once again the football god is having a laugh at my expense...
I must admit I'm rather gutted about Real being out of the Champions League. They actually were my bet for the title, even though they have yet to grow together as a team, and I thought that the overtaking of Barça in the league would give them a boost in confidence in order to beat Lyon and advance to the next round. Instead, they didn't manage more than a draw and lost their sixth last 16 round in a row. On the one hand, it might give Florentino something to think about, and maybe it'll convince him that tons of star players don't automatically make a star squad, but I don't have illusions about that. I suppose he won't have learned a thing, and instead we all have to be sorry for the Real Madrid fans out there who had high hopes (and deservedly so, considering the way the squad was reinforced in summer) and now have to endure the jeers and mocking from people who don't understand that Real Madrid isn't just Florentino Pérez, and that not all Madridistas are arrogant bastards.
Bayern, on the other hand, made it to the quarterfinal, and you have to admit that this is a little paradoxical. They had major problems in the first half of the season, dropped tons of points in the league (and didn't manage to be on top until last weekend), finished second in their CL group when all the other "odds-on favourites" finished first... If anyone had asked me at the beginning of the season how long they'd stay in the competition, I would have said they'd drop out long before Real and Liverpool do. Well, what did I know.
I guess this proves all those people wrong who keep saying that having the second leg at home is a major advantage. I've always argued that it isn't, and if you look at these two matches in particular, you see why. When you play the second leg at home, the pressure is on you. The days of catenaccio are mostly over, so, as the home team, you have to play forward. You can't just stay in the back with eleven men and defend your goal. And even if you do, it's not a guarantee for a clean sheet either. At some point someone's concentration slips, they make a mistake, and the opponent takes a shot on goal - and when everything goes wrong for you, the ball hits the back of the net and you have to score two goals to even things out, and at the same time you have to keep defending to make sure you don't get another goal. And your opponent? Only needs to concentrate on scoring. If they make a mistake in the back, it's not that much of a problem, for they can easily make amends by scoring a goal themselves. Someone please tell me how any of this should be an advantage for the home team.
Right now I can't say how the CL season will continue. I don't think Bayern are strong enough to be a serious competition for the title, though of course they're most welcome to prove me wrong, so I guess I shall just sit back and watch. And hope that there will still be some pleasant surprises in store for me.
Bayern, on the other hand, made it to the quarterfinal, and you have to admit that this is a little paradoxical. They had major problems in the first half of the season, dropped tons of points in the league (and didn't manage to be on top until last weekend), finished second in their CL group when all the other "odds-on favourites" finished first... If anyone had asked me at the beginning of the season how long they'd stay in the competition, I would have said they'd drop out long before Real and Liverpool do. Well, what did I know.
I guess this proves all those people wrong who keep saying that having the second leg at home is a major advantage. I've always argued that it isn't, and if you look at these two matches in particular, you see why. When you play the second leg at home, the pressure is on you. The days of catenaccio are mostly over, so, as the home team, you have to play forward. You can't just stay in the back with eleven men and defend your goal. And even if you do, it's not a guarantee for a clean sheet either. At some point someone's concentration slips, they make a mistake, and the opponent takes a shot on goal - and when everything goes wrong for you, the ball hits the back of the net and you have to score two goals to even things out, and at the same time you have to keep defending to make sure you don't get another goal. And your opponent? Only needs to concentrate on scoring. If they make a mistake in the back, it's not that much of a problem, for they can easily make amends by scoring a goal themselves. Someone please tell me how any of this should be an advantage for the home team.
Right now I can't say how the CL season will continue. I don't think Bayern are strong enough to be a serious competition for the title, though of course they're most welcome to prove me wrong, so I guess I shall just sit back and watch. And hope that there will still be some pleasant surprises in store for me.