FC Zenit Petersburg 4 - 0 Bayern Munich
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Uncertain Times in England
Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea will all be playing tonight in Europe's biggest competition amidst a backdrop of endless possibilities in domestic football. With Manchester United's 2-2 result against party-crashers Middlesborough, the title race seem poise to entertain till the end.
Though for all three clubs tonight, Europe becomes their top priority. Arsenal and Liverpool will face each other, where unlike two prior matches - there will be one winner and one loser - no sharing of spoils. But Benitez may have already conceded defeat despite a narrow away-goal advantage, when he state that his squad building is incomplete - eve of the biggest clash of his club this season and despite uncertainty in the board room. Or is this the age-old mind trick?
For Chelsea, Avram Grant has stated clearly his team has quality in its favor. Rightly so. But Fenerbahce has a goal favor and its manager more favor than his counterpart.
So as things go, and as United are uncertain with 2 centre backs down and will be facing Roma and Arsenal in no time, England's four stars are set to battle it out - in body, spirit, soul and mind. There is a war here - and the prize is to be the best in Europe first of all, and then in Britain. Are you an Allied or an Axis?
Predictions:
Both will have to fight teeth-to-teeth to get anything out of the match but Arsenal to win it.
Chelsea to win it.
Though for all three clubs tonight, Europe becomes their top priority. Arsenal and Liverpool will face each other, where unlike two prior matches - there will be one winner and one loser - no sharing of spoils. But Benitez may have already conceded defeat despite a narrow away-goal advantage, when he state that his squad building is incomplete - eve of the biggest clash of his club this season and despite uncertainty in the board room. Or is this the age-old mind trick?
For Chelsea, Avram Grant has stated clearly his team has quality in its favor. Rightly so. But Fenerbahce has a goal favor and its manager more favor than his counterpart.
So as things go, and as United are uncertain with 2 centre backs down and will be facing Roma and Arsenal in no time, England's four stars are set to battle it out - in body, spirit, soul and mind. There is a war here - and the prize is to be the best in Europe first of all, and then in Britain. Are you an Allied or an Axis?
Predictions:
Both will have to fight teeth-to-teeth to get anything out of the match but Arsenal to win it.
Chelsea to win it.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
1-1 Again
One thing for sure, the score on next week's 2nd leg between Arsenal and Liverpool will not be 1-1, at least not after extra-time. The 1-1 score will not be beneficial for both teams but Arsenal had more to lose - perhaps the premiership title. In addition, the week-long marathon would definitely have taken a toll on the Gunners - and dented their chances of the Premiership. Not to forget, they have a slight disadvantage come the second leg of the quarter finals.
Liverpool will have to wait for Everton to play already relegated Derby tomorrow for a clearer picture of their position in the League - though they are in a reasonably safe position. And with Toress and Co rested, and playing at home, Champions League will be a tat easier compared to their opponents.
Needless to say though, that whoever losses concentration and determination at this stage will still have all to lose for for the last of the trilogy.
Surprise as it may seem, Arsenal - may pull a stun to sink Liverpool with an amazing comeback - this may be a strategy by Wenger (less likely) or a catalyst to excel (more likely). As they say, a 'crisis' will either break you, or make you.
LoTP anticipate a fight to the last breath - Sudden Death on Tuesday!
Liverpool will have to wait for Everton to play already relegated Derby tomorrow for a clearer picture of their position in the League - though they are in a reasonably safe position. And with Toress and Co rested, and playing at home, Champions League will be a tat easier compared to their opponents.
Needless to say though, that whoever losses concentration and determination at this stage will still have all to lose for for the last of the trilogy.
Surprise as it may seem, Arsenal - may pull a stun to sink Liverpool with an amazing comeback - this may be a strategy by Wenger (less likely) or a catalyst to excel (more likely). As they say, a 'crisis' will either break you, or make you.
LoTP anticipate a fight to the last breath - Sudden Death on Tuesday!
A Qiuck One on tonight's BIG Match
Sandwich between key European matches, the second of the weekend "blockbuster trilogy" between the Gunners and Reds will test both mental and physical of both sides. Liverpool will have the confidence and advantage of the away goal that took them equal in the q-finals after the first leg. Arsenal will have to count on their hunger and drive to come back for both their Premiership and 2nd leg of the q-finals. As for bodies, Liverpool will field a 'weaker' 2nd string line-up in the Emirates Stadium, with the likes of Crouch and Riise possible starters. But as things go, sometimes the reserves may put on a great show to have a shot at getting a regular spot in club... and country.
