As the Champion’s League moves into the business end, everybody was waiting for the Quarter final draw, which also gives an idea as to who will eventually go into the face-off. iSporter Pulasta Dhar analyses the chances of some mouth-watering clashes….
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL DRAW:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow
SEMI-FINAL DRAW:
Inter Milan/CSKA Moscow v Arsenal/Barcelona
Bayern Munich/Manchester United v Lyon/Bordeaux
As an Arsenal fan, you might not be too happy about the draw. Former hero Thierry Henry will return to the Emirates to face the team he left for £16 million in 2007. For a neutral though, it could not get better as the two teams which play the most attractive football will face each other and we hope we get some examples on how to score the perfect goal. Barcelona and Arsenal both showed with some class on how to embarrass teams in the second legs of the Last 16 stage, by winning their games 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.
For Arsenal, Fabregas and Nasri will be the key figures and for Barcelona, World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi and Iniesta will look to do some damage. As for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he might look to this game to really contribute significantly and justify his £46 million price-tag.
A re-run of the 1999 final drama may not be the case here, since Bayern have lost a lot of good players in the last 10 years. But mark my words, they are back with some good deals over the last two summers and can be considered competitive opponents for last year’s finalists. Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery will have to be at their best to unlock the newly fit back four of United and will look to Van Buyten and Demichellis to cut off the aerial prowess of Wayne Rooney. The midfield is an equal balance as I do not see too much of a threat from there, unless Hargreaves returns to face his former club, which is unlikely. I personally feel Bayern have a far stronger midfield compared to United. Carrick has never looked like what he was and the only stronghold for the reds remains Darren Fletcher.
Lyon versus Bordeaux was not anticipated and will result in one of the French teams being knocked out of the competition which surprisingly has more French flavour in it since AS Monaco reached the final some time ago albeit ending up losing. Lisandro Lopez, Cris and Pjanic will be the key men for an in-form Lyon. On the other hand, rejuvenated Bordeaux under the tutelage of ex-United player Laurent Blanc will look to carry on their renaissance with contributions from Chamakh, Gourcuff and Alou Diarra. This one will be the battle of who can bag the bragging rights.
It only gets better for Inter Milan under Mourinho. After doing away with pomp the likes of Chelsea, he now turns his sight towards CSKA Moscow. Even though I should not write them off, the Russians do not have much of a chance to get anything from the tie, unless the Italian outfit does something hazardous, which Italian teams often do under pressure.
If we analyze and do some guesswork, Man United might end up in the final if they can beat Lyon in the semis, which they have managed only too closely in their latest fixtures. As for beating Munich, they will have to be at their best. These teams might not be the best, but they are tricky.
There is no room for guesswork in the Arsenal vs. Barcelona fixture, but on current form I would opt for the Catalans, given Arsenal lack a figurehead up front compared to oodles of talent in the Unicef sponsored team. Either of them will almost surely face Inter Milan and Arsenal/Barca vs. Inter will be another sight to behold.
The Champions League calendar this time promises to be much more exciting with matches spread out over Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s of two weeks and the heat is already mounting in the football circles of Europe. Keep reading for lates updates on this mind boggling competition.
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Asif Khan
said:
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... Shame Arsenal and Barca are playing each other so early! A final between the two would have been such a great treat to watch! |
Pulasta Dhar
said:
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... As a neutral, i think one match is not enough to separate the two teams. So, its better the tie is decided over two legs. Can't wait to watch Ribery and Robben against United too. |
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