torres might worry Carlo Ancelotti.  Nevertheless, at least they have something to fight for this season.

STUNNER: Inter fought back to beat Bayern in Germany

     Reigning champions Inter Milan somehow managed to keep Italian interest in Europe alive, by beating Bayern Munich 3-2 in Germany and therefore, advance on the away goals rule.  Despite an early Samuel Eto’o strike, quick fire goals from Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez seemed to have ended Inter’s title defence.  However, Leonardo has managed to install some impressive battling qualities into the side and they kept fighting, aiding by Bayern’s ability to miss a host of chances.  Wesley Snejider drew Inter level on the night, and in stoppage time, the inconsistent Goran Pandev produced a stunning strike to win the tie.  It was Pandev’s first ever Champions League strike for Inter and left Bayern’s players and fans especially numb afterwards.

    There weren’t any issues for Real Madrid, who comfortably saw off Lyon 3-0 at the Bernabeau to make the quarter-finals for the first time since 2004.  Karim Benzema netted again against his former club and there were also strikes from left-back Marcelo and Angel di Maria.  Jose Mourinho’s quest to become the first coach ever to win the Champions League with three different clubs still remains, but Real, like Chelsea are bound to face harder challenges in the latter stages.

     The remaining quarter-final births were taken by Shakhtar Donetsk and Schalke 04.  Shakhtar are a very dangerous side and they ripped apart AS Roma over two legs, to win 6-2 on aggregate.  Philippe Mexes was sent off and Jeremy Menez missed a penalty to complete Roma’s dreadful night.  Schalke might be very inconsistent in the Bundesliga, but they seem to be saving their best form for this competition.  They came from 1-0 down to see off Valencia 3-1 in Gelsenkirchen and advance 4-2 on aggregate.

     The quarter-final draw has pitted Chelsea against Manchester United in an all-English tie, whilst Tottenham play Real Madrid, Inter Milan test themselves against Schalke 04 and Barcelona’s next opposition is Shakhtar Donetsk.  Wembley is getting ever closer and I think this competition is only going to get even more tastier now.

UEFA Champions League last 16, first leg - North London stun giants

THE

 UEFA Champions League returned from its winter hibernation and both North London sides took massive strides into the quarter-finals.  Last week, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur produced outstanding performances at the Emirates and the San Siro respectively to slay two of the ultimate giants in European football, Barcelona and AC Milan.

CELEBRATION: Villa got Barca off to a dream start, but Arsenal fought back

Last season, a Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona were simply too strong for Arsenal in the last eight.  This time around, Arsene Wenger’s young guns proved that they could match the Catalans at their own game and created a historical night that their fans will never forget.  Although Barcelona might still have a narrow advantage for the second leg, the 2-1 win gives Arsenal every chance of knocking out the best attacking side in the world.  Barca played some beautiful football in the first half and fully deserved a half-time lead, when Messi thread through David Villa; the Spaniard scoring with impeccable ease.  Messi missed two golden opportunities in the match and for this, the La Liga leaders were punished by two quick fire strikes in the last fifteen minutes.  Robin Van Persie continued his scoring streak by scoring from an almost impossible angle against a very uncertain Victor Valdes.  With eight minutes to go, the Gunners broke away in the style that Barcelona do to most teams.  Cesc Fabregas found Samir Nasri, who cleverly cut the ball back for substitute Andrei Arshavin to finish off a rasping move.  For Arshavin, who had been massively out of form since Christmas, this will be a real tonic and would have got him back in the good books of most supporters.  The ultimate winner was football; this should be the perfect example for all kids to watch and be educated on.

SHOWDOWN: Gennaro Gattuso v Joe Jordan, seconds out!

Back in October, Tottenham came mighty close to upsetting defending champions Inter Milan at the San Siro, narrowly losing 4-3.  Four months later, they returned to Milan and continued their epic European tale with a 1-0 victory against AC Milan, leaving them in pole position for a place in the quarter-finals.  Like Arsenal, their winning goal came from a counter-attacking move, with Peter Crouch converting Aaron Lennon’s pass as the Milan defence was caught square-on by their fast-forwarding opponents.  Despite missing Gareth Bale through injury, Spurs were rarely under threat from a Milan side, that despite leading the Serie A title race, look a pale shadow of legendary sides that used to spend tingles down opponent’s backs.  The match will sadly remember an act of lurid behaviour from Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso.  After an early caution, Gattuso had a bust-up with Tottenham first team coach Joe Jordan during the game.  At full-time, Gattuso completely lost the plot and head butted Jordan.  The Italian seemed up for a fight, had it not been for the quick reaction of the Milan substitutes.  UEFA has since banned him for four matches, so hopefully we’ve seen the last of Gattuso in Europe this season.

