Greatest Euro Matches: France-Switzerland (2021)

France won the World Championship of 2018 in Russia, and were surely considered one of the favourites to take the European title in 2020. That said, due to the COVID pandemic the tournament 2020 could not be the year that they would be able to take the title, as the entire tournament was postponed to 2021. Gthis nevertheless appeared to mean nothing with a team captained by the experienced Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and with strong defenders such as Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and FC Barcelona’s Clement Leglet. The wingbacks were the Bayern Munich players Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. In the meantime Manager Didier Deschamps had too many brilliant midfielders to choose from: Paul Pogba from Manchester United, Ngolo Kante from Chelsea, Moussa Sissoko from Tottenham, Andrien Rabiot from Juventus or Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich. And it attack, complementing one of the world’s best players, Kylian Mbappe from Paris St. Germain, were such stars as FC Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, Chelsea’s Oliver Giroud and Real Madrid’s superstar Karim Benzema. 

In every way France looked awesome, but had not been perfect in qualification, losing one match to Turkey, but still winning their group. 

In the group stages France ended in the so-called “Group of Death” alongside Germany, Portugal and Hungary. Although playing in Munich France defeated Germany 0-1 in their opening match and 1-1 and 2-2 with Hungary and Portugal respectively was enough to win the group and make it to the last-16 where they were to play the unfancied Swiss. 

Despite being unfancied Switzerland was a solid and organised side of experienced players who played in good clubs, mainly in Germany. Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer was the goalkeeper in front of strong defenders such as Borussia Dortmund’s Manuel Akanji, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi,Torino’s Ricardo Rodriguez and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar. Midfield counted the strong Arsenal player Granit Xhaka and Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaquiri. And as strikers Switzerland counted with Mario Gavranovic from Dynamo Zagreb, Benfica’s Hafis Seferovic or Borussia Monchengladbach’s Breel Embolo. 

Switzerland had won their qualification group ahead of Denmark, Ireland, Georgia and Gibraltar. In the first round of the tournament they were in a difficult group with Italy, Wales and Turkey. They tied Wales 1-1 in their opening match, but were destroyed 0-3 by Italy in their second match. Defeating Turkey 3-1 in their last match was enough to take them through on third spot, and to face the French World Champions in a match in which they were certainly the underdogs. 

Perhaps it was the typical French arrogance, but they started the match doing nothing. Instead, it was a determined Swiss midfielder from Frankfurt, Steven Zuber who made a perfect pass from the left, and Hafic Sevfrovic perfectly headed the ball into a Swiss lead. The French defense had looked like they were sleeping, and now France had to prove themselves as Switzerland defended deep with a strong Yann Sommer in goal. That said, besides some shots from outside the area France looked wobbly and were losing, deservedly, 1-0 at halftime. 

Deschamps put on the young Bayern Munich player Kingsley Coman on for defender Leglet in the second half to put more pressure, but it was the Swiss who had the chance to make it 2-0 when a well-playing Steven Zuber rushed down the left side and was taken down inside the area. The subsequent penalty by Ricardo Rodriguez was nevertheless saved by Hugo Lloris. 

Instead of 2-0 the penalty appeared to give the French renewed energy and their combinations started working when Real Madrid’s great Karim Benzema made a brilliant first touch on a pass from Mbappe and made it 1-1. Two minutes later Antoine Griezmann went into the area and his shot was half saved by Sommer, but the ball ended with Benzema who headed it in for 1-2 for France. 

The match had completely turned around within five minutes, and now France were playing like the World Champions that they were, although their defense continued to look shaken during the few Swiss attacks. 

Fifteen minutes before time Paul Pogba scored one of the best goals of the tournament on a spectacular long shot that ended in the corner of the goal. Fantastic goal, and with 3-1 it seemed that France were dancing their way to the quarterfinals. 

But Swiss tenacity and a poor French defending are a dangerous combination. 

Wolfburg's Kevin Mbabu, who had come in a few minutes earlier, was given all the time in the world to lay a perfect pass into the French area where Seferovic again rose above a sleepy Raphael Varane and made it 2-3 on another header, and the French World Champions looked incredibly shaken. 

