Two words: Advantage Chelsea. And before you Blues fans, get carried away and start dreaming of the title, I refer only to the Champions League semi final battle with Liverpool, the second leg of which we all await with bated breath. Certainly not the Premiership, where Man U’s commanding goal difference leaves them in control of their fate. Chelsea, on the other hand have to fast and pray for a Man U slip-up in the last two rounds. But …it’s Champions League time so let’s stay focused.
Chelsea’s late equalizer at Anfield clearly puts them in the driving seat for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. An away goal is always valuable in these tight ties and it means Chelsea can go through to the final without having to score a goal at home. I guess, giving Liverpool’s proven ability to squeeze out 0-0 draws in Europe, Chelsea and their fans will derive some level of comfort from that situation. Liverpool would have loved to take that one-goal lead to London, yet I don’t think the 1-1 scoreline makes as big a difference as all that. I doubt that Rafa Benitez would have been playing for a goalless draw at the Bridge regardless and to assume that Chelsea wouldn’t score at least once at home would have been sheer folly.
In essence, Liverpool – had they kept their one-goal lead – would have traveled knowing they’d probably have to score at the Bridge to go through. This is the exact situation they find themselves in now. On the other hand, though a goalless finish suits Chelsea, I doubt they’ll play for that in front of their fans and that should make it quite a game – perhaps the most open game between these two in years.
Liverpool may well rue the missed opportunities at Anfield – not to mention Riise’s injury time gift – but if they play as well as they did at home, and Torres and Gerrard gel as they can, I wouldn’t be writing them off yet. Rafa may decide to start Crouch alongside Torres in his search for goals, but I think he’ll go for Ryan Babel’s pace and trickery to start with.
Chelsea will have to play much better than they did last week – they usually do at home - and they should be on a high after seeing off Man U on Saturday. Their biggest boost though would be the return of Ghanaian Michael Essien after suspension. Ballack and Lampard were well dominated by Mascherano and Alonso at Anfield, but they’ll find in Essien a tougher proposition. The sheer power and industry of the “Bionic Man” could well give Chelsea the edge in this one.
Yet, I am going to stop short of making a prediction. It looks all set up for Chelsea to reach the Champions League final for the first time, but like Liverpool fans everywhere, I’ll be hoping for the contrary.
Before the Reds v Blues on Wednesday though, there’s the little matter of Man U hosting Barcelona at the “Theatre of Dreams” later today. I thought Man U would see off the Catalans quite easily before the first leg, but I suppose I am not the only one who’s having a re-think now.
Before you Man U fans go loco on me, I’m not saying that Ferguson’s team won’t go through to Moscow. Not yet, anyway. But I certainly thought they’d put up more of a fight at the Nou Camp, where Barca completely dominated play and Man U resorted to parking the bus in front of their goal in a desperate bid not to concede. Okay, maybe that’s what’s required to succeed in the Champions’ League, and a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp is a good result by all means. It was the manner of the performance that got me though. and Barcelona showed enough to suggest that they could pull an upset at Old Trafford.
Still, Man U at home should be a different deal. They’ll definitely come out to play – as they eventually did at Stamford Bridge on Saturday – and we all know how dangerous they can be at their attacking best. I am not even going to discuss the possibility of Rooney’s absence; doesn’t matter, they’ve got Tevez, Nani,….
Barcelona are hardly the strongest team in defence, even if captain Puyol returns after suspension, and they are having trouble finding the net as well, yet if they dominate the ball as they can – Xavi, Iniesta and Messi put up a clinic last week – Man U fans will be in for a long night.
It should be an intriguing contrast in styles – Barca’s measured, controlled passing approach against the swift, incisive attacking style of Man U. In addition, we get another look at two of the contenders for the title of ‘best player in the world’.
Leo Messi certainly took the first round last week, running the United defence ragged for an hour before making his exit. And this from a youngster who’d been out injured for several weeks prior. Ronaldo’s had a great season, but he was clearly not at the races in Barcelona, missing that early penalty to boot. He’ll have another chance to show-up the Argentine wonder-kid tonight.
