The only team to soak up the pressure for 80 minutes and then attack Barcelona in the last 10 minutes with any success were Arsenal at the Emirates. So, yes it can be done and Barcelona are beatable.  But can Manchester United play such a tight disciplined game?

Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola has singled-out Wayne Rooney as the main threat, and it’s true to say Manchester United have been on a role since Wayne Rooney returned to form.  But don’t underestimate the sheer brilliance of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez who has formed a great striking partnership with Rooney which has seen Premier League top goals corer and big sulky pants Dimitar Berbatov sidelined for much of 2011.

If Ferguson is true to his word, he will name both Rooney & Hernandez in an attacking formation of 4-4-2 with Rooney dropping into midfield for a 4-5-1 when they lose possession.  The plan will only succeed if Man Utd can keep this up for the whole game and in the process saturate the midfield and suffocate the genius of Xavi & Iniesta as they look for space to feed Lionel Messi between the midfield and defence. But it only needs one sloppy pass or one moments’ lack of concentration and Barcelona can punish even the best of sides, which is what beat Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho’s plan in both legs of the semi-final.

When the two teams met in the 2009 Champions League Final in Rome Manchester United started brightly enough but were punished after just 10 minutes by a Samuel Eto’o goal and completely outplayed by the better side.  Barcelona went on to win 2-0 with Messi, the smallest player on the pitch, heading a second goal in the 70th minute.

Wembley is a fitting stadium for the final as it was where both teams were first crowned champions of Europe.  Barcelona beat Sampdoria in 1992 1-0 and for Manchester United, who were the first English team to win the European Cup (as it was called), beat Benfica 4-1 after extra-time in 1968.  That day they managed to stop the brilliance of Eusebio.  But in fairness they did have Bobby Charlton, George Best & Denis Law!

For the neutral a Barcelona v Manchester United Champions League Final promises to be an exciting open and high scoring game.  3-2 would be good. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.

With the semi-final second leg matches to play next Tuesday (Barcelona v Real Madrid) and Wednesday (Manchester Utd v Schalke 04) nothing is certain but with both Manchester United & Barcelona winning their away legs 2-0 it would be a very brave or foolish man to place a bet on either Real Madrid or Schalke 04 winning the second leg, let alone going through to the final.

Manchester United dominated Schalke 04 throughout the match and were unfortunate not to score four or five against a team that looked every bit a mid-table Bundesliga side.

As for Barcelona, they had plenty of possession and though Real Madrid didn’t have many chances in the first half, it was a very tight game.  At half-time tempers boiled over with Barcelona’s reserve goalkeeper being sent off!  In the second half Real Madrid continued to break up the play and fight a rough game – the kind Jose Mourinho used to complain about teams such as Bolton & Blackburn playing against Chelsea.

As Barcelona continued to pass the ball around and start to boss the game Real’s defensive midfielder Pepe was given a straight red card for a high, late challenge with one third of the game to go.  Jose Mourinho was also shown a red card following Pepe’s dismal.  As so many teams have found in the past, containing Barca with eleven men is difficult, but with ten men it is almost impossible.  The extra space and time allowed Barcelona to turn the screw on a Real Madrid side that looked content with a 0-0 draw.  But Lionel Messi’s quality eventually shone through as he scored to magnificent goals in the last 15 minutes, the second an amazing solo giving Barcelona the chance to appear in the Champions League final for the third time in the past five years.

There is no denying Jose Mourinho is a genius as far as football tactics go, but his comments after the game only highlighted how ungracious he is in defeat.  Pepe Guardiola will have the last laugh next Tuesday at the Nou Camp, while the result will possibly have Jose Mourinho looking for a new challenge come the end of the season.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Schalke 04 all but booked their places after first leg goal fests against Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham and Inter Milan respectively but Chelsea only trailed Manchester United by one goal when they visited Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Chelsea were abysmal, and the 1-0 result on the night leaves plenty of questions but as yet, no answers.  Carlo Ancelotti surprised everyone, possibly including his players, by playing a 4-3-2-1 formation, once referred to as ‘the Christmas Tree formation’ by then England manager Terry Venables.  Frank Lampard played a more advanced role tucked in alongside Nicolas Anelka behind the lone striker, Fernando Torres while Didier Drogba started the match on the subs bench!

Not surprisingly Frank Lampard had a poor game and no effect on the match whatsoever. Drogba replaced Torres at half-time but the whole team were poor.  If only they hadn’t of sacked Ray Wilkins earlier in the season Ancelotti could have brought him on to replace any one of the midfield players.

