The group matches are over and now its time for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League 2011. The soccer scoreboards showed that Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Shakhtar, Chelsea, Tottenham and Schalke have advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the knockout stages, Barcelona was paired with Arsenal, AC Milan with Tottenham, Valencia with Schalke, Roma with Shakhtar, Copenhagen with Chelsea, O. Lyon with Real Madrid, Marseille with Manchester United, Inter Milan with Bayern Munich.
The most exciting matchup was Barcelona and Arsenal with Barcelona in the end qualifying for the quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 4-3. Manchester United outplayed Marseille and won on an aggregate 2-1. Chelsea defeated Copenhagen 2-0; Real Madrid beat O. Lyon 4-1, Shakhtar crushed Roma 6-2 and Schalke defeated Valencia 4-2 on aggregate. Inter Milan and Bayern Munich were tied on an aggregate at 3-3, but Inter Milan advanced to the quarterfinals as the soccer scoreboards showed that they scored 3 away goals in the 2nd leg of their match.
The top scorers at the end of the knockout stage were Eto’o, Messi, Cleo and Mario Gomez with 8 goals each. Out of this group, only two of the players made it through to the quarterfinals: Eto’o (Inter Milan) and Messi (Barcelona). There were some players who were not expected to play a key role in this year’s campaign, but who have made their mark on the game this season. Jack Wilshere is an example of such a player. He is young and inexperienced and nobody could have ever imagined that he could perform so well in such a crucial match. He played a very important role in the defeat of Barcelona in the 1st leg. Javier Chicharito Hernandez of Manchester United is another example. His 2 goals in the 2nd leg against Marseille were enough to put the red devils into the quarterfinals.
The Champions League up till now has been exciting as always and full of incident. The real excitement, however is about to begin when the last eight teams battle it out for a spot in the semi-finals. The quarterfinal draw of the Champions League has been released and the fixtures are as follows:
·Real Madrid vs Tottenham
·Barcelona vs Shaktar
·Inter Milan vs Schalke
·Manchester United vs Chelsea
There is a repeat of the 2008 Champions League final, Man U vs Chelsea which will be a cracker! With Tottenham facing Real Madrid and Shakhtar facing Barcelona there is a strong possibility of a Classic semi-final if both the Spanish teams defeat their respective opponents. Inter have the easiest draw as the German team is hit by certain internal problems. With the draw released we hope to witness some very interesting and exciting matches!
I predict Chelsea-Inter and Barcelona-Real semi-finals, with Barcelona going on to win the cup. They are, after all, the best footballing team I have seen play in my lifetime!
For more information, go to:
uefa.com