A rugged road to Paris via Spain

The Champions League semifinals kicked off on Tuesday and Wednesday. London and Milan were the venues for the two cracking matches.

San Siro was the witness to the glamour tie between Milan and Barcelona. Barcelona travelled to Milan without Larsson, Messi and the suspended Deco. Giuly, who hardly gets a start nowadays was the obvious replacement in the right side. He scored a very important goal when he guided a perfectly weighed lob from the Brazilian Wizard, Ronaldinho into the back of the net.



The match started with Milan creating more chances and Barca enjoying good possession. Milan's failures in not converting the scoring opportunities were going to cost them dearly. Ronaldinho was already keeping Gattuso at bay. The impending goal arrived in the second half. Milan again did not make use of the limited opportunities it got in the second half and Barca were deserved winners as the scoreline read 1-0 in favour of the Catalans.



The other semifinal between Arsenal and Villareal unfolded on the expected lines. The last European night at Highbury ended with kolo Toure's goal separating the two teams. Villareal must've come to London with a modus operandi of parking the bus in front of goal and hoping for a gift in the form of an away goal.They should have got one, but a legitimate penalty appeal was turned down. In a tense night at Highbury, the referee was also feeling the heat.A disallowed goal, poor decisions with regard to offside calls and fouls ensured a dramatic day. But one thing which made me feel totally disgusted was Villareal's play-acting. This particular incident deserves mention. Alessio Tacchinardi, Villareal's most experienced Champions League player, fell to the ground after conceding the ball, waited to see if a counter-attack was happening, and when he found it was, again fell to the ground in order to break the play. Unfortunately, he still has a long way to go in his attempts to emulate Rivaldo's antics in WC '02. He was not alone in these cheap tricks. For even the slightest scratch on their bodies, Villareal made a hue and cry about it, again in an attempt to disrupt play. The frustration was showing in Henry's and Ljungberg's faces. 5 minutes stoppage time was another testimony.



Villareal, I believe, played 7-1-2, rather than 4-4-2. The threat of Riquelme was quelled successfully by Gilberto. Further, the ploy to clog the middle of the pitch with its midfielders to close down Arsenal acted counter to Villareal in the sense that Riquelme could not get more space to move around freely. A narrow Highbury turf hardly helped matters either.

Barcelona already have one foot in the finals. Milan will have to show a lot of character if they're going to make a match of it at the intimidating Camp Nou. They must be seriously hurt by the loss. They've won 13 of their previous 14 European matches at San Siro.

Arsenal will have to endure another restless night at El Madrigal. Their defence was slightly jittery yesterday. With a boisterous crowd backing, Villareal are more than capable of overturning the goal deficit. But they have not banged in a barrage of goals in the entire season. They don't have the vital away goal. Arsenal, traditionally have done well in Spain. They've even won a match at Camp Nou, I think. Here are my predictions.I feel there is a 40% probability of Arsenal winning at Villareal, 40% chance of penalty shootout, 10% chance of a goalless draw, 10% chance of a Villareal win. Though not as comfortable as Barcelona are, Arsenal are surely in the driver's seat.

The Awesome Foursome

Spanish La Liga's representatives in UEFA Champions League 2003 - 04 was Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad. Both teams had an amazing run with Sociedad in particular, which gave Real Madrid a reak scare till the last match in the run up to the title.

Again this year's La Liga features Villareal, debutants in Champions league, who are making a mockery of the European giants to progress till the semifinals. Villareal also made it till the semifinals of the UEFA cup in 2004. Osasuna are doing well this season.

Italy's Serie - A has been represented in Europe by teams like Roma, Lazio, Udinese in the past three seasons. Luca Toni's Fiorentina are showing resurgence as they are in the driver's seat for the fourth spot.

Unlike the above leagues, EPL since the dawn of the millenium has been very predictable as far as the top four is concerned. Occasionally teams like Everton and Newcastle have sneaked in. But they get knocked out by unknown entities in the qualifying round unlike the Spanish and Italian teams. English teams also don't excel in UEFA cup as much as the other league teams. Boro seem to break the jinx, this season. But they've two more hurdles to cross.

Now coming to the main point about EPL, the divide between the big four, viz, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea and the other challengers like Bolton, Boro, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Spurs, etc. is huge.

Let me illustrate this by taking Bolton first. They don't have a large squad. Their squad has a lot of players who are well past 30. They seemed to do well for most of the season till last month when they started showing signs of fatigue. Apparently, UEFA cup and FA cup seemed to have drained them completely. Their style of play being one-dimensional hardly helps matters either.

Another case is that of Spurs. In January, they only took 6 points out of all the matches played. The chasing pack took lesser than 6 was what kept them afloat. Without King, they struggle to even save a match. When King is injured or Dawson gets suspended like in the last weekend match against Newcastle, their Tier-2 players don't seem to be even half as good as the players they had replaced. NewCastle came into the match minus parker with a couple of losses. Had Spurs had good backup players, they could have solidified their position at number 4.

Wigan were hardly able to keep pace once they started to tire. From second to far away from UEFA cup in 5 months is a testimony to this.

Blackburn were pathetic in the Champions League the year following their EPL title.

Everton could not even muster anything in UEFA cup leave alone Champions League qualifying.

Now take one of the big four. Manchester United. Their midfield was decimated following Keane's abrupt exit and Paul Scholes' eye trouble. Fergie did not find any proper midfielder in the winter transfer window. Still people like O'Shea and Smith have more than ably filled the vacancies.