Chelsea may be having domestic troubles, but there were no problems in Europe this week, as they coasted to a 2-0 away win in Denmark against FC Copenhagen.  Once again, Didier Drogba was left on the bench by Carlo Ancelotti, but this time, both Fernando Torres and Nicholas Anelka looked very threatening against a defence that looked terrified to tackle their opponents.  Anelka scored both goals, one in each half and Torres was desperately unlucky not to break his Chelsea account either.  The Blues will have no problems in going through from the return, and have to still be considered as a major threat in this season’s competition, despite their lack of form and confidence in the Premiership.

When both managers afterwards admit that the game was poor, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that a diabolical game was witnessed.  Marseille and Manchester United played out a tame and lethargic 0-0 draw in the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday night, which will have to go down as one of the most boring games in the history of the European Cup.  Didier Deschamps team seemed happy to not concede an away goal, which was disappointing as they were the home side.  Sir Alex Ferguson was content to keep things tight and not face a disadvantage for the second leg at Old Trafford.  Neither goalkeeper was significantly troubled, as this knockout tie turned more into a Sunday League kick-a-bout.  The way United’s players looked afterwards in the post-match interviews, they’d realised that an opportunity to finish the tie had been badly missed.

FORWARD: Bayern took a giant step, after Gomez's late winner

In the other four games, Italian hopes in the competition are hanging by a thread.  Despite dominating their match against Bayern Munich, Inter Milan were beaten 1-0 at home by the plucky Germans, in a repeat of last season’s final.  Mario Gomez, who previously couldn’t hit a barndoor, let alone the net in his career, can’t stop scoring at the moment.  The German international struck again in injury time to leave Louis van Gaal’s side in complete control of the tie.  Claudio Ranieri resigned as AS Roma coach at the weekend, after letting a 3-0 lead slip to lose 4-3 to Genoa in Serie A.  In the Champions League, Roma have it all to do too, after tripping up 3-2 at home to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.  On his first return to Spain since leaving Real Madrid, Raul scored a priceless goal to earn Schalke 04 a creditable 1-1 draw in the Mestalla against Valencia.  Raul’s old club stumbled to a 1-1 draw themselves, in France against Lyon.  Jose Mourinho’s side are favourites now to finish the job, but need to be wary against Lyon, who knocked them out at this stage last season.

Some games delivered in quality, others didn’t, but the battle to reach Wembley in May is now well and truly on.

UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 - Arsenal finish the English job

ARSENAL required a win last night and finished the English job of ensuring all four sides qualified for the knockout stages.  As the UEFA Champions League heads into its winter hibernation, the Gunners recorded a 3-1 win over the whipping boys of Group H, Partizan Belgrade, without being anywhere near their best.

BATTLE: Samir Nasri showed his class again last night

A tetchy first half hour was eased when Robin Van Persie went over and got a very fortunate penalty.  There seemed to very minimal contact from Marko Jovanovic, but the makeshift Arsenal captain couldn’t care less, as he confidently powered the penalty away, his first goal of any description since May.  If anyone thought that the floodgates would open, then they were to be seriously mistaken as the Brazilian Cleo bought the Serbians level, with a shot that took a wicked deflection off Sebastian Squillaci and looped over Lukasz Fabianski into the net.  A pin drop could be felt around the Emirates, as Arsene Wenger’s side looked on the edge.  Those growing fears were ultimately eased by substitute Theo Walcott, who took advantage of a poor cleared header from Jovanovic to produce an instinctive shot that Vladimir Stojkovic never saw.  Qualification for the next round was secure as Samir Nasri scored his 12^th goal of an impeccable season for the Frenchman, rounding off a brilliant team move, something the Gunners lacked all night.  Bakary Sagna was dismissed for clipping one of the Partizan strikers, when the last defender with four minutes to go.  It could be a costly dismissal, depending on who Arsenal ends up getting in the next round, but they dragged their way through for the eleventh year in a row.  The news was good elsewhere, as Sporting Braga’s dream was dismissed, seen off 2-0 in a tame affair by the group winners Shakhtar Donetsk.