Arsenal, having coming from behind to beat Bolton and suffering a draw in midweek will have to have to make do with the usual suspects, since their reserves will not be at par with the Liverpool reserves. Wenger did not issue any media comments on the match, choosing to comment on the England's upcoming match-fixing 'scandal'.
The way we see it, Arsenal will need to work much harder than Liverpool to ensure they come up on top after their 3 matches with the Reds.
Predicition: Win for Arsenal. (we are still firm on our position that Liverpool are going through in Europe)
Ps. remember to vote on our poll and watch the Ars-Liv Preview/trailer.
Arsenal, having coming from behind to beat Bolton and suffering a draw in midweek will have to have to make do with the usual suspects, since their reserves will not be at par with the Liverpool reserves. Wenger did not issue any media comments on the match, choosing to comment on the England's upcoming match-fixing 'scandal'.
The way we see it, Arsenal will need to work much harder than Liverpool to ensure they come up on top after their 3 matches with the Reds.
Predicition: Win for Arsenal. (we are still firm on our position that Liverpool are going through in Europe)
Ps. remember to vote on our poll and watch the Ars-Liv Preview/trailer.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Germans not doing well in Europe
It is in itself a mockery that Germany has no representative in the UEFA Champions League. But it seems that their misery doesn't end there. Both German clubs that did manage to make it into the UEFA Cup have made life difficult for themselves. Leading the way was Bayer Leverkusen - once a semi-finalists in the Champions League-found themselves humiliated in front of their home crowd as they fell 4-1 to Russia's Zenit St. Petersburg.
The once-favorite and more highly esteemed German side Bayern Munich also found themselves puzzled by a draw at home when they were beaten by lowly Getafe. Munich were deemed as playing with a different/lower class of football when they could only managed to qualify for Europe's 2nd-tier competition - and they were expected to at least reach the final fairly easily. But this was not the case as they struggled in the tournament's last 16 and now in the first leg of the quarter finals. The manager were left sulking that perhaps they might have scored several more goals in the match that ended 1-1. And some have point to the fact that the German giants were without Miroslav Klose. But as a club that has invested so much on stars like Ribery and Lukas Podolski, to name a few, no excuse is justifiable.
One point of interest: Have the inequality of football "power distribution"shifted from the traditional few to less celebrated clubs, such as Zenit and Getafe. Only time will tell.
For Full Scores and Report on the UEFA Cup Q-Finals First Leg clash - goto LoTP endorsed soccerway.com.
The once-favorite and more highly esteemed German side Bayern Munich also found themselves puzzled by a draw at home when they were beaten by lowly Getafe. Munich were deemed as playing with a different/lower class of football when they could only managed to qualify for Europe's 2nd-tier competition - and they were expected to at least reach the final fairly easily. But this was not the case as they struggled in the tournament's last 16 and now in the first leg of the quarter finals. The manager were left sulking that perhaps they might have scored several more goals in the match that ended 1-1. And some have point to the fact that the German giants were without Miroslav Klose. But as a club that has invested so much on stars like Ribery and Lukas Podolski, to name a few, no excuse is justifiable.
One point of interest: Have the inequality of football "power distribution"shifted from the traditional few to less celebrated clubs, such as Zenit and Getafe. Only time will tell.
For Full Scores and Report on the UEFA Cup Q-Finals First Leg clash - goto LoTP endorsed soccerway.com.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Go to 'Live Commentary' @ Soccernet
If you don't have paid TV at home and is too lazy to drag yourself out to watch the big matches, see the Live Commentary below:
Arsenal v Liverpool
Fenerbahce v Chelsea
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Champions League Quarter Finals 1st Leg - Day 2
Arsenal 1 v 1 Liverpool
This is perhaps the most anticipated match of the ECL quarter-finals match. Although both are constant highlights of English, and some say world media, the Gunners and Reds have been building up on media exposure recently. Both came out losers in the recent Big-4 clash but did manage to beat their opponents last weekend. As LoTP has said, Arsenal will have the satisfaction of a comeback after trailing Bolton by 2 goals coming into the match tonight. But Rafa Benitez and his team will also be savouring their derby win against Everton.
Their league wins and boost of confidence will mean one thing-both will cancel out each other's advantage as far as that area is concern. Both team are also concerned on cashing out on the "fear factor" - but we would humbly submit that the "fear factor" that Gerrard talked about may not apply-they are playing against an English side, and Liverpool's recent European success counts for nothing.
