Analysis: Champions' League quarter-final draw

 

 

By David Lee Wheatley

The Champions League quarter-final draw handed Manchester United a mighty difficult task in order to overcome holders Bayern, while the other remaining English representatives Chelsea will undoubtedly fancy their chances against French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

An all-Spanish tie between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid appears almost too close to call, with both sides separated by just one point in La Liga at time of writing. Meanwhile, Real Madrid make up an extremely powerful trio of clubs from that country and would seem heavy favourites to sweep opponents Borussia Dortmund aside.

United woke up from their season-long slumber when defeating Greek side Olympiakos 3-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday, thus coming back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit. The first 60 minutes of that second-leg clash were played at a frantic pace from the off and saw the home side cruising thanks to an impressive Robin van Persie hat-trick. However, they had to survive a sprinkling of shaky moments before finally seeing out the game and dumping the plucky Greeks out of the tournament.

Their prize for struggling through is a daunting meeting with current holders Bayern Munich, with United hosting the Bundesliga giants first of all. The only way David Moyes’ men will survive in the competition is by establishing a lead to take to Germany; otherwise it is curtains for the fading Manchester giants. However, even getting their noses in front will prove easier said than done and would be a major turn-up for the books in itself given the Red Devils shocking league form overall this campaign.

Bayern have swept all before them domestically once again, while seeing off the challenge of Arsenal with great ease at the last-16 stage in Europe. Despite the draw pitting them against three-time European champions United, the Bavarian bulldozer seems set to roll on regardless under the canny guidance of renowned tactician Pep Guardiola. The former Barcelona captain is looking to secure his third Champions’ League crown as a coach and won’t be fazed by the prospect of facing up to a team evidently shorn of confidence and possibly the services of the injured van Persie.

Chelsea never left second gear when putting Galatasaray to the sword in the last round against a side with an aging Didier Drogba leading the line against his beloved former club, plus the ineffective Wesley Sneijder in midfield; a once-feted footballer whose star has fallen alarmingly since his apparent peak four years ago under Jose Mourinho at Inter. It was oh-so-easy for the Blues to dissect the Turks’ defence in winning by a comfortable 3-1 aggregate margin and that victory will give 2012 champions Chelsea a great boost as they size up their next assignment.

Led by talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris Saint-Germain are eleven points clear at the top of Ligue 1 and demolished Bayer Leverkusen 6-1 over two legs, with an especially one-sided 4-0 victory coming their way in Germany. Though they possess a fearsome strike-force and a commanding lead domestically, they will find the Stamford Bridge outfit a much tougher nut to crack; wily old Mourinho is a master at stifling opposition strengths, while exposing their weaknesses at will. Additionally, he and the majority of his squad hold the invaluable experience of claiming continental trophies over a number of years and collectively they form a formidable obstacle for the Parisian artisans to successfully negotiate.

It’s likely that Barcelona will be slight favourites going into battle against compatriots Atletico, but only marginally so. In fact, with ten matches left to play, Madrid’s so-called second side sit one point above their more illustrious rivals in La Liga following a fantastic season so far. They underwent a slight wobble when managing just one triumph in four fixtures, including surprise losses to minnows Almeria and Osasuna, but bounced back by securing two league wins on the trot most recently and knocking a severely demoralised Milan out of the Champions’ League.

Atletico will feel they have a strong chance of conquering their fellow title contenders from Catalonia, but must play both legs at the very height of their powers if they wish to progress. Barcelona have also suffered two unusual defeats in the last four games against Real Sociedad and Valladolid, thus falling four points behind leaders Real Madrid and giving Atletico hope. However, they swatted away widely-touted pretenders to their throne Manchester City without much fuss in the round of 16 and are seasoned campaigners at the top table of European competition in comparison with Diego Simeone’s men. It’s likely to be a tight fixture between the two Spanish clubs and will probably be won by the odd goal either way.

Last year’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund squeaked past Zenit in making their way to the quarter-finals, but they will go into their match-up with Real Madrid with a measure of trepidation. The legendary Galacticos have not lost a La Liga game since 26^th October, a defeat which arrived in the last El Clasico, and look odds-on to lift the league championship trophy come the end of the campaign. Of course, the second instalment of Real-Barca takes place tomorrow evening and that could determine the destination of the title.

