1st Leg defeated Inter stunned German strugglers as they won the game by 3-2! Their precious two away goals gave them the pass to go to next round! It was expected as Bayern were struggling in their domestic league as well due to their poor form. Late goal from Goran Pandev turned the game around burned any expectations left for the German former champions for any silverware this season! Goals from Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller, following mistakes by goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Lucio, had the hosts in control after Samuel Eto'o had grabbed an early opener - and they should have been far out of sight.
The Dutchman was now finding space around the Bayern box and had a goalbound shot blocked by Pandev.
Bayern were getting chances on the break, but not a telling touch to any of Ribery's countless crosses.
Man Utd 2-1 Marseille (2-1 on agg.)
Two goals from Javier Hernandez were enough to give Manchester United a 2-1 win over Marseille at Old Trafford. And certainly Man Utd passed to next round and it did not came as a big surprise seeing Man Utd dumping Marseille out of the competition! Javier Hernandez stole the show and unexpectedly surprised Sir Alex by scoring the brace! An own goal by Wes Brown in the 82nd minute ensured a nervous finish but United were not breached again by Marseille and secured their passage That set up a nerve-shredding final few minutes but United held firm to reach the last eight.
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Well folks, it's that time of the year again where teams gear up for the final stretch of their domestic season while also fighting for European glory. With the African cup of Nations taking place in a World Cup year, fixtures around Europe suffered massive changes in order to accommodate all teams. As a result, I've been pretty much unable to follow league games as I did in the beginning of the season. But the Champions League is back, still sticking to the Tuesday/Wednesday combo, so that should be enough for now.
This week, we had the first half of the round of 16's first leg with 8 teams in action which delivered enough drama to make our anticipation of the second half even more palatable. Out of the four games, I only watched two (Manchester United – AC Milan and Arsenal – Porto). Here are my thoughts along with some video highlights
Manchester United – AC Milan: 3-2
Before Tuesday, United had never defeated the Rossoneri on the European stage and when Ronaldinho opened the scoring in the second minute of play, I had nasty flashbacks of the 2006-2007 semi-finals when Milan – led by Kaka - had thoroughly destroyed the Red Devils 5-3 on aggregate. This this time around, it was Ronaldinho who was causing fits to the United defense as youngster Rafael proved to be no match for him.
For most of the first half, the visitors looked like a team besieged and ready to crack at any moment. Ronaldinho easily had the upper-hand against both Rafael and Ferdinand while Ambrosini, Pirlo and Beckham dominated the midfield, leaving no chance for United to get out of their own half. When they did get out, Nani was unable to reach Rooney more because of his poor performance than Milan's man-marking. When it looked like Milan would have the lead at the break, Paul Scholes scored a lucky goal in the 36th minute to put both teams level.
After the break, the game suddenly turned to United's favor as they amped the pressure on Ronaldinho after realizing that Huntelaar didn't pose a serious threat. As the game wore on, Milan midfielders seemed to give ground to Scholes, Carrick and Park. United's pressure finally came to a head in the 65th minute when Valencia, who had replaced Nani one minute earlier, sent a perfect cross to Rooney at the far post. The striker perfectly struck the ball with his head, leaving Dida rooted in place. Valencia's play left me to wonder why Ferguson hadn't started him in the first place instead of Nani. Less than ten minutes later, Rooney added his second of the game thanks to a nice chipped pass by Fletcher. Once again, the marking was horrible on the play, and just like that Manchester United had three away goals at the San Siro. Seedorf reduced the score to 3-2 in the final minutes and, barren a huge collapse by Manchester United at Old Trafford, that goal might be Milan's only lifeline.
Arsenal – Porto: 1-2
Unlike Manchester United, Arsenal didn't have a good away game as they faced a regular foe in Porto. Fabianski's poor performance was much to blame as he was responsible for Porto's two goals but the Gunners simply looked uninspired in front, deeply missing Arshavin's presence. I won't go into details with this game simply because I felt that the refereeing was awful and one or two decisions by the ref could have sent the game in either direction.
In other games, Madrid's powerful attack was held scoreless in Lyon as the Spanish club lost 1-0 and Bayern took a great step towards qualification by beating Fiorentina 2-1.
The Champions League group stage concluded this week and Juventus was the second giant to fall out of the competition after Liverpool. In Group F, Barcelona and Inter both clinched their qualification on Wednesday while Real Madrid and AC Milan did the same on Tuesday. Read on for the full results.
- Group A -
Bayern Munich clinched their ticket to the next round with a decisive victory over Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico. Bordeaux were already through but still grabbed three more points with a 1-0 win over Maccabi Haifa.
CSKA Moscow surprised everyone by grabbing the second spot in Group B ahead of German champions Wolfsburg. Despite facing a depleted Manchester United squad, Wolfsburg couldn't get the much needed win that would get them through. As for United, their defense is falling to pieces with injuries but still they keep rolling along. You've got to admire that in a team.
In Group C, the two giants clinched their qualification on the final day of action. For a while it looked like Marseille would go through but two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo sent the French club crashing back to Earth.
Chelsea were already through to the next stage before this week's matches, but a disappointing 2-2 against APOEL is raising questions. How will they fare without their African players in February?
Inter and Barcelona both got their ticket to the next stage on Wednesday. Barca looked subdued by the frigid Russian weather but woke up in the second half to finally win 2-1.
Just one game to in the Champions League group stage. While some teams were already qualified in Matchday 4, this week's games clarified the situation in some groups while one group is still wide open. Here are the full results.
Several teams booked their tickets to the next round this week but two superpowers now have their backs to the wall as the end of the group stage draws near.
It was an interesting round of the Champions League this week as several results went against most experts' predictions. Several teams who were expected to be punching bags in their respective groups are surprisingly pulling great results out of thin air, making some groups' outcome difficult to judge even after three games.
After two games played, we're getting a better picture of the standings in the Champions League group stage. While some powerhouses are making a good case for themselves (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United), others (Liverpool, Inter, Milan) are finding the task more difficult and should kick it up a notch in Matchday 3.
So, the Inter Milan-Barcelona game wasn't as exciting as I anticipated so I won't be posting an individual recap of that game but read on for my thoughts on Day 1. There are several games for which I didn't find any highlights. Video sites are quick to take off links these days, so there's not much I can do about that.
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