Four Clasicos It Is...

Wednesday's batch of quarter-final matches were more predictable than the first two. A pretty close affair at the Bridge saw United score a road win by the minimum margin and Barcelona mauled Shaktar at the Camp Nou. I got to see the Barcelona game and although I predicted a 3-0 win I wasn't surprised by the 5-1 scoreline in the least. Going in the two biggest questions were 1, will Shaktar abandon their attacking philosophy in favor of a pragmatic approach and 2, if/when they concede the first goal will they open it up and chase the equalizer or try to lose 1-0? Barcelona struck early going up within five minutes and to their credit and/or detriment the Ukrainians did try to go forward and make something happen. The game was 2-0 at the half and when they the visitors got on the board to make it 3-1 there was almost a full minute where it seemed like the return leg held out some hope but then Messi made a great run and laid it off for Keita to blast into the upper corner and restore the margin. Xavi added one more to put the nail in the coffin. Barcelona were clearly going to win this game but I get the feeling Shaktar made it easy by chasing the game. It is tough to tell a team that has gotten this far that it should forego its game but reality is reality. If you go into the Camp Nou to spread men around the field and mount a flowing attack, you are going to be shredded to pieces. The return leg is now just a formality.