Four sides from across the continent have now confirmed their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. Some had scares, some took it right until the very last kick and some just rubbed it in…
Spirited But Ultimately Hollow Victory For The Gunners
Arsenal fans would have been ecstatic on pretty much any other day, having so resolutely beaten reigning Serie A champions AC Milan 3-0 at the Emirates. The short shrift of the matter is that an equally strong -and most importantly, one goal superior- performance by the Italian side in the first leg, a stark contrast to their perfunctory showing on Tuesday night, can only leave a bitter taste in the mouth. Hot on the heels of their recent comebacks against Spurs and Liverpool, the Gunners will still surely be buoyed by this display but ultimately, their toils were unsuccessful, as the London outfit succumbed to a 4-3 aggregate defeat.
People across the “blogosphere” were noting the similarities between how the fixture was unfurling and a certain Champions League final comeback involving Liverpool -first goal a header, second from a Czech international and the third from a penalty situation- but in the end the omens proved to be nothing but unsurprising coincidences.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain impressed once again, playing while fighting a bout of the flu, by tracking back when needed but proving to be just as threatening at the sharp end of the pitch with an assist and a penalty won for his side. Tomas Rosicky continued his Lazarus-esque rise from the shadow of the man he used to be, while Robin Van Persie nonchalantly clocked up another goal as the Gunners threatened a great escape. Laurent Koscielny was the stand out Fantasy performer, returning 13 points for his owners, with a goal, a clean sheet and 9 recovered balls.
All bright points but, in the end, as far as our European Fantasy managers are concerned, it will now be a case of thank you and arrivederci. Milan have progressed and it will be their men on our radars for the Quarter-Finals later this month. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, priced at 9.5 and with a 10% ownership, and Thiago Silva, costing 6.2 and owned by 23%, are the two most popular options in Massimo Allegri’s squad to date.
APOEL Do Anything But Crumble
There is a team from Cyprus in the Champions League Quarter-Finals. There is a team from Cyprus in the Champions League Quarter-Finals.
We didn’t make a mistake by typing that twice, it just needed a little extra for it to really sink in.
Just making the knock-out stages was a mighty achievement for APOEL. To then top their group was beyond anyone’s, even their own, expectations. Now the dream continues as they have now knocked Lyon out of the Champions League after 210 minutes of action and an added round of pressure-laden penalties.
A spot in the last eight now beckons and, once again, this is exactly as FC APOEL deserved after a performance befitting of the task before them. Lyon aided the cause by most certainly failing to bring their “A” game to the party, but that is not to discount the hosts’ achievement.
One-nil down from the first leg, the Cypriots kept the clean sheet required and Gustavo Manduca hogged the headlines by not only grabbing the necessary goal to take the game into extra-time and penalties, but then picking up a second yellow card in the 115th minute, ruling himself out of the APOEL’s first leg tie.
Fantasy managers are now afforded a chance to pick up cut-price assets for the last eight. The likes of Nuno Morais (4.0) and Paulo Jorge (3.9) are budget-friendly backline options, while Constantinos Charalambides, at 4.0, is a midfield alternative for Manduca.
Benfica Back On Track
As we had alluded to in our Matchday Preview, Benfica weren’t exactly rolling on the crest of wave as they headed into the must-win match at home to Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday night.
Form be damned. A 2-0 victory courtesy of defender Maxi Pereira and an injury time goal from substitute Nelson Oliveira has seen the Portuguese outfit waltz their way right through their Russian opponents without conceding a goal -something their coach had conceded was almost inevitable- as they overcame a 3-2 first leg deficit with relative ease.
Jorge Jesus’ men may have handed the advantage in the Liga to fierce rivals Porto a little under a week ago but in Europe, they have so far refused to back down. Now the likes of Nicolas Gaitain (6.4), Oscar Cardozo (7.5) and company will have the chance to solider on further as a nice mid-range investment opportunity for our budding European Fantasy managers.
Lionel Messi: Take A Bow
Barcelona won. Lionel Messi scored five times (a first since the European Cup became the Champions League). They’re great. He’s the greatest. The Quarter-Finals, and beyond, beckon. Not much more needs to be said.
We’ll elaborate though, anyway. With Barca 10 points behind Real Madrid in the race for La Liga, Pep Guardiola’s side look highly unlikely to retain their domestic title, suggesting their attempts to become the first side to win back-to-back Champions League finals is of greater importance than ever. Messi was absent from the weekend game against Gijon through suspension so had plenty of rest to be ready to take on Leverkusen. And take them on he did.
An incredible 22 point haul –or 44, for those who handed him the armband- means Messi is the runaway leader in the competition so far, with 74 points only 6 less than his tally for last season. Dani Alves grabbed an assist and, while costly for a defender at 7.9, is second overall for Barca, with 34 points. Xavi owners were left frustrated, though; with the game won early on, he was withdrawn on 54 minutes, for a mere 4 point haul. With the playmaker priced at 8.9, there’s perhaps better value to be found in 9.4 Cesc Fabregas, with the latter -afforded a role in the Barca front three yet again last night- returning a couple of assists in the 7-1 rout.
