The UEFA Champions League (UCL) Semi-Final first legs are now finished and four sides are just 90 minutes away from the final on May 19. Here’s how this week’s ties panned out…
Bayern Sneak a Late Lead
A fairly dominant performance at the Allianz Arena has afforded Bayern Munich the confidence that they just might be in with a shout of a place in this year’s final.
The problem with their 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night is that the German outfit squandered many more chances to put their lacklustre opponents under the cosh and could still rue their profligacy in front of goal when the sides meet again at the Bernabeu next Wednesday.
Fielding Toni Kroos further up the field added some much-needed graft to Jupp Heynckes’ side as the Bavarians dominated the midfield contest, but it was ultimately some unfortunate defending from Sergio Ramos which helped Bayern on their way. The ball bounced off the Spaniard’s chest from a corner and right into the path of Franck Ribery, who rifled the ball into the net.
Real Madrid looked more determined in the second half, with European Fantasy managers breathing a certain sigh of relief when the strongly-backed Cristiano Ronaldo kept the ball in play with some persistent work on the bye-line and teed up Mesut Ozil to notch the visitors’ equaliser.
Bayern came back fighting, however, creating plenty of opportunities only for the heavily coiffured Mario Gomez to spurn them as the minutes dwindled down. The hosts’ persistence finally paid off in the closing minutes, though, when slack defending from Fabio Coentrao allowed home skipper Philip Lahm to square for Gomes to bundle the ball home and set up an intriguing second-leg showdown.
With the tie very much in the balance at this stage, our European Fantasy managers lacking in points from the first leg will look to next week’s return with more optimism. Jose Mourinho’s men have averaged over four goals per home game in this season’s tournament, suggesting attacking returns could firmly be on the menu, as the La Liga leaders go gunning for vengeance.
Chelsea Give Barca the Blues
Striking a first leg stake through the heart of Barcelona fans and Fantasy backers, Chelsea fought, battled, shook, rattled and rolled their way to a 1-0 victory over the reigning European Champions last night.
For the European Fantasy managers looking for that differential edge, Roberto Di Matteo’s men paid off handsomely last night. Unexpected clean sheets up against the Barcelona attack, in addition to defensive points, saw Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry return seven points apiece. Their persistent ushering of Lionel Messi into the recesses of the field, constantly nullifying the Argentine’s danger, was an exemplary display of defensive strategy.
Not to say Barcelona didn’t have their chances. They had many. Alexis Sanchez struck the crossbar and Cesc Fabregas twice fluffed his lines while the tie was still goalless to name but a few. For all of the visitors’ possession and dominance on the field, though, it was Chelsea who came out on top, thanks to a goal just before half time.
We expected Fernando Torres to start but his replacement was the man who ended up on last night’s score sheet. Frank Lampard robbed Messi of possession and a masterful cross-field ball found Ramires surging up the field – the 7.0 priced midfielder squared across the box for Didier Drogba to slot home. The Ivorian striker – when he wasn’t prone to his habitual histrionics – once again cutting the mustard in a big game for Chelsea.
Keeping a clean sheet while gaining a goal advantage is pretty much a dream scenario for Roberto Di Matteo’s men. There’s little doubt they rode their luck at times at the Bridge – while the Blues deserve the plaudits for their unexpected win, whether their resilience will be durable enough to withstand a 90 minute Nou Camp onslaught next week is perhaps debatable.
