Read Part I
Read Part II
The biggest surprise of the Champions League round of
16 has been Milan’s win over Barcelona. We need to remember that Milan has won
the Champions League seven times, while Barcelona only four. Anyway, Barca’s
weight in European football is much heavier than Milan’s nowadays. The teams
were in good form, so the match was promising to be interesting.
There have been several occasions in the past 4-5
years when Barcelona was beaten. One of those was
the last-year semifinal tie
between the Spanish club and Chelsea. The other bright example is the current
Champions League match in Glasgow. In these two and many other cases the eventual
winners were locked in their own half to bravely stand against the heavy storm
of Barcelona attacks. For the first time in a very long period we saw a match, where
the opponent of the Catalan team successfully implemented its tactics and
deservedly won. Jordi Roura’s team didn’t seem to find the necessary space to
get closer to Abiatti’s goal. Massimiliano Allegri did a great job explaining
his team how to defend. Other than the main defenders, the Milan team had a
fantastic midfielder Montolivo, who, being compared with Pirlo from time to time,
proved that he is one of the greatest Italian players these days. He was not
only stamping Pirlo-style crosses to forwards, but also helping the defense
out, sometimes appearing in the role of a… sweeper. Riccardo Montolivo was not
the only one to overshadow Messi at San Siro. Stephan El Shaarawy was a
constant danger in his left wing. It was him to assist Muntari in the second
goal. The Ghanaian played a good match together with his compatriot Boateng.
The two were not only good in destroying, but also creating in the midfield. As
for Barcelona, we saw Puyol and Xavi make mistakes, while Messi can also have a
bad day when watched intelligently. The score of 2-0 gives huge chances for the
Italian team to claim a quarterfinal ticket. No expectations of any surprises:
Barcelona is going to possess the ball in Milan’s half. If Milan plays like
they did three weeks ago, Barcelona will not have many chances. A quick goal is
a must for the hosts: the time will play for Milan. Such games are never won
without a small share of luck. Let’s see who Football Gods will favor tonight.
Actually, scoring two at Nou Camp has never been a
problem for Barcelona, but the team has been conceding a lot recently. A
conceded goal will require four scored: something that sounds impossible for
such a Milan to swallow. For the first time in many years there is a team which
has got better chances to qualify in expense of Barcelona. I would estimate
that in 2 out of 3 cases Milan would advance in such circumstances. Champions
League history never remembers a team to advance after a first leg defeat with
a 0-2 score. Barcelona turned things upside down when they lost to Chelsea 1-3
13 years ago. The most famous case is however Milan’s disastrous loss to another
Spanish club Deportivo, when they wasted an advantage of 4 goals to 1. It was
the Champions League 2003-04.
The Tuesday match between the two superclubs is going
to be legendary for European football. In one sense there is a possibility for
the Barcelona-era to finish. The club has been the dominant force in the
continent for the last five years and the crisis seems to be close. On the
other hand, after about 5 years of poor performances there is a chance for Milan
to enter the European club elite. If they defeat Messi and Co.,they will become
a favorite to take the Champions League trophy this season.
Although there were big expectations from the new
stars of Galatasaray, the first leg match at “The Hell”, as the Turkish fans
love to call the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, ended a draw. 1-1 is a fantastic result
for Schalke 04 to elaborate on before the second leg match. The team is on its
way to recover from a winter crisis. With Huntelaar injured, in-form Benedikt Howedes,
Michel Bastos and Julian Draxler will have to do their best to continue Schalke’s
unbeaten form in this Champions League. The disadvantage of the German team is
the tiredness after a big derby last weekend.
Getting back to the first match, the Turkish champions
had a big advantage. They even scored an early goal thanks to Burak Yilmaz’s
amazing skills. The advantage didn’t stand for a long time though. Sneijder and
Drogba didn’t have their best matches: the Dutchman was even substituted after
the half time. Overall, Galatasaray has
got big names, but the team picture is missing. Felipe Melo and Wesley Sneijder
didn’t seem to have clear image of what they needed to destroy and what to create.
The defenders kept on being cought positionally. From the other camp it would
sound that a draw would be a suitable result. Draxler, Farfan, Bastos and Jones
had a good match. Jermain Jones was the one to equalize right before the half
time whistle.
With Schalke getting better and better, there is about
65% chance for them to complete the German trio in the quarterfinals (assuming
Bayern doesn’t stumble on Arsenal).
Read Part IV