Likewise, Liverpool hardly had strikers to choose from during last season. But still, they went on to win the Champions League.

Arsenal's defence was 75% knocked out following Campbell's depression, Lauren's and Cole's injury. Even backup players like Clichy, Cygan, van Persie were sidelined. But still they've conceded only two goals in the past 7 matches.

Can any of the pretenders boast of such depth and quality?That's why English Premier league differs from other leagues. The Predictable top four.

At a time when Europe witnesses the rise of English teams like Liverpool, Chelsea and recently Arsenal, there's a need to ensure these teams play every year to consolidate Britain's position among Europe's elite.

The Victor and the Vanquished

The past two days have provided a lot of action on the Champions League front. Most of the teams which had a good goal cushion and home advantage progressed through.



It was mission accomplished for Gunners at Turin. A 0-0 scoreline may not have been the case had it not been for the profligacy of the Gunners in front of goal. Capello rightly gave credit to Wenger's young guns. Though Arsenal were not at their lethal best in attack, their defence was mostly water-tight. Toure and Lehmann kept out the rare threats that threatened to rob Arsenal from claiming the world record for maximum consecutive clean sheets.



I feel very strange and weird like Wenger when I type this message. "Water-tight Arsenal" was an oxymoron not so long ago. Henry does not seem to be appeased. Nor does he want to sit back and relax. He sees this as the best opportunity to claim the one eluding him for so long. But Arsenal will have to contend with this opponent from a little Spanish town who have added another team to their giant-killing list.



Villareal's hopes were in balance after losing to Inter. But an away goal offered a great chance against the perennial under-achievers, Inter. Home crowd's backing, Riquelme's inspired second half display ensured Mancini's boys had a miserable day at office.



The Nerazurri capitulated when all they needed was a draw. Pellegrini has rallied his troups brilliantly. The Yellow Submarines are known to defend well. They barely conceded a goal in their group stages. They did a "Catennachio" and Inter surrendered.



The red side of Milan had to endure a nervous 88 minutes before crisis man Inzaghi guided them home. Carlo Ancelotti's men reached their 3rd semi-finals in four seasons.



Lyon had done well and were minutes away from their maiden UCL semi-final with a vital away goal before Pippo struck for the second time. Shevchenko added insult to injury by scoring a third as Lyon bowed out 1-3.



Barcelona knocked Benfica out to set up an enticing semi-final with mighty Milan.



The referee this time was not Steve Bennett. He spotted the hand ball by Petit inside the box and awarded a penalty which was well saved by Moretto. But Ronaldinho made amends by opening the scoring subsequently. Another goal was added in the dying minutes as Barca went through to the semis.

All that makes up for two exciting and tricky semi-final encounters. Arsenal and Villareal have treaded similar paths and their playing styles also bear some similarity. The other encounter will be between flair and efficiency. Milan have shown a lot of resilience in overcoming Lyon. Barca are the overwhelming favourites.
I can hardly wait for April 18. Arsenal have a crucial North London derby against Tottenham sandwiched between the two semi-finals. Before that they've to quell the challenge of ManU this weekend and must also last this arduous month where they play 7 matches. Bolton losing 3 on the trot has whittled the competitors list for 4th place. But with just one notable opponent to play against in Liverpool (I'm discounting a stuttering Chelsea), Blackburn are in a pole position to grab the spot. A cracking month in prospect!!!

'El Gran Clasico' and the stern test facing gunners

Last night was the witness to the derby of the century happening twice in a season. And this could be the only derby where the clubs are separated by hundreds of miles unlike in the case of the merseyside derby or the basque derby. Such intense is the rivalry between the two clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The 'faded Galacticos' came to Camp Nou seeking redemption after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals in their home ground in November. Barca, even without some key players was expected to come out on top.



Ronaldo had shown some resurgence of late when he ran through the Deportivo defence a couple of times in their 4-0 victory last week. Again, he was to Real's rescue with a solo effort after they fell a goal and a man behind following Ronaldinho's penalty and Roberto Carlos' sending off.

Elsewhere in North London, Arsenal had a good day at office. With Spurs and Bolton losing and Blackburn having a tricky encounter at Wigan on monday, things could not have been better for the gunners.On field, a Sublime Henry and a quick feet van Persie helped gunners rout Aston Villa 5-0. The victory may have come at a price though as Fabregas and Eboue limped off the field with injuries. Their Champions league opponents, Juve decided not to break a sweat in their match against Treviso to remain fresh for Arsenal's visit. Treviso managed their 3rd point in 9 games, thanks to Juve's energy saving tactics.



Arsenal have to live up to the new found expectations on them. Juve will not be complacent this time around. Creativity would be in abundance in Juve ranks following the return of Del Piero and Nedved whereas Arsenal might lose some if Fabregas sits out. But knowing Italians to be traditional chokers and unable to keep their cool under pressure, Arsenal have to force their style of play like in Highbury. If Juve is allowed to dictate play, then 2-0 may seem a small margin.

What adjective can be attributed to ManU's eternal optimism and consistent play?Fabulous. Beating 'Rough and tough' Bolton in their home requires some doing. Arsenal will be facing a sterner test at OT than in Turin. Afterall, Red Devils and Bolton are the two teams to have had the better of them in the past few years. It all makes up for an interesting week. Press and pressure is getting to Chelsea and another loss may make it a two-horse race for the title.