In all, it should be a great game to see. Barcelona may well dominate the play again, but I think Man U, at Old Trafford, have enough attacking guile and finishing power to win this one. Of course, I won’t be shedding any tears if they don’t.
See ya!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Champions League: It's gotta be Man U v Liverpool
There seems to be no escaping the Premiership these days. As one contemplates this week’s Champions League semi finals, the names Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool are front and centre yet again, and the fact that the first two clubs also face off in a potential title decider at the weekend only spices up the situation.
Of course, that can only be good news for Liverpool, who have no title aspirations and are just one point away from securing Champions League action next season. They’ll hope that the Chelsea’s league distractions weigh heavy when they visit Anfield on Tuesday.
Having beaten Chelsea at the same stage twice in the last three seasons, Liverpool will be confident of over-turning the London club yet again. It’s going to be tight again – both teams are strong defensively – yet I think Liverpool are a much stronger team than they were last year, especially in attack. Benitez knows his best team and best formation now and they’ve been in great form over the last two months.
Chelsea isn’t the most exciting team to watch yet they remain very solid and hard to beat, as their league position indicates, yet without Jose Mourinho they’re hardly the all-conquering machine of the last three seasons. They’ll also be without the “bionic” Essien in the first leg. He'll be greatly missed.
I think this will come down to the bench – Benitez v Grant – and my money will be on the Spaniard. If he could outsmart Mourinho twice, I think he can do likewise to Grant. The only twist this time is that the 2nd leg will be at Stamford Bridge, giving Chelsea a chance to right whatever goes wrong in the first leg. Liverpool will need a two-goal margin at Anfield to feel comfortable but I think they’ll beat Chelsea over two-legs and reach another final.
Man U remain favourites to win the whole thing, and Barcelona’s current form doesn’t suggest that an upset is in the offing. That near miss at Blackburn on Saturday would give Barca some hope though, as will the fact that Man U will have Chelsea on their mind when they visit the Nou Camp on Wednesday. It should be fascinating tie though, especially since Barca have Leo Messi back and Samuel Eto’o in fine scoring form. It’s not been a fine season for Rijkaard’s team but I hesitate to write off any team that includes midfielders like Xavi, Iniesta and Yaya Toure.
Nonetheless, Man U have been in flying form and they have the squad to overcome the stiffest of challenges. Ronaldo has been the key man, but match winners abound in this squad – Tevez, Hargreaves, Rooney, Scholes etc. – and I expect they’ll get past Barcelona, even if they fail to win at the Nou Camp.
So, I guess I’m sticking my neck out and plumping for a Man U v Liverpool final. We’ll see how the first legs go.
Of course, that can only be good news for Liverpool, who have no title aspirations and are just one point away from securing Champions League action next season. They’ll hope that the Chelsea’s league distractions weigh heavy when they visit Anfield on Tuesday.
Having beaten Chelsea at the same stage twice in the last three seasons, Liverpool will be confident of over-turning the London club yet again. It’s going to be tight again – both teams are strong defensively – yet I think Liverpool are a much stronger team than they were last year, especially in attack. Benitez knows his best team and best formation now and they’ve been in great form over the last two months.
Chelsea isn’t the most exciting team to watch yet they remain very solid and hard to beat, as their league position indicates, yet without Jose Mourinho they’re hardly the all-conquering machine of the last three seasons. They’ll also be without the “bionic” Essien in the first leg. He'll be greatly missed.
I think this will come down to the bench – Benitez v Grant – and my money will be on the Spaniard. If he could outsmart Mourinho twice, I think he can do likewise to Grant. The only twist this time is that the 2nd leg will be at Stamford Bridge, giving Chelsea a chance to right whatever goes wrong in the first leg. Liverpool will need a two-goal margin at Anfield to feel comfortable but I think they’ll beat Chelsea over two-legs and reach another final.
