Wish I watched

 Unfortunately been having some health problems lately, so given this and time difference I was unable to watch the clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions league. I suspected it would be a memorable encounter, and indeed it was, as I was only able to watch detailed replays later on.

I missed a great match with amazing goals. As always and annoyingly, Real Madrid are never really beaten, and the fought hard to get back from the 1-2 defeat in Madrid. Arda Guler scored twice within the first half hour: punishing a serious mistake by Manuel Neuer, and a wonderful free kick, with Mbappe scoring a third just before halftime. But Bayern Munich had also struck: Aleksander Pavlovic had scored on a header where the Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin also looked out of place, and Harry Kane had scored on a splendid pass by Upamecano.

Just first half had already been epic as I just lay crying.

Second half continued with attacks from both sides, in particular Real Madrid trying to take a definitive lead, and Manuel Neuer saving the day more than once. But it took a splendid strike by the Colombian Lucho Diaz to equalize and effectively eliminate Real Madrid, who in the last minutes nevertheless attacked, leaving space in the back for the best player of the match: in the 94th minute the splendid Michael Olise could have taken time, but instead went towards scored on a marvelous strike that gave Bayern Munich the 4-3 victory.

Epic.

Bayern Munich sign in as favourites, but also in footballing terms; they are a true joy to watch, but also make many mistakes, thus making them enjoyably vulnerable... 

The semifinals are as follows:

• Paris Saint Germain-Bayern Munich
• Atletico Madrid-Arsenal

 

Bayern strikes first

Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich are always intense matches, and tonight's CL first-leg quarterfinal in Madrid did not disappoint. 

Bayern dominated the match from the start; at the same time there were many individual mistakes that could have cost goals. In particular Luis Diaz seemed absent from the match, but it was him who scored first for the Bavarians when they counterattacked quickly following a lost ball by Real Madrid. Soon into the second half Harry Kane scored a second for Bayern Munich, and at this point it almost appeared that they could humiliate Real Madrid. But one has to respect Real Madrid, who facing adversity nevertheless pushed forward, and good old Manuel Neuer (who nevertheless did also look shaky at the start of the match) had to pull some spectacular saves. In the end Kylian Mbappe managed to score one for Madrid, but pushing forward they also opened for chances in the back, where Bayern could or should have sealed the match. Young Jamal Musiala returned to the Bayern team as a substitute, but after a long injury pause looked a bit afraid, while Michael Olise was the best player of the match (Real Madrid is apparently very interested in signing him, and today's match must only have reinforced their interest).

A 1-2 lead for Bayern Munich should put them with one foot in the semifinals before next week's match at Allianz Arena, but in the end Real Madrid showed that they can still rise from adversity, even when Bayern has all the aces.

The CL quarterfinal

 We have reached the quarterfinals of the CL, with some exciting matches ahead:

• Paris St. Germain-Liverpool: The defending champions dispatched the world champions, Chelsea, and will be facing the great Liverpool side, but who will be looking to fight for a good result against a PSG side that is looking to repeat the title
• Real Madrid-Bayern Munich: perhaps an early final? Bayern Munich have been awesome, and destroyed Atalanta in the previous round while Real Madrid are... welll... Real Madrid, who can win it all
• Barcelona-Atletico Madrid: a Spanish derby, where Barcelona are probably favourites, but never ever discount Atletico, although they faced the poorest side in the tournament, Tottenham, and still had to fight to make it.
• Sporting Lisbon-Arsenal: Sporting Lisbon impressed by eliminating fan favourites Bodø/Glimt when everything seemed against them, and this fighting spirit will have to be as strong if they are to defeat an Arsenal side that is surely a light-dark horse for the title?

All these matches are worth watching. 

Parisian nailbiter!

 The quarterfinal of this season Champions League between Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain was an outstanding drama of last season's finalists. Bayern Munich played like worthy champions in both matches. In the home match they were hampered by the absence of Lewandowski as they created chance upon chance, only to be trumped by Paris St. Germain's efficiency in the form of Kylian Mbappe's efficiency. 

So all the cards were in the Parisians hands before tonight's second leg in Paris. 

At least in the first half the cards from the first match seemed to be reversed as PSG attacked and had numerous chances for a goal, while Bayern Munich only needed one chance for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to make it 0-1, and put the match within reach of the Bavarians.

The second hand was truly a nail-biter, specially if you are Parisian. it was not elegant, but they pulled back with everything to defend the narrow defeat as the Germans pushed forward, and in fact PSG had good chances on the counterattacks to make an equalizer.

Most PSG fans must have no nails left, but they made it. PSG eliminated the defending champions, and took a big step towards their ambition of their first CL title.

Neymar must be happy. He played a very good match, but missed some big chances, and if Bayern Munich had scored a second, those chances would surely have haunted him. Now he only has the next match to look forward to!

The quarterfinals

 The draws for the Champions League quarterfinals are ready, and some really exciting matches ahead:

• Bayern Munich-Paris St. Germain: Surely the most awaited match, a repeat of last year's final, and this year it can almost be considered an early final, as both remain top contenders for the title. This will be one of the top clashes of the year.
• Real Madrid-Liverpool: Two of the greatest sides in football history in what promises to be another epic clash. Both sides have struggled this season, and the Champions League appears for both clubs one of the last attempts to get a title this season
• Manchester City-Borussia Dortmund: Manchester City is doing very well this season, and are probably favourites to reach the semi-finals. However, Borussia Dortmund have been very strong in this CL, and have the most-talked about striker in the world right now in Erling Haaland, who appears to score in every match!
• FC Porto-Chelsea: Both are former CL winners and probably two of the most underrated sides in the competition, but one must remember that they eliminated giants of Juventus and Atletico Madrid respectively, and one of them will make it to the semifinals, where they will make things difficult for whoever they face.

It is worth noting the absence of FC Barcelona, who for the first time since 2007 are not among the eight best teams in Europe. Also many news outlets have noted the fact that neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the quarterfinals, for the first time since 2005, but surely not the last time. Both great players still have a few good years in them, but this season's quarterfinals has reminded us all that we will not have the possibility of enjoying the two contemporary greats forever.

Magnifique Lyon!

There was another surprise today as Olympique Lyon defeated highly-rated Manchester City 1-3 to make it to the Champions League semifinals, where they will be facing mighty Bayern Munich.
Although it is a surprise, the French side were far better than Manchester City. They were extremely organised and concentrated, in my view the best organised team of the 4 semifinalists, and their counterattacks, after Manchester City seemed on the verge of scoring where deadly, as Moussa Dembele scored the two winning goals after Raheem Sterling had missed the biggest goal in Champions League history!
There was some refreshing non-VAR controversy regarding Lyon's second goal: The Argentine commentators on ESPN were not fully in agreement as a player in clear offside jumped over the ball to let Dembele alone through to score. Did he influence the play or not? The goal was given, in my view correctly, and I am happy to say that the great Mario Kempes agrees with me!

Historical RB Leipzig

Only 11 years after the club was founded, RB Leipzig just made it to the Champions League semifinals after defeating Atletico Madrid 2-1.
Atletico Madrid are hard to like because of their defensive awaiting style that almost seemed a bit sad today as Leipzig moved the ball around and was really the only creative team on the pitch. In the second half Dani Olmo finally brought the Saxon side ahead, which forced Atletico Madrid to wake up. The young Joao Felix entered the pitch and he gave Atletico Madrid some "happiness" ("alegria", as Mario Kempes said, commenting the match on ESPN), and he was also the architect of the equalizer, as he scored on a penalty against himself. Atletico Madrid continued pressing against a Leipzig side that looked tired, but on a counterattack three minutes before the end Tyler Adams was a bit lucky to have his shot deflected into a 2-1 lead and eventual victory.
RB Leipzig will face Paris St. Germain, and the French side will be favourites. But RB Leipzig have certainly shown they are a competitive side and will play without pressure, so they should certainly not be discounted yet!
I will be supporting them!

Paris in the semifinals

I felt sorry for Atalanta, who played a great match, and seemed headed for a historic semifinal after Mario Pasalic had given them a first half lead. But in the last minutes of the match the lead fell apart as Marquinhos equalised and Eric Chuopo-Moting gave them the victory goal after a build-up by Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe and Chuopo-Moting both came in in the second half to give more power to an attack that completely depended on Neymar (who had two enormous misses in the first half), and it helped against an Atalanta side that seemed more and more tired as the match advanced, despite them playing an excellent match throughout.
But in the end I feel that Paris deserved the victory after they have kept on pressing against a difficult opponent, but surely they will have to play better to advance to the final: why not start with Mbappe?
It will be Paris St. Germain's first CL semifinal since 1995, so they have already improved from all their previous years!

