Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Champions League Wrap!

The first four ties of the quarter finals of the Champions League for 2011 have been completed and some results may have come as a surprise as European Giants Milan were bundled out, and much hyped Arsenal were also shown the door.

At their expense teams like Tottenham and Shahktar Donetsk made history qualifying for the quarter finals for the first time.

Arsenal vs Barcelona was probably the most anticipated match of the round. With two giants of the game clashing in what was an exhilerating tie. It was Barcelona who came up trumps producing the goods in the second leg to send the Camp Nou into raptures. Arsenal will rue a missed opportunity as they failed to capitilise on an impressive 2-1 lead in the tie. For Wenger's men winning the league will be their main aim.

Little known Ukrainian side Shahktar Donetsk took on Italian side Roma. After a 3-2 victory in the first leg, it was looking good for the team who had never before reached the knockouts of the Champions League. The second leg saw a coomprehensive 3-0 victory in favour of Shahktar which was more than enough to see off the Italian side.

After an exhilerating first leg at the San Siro, Tottenham were looking to produce the goods against Ac Milan. In an affair which could be best described as an anti-climax the English team held on to produce an aggregate victory, much to the dispair of the Italians. Credit must be given to the outstanding defensive display which was on show at Whitehart Lane.

Valencia have looked to seemingly be cruising following the departure of lethal duo David Villa and David Silva, however that all came to an end after being put to the sword by Shalke. The 3-1 loss will see Valenica return to Spain in the hope that they can try and bridge the insumountable gap between themsleves and Barcelona and Real Madrid.

With another four games to follow next week, the quarter finals are already looking tantalising. With some new faces in the last eight the 2010/2011 installment of the Champions League may prove to be one of the best yet!