Arrogance can quickly become frustration, and the Swiss put pressure. Gavranovic, who had come in for Shaquiri, had a goal cancelled because of a tight off-side. But not giving up, Gavranovic rounded Kimpembe in the 90th minute and with a flat shot towards the far corner he made it 3-3. Again the French defense did not look like World Champions but more like Sunday school boys. 

Everyone thought 3-3, but Kinglsey Coman almost gave the French the victory hitting the crossbar in the last second of the match, which thus had to go into extra time. 

 Both teams were visibly tired in extra time. Switzerland defended heroically as the French pushed forward. Yann Sommer made good saves from Benjamin Pavard and Olivier Giroud, and Mbappe missed a big opportunity to make it 4-3, but in the end it was all in vain as it ended 3-3 and the match went into penalty kicks. 

 It was 100% accuracy from both sides before the last kick by none other than Kylian Mbappe. His shot was saved by Yann Sommer, who could immediately celebrate the sensational victory of Switzerland against the World Champions. 

 Switzerland faced Spain in the quarterfinals, whom they also gave a close match, only to lose in penalties. But their elimination of France in this extraordinary match will always be remembered. 

Bucharest, 28th June 2021 Arena Nationala 
Attendance: 22,642 
Referee: Fernando Rapallini, Argentina 

France-Switzerland 3-3 (AET) 
Penalty kicks: France-Switzerland 4-5 

France: Hugo Lloris (c); Raphael Varane, Clement Lenglet (Kinglsey Coman, 46 (Marcus Thuram, 111)), Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Pavard, Adrien Rabiot; Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante, Antoine Griezmann (Moussa Sissoko, 88); Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema (Olivier Giroud, 94). Manager: Didier Deschamps 
Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Ricardo Rodriguez (Admir Mehmedi, 87), Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi; Silvan Widmer (Kevin Mbabu, 73), Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Steven Zuber (Christian Fassnacht, 79); Xerdan Shaquiri (Mario Gavranovic, 73), Haris Seferovic (Fabia Schar, 97), Breel Embolo (Ruben Vargas, 79). Manager: Vladimir Petkovic 

Goals:
0-1 Seferovic (15) 
1-1 Benzema (57) 
2-1 Benzema (59) 
3-1 Pogba (75) 
3-2 Seferovic (81) 
2-2 Gavranovic (90) 

Penalty kicks:
0-1 Gavranovic 
1-1 Pogba 
1-2 Schar 
2-2 Giroud 
2-3 Akanji 
3-3 Thuram 
3-4 Vargas 
4-4 Kimpembe 
4-5 Mehmedi 
Mbappe missed for France

Barcelona's first title under Xavi

The ex-footballer and Barcelona manager Xavi has taken time to build a competitive side, but being who he is and knowing the club, he has proceeded to build a team that will surely win titles, and today they won their first title in Saudi Arabia: the Spanish Super-Cup. The tournament has become a money-making machine, with the runners-up to the League and Copa del Rey participating in a mini tournament that nevertheless, to the joy of the people putting the money into the tournament, saw Barcelona face the giants of Real Madrid.

Although Real Madrid had some good initial chances, their midfield stars of Modric and Toni Kroos were simply not functioning, while FC Barcelona dominated the match after their initial lead by Gavi.

And it was indeed the 18-year old Gavi who was the star of the match, running around Carvajal in the Real Madrid defense. He made the pass for Lewandowski easily to make it 2-0, while he was also the creator of the third goal by Pedri. Karim Benzema's goal for the Real Madrid in the dying minutes meant nothing as Xavi took his first title, and is also in the lead of the Spanish League.

One of the great things Xavi has done is not only to find the right tactics for difficult matches, but has also empowered young players, not only Gavi, but also Alejandro Balde, who played a great match in defense, alongside the two newcomers Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé. And finallly, players that were rumoured on their way out, such as Ousmane Dembele and Frankie de Jong, have renewed confidence to show their incredible talent.

Xavi's first title appears not to be the last, and under him Barcelona may be on the way to another glorious era.

Real Madrid- Barcelona 3-1

 After Leo Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's farewell to the Spanish league both Barcelona and Real Madrid have, after some adjustments, returned to the top of the Spanish League, and after Real Madrid's awesome league win last season, both teams were head to head at the top of the league as they were to face one another in the "Clasico" in Madrid.

Real Madrid went ahead after only 12 minutes on a goal by Karim Benzema, who has risen to become the star of the team, and after 35 minutes the Uruguayan Federico Valverde brought Real Madrid ahead 2-0 on a great strike at the edge of the penalty area. Despite this, Barcelona was not shaken, and in particular in the second half threatened Madrid's goal, and when Ansu Fati came on he certainly put pressure on the home team. Ferran Torres scored one back, and Barcelona came very close to an equalizer (and in my opinion should have had a penalty), but in the last seconds of the match VAR gave Real Madrid a (correctly called) penalty kick, which Rodrygo scored on to give Real Madrid all three points, and they are now three points ahead of Barcelona at the top of the table.

Supporting Chelsea for a day

It was a fantastic match between Real Madrid and Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals, and as I got into the match, and Chelsea appeared on the way of doing the impossible after losing the match 1-3 at home, I was totally behind Chelsea when they were up 0-3 (and huge respect for the fantastic charisma and qualities of Antonio Rudiger, and Timo Werner's great third goal).

But Real Madrid are the best club in history for a reason. 0-3 down Luka Modric pulled what was simply a world class pass to Rodrygo who could easily first-time the ball into goal, and extra time of a great match that was perfect for neutral fans.

Karim Benzema scored the 2-3 for the Spanish side in extra time, and put Real Madrid in the semifinals and eliminated the defending champions.

Real Madrid are not playing great; against PSG they were the lesser team for three halves. But they punish every mistake and have the edge when it counts, and nobody should underestimate them.

In what was a bigger surprise though, Villarreal eliminated mighty Bayern Munich after 1-1 in Munich. Villarreal eliminated Juventus, and are the surprise side in the semifinals. They do not play great football, but rely on a solid defense and counter-attack, but it would be great to see a small team go all the way anyway!

Controversy in France's victory

I have no problem with France winning the Nations League final today, 2-1 against Spain. France went down 0-1 on a goal by Mikel Oyarzabal, but as they had done against Belgium the French side fought back to win the match, firstly by a spectacular equalizer by Karim Benzama, and then a controversial winner by Kylian Mbappe.

The problem with the victory was Kylian Mbappe's winning goal: it was clearly off-side. This time the problem was not VAR, but was the referee's interpretation that a slight touch by the defender Eric Garcia, meant that Mbappe received the ball from the latter.

Although I have read that this constituted the (strange) interpretation of a rule whereby the pass is deemed to come from Eric Garcia. However, if this is correct, it is a dangerous interpretation: the pass from Theo Hernandez  was clearly aimed at Mbappe, who was in an off-side position when the pass was made. Eric Garcia made an attempt to clear, but barely touched the ball as it reached its intended target. This was not an attempted pass from Garcia!

The great Kylian Mbappe was ice-cold in front of goal when given the opportunity.

France deserved to win, and congratulation to them, but it is clear that they won by a goal that in my opinion should not have been allowed to stand.

Belgium... sigh...

Today's second semifinal of the Nations League was between France and Belgium, who were fighting to see off Spain in the final.

Belgium had plenty to fight for: their greatest generation ever have never won a title, and they were facing a French side that in 2018 beat them out of the semifinals to become World Champions. Belgium, despite being ranked #1 in the FIFA World ranking, have nevertheless shown plenty of weaknesses, and these were sadly exposed today to the disappointment of all Belgium fans (I include myself), just as they were some months ago against Italy in the European Championships.

Belgium have an awesome force in Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, and in the first half of the match they played together to a splendid goal by Lukaku which put Belgium ahead 2-0, after a splendid Yannick Carrasco had put Belgium ahead 1-0. Although Belgium had not been outright dominant (who can dominate France anyway?), they looked the more dangerous and organized team, and I think we all thought that they could carry the match home after the first half.

All credit to France, who came out to play their chance in the second half, but the Belgians also appeared like a team that stopped playing: there was no speed or ambition in their play in the second half, as they seemed solely to rely on a poor defense, a strong Courtois, and long balls up to a lonely Lukaku. In the meantime France, World Champions, do have a powerful attack that nobody should underestimate: Karim Benzema made it 1-2, Kylian Mbappe made it 2-2 on penalty (and fully redeemed himself from the infamous penalty miss against Switzerland in July), and in the end Theo Hernandez made it 2-3 for France in the 90th minute of the match after an excellent build-up by a French side that played their chance against the feeble Belgians.

