Tuesday, 8 April 2014
BAYERN MUNICH-MANCHESTER UNITED PREVIEW.......WOUNDED DIE ROTEN READY TO ROAST A DETERMINED UNITED SIDE
No matter how hard Pep Guardiola has tried to play down Bayern's first loss in 54 League games, it is hurting to say the least that the German Champions saw their record broken on the eve of a very crucial Champions League game. Sascha Molders' goal was enough for Augsburg to break the Bayern fans' hearts and ensure that they don't go the entire League season unbeaten. Markus Weinzierl and his brave soldiers fought gallantly throughout the match and deservedly won. It was the first goal Bayern had ever conceded at the SGL Arena and it proved damning for them in the end. That is a slap on the face of the defending European Champions and they intend to pour it all out on visiting Manchester United on Wednesday.
The red army on their own domestic matters continued their latest run of impressive form when they routed Newcastle United right in front of the packed crowd at SJP. There was nothing the magpies could do as Juan Mata, Shinji Kagawa, Adnan Januzaj and Chicharito ran rings around them for much of the game. Anders Lindegaard started his first League game since letting five goals go past him in Fergie's farewell game at the Hawthorns last season and he made sure Papisse Cisse was never going to put one past him. Three magnificent saves and the Senegalse was left frustrated and bemused at the same time. Even the introduction of Hatem Ben Arfa hardly made anything different for Alan Pardew's men. A Juan Mata double with additional goals from Chicha and Januzaj were enough to compound the magpies' woes and condemn them to to their second consecutive 4-0 defeat and second straight home loss without scoring a goal. Unfortunately, Mata is ineligible to face fc Hollywood on Wednesday night but Kagawa will definitely be there.
Despite eight changes made by David Moyes, it was a comfortable outing at Tyneside. The likes of DDG, Vidic, Rio, Welbz and Carrick were kept away from the firing line and Wayne Rooney has been declared 95% fit to feature against Bayern after he bruised his toe in training and was a doubt.
PREDICTED LINEUPS-
BAYERN MUNICH
Neuer, Rafinha, Dante, Boateng, Alaba, Lahm, Kroos, Gotze, Ribery, Robben, Mandzukic
MANCHESTER UNITED
DDG, Jones, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, Kagawa, Valencia, Welbeck, Rooney
Bayern will be without Thiago Alcantara (injured), Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez (both suspended) for Wednesday night's match. Wayne Rooney made sure the best DLP in the World will play no part in the second leg and that has given United the midfield edge or so it seems. That means Mario Gotze will be brought into the starting eleven to support Captain Lahm and Toni Kroos. The ROBBERY gang cannot wait to dispossess United of all what they have got and Mario Mandzukic can fight for next season's starting berth in attack if he scores the goal that will take his team into the semi final. Although, it will take much more than that to keep out the Polish poacher (Lewandowski). Pep will hope that Ribery and Robben have more freedom that what was granted at the Theatre. They know all about the Allianz Arena-all the nooks and crannies.
It all boils down to this one game for Manchester United. Sadly, the red army have had a woeful season and it is unusual that only one game will decide a season for a team used to winning trophies every season. United lie SEVENTEEN POINTS behind log Leaders, Liverpool which means the League title has been relinquished. Only a deep run in the Champions League will allay the fans' fears and give hope for next season. United had a lovely weekend in contrast to Bayern's. A 4-0 win at St James' was achieved without at least five first team regulars while the Buli Champions fell at the SGL to lowly Augsburg. United can do better than Augsburg and one of them can be Sascha Molders. Molders is now a cult hero at Augsburg. The man wrote his name in gold on Saturday. Shinji Kagawa must show that he is a big game player tonight. Last week's draw was the very first time in 5 games he hadn't been on the winning side against Bayern. The Bavarians know all about him. At Dortmund, he won four games on the trot in games against the Buli Champions and provided 1 goal and 2 assists in those battles. Another of such display will help the United cause which is by all means a herculean one. Wayne Rooney has been passed fit to play and that is refreshing. Danny Welbeck will return to the starting eleven and TonyV will take his place on the right side of midfield. The 'high hair' Fellaini must improve considerably on the insipid performance of eight days ago and Michael Carrick has to take advantage of the depleted Bayern midfield and explore the weaknesses if any. DDG returns between the sticks and the Vidic-Rio combo which rolled back the years in a masterclass showing at Old Trafford must once again stiffen the threat of the Bayern front line. Patrice Evra returns to the left back position. The Frenchman has a lot of experience at this level, haven reached four finals but Alex Buttner proved more than an able replacement in the home leg. That may not be enough to retain that position.
Pep shrugged off the defeat on Saturday and has described the game with United as a 'LIFE AND DEATH match'. It remains to be seen how he will approach the encounter but one thing is sure, they are huge favourites to qualify. Manchester United live in hope that something astoundingly preternatural will happen at the Allianz. It will be a colossal result if Moyes can pull it off. One that will effectively get fickle and plastic fans off his back and buy him more time.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
Monday, 7 April 2014
DORTMUND-REAL MADRID PREVIEW..........UPHILL TASK FOR LAST SEASON'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP
It's all looking doom and gloom for a once entertaining Borussia Dortmund. Haven been decimated by Real Madrid six days ago, it is time to set the record straight and at least play for pride at the Signa Iduna tonight. It is a seemingly lost cause for Die Borussen but impossible is nothing.
Jurgen Klopp nad his boys warmed up for this special occasion with a sweet, come from behind victory over Wolfsburg in the Buli on Saturday. Marco Reus scored the winner to make it four goals in his last two League games but it is in the Champions League they need him more. After getting bashed by Los Merengues last week Wednesday, Dortmund cannot afford another mauling. Klopp has been rather unfortunate with injuries this term and is likely to call upon the bulk of the same team that faced the Spanish giants at the Bernabeu, except that Lewandowski is back from suspension and will remember how his four goals set his team on a glory hunting mission in the same competition last season. The Pole is Bayern bound but he will want to leave his mark on what is almost certainly his last Champions League game for the yellow and black.
Real Madrid posted a brilliant result on Saturday at San Sebastian when they put champions league chasing Real Sociedad to the sword. The UCL European Cup record winners thrived where Barcelona and many others have failed and the result was a 4-0 win. Gareth Bale starred in that match and despite fears of a layoff, he is fit to face the same Dortmund side he opened the scoring against last week. Cristiano Ronaldo limped out of training 15 minutes into the game and it has been proclaimed that he is a major doubt for today's affair. That means a chance to break the record he shares with Messi might have to wait until the semi-finals if Real see it through.
It is difficult to see how Dortmund will score four without Real getting at least a goal. Lewandowski's four goals condemned los Blancos to a painful defeat last season. Only a performance much better than that can give Dortmund a chance but they lack the personnel to handle this kind of situation.
PROBABLE LINEUPS-
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Hummels, Papastathopoulos, Dumm, Grosskreutz, Jojic, Sahin, Reus, Mkhitaryan, LEWANDOWSKI
REAL MADRID
Casillas, Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrao, Alonso, Modric, Di Maria, Bale, Benzema, CR7
Die Schwarzgelben cannot call upon the services of Sven Bender, IIkay Gundogan and Marcel Schmelzer because they are all injured. To make matters worse, Captain and midfield destroyer, Sebastian Kehl is banned for tonight's game. That leaves gaping holes in midfield which will be filled by January acquisition, Milos Jojic who is inexperienced and may be overwhelmed by the atmosphere. The attacking midfielder has to be helped by Sahin, Grosskreutz and Henrikh. PEA17 will be replaced by Lewandowski after the Gabonese couldn't covert at least one of the many chances that came his way. The returning Pole knows where the net is and Real Madrid are aware that he does. Rolls Reus has to turn up tonight, If he does, then Dortmund fans can dream. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has cooled down a bit. The Armenian attacking midfielder started his career at the club ecellently well but seems to have faded in the last two months. However, class is permanent.
LA DECIMA chasing Los meregues know that there is no margin for error from here on. Any slip up and they can bid farewell to their dream of claiming a 10th European cup for yet another campaign. It has been a long wait (twelve years) for Madridistas. Don Carlo admitted that the Champions League was the priority this term. The main objective. Anything else is a bonus, although a treble would be welcomed. CR7 limped out of training yesterday but should shrug off whatever impedes him. Karim Benzema hasn't been among the goals lately. The Frenchman has done quite well this season and is part of the deadliest trio in WORLD FOOTBALL tagged the 'BBC'.
Anything other than Real Madrid going through will be most bewildering.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
CHELSEA-PSG PREVIEW.......THE BLUES SET FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT MATCH OF THE SEASON
Chelsea were astonishingly humbled quite easily by Les Parisien at the Parc des Princes six days ago. Now the blues face an almost impossible quest to overturn a 2 goal deficit. Not that it has never been achieved before but this is somewhat different.
EL POCHO Lavezzi knows how it feels to be taken apart by Chelsea. The PSG forward was part of the Napoli side that were at the wrong end of a brave comeback by the pensioners after going down 3-1 in Naples. Now, he is more than determined to make amends and tomorrow is the best chance he might ever have. A repeat of the fantastic display he put in last week and the French Champions-elect are in the semis. Not even the absence of ZLATAN will deter the much improved and very ambitious french outfit as they aim to go further in the competition. With the Swede, they glided past a helpless Reims side at the weekend courtesy of goals from Edinson Cavani and two own goals from Reims defender, Aissa Mandi
Jose Mourinho has affirmed that it is 'nearly impossible' to qualify after Javier Pastore's injury time goal put a dagger through the hearts of the Chelsea faithful. But the message to his troops will be very clear. Score two goals and concede none, we are through. But it is going to be very difficult if not herculean to prevent PSG from scoring at least a goal.
