Champion's League Hangover

After 3 long months the most prestigious tournament in Europe is finally back. The KO round of 16 was very interesting to say the least and most of the games are way open to put money on the line. Let’s look game by game what happened and the consequences.

Lyon VS Barça: Horrible first half by the Catalans; it was probably the worst display of the season and it comes at the worst time. Pep’s team has not won in three games. Valdes is right now in clumsy mode. Let’s be honest, Juninho’s goal was a piece or art worthy of the mighty ones but Valdes could and should have done something more. It’s not too much that he failed but the fact that it’s his second game in which a mistake of the keeper cost the teams the game. Fortunately Henry appeared (at least once) to save the day and score another goal worthy of the chosen ones. The good news is that 1) the team didn’t lose and 2) a goal away is always a good news; this means that a 0-0 tie will still take Barcelona to quarters of final. The bad news: Barcelona has never passed to the next round after tying 1-1 on the first game. Prediction: Barcelona wins at home next game and advances to the quarters of Final.

Inter VS Manchester: the big daddy of this round was very disappointing; especially for mourinho’s men. Manchester seemed as though they were playing home. They moved very comfortably throughout the game and had many chances of scoring. Mourinho must be extremely grateful to Julio Cesar who was without any doubt the MVP of the night. Ibrahimovic barely appeared during the game and neither did Adriano. However, in this type of tournaments not letting the visitor score in the first game is a success. Prediction: This is a very bold prediction but I ‘m sure Inter will tie at old Trafford and advance. But don’t fool yourself they won’t display any type of futbol; it will be 90 minutes of constant offensive game by Manud.

Arsenal VS Roma: Once again the premier showed to be a better league than Calcio. I’m not a fan of the kick and run show that is seen every weekend on England but even I have to admit that they are miles away at the moment. Arsenal showed extremely superiority at emirate stadium and just as Manchester is a shame that the superiority was not reflected on the final score. A penalty goal by Van Persie was enough for the moment but Roma is a very tricky team at home. It’s hard to know how good they will be the next game or how incredible bad. Prediction: Arsenal is going to advance to the next round without too much problem. A 0-0 at the Olympic Stadium will be more than enough to kick out the hosts of this year’s final.

Atletico VS Oporto: I’m glad these two had to see each other in this round. They are so similar in so many ways that it is nice to the spectacle. Atletico’s men were convinced that in champions league they will be different from the rollercoaster display of La Liga but unfortunately it wasn’t the case. Every time the seemed to figure how to win Lisandro would strike back and get Oporto in the picture once again. The final result is a shame if you are an Atletico De Madrid fan; a 2-2 is not the best score to have with the next game being away. Prediction: Oporto won’t have too many troubles to eliminate Aguero and company. 1-0

Chelsea VS Juventus: the biggest upset of this round for me. I was going to be very surprise if Barça had won at Lyon but Juventus losing and not scoring is an humongous surprise. Let’s be clear, Chelsea is a solid club as they showed last game and nobody forget they are the runner-up of last tournament. Not even almighty Manchester United could win clearly against them in the final; but also let’s not forget who Juventus really is. Juve is like this bee that it doesn’t matter how many times you try to get rid off it always comes back. That’s Juventus in champions league; rarely any other team feel this tournament as Juve does and to see them losing and not scoring is an outrage. Prediction: I think Juve will win 2-1 at home which will leave them out due to away goal advantage…something they lack.

Villareal vs Panathinaikos: as is the case with Atletico and Oporto I’m glad for these two as well. They are such underdogs in this tournament that it’s nice to see them battle each other. I can’t say too much about this game; Villareal never fully recovered after losing to Madrid and Barça in December and this have shown in the qualifying where they are currently at 4th place with 11 point difference from the second. I think they still have a shot but Panathinaikos seems to have this one. Prediction: Panathinaikos advances winning 2-0.

Real Madrid VS Liverpool: this was probably the second big daddy of this round. So much history between these two only made the scenario more intense. Real Madrid is right now the re-emerging phoenix in Spain who is starting to worry their arch nemesis Barça. And Liverpool, while not as solid in the premier as they would want to be still the “never say never” team of Europe. The encounter was hard to describe. Both coaches decided to show their amazing defensive organization but forget to display how well the attack. And to make everything weirder Liverpool ended up getting a victory. In Spain they say Liverpool brought Petroleum back from Madrid and I couldn’t agree more. 0-1 doesn’t seem that bad but at the same time is too much. Madrid will have to suffer a LOT if they want to keep the 10th championship dream. Prediction: Liverpool will take this one 1-0 and go to the next round.

Sporting Lisbon VS Bayern Munich: This was probably the most predictable encounter. The difference between these 2 teams is colossal. I predicted a 0-3 with goals of Ribery, Toni, and Klose but to be honest now that I see it a 0-5 was more than obvious. Prediction: Bayern doesn’t even have to show up to win. 2-0 at home for the Germans