COMMENT – All four home sides won this past week’s Champions League ties, and one wonders if this is a bad sign for the visiting sides in the upcoming fixtures. Barcelona scored all four goals, including an own goal, to beat Arsenal again at the Camp Nou on an evening that will throw up a fresh batch of ‘what-if’s’ for Arsenal fans.
The match turned on two key moments; the unnecessarily audacious back heel from Fabregas that led to the first of Messi’s goals; and the bizarre decision by the referee to award Van Persie a second yellow card for kicking the ball a mere second after the whistle had blown for offside. Arsenal were comprehensively outdone by a Barcelona side who were magnificent through and through.
That Arsenal could not manage more than a few touches inside the opposition penalty area against a patchwork back line, speaks volumes to the indomitability of the Barcelona midfield. This was a stern test for the Catalan side, and they were stretched to the very end, having conceded the away goal. As it is, they can now look forward to the quarter final draw in a week’s time.
Arsenal fans’ despondence at their team’s failing will only be compounded by the fact that bitter North London rivals Tottenham made it past AC Milan on a night that saw the Italians unable to break down a resolute defence, despite going all out on the attack. Milan’s long injury list meant a dearth of creativity in midfield. As a result, there were few attempts to unlock the Tottenham defence, the bulk of the creative work being left to only Robinho, Pato and Ibrahimovic.
The three men up front toiled tirelessly for the cause, but found themselves missing the final killer ball. The best chance of the match was Pato’s cut back to Robinho, and the Brazilian should have clinched the winner. As it is, Tottenham’s first outing in the Champions League continues, and Harry Redknapp’s team have shown ample maturity to suggest they will be Champions League regulars in seasons to come.
Schalke trounced Valencia to progress to the next round, despite conceding an early goal to the Spanish side. The German side fared well up front despite the absence of Huntelaar, and if anything, conceding the goal early on served to galvanise them. As it was, Valencia could not break through a resolute Schalke defence that held on for the win after opening up a lead shortly after the second half kicked off, and Farfan added some gloss to the victory with a goal in the final moments.
Shakhtar produced another three goals to hand a jaded Roma side a thorough defeat, as the Ukrainians continued their impressive home record in European competitions. There was an air of resignation about the Italian side as they walked on to the field in Donetsk, and they could not match the home side’s zest and verve. Roma manager Vicenzo Montella has to steady a club who have been on an emotional roller coaster, and to prepare ground for some serious rebuilding work in the summer.
Shakhtar, meanwhile, will draw more strength from this home performance, and should be confident going into the quarter finals. Of the sides to play this week, Manchester United had the easiest run of the lot in their first leg against a Marseille side lacking any real threat going forward. With the absence of the energetic Valbuena, who is capable of all sorts of creative trickery, the task of playmaking was wholly and solely placed on the shoulders of Lucho Gonzalez, and United were under strict orders not to allow the Argentinean much space to pick his passes.
The lone striker Brandao lacks the pace to run at or behind most defensive setups, and his aerial ability was no match for the dominant Nemanja Vidic. For their own part, United’s chief offensive outlet was Nani, and the winger caused enough problems in the first half to force Marseille’s midfield deeper. The match saw a total of 9 attempts on goal, 5 of which were off target.
The statistics show that this was an even contest, and the return leg will need an early Marseille goal to make things interesting. With the return of key players Gignac and Valbuena, and United’s injury worries, the possibility of that happening will definitely increase. In Lyon, Real Madrid were aiming to banish the ghost of seasons past, as Mourinho’s charges set out to achieve their first win in this encounter for six matches now.
The former French Champions have had a hard going of it in the domestic league so far, but it was a loud and intimidating Stade de Gerland that greeted a club who had not scored here in three visits. Mourinho’s decision to send on former Lyon fan favourite Benzema for Adebayor was an inspired move. While the Lyon faithful can be forgiven their mixed emotions on Benzema’s visit, Real should check themselves for what became an uncharacteristic display of complacency after scoring.
The urgency so visible from the start of the second period suddenly disappeared. The defense also exhibited some of the slip-ups that can now be called part and parcel of any Real Madrid side. Barcelona’s domestic dominance means that the Champions League has gained more importance as Real’s best chance of silverware this season. First, though, they have to get past the current hurdle, with the tie poised at 1-1. Chelsea had a good outing against FC Copenhagen in a match that set them on their way to recovering from a lengthy slump.
Torres is looking more and more comfortable with every game, and Chelsea more and more like a team. The Londoners will be looking for a comfortable game against the Danish side, and the two away goals scored in the first leg should provide enough of a cushion to ensure this. Bayern carry a deserved lead into the home leg against Inter. Bayern faced an Inter side who were looking to venture forward at every opportunity, and the visitors replied in kind.
Both sides went at it hammer and tongs, and while Inter deserve credit for not letting up on the pressure, Bayern deserve even more for refusing to buckle down. An event timeline of the match would show a smattering of attempts at goal, both on and off target, as both sides looked to create and take any and all chances.
The victory, a not-so-small step for Bayern, was a giant stride for German football as this win put Germany’s UEFA coefficient ahead of Italy’s, which means that now the German Bundesliga will be allowed to enter four teams in Champions League in the 2012-13 season, whereas Italy’s Serie A will lose out on one of their current four spots. Defeats to all Italian teams in home legs are evidence of this seismic shift in the continental game, as AC Milan, Roma and Inter Milan all lost their first leg ties, with the former two now eliminated from the competition.
