The draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League has thrown up some very interesting ties for the Premier League sides. It’s also brought some big personalities back to familiar surroundings.
Familiar faces
The draw has brought together Italian champions Inter Milan and Chelsea. This means a return to Stamford Bridge for former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
The self proclaimed ‘Special One’ made a major name for himself at Chelsea through winning trophies and his outspoken views.
It will be interesting to see how the Portuguese boss is received on his return to the Bridge. I think he will get a good reaction from the Chelsea faithful, considering all he did at the club. Whatever happens the tie won’t be dull because if there’s no action on the field then Mourinho is bound to make something happen off it!
The draw will also mean Mourinho will get to test himself against a boss whose had great European success in the shape of Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti. The Blues boss has won the one competition that has eluded the pragmatic Mourinho so far in his career, the Champions League. The sidelines will be almost as absorbing as the action on the pitch.
Of course the action on the pitch promises to be fascinating. It’s the Italian champions versus the Premier League leaders. The sheer number of top stars on display will make the tie a mouth watering encounter. For me this has to be the tie of the round.
Prodigal son returns
The other big personality returning to his old stomping ground is David Beckham. The football gods have conspired to bring Beckham back to Old Trafford with his temporary club AC Milan. The England international was of course a product of the Manchester United youth academy and part of the young United side which took English football by storm in the late 90’s, early 2000’s.
Beckham is likely to receive a hero’s welcome at Old Trafford I’d say but in football you just never know. Even at 33 the midfielder is still a threat, but like most of his Milan teammates he’s reaching the later stages of his career. United fans will be hoping their former hero doesn’t come back to haunt them and help eliminate them from the competition.
United stronger
English champions United should be strong enough to beat the veteran AC Milan side. Whenever I have seen AC Milan play this season they have been lucky to scrape results. They may have found domestic form and may be second in Serie A but that’s not hard as the Italian top flight is not exactly at its best at the moment. Their main threat has to come from the two Brazilians Alexandre Pato and the revitalised Ronaldinho.
Good draw for Arsenal
Arsenal can count themselves lucky to have drawn Porto. The Portuguese side may be big fish in the Portuguese Liga pond but in Europe they are small fry compared to some of their rivals. They finished second to Chelsea in the group stages. However that was due to the fact that other teams in the group were poor. Atletico Madrid were woefully out of form and Apoel Nicosia were just not good enough.
Porto aren’t a bad side but I would be very surprised if Arsenal don’t progress into the quarter-finals. Arsenal even without main striker Robin Van Persie should have the quality to defeat the Portuguese side. The likes of Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas should be too good for Porto.
Dark Horses
My dark horses for the trophy are Spanish side Sevilla. I have already expressed my liking of Sevilla’s style of play in a previous article and they have drawn CSKA Moscow. I think the only thing that can defeat the Spaniards is the sub-zero temperatures in Moscow. CSKA are no pushovers but I have been impressed by Sevilla this season and I think they will progress into the quarter-finals.
Favourites
The favourites for the trophy must still be Real Madrid and Barcelona. Real drew French side Lyon, who are a decent team, but you would expect the Spanish side to progress against most sides. Bitter-rivals Barcelona have drawn German strugglers Stuttgart.
The German side are fourth from bottom in the Bundesliga after a poor start to the season and the European champions must be hot favourites to progress to the quarter-finals. If they don’t beat the Bundesliga strugglers then they don’t deserve to regain their title as European champions.
The two Spanish sides must be considered favourites ahead of the two English sides Chelsea and Manchester United. I believe the draw has been kinder to the La Liga sides than the Premier League sides. However I am expecting all the La Liga and Premier League sides to progress into the quarter-finals.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
