Champions League - The shift of power

Come the 25th of May and you would witness an all German final at Wembley. Yes, there has been a shift in power when both Barcelona and Real Madrid lost to the German giants Bayern Munich and Borrusia Dortmund. The defending Bundesliga champions, Dortmund had a close shave when Real Madrid came close in the second leg scoring 2 goals out of possible 3 which would take them through to the Champions League finals. The aggregate score line was Dortmund 4 - 3 Real Madrid.

Barcelona suffered a 7 - 0 aggregate loss to their rivals Bayern Munich, which was the worst loss for the Catalans after their dominance for nearly 10 years. Barcelona once again proved that they were highly dependent on Messi who sat out of the second leg with an injury. The Spanish giants didn't even manage to net even once in their home ground, instead gave out an own goal in their home leg tie.

The shift of dominance could now move to Germany from Spain with both Bayern and Dortmund looking impressive. Quardiola would be taking charge of Bayern from this summer and they winning the Champions League would be a stunning welcome for the Spaniard and also to their current manager. With a possible Rooney move from Manchester United, Bayern and Quardiola would look to make a stiff impact and continue their dominance in world football.

Dortmund, the defending champions may have lost the league to Bayern but would like to lay their hands on the Europe's major title this time. With many of their star players performing they would be counting on for a title this time. Lewondoski, Godze and Rues could move out at the end of the season, and rumors say that Lewondoski has already signed a contract with a popular club and would be joining them this summer.

Whatever the result may be at Wembley, the German teams have managed to leave a mark this season and hope to continue their dominance for the years to come.

by  John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                           
posted on 5/2/2013

Categories: Champions League

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Champions League Semi Final - Preview

The European Champions League this season has so far been amazing. Shock exists, record goals, towering headers, new cities, new fans it got all of it. Now into the semi final stage of the competition we have the top best four teams in Europe. Real Madrid, Borrusia Dortmund, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The Spanish and the German sides dominate the competition whereas the English sides are missing out this time. You've got the top two sides of the Spanish and German Leagues lined up for this year's semi finals. We just can't wait to see who faces whom as the final draw takes place on the 12th of April in Nyon, Switzerland.

Real Madrid, the most favored side this season will have strong competition from Barcelona who look to make a hat-trick of Wembley wins. Bayern and Dortmund also have good chance if they end up in the final which can only be decided after the draw this Friday night. 

Cristiano Ronaldo, has been the most successful player so far in this competition while Messi lost out on this tag with his injuries. Jose Mourinho will be keen to make it a third Champions League title with a thrid different side, which will stand out to be a record. He already holds the record of winning four League titles with four different sides in four different countries; Porto in Portugal, Chelsea in England, Inter Milan in Italy and Real Madrid in Spain.

by John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                      
posted on 4/10/2013 

Categories: Champions League

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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich, Champions League

Arsenal have found back in their 2nd leg tie against Bayern Munich, winning the match 2-0 but lost out to the German giants on away goals. The aggregate scoreline was 3-3, but Bayern scored three away goals when compared to Arsenal's two last night.

Arsene Wenger accepted that this would be a mission impossible task which he almost completed last night, on their trip away to Germany.

Champions League, Round of 16

Bayern Munich          0

Arsenal                     2   Giroud 3, Koscieiny 85

Oliver Giroud scored just after three minutes from kick off, encouraging the away side to go on and challenge the home side's massive lead in the first leg. The match went on to a roll went Koscieiny headed the ball into the Bayern net in the final ten minutes of the match.

All the Arsenal fans were excited and were chanting for the goal which would take them to the quarters but Bayern somehow managed to keep their European record of not losing to an English team since 1993 UEFA Cup.

Arsenal are now out of all major competitions and continue their search for the silverware which they last had in 2003.

by  John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                         
posted on 3/14/2013

Categories: Champions League

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Barcelona vs AC Milan, Barca comeback

Barcelona enter the quarterfinals of Champions League after they beat AC Milan 4-0 in their 2nd leg tie at Camp Nou last night. The Spanish giants were 2-0 down at the end of the 1st leg in San Siro but came back and once again proved their worth in the Champions League.

