It was a night where two European footballing giants showed just why they deserve to be in the quarter finals of the worlds biggest club football competition. The night saw a total of 8 goals, 3 coming at Old Trafford, whilst the other 5 came from The Bayern Arena. Manchester United star Chicharito was instrumental again scoring twice, while Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o scored one, and, setup the other two in a mouth watering performance for Inter. Pandev’s last minute winner also deserves a special mention, as it was one for the history books! Who doesn’t dream of knocking out Bayern Munich with a top corner special? I know I do, almost every night 😉
This kid has proven to be a star at one of the biggest, most demanding clubs on the planet in just one season! Dare I say goodbye Dimitar?
Manchester United vs Marseille
The last tie ended 0-0 over in France at the Velodrome, which left United with a tricky tie ahead of them. I say this because a 1-1 draw would have been good enough to send the French side through, after not having reached the 1/4 finals in the past 4 years! United at Old Trafford are a different side though, and, young Chicharito opened the scoring after just five minutes with a tap in. Great work out wide by Wayne Rooney allowed the young mexican to put United into the lead early on. It was the usual end to end stuff and both keepers made some good saves to keep the scoreline in tact until half time.
16 goals in your debut season in England, starting primarily from the bench has to be some kind of record?
Marseilles came out all guns blazing and had a lot of possession in the opening 20 minutes. United found a second through some genius by Antonio Valencia, who came on for the disappointing Nani. The Portuguese star admits the tackle he received from Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher has hampered his confidence of late. I think he just needs a goal to get it right back up there, seeing as though he has been one of United’s best players this season!Ryan Giggs rolled back the years with another inspiring performance, but my heart goes out to Patrice Evra, who looks like the best player in the world when he slips on that Captain’s armband for United. I personally think Fergie should make that decision a permanent one, and, seeing Evra as the club Captain would make me smile like a cheshire cat 😉
A picture taken by my mate @mattrsa from OT. Thanks for all the uploads Matty!
Marseilles managed to pull one back in the 83rd minute, which left an anticipated nervy ending for the players, coach and fans! Overall I am happy with the performance and my top performers from the game were Evra, Chicha, Rooney, Valencia, Van Der Sar and young Chris Smalling who won everything in the air! As we go marching on in search of another treble, I can only frown about the fact that we now have 5 first team defenders out of action. O’Shea and Rafael both picked up hamstring injuries, while Rio, Nemanja and Evans remain doubts for the weekend!
The lad has lost his confidence after getting hacked by that scouse bastard Carragher!
I just hope now that we get a decent tie in the Quarter Finals and we don’t meet the dreaded Barca side who look unstoppable. In saying that, Eric Abidal has been diagnosed with a tumour in his liver and is set for serious surgery in the next few days. We all hope he comes through it okay and is able to play a part in the rest of the Catalans inspirational season!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you Eric!
Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan
I was flicking through the channels as I am a strict United fan, but I managed to catch a sick highlites clip on the web which pretty much showed me all I needed to know. Goals were not hard to come by in this tie, although Italian sides are known for holding a tight ship and not leaking goals easily. Well this is my theory; If you score more than you concede you cannot loose! It doesn’t always work, but in the second leg of a Champions League tie you just simply have to go for it. It is no use sitting back trying to keep a clean sheet because one crappy, late goal can send you packing!
Samuel E'to's magic helped see the Inter boys through to the last 8. Do they have what it takes to win it on the trot for the first time in history?
Both sides went for it from the get go and the scoreline went like this 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3. Effectively this sent Inter milan through on away goals as the last leg ended as a draw! I hate seeing sides go out on the away goals rule as it is a bit harsh, but hey that’s football. It looked as if Thomas Muller had put the tie beyond Inter, but the heroics of WC finalist Wesley Sneijder, along with Samuel Eto’o and Pandev made it a night to remember for the Champions of Europe!
Inter coach Leonardo has done wonders to get his new Inter side this far after a rough spell under Rafa Benitez!
That is a wrap from me and now we look forward the next draw, which will determine who meets hwo in the last 8 of the competition! But for tonight it’s off to Newlands for the league decided which sees the Urban Warrior’s aka Ajax Cape Town take on SA giants Orlando Pirates. It is going to be a humdinger!
The Ajax faithful will be in full voice tonight with their drums, shakers and...Red cards 😉
