The quarter finals of the European Champions League have just delivered their semi finalists:
Bordeaux 1 – Lyon 0: Lyon go through with their home win 3 – 1
Manchester United 3 – Bayern Munich 2: Bayern go through with their home win 2 – 1 (away goals count double)
Barcelona 4 – Arsenal 1: Barça go through (away tie 2 – 2)
CSKA Moscow 0 – Inter Milan 1: Inter go through (home win 1 – 0)
The semi-finals will see Bayern play against Lyon and Inter vs Barcelona.
What are the main conclusions I take away from these quarter finals:
- In the star quarter final between Barça and Arsenal, 2 teams that play similar types of games, Barça went logically through as they do everything better than Arsenal and they have a Martian on their team, well you know who!
- Lyon had more Champions League experience than Bordeaux and they have one of thes best goalkeepers in the world right now, Lloris.
- Inter have the “Special One” and he can outplay any team.
- Man United underestimated Bayern, you should never do that, even more so with German teams.
Barça are my favourites to win it again this year but of the 3 other teams Inter is probably the one that will give them the hardest time due to the strategical and tactical intelligence of the “Special One”. However, with Messi being in the form he is, I see Barça winning that semi-final. Bayern – Lyon can go both ways but I like Lyon’s “grinta” and it would be great for a French team to get to the final after the 2004 edition between Monaco and Porto.
Maracanazos like to make forecasts.