15 April
Liverpool and Bayern out of Champions League
Last night’s second leg ties in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals were both regarded as being pretty much all over before they started. Despite the unenviable position Bayern and Liverpool faced before the games, one of the two came close to providing one of the biggest ever shocks in one of the best games the competition has seen in years.
Bayern welcomed Philip Lahm back into their team after missing him terribly at the Camp Nou and Barcelona were without the suspended Marquez. Also, of course, manager Pep Guardiola had to watch from the stands after his ludicrous sending off in the first game. So, was it a foregone conclusion or did Bayern Munich surprise everyone including their own manager? Well, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Toni and Ribery went close in the first few minutes but the early goal that Bayern needed in order to have any chance at all wouldn’t come.
Eventually, after half-time, Bayern did take the lead when Ribery scored against the team he may well be playing for in this competition next season. It was nothing more than the slightest glimmer of hope and Barcelona ended any remote chance of an upset when Keita finished a seventeen pass move to bring them level on the night. That was the end of the scoring. A 5-1 aggregate win over Bayern Munich tells you all you need to know about this Barcelona side. They are going to take some stopping.
In London, Liverpool travelled to Chelsea to see if they could overcome the 3-1 defeat suffered at Anfield last week. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was far more upbeat than Klinsmann and he sounded a rallying cry before the game, citing Liverpool’s amazing Champions League comeback against Milan in Istanbul a couple of years ago. Benitez was going to take the calculated gamble of playing Steve Gerrard despite the fact that he was not totally fit after suffering a groin problem. The manager knew that with Gerrard on board they had little chance, but without him, even that little chance would have disappeared.As it turned out, he didn’y risk him and he left Riera, Babel and Ngog on the bench. What transpired at Stamford Bridge was memorable to everyone who had the privilege to see the game.
