The first leg of the Round of 16, or matchday 7 of Champions League 2012-13, was spread throughout four days, where two matches each day were played. We saw some different matches during these 4 days, where there were scored 21 goals. The most beautiful of all was Galatasaray’s goal to Schalke 04, scored by Burak Yilmaz, although Crisitano Ronaldo’s (Real) and Douglas’s (Shakhtar) goals were also worth to watch countless times.
The topscorers of Champions League 2012-13
Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Burak Yilmaz of Galatasaray added a goal each for their accounts. Now they have scored 7 goals in the tournament. The closest followers, including Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski of Borussia, have scored 5 goals in this Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Burak Yilmaz of Galatasaray added a goal each for their accounts. Now they have scored 7 goals in the tournament. The closest followers, including Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski of Borussia, have scored 5 goals in this Champions League.
After Malaga’s defeat to Porto, there are only 3 undefeated teams left in the tournament: the Italian champions Juventus are accompanied by German Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund. Spain has been exceptional in this Champions League, retrieving all of its 4 teams after the group stage. Things don’t seem to go the right way after the winter break though. La Liga is in a risk of losing all of its Champions League participants already after the first Play-off round. Three of the four were beaten by their opponents in the first leg, while the country champions could only save a point in their domestic match. On the other hand, the German teams are continuing their successful Champions League campaigns. They haven’t lost any of their three teams since the group stage start. They are close to send all of these three further to the quarterfinal, which will seriously threaten Spain’s position on the top of the Champions League table,
showing the total point calculation by countries.
| League | Pts. | |
| 1 (-) | Spain (4) | 50 |
| 2 (-) | Germany (3) | 44 |
| 3 (-) | England (2) | 36 |
| 4 (-) | Portugal (1) | 27 |
| 5 (-) | Italy (2) | 26 |
| 6 (-) | France (1) | 23 |
| 7 (-) | Ukraine (1) | 16 |
| 8 (+2) | Turkey (1) | 11 |
| 9 (-1) | Romania (0) | 10 |
| 10 (-1) | Scotland (1) | 10 |
| 11 (-) | Russia (0) | 10 |
| 12 (-) | Greece (0) | 9 |
| 13 (-) | Belarus (0) | 6 |
| 14 (+1) | Belgium (0) | 5 |
| 15 (-1) | Netherlands (0) | 4 |
| 16 (+1) | Croatia (0) | 1 |
| 17 (-1) | Denmark (0) | 1 |
Taking into account the chances of the teams to enter the quarterfinals, and their forms in the domestic leagues, there are several significant changes in the ranking of participants left in the Champions League 2012-13. Especially disastrous were Barcelona’s and Arsenal’s falls, who were expected to do much better in their first matches. Schalke 04 and Milan moved up by respectively four and five positions.
RANKING AFTER THE FIRST LEG OF ROUND OF 16 MATCHES
| Place | Club |
| 1 (+1) | Bayern (Germany) |
| 2 (+2) | Man. Utd. (England) |
| 3 (-) | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 4 (-3) | FC Barcelona (Spain) |
| 5 (-) | Juventus (Italy) |
| 6 (-) | PSG (France) |
| 7 (-) | Borussia D. (Germany) |
| 8 (+4) | Milan (Italy) |
| 9 (-1) | Porto (Portugal) |
| 10 (+5) | Schalke 04 (Germany) |
| 11 (+3) | Galatasaray (Turkey) |
| 12 (-2) | Shakhtar D. (Ukraine) |
| 13 (-2) | Malaga (Spain) |
| 14 (-1) | Valencia (Spain) |
| 15 (-6) | Arsenal (England) |
| 16 (-) | Celtic (Scotland) |
The central match of this round is surely the Real-Manchester United encounter. The first match ended a draw: a header from each side. That match could probably best be described as patient. None of the teams opened up to get the victory. The visitors were patiently waiting for three things: Real to give a chance for a quick counterattack, for a set piece and… the final whistle. Ferguson’s opponent was Mourinho, which assumes that many chances for counterattacks would not be the case. A couple of them, however, were obtained, but Kagawa and van Persie weren’t meant to score that evening. A set piece on the 20th minute was what helped Manchester United to open the score. Welbeck scored a fine header after a corner. Finally, the main strategy of Sir Alex Ferguson was to remove the game to Old Trafford. This is why Rooney and Welbeck were seen fighting for the ball in many more occasions than usually, Jones and Carrick were never seen in the opponent’s half, while the goalkeeper David De Gea was fantastically prepared to the game. 1-1 is exactly what Ferguson needed to be happy for.
As for Real, the team was trying to use the wings, where Rafael and Evra were forced to make mistakes from time to time. Cristiano Ronaldo was closely watched during the whole match, so Mourinho needed to find a temporary leader that day. He found it in Angel Di Maria. The Argentine was involved in any dangerous attack Real was organizing, on any side of the pitch. It was also interesting to watch Fabio Coentrao joining the attackers. After about 75 minutes Jose Mourinho decided to agree on a stalemate. He substituted Di Maria with cautious Modric, removed Xabi Alonso to avoid an extra yellow card, and introduced Pepe.
The second match is promising much more. It is here that one of the European giants has to fall on knees. It is not known which one. If it was 51-49 in favor of Real before the first match, the odds are now 49-51. It is not that the away goal is a big advantage in a match against Real: here will Rooney and van Persie be set to be more dangerous in front of opponent’s goals. However, it is less likely for Sir Alex Ferguson to adopt an all-attacking tactics, being familiar to Real’s dangerous counterattacks. Ronaldo will be closely watched again. The teams are in a great form, so scoring should not be a problem for either of them. The question is: who will score more than once?
The second match of the evening is Borussia-Shakhtar. The Ukrainian champions will now have to score at least once. The team was in a good form in the first leg, but the form that earned them a ticket to the round of 16 is still far away. And the thing is not Willian’s absence. Actually Taison showed a decent performance, which automatically closes all the conversations about Willian’s winter transfer to Anzhi.
The team, as expected, was not ready to play 45 minutes in the same rhythm. Both of their goals were conceded when there were three minutes remaining to the end of each half. Kucher’s absence was crucial. Originally midfielder, Chigrynsky was absolutely uncomfortable in defender’s position. It was obvious that Rakitsky and Fernandinho were not ready yet, while the fullbacks Srna and especially Rat were constantly making mistakes. The attack didn’t create up to 15 unsolvable problems for the opponent, as they did in matches against Chelsea. There is still a long time until spring comes to Donetsk. The first league match after the break was only played in March.
Borussia has played its first match after the break back in January. The team was in a good form, though not in the right mood in the first leg meeting. It was tough to play without Subotic. Hummels was not able to cope with the whole pressure in the center without the Croatian. But he was good in joining the corners though. The first one was denied by the bar and the second one gave the important equalizer for the German champions. Goetze and Reus, despite making a couple of dribblings each, didn’t show their best. Only Robert Lewandowski can be proud of his work rate. He fully deserved the goal, scoring after the awkward defending of the Ukrainian players.
Read Part II
Read Part III
Read Part IV
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