TROUBLES: Salomon Kalou couldn't find a way through

Didier Drogba made an emotional return to the Stade Velodrome, but Chelsea continued their miserable record of late, beaten 1-0 in France by Marseille.  All the early threat came from Marseille, with Mathieu Balbuena hitting the frame of the goal in the first half and Gabriel Heinze having a flashing header ruled out for offside. However, Soulyemane Diawara was lucky to get away with two dodgy challenges in the box, one which was initially penalised by the referee, only to be over-ruled by the extra official behind the goal.  The only goal came with ten minutes remaining; Taye Taiwo’s shot was deflected, but fell perfectly for Brandau, who rolled the ball past Petr Cech.  Chelsea’s first slip-up in Europe this season, but how long has Carlo Ancelotti got left in the West London dugout.  Elsewhere in Group F, UEFA are bound to investigate the distasteful crowd scenes in the dead rubber between MSK Zilina and Spartak Moscow.  Play was held up for twenty minutes, with flares being thrown onto the field.  For the record, the Russians came from behind to win 2-1.

On Tuesday night, a far from clinical Manchester United got the point they required to top Group C. They fell behind to their rivals, Valencia; Pablo Hernandez put the Spaniards infront after a glaring error from Michael Carrick.  It was the first goal that United have conceded in Europe this season.  Anderson levelled the match, following up the quickest from Ji-Sung Park’s shot, which had been excellently stopped.  The major positive for Sir Alex Ferguson will be the return to top form of Wayne Rooney, who looked evidently dangerous all night for the first time in a long while.

CONFIDENT: Jermain Defoe looks back to his best

Spurs spectacular campaign continued, with another special match in Holland, but their 3-3 draw against FC Twente was enough to top Group A.  Tottenham took the lead three times in the game, the first coming when 40-year old goalkeeper Sander Boschker made a calamitous attempt to clear a Peter Wisgerhof back pass and the ball trickled in on 12 minutes.  It was a goal that would be perfect to grace any Christmas blooper DVD.  Denny Landzaat scored a retaken penalty to make it 1-1 at half-time, but two confident finishes from Jermain Defoe, either side of a good header from right-back Roberto Rosales had the visitors infront again.  Nacer Chadli drew the Dutch champions’ level again with a near-perfect free-kick, securing European football after Christmas for FC Twente.

RARE: Miller's first CL strike in four years wasn't enough

Rangers were already out of the qualification race in Group C, but they earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Turkey against Buraspor.  Kenny Miller scored his first Champions League goal in four years, but the hopeless Turks earned their first and only point of the group stage courtesy of a Sercan Yildiram effort.  Elsewhere in Europe and AS Roma’s 1-1 draw in Romania against CFR Cluj, good enough to qualify in Group E.  Marco Borriello’s early goal made it a comfortable night for Claudio Ranieri’s side, but it was a miserable week for the Italian sides.  AC Milan were shocking at home to Ajax and lost 2-0 in the San Siro in Group G, a perfect start to Frank de Boer’s caretaker reign after Martin Jol’s resignation on Monday.  Meantime, the job prospects are far from good for Rafa Benitez, after his witnessed his Inter side suffer an embarrassing 3-0 loss in Germany to Werder Bremen.  Ten points off the pace in Serie A, Rafa’s position is in severe jeopardy, especially if Inter don’t win the under-strength FIFA World Club Championship in Abu Dhabi later this month.  Finally, congratulations to FC Copenhagen, whose 3-1 win over Panathinaikos in Group D was enough for them to become the first Danish side to escape the group stages.  The Greeks miserable campaign was sealed by a stunning header for ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse.  Just a shame that it was in the wrong net!

Sixteen gone, sixteen remain and a quarter of the sides remaining are English.  Can Tottenham continue their fairytale?  Will Arsenal improve?  Can Chelsea hold it together?  Or have Manchester United got something in the tank?  We will find out more in February.  Happy Christmas from UEFA! 

UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 - Perfect Maximum For British Sides

Last week’s UEFA Champions League action provided us with plenty of cheer for the British sides, as they produced five victories out of five competitive games.  There was also a remarkable 13 penalties in the midweek sixteen encounters.

