Uefa Champions league 2010/2011- Quarter Finals and beyond-

[sevengoals]

The business end of any tournament?


Quarter-final draw

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea v Manchester United

Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

Internazionale v Schalke

Semi-final draw

Real Madrid/Tottenham Hotspur v Barcelona/Shakhtar Donetsk

Internazionale/Schalke v Chelsea/Manchester United


Quite a fine draw.





( Don't know why but I kind of fancy Harry and his Hotspurs. )

[blahblah]

Inter looked bit of a shambles at the back against Bayern (as did Bayern to be fair), I fancy Schalke to sneak through. I feel sorry for Shakhtar though, that is one hell of an ask.

[Adam]

Inter looked bit of a shambles at the back against Bayern (as did Bayern to be fair), I fancy Schalke to sneak through. I feel sorry for Shakhtar though, that is one hell of an ask.

When Inter went down 2-1 (so 3-1 down on agg), thats when they looked vulnerable in defence....but just keep in mind this only happened coz Inter started to send more men forward coz they desparately needed goals....their full-backs made more forward runs, as did their midfielders, so that therefore left no protection for the CB's....Shalke wont get the same chances Bayern did....

[ThatDickw/theGlasses]

Inter looked bit of a shambles at the back against Bayern (as did Bayern to be fair), I fancy Schalke to sneak through. I feel sorry for Shakhtar though, that is one hell of an ask.

Inter are a fucking shambles at the back - Maicon has been average since the world cup, Lucio is half-injured, Ranocchia is amazing but can't do it all on his own & also has a niggling knee injury, Chivu has had three decent games all season, Nagatomo is fast but young & defensively suspect, Cordoba is a steaming pile of dog excrement and Samuel is only just returning to training after injury. Materazzi is slow, old, out of position and only really around to give bear hugs & wind up opponents.

[Steelinho]

Inter are turning into the Real Madrid of old; "If you score one, we'll score seven." Felix Magath's been struggling to get his Schalke working in the league and their Champions League performances are starting to reflect that. With Inter playing at home in the first leg, it shouldn't be too difficult, but will probably be the closest of any game in this round.
Schalke's Atsuto Uchida and Inter's Yuto Nagatomo will be playing against each other for the first time in almost a year, the last game being a 1-1 draw between FC Tokyo and Kashima Antlers. That battle will be particularly interesting from a neutral standpoint, as they will both defend the same wing of the pitch.


Barcelona almost dropped points at Camp Nou on the weekend against Getafe and would have if Sardinero hadn't hesitated and let his one-on-one chance slip away without even so much as an attempt. The main point from this was that Barca looked nervous at 2-1 and were far from in control of the game. If Donetsk can make use of their chances in the first leg, they can use their home game to really put the sword to Guardilona.


Meanwhile, Chelsea have had the wool over United for several consecutive matches, but don't seem all to convincing in their Champions League campaign to date. Sir Alex has, without doubt, taken a more conservative approach to his competitions so far and despite it having provided a decent platform to run into the end of the season (top of the Premier League), the team's level of performance has dropped significantly, as has their ability to secure comfortable leads. The return of Antonio Valencia to their side will give the team a large boost going forward, but injury problems still plague the backline, while Chelsea's David Luiz has made a more than comfortable start to his time in London.

Perhaps the biggest clash from a media perspective is Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur, which will be no doubt touted as "José vs 'Arry" both in papers and online. The return of Van der Vaart to the Bernabeu will be interesting, and surely (as the cliche predicts) he'll be going out there to prove something. Benzema's currently got bags of confidence and, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria in support, the Spurs' defence should have their work cut out for them. Xabi Alonso will be doing a lot to keep Van Der Vaart quiet, though it will probably be out wide that Tottenham will come at the Madridistas.


Yeah, suck on that, preview people.

[Spudda Glog]

Meanwhile, Chelsea have had the wool over United for several consecutive matches, but don't seem all to convincing in their Champions League campaign to date. Sir Alex has, without doubt, taken a more conservative approach to his competitions so far and despite it having provided a decent platform to run into the end of the season (top of the Premier League), the team's level of performance has dropped significantly, as has their ability to secure comfortable leads. The return of Antonio Valencia to their side will give the team a large boost going forward, but injury problems still plague the backline, while Chelsea's David Luiz has made a more than comfortable start to his time in London.

I was under the impression David Luiz is cup tied with Benfica? Other than that great job

[Steelinho]

I was under the impression David Luiz is cup tied with Benfica? Other than that great job

Crap, I think you're right. Don't know how that slipped my mind. Thanks.

Withdrawal symptoms from not doing a massive group stage preview like last year forced me into doing this. Luckily there's only four games (and yet I still made a freaking mistake).

[Agostinho]

Real look like they could be without Ronaldo for their home leg against Spurs.

Tottenham will need every bit of luck at the Bernabéu, so good news for them.


* Edited for spelling

[Steelinho]

Real look like they could be without Ronaldo for their home leg against Spurs.

Tottenham will need every bit of luck at the Bernabeau, so good news for them.

Wasn't aware, as I was avoiding seeing the result of the Madrid game until I'd actually watched the game (damn you for making me check).

But yeah, that's a big blow. Puts a lot more pressure on Benzema to perform (as Di Maria hasn't exactly been a standout in the side, I'll admit).

[ThatDickw/theGlasses]

Magath got sacked.

[Steelinho]

Magath got sacked.

I know, doesn't change what I posted. Just means they won't be using medicine balls for the next few weeks.

[ThatDickw/theGlasses]

They'll probably be a lot happier now. Bastards.

[Steelinho]

Wolfsburg were happy to see the back of Magath, but it doesn't mean they've done well since.

[Agostinho]

Poor Tottenham. Really though they were never going to get anything out of this tie. 1-2 would have been their best bet but 0-4 means no more Champions League for a while.

Interestingly (and slightly off topic) Real Madrid lost at home on the weekend to Sporting Gijon - which was Mourinho's first home loss in 9 years. Remarkable.

[blahblah]

Inter looked bit of a shambles at the back against Bayern (as did Bayern to be fair), I fancy Schalke to sneak through.

I may have have gotten that wrong. Schalke look more likely to storm through as opposed to "sneak"