Complimentary to their sparking domestic displays, Real also thrashed Schalke 9-2 on aggregate to make it into the last-eight and will aim to do a similar job on a Dortmund side that don’t appear quite as strong as they were during 2012/13. The 1997 winners are miles behind Bayern in the Bundesliga – as they found themselves last campaign – and also looked decidedly porous at the back in leaking a total of four goals to the beleaguered Russians, who sacked manager Luciano Spalletti on 11^th March after a run of one victory in eleven matches. A 5-4 aggregate advantage for the side from Germany's industrial heartland is hardly the stuff of potential European kings.

 

Barring a minor miracle, Carlo Ancelotti’s charges will be in the hat for the semi-final stage of the world’s greatest club competition, as they attempt to justify the bookies’ faith in their ability to claim the glory on offer.

 

Twitter: @davewh1980

Bale bags brace at the Bernabeu

 

 

By David Lee Wheatley

 

Gareth Bale bagged two goals of his own and set up another two for Real Madrid as they romped to an emphatic 7-3 victory against Sevilla at the Bernabeu last night.

After a listless display in El Clasico last Saturday versus arch-rivals Barcelona, many in the Spanish media seemed determined to denounce Bale as a waste of money. This was in spite of the fact that he’d hardly played for Los Blancos since his world-record end of summer transfer from Tottenham through a catalogue of injuries that severely hampered his ability to settle into his stride in the Spanish capital.

Despite such strong and unwarranted criticism, the Welshman didn’t appear to be letting it affect him when playing an instrumental part in everything good about the home side yesterday evening. The winger was the chief reason they held a handy cushion to fall back on when Sevilla made a concerted effort to get back into the match from three-down, at one stage advancing to within one goal of their illustrious opponents.

Just 27 minutes in, Bale had already notched a nifty double to put his new club in command of the clash, before goalscoring phenomenon Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a third. A few jittery moments ensued when Sevilla brought the score back to 3-2 with five minutes of the first-half remaining through a Rakitic penalty and a Bacca strike. However, Benzema and Ronaldo stretched the lead further after the break prior to Sevilla grabbing a third, before the Portuguese superstar completed a fine hat-trick and Karim Benzema sealed the game with his second through a neat header.

Cristiano’s treble elevated him above the great Ferenc Puskas into fourth spot on the all-time scorer chart with an incredible 157. It’s a mark of the player that he’s reached such a landmark at the relatively young age of 28 and with many more years in the tank. At just 24, Bale will look to emulate his feted colleague in becoming a living legend in the eyes of those fans that behold him at the Bernabeu during his spell there; on this evidence, he may well have a realistic chance to do just that.

Twitter: @davewh1980

Barca-Real: Who'll prevail as La Liga returns?

By David Lee Wheatley

The beginning of an exciting La Liga campaign is set to get underway this weekend with the ‘Big Two’ of Barcelona and Real Madrid again the only likely candidates for the title. There’s two new names installed as head coach at each respective club and a number of interesting additions to both squads; particularly in Madrid. It promises to be a very interesting season ahead as the two titans of Spanish football clash over domestic supremacy.

Barcelona were taken aback somewhat by the news that championship-winning coach Tito Vilanova was to step down from his role this summer due to ongoing treatment for throat cancer. It was a shock to the system for the Barca hierarchy, but they acted swiftly to replace him with respected South American Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.

Martino has developed a fine pedigree on his native continent, with success in both the Paraguayan and Argentine leagues complimented by a decent stint in charge of the Paraguay national side. Though not well-known or well-versed in European football, the Argentinean knows his profession and openly encourages the fluid style of play demonstrated by Barcelona in recent years under Pep Guardiola and Vilanova himself.

A major signing of the transfer window in Catalonia so far involves Brazilian superstar Neymar, touted by many to be potentially even greater than the legendary Pele. The forward cost a mind-blowing £49million from Santos and expectations are high at Camp Nou that he can be the catalyst for not only a retention of the league trophy, but also a return to the European pinnacle.