Barcelona's unexpected elimination

I took time out for lunch to watch the Champions League semifinal in a restaurant in San Salvador. Manchester City-Liverpool was the match of choice. In San Salvador, few people watch English football, and most people prefer Barcelona or Real Madrid. So as everyone took for granted that Barcelona was through, there was nobody else watching football in the restaurant.
As expected Manchester City-Liverpool was a great match: City played a great first half, which they were unlucky not to be leading by more than a goal by halftime. But the second half saw a different Liverpool side emerge, as first Mohammed Salah and then Roberto Firmino gave the Reds a well-deserved victory and a place in the semifinal.
When Salah equalized for Liverpool it had become obvious that the match to watch was Roma-Barcelona, as the Italians were leading 2-0, and would sensationally go through with a third strike that all of a sudden did not look so impossible. Thus, many people in the Salvadorean restaurant turned their eyes towards the match, and were chocked to see Kostas Manolas score a third goal that in the end brought Roma through, and made them only the third team in the Champions League to overcome a three goal loss in the first match (the second one being Barcelona themselves when they defeated Paris St. Germain last season).
One cannot help but be happy for Roma, who did what everyone considered impossible, namely to defeat FC Barcelona's arrogance. Roma have done this throughout this season: Atletico Madrid and Chelsea underestimated them, but came behind them in the group stages. I do not think that Roma will win the Champions League, but any team that underestimates them will suffer the consequences.
I had a great lunch break, thank you.

The two teams nobody wanted to face

Atletico Madrid and Leicester were arguably the two teams everyone wanted to avoid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Atletico Madrid are a passionate, skilled and disciplined side that has proven to have one of the best defenses in the world combined with an unforgiving attacking force. Leicester on the other hand, seem to be a team that is set to continue surprising; the best team in the world when underestimated.
But all teams avoided them as both of these sides will be facing one another in the quarterfinals. An interesting anecdote is that two of the previous three times Leicester was in Europe, they were eliminated by Atletico Madrid (1961 and 1997). So this may be the time of redemption for Leicester.

The quarterfinals are as follows:

• Atletico Madrid-Leicester
• Borussia Dortmund-Monaco
• Juventus-FC Barcelona
• Bayern Munich-Real Madrid

All will be incredible matches. Juventus-Barcelona a repeat of the 2015 final. Dortmund-Monaco two teams playing attacking football. Bayern Munich-Real Madrid will see two of the best teams ever having played the tournament.

Unpredictable quarterfinals

The first round of the 2015-16 quarterfinals is over, and with fantastic games and close results, the second round is all but impossible to predict:

• Atletico Madrid-Barcelona: Barcelona won 2-1 at home after some help from the referee when he threw out an admittedly over-eager Fernando Torres. But the way FC Barcelona have looked in the last two matches, nothing is certain as they go away to Madrid. Atletico Madrid are tactically astute, physically strong and strong enough to get the needed 1-0 home victory. It will be a thrilling encounter
• Benfica-Bayern Munich: The South Germans looked to be opening the floodgates as they went ahead 1-0 in the first minute, but that was in fact the final result of the match. 1-0 at home is never certain before you go to Portugal, and be reminded that another Portuguese team, Porto, defeated Bayern 3-1 in Portugal in last year's quarterfinal. Bayern Munich then went on to win 6-1 at home, but that option is no longer available. 
• Manchester City-Paris Saint Germain: 2-2 was a great result to get home from Paris for Manchester City after a match where both teams made awful defensive errors. Both teams have great striking power as well, so that combination is sure to be impossible to predict before the next match in Manchester. It will be a drama and fantastic match.
• Real Madrid-Wolfsburg: As Spanish teams so often do, they underestimate the Germans, and are punished for it. Wolfsburg shocked an arrogant and uncharming Real Madrid side (where Marcelo is a disgrace for his blatant kicking, headbutting and acting, all in one play) by winning 2-0 at home. Real Madrid are thus against the wall as they play at home, and will have to attack with everything they have, which is bound to be interesting. At the same time, they must not underestimate a Wolfsburg side that is so strong on counter-attack.

I am already counting down for next weeks matches, and every minute moves as slow as the last five minutes of a final you are winning 1-0....

Three strikes you're out

I think that many had expected more, even from a luckless Paris St. Germain without Zlatan and a Thiago Silva who had to be replaced too early by the 15 Mio Euro David Luiz.
David Luiz has always been a nice guy; an eccentric player who easily catches the attention of people. The attention; because he has never been a world class player, and it is all too often displayed when he is alone against class. And today was no exception. Without Thiago Silva, the genius of Barcelona's attacking trio made David Luiz look mediocre. Not least Luis Suarez' third goal, when after tunneling David Luiz, he put a ball he could have kicked in softly, in the most difficult corner of the goal.
Luis Suarez was fantastic for a Barcelona side that almost seems the most focused side of the ones that are left in the Champions League.
Three strikes; Paris St. Germain is out.