Have no doubt that France-Spain will be a great final. But for Belgium's golden generation this should be one of the biggest of many disappointments, and one should consider whether it is time for Roberto Martinez to go.

Exhaustion from so much excitement!

The two last-16 matches in the European Championship today were two incredible matches that left me exhausted after such rides of drama, goals and emotion! But this is truly what football is all about!

Spain had to fight unusually hard to defeat Croatia in what frankly should have been a relatively easy game for Spain against a Croatian side that still wins morally by the mere fact of their never-ending fight. Unai Simon's own goal was the single most comical moment of the entire tournament (and congratulations to the goalkeeper for rising up to the challenge and having some great saves afterwards), and put Croatia ahead when everyone was expecting Spain to score the first goal. That said, when the Spaniards finally managed to score by Pablo Sarabia, they were in complete control, and we all thought that the match was over after Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres made it 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.

But Croatia never gives up, and they managed to score two late goals by Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic to take the game into extra time.

In extra time, after Alvaro Morata made it 4-3 for Spain following some dreadful Croatian marking, the game was nevertheless over, and when Mikel Oyarzabal made it 5-3, the tired but brave Croatian had little energy left to mount a comeback.

Spain are in the quarterfinals, and very likely semifinalists, as Switzerland, whom they will face (and probably defeat) in the quarterfinals did them the favour of eliminating France in another exciting match.

Switzerland took an early lead by Haris Seferovic, the Benfica  striker, and they took their lead to halftime. France mounted a feeble pressure early in the second half, until Switzerland were given a penalty, that could have given them a decisive lead, but Hugo Lloris saved Ricardo Rodriguez penalty kick. After that France were like another team, and Karim Benzema put them ahead with two quick goals, before Paul Pogba made it 3-1 on a spectacular strike.

By this time France were in total control, and it seemed unlikely that the Swiss could make a comeback, but alas, they did: Seferovic made it 3-2 on another header where the French central defenders (Rafael Varane and Clement Leglet) looked very poor, and in the dying second Mario Gavranovic made it 3-3 on an excellent strike that also exposed a slow French central defense.

The French appeared defeated even when they were up 3-2, and despite some chances in extra time we all had the feeling that the Swiss would pull the surprise in penalty kicks (and the Swiss seemed very happy when it went to penalty kicks). There were some great kicks by both sides until it came down to the last kicker: Kylian Mbappe, who had played a very poor match to say the least, and the youngster crowned it by having his penalty saved by Yann Sommer, and putting Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Kylian Mbappe is only 23, and I hope he can overcome this. That will define him as a great player, or merely another good youngster.

The World Champions are out, and Switzerland have made it further that even they had dared dream (and in all likelihood as far as they will make it).

The usual suspects

Before the tournament Group F had been dubbed the "Group of Death", with Germany, Portugal and France, and then Hungary as an attachment. In the end Hungary proved the greatest team of the group, and it is a pity that they did not make it through, fighting bravely against the Germans in Munich, but only making it to 2-2 after being ahead twice.

It was exciting, and one was almost hoping for a repeat of the legendary 1954 World Cup final, but this time with Hungary coming out on top.

In the end it was "the usual suspects that made it through".

Germany end up in second spot in the group, and will be facing England at Wembley stadium in one of the most classic matches in modern football. This time though, England will look like favourites, as the Germans have looked shaky, and the English have the best opportunity show themselves from the best sides.

Just never underestimate the Germans like they underestimate others.

The defending world champions of France have not looked impressive either, although they are still favourites to go the whole way, specially because they are pacing themselves. A 2-2 score against was enough for them to win Group F and they will now be facing Switzerland in the last-16; the Helvetians are never easy to play against, but France should be expected to make it through. Karim Benzema scored both goals for France against Portugal, and his experience and skills may be paying off for the French.

Portugal is through on third spot in Group F; same as in 2016, and then went on to win the whole thing. The Portuguese look shaky in defense, as they did against Germany, but they have fantastic individual talent, crowned by the great Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored both goals for Portugal against France (on two correct penalties) and he has equaled Ali Daei, the legendary Iranian striker, as the most prolific national team goalscorer of all time, and it appears likely that he will be the most scoring ever, and add another record to his legend.

