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!!!
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!!!
posted by Marauder | 6:35 PM
5 Comments:
I think Arsenal might just pip Tott and B'burn to the 4th spot. Although, it maay be tough for them in the league if they continue to do well in the CL.
There! Finally added ur link in my blog...will come here more often from now on :)
Hah.. I thought Blackburn are playing at Anfield this weekend. Bolton are going to lose 4 in the row. Hope the Psycho's stick last week gets "The Citizens" to do something brilliant in White Hart Lane.
Unlike other leagues, the divide between the big four(ManU,Ars, Liverpool, Chelsea) and the pretenders (Everton, Boro, Bolton, Tottenham, Blackburn, Newcastle) is huge. The justification behind this statement is the fact that no english team has won the UEFA cup in the past 5 years. Boro seem to be doing well this year, but Sevilla or Schalke might be their conquerors. It'd be terrible if Arsenal miss out bcoz' there wud be a loss in variety.
Wonder why things are suddenly going wrong for Bolton...looks like they might even struggle to gain a UEFA Cup place!
Arsenal fans would be hoping this is their year in Europe...a place in the final looks more likely for them than any other team left in the draw! And, anything can happen in the final!
Bolton have an aged squad. They have used their limited abilities to perform exceedingly well for the past 2 seasons. But plenty of matches in FA cup replays and UEFA cup seems to knocked the old warriors down.
Also its only a matter of time the teams get used to their robust approach, including an adolescent Arsenal team. When their physical threat is made to look obsolete they look like any other bottom 3.
Post a Comment
<< Home