UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

Sheesh, this is more boring than I thought. Happens.. Especially when there's no one who's gonna read it :P So, I am going to keep this short. If Someone at any football site is reading this, contact me! Most interested to write my life away. :)

Okay.

To begin with, Barcelona will definitely make it to the QF. Anyone who sees how they are performing as a team in La Liga will agree with me.

I do not know much about either Villareal or Panathinaikos to talk in length about their encounter.

Porto can get through if they can only manage to stop Sergio Aguero.

And yea, well..

First Leg : Liverpool 1 - 0 Real Madrid

Rafael Benitez has (once again) been hailed by the Media as the European Gold master, while I guess the same people were agreeing with the "Rafa has to go" campaign as recently as a week ago. Just a quick reminder. He has to put together his Premier League side too. And yes, another news in his favour would be parry leaving Anfield.

The Gates of Anfield have scared every major European team that walked through, and Madrid would be yet another one. Anfield on an European night is so Red that the visitors who come there don't even search for a win. And this time too, it will be no different.

If any man can make a difference to this equation, it would be Arjen Robben. Raul has been great as usual. But Liverpool can handle him with ease. I have lost any faith in Juande Ramos if at all I had any. But then, he needs more time to get his act together, and Anfield would be the most important match of the season for him. A win may not mean anything, but a loss would send him out crashing for sure.

Torres limping is NOT good news, on the other hand. Gerrard getting some taste of the ball is a good sign, and he has always been a great presence in European outings, much larger than life. Alonso has been exquisite with his long shots, and is a pleasure to watch, even when you don't support Liverpool.

Prediction? Tough one. Unless Robben runs through Liverpool, it's another 1 - 0 for the Anfield side. And the goal may come from Hyypia or someone. More prediction? A header, probably. :P

Gimme a treat if this turns out to be the case.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First Leg : Bayern 5 - 0 Sporting

Bayern rules! And it is the perfect time to show the world what they are capable of doing. The Germans are back on the European map and how!

The biggest concern for Bayern would be consistency. They lose one match miserably and dominate the next. This is not a great sign for a world class team. Given the immensely talented squad and an impressive home record, the Second leg would be more of a formality...Bayern's through!

I sincerely hope that this year, Bayern will do enough to get this bad feeling away from me.. The feeling that I am the only person in Bangalore who follows Bundesliga results.

Ribery's form reached its peak in the last match. Something I have not seen before from him. Klose, his usual composed self, Schweini & Rensing under performing a little, Lahm at his usual best and Luca Toni finally finding his feet. In the second leg though, my bet is that Klinsmann will give more field time to Altintop, Podolski and Borowski, and less time to van Bommel, given his booking status. Resting Toni would do their Bundesliga quest a world of good.

No comments about Sporting. There's no way out of this.

Prediction? It's a certainty.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First Leg: Chelsea 1 - 0 Juventus

One Straight point. I did not expect this first leg result. I was expecting a 0 - 0. Drogba put in an early goal, and that could just manage to take Chelsea through to the next round.

Guus Hiddink will be a happy man. There is always the fear of Juve squeezing a draw back home. And this victory will put that fear behind. Juve will have to attack now, atleast in the last 30 minutes. And judging by the first leg, blocking delPiero and Nedved could be an easier assignment to take care of for Guus than we'd have imagined. But then, accept the bitter piil, Chelsea were more unconvincing than ever before at Stamford Bridge, and that is a point of concern for the English Club.

That could well be the case Ranieri will be dreaming about.. Yet another such display from Chelsea. He has a biggg task on his hands, and unless Chelsea fail to deliver miserably, he can kiss this league Goodbye. Add to it the not so convincing recent home record for the Italians. The only thing he can harp on is the second place in Serie - A, ahead of AC Milan. If they can manage that, why not this! Also, Nedved will be ready to give his best ahead of his retirement. So, Juve can turn out to be that magic pot which doesn't even know what it will throw up next!

My Prediction. Chelsea's through, either with a draw or with an Anelka brace.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Manchester United FC 0 - 0 FC Internazionale Milano

Manchester United, going by reviews, looked every bit the better side at Milan, but the fact is, it could not get that elusive away-goal. Several media reports claim SAF won the first round against Jose Mourinho in this bout, but I seriously doubt it. Going by the game, yes. Going by results, No. Because at the end of it all, Results are all that matter.

Starting with Mourinho's side. Inter has got a consistent away record of late, winning all of their recent matches. Mourinho has been there at Old Trafford and done that before. Zlatan, for the second leg, should be in a freaking kicking mood, after he was criticised for failing 'again' against an English side. He's netted 14 times in the Serie-A this season so far and that's not bad by any yardstick. If I were SAF, I'd watch out. And I bet he will, too. Other people who could prove decisive are Zanetti and Cesar, with Cesar widely believed to be on top of his game, and a better bet than Edwin van Der Sar at the moment. One match of importance, leading up to the second leg, could be the upcoming Roma - Inter match this week.

ManU has been equally consistent of late too, if not better. Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov should prove a very tough challenge for the Inter defence, but given that Inter would look at drawing the match, if they get away with an early goal, it is ManU's defence that comes under the scanner. Again here, we are looking at consistency and a team that is setting a record of sorts with the number of clean sheets this season. Van der sar will be the key on the European Night, one more time.

ManU are comfortably placed, but one shocker of a strike from Zlatan or Adriano or the solid old Inter horses in the Midfield could just seal it then and there.

Prediction? Fingers crossed, that's all.

All the Best to Jose Mourinho, though. If he can pull this rabbit, he is most definitely "the Special One" out there.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Arsenal 1 - 0 Roma

We start with Arsene Wenger's side. A side, I'd say, that is very low on Morale and confidence, whatever you may say. A match without Fabregas or Arshavin will not be their pick, but it has to stay that way. Bendtner, though better than Ade, is misfiring more often than not, and that should remain on the top of Arsene's to-do list before sending the team out for the second leg. Arsenal's defence has been outstanding, to say the least. But their strikers find it increasingly difficult with every game. Eduardo's return match was the only saving grace. If he's in shape for the second leg without any further injuries, Arsenal could walk away with the away goal and the progression. If not, it's going to be a tough encounter.

Roma, on the other hand, have lost one and drawn one match out of the last two games away from home in Serie-A, but have convincingly won their home fixtures. This should be their confidence booster. When a club like Atalanta (the last game away from home) could beat them 3 - 0, Arsenal could manage only a 1 - 0. Oh, but I am not sure if they played their full strength in that league match. Roma has proven in the past that they could be deadly in set pieces, and given Chelsea found it hard at Rome last time it went there, we are in for a Roma Special!

My Prediction for the Second Leg.

It's either

Arsenal 0 - 0 Roma
(or)
Arsenal 1 - 1 Roma

Either way, We can hope to see more of RVP this year in Europe.

Gavin Strachan - Kids training

One useful post from Gavin Strachan for BBC..

Check it out

Arsenal 4 - 0 Cardiff

Eduardo : I am back!