In the meantime, Bayern Munich lost 3-1 to an FC Porto side that everyone in history has done wrong in underestimating (do not forget that they won the tournament in 2004), perhaps because Pep Guardiola's world does not know other teams that Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United. It will be interesting to see FC Porto; they can go all the way, but of course the ones that need to fight the most for it.
Three strikes; Bayern Munich may not be out yet.

The Champions League quarterfinals

I do not feel that the last-16 of this season's Champions League was overly exciting. Most games were largely decided in the first match, and only Manchester United fought back to a memorable, if not wholly deserved, comeback against Olympiakos.
Today was the draw for the quarterfinals, and these look more exciting:

• FC Barcelona-Atletico Madrid: A Spanish quarterfinal between the giants of Barcelona and the newcomers Atletico Madrid, who will have another chance to annoy the Catalonians. FC Barcelona will be under pressure as favourites and being behind in the league, so expect a dramatic clash!
• Real Madrid-Borussia Dortmund: This will be a repeat of last season's semifinal where the German underdogs managed to upset the Spanish favourites in two excellent and emotional matches. This season Borussia Dortmund is not looking as strong as last season, while Real Madrid have been looking to become better and better. If anything, Real Madrid are bigger favourites than last season, but they must never underestimate the German side.
• Paris St. Germain-Chelsea: The current league leaders in England and France is bound to be good. The Parisians have become stronger and stronger under coach Laurent Blanc. They are leading the French league, which they are likely to win, and have looked strong in the CL. Chelsea is fighting to keep first spot in the Premier League, but under Jose Mourinho they are a dangerous team that can beat anyone.
• Bayern Munich-Manchester United: A quarterfinal between two of the greatest clubs in the world is bound to be interesting. However, this time Bayern Munich would seem way too strong for Man U, which is struggling in the Premier League and struggled to be in the quarterfinals. Bayern Munich are surely big favourites, but Manchester will have everything to fight for, and the match will surely be worth watching.

The Champions League quarterfinals

The greatest surprise in this season's Champions League is that among the eight quarterfinalists there are no English sides, something quite unheard of over the last few years. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are of course there, followed by the surprise Spanish side, Malaga. Two very strong German teams, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are there, as are Juventus, Galatasaray and Paris St. Germain from Italy, Turkey and France respectively.
It is a refreshing batch of teams that were crossed the following way for the quarterfinals:

• Galatasaray-Real Madrid
• FC Barcelona-Paris St. Germain
• Bayern Munich-Juventus
• Malaga-Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich-Juventus is surely the most interesting match, although it will also be interesting to see the new multi-million ambitious side of Paris St. Germain take on FC Barcelona. Besides their spectacular match against AC Milan, FC Barcelona have not looked unbeatable this year, and the Parisians certainly have a chance if the hit the day.
But whatever happens, I do not hope it will be a Real Madrid-Barcelona final.

Champions League

My dream remains to go to Champions League final after I tried to sign up for tickets at the UEFA site for the second year in a row. It does seem that going to see a final is even something only for the selected few, and not for the masses.
Just as actually playing!
Four teams have made it to the semifinals after the quarterfinals. FC Barcelona dispatched AC Milan after a 3-1 home victory, while their Spanish rivals of Real Madrid had few problems in defeating Apoel Nicosia 5-2. Bayern Munich continue to aim to be playing the final at home, after defeating Olympique Marseille 2-0, while Chelsea defeated Benfica 2-1 to make it as the only English team in the quarterfinals.
The semifinals will look as follows:

• FC Barcelona-Chelsea
• Real Madrid-Bayern Munich

Chelsea will be eager to avenge the 2009 semifinal, where a lousy referee stole the match from them (even though Barcelona became the right winner of the tournament). Real Madrid against Bayern Munich will surely be a geat match.
But I believe that the script has already been written: it will be a final between the two great Spanish rivals in Munich, and I will not be there to see it.

Yawn...

As I was at work, and leaving late, I recorded one match. I didn't know which one in fact, but I made sure I heard no results, and quickly put on the match as I came home.
Chelsea-Manchester United was a bore! Manchester United won 0-1 on a Wayne Rooney goal, and will probably make it to the semifinal, but the most notable thing about the match was how lousy Chelsea played, and Ancelotti's very strange insistence on keeping a toothless little boy called Torres on the pitch, instead of what would seem like a deadly striking force in Drogba and Anelka.
It turned out the other match, between FC Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk was much more interesting! Shakhtar Donetsk are usually outstanding at home, so it was important for Barcelona to pull a solid result before going to Ukraine. And indeed they did with a 5-1 victory. No matter how good Shakhtar are at home, it looks like Barcelona and Real Madrid will be facing each other in the CL semifinal. In fact, they will be likely facing one another for a period of ten days in all-crucial matches!

