Halftime in the Round of Sixteen (II)

By: Rob | February 23rd, 2008

Lyon 1 - 1 Manchester United

Man United got a bit lucky here, with another (how do Man United always get last minute goals btw?) vital last minute goal - an away goal in this instance. Man United were probably the better side over the 90, (Coupet had a great game in the Lyon goal) but the tie would have been far more interesting if Lyon were going to Old Trafford with a 1-0 win. Now United don’t really need to attack Lyon at all. Hopefully in the second leg Lyon will nick an early away goal, from a spectacular Juninho free kick. Then we should see a great game

At Half Time You Wanna:
Start with two up front Sir Alex. Alright you don’t need to now, but you’re better to watch and a better team with Rooney and Tevez.
Man of the Match: Coupet. He made a couple of great saves to deny Rooney.

Arsenal 0 - 0 AC Milan

Probably the game I was most excited about over the two days, with the new-look Arsenal young guns taking on the ageing expeienced holders. Though as a first leg it naturally didn’t quite ignite as I might have liked, It set up an interesting second leg. Arsenal looked mostly the better side at the Emirates, despite a small period of dominance from Milan in the second half, they looked quite content to just get a draw here (They would have been punished had it not been for the crossbar) - and rightly so, its a big ask for Arsenal to go to the San Siro and beat Milan. Just another note here - Wenger seems pretty relaxed about this tournament these days. When told that no team had ever gone to the San Siro and beaten Milan, he responded by noting that his side had gone to the San Siro and beaten Inter before. No need to keep playing down the big games Arsene, your big game bottler has gone off to Barca (Though, nice goal Thierry)

At Half Time You Wanna:
Arsenal could do with Van Persie back, as they are going to need all the firepower they can to break through that Milan defence - though if Nesta is still out, thats going to be a big plus. Milan’s San Siro form this season has been absolutely awful, they are going to have to remember to score there at some point. My advice? Pippo.
Man of the Match: I could go for Kalac, who made a couple of really good saves, or Hleb who made alot of dangerous runs, but to be honest I’ll go for Maldini for keeping Arsenal quiter than they have been this season, whether playing centre half or left back. And for that bit of skill to keep it in play in his own box.

Celtic 2 - 3 Barca

In what turned out to be one of the most interesting ties, Celtic went up twice, but due to a combination of unforced errors, bad luck and absolute genius, Barca go back to the Nou Camp with a big advantage. Celtic’s goals were great, the first a good cross and a fantastic header - though the lead only lasted a couple of minutes after a wonderful one-two between Messi and Deco led to a great Leo goal. - the second a big looping header which lobbed Valdes, who was only a few feet from his line. But Celtic carelessly gave the ball away to The Dhino, who played a great reverse pass to Henry, who struck an incredible strike. Confusion in the box ten minutes from time, let the ball fall nicely to Messi, who’s wonderful dragback left him with an open goal. Now Celtic have it all to do - they have to beat Barca by two goals at Camp Nou.

At Half Time You Wanna:
Convince Celtic that they actually can win, so long as they cut out giving the ball away, and put in the performance of thier lives. For Barca, well if they defend better (never thier strong point but they have a great back line now theoretically) they are through, so they just have to truck on.
Man of the Match: Scoring on your CL debut in that fashion means i can only award it to Robson, even if Messi was absolutely class.

Fenerbace 3 - 2 Sevilla
Arsene Wenger claimed a few months ago that it didn’t matter whether he won the Champions League group or not, as you’ll get a tough side either way. Well he would have ended up with the Turks instead of Milan, but as they proved here, they are just as tricky opponents, especially at home. Neither side has ever got this far before, but both teams showed that they could cut the mustard. Sevilla’s two away goals are going to come in vital, and ensure neither side can solidly defend for the 90 minutes in the second leg (unless Sevilla grab and early goal) so expect fireworks in the second leg.

At Half Time You Wanna:
Attack! Both sides need to go all out, and hopefully Sevilla won’t rely on just trying to nick a one-nil, it certainly isn’t thier style.
Man of the Match: Alex was good for Fener, but Kezman reminded the world why he was once one of the more feared strikers in Europe.