PROBABLE LINEUPS-
CHELSEA:
Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Hazard, Wllian, Eto'o
PSG:
Sirigu, VDW, Silva, Alex, Maxwell, Motta-Verratti-Matuidi, Moura, Lavezzi, Cavani
Jose Mourinho has a clear plan on how he wants to see off the French League leaders on Tuesday night. The Portuguese manager almost clawed back a 4-1 deficit v Dortmund last season , so he is no stranger to these kind of situations. However, the 'striker-less' West London club may have to risk Samuel Eto'o for the game. The Cameroonian marksman has enough in his tank to shoot down PSG but he is now a shadow of his former self. Fernando Torres has lost it totally. No one can place a finger on what really happened to the once prolific attacker. The Spaniard is done. The blues will miss the services of Ramires, Matic and Salah. The former suspended and the other two cup-tied. In their absences, Mikel and Lampard have to do the job in the middle and David Luiz may also be required to come in and help out. Mourinho will rue the absence of Matic especially because it is in midfield that the french team possess their biggest weapons.
Paris St Germain can look back on their performances so far with pride and gusto and approach this game with all the confidence in the World. They have every reason to go to the Bridge on Tuesday and seek a result that will take them to the last four of the Champions League. Laurent Blanc can secure his place in the annals of the French club's not so rich history if he qualifies them eventually. The club cannot call on the goals, assists and all round display of LE IBRA but the likes of Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez can provide the spark. They are not quite as efficient as Ibra but they are just as effective. Brazilian wonderkid, Lucas Moura has pace to burn. His skills set cannot be treated with kid gloves. His introduction last time unsettled the Chelsea defence and it ilikely that he will be thrown into the fray from the start. Ivanovic and Azpi have to be helped by Hazard and Willian/Oscar or all hopes will be thrown into the trash can. Edinson Cavani has to shoulder the responsibility of scoring the goals needed to send Chelsea packing, He was also part of the Napoli side who thought they had qualified until their bubble was burst and their hopes dashed by Didier Drogba and company. He has an axe to grind with Chelsea. Greg Van der Wiel is back to occupy the right back slot at the expense of Christophe Jallet who admittedly, did little wrong at the PdP. The All Brazilian central defensive partnership will be joined by another Brazilian at left back. Surely a complete team. Matuidi-Motta and Verratti are keeping the likes of Rabiot and Cabaye on the bench. This is not what the latter signed for when he was leaving England but he must have been aware of how arduous it is to break through the MAT-MARCO-MOTTA wall. They are currently among the very best midfield trio in all of football.
Laurent Blanc and Jose Mourinho go head to head again in a battle of tactical supremacy. Fair to say that the Frenchman won the battle last week. Mourinho hates being at the losers' corner. The 'ONLY ONE' will be pleased to take out PSG in a very special night at Stamford Bridge. In the light of recent developments, the blue face an uphill battle to retrieve the deficit. Even Eden Hazard could collapse under this sort of pressure. Chelsea need more than all the talents of WILZARCAR to triumph on Tuesday night. Stamford Bridge must be rocking.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
EL POCHO Lavezzi knows how it feels to be taken apart by Chelsea. The PSG forward was part of the Napoli side that were at the wrong end of a brave comeback by the pensioners after going down 3-1 in Naples. Now, he is more than determined to make amends and tomorrow is the best chance he might ever have. A repeat of the fantastic display he put in last week and the French Champions-elect are in the semis. Not even the absence of ZLATAN will deter the much improved and very ambitious french outfit as they aim to go further in the competition. With the Swede, they glided past a helpless Reims side at the weekend courtesy of goals from Edinson Cavani and two own goals from Reims defender, Aissa Mandi
Jose Mourinho has affirmed that it is 'nearly impossible' to qualify after Javier Pastore's injury time goal put a dagger through the hearts of the Chelsea faithful. But the message to his troops will be very clear. Score two goals and concede none, we are through. But it is going to be very difficult if not herculean to prevent PSG from scoring at least a goal.
PROBABLE LINEUPS-
CHELSEA:
Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Hazard, Wllian, Eto'o
PSG:
Sirigu, VDW, Silva, Alex, Maxwell, Motta-Verratti-Matuidi, Moura, Lavezzi, Cavani
Jose Mourinho has a clear plan on how he wants to see off the French League leaders on Tuesday night. The Portuguese manager almost clawed back a 4-1 deficit v Dortmund last season , so he is no stranger to these kind of situations. However, the 'striker-less' West London club may have to risk Samuel Eto'o for the game. The Cameroonian marksman has enough in his tank to shoot down PSG but he is now a shadow of his former self. Fernando Torres has lost it totally. No one can place a finger on what really happened to the once prolific attacker. The Spaniard is done. The blues will miss the services of Ramires, Matic and Salah. The former suspended and the other two cup-tied. In their absences, Mikel and Lampard have to do the job in the middle and David Luiz may also be required to come in and help out. Mourinho will rue the absence of Matic especially because it is in midfield that the french team possess their biggest weapons.