Champions League, Round of 16

Barcelona     4     Messi 5, 40, David Villa 55, Jordi Alba 90+2

AC Milan       0

Milan unlike in the 1st leg were sloppy right from the kick off, Barcelona just took five minutes to get on the scoreline with Messi launching a stunning long range kick 20 yards outside into the top corner.Barca doubled their lead before the end of first half with Iniesta finding Messi who put the ball past Abbiati in Milan's goal. It was 2-2 and all square on aggregate at the end of the first half.

It was all Barca then in the second half, within just ten minutes Xavi found Villa who finished perfectly making it 3-0 for the Catalans. Jordi Alba finished it off in the stoppage time with his brilliant run and finish making it 4-0 for the home side, completing their comeback and marching through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

by John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                        
posted on 3/12/2013  

Categories: Champions League

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Cristiano Ronaldo vs Nani, Champions League

The first leg of the massive tie between Manchester United and Real Madrid in the Champions League may have ended in a 1-1 draw, but brought out the best in their respective teams.

Cristiano Ronaldo flew past Rafael and he couldn't mark the former United star, Rooney who played on the right wing was also trying to mark Ronaldo. And it was clear that if Ronaldo couldn't be stopped in the second leg, United would be out of the competition.

With all possible calculations, Ferguson will put out a team which can only defend well. May be, with five in the mid-field and surely Rafael not playing.

Another choice would be to attack, with the player similar to Ronaldo and who performed better for United in their first 100 matches than CR7, Nani.

Nani was out with an injury and had bad experiences recently when an unnoticed police car hit his Bentley, the case is still in investigation. He was back for United in their FA Cup match against Reading where he scored one and assisted another.

Sir Alex said "We all know he's a fantastic talent, and he was right on the form from the first moment he went. If he keeps the form up it makes my job of selection more difficult."

He will come on to play at sometime in the second leg when United face Real Madrid at Old Trafford, he has the talent to move and have the same presence as Ronaldo had in the first leg.

His record when compared with Ronaldo is better and impressive. Nani will look to perform better than his captain when they meet in the second leg of the round of 16 Champions League tie.

  

by  John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                       

posted on 2/22/2013 

Categories: Champions League, Manchester United

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AC Milan win 2 - 0 over Barcelona

AC Milan have turned their season up side down, with the signing of Mario Ballotelli they were back with back to back wins in the League and even managed the same against the footballing giants Barcelona. Milan took an impressive 2-0 lead in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match last night.  

Two precious goals at home meant that if Milan score atleast one at the Camp Nou, they will be having a major chance of getting through to the next round.

Barcelona as usual had the majority of possession, a whopping 73 percent, but having possession itself doesn't help in winning the match, this was again proved by Milan as their strong defense and bursting attack helped them to take the vital lead over their opponents.

Champions League, 20th Feb 2013
AC Milan           2       Boateng 57, Muntari 81
Barcelona         0

The breakthrough came in the second half when Milan's Zapata took the ball into the box which eventually fell in front of Boateng who fired it past Valdes into the Barcelona goal.

The lead was doubled as the second half came to its last ten minutes, Muntari volleyed the ball past Valdes to make it 2-0 for Milan.

The second leg will be played at the Camp Nou on the 13th of March

by John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                        
posted on 2/20/2013  

Categories: Champions League

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Arsenal lose to Bayern Munich 3 - 1

Arsenal lost their Champions League round of 16 match to Bayern Munich last night and ended their hopes of going through to the next round of the competition. Arsenal now need a miracle to get past their rivals, as Bayern have a 3-1 advantage going into the second leg in Germany.

Bayern started the scoring with Kroos finding the net just after seven minutes from kick off. Muller then doubled the lead for the away siders all thanks to sloppy defending from Arsenal.

Champions League, 19th Feb 2013
Arsenal                           1           Podolski 55
Bayern Munich               3           Kroos 7, Muller 21, Mandzukic 77

Arsenal did manage to pull one back, ten minutes from the start of the second half, Lukas Podolski scoring from a Jack Wilshere corner. 

Arsenal were seen off when Bayern scored a third when Mandzukic slide past the defender allowing the ball to fly into the Arsenal net.

Arsenal next travel to Germany on the 13th of March for their second leg tie, where only a miracle can possibly save them.

by John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                     
posted on 2/19/2013 

Categories: Champions League

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Manchester United vs Real Madrid

The first leg of the much awaited clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid is scheduled to kick off tonight at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Manchester United look to clear the acid test at Madrid and hope to clinch their fourth Champions League title, and third under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson with 12 points clear of their rivals Manchester City in the League, is confident about his team and said "This is the acid test, no doubt about that, and we have to get through to win the competition."