Whether or not Ancelotti is being told to play Torres, I don’t expect he will be making the decision next season.  Rumours suggest Carlo Ancelotti is going to Roma in the summer and once again Roman Abramovich and Chelsea will no doubt be looking for a high profile manager to supply a quick fix rather than a long term strategy.

Spurs on the other hand put on a great performance that left their supporters cheering them on until the final whistle even when Heurelho Gomes fumbled a Christiano Ronaldo shot for Real Madrid to win 1-0 on the night and 5-0 over two legs. Tottenham now need to secure fourth place in the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League, if they are going to continue their progress under Harry Redknapp.

Manchester United have come unstuck in Champions League semi-finals against German opposition in the past including Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, so will be weary of Schalke 04.  But the other semi-final is a mouth-watering prospect as Real Madrid play Barcelona.

Pepe Guardiola still has Barcelona playing at the peak of their game and for that reason they have remained favourites to win the Champions League all season.  However, if there’s one manager that can work out how to stop and beat Barcelona, it’s Jose Mourinho.  He managed to stifle Barca last season with an Inter Milan side that I believe were inferior to Real Madrid. And just to rub salt in Chelsea’s wounds, who would bet against Jose Mourinho being the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs?

I am going to stick my neck out and say I think Real Madrid will beat Manchester United in the Champions League Final at Wembley on 28th May.

On Tuesday Tottenham Hotspur suffered from a sore throat, a psychotic striker and a 4-0 thrashing by Real Madrid in the Bernabeu Stadium; while the current European Champions, Inter Milan suffered a shocking 5-2 stuffing by Schalke 04 who are currently mid-table in the German Bundesliga.  Both Spurs and Inter Milan had a man sent-off.

Barcelona look set to meet Real Madrid in the semi-finals after a comfortable 5-1 win in the Nou Camp against Ukranian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.  While the all-English tie at Stamford Bridge last night was always destined to be a tight game, but it was far from cagey.

Chelsea had three spells in the game where they looked threatening, the start and end of the first half and the final few minutes, where they should have been awarded a penalty for a challenge on Ramires by Patrice Evra who, as the last defender, should have received the red card.  The penalty wasn’t given which evens up the poor decision that went in Chelsea’s favour in last month’s Premier League match.

Despite constant booing and a couple of late challenges, Wayne Rooney was on his best behaviour and scored the winning goal after a great cutback from Man Utd legend Ryan Giggs.

The second leg ties will be played next Tuesday (Man United v Chelsea & Shakhtar Donetsk v Barcelona) and Wednesday (Spurs v Real Madrid & Schalke 04 v Inter Milan).

Though Chelsea beat Manchester United in the Premier League 2-1  last season, I would be very surprised if they join Real Madrid, Barcelona & Schalke 04 in the Champions League semi-finals.

Tomorrow night Tottenham Hotspur face their toughest challenge so far in the Champions League when they play Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium.  Harry Redknapp is right when he says Spurs have a great squad, and on their day are capable of beating anyone.  They have already proved me wrong by beating both Inter Milan & AC Milan but this is a different challenge.  It’s not so much the quality of the Real Madrid players, the stadium or the expecting fans in Spain, but the manager.

Jose Mourinho masterminded last seasons’ winners Inter Milan to a surprise victory against Barcelona on route to the final after previously dumping Chelsea out of the competition.  On paper, Inter Milan was underdogs for both matches but Mourinho is one of the best football tacticians and known for his dossiers on opposing teams.

Mourinho will be fully aware of Gareth Bale but unlike Rafa Benitez, I am confident he will cancel out his pace and skill.

I expect Real Madrid to win by one or two goals tomorrow night and will be surprised if Tottenham score.  The return leg at White Hart Lane will decide whether Spurs go through to the semi-finals to meet Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk.

The other two English clubs left in the completion go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday as Chelsea take on Manchester United, only weeks after they beat Man Utd with the help of a dubious penalty.

The most any neutral can hope for in the two legs between the 2008 Champions League finalists when Chelsea lost on penalties, is that the games are as exciting as their recent Premier League fixture and they don’t simply cancel each other out.

Chelsea’s best chance of going through to the semi-finals to face Inter Milan or Schalke 04 is to take a lead to the second-leg at Old Trafford next Tuesday.  I believe their best chance is to start with Nicolas Anelka & Didier Drogba, but what a time it would be for Fernando Torres to score his first goal for Chelsea!

In the other two quarter-finals I am confident Barcelona & Inter Milan will win this week and go through to the semi-finals next week, though it might be a squeeze for Inter Milan.

Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Inter Milan v Schalke 04
Real Madrid v Tottenham

Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea v Man Utd

The second-leg games will be played next week on Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th April.