Paris St Germain can look back on their performances so far with pride and gusto and approach this game with all the confidence in the World. They have every reason to go to the Bridge on Tuesday and seek a result that will take them to the last four of the Champions League. Laurent Blanc can secure his place in the annals of the French club's not so rich history if he qualifies them eventually. The club cannot call on the goals, assists and all round display of LE IBRA but the likes of Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez can provide the spark. They are not quite as efficient as Ibra but they are just as effective. Brazilian wonderkid, Lucas Moura has pace to burn. His skills set cannot be treated with kid gloves. His introduction last time unsettled the Chelsea defence and it ilikely that he will be thrown into the fray from the start. Ivanovic and Azpi have to be helped by Hazard and Willian/Oscar or all hopes will be thrown into the trash can. Edinson Cavani has to shoulder the responsibility of scoring the goals needed to send Chelsea packing, He was also part of the Napoli side who thought they had qualified until their bubble was burst and their hopes dashed by Didier Drogba and company. He has an axe to grind with Chelsea. Greg Van der Wiel is back to occupy the right back slot at the expense of Christophe Jallet who admittedly, did little wrong at the PdP. The All Brazilian central defensive partnership will be joined by another Brazilian at left back. Surely a complete team. Matuidi-Motta and Verratti are keeping the likes of Rabiot and Cabaye on the bench. This is not what the latter signed for when he was leaving England but he must have been aware of how arduous it is to break through the MAT-MARCO-MOTTA wall. They are currently among the very best midfield trio in all of football.
Laurent Blanc and Jose Mourinho go head to head again in a battle of tactical supremacy. Fair to say that the Frenchman won the battle last week. Mourinho hates being at the losers' corner. The 'ONLY ONE' will be pleased to take out PSG in a very special night at Stamford Bridge. In the light of recent developments, the blue face an uphill battle to retrieve the deficit. Even Eden Hazard could collapse under this sort of pressure. Chelsea need more than all the talents of WILZARCAR to triumph on Tuesday night. Stamford Bridge must be rocking.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
Thursday, 3 April 2014
REVIEW OF THE UCL QUARTER-FINAL 1ST LEG GAMES
Regularly derided as one of the weakest Leagues in Europe, le Championaat made a big statement and Paris St Germain set the tone for a change of opinion last night when they literally dismembered the Chelsea team in a masterful display that represented Laurent Blanc's finest night in the Champions League. He took Bordeaux this far in 2010 but victory over the blues was a massive result. Despite the unfortunate injury to Ibra (who in fairness was a spectator until he pulled up), les Parisiens still found ways to hurt Mourinho and his men. The result is a 3-1 advantage going into next week's 2nd leg in West London. People may say it is only half time but if you had given PSG just a 1-0 advantage going into the return leg, they would have taken it with open arms. The Parc des Princes was agog was Javier 'EL FLACO' Pastore single handedly danced his way through the much publicised water tight defence and sent a low shot past Peter Cech in his near post to hand his team a two goal advantage heading into the duel at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho was left speechless at the final whistle as his big dogs failed to bite. They barked a little and that was it. The introduction of Lucas Moura caused a lot of problems for the JT led defence and on the basis of his performance last night, Ibra will not be missed if he misses the return leg as we have been made to believe. Of course we know the miraculous ways players recover nowadays, especially as people like Marijana Kovacevic keep on inventing 'quick recovery' treatments. EL POCHO Lavezzi took over the mantle of leadership from Zlatan and made his presence felt in the early parts of the encounter with a left foot volley that sailed past the hapless Cech to gift PSG the lead. Although Eden Hazard equalised midway through the first half from six yards after Silva felled Oscar, Lavezzi restored the advantage when his dangerous free-kick was inadvertently turned in by the unfortunate David Luiz. It was all EL POCHO and Argentina for PSG as they rose to the occasion on the night. Lavezzi loves Chelsea so much. 3 in 3 games v the pensioners goes to show that they are his favourite team in the Champions League.
Laurent Blanc could not have been more content with the display of his boys last night. His pride and excitement know no bounds at the moment. If he leads the French Champions to the semis, it would be his best achievement since he started life as a manager. The french football Legend has turned 'Les Parisien' into a team difficult to surmount. The midfield trio of Blaise, Marco and Thiago held their own. Even if Marco Verratti fails to return from the setback he experienced last night, the likes of Johan Cabaye and Adrien Rabiot can comfortably slot in alongside Matuidi and Motta. The objective is to score at Chelsea and not have the faintest hope/belief that the tie is over. Maybe they can do it. We'll have to wait to find that out.
