Champions League Quarter Final First Leg Post Analysis

The quarter final first leg of the champion’s league comes to a close with a major upset, a tie breaker and a thrashing.

 

For those of you hardcore soccer fans, everyone knows the Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is a game you cannot miss. It is not as good as El-Classico but the expectations remain high from both ends as the city of Madrid divides. The first leg at the Estadio Vicente Calderon (Atletico’s home stadium), Real Madrid dominated the match in every aspect. They moved the ball swiftly across the pitch forcing Atletico defenders to make mistakes under the heavy pressure. This led to a glorious chance for Gareth Bale on a breakway only to be robbed by back up goalkeeper Jan Oblak. If it wasn’t for Oblak, Atletico Madrid would have lost the game, as he saved more shots from Bale, Ronaldo and James Rodriguez. Going to the Estadio Bernebeau next week  Atletico can prevail if they return the favour to Real Madrid. Atletico have not lost a match thus far against Los Blancos.

In Italy, Italian champions Juventus battled AS Monaco without star midfielder Paul Pogba due to injury. Andrea Pirlo replaced him in the starting lineup. 10 minutes in the match Monaco saw their best chance of the game when Yannick Ferriera Carrasco found himself at the penalty spot. Veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon showed off his ageless reflexes and saved the spot kick. Other Monaco men like Nabil Dirar and Bernardo Silva caused some problems, however the veteran Italian defense held their ground. At the end of the first half a luscious ball from Tevez sprung midfielder Arturo Vidal behind the Monaco defense, but unfortunately sailed the ball over the crossbar. In the second half a long ball from Andrea Pirlo found striker Alvaro Morata as he was hauled down in the box. Vidal stepped up to take the penalty and scored. The game ended 1-0. The Italians controlled the game for the most part, but Monaco did have a few chances. The second leg will be interesting however, Juventus should prevail and proceed to the semi-final.

Meanwhile in Paris, PSG face off against a familiar foe in the Parc des Princes; Barcelona. PSG entered the match without star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well as Italian midfielders Marco Verrati and Thiago Motta all due to suspension. Early in the first half PSG’s best defender Thiago Silva left the game due to injury and David Luiz replaced him. Since Silva’s absence the defense looked disorganized and nervous, and it was no surprise to see Messi slip in a through ball to Neymar only for him to slot it home past Salvatore Sirigu with ease. In the second half Luis Suarez took flight and embarrassed David Luiz with two nutmegs on two separate occasions to score two more goals for the Catalunya giants. A late goal from Gregory Van der Wiel was not enough and PSG perished 3-1. The second leg will be nothing different. Although PSG players return from suspension they will not succeed against a strong Barcelona side that are the best in Europe at the Nou Camp.

The final game featured a total upset as FC Porto played the German powerhouse Bayern Munich. This wasn’t their first matchup against each other as they faced off in the Champions League final in 1987 where Porto defeated Munich 2-1. This game was over in the first 10 minutes of the match leaving all who watched completely shell-shocked. Striker Jackson Martinez caught midfielder Xabi Alonso off guard and stole the ball from him leaving only him and goalkeeper Manuel Neur on a one on one. Martinez moved the ball past Neur but was tripped in the process awarding a penalty to Porto and a yellow card to Neur. Ricardo Queresma slotted home the penalty and it was 1-0. A few minutes later Dante was caught off guard and Ricardo Queresma broke free on a breakaway to score the second goal in ten minutes. Later in the half Jerome Boateng whipped in a cross to find Thiago Alcantara and Bayern were on the board. Their efforts to get back into the game fell short, as Jackson Martinez in the second half deked out Manuel Neur to score Porto’s third goal of the game. The Portuguese side will have a difficult task ahead of them in Munich. Despite being without Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery, Bayern are a strong side at home. Porto can win in Germany if they stick to their gameplan.

My predictions for the semifinal will involve Juventus, Barcelona, Athletico Madrid and Porto. I think the lottery will have Juventus play Atletico Madrid and Porto face off against Barcelona.