The semifinals of the Champions League competition are set and include Bayern Munich, a surprise contender that received a tremendous boost from the return of Arjen Robben and eliminated Manchester United to join last year’s champion Barcelona, Internazionale Milano and Lyon in the last four.
In Moscow, Inter strolled into the semi-finals against an apparently casual CSKA side that did not seem mentally prepared for the occasion. Wesley Snejder’s early goal put great pressure on the Russians to attack, now needing three goals to move on. CSKA created a couple of chances but having failed to capitalize by halftime, then down to ten men after a pointless lunge, any hope of a fight to the final whistle was relinquished. Mourinho’s men will go into the Barcelona tie with more confidence than in the fall, when Barca totally outplayed Inter. It provides also another confrontation for Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic with their former clubs. Though now firmly entrenched in their new settings, for both players the encounter will rekindle old sentiments.
The return match between Arsenal and Barcelona was amplified by Arsene Wenger’s belief in his team, a confidence that was transmitted to his players and seemingly propelled Arsenal into the impossible mission of eliminating Barca at the Nou Camp. Bendtner’s goal, against the run of play on Arsenal’s first chance, was a hard blow for the home side, as it exposed the absence of both Puyol and Pique. But the miracle only lasted a couple of minutes. Messi – who had missed a few chances already – restored the psychological advantage to the Catalans with a sensational upper corner bombasso.
Unstoppable Leo Messi enjoyed four celebrations against Arsenal.
What followed was simply a predictable evolution of one way traffic play toward Almunia’s goal. On the second goal, Messi was the scorer, but it could have been anyone. However, the third one was masterful. An inspired header from Keita sent Leo through and his cheeky lob over Almunia definitely put Barcelona in control. For the rest of the match, Barca defended as it does best, by keeping possession and attacking. Messi’s fourth goal was a personal charge. He could have passed and given Keita a chance, but he was irrepressible on this night. For those who did not see the match, the score reads Messi – Arsenal 4-1. But on the aggregate, Barcelona was vastly superior. Arsene has to understand that, even had Fabregas, Arshavin and van Persie played.
The pain of a 3-0 first half lead evaporating and the home elimination from the competition will sting Man United for a long while. Sir Alex is understandably bitter about the Rafael send-off, but he has no case. The Brazilian’s foul clearly warranted a yellow. Bayern’s accession can be attributed to a few key moments in the match: monumental was Olic’s goal just before the half. That turned hopelessness into hope. Then, of course was Rafael’s send-off, which disabled United’s game-plan and included Rooney’s substitution with more than a half hour to play. By the way, why did Rooney start instead of being on the bench in case of emergency, anyway?
With a man advantage and plenty of time to complete a clear task, Bayern took its time moving the ball around. The qualifying goal came on another stroke of individual brilliance from Robben, who has found a happy home in Munich, along with fellow Dutchmen Van Gaal and van Bommel. Bayern now is a team of destiny, having barely made it past the group stage at the expense of Juventus and having barely squeezed past Fiorentina. Munich now faces Lyon, not Barca, an accessible opponent that matches up well. With a midfield of Robben, Ribery and van Bommel, Bayern can be confident in its chances to reach the final.
Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben hope to lead Bayern into the Champions League final.
Bordeaux gave it all and came up just short in trying to overturn a 3-1 deficit against fellow French club Lyon. With leading scorer Lisandro out, Lyon played tightly to protect its margin and to counter. Arsenal bound Moroccan striker Chamakh gave Bordeaux all the hope it needed, just one goal away from the semis should none be conceded. Laurent Blanc’s men pushed and pushed forward to the point of exhaustion, before dramatically running out of time. Both clubs threw everything into the battle and both wasted good chances. Lyon, after eliminating Real Madrid, now has its sights on a May return to the Bernabeu.