In Manchester, Bayern Munich attempted 704 passes all through the game with an 84% success rate as against United's 174 with a miserable 58% success rate. But if the likes of Opta, Squawka, MisterChip and Whoscored were to be taken more seriously than the actual outcome of football matches, then the Bavarians would have won by 10 unreplied goals. Despite their dominance all over the pitch, the recently crowned German Champions only scored one and had less clear cut chances than their hosts who were understandably cagey. David Moyes set his team to do damage on counters and Danny Welbeck thought he had put the team ahead inside three minutes but his goal was wrongly chalked off. He had another clear cut chance to put his team in the lead when he shrugged off the shaky Jerome Boateng and set himself for a one on one with Neuer only for him to fluff his lines and the chance went begging. Rooney gave him a mouthful afterwards but that only motivated him to put in one of his best shifts in a United jersey. Bayern ran the show but couldn't produce enough chances to clobber the red army as was initially anticipated. The match ended 1-1 after Nemanja Vidic showed the World he was still capable of doing something on the big days with a thumping header to give United an unlikely lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger quickly evened the score few minutes later but he got his marching orders after lunging in on Wayne Rooney. Chicharito ensured that Javi Martinez will play no further part in the tie after forcing him to be yellow carded when he came on. Bayern have the advantage not only because the 2nd leg will be played at the Allianz Arena or that they have an away goal, but simply because they are the best team in the World. Manchester United will take heart from such a spirited performance. One that the fans have been craving for all this while. as Twitter's @beardedgenius put it in his @mirrorfootball article yesterday. The players are being fraudulent because if such a performance was replicated in the 3-0 losses v City and Liverpool, a different outcome would have be achieved. The red devils have it all to do now in Munich but the first leg proved to everyone that the 20-time English Champions can still challenge for top honours. Score first at the Allianz and who knows? Remains to be seen. Pep Guardiola has been crying foul over the suspension of Schweini and the fact that Wazza dived to ensure the German deep lying playmaker will sit out next week's fixture. But he knows they are bigger fishes to fry. Dante will return but he cannot call upon the services of Thiago. So, he has a lot of big decisions to make next week. David Moyes on the other hand, knows quite well that Ryan Giggs cannot start next week's game. The introduction of Shinji Kagawa (who has yet to lose to Bayern in 5 games-4 wins, 1 draw) added spark and bite to the United team. One would think he has earned the right to gain a starting berth next time out but you never know with Dithering Dave. Whatever his selections are, Danny Welbeck must be the first name on the team sheet next week.
At the Bernabeu, Real Madrid quickly came out of the blocks to start the revenge mission on a once rampant Dortmund team. The same team that prevented them from reaching their first final in more than a decade last season. Tormentor-in-chief, Robert Lewandowski was suspended for last night's match. A big blow to whatever chance they thought they had at the home of the Spanish giants. Gareth Bale scored very early on from a Carvajal pass and from then on, it was all Real Madrid as they added two more courtesy of Isco and serial goal getter, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese scoring machine was appearing for the 100th time in the Champions League and registered his 64th goal in the competition and a record tying 14th goal of the season. It is certain that he will smash the record set by Messi two years ago. Jurgen Klopp was left gobsmacked by the ruthlessness of the ambitious Merengues who have set their sights on a 10th European title termed 'LA DECIMA; by the Madridistas. The Champions League finalists had a lot of chances to score at least one goal but the Gabonese jewel, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (PEA) missed so many chances. Most of those the Bayern bound Lewandowski would have put away without breaking sweat. The midfield was porous without the duo of Bender and Gundogan. Alonso-Modric were at their usual best and the latter stole the ball from a Piszczek loose pass, then set up CR7 for his 45th goal of the season. If he leads Los Blancos to the elusive 10th European trophy, he will certainly be mentioned in the same breath as Di Stefano and Raul Gonzalez Blanco. All the records he met five years ago are getting shattered. The few left will definitely be broken to pieces very soon. Marco Reus and co will have to be more efficient in front of goal if they are to overturn the 3-goal deficit. An almost impossible task but I always refer to the Deportivo side that shocked Milan at the Riazor in 2004.
Finally the Camp Nou played host to one of the most pulsating fixtures of the season. Barcelona v Atletico Madrid pitched two Country men against each other. Two of the best teams on the planet went head to head for the right to be semi-finalists this season. The end result was a 1-1 draw but not without consequences and shortages. Gerard Pique and Diego Costa have been ruled out of the corresponding fixture next week at the Calderon. Los Rojiblancos took the lead early in the second half when Diego Ribas sent an unstoppable shot past Jose Pinto in the Barcelona goal. Thibaut Courtois, whose 26 clean sheets across all competitions this season is breathtakingly unbelievable, regularly thwarted the determined efforts of the Catalans to grab and equaliser and possibly to go on to win. Neymar finally got the goal Barcelona so required but it was all because Andres Lugan Iniesta wears the Barcelona shirt with pride. His through ball, a sumptuous one that reminded me of RuI Costa's to Sheva more than ten years ago, was met first time by Neymar and the resultant effect sent the Camp Nou faithful into elation. But the task will be harder next week when they visit the Calderon. Leo Messi couldn't find a way past Courtois and hasn't for some time now. Only Neymar (2) has scored against Atletico this season but INIESTA will have to turn up yet again if Barcelona's rather slim hopes of progressing are to materialise.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
Laurent Blanc could not have been more content with the display of his boys last night. His pride and excitement know no bounds at the moment. If he leads the French Champions to the semis, it would be his best achievement since he started life as a manager. The french football Legend has turned 'Les Parisien' into a team difficult to surmount. The midfield trio of Blaise, Marco and Thiago held their own. Even if Marco Verratti fails to return from the setback he experienced last night, the likes of Johan Cabaye and Adrien Rabiot can comfortably slot in alongside Matuidi and Motta. The objective is to score at Chelsea and not have the faintest hope/belief that the tie is over. Maybe they can do it. We'll have to wait to find that out.