Mourinho, whose team in third, in La Liga is looking forward for this amazing game of football and he said "Its a game everyone waited for."

This would be an important game for Christiano Ronaldo, who was at United for six years and then moved to Madrid for a £80 million record transfer in 2009. He is all set to face his older club and said "It'll be a match in which I will feel a lot. I was there for 6 yrs & I've lots of friend. It'll be a match with a lot of emotion." 

He also added  "For me Sir Alex is one of the most important people in football. I've an excellent relationship & it'll be nice to see him again."

Ferguson on Ronaldo,  "Ronaldo is the one I worry about, but you can't dismiss they have a good team and good players in other positions."

The second leg will be played in Old Trafford on the 5th of March 2013.

by John Paul Komaravalli                                                                                    
posted on 2/12/2013 

Categories: Champions League, Manchester United

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Galatasaray end United's unbeaten run

posted on  Nov 20, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Burak Yilmaz's goal in the 54th minute was the only goal to be scored which marked the first loss for United in the Group stage of the Champions League this season. Galatasaray are now second in the table with level on points with CFR Cluj.

Champions League, Group H, 20th Nov, 2012
Galatasaray                 1           Burak Yilmaz 54
Manchester United       0

 

posted on 20 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Chelsea lose to Juventus 3-0 as they look to keep up their spot in the Champions League

Tuesday's defeat to Juventus pushed Chelsea to third spot in the table with 7 points from 5 matches. They have to win their final Group match against Nordsjaelland in order to qualify for the next round.

Goals from Fabio Quagliarella, Arturo Vidal and Sebastian Giovinco kept the hosts ahead of Chelsea in the second place with 9 pionts.

Champions League, Group F, 20th Nov, 2012
Juventus                 3       Fabio Quagliarella, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Giovinco     
Chelsea                   0

 

posted on 20 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Barca qualify for last 16 as Messi scored twice

Lionel Messi scored twice in their Champions League clash with Spartak Moscow, Barcelona beat Spartak 3-0 taking them through to the next round of the Champions league. Messi is now second in the list of competition's all time goal scorers along with Ruud van Nistelrooy with 56 goals. Raul is the only striker who scored more goals with 71.

His two goals also marked his 80th goal in a calendar year, only second to Gerd Muller’s 85 in 1972. Messi has been the top goal scorer in the Champions league for the last four seasons as well.

Champions League, Group G, 20th Nov, 2012

Barcelona                 3        Dani Alves 16, Messi 27, 39

Spartak Moscow      0

Barcelona are now top of Group G with 12 points from 5 games played so far. Their final match in the group stage will be played on the 6th of December against Benfica.

posted on 20 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Manchester United through to knock out stage as they defeat Braga 3-1

Three goals in the last 10 minutes of the match helped United to reach the knock out stage of the Champions League this season. Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez scored in the final minutes of the match, two days after Sir Alex marked his 26th anniversary at Old Trafford. United joined Malaga and Porto who were through to the knock outs just from 4 games from a probable 6.

Champions League, Group H, 7th Nov 2012

Manchester United        3      Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez

Braga                              1      Alan

Sir Alex is very satisfied as they failed to qualify for the knock outs last season. Ryan Giggs said "I think we were all disappointed (we didn't progress from the group stage last year)," He also added "It was not good enough and we knew we had to do something about it and we have. Long may it continue."

posted on 7 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Barcelona lose to Celtic 2 - 1

Celtic upset Barcelona, as they ended Barca's unbeaten run in the Champions League since October 2009. Goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt saw the home side through last night. A stoppage time goal from Messi couldn't stop them from losing.

Champions League, Group G, 7th Nov 2012
Celtic               2        Victor Wanyama, Tony Watt
Barcelona        1        Lionel Messi

Goalkeeper Fraser Forster was the hero for Celtic last night as he saved two crucial shorts from Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi. This massive victory for Celtic was just one day after as they celebrated their 125th anniversary.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon said “It’s right up there, one of the proudest nights of my career,” He also added “It was a monumental effort on the anniversary of the club. I wanted them to do justice tonight and they’ve surpassed that and beaten the best team in the world.”

Barcelona had as much as 67 percent of possession in the match with seven attempts on goal out of which two hit the frame of the goal.

