Cooper Gun Lee in stylish soccer gear soaks up his first World Cup Final in July with his parents (Team Lee) and Team Chavez (KC Barstow) in NJ. Word is that he's smiling because his money's on Italy. A little young to watch grown men head-butt, no?
PSV Eindhoven - Liverpool Roma - Manchester United Chelsea - Valencia
As the draws for the Last 8 were announced on Friday, the English and Italian clubs breathed a sigh of relief knowing they were not matched with rival sides from their domestic leagues. The four matches of the first leg will be played on April 3rd and 4th.
On the strength of Bayern's performance against Real Madrid, and Liverpool's elimination of Barcelona, Eastern Influence has emerged as the early pool leader. Close behind are Nutmeg who also benefited from Bayern's victory and Team Lee who followed Roma all the way to the top of the table. With successive rounds worth progressively more points, the pool is far from determined, although Barca, Lyon, Arsenal, and Inter's departure have left only Eastern Influence, Nutmeg, and Team Auckland with a chance at the 5 point bonus for picking the overall winner. Stay tuned for the next round of picks with the quarterfinals beginning on April 3rd and 4th.
Bayern Munchen 2-1 Real Madrid (Agg: 4-4, Bayern advances on away goals)
Dutch international striker Roy Makaay started the leg off with a bang for the homeside scoring the quickest goal in Champions League history 10 seconds into the match. With their two away goals, a 1-0 lead, and Real Madrid missing key players David Beckham and Italian international captain and this year's World Footballer of the Year Fabio Cannavaro to injury, Bayern were in the drivers seat througout much of the match. A desperate Real finally found the back of the net in the 82nd minute on a Ruud Van Nistelrooy free-kick set up by a controversial penalty from Robinho falling down inside the box. Though the remaining minutes were tense, the Galacticos failed to find the elusive last goal that would have sent them through. Thus the 9 times champs bowed out to the four time champs and will look to find solice on Saturday in their battle against La Liga arch rivals Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
AC Milan 1-0 Celtic (Agg: 1-0, AC Milan advances)
Having failed to score an away goal in the first leg of the tie, the Rossoneri came out firing in a match in which they outshot the Hoops 38-8 at the San Siro in Milan. But the Bhoys, buoyed by a vocal contingent of supporters who had followed them to Italy, were up to the challenge and survived the onslaught for the entire duration of regulation time holding the tie to a 0-0 draw. It was in the 3rd minute of extra time that the Brazilian international midfielder Kaka finally broke the 4 period stalemate on a brilliant run that started at midfield. Despite their stout play the Scottish champs were eliminated from the competition while the Italians advance to the quartfinals for the 6th consecutive year.
Arsenal 1-1 PSV Eindhoven (Agg: 1-2, PSV Eindhoven advances)
In a night which saw Arsenal completely dominate the first 30 minutes of play, it was PSV's Brazilian international defender Alex who was to score both goals in the 1-1 draw. The first was an own goal which occured in the 58th minute when the Gunner's Togoan international striker Emmanuel Adebayor took a corner which deflected off the unfortunate defender right into his own net. With the tie tied at 1-1 and 25 minutes left on the clock, Arsene Wegner substituted in the Gunner's talisman team captain and French international superstar Thierry Henry who had been listed as doubtful because of an injury. Though Henry almost scored the tie-winner on a free kick it was Alex who was to make up for his earlier error with a goal of his own on a header off a free-kick served by Ecuadorian international winger Edison Mendez with 7 minutes left in the match. Thus the Dutch champions forced last year's finalists and runners-up out of the tournament as they make their way to the Last 8.
Manchester United 1-0 Lille (Agg: 2-2, Manchester United advances)
It was Swedish international striker, and last year's tournament hero for Barca, Henrik Larsson who gave the Red Devils a lovely parting gift in the form of a tie-clinching goal in the 72nd minute of their clash with Lille at Old Trafford. Larsson who has been on loan from Swedish club Helsingborg for the last 10 weeks is scheduled to return to his home country next week, and ended his brief but successful tenure with the Red Devils with a standing ovation. Despite all the nasty talk between the clubs throughout the last two weeks over Man U's disputed goal in the first leg, the match progressed without the physical challenge from Lille that was widely expected. As United looks forward to the Last 8, Sir Alex Ferguson needs to find a solution to his injury-depleted team with key players Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Mikael Silvestre and maybe Wayne Rooney on the bench. Still with the Red Devils leading the Premiership and arguably the best player left in the tournament in Portugese international sensation Christiano Ronaldo, SAF will like his chances to advance to the final.