In Manchester, Bayern Munich attempted 704 passes all through the game with an 84% success rate as against United's 174 with a miserable 58% success rate. But if the likes of Opta, Squawka, MisterChip and Whoscored were to be taken more seriously than the actual outcome of football matches, then the Bavarians would have won by 10 unreplied goals. Despite their dominance all over the pitch, the recently crowned German Champions only scored one and had less clear cut chances than their hosts who were understandably cagey. David Moyes set his team to do damage on counters and Danny Welbeck thought he had put the team ahead inside three minutes but his goal was wrongly chalked off. He had another clear cut chance to put his team in the lead when he shrugged off the shaky Jerome Boateng and set himself for a one on one with Neuer only for him to fluff his lines and the chance went begging. Rooney gave him a mouthful afterwards but that only motivated him to put in one of his best shifts in a United jersey. Bayern ran the show but couldn't produce enough chances to clobber the red army as was initially anticipated. The match ended 1-1 after Nemanja Vidic showed the World he was still capable of doing something on the big days with a thumping header to give United an unlikely lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger quickly evened the score few minutes later but he got his marching orders after lunging in on Wayne Rooney. Chicharito ensured that Javi Martinez will play no further part in the tie after forcing him to be yellow carded when he came on. Bayern have the advantage not only because the 2nd leg will be played at the Allianz Arena or that they have an away goal, but simply because they are the best team in the World. Manchester United will take heart from such a spirited performance. One that the fans have been craving for all this while. as Twitter's @beardedgenius put it in his @mirrorfootball article yesterday. The players are being fraudulent because if such a performance was replicated in the 3-0 losses v City and Liverpool, a different outcome would have be achieved. The red devils have it all to do now in Munich but the first leg proved to everyone that the 20-time English Champions can still challenge for top honours. Score first at the Allianz and who knows? Remains to be seen. Pep Guardiola has been crying foul over the suspension of Schweini and the fact that Wazza dived to ensure the German deep lying playmaker will sit out next week's fixture. But he knows they are bigger fishes to fry. Dante will return but he cannot call upon the services of Thiago. So, he has a lot of big decisions to make next week. David Moyes on the other hand, knows quite well that Ryan Giggs cannot start next week's game. The introduction of Shinji Kagawa (who has yet to lose to Bayern in 5 games-4 wins, 1 draw) added spark and bite to the United team. One would think he has earned the right to gain a starting berth next time out but you never know with Dithering Dave. Whatever his selections are, Danny Welbeck must be the first name on the team sheet next week.
At the Bernabeu, Real Madrid quickly came out of the blocks to start the revenge mission on a once rampant Dortmund team. The same team that prevented them from reaching their first final in more than a decade last season. Tormentor-in-chief, Robert Lewandowski was suspended for last night's match. A big blow to whatever chance they thought they had at the home of the Spanish giants. Gareth Bale scored very early on from a Carvajal pass and from then on, it was all Real Madrid as they added two more courtesy of Isco and serial goal getter, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese scoring machine was appearing for the 100th time in the Champions League and registered his 64th goal in the competition and a record tying 14th goal of the season. It is certain that he will smash the record set by Messi two years ago. Jurgen Klopp was left gobsmacked by the ruthlessness of the ambitious Merengues who have set their sights on a 10th European title termed 'LA DECIMA; by the Madridistas. The Champions League finalists had a lot of chances to score at least one goal but the Gabonese jewel, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (PEA) missed so many chances. Most of those the Bayern bound Lewandowski would have put away without breaking sweat. The midfield was porous without the duo of Bender and Gundogan. Alonso-Modric were at their usual best and the latter stole the ball from a Piszczek loose pass, then set up CR7 for his 45th goal of the season. If he leads Los Blancos to the elusive 10th European trophy, he will certainly be mentioned in the same breath as Di Stefano and Raul Gonzalez Blanco. All the records he met five years ago are getting shattered. The few left will definitely be broken to pieces very soon. Marco Reus and co will have to be more efficient in front of goal if they are to overturn the 3-goal deficit. An almost impossible task but I always refer to the Deportivo side that shocked Milan at the Riazor in 2004.