Vilanova said "Congratulations to Celtic and their fans. The credit is theirs,"

posted on 7 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid managed a draw against the Dutch champions last night in their Champions League clash at the  Santiago Bernabé. Mesut Ozil's free kick in the 90th minute helped the Spanish Champions avoid a humiliating defeat in their final Group match last night. 

Champions League, Group D, 10th Nov 2012

Real Madrid                  2       Pepe, Mesut Ozil

Borussia Dortmund      2       Reus, Alvaro Arbeloa(OG)

Dortmund enjoyed much of the possession last night with Robert Lewandowski causing all sorts of problems for Madrid in their defense. Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso started for Real in their mid-field with injury to Khedira.

Real Madrid only have  themselves to blame for their poor show last night. They somehow pulled out a draw all thanks to the German International Mesut Ozil. This should be taken as an early warning and Mourinho should find ways and means to tackle such situations.

Dortmund continue to stay on top of Group D while Man City and Ajax play tonight.

posted on 6 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Man City vs Ajax Preview

Manchester City face Ajax on Tuesday night, what probably may be their last match in the Champions League this season. Man City, Real Madrid, Dormund and Ajax, all in one group makes it the group of death and Man City got the worse of it till now.

Ahead of their match, Man City boss Roberto Mancini when asked about his last season's early exit from Champions League said  "Why do you keep asking me about last year?"

These words by the manager conveys that he is losing his cool ahead of their must win match at the Etihad stadium.

Man City are not up to their best this season yet. Strikers not performing consistently, David Silva out with an injury, defensive issues, no creativity in the mid=field made City struggle for a win in their matches.

City are now third in the league with 2 points behind the leaders Manchester United. Their match against Ajax will be the turning point of their season.

posted on 5 Nov, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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Teams which can beat Barcelona this Season

Barcelona was not able to win the Champions League or the La Liga title last season which marked the last year for Pep Quardiola at the Camp Nou, but they were able to pull off the League Cup  adding to the list of many in the Quardiola's reign. Vilanova took over and with new additions into the team Barcelona is still the team to beat in Europe.

Chelsea were able to beat Barca last season in the Champions League even with 10 men and this made many teams to believe "Barcelona can be beaten".

New signing Alex Song and Jordi Alba add on to their strike force and make the team even more superior when compared to all other teams.

Barcelona in the recent past have kept the ball for most of the time and have failed to convert their ball possession into winning possession. They keep the ball but were not able to score enough where as other teams take their chances even though they are small in number.

Teams which can beat Barcelona this season

1.Real Madrid
2.Manchester United
3.Chelsea
4.Bayern Munich
5.Manchester City

Champions league this season will be a fight to the end, all big teams have good quality players who are in great form so far this season.

Real Madrid and Manchester United have the best strike forces in Europe as of now and Chelsea may not be more convincing without Drogba and even  miss a quality striker.

Manchester City with a very physical side can be a very tough opponent for Barca, they have a very good defensive record which can challenge even Messi who scored more than 70 goals last season.

posted on 31 Oct, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League, La Liga

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Wayne Rooney celebrates his 27th Birthday today as United win 3 - 2 against Braga last night

Wayne Rooney captained United for their Champions league match last night against Braga at Old Trafford. Manchester United won the match with 3 goals to 2 by Braga. Chicharito scored a brace while Evans scored the other. Rooney got his early birthday present 2 days ago when he scored a brace against Stoke City and he captaining last night was the cherry on the cake. Rooney scored his first goals for United this season after his terrible thigh injury in their 2nd match against Fulham.

Chicharito started the match last night and looked good on the ball with two goals to his name. After the match Sir Alex said "Chicharito has such great enthusiasm for the game and he trains magnificently." Sir Alex was very impressed by Hernandez that he also said "He’s got me thinking, I must say that. He & van Persie and Rooney & Welbeck. I don’t know what to do with them to be honest" 

The match also saw injuries to Kagawa who twisted his ankle and to Lindegaard who will be out for a week with a hand injury. Ryan Giggs marked yet another record for 18 successive Champions League campaigns. At the age of 37 years 289 days Ryan Giggs is the oldest player to score in the Champions league when he scored vs Benfica on 14th Nov 2011.

Ferguson said "It has been the story of our season leaking goals & fighting back but some of the football was terrific" strikers to the rescue again.

posted on 24 Oct, 2012 by John Paul Komaravalli

Categories: Champions League

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