Champions League 2008/2009!

Im glad Bayern made it. They werent exactly at their best performance in some of the games.

Much has changed since I made my initial picks in December... but since games start tomorrow, I might as well update a tad.

I think that the most interesting match-ups will still be Liverpool and Real Madrid, along with Manchester United and Internazionale. Real Madrid has recently recovered much of their form from past years, which may pose problems for a Liverpool side which is stumbling their way through the premiership. It's not an impossible task for Liverpool, I think that Madrid may now have the upper hand, as they are coming off of a series of wins, rather than the series of draws that Liverpool have had of late. I think that Madrid will edge out Liverpool tomorrow - especially if Gerrard doesn't play.

Manchester United have also recovered some of their form from last season, which will pose problems for Inter. I still think that Inter have been playing better than Manchester of late, in spite of the fact that both teams have been winning.

I'm with you Maharbbal - I'd prefer that Inter win as well.

Edit - Now that Barcelona v. Lyon has finished, here's some analysis!

Lyon exploded out of the gates, and seemed to be taking control of the game early, and even as a Barcelona fan, I can't even be all that angry about Juninho's goal. It was a piece of free kicking brilliance - just about perfectly placed, with a tricky curve. If Valdés had been standing exactly where he needed to be, he may have had a chance to stop it. This took some of the wind out of Barcelona's sails, and they almost allowed Benzema another goal, but Barcelona keeper Victor Valdés managed a slick save to gather up the cross. Once Barcelona settled into their rhythm, the began to attack, but Lyon played very solid defence, stifling the creativity of Messi, Xavi, and Alves. Toulalán and Cris in particular shut down some promising Blaugrana attacks. Barcelona pulled one back off of Thierry Henry's diving header. Rafa Marquéz headed the corner kick right to the back post, where Henry threw himself towards the post to head it home.

Barcelona's defense was very suspect at the beginning of the game, and Lyon had a few stellar oportunities to score. However, as the game went on, they settled in and managed to thwart many of Lyon's attempts. Marquéz in particular played well. One of the only things that I would have changed about the game is that if I were Guardiola, I probably would have taken Sergi Busquets out of the game earlier, as he wasn't adapting to Lyon's playing style, and seemed awkward and out of place.

Messi started playing better as the game went on, and the whole of the team started to elevate their play. I think that if the game had been a little longer, they may have been able to put it away. I did notice that Barcelona hasn't been playing the full field defense that they had been playing at the beginning of the season, probably due the the physical stresses that it entails. After watching Benzema play, I certianly wouldn't mind if he made his way over to Barcelona one day, maybe when Henry decides to hang up his boots and retire.

Not a bad game, all in all.


Edited by Kaysaar - 24-Feb-2009 at 21:59

Bayern 0:3 Barcelona 38 minutes. Devastating game so far.

I have no clue either, but it is pretty much over for them - I don't see them scoring enough goals in the second match to advance.

Originally posted by Maharbbal I'm not sure I understand the Bayern... they score 13 goals against Sporting (granted not the best team ever, but still) and then lose 5.1 in Germany and 4.0 against Barça... makes no sense! What the heck was Kaiser Frank doing?

no one does! Franck should better look for another team because Bayern sucks. i'm just glad Bremen and Hamburg won their UEFA Cup matches. Bayern defense and Goalkeeper are serious crap (except Philipp Lahm).

At the office both days, so I will sadly miss tomorrow's game, too :(.

I completely agree - Chelsea vs. Liverpool was epic. A fantastic game to watch, finishing with a victory for Chelsea 

Oh you missed it, Temujin?  Well if you get a chance, you must watch a repeat!

Unfortunately, it looks like the Barça v. Chelsea series will only be characterized by terrible refereeing.

For better or worse, I'm glad Barcelona won.