Finally the Camp Nou played host to one of the most pulsating fixtures of the season. Barcelona v Atletico Madrid pitched two Country men against each other. Two of the best teams on the planet went head to head for the right to be semi-finalists this season. The end result was a 1-1 draw but not without consequences and shortages. Gerard Pique and Diego Costa have been ruled out of the corresponding fixture next week at the Calderon. Los Rojiblancos took the lead early in the second half when Diego Ribas sent an unstoppable shot past Jose Pinto in the Barcelona goal. Thibaut Courtois, whose 26 clean sheets across all competitions this season is breathtakingly unbelievable, regularly thwarted the determined efforts of the Catalans to grab and equaliser and possibly to go on to win. Neymar finally got the goal Barcelona so required but it was all because Andres Lugan Iniesta wears the Barcelona shirt with pride. His through ball, a sumptuous one that reminded me of RuI Costa's to Sheva more than ten years ago, was met first time by Neymar and the resultant effect sent the Camp Nou faithful into elation. But the task will be harder next week when they visit the Calderon. Leo Messi couldn't find a way past Courtois and hasn't for some time now. Only Neymar (2) has scored against Atletico this season but INIESTA will have to turn up yet again if Barcelona's rather slim hopes of progressing are to materialise.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
PSG-CHELSEA PREVIEW
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It's the UCL yet again and the other remaining English representative travel to France to play emerging European heavyweights, PARIS ST GERMAIN. Chelsea hope to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United who fought hard to secure a respectable 1-1 draw v the World's greatest team, Bayern Munich. Jose Mourinho has never lost a quarter-final tie in the Champions League. He doesn't intend to start now.
Les Parisien are flying high in the French League. With Le Championaat all but won, they have set their sights on going farther than last season's last eight appearance in the Champions League. Laurent Blanc is no slouch. Although his resume is nothing compared to Jose's. The Les Blues Legend has brought his own style and dimension into the team and it is reaping the right fruits. Swedish magician, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 10 goals in the Champions League is 2nd only to CR7's 13 and that speaks volumes of what the giant attacking god has achieved individually this term. With 40 club goals to his name, this represents his best scoring season since he burst onto the scene. If anything is to happen tonight, Ibra has a big role to play.
For Chelsea, their season is winding down ever so fast and these games are coming in thick and quick. All the games from now till May are important and they cannot afford any slip-ups. Jose Mourinho is a man for the big occasion and he rarely fails to deliver. If it comes down to tactical nous, it is a foregone conclusion.
PROBABLE LINEUPS-
PSG:
Sirigu, VDW, Alex, T.Silva, Maxwell, Verratti, Matuidi, Motta, Lavezzi, Ibra, Cavani
CHELSEA
Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Hazard, Torres, Willian
Paris St Germain will field their strongest line up tonight with the hope that they will at least carry an advantage to Stamford Bridge. The Ibra-EL MATADOR partnership will hope to cause a lot of problems for the Blues rearguard. It is the midfield trio of Verratti-Matuidi-Motta that have the most work to do. Considered one of the best trios in World football, they can do their credentials a whole lot of good if they dominate the centre tonight. They also have the best defender in the World so no problems there.
Chelsea will be without both Matic and Salah who are cup tied. Samuel Eto'o is also injured and will be replaced by Fernando Torres in the starting line up. The experience of Frank Lampard will be very vital and Terry-Cahill must be at their very best to keep Cavani-Ibra at bay throughout the game. It is left to be seen if the Chelsea players and management team are there to just take pictures with the Eiffel Tower or destroy their foes at the Parc de Princes.
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
BARCELONA-ATLETICO MADRID PREVIEW
During my Manchester United-Bayern Munich preview, I tired my very best not to mention David Moyes and I think I succeeded in that regard. It will be impossible to do a preview of this magnitude without mentioning two great Argentine slugging it out for the right to be called Champions of La Liga. The football scripts must be written by Heavenly bodies. If not, how best can you describe the almost perfect scripts that have played out in years gone by? It is more than a coincidence that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are meeting in the quarter-final of the Champions League.
If everything goes well, this season might be much better than the 'ANTIC 96' which the current manager, Diego Simeone was a big part of. 'EL CHOLO' has brought a new lease of life to the Madrid club since he came on board. The boss demands the very best from each player, irrespective of the position. He sold Falcao and built Diego Costa. Now the Brazilian cum Spaniard is one of the best strikers in the World and is posting incredible numbers in front of goal.
Gerardo 'Tata' Martino has not yet defeated Diego Simeone in any competition since he was appointed to replace Tito Vilanova at the beginning of the season. Although the Catalans won the SuperCoppa Espanna at the expense of Simeone's men, it was only on away goals rule. No outright victory has been recorded by the 4-time European Champions. Tata will hope to register his first win over los Rojiblancos tonight at the intimidating Camp Nou. Victories over Real, Celta Vigo and Espanyol in the past weeks have lifted the mood. A resounding one tonight will remove the roof definitely.
