Quarters Half Done

Math. Division. Of these things (and more) life is made. Interesting first legs for the most part.


99 part II
Bayern's 2-1 home win was the most surprising result of the round. To me at least. Going in I thought Demichelis should not have started and Rooney exposed him in the worst way less than 10 minutes in. United looked very strong early on and with only a goal difference at the half I thought Munich was fortunate. But the second half was a totally different story. Even with their midfield at half strength Munich owned the space between the penalty areas for most of the second half. Any time the deciding goal is scored in stoppage time there is a sense the victors were lucky and that is fair but I really think Bayern Munich were the better side on the day. With the success a CR7/Tevez-less United has had this year it is easy to forget they are not the squad they were last season. On Tuesday we saw one of the rare moments that proves that. When a motivated, organized, and skilled team set to work against them they no longer have the quality spread throughout the park to overcome it. Or so it looks. Too early to jump to conclusions but the Germans are in very good position going forward.


The French Quarter
I predicted a draw but did so knowing I know little about France. Didn't see the whole game but from what I gather Lyon demonstrated superiority from start to finish. Getting Licha Lopez involved underscores the diversity of weapons they have. Not over but they did themselves well with a 3-1 win in the home leg.


Arsenal vs Barsa
Very, very interesting match. Barcelona went to London and absolutely dominated every facet of the game. On the scoreboard the 2-0 advantage looked merciful for the home team until a miscue and a phantom penalty leveled the score. Then it looked like a miracle. As an observer it is hard to decide if Arsenal should be energized by getting a draw in a game they clearly should have lost, or if they should be terrified they were owned so bad at home and now have to overcome the result at Camp Nou. But going forward the real impact of this game may be the players it left out of the return leg. Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique will miss next week's game due to suspension which will alter the makeup of the Barcelona defense. Meanwhile the Gunners will be without Cesc Fabregas, William Gallas, and Andrei Arshavin because of injury. Neither is enviable but Arsenal seems to have suffered the worse setback. Barcelona put themselves in an extremely good position, it just feels like it should have been even better.


Inter vs CSKA
This is a game I watched closely. It has been years since Inter have been this far in the CL and I wanted to soak it in. The 1-0 scoreline is maybe a little disappointing but I thought Inter dominated the match and showed a gulf in class on the field if not the scoreboard. CSKA barely threatened and I doubt the weapons they have are really capable of mounting a sustained siege of Inter's goal. It is a more take your shots when they are there kind of attack. At the other end of the park I was sort of impressed with CSKA's cohesion and ability to limit the quality if not quantity of chances Inter had. There are some pace issues for CSKA but communication and support minimized them. The minimal difference and venue will make the return leg a very exciting match. The home team's obligation to attack I think will produce a different type of game than what we saw at the San Siro.