The Round Football Column 03.10.08: 142nd Edition – Champions League Review, Plus More
Posted by Tim O'Sullivan on 03.11.2008
Kayode Odejayi becomes an FA Cup legend, Cesc Fabregas becomes a Champions League legend, Fernando Torres becomes a Premier League legend, plus more. One Click Away.
A day late and very brief, because I'm busy (I hope that doesn't sound pretentious). Consider this a gentle round-up. Maybe it'll make folk appreciate how bulky the usual column is. Fuck it, I don't know. Let's just go…..
Short and snappy……..
- Liverpool have won 4-0 and 3-0 since the last column, and Torres has bagged four of those seven goals. All the finishes were sublime, but that one against Newcastle was the pick of the bunch. It was like Pele in 1970, but with the finish. Just stunning. He and Gerrard are on fire.
- West Ham have lost 4-0 three times in a row. That's some serious loss of form, whoever the oppo is.
- Arsenal drew their third league game on the bounce, this time at Wigan. He looked like a world-beater against Meeeeeeeeelan, but Alex Hleb really shouldn't travel to dirty away games like these. He hates the dirt, bless him. Gilberto, meanwhile, shouldn't travel to any games.
- Sunderland were edged out by Everton at the Stadium of Light. Nick Colling travelled all the way from London for this game, because he's a deluded, sweaty gash-dip.
- Jimmy Bullard's free-kick grabbed Fulham a point at Ewood Park, but he still can't save them from destiny.
- Berbatov is still a bit good.
- Reading won again. How nice for them.
The second round is pretty much in the history books. It was good.
SEVILLA v FENERBAHCE
Fenerbahce have some great attackers and an interesting coach, but conceding five goals over two legs surely means any team would want them in the quarters. This game looked incredible from the highlights though. That keeper was an asshole, but as Pepe Reina will tell you – all can be forgotten with some penalty shoot-out heroics.
MAN UTD v LYON
Didn't see it, but apparently it was a horrible game. Lyon never showed up, United stifled Benzema and edged through because of one moment of Ronaldo class. The end.
BARCELONA v CELTIC
Xavi's goal wrapped this up early days.
AC MILAN v ARSENAL
Wow....what a night.
Arsenal were unbelievable. I'm hearing no claims of bias or any other bullshit, because I've slated the team in the past. Another thing I'm not hearing is the whole claim of "it was a good time to play Milan". Every text but one I've received is relating to how amazing we were, but that one text about it being a good time to play Milan is bugging me. They have been shit domestically for three years, but no one brings it up until they lose in Europe.
I wrote an article in Arsenal fanzine, THE GOONER, about how bad Fabregas has been since Reading away, and I stand by it, but damn I'm gonna get some stick now. He was so good it made me want to cry happy tears. Flamini too, just amazing. Pirlo is one of my favourite players in the world, but he was being rushed into shit passes and it was beautiful to see.
As Wenger promised, he proved there's a fair way to handle Kaka. Of course, being as good as he is there were a few classy moments, but for the majority we marked him in a zonal system so well. Flamini made some unbelievable tackles on him. He's not only one of the Prem's breakthrough stars, but one of Europe's stars of the season.
Senderos was also fantastic, and I think Toure has a big fight to grab his place back. As well as Senderos played though, it's all about Gallas. He got soooooooo much shit for St. Andrews, but according to reports he and Clichy spent the entire week with Sagna after his brother died, and the events of Birmingham were just too much. People have said he should be stripped of the armband, but I think he's a hero. He'll be going mental at the team, and he was really an asshole to Theo wasn't he????!!!.....the young lad must be so short of confidence now.......oh wait a minute, buh-bye Kaladze.
Then there's Adebayor, who is one of the worst passers Arsenal have ever had under Wenger, but he still proved he can be a great impact players and annoy the fuck out of defenders.
Oh, and Mr. World Player of the Year:
Oh yes.
PORTO v SCHALKE
Fantastic goal to take it to penalties, but Neuer's one of Schalke's best players and marry that with the ruthless German efficiency, and there was only going to be one winner of the shoot-out.
CHELSEA v OLYMPIAKOS
Wow, Olympiakos really turned the clock back didn't they? This was old school, shithouse version of Olympiakos and Chelsea capitalised.
REAL MADRID v ROMA
Nowhere near as fluid as I thought it would be, but it was still an enthralling contest and Roma definitely deserved their win. Vucinic and Taddei grabbed the headlines, but it was Aquilani who shone the brightest. He's one of a number of young Serie A players that have been on the cusp of greatness for a while without actually breaking through that grade A barrier, but he's there now. Superb performance.
The draw for the quarters is Friday.
Such a bad week to rush through the column. Why? Well there was a shitload of great stuff last week. The Champions League was the premiere attraction, but wow, we really did have the most incredible FA Cup weekend in recent memory.
Barnsley were the biggest story.
We all prayed for it to happen, but I still didn't imagine they had a chance of beating Chelsea at Oakwell. It was such an incredible game, with a fantastic cup atmosphere. Let me know if I'm leaving out any other clichés. The point is that they're through to the semi finals and will be remembered forever, so hurrah.
Man Utd also crashed out, after a ridiculous game at Old Trafford against Portsmouth. They were in superb form and created some really good openings, but Pompey were inspired at the back and rode their luck all the way to Wembley. I think Rio Ferdinand is the best defender in the world, but he's still irritating enough for everyone to laugh at what followed the now infamous sending-off. Hello keeps:
Elsewhere, an unbelievable goal from Peter Whittingham (fuck the defending, I loved it) helped Cardiff beat Middlesbrough, and West Brom crushed Bristol Rovers 5-1. This is the draw for the all-Wembley semi finals:
Cardiff v Barnsley……and……West Brom v Portsmouth.
