Expectations were high ahead of the first two Champions League quarter-finals last night and they didn’t disappoint. Here’s how it went down in Paris and Munich.
Forget Paris? Anyone who tuned into last night’s meeting between Paris and St. Germain and Barcelona will have it etched on their memory for some time such was the quality, the excitement and the sheer drama produced at the Parc des Princes.
Despite the amount of quality possessed by both sides, last night’s game had been billed in some quarters as a clash between Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, two number tens who couldn’t be much further apart in terms of size, style and personality, but much to the probable chagrin of Zlatan – we doubt Messi was that bothered – David Beckham stole their thunder having been surprisingly named in the hosts’s starting line-up prior to kick-off.
As it turned out, neither of the three men claimed top billing as although both Messi (thanks to a sumptuous assist from Dani Alves) and Ibrahimovic scored, Messi withdrew with a hamstring problem before the break, Zlatan was well below-par and although ourselves and Roy Keane thought Beckham did OK before tiring and going off in the second half, others didn’t think much of his display.
L’Equipe, for example, gave him a rating of three out of 10. Ouch!
L’Equipe were spot on when awarding Thiago Silva an eight because, with the pre-game criticism from Joey Barton ringing in his ears, the Brazilian centre-half was absolutely immense and it would have been fitting if his header had gone in rather than rebounding to an offside Ibrahimovic for PSG’s equaliser.
How do you like them apples Joey? Thiago Silva was outstanding last night
Neither ‘keeper will look back on their contributions with much satisfaction. Sirigu suffered a rush of blood to the head when bringing down Alexis for Barca’s late penalty and although he made some good stops and there was a deflection on Matuidi’s late effort, Victor Valdes will probably feel he could have done better.
Though it does give PSG some encouragement ahead of the second leg the goal is unlikely to make a whole lot of difference as Barca will fancy their chances of winning on home turf and with two away goals under their belt, they are firmly in the driving seat.
Still, the mettle shown by the Parisiens was admirable and they more than matched their more illustrious opponents last night. They’re likely to go down in the Nou Camp next week but they won’t go down without a fight.
Speaking of fight, there wasn’t much of it coming from Juventus in the Allianz Arena last night and if truth be told the Italians are very lucky that they still have a faint chance of turning things around at home next week.
Helped by a extremely odd goal from David Alaba – the flight of the ball was mental to say the least – after only 25 seconds, the Germans bossed proceedings on their own turf and it wouldn’t have been flattering in the least if they were three up by half-time.
That they weren’t was down to a combination of luck, the presence of Gigi Buffon and wastefulness from the likes of Arjen Robben, who was introduced as an early sub for the injured Toni Kroos, who has been ruled out the rest of the season and will be a big loss to the Bavarians.
Missing for the home leg against Arsenal, Bastian Schweinsteiger returned to the Bayern midfield and was a huge calming influence, dictating matters without much fuss and coming off the better in his duel with Andrea Pirlo, even if he could only dream of growing the magnificent beard that Pirlo continues to showcase to the delight of his many (equally split between male and female) admirers.
As he showed against Ireland, David Alaba has balls… something Franck Ribery will readily testify to
Juve rode their luck for long enough until Thomas Muller deservedly doubled Bayern’s lead midway through the second half, at which point Juventus belatedly seemed to realise that they were on their way out of the competition if they didn’t wake up.
Manuel Neuer still didn’t have much to do in the closing stages and despite having the better chances Bayern seemed content enough with a two-goal lead that should really be enough to see them through to the last four.
Juve have put three past Chelsea and four past Nordsjælland at home this season, but neither of those teams are Bayern, who have conceded only 13 goals (including just two away from home) in their domestic league in this campaign and carry quite a potent threat going forward while they’re at it.
It’s too early to write off the Old Lady just yet but it’s hard to get away from the feeling that the Fat Lady will soon be heard as far as their Champions League challenge is concerned.