Keeping hold of Cesc Fabregas in the face of strong interest from Manchester United allows Martino options and flexibility, with the former Arsenal man capable of slotting into midfield or a forward role if required. World-class talent including Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta still remain to pull the strings, but it’s at the back where Barca look vulnerable.

Revered centre-back Carles Puyol has serious doubts over his long-term fitness hanging over him due to ongoing knee problems, while Barcelona have a tendency to rely on midfielders such as Javier Mascherano and Alex Song to fill in defensively. There’s been speculation about a Barcelona bid for Chelsea’s David Luiz, but the west London side seem determined to at least drive a hard bargain over the sale of the 26-year-old. A lack of depth and quality in the centre-back positions must be addressed sooner rather than later.

However, Martino has such an array of attacking talent to call upon that most Spanish teams will struggle to cope with the Blaugrana in full flow and that might well be enough to see off the majority of opposition sides, but the panic-level will rise substantially when it comes to clashes against arch-rivals Real, Valencia, Atletico Madrid et al.

Meanwhile over in the Spanish capital, Los Blancos set about the mounting of a concerted challenge to Barcelona’s dominance domestically by firstly appointing top-class coach Carlo Ancelotti, fresh from leading Paris Saint-Germain to French title glory, in place of the departed Jose Mourinho and then proceeding to recruit a plethora of young guns in the shape of Malaga attacking midfielder Isco, Real Sociedad’s orchestrator Asier Illarramendi, skilful Brazilian Casemiro (following a loan spell from parent club Sao Paulo) and returning right-back Dani Carvajal after only one season away from the Bernabeu with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

It all represents a very different direction to the days of the Galacticos, when players firmly established in the world of football would pitch up for exorbitant fees with little or no sell-on value after their time with Real came to an end. Now, Ancelotti’s arrival appears to herald a new approach with a focus on younger talent to spruce up an already strong squad.

21-year-old Casemiro has caught the eye consistently during pre-season and looks an absolutely fine prospect. If, as expected, the club manage to hold on to prize asset Cristiano Ronaldo they could boast the most promising side in La Liga with an eye on the future. But, for the present time, it’s a case of wait-and-see before judging this current crop of youthful Real superstars.

Links continue in connection with lung-busting running man Gareth Bale, but talks are said to be stalling due to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s insistence on a world-record £100m fee. Widespread media reports suggest the best offer the Spanish giants are willing to put forward is around the £85m mark, which seemingly isn’t tempting enough for Spurs somewhat surprisingly.

Even so, Ancelotti has proved himself beyond doubt during hugely successful spells in charge of Milan, Chelsea and PSG and possesses all the ingredients within the squad to make serious waves in La Liga and the Champions League during the forthcoming season. Granted, they don’t have Messi, but they do have Ronaldo and a set of extremely gifted attack-minded footballers to call upon. Most importantly when in comparison with Barca, they have a stronger back-line with stars Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Pepe vying for the central roles, while Carvajal adds much greater competition at right full-back alongside the experienced Alvaro Arbeloa.

Where they may have a slight problem is at left-back should Portuguese Fabio Coentrao go through with his frequently stated desire to leave, leaving Marcelo as the only senior player fully comfortable in that position. However, if they do fall short due to injury or suspension, they can perhaps ask Pepe to step in or switch to a formation in which Di Maria or another winger takes on the job of wing-back. And, of course, the transfer window doesn’t close until early September, thus allowing them time to bring in a replacement if Coentrao bids farewell to Madrid this summer.

Though the new campaign kicks-off in earnest on Saturday, most eyes will be fixed on the return to league action of Real and Barca on Sunday evening. Both sides begin at home, as Barcelona go up against Levante and Real Madrid face a tricky tie with Betis, who played their way into an impressive seventh spot last season.

It’s going to be one heck of a battle and it certainly appears both potential champions are closely-matched; El Clasico ties will most likely have a massive bearing on the destination of the title, but my feeling is that we’ll be witnessing a return to the top for Real Madrid come May.

Twitter: @davewh1980
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