Atletico Madrid have proved in no small measure that they are a hard nut to crack this term. The La Liga leaders rose to the occasion at the new San Mames on Saturday. That match showed their test of character and ability to thrive under difficult conditions as they came out victors and maintained their one point lead at the top of La liga. Diego Costa pulled out of yesterday's training and is a doubt for tonight's fixture. Simeone will be hoping he shrugs off whatever ails him and declares himself ready to shoot down down the Catalans.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Pinto, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta Neymar, Messi
ATLETICO MADRID
Courtois, Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Luis, Gabi, Koke, Mario Suarez, Garcia, Costa, Turan
Victor Valdes has been operated upon and will be out for seven months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in a crucial League game v Celta Vigo. The serial Zamora winner will miss the World Cup in Brazil and of course tonight's encounter. Barca have an able replacement in Pinto who has delivered everytime he has been called upon to deputise for the almost irreplaceable VV. The defence is as you were and the midfield is predictable every game. It is in attack that Alexis and Pedro are finding it difficult to play week in, week out because of the presence of Neymar who hasn't let himself down recently.He won the penalty that set Barcelona on the path of victory at the Bernabeu, scored two goals in the next match v Celta and had a hand in the penalty converted by Messi at Espanyol. Tata has a lot of faith in Cesc Fabregas and cannot bench Iniesta who has been on form for the past few weeks now. Alexis has scored 17 League goals but is not guaranteed a starting slot in the team. That goes to show the stiff competition.
Atletico Madrid possess some of the best players in the World in every position on the field of play. Their goaltender is certainly one of the best in the World and the Miranda led rearguard is as shored up as any other in World Football. Koke is a full Spanish international now and Arda Turan can force his way into almost every team in the World. Raul Garcia is the dependable ally of Costa in European games and he is set to be picked ahead of David Villa again. Diego Costa will lead the line and his industry will be very much required to take a good result back to the Calderon in three weeks. Captain Gabi is the enforcer, the fighter, the leader, the conductor and the orchestrator of the Colchoneros. He has paid his dues. He has a big job tonight v the revered Barcelona midfield. He always delivers.
The absence of Victor Valdes is a big blow to Barcelona, Spain and the football World in general. He will be sorely missed and I hope he recovers well from this regrettable layoff. He will come back stronger because he is a fighter, a winner and a champion. ANIMSVALDES!
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
If everything goes well, this season might be much better than the 'ANTIC 96' which the current manager, Diego Simeone was a big part of. 'EL CHOLO' has brought a new lease of life to the Madrid club since he came on board. The boss demands the very best from each player, irrespective of the position. He sold Falcao and built Diego Costa. Now the Brazilian cum Spaniard is one of the best strikers in the World and is posting incredible numbers in front of goal.
Gerardo 'Tata' Martino has not yet defeated Diego Simeone in any competition since he was appointed to replace Tito Vilanova at the beginning of the season. Although the Catalans won the SuperCoppa Espanna at the expense of Simeone's men, it was only on away goals rule. No outright victory has been recorded by the 4-time European Champions. Tata will hope to register his first win over los Rojiblancos tonight at the intimidating Camp Nou. Victories over Real, Celta Vigo and Espanyol in the past weeks have lifted the mood. A resounding one tonight will remove the roof definitely.
Atletico Madrid have proved in no small measure that they are a hard nut to crack this term. The La Liga leaders rose to the occasion at the new San Mames on Saturday. That match showed their test of character and ability to thrive under difficult conditions as they came out victors and maintained their one point lead at the top of La liga. Diego Costa pulled out of yesterday's training and is a doubt for tonight's fixture. Simeone will be hoping he shrugs off whatever ails him and declares himself ready to shoot down down the Catalans.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Pinto, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta Neymar, Messi
ATLETICO MADRID
Courtois, Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Luis, Gabi, Koke, Mario Suarez, Garcia, Costa, Turan
Victor Valdes has been operated upon and will be out for seven months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in a crucial League game v Celta Vigo. The serial Zamora winner will miss the World Cup in Brazil and of course tonight's encounter. Barca have an able replacement in Pinto who has delivered everytime he has been called upon to deputise for the almost irreplaceable VV. The defence is as you were and the midfield is predictable every game. It is in attack that Alexis and Pedro are finding it difficult to play week in, week out because of the presence of Neymar who hasn't let himself down recently.He won the penalty that set Barcelona on the path of victory at the Bernabeu, scored two goals in the next match v Celta and had a hand in the penalty converted by Messi at Espanyol. Tata has a lot of faith in Cesc Fabregas and cannot bench Iniesta who has been on form for the past few weeks now. Alexis has scored 17 League goals but is not guaranteed a starting slot in the team. That goes to show the stiff competition.
Atletico Madrid possess some of the best players in the World in every position on the field of play. Their goaltender is certainly one of the best in the World and the Miranda led rearguard is as shored up as any other in World Football. Koke is a full Spanish international now and Arda Turan can force his way into almost every team in the World. Raul Garcia is the dependable ally of Costa in European games and he is set to be picked ahead of David Villa again. Diego Costa will lead the line and his industry will be very much required to take a good result back to the Calderon in three weeks. Captain Gabi is the enforcer, the fighter, the leader, the conductor and the orchestrator of the Colchoneros. He has paid his dues. He has a big job tonight v the revered Barcelona midfield. He always delivers.
The absence of Victor Valdes is a big blow to Barcelona, Spain and the football World in general. He will be sorely missed and I hope he recovers well from this regrettable layoff. He will come back stronger because he is a fighter, a winner and a champion. ANIMSVALDES!
Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990
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