Let's look at the other aspects of the game. Arsenal will have the home advantage and that may be bad against them on the whole-so they will have to take full advantage of that. They have Fabregas, Van Persie and Toure at their disposal - but would most likely be looking to Adebayor to provide the goals. This is evident when Wenger brought him in for the Bolton match (he was supposed to be rested).
In the Liverpool camp, "TORRES" will no doubt be the magic word. Scoring in successive league games and demonstrating great form on goal, the Spaniard will exploit the Arsenal defence tirelessly. Arsenal's Toure and Gallas will need to pay 110% attention to "the Kid" and their wing-back colleagues who are not as up to standard will have to cope with the likes of Kuyt, Babel and Mascherano, to name a few. Oh, did we mention MASCHERANO. Yes, the Argentinian has had a lot of time to rest and reflect, and he will not be as "dumb" as before, but will be integral in the Reds' midfield machine.
As for consistency, Arsenal had only won twice in their last 9 matches, while Liverpool have won 8 in the same number of games.
We predicted: 2-2
Fenerbahce 2 v 1 Chelsea
The Turkish crowd will roast the Blues like turkeys, no doubt about it. But Avram Grant, despite his doubters, have manage to squeeze wins after wins - something that the Turkish side have to be weary of.
There is no major injuries to be worried about for both teams and Alex, Lampard and Terry will all share the same field of play. Of course Chelsea will win the competition in terms of number of International/Star players. That might not be winning factor, as Porto's opponents found out few years back. Fenerbahce is the kind of club that has strong mental capacities, as shown in their last-16 encounter with Sevilla.
But the teams' previous matches' stats may suggest the outcome for tonight. Fenerbahce only managed 33% wins while Chelsea notched 69%. And Chelsea has averaged 45-minutes-per-goal for their away matches, but Fenerbahce only managed one in 90.
We predicted: 2-2
This is perhaps the most anticipated match of the ECL quarter-finals match. Although both are constant highlights of English, and some say world media, the Gunners and Reds have been building up on media exposure recently. Both came out losers in the recent Big-4 clash but did manage to beat their opponents last weekend. As LoTP has said, Arsenal will have the satisfaction of a comeback after trailing Bolton by 2 goals coming into the match tonight. But Rafa Benitez and his team will also be savouring their derby win against Everton.
Their league wins and boost of confidence will mean one thing-both will cancel out each other's advantage as far as that area is concern. Both team are also concerned on cashing out on the "fear factor" - but we would humbly submit that the "fear factor" that Gerrard talked about may not apply-they are playing against an English side, and Liverpool's recent European success counts for nothing.
Let's look at the other aspects of the game. Arsenal will have the home advantage and that may be bad against them on the whole-so they will have to take full advantage of that. They have Fabregas, Van Persie and Toure at their disposal - but would most likely be looking to Adebayor to provide the goals. This is evident when Wenger brought him in for the Bolton match (he was supposed to be rested).
In the Liverpool camp, "TORRES" will no doubt be the magic word. Scoring in successive league games and demonstrating great form on goal, the Spaniard will exploit the Arsenal defence tirelessly. Arsenal's Toure and Gallas will need to pay 110% attention to "the Kid" and their wing-back colleagues who are not as up to standard will have to cope with the likes of Kuyt, Babel and Mascherano, to name a few. Oh, did we mention MASCHERANO. Yes, the Argentinian has had a lot of time to rest and reflect, and he will not be as "dumb" as before, but will be integral in the Reds' midfield machine.
As for consistency, Arsenal had only won twice in their last 9 matches, while Liverpool have won 8 in the same number of games.
We predicted: 2-2
Fenerbahce 2 v 1 Chelsea
The Turkish crowd will roast the Blues like turkeys, no doubt about it. But Avram Grant, despite his doubters, have manage to squeeze wins after wins - something that the Turkish side have to be weary of.
There is no major injuries to be worried about for both teams and Alex, Lampard and Terry will all share the same field of play. Of course Chelsea will win the competition in terms of number of International/Star players. That might not be winning factor, as Porto's opponents found out few years back. Fenerbahce is the kind of club that has strong mental capacities, as shown in their last-16 encounter with Sevilla.
But the teams' previous matches' stats may suggest the outcome for tonight. Fenerbahce only managed 33% wins while Chelsea notched 69%. And Chelsea has averaged 45-minutes-per-goal for their away matches, but Fenerbahce only managed one in 90.
We predicted: 2-2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)