Unbelievable final four, but I love it. I think West Brom could win it, I do.
The UEFA Cup continues to be interesting as the Prem's two biggest non-"big four" sides were owned by Fiorentina and PSV. Farfan needs to move to Spain or England, now!
Dark horses Getafe won at Benfica, Bolton drew, Rangers beat Werder Bremen 2-0 and Bayern Munich hit Anderlecht for five.
Second legs this week.
La Liga's title race took another annoying turn as Victor Valdes handed Villarreal a shock win at Camp Nou, and Real Madrid fought back from 1-0 down to beat Espanyol 2-1.
Elsewhere, a dude called Lafita scored a beauty as Deportivo fought back from 2-0 down to draw at Valencia. Daniel "The Geezer" Guiza scored twice as Mallorca beat Recreativo 7-1. Fabiano scored again.
In Serie A, Roma continued their good form with a decent win at Napoli. Meeeeeeeelan bounced back from their Champions League heartbreak at Empoli. Inter celebrated 100 years or something. Juventus won in Genoa. Rocchi and Pandev continue to carry Lazio.
05 – Ferguson's FA Cup post-match interview 04 – Odejayi v Chelsea 03 – Whittingham v Middlesbrough 02 – Torres v Newcastle 01 – Fabregas v Meeeeeeeeeelan
Inter Milan v Liverpool tonight, and I'm looking forward to it. So many people have presumed it's already over that it's got me thinking they may have jinxed it. Fuck it, balls to that. Inter aren't looking great, Mascherano is back to stifle the runners and Torres looks like he's going to score in every game. If he does that Inter need four. It's over for Inter.
Three Prem games in midweek, with Chelsea happy to BOUNCE BACK at home to Derby. Villa should beat Boro. Birmingham could take advantage of a Pompey FA Cup hangover.
At the weekend Man Utd have a guaranteed three points at Derby, so Arsenal really need to beat Middlesbrough. It should happen, but you never know in this wanky game we love so much. Elsewhere, Torres should score his fourth hat-trick as Liverpool entertain Reading. Portsmouth v Aston Villa could be interesting. Sunderland may take advantage of Chelsea's shitness.
In Italy, Roma v AC Milan could be special. Along with Udinese they're the only two sides in Serie A that actually play really good football, so I'm actually pumped. Seriously.
The La Liga non-race keeps going this weekend, but it's Valencia v Sevilla that looks the most intriguing.
Hobbsy missed the Wigan game on Sunday, because he was filming an episode of THE BILL! I asked him if he got Sting's autograph, but apparently it wasn't that sort of Police. My bad.
Last Week's Match Predictions (Bold = Prediction ……. Italics = Actual Result)
UEFA Champions League – Second Round, Second Legs
Tuesday 4th
AC Milan v Arsenal 1-1 // 0-2
Barcelona v Celtic 4-1 // 1-0
Man Utd v Lyon 3-2 // 1-0
Sevilla v Fenerbahce 2-0 // 3-2
Wednesday 5th
Chelsea v Olympiakos 2-1 // 3-0
Porto v Schalke 2-1 // 1-0
Real Madrid v Roma 2-2 // 1-2
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday 5th
Liverpool v West Ham 3-1 // 4-0
Saturday 8th
Blackburn v Fulham 2-0 // 1-1
Liverpool v Newcastle 4-3 // 3-0
Reading v Man City 2-1 // 2-0
Sunday 9th
Sunderland v Everton 0-2 // 0-1
Tottenham v West Ham 3-1 // 4-0
Wigan v Arsenal 0-1 // 0-0
FA Cup Quarter Finals
Saturday 8th
Barnsley v Chelsea 1-1 // 1-0
Man Utd v Portsmouth 2-0 // 0-1
Sunday 9th
Bristol Rovers v West Brom 0-2 // 1-5
Middlesbrough v Cardiff 1-0 // 0-2
Next Week's Match Predictions
UEFA Champions League – Second Round, Second Legs
Tuesday 11th
Inter Milan v Liverpool 0-1
Barclays Premier League
Wednesday 12th
Aston Villa v Middlesbrough 3-0
Chelsea v Derby 3-0
Portsmouth v Birmingham 0-1
Saturday 15th
Arsenal v Middlesbrough 2-0
Derby v Man Utd 0-7
Liverpool v Reading 3-0
Portsmouth v Aston Villa 1-1
Sunderland v Chelsea 1-1
West Ham v Blackburn 0-1
Sunday 16th
Fulham v Everton 0-2
Man City v Tottenham 0-1
Wigan v Bolton 2-0
The best part of that Kusczak video is the look Rooney gives him as he's walking by. He doesn't even look right at Kusczak, he just knows he's being filmed and Kusczak is going to see it later.
Amazing.
Posted By: JCullen (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 02:10 AM
Agreed on West Brom for the cup.
Also, didn't really mind Arsenal drawing with Wigan as it means Newcastle drop further towards relegation... "King Kev". HA!!!
Great Column as always.
Posted By: Rob (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 07:31 AM
Eventhough he's my favorite player in the world, i gotta admit that Kaka pic is priceless...
Posted By: Samer (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Although Boro were terrible. There was a blatant handball before Cardiff's first goal. So it shouldn't have counted and the game could have been a lot different if they had never scored the early goal
Posted By: AJM (Guest) on March 13, 2008 at 09:06 AM
