Thursday, April 5, 2007

Champions Recap


After a relatively exciting four matches in this week’s Champions League play, I thought I would provide a brief recap of the games. I’m looking forward to at least three of the four games next week.

Liverpool – PSV

Tuesday’s Liverpool game was the only blowout; by winning three nil on the road, the Merceysiders virtually assured advancement to the semi-finals. As the otherwise intolerable Tommy Smyth pointed out, Liverpool didn’t even play that well; Steven Gerrard was in and out of the game, for instance, but did score a nice goal. Incidentally, if Tommy Smyth refers to the goal net as the “auld onion bag” one more time, I am going back to being a baseball fan.

Bayern Munich – Milan

An exciting game that saw Bayern pip two away goals, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Strangely, Milan was probably the better team for the majority of the game (probably for about 75 of the 90 minutes) but should have lost; Kaka was awarded a very dubious penalty with little time remaining. Milan is confident going into the next round, but those two away goals are crucial. Hard not to see Bayern advancing.

ValenciaChelsea

In my mind the stinker of the bunch; has there been a Chelsea game this year that has been exciting for a neutral observer? 1-1 draw suits Valencia, and right now I expect them to hold on to win it, even though earlier this year I picked Chelsea to win the tournament.

Manchester United – Roma

Maybe the best game of the week. I thought it was curtains when Manchester went a goal and a man down, but they managed to get one back and hang on for a 2-1 loss, which puts them in decent position for the return at Old Trafford. I usually give nut-stomping Wayne Rooney a hard time, but he demonstrated excellent control in chesting down the entry pass and scoring a sweet goal. I’m happy for that little fire hydrant of a man.

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