Man U remain favourites to win the whole thing, and Barcelona’s current form doesn’t suggest that an upset is in the offing. That near miss at Blackburn on Saturday would give Barca some hope though, as will the fact that Man U will have Chelsea on their mind when they visit the Nou Camp on Wednesday. It should be fascinating tie though, especially since Barca have Leo Messi back and Samuel Eto’o in fine scoring form. It’s not been a fine season for Rijkaard’s team but I hesitate to write off any team that includes midfielders like Xavi, Iniesta and Yaya Toure.
Nonetheless, Man U have been in flying form and they have the squad to overcome the stiffest of challenges. Ronaldo has been the key man, but match winners abound in this squad – Tevez, Hargreaves, Rooney, Scholes etc. – and I expect they’ll get past Barcelona, even if they fail to win at the Nou Camp.
So, I guess I’m sticking my neck out and plumping for a Man U v Liverpool final. We’ll see how the first legs go.
Laudrup's Getafe Prove La Liga Quality
Amidst all the excitement of Liverpool’s Champions League exertions against Arsenal the other week, it was easy to overlook an even more dramatic encounter unfolding in the UEFA Cup, that poor relative of the money-spinning Champions’ League.
I speak of that cracking quarter final tie between German giants Bayern Munich and Spanish “minnows” Getafe. On paper, this looked like a straight forward affair – the moneyed, star-studded German side expected to run, rough shod over the provincial upstarts. Instead we got two exciting, drama-packed matches only settled in the very last minute of extra time in the second leg. If you think the Liverpool v Arsenal ending – with 3 goals in the last 6 minutes - was pure drama, well, this one was on a different level.
The excitement started in Munich when, with Bayern sitting on a one-goal first half lead, Getafe took the game to the hosts till late in the game, persistently pounding on the door until substitute Cosmin Contra beat Oliver Kahn and two defenders on the goal line with the most delicate of chips in the 90th minute.
Then came the second leg in Spain. Getafe were reduced to 10 men after 7 minutes, losing star defender De La Red to a straight red card. Then, Nigerian striker Uche, limped off with a pulled hamstring after 20 minutes. Yet Contra scored again, this time to give Getafe the lead just before half time, and they seemed all set for a giant killing……only for Bayern to tie it all up, again in the 90th minute, and send the game to extra time. Two quick Getafe goals swung the tie back in the Spaniards favour as they now led 4-2 on aggregate with five minutes to play. Then came the climax to beat all climaxes.
In the 116th minute - four minutes to safety - Getafe ‘keeper Abbondanzieri dropped a harmless-looking long punt into the box, gifting Luca Toni the easiest of tap-ins. Now, Bayern needed just one more goal to get through on away goals. Well, they got it right on the dot of time, Toni again nodding in to bring a dramatic end to an exciting affair.
Just goes to show that great football can still be found outside of the super-hyped Champions League. Bayern were expected to stroll through the UEFA Cup field this season, and they remain favourites to take the cup. But Getafe, with no household names on the books, showed what good teamwork, organization and attacking football can achieve, while once again highlighting the quality of the Spanish La Liga. English clubs may dominate the latter stages of the Champions League, but it’s always the same English clubs. Getafe’s achievement and performance would be akin to a club like Birmingham or Reading reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals – and stretching a giant like Bayern. Can you imagine that happening? I can’t. I don’t even see those teams qualifying for the UEFA Cup especially with stronger, under-performing clubs like Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle – all packed with well paid international – seating ahead of them in the Premiership.
I suppose my point is this: the Premiership’s top four are as good as it gets in Europe today, but that doesn’t make the Premiership the best league. It’s exciting to watch, no doubt, it has several of the best players in the world – as Serie A did in the early 1990s – and it’s certainly well-marketed, but I’d pick La Liga over the Premiership for competitive depth. Real Madrid and Barcelona may be the standard bearers but Valencia have reached two Champions League finals and won the UEFA Cup all in the last 8 years; Sevilla won the last two UEFA Cups and beat Espanyol in the last final, and “little” Villareall were Champions League semi-finalists two years ago.