Schalke 04 rules!

I think that Schalke 04 were probably considered the little guys in this season's Champions League, and not many would have put money on the German side as they were to face Inter Milan in the quarterfinals. But today any lack of respect for this German side that it is virtually impossible to sympathize with should be totally absent.

Schalke 04 destroyed the defending champions of Inter 2-5 in Milan and should have one foot in the semifinals of the Champions League!

Shame on Inter, who played a horrible match; such lack of concentration can only be blamed on underestimating their opponents, and their desperate outbursts are very uncharming.

If you fall, fall like a champion, and not like pretty arrogant boys!

When Real Madrid's Raul changed to Schalke 04, many people criticized him for not changing to a "big" team in one of the better leagues. The German league is outstanding, probably one of the most talented in Europe, and when Raul changed, he knew he was changing into a team where he would be more than a well-paid veteran substitute.

Raul, the great footballer he is, knew and wanted to be playing Champions League football, and this has now taken him very close to the semifinal of the Champions League, something he had not achieved since 2002 with Real Madrid!

But besides Raul, there are many reasons to be delighted about Schalke 04's triumph! A great club and great fans not the least!

On my knees

I have been praising Messi for a few years now, but this year he is awesome, and tonight, with his four goals against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinal, I am on my knees.
Thank you Messi.

Champions League in Mérida

After travelling for a day from Caracas by land, I arreived to the city of Mérida in the Venezuelan Andes last Wednesday. As I was set to go to the mountains the following day I had a full day in this cozy city, where my mission was clear: find a place to watch the CL quarterfinal between Arsenal and FC Barcelona. It was not clear where, and I initially asked some people who said I could check out any place. However, I wanted to be sure, and when I saw a guy dressed in full Barcelona gear near the central Plaza Bolivar, I asked him, and he directed me to a small local bar, "La Cibeles".
Good place, with good atmosphere, plenty of people (all of whom were supporting Barcelona; Arsenal doesn't have much following here, and anyone who did, was mainly because they are Real Madrid supporters) and beer.
It was truly a spectacular match: Barcelona was incredible; the display of power in the first 15 minutes was overwhelming; true show of force in making a fool of a team that is supposedly one of the best in Europe. That it was 0-0 at half-time was more a miracle of the footballing gods who in the first half were wearing an Arsenal shirt and had blessed Arsenal goalkeeper Almunia, who had some spectacular saves.
Early in the second half FC Barcelona finally went ahead on a nice lob by the highly criticised Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I personally believe he still has a lot to show, and that he still doesn't completely fit into the Barca team. However, his quality is undisputable, and he soon after also made it 0-2 for the Catalonians.
Arsene Wenger put on the young Englishman Theo Walcott (only Englishman on the team) and it was fitting that he soon after scored one for Arsenal. Barcelona should here be criticised for having let Arsenal back into the match, but the English team must also be commended for continuing the fight being down 0-2. That is how they showed they are a great team.
And towards the end of the match they managed to equalize when Carles Puyol committed a clumsy penalty, and the young former Barcelona starlett Cec Fábregas scored on the penalty. Puyol got a harsh red card, and he will surely be missed in Barcelona for the next match, although Fábregas will also be out for Arsenal because of 2 red cards.
The splendid match ended 2-2, and the Barcelona fans in "La Cibeles" were somewhat disappointed, although it should be considered a good result before they play in Barcelona next week. I was happy for having watched a splendid football match, and had another beer. It was a perfect way to start some days in the mountains, with such splendid football!

Chelsea-Liverpool

Just like last season, Chelsea proved to be the last stop for Liverpool in the Champions League campaign, but after an exciting match that ended with the most extraordinary result of 4-4! Any match that ends 4-4 is entertaining and intense, specially in the face of a spirited Liverpool side that seemed as always to be coming back against impossible odds. Also, the spirit and physical strength the players from both teams showed was simply extraordinary.

In this sense, it was an extraordinary match.

Nevertheless, a serious football fan should also notice that the game was charactrized by an overwhelming amount of pretty simple mistakes, and that the Chelsea side in particular in the first half seemed very nervous and/or unmotivated. In that sense, it was a strange match, as one is not used to seeing these types of mistakes at this level.

But that is the beauty of football: sometimes these things happen, even to the best of teams, and you end up having a match like we had last night.

Chelsea will now be facing FC Barcelona, whose semifinal never looked in doubt, and managed a 1-1 in Munich against Bayern.
Chelsea against Barcelona has all the ingredients to be an extraordinary match.