Showing posts with label UEFA Champions League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UEFA Champions League. Show all posts

UEFA Champions league's Quarter Finals Draws

Uefa Champions League Quarter finales are ready to go on the way to semis...The Draws are interesting this time. The fans have an eye on the cruel clashes among the rivals of soccer world.

Arsenal have been drawn against holders Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Manchester United face Bayern Munich in a repeat of the memorable 1999 Final.

Barcelona beat the Gunners in the Final four years ago when Arsene Wenger's team had Jens Lehmann sent off and outclassed Manchester United in last year's showpiece.

Eleven years ago United produced one of the most memorable comebacks in European football history when they scored two last-gasp goals to edge past the current Bundesliga leaders 2-1.

The German side seemed certain to claim the trophy when they led 1-0 going into injury time only for last-gasp goals by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to hand Sir Alex Ferguson his first Champions League crown.

Elsewhere, there will be an all-French quarter-final after Lyon were paired with Bordeaux while Internazionale, who knocked Chelsea out of the competition on Tuesday, will be expected to see off outsiders CSKA Moscow, who surprisingly beat Sevilla at the last-16 stage.

If United can win through to the semi-finals they will play the winners of the Lyon v Bordeaux clash, while Arsenal will face Inter or CSKA if they can shock Pep Guardiola's team.

The full quarter and semi-final draws are:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Internazionale v CSKA Moscow.

Baca'on it Way!


Iniesta was optimistic of proceeding through to the Champions League finals in May, though quick to note that the remaining teams pose a serious threat to their ambitions.

Speaking to AS after the match, the Spaniard said: "We played well, we had a good feeling and we're happy to be in the quarters. We'll see what happens in Friday's draw.

"The fans the difficulty of the Champions League but we are closer than a few hours ago. We know how hard it is to win and go through. We must keep a cool head and go game by game."

Barcelona captain Puyol however was confident of reaching a successive spot in the finals and believes that the squad has re-discovered the form that made them unstoppable last season.

"We have recovered and now the best is still to come. We play for two very important titles."

Brazilian full back Alves was happy with the work rate of the team and echoed the words of his captain, stating it was more like the "real" Barcelona as he looked forward to Friday's draw.

"It was the work and effort of the whole team. It was a game like the real Barcelona. We play with this spirit, enjoyed by all. We are on the right track. It is a very difficult competition and it's hard to win. The team is getting there and hopefully get past the next round and be closer to our goal," he remarked.

"We are very happy. The work today was remarkable. In this competition there are no weak opponents. People have this dream in their head. If you're defending a title you're usually the favorite, but I think each game in the Champions League is like a World Cup. We must go again, looking at each team and see how the draw goes.