After throwing away a two-goal lead in Bremen a fortnight earlier, Tottenham Hotspur embraced Champions League football for the first time at White Hart Lane, with a thrilling match against Dutch champions FC Twente.  Spurs won 4-1, although the final scoreline does not tell the full story of a pulsating and unpredictable encounter.  It was a mixed night for the new hero in North London, Rafael van der Vaart.  Van der Vaart had a first-half penalty brilliantly saved by Nicolay Milihayov, then scored a splendid opener early in the second half.  Less than ten minutes later, he was heading for an early shower after two daft challenges left him with a red card.  For such an experienced player as van der Vaart, it was a costly and unnecessary dismissal which rules him out of Tottenham’s trip to the San Siro in three weeks time.  Experienced Norwegian ref Terje Hauge, who has once refereed a Champions League final had an awful night too, giving Spurs three penalties, of which two were very debatable indeed.  Van der Vaart may have had his spot kick saved, but Roman Pavyluchenko coolly dispatched the other two without any fuss.  Gareth Bale put the seal on the result and with Werder Bremen being ripped apart by Inter Milan, losing 4-0 to Rafa Benitez’s defending champions, thanks to a Samuel Eto’o hat-trick, Tottenham will feel in a strong position to qualify from Group A.

Whereas Tottenham’s match was a joy to watch, Manchester United’s display in the Mestalla was content and professional, if very tedious to endure.  Their 1-0 win over Valencia, the current La Liga leaders has put them in total command of Group C.  With Rio Ferdinand back from injury, United looked far more solid at the back, and restricted Valencia to very little sights on goal.  With five minutes left, Nani counter-attacked, fed in Federico Macheda, who set-up fellow substitute Javier Hernandez.  Hernandez’s finish was clinical, and with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs missing, this result could be the pivotal one in the group for Sir Alex Ferguson’s campaigners.

After six successive home UEFA Champions League losses, Rangers stopped the rot in United’s group, recording a 1-0 win over Turkish rookies Buraspor.  Buraspor may have done extremely well to beat the likes of Besiktas and Fenerbache to win the Turkish championship, but they looked far out-of-their depth in Scotland, and had it been a more clinical side, could have received a tonking.  As it was only Rangers, the scoreline consequently looked far more respectable on them.  Rangers only goal came on 18 minutes, scored by the very dangerous Steven Naismith, diving in bravely to beat the goalkeeper to Kirk Broadfoot’s header.

Following an embarrassing Premiership slip-up at home to West Brom the previous Saturday, Arsenal couldn’t afford any errors in Serbia and there weren’t any, with a 3-1 win against Partizan Belgrade in a challenging environment doing the power of good for Arsene Wenger’s young-guns.  Andrei Arshavin buried the Gunners infront early on, set-up by a cute backheel from the impressive teenager Jack Wiltshire.  Partizan levelled before half-time, when Denilson handled in the penalty area and the resulting penalty was dispatched.  On the hour mark, defender Jovanovic was dismissed for hauling down Marouane Chamakh when the Moroccan was clear in on goal.  However, Arshavin spurned the chance, by having his penalty saved.  Luckily for the Russian, headers in the last twenty minutes from Chamakh and centre-back Sebastian Squillaci saw Arsenal home, and there was even time for Lukasz Fabianski to save a second Partizan penalty.  All in all, this was a very satisfying night for the red half of North London.

Chelsea had little trouble in easily dispensing the French champions Marseille, cruising to a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.  Slack marking from the visitors allowed John Terry to ghost in at the near post and strike the Blues ahead after only seven minutes.  Nicolas Anelka dispatched a second from the penalty spot on the half hour mark and Carlo Ancelotti’s men took their foot off the gas in the second half, with Arsenal around the corner in the Premiership.  Despite that, both Alex and Michael Essien (twice!) struck the woodwork in the second half.  For Didier Deschamps, the coach of Marseille, it was a meek display to watch and a very unhappy return to the club which he played for in the 1999/2000 Champions League campaign, Chelsea’s inaugural attempt at winning Europe’s premier club competition.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bayern Munich left it very late in Group E to win 2-1 in Switzerland against FC Basle.  Two goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, the second in the 89^th minute sealing the victory and with Louis van Gaal about to sign a contract extension, things are looking up for last season’s runners-up.  In Group C, Barcelona escaped from Russia with a very fortuitous 1-1 draw against FC Rubin Kazan, who took four points off Pep Guardiola’s team last season.  The main positive for the bookies favourites is the return of Lionel Messi from injury, far quicker than anyone anticipated.  Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama scored from the penalty spot, but couldn’t prevent Hapoel Tel-Aviv from losing 3-1 at home to Lyon in Group B, who have made a shocking start to the French domestic season that has them in the bottom three, whilst substitute Angel di Maria scored the only goal in Real Madrid’s scrappy 1-0 Group G win in Auxerre.  The battle lines have been well and truly drawn, only after the next matchday can we start beginning to separate the contenders from the stragglers.