Having failed to score an away goal in the first leg in Rome, the home side Olympique Lyonnais came out desperate not to concede the first score of the match. The Brazillian international midfielder Juninho created three chances for Lyon in the early going on a wicked shot on goal and two well-placed free kick crosses to teammates Sebastien Squillaci and Sydney Govou. But it was the Italian international and World Cup winner Francesco Totti who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a powerful header off a perfect cross from Max Tonetti. The match was put away in the 43rd minute when Roma’s Allesandro Mancini received a crossfield pass 30 yards out, dribbled past defender Anthony Reveillere in a dazzling series of stepovers, and powered home the goal of the night. With the win Roma advances to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in their history, while French Champion Lyon fails to reach the Last 8 for the first time in three years.
Liverpool 0-1 Barcelona (Agg: 2-2, Liverpool advances on away goals)
Despite all expectations of an early Barca offensive onslaught, the Catalans looked uncharacteristically sluggish in the first half at Anfield. Liverpool had the best chances of the half on quick powerful counter attacks, with Norwegian international defender John Arne Riise and Malian international defensive midfielder Momo Sissoko each hitting the crossbar. After managing only one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes, Barcelona finally found some rhythm in the second half. Ronaldinho almost broke the stalemate when, in a moment of shear brilliance, he beat three men only to hammer his shot off the woodwork. Barca found fresh legs when substitutes French international winger Ludovic Giuly and Icelandic international forward Eidur Gudjohnsen came on for Eto’o and Thuram. Indeed, the Ice Man, Gudjohnsen, delivered the lone goal of the contest in the 73rd minute when he coolly took the ball past the challenge of Reds’ keeper Jose Reina. With 20 minutes remaining, one more goal would have sent the Blaugrana through, but with the Anfield faithful in strong voice, Liverpool withstood every challenge Barca could muster. Thus on virtue of the away goal tie-breaker rule, the Spanish champions, current Champions League holders, and Poet Laureates of football were unceremoniously and precipitately eliminated from the tournament. Pity both sides couldn’t advance after this hard fought tie.
Valencia 0-0 Inter Milan (Agg: 2-2, Valencia advances on away goals)
With 2 away goals in their pocket, home side Valencia came out in a defensive posture at the Mestalla in Spain. Despite their conservative approach Valencia had the early chances on goal with scrappy play by David Villa, Fernando Morientes, and Ruben Baraja. Inter mounted a strong challenge in the final 10 minutes of the match - most notably on two chances for Julio Cruz created by Italian international defender and Zidane headbutt-ee Marco Materazzi. But the Nerazzuri failed to put the ball in the back of the net and thus conceded their place in the quarterfinals to the Spanish boys with bats on their shirts by way of the away goal rule. At the final whistle a brawl broke out when words were heatedly exchanged between Valencia midfielder Carlos Marchena and Inter midfielder Nicolas Burdisso. The fracas was escalated when Valencia substitute, David Navarro - who hadn’t played in the match- ran onto the middle of the pitch and punched Nicolas Burdisso in the face, breaking his nose. Several Inter players chased Navarro into the tunnel where the fight continued. Inter players attempted to find him in the Valencia dressing room but were stopped in a scuffle with security. No doubt UEFA will dole out some fines for the melee. Regardless, having won 18 of their last 19 matches, the Serie A leaders Inter Milan return to Italy stunned by their failure to qualify for the Last 8.
Chelsea 2-1 Porto (Agg: 3-2, Chelsea advances)
Things started off on shaky footing for Jose Mourinho's Blues as his former team Porto came hard out of the gates with well executed one-touch football. In the 15th minute Portugese international midfielder Ricardo Quaresma initiated the scoring with a nifty run past Czech international goalkeeper Petr Cech. But in the opening of the second half Chelsea's fears were allayed when Dutch international striker Arjen Robben drilled in the equaliser from 25 yards out. The last minute heroics of two of the newest Blues delivered the tie-winner when German international captain Michael Ballack headed in a ball served by a header from Ukrainian international captain Andriy Schevchenko off a cross from English international defender Ashley Cole. Ballack picked a fortunate time to score his first goal since November. Jose Mourinho's success at Chelsea continues as his side won England's Carling Cup against Arsenal last week and now moves on in their dream of a European Championship.
The Last 8 and the First Round Pool Standings will be determined by the 2nd Leg matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hold on to your gelato, it's gonna be a wild ride.