It will not be easy in the quarterfinals though, as Portugal will face the fantastic Belgians. That said, the Portuguese are confident that they can defeat anyone on a good day.

Mediocre Barcelona and efficient Real Madrid

Today's classic clash between the Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona was not as exciting as previous matches. Before the match, nobody had scored against Barcelona during this season, and perhaps some were expecting Barcelona to have an advantage when Neymar brought them ahead 1-0. But truth is that Barcelona's goalless record has been against other teams in a league where only Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and marginally Valencia and Sevilla, are quality sides. Truth is that Barcelona was facing quality opposition for the first time.
In the Champions League another quality side, Paris St. Germain, had already exposed the Catalonians serious defensive deficiencies. Today Real Madrid exposed them as well, and could have made the Catalonians look ridiculous if they had been more cynical. That said, when getting into the match Real Madrid was splendid: disciplined and quick on the counterattack, and with players working hard for the team (something that has often been missing in the club). Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were both fantastic in midfield, while Marcelo and Isco were a constant threat on the left side. And then the trio of Ronaldo, James and Benzema far out-shined the tired-looking trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. Granted, Neymar scored and Suarez is still to understand his new teammates, but more worrying for Barcelona is the lack of depth, which is particularly acute in defense: Javier Mascherano continues to play in a position that is not his, while Pique lacks the quality to play at this level without Carles Puyol next to him. Tonight, he proved again that he is a player that can not be called more than mediocre, and he could have cost Barcelona much more than the one penalty that he gave away.
This will be a great season for Real Madrid, who were also impressive in the Champions League last week against Liverpool. Barcelona on the other hand, will have it harder and harder as they face will face quality teams.

A fantastic start

After many lousy days in Brussels, I was happy that the Champions League was starting, and I was not disappointed. I watched the Galatasaray-Anderlecht match. With a lot of young players Anderlecht were a pleasant surprise, starting offensive, and taking the lead by a young talented player, Dennis Praet. If they failed it was in lack of experience when closing down and in the last touch in front of goal, and that is perhaps why Galatasaray managed to equalize in added time. But 1-1 is not bad, and for the next match the Belgians will face Arsenal, who were run over by Borussia Dortmund.
How can I get tickets for the match here in Brussels!?

Some of the other interesting results were Real Madrid's 5-1 victory over Basel, where Benzema scored a historic 1000th European goal for the Spaniards. The other Madrid side, Atletico, lost 3-2 to Olympiacos in what for many will be a surprise, while Monaco beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0. With two goals by the great Carlos Tevez, Juventus defeated Malmo 2-0, while Liverpool had to struggle for a late 2-1 win over the Bulgarian underdogs of Ludogerets. Super Mario scored his first goal for Liverpool, but that, and the victory, are the only good things from that match for Liverpool fans.

I will eagerly be awaiting tomorrow's matches after what will seem like a never-ending wait!

Spanish drama

The only match worth watching in the Spanish league has for ten years been the Real Madrid-Barcelona match. It has always been splendid, and tonight was no exception. I watched the dramatic match with a mixture of Spanish and international people in the bar called Sajj, in Sinkor, in Monrovia, in a lively atmosphere for what became a fantastic match.
FC Barcelona needed to win in Madrid in order not to lose contact with the two leaders, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. And the match ended with a controversial 3-4 victory for the Catalonians. Three penalties, two of them unexistant, and four great goals in what was a great match between two evenly matched sides. In the first half Real Madrid seemed to have things under control as they went ahead 2-1 on two goals by a Karim Benzema who exposed the feeble Barcelona defense in the penalty area. But when Messi equalized for 2-2 right before halftime things went back to zero for a Real Madrid side that had been better in the first half. Barcelona mended their defensive holes in the second half, but still went down 3-2 as Ronaldo scored on a penalty that had been outside the area. Things seemed to go Real Madrid's way until the penalty on Neymar, which also gave Sergio Ramos a red card.
This broke the match, as Ancelotti took out Benzema for Rafael Varane, to defend the tie that would put them on top spot.
But it was not to be. A clear penalty, this time, on Andres Iniesta meant that Messi made it 3-4, and put FC Barcelona one point from leaders Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who are both tied with 70 points (with Atletico ahead on goal difference).
All three teams are now in an intense fight for the title. Every right-minded football fan supports Atletico Madrid, but I would still doubt that they can carry it all the way. It is likely to be a contest between the usual suspects, with FC Barcelona taking an important step today.

