Thursday, November 24, 2011

Champions League fever!

This round of the 2011-12 Champions League has been splendid, as teams are struggling to get over the last hurdles to the next round of the tournament.
The Premier League leaders of Manchester City have not had an easy time in Group A. A great Napoli side, with two goals by the perhaps best striker in Europe right now, Edison Cavani, defeated City 2-1, and just need to defeat Villarreal to make it to the next round. Bayern Munich made sure they made it to the next round by defeating the poor Spanish side 3-1.
The other Manchester side has also been struggling in group C, and last nights' 2-2 at home against Benfica will make the last match an all-or-nothing against the big surprise of Basel, who will look for the sensation of eliminating Manchester United at home in Switzerland!
In group D, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid are looking as a serious candidate for the title after trashing Dynamo Zagreb 6-2.
Another Spanish side, Valencia, also trashed another team, Genk, 7-0, in group E. But things are looking bleak for Valencia: Bayer Leverkusen defeated Chelsea 2-1, and are now leading the group before facing Genk in their last match. In the meantime, Valencia will have to pull an unlikely victory in London...
In Group G one of the biggest surprises is on the way, as the Cyprus side of Apoel Nicosia made it to the next round after their 0-0 tie to Zenit St. Petersburg. The Russian side will now face an all-or-nothing match in Portugal against FC Porto, who in spite of defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 away, must defeat Zenit to make it to the next round.
Finally, AC Milan and FC Barcelona gave us the best match of the CL this season as Barcelona won a great match in Milan 2-3, and are now sure to go on to the next round on the first spot, while AC Milan takes second spot. Still, it is these kind of matches that the CL is all about, and one can only look forward to some feverish dramas in the final round!

No comments: