Champions League 2012-13: The week of Drogba's and Balotelli's transfers

In the last week of the winter transfer window there was much more happening at the offices than on football pitches. Thanks to these negotiations we received some interesting news about Didier Drogba’s and Mario Balotelli’s move to Champions League Play-off participant teams. Nevertheless, there was also a lot to watch on the pitches, too.

The major matches of the week:

In the match, where Arsenal needed to secure itself from being caught by the closest followers, Liverpool, everything went awfully
bad for Arsene Wenger’s defense. Commanded by captain Vermaelen and goalkeeper Szczesny, the whole defensive line-up was a huge mess during the match. Arsenal fans could be happy losing only by one before the break. Luis Suarez’s goal was the difference. The other zones weren’t perfect either, as Liverpool was able to contain the opponent. The London team woke up only after conceding the second goal on the 60^th minute, where Henderson nicely dribbled away from two defenders, got denied by Szczesny, but added the second shot into the empty net. Only seven minutes after this the score was already level again. The equalizers came from Giroud and Walcott. The match could easily go either way after this, but the score remained unchanged, exactly as the table positions of the teams concerned.

The central match of Sunday was played in Turkey, where Besiktas visited Galatasaray in a hot Istanbul derby. Already on the second minute Umut Bulut sent a fabulous cross from the right wing, which was caught by Emre Colak and volleyed into the net. Riera made it 2-0 right before the break. The second half also started with a goal. This time it was the equalizer from Sivok. Wesley Sneijder’s debut came on the 57^th minute, when he was introduced as a back-up to the only remaining forward Elmander. The Swede was, however, replaced only 3 minutes after Sneijder’s introduction. Felipe Melo got expulsed for spitting on the opponent, so Fatih Terim needed a midfielder to replace the important, but troublesome Brazilian. Sneijder appeared alone in front, which is not what he is used to do. The teams never scored any more, as Galatasaray managed to break the tempo keeping the ball and committing lots of fouls. The Turkish champions may already introduce Drogba soon after the African Nations Cup. With these two former Champions League winners appearing in Galatasaray and Lewis Holtby leaving the German Schalke 04, the odds of the encounter between the two in Champions League Round of 16 are changing not in favor of the Group B winners. This was a big transfer move from the Turkish side, the administration of which was apparently not in a hurry in their actions, waiting the team to advance from their Champions League group. Now they can set higher targets for the team by injecting big names into the squad.

The first El Classico of the year was played on Wednesday. Jose Mourinho had to introduce lots of unusual players in the starting line-up, but the match was not lost. Fabregas’s goal was answered by the young Frenchman Raphael Varane 7 minutes before the final whistle. Ronaldo and Messi will have their say in the second leg of the Spanish Cup, which will take place in a month. 

Highlights of the week:

Italian and Scottish champions Juventus and Celtic are out of their domestic cups. One of the teams is going to be out of the Champions League, too, as there is only one quarterfinal place booked for this couple. Celtic has still got the Scottish FA Cup, the round of 16 of which will take place this weekend.  

The upcoming weekend:

There is a big match for Valencia again. Now it is the leader Barcelona to be hosted at Estadio Mestalla. Fans really want to forget the humiliating 0-5 from Real a couple of weeks ago.

There is a match for the second place in Germany. Bayer will host champions Borussia, which has probably given up the fight for defending the title this year, but taking the silver is in the agenda.

Club	Last Matches	Next match	Position in the domestic league
Arsenal (England)	26.01 Brighton (Cup) 3-2 30.01 Liverpool (H) 2-2	02.02 Stoke City (H)	6
Man. Utd. (England)	26.01 Fulham (Cup) 4-1 30.01 Southampton (H) 2-1	02.02 Fulham (A)	1
FC Barcelona (Spain)	27.01 Osasuna (H) 5-1 30.01 Real M. (Cup) 1-1	03.02 Valencia (A)	1
Real Madrid (Spain)	27.01 Getafe (H) 4-0 30.01 Barcelona (Cup) 1-1	02.02 Granada (A)	3
Valencia (Spain)	26.01 Deportivo (A) 3-2	03.02 Valencia (H)	8
Malaga (Spain)	27.01 Real Mall. (A) 3-2	03.02 Real Zar. (H)	4
Bayern (Germany)	27.01 Stuttgart (A) 2-0	02.02 Mainz (A)	1
Borussia D. (Germany)	25.01 Nurnberg (H) 3-0	03.02 Bayer 04 (A)	3
Schalke 04 (Germany)	26.01 Augsburg (A) 0-0	02.02 Gr. Furth (H)	6
Porto (Portugal)	28.01 Gil Vicente (H) 5-0	02.02 V. Guimaraes (A)	1
Galatasaray (Turkey)	27.01 Besiktas (H) 2-1	02.02 Bursaspor (H)	1
Juventus (Italy)	26.01 Genoa (H) 1-1 29.01 Lazio (Cup) 1-2	03.02 Chievo (A)	1
Milan (Italy)	27.01 Atalanta (A) 1-0	03.02 Udinese (H)	5
PSG (France)	27.01 Lille (H) 1-0	01.02 Toulouse (H)	1
Shakhtar D. (Ukraine)	01.12 Kryvbas (A) 2-0 05.12 Juventus (H) 0-1	02.03 Volyn (H)	1
Celtic (Scotland)	27.01 St. Mirren (Cup) 2-3 30.01 Kilmarnock (H) 4-1	03.02 Raith Rov. (Cup)	1