Friday, May 18th, 2012
Champions League
Barcelona and Real Madrid were always going to be confident of progression to the quarter-finals stage of the Champions League no matter who they were drawn with in this morning’s draw in Nyon.
Current European champions Barca will take on Bayer Leverkusen, a side already known to Spanish football followers after their two encounters with Valencia in the group stages. On those occasions the Germans won on home soil before falling to a 3-1 defeat at Mestalla and there would appear to be very little to frighten Barca about travelling to the 2002 finalists.
They do have a good mixture of European experience in the form of Michael Ballack and Simon Rolfes in midfield that compliments the exciting younger talents of Sebastian Kiessling, Erin Derdiyok and Andre Schurrle but currently sit only sixth in the Bundesliga and Pep Guardiola will be hopeful of having the tie sewn up in Germany on Valentines Day before the return at the Nou Camp three weeks later.
Real meanwhile may not be so pleased with their draw as it imposes an arduous trip to Moscow to face CSKA, but Jose Mouinho’s side will be just as confident of making the last eight.
CSKA sneaked into the knockout stages with a victory over already qualified Inter Milan on the last matchday and their performances throughout the group stage were inconsistent – as their tally of two wins, two draws and two defeats would indicate.
Moreover, Russian teams have often struggled when European competition restarts in the New Year due to the structure of their season. The Russian league has traditionally ran from the spring to autumn to avoid playing in the harsh winter and although that will change for next season, it is likely to still have some effect of CSKA’s chances against Real in two months time.
The best known names amongst the CSKA squad are Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda and Wagner Love. However it is Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia who has excelled in the past year. Doumbia scored five goals in his five starts in the group stages and 23 more from 30 games this season in the league. His next immediate target is the African Nations Cup in January and should he perform well there and move to a more glamorous location in the summer is almost certain.
Fixture Dates
14 February
Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona
21 February
CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
7 March
Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen
14 March
Real Madrid v CSKA Moscow
Europa League
Europe’s much maligned second tier competition threw up a number of ties to rival the Champions League thanks to a some high-profile departures from the latter making their way into the Europa League draw.
Atletico Madrid were paired with Lazio in one of the ties of the round, whilst Valencia also face a fascinating clash of styles when they take on Stoke City.
Athletic Bilbao will also have a long journey ahead of them though as they too travel to Moscow to play Lokomotiv.
The draw for the last-16 of the Europa League also took place meaning should the Basque side progress they can look forward to a fantastic tie against either Ajax or Manchester United.
Atleti could face last season’s finalists Braga or Besiktas and should Valencia survive Stoke’s aerial bombardment they will play Trabzonspor or PSV Eindhoven.
Europa League Second Round (last-32)
Thursday 16 February
Stoke City v Valencia
Lazio v Atletico Madrid
Lokomotiv Moscow v Athletic Bilbao
Thursday 22 February
Valencia v Stoke City
Atletico Madrid v Lazio
Athletic Bilbao v Lokomotiv Moscow
Europa Leauge third round (last-16) ties played on March 8 & 15
Atletico Madrid or Lazio v Braga or Besiktas
Ajax or Manchester United v Lokomotiv Moscow or Athletic Bilbao
Stoke City or Valencia v Trabzonspor or PSV
Tags: Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Champions League, Europa League, Valencia
So much for Atletico’s fortunes in the Europa League. Might as well stay home and watch the rest of the Manchester loosers play.