B - B - R

Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid is a very likeable side. He has brought in many young players from Real Madrid's youth side, but at the same time he has managed to get most out of the stars. In the Champions League match match against Schalke 04 tonight the B - B - R (Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo) was deadly: with two goals each they were instrumental in destroying the German chances for advance with a 1-6 away win (that said, Klaus Jan Huntelaar's goal for Schalke was the best of the match!).
The first leg of the last-16 of the Champions League have seen Real Madrid rise above the rest in spite of some impressive result by other sides as well: Bayern Munich's 0-2 away win to Arsenal continues to make them favourites. FC Barcelona's 0-2 away win to Manchester City also put them back as contenders for the title in spite of the current difficulties, and Paris St. Germain's 0-4 away victory to Bayer Leverkusen also made them a team to be reckoned with. In my view the favourites must be Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, but anything can of course happen.

Masterly Madrid

I have seldom seen Real Madrid play so well as this did this evening in their Champions League 2013-14 opening match against Galatasary in Istambul. Galatasaray are a frightening side, not least playing at home, and today they did not play badly, even after Isco brought the visitors ahead in the first half. In the second half they were even close to equalizing, but an unforgiving and well-organized Real Madrid side was not shaken at any point in the match, instead playing with an awesome patient efficiency that could get them far in the tournament. Two goals by Karim Benzema and three goals by a fantastic Cristiano Ronaldo were the result. Umut Bulut's goal for Galatasaray did not matter a bit for a Real Madrid side that played like possible champions.
They mean it. But there is a long way to go!
In the meantime, in their group, Juventus was again unable to play in Copenhagen (where I am not aware whether people with a foreign-sounding name were able to attend the match?), where 1-1 against the locals should be a huge disappointment, and the Italians are already trailing the Spaniards in the fight for first spot in the group.

The last quarterfinalists

The last seven years mighty Real Madrid has been unable to make it to the quartefinals of the Champions League, but 2011 finally saw them get through. Under José Mourinho the team is as good as it has been for years, and one of the teams that has often been a stumbling block, Olympique Lyon, was dispatched with a well-played and offensive 3-0 victory. Karim Benzema scored yet another goal, and is really in a great form at the moment. No doubt that whoever they will face in the quarterfinals, it will be hard, but Real Madrid is hungry.

Chelsea progressed on 0-0 in one of the most boring matches in Champions League history against a team that played in pink shirts.

The defending champions of Inter Milan were the sensation of the round. After losing 0-1 in Milan, and being 2-1 down against Bayern Munich, the Italians managed to turn the entire game around, and ended winning 2-3, and making it to the quarterfinals. No doubt a disappointment for Bayern Munich, who are having a dismal season, but who can only thank themselves for the enormous chances they missed in the first half against Inter.
Inter Milan is keeping Italy's flag high, and are still defending their title!

Finally, Manchester United made it to the quarterfinals after defeating Olympique Marseille 2-1 on two goals by "Chicharito" Hernandez. The win was not surprising, but Manchester United didn't look that superior and had to fight for the victory. It will be interesting to see them against a better opponent in the quarterfinals.

But these are the teams that will be in the pot on Friday:

• FC Barcelona
• Real Madrid
• Inter Milan
• Tottenham Hotspurs
• Manchester United
• Chelsea
  
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Schalke 04
  

Champions League knock-out draw

The draw for the Champions League first knock-out round in February 2010 ahs taken place with the following teams set to face one another:

• VfB Stuttgart-FC Barcelona: Surely challenging for the Germans against a Catalan side that is getting into gear.
• Inter-Chelsea: A thrilling match where Jose Mourinho will face his former team, while Carlo Ancelotti will face his former arch-rivals.
• Bayern Munich-Fiorentina: The Germans looked incredible when they destroyed Juventus, and Fiorentina should surely take notice!
• CSKA Moscow-Sevilla: The Spaniards have looked very strong in the first round.
• Olympique Lyon-Real Madrid: Another thrilling encounter that will see Karim Benzema against his former team-mates.
• FC Porto-Arsenal: Both team can win this match that will surely be very close.
• AC Milan-Manchester United: An anticipated encounter between two of the giants of European football.

Who can wait? I can´t...