I really wasn’t planning to get into this “war of the leagues” when I started this piece, so I think I’ll give it a rest now. More to the point keep an eye out for Getafe’s manager, a certain Michael Laudrup, the former Denmark striker. He’s certainly done a fine job in his first year at the club and I wouldn’t be surprised if his name begins to come up in association with the bigger clubs.
As a former star player with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, I have little doubt that he will one day end up at the helm of one of those two clubs. Getafe, of course, has already proved a sound stepping stone to the big job: Laudrup took over from current Real boss Bernd Schuster.
I speak of that cracking quarter final tie between German giants Bayern Munich and Spanish “minnows” Getafe. On paper, this looked like a straight forward affair – the moneyed, star-studded German side expected to run, rough shod over the provincial upstarts. Instead we got two exciting, drama-packed matches only settled in the very last minute of extra time in the second leg. If you think the Liverpool v Arsenal ending – with 3 goals in the last 6 minutes - was pure drama, well, this one was on a different level.
The excitement started in Munich when, with Bayern sitting on a one-goal first half lead, Getafe took the game to the hosts till late in the game, persistently pounding on the door until substitute Cosmin Contra beat Oliver Kahn and two defenders on the goal line with the most delicate of chips in the 90th minute.
Then came the second leg in Spain. Getafe were reduced to 10 men after 7 minutes, losing star defender De La Red to a straight red card. Then, Nigerian striker Uche, limped off with a pulled hamstring after 20 minutes. Yet Contra scored again, this time to give Getafe the lead just before half time, and they seemed all set for a giant killing……only for Bayern to tie it all up, again in the 90th minute, and send the game to extra time. Two quick Getafe goals swung the tie back in the Spaniards favour as they now led 4-2 on aggregate with five minutes to play. Then came the climax to beat all climaxes.
In the 116th minute - four minutes to safety - Getafe ‘keeper Abbondanzieri dropped a harmless-looking long punt into the box, gifting Luca Toni the easiest of tap-ins. Now, Bayern needed just one more goal to get through on away goals. Well, they got it right on the dot of time, Toni again nodding in to bring a dramatic end to an exciting affair.
Just goes to show that great football can still be found outside of the super-hyped Champions League. Bayern were expected to stroll through the UEFA Cup field this season, and they remain favourites to take the cup. But Getafe, with no household names on the books, showed what good teamwork, organization and attacking football can achieve, while once again highlighting the quality of the Spanish La Liga. English clubs may dominate the latter stages of the Champions League, but it’s always the same English clubs. Getafe’s achievement and performance would be akin to a club like Birmingham or Reading reaching the UEFA Cup quarter finals – and stretching a giant like Bayern. Can you imagine that happening? I can’t. I don’t even see those teams qualifying for the UEFA Cup especially with stronger, under-performing clubs like Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle – all packed with well paid international – seating ahead of them in the Premiership.
I suppose my point is this: the Premiership’s top four are as good as it gets in Europe today, but that doesn’t make the Premiership the best league. It’s exciting to watch, no doubt, it has several of the best players in the world – as Serie A did in the early 1990s – and it’s certainly well-marketed, but I’d pick La Liga over the Premiership for competitive depth. Real Madrid and Barcelona may be the standard bearers but Valencia have reached two Champions League finals and won the UEFA Cup all in the last 8 years; Sevilla won the last two UEFA Cups and beat Espanyol in the last final, and “little” Villareall were Champions League semi-finalists two years ago.
I really wasn’t planning to get into this “war of the leagues” when I started this piece, so I think I’ll give it a rest now. More to the point keep an eye out for Getafe’s manager, a certain Michael Laudrup, the former Denmark striker. He’s certainly done a fine job in his first year at the club and I wouldn’t be surprised if his name begins to come up in association with the bigger clubs.
As a former star player with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, I have little doubt that he will one day end up at the helm of one of those two clubs. Getafe, of course, has already proved a sound stepping stone to the big job: Laudrup took over from current Real boss Bernd Schuster.
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