Even though Arsenal took a 2-1 lead to the Nou Camp on Tuesday, they knew Barcelona would be difficult to contain for 90+ minutes. But if they could score the pressure would be on Barca to score twice. It was a difficult task without the absurd sending off of Robin Van Persie for taking a shot on goal after the referee had blown his whistle for a marginal offside decision. Whether Van Persie did or didn’t hear the whistle above the noise of the capacity crowd, I don’t believe the referee could have been sure.

Van Persie was sent off in the 56th minute, just after Arsenal had drawn level on the night through a Busquets own goal. At this point, though Barcelona was dominating the possession and the game itself, it was Arsenal who was going through to the quarter-finals. With wave after wave of amazing attacking football, I believed Barcelona were going to win the game even before Van Persie’s dismissal. But the decision was ridiculous and only put added pressure on the ten men of Arsenal who played as courageously as they had two weeks previous at The Emirates. I don’t think many neutrals would disagree that over the course of the two legs, Barcelona were the better team. Furthermore, on these two performances alone, the Spanish champions look unstoppable and could give any team, club or country a run for their money.

While Arsenal are out, Tottenham Hotspur continue to enjoy their Champions League run which has seen them top their group, beat the reigning European Champions Inter Milan and yesterday go through to the quarter-finals after playing out a 0-0 draw against AC Milan. This was a great disciplined performance from a team that are known for their attacking play and defensive weaknesses. To go through by not conceding a goal over two legs certainly surprised me. Harry Redknapp said it was a “fantastic achievement” and would rather not draw Barcelona in the next round but would be happy to play anyone else.

The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will take place on Friday 18th March. Beforehand Chelsea look favourites to go through against FC Copenhagen next Wednesday at Stamford Bridge following a 2-0 win in Denmark; and Manchester United should beat Marseille at Old Trafford on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw in France. The other two games see Bayern Munich play Inter Milan with a one goal advantage from the first leg and Lyon travel to Real Madrid following a 1-1 draw.

The quarter-finals will be a straight draw, meaning that for the first time in the Champions League this season any English teams left in the competition could face each other. But after being knocked out of last season’s Champions League by Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, if Chelsea & Real Madrid go through, what’s the chances of Mourinho coming back once again to haunt Roman Abramovich?

Let’s hope Chelsea & Manchester United can join Spurs in the draw and avoid each other in the quarter-finals.

Ahead of the tie on Tuesday afternoon Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made the surprise announcement that the clubs top scorer Samir Nasri will be available for tonight’s game having recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in the FA Cup clash with Huddersfield Town on January 30th.

The French midfielder had been expecting to be sidelined by the injury for three weeks, but Wenger said yesterday, “He’s recovered quicker than expected. I said it would be 21 days but it will be only 17 days.”

Nasri’s inclusion in the Arsenal squad will be a bonus for the North Londoners although Wenger has made it clear he will not be taking any chances on the player and will make a decision today (Wednesday) as to whether Nasri will be included in his starting line up.

While Arsenal have been getting by quite nicely without Nasri, there is no doubt that his inclusion in the squad is a huge lift for the team.

His form this season has been exceptional putting him into contention for the Premier League Player of the Year award. As playmaker and goal scorer the French midfielder is unrecognisable from last season at Arsenal.

Other team news from the Arsenal camp is that Tomas Rosicky has recovered from a groin injury but Abou Diaby has been ruled out with a calf injury.

Meanwhile Barcelona’s Andre Iniesta who missed the Quarter Final contest between the two teams last season, has suggested that his team will have to beat ‘one of the best teams in the world’ if they are to progress in this seasons Champions League contest.

Iniesta will be fit to face the Gunner’s this time around but says that the tie will be decided at the Nou Camp in the second leg, ‘It is the Champions League, we find ourselves against the best in the world so I don’t think anyone will think the tie can be won today.’

Arsenal fans might be tempted to wager a few pound on their team to win the Champions League Cup before tonight’s game as the online betting odds are currently offering 20/1, while Barcelona are clear favourites to go all the way at 7/4.

The current odds for tonight’s match are not so spectacular however, with Arsenal to win at 3/1, Barcelona to win 10/11 and a draw at 13/5.

Arsenal will have been lifted by this result, particularly as they are playing consistently well and present the only real challenge to Manchester United in the Premier league.

Arsene Wenger claims that the Gunners have closed the gap on their rivals since being punished in the quarter final of the Champions League last season when Messi scored four goals in their 4-1 romp at the Nou Camp and Arsenal escaped with a draw at the Emirates.

Despite playing the most attractive football in the Premier League, I really can’t see that the North Londoners are equal to Barcelona, but they are closing the gap due to Wenger being in a position to field his best players on a more regular basis this year.

None more so than Robin Van Persie who has scored more goals in the Premiership in 2011 than any other, with ten goals so far in less than two months. But the Dutchman has only featured in one Champions League game for Arsenal, and although he scored on that occasion all eyes will be on the Barcelona goal machine Lionel Messi, who has scored 13 times in his last eleven CL games.

In midfield it will be interesting to compare Xavi and Fabregas, perhaps the Barcelona players future replacement. Despite Cesc providing a joint Premier League high of nine assists this season, four more than Xavi, it is the Barcelona player who comes out on top in tackling and accuracy of passing.

In the Champions League however, Xavi has managed just the one goal assist so far (and no goals), although he has hit a competition-high 366 accurate passes in the opposition half. Arsenal captain Fabregas, on the other hand, has already bagged three goals and provided two goal assists.

While the likes of Messi and Fabregas will no doubt provide some of the highlights of the game on Wednesday, the outcome of the game may well depend on the performances of both sides’ defences.

Laurent Koscielny has endured a mixed start to his career with Arsenal, but in recent weeks, his partnership with Johan Djourou has become vital to Arsenal’s title tilt. Indeed, with those two in position in central defence in the Gunners’ last seven league games, Arsenal have kept five clean sheets. Koscielny has also impressed in attack, netting two goals so far.

His Spanish counterpart, Puyol, has already netted one goal, while his distribution, like that of all the Barca players, is superb, with 91% of his passes finding a team-mate in La Liga.

Castrol Performance data shows that Arsenal will know what to expect after their quarter-final clash with Barcelona last season.

Over the two legs, Barcelona asserted their total domination of the ball, completing 654 passes more than the Gunners. Pep Guardiola’s were too much to handle over the two legs, unleashing 37 shots, that’s one every five minutes. Nearly half of those attempts found the target (18). Lionel Messi alone had nearly twice as many shots on target as the Gunners, testing Manuel Almunia nine times, four of which found the back of the net.

Arsene Wenger will be warned to wrestle the initiative away from Barcelona early on. Last season, Arsenal were battered in the first-half of their first leg at the Emirates. As shown by the average position graphic below, all of Barca’s outfield players – barring their centre-halves – spent the majority of their time in the Gunners half of the pitch.

Given Barcelona’s dominance in La Liga again this season I would expect a repeat of last seasons quarter final score at the Emirates and am going for a 2-2 draw.

castrol performance research

The three shortlisted players for the award, all deserving for their performances during 2010 were made up of the current Barcelona midfield, Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

Despite English fans continually blabbing on about the quality of players in the Premier League, there is not a midfield in the UK that comes close to this excellent trio of players.

Having scored the goal that won the World Cup for Spain with his only shot of the match, Iniesta may have appeared in pole position to collect the award.

Iniesta is more prolific in his delivery higher up the pitch, where it matters: in fact, this season no player has completed as many passes in the final third as Iniesta in the Champions League, ahead of Xavi and Messi.

However Xavi also made a good case for himself being the best passer of a ball in the top five European leagues – and by some margin. He completed no less than 2,704 successful passes in 33 La Liga games for Barcelona, a staggering 92% finding their target.

He was also untouchable in the Champions League with 1,025 successful passes – the equivalent of over 100 successful passes per game.

It is however Messi’s incredible goal scoring ability that is unbeatable, he racked up 42 La Liga goals in 36 appearances in 2010 as well as being the top scorer in the Champions League with 12 goals in as many games. His 60 goals for club and country during 2010 are testament to this extraordinary players capabilities and probably deserving of  the win.

Current Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho picked up the Coach of the Year Award for his outstanding achievement in leading Inter Milan to the treble in 2010 before departing for a new challenge in Spain.

Two up within 17 minutes through goals from Xavi and Pedro, Barcelona went on to inflict the first defeat on Mourinho’s Madrid side this season, and did it with their usual incredible style.

David Villa added two more goals early in the second half for the Catalans and Suarez added a fifth in the dying minutes, the final insult for Mourinho’s team who finished the match without Sergio Ramos who was sent off for a push in the face of international team mate Carles Puyol.

The amazing thrashing of their biggest rivals for La Liga moved Barcelona to the top of the table where they now lead Madrid by two points and a healthy goal difference.

Barcelona were not prepared to get carried away with last night’s result, two goal hero David Villa claiming that there is still a long way to go, but make no mistake this is a huge psychological advantage for Guardiola’s team whose game plan worked brilliantly on Monday night.