Champions League: Round of 16 (Second Legs)

Manchester United 3 (3) v 0 (2) Olympiakos Van Persie (25pen,45,52 hat trick)
First Half: Perez fires a shot over at the near side. Rooney heads against the near post. Penalty! Van Persie is fouled by Holebas. Goal! 1-0, United take the lead as Van Persie slots the penalty home into the near side. Dominguez has a shot from long range that deflects wide of the far post. Valencia has a low driven shot saved. Evra has a header tipped over the bar. Fuster has a header parried before Dominguez has a low strike brilliantly parried away. from the near post. Valencia has a penalty appeal turned down. Goal! 2-0, Rooney finds Van Persie with a low cross who slots in at the near side.  
Half Time: 2-0.
Second Half: Goal! 3-0, Van Persie completes his hat-trick with a free kick into the far side. Dominguez has a free kick deflected wide of the far post. Perez heads wide of the far post. Jones fires an effort from the edge of the box well over the bar. Dominguez volleys over the bar from the edge of the box. Perez has a shot saved. Rafael has an effort that deflects behind at the near side. Campbell strikes a low shot from long range wide of the far post. Dominguez has a shot from an acute angle parried away. Rooney smashes a shot wide of the far post.
Full Time: 3-0.
Man United win 3-2 on aggregate.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Van Persie. United go through as Van Persie bags a hat-trick. Phew!! After a disastrous first leg result, United turned on the style to progress into the champions league quarter-finals. Van Persie was on absolute fire tonight, scoring a hat-trick that put United through by one goal. There were some huge performances from the likes of Giggs, De Gea and Valencia who all contributed to that result. It will hopefully give the players the confidence to go on and maybe even win the competition. Nevertheless, it will give Moyes and the fans a monumental lift after what has been a tough transitional season so far. United will want to avoid Real Madrid and Bayern in the Quarters but I'm just glad they went through tonight. 
Olympiakos looked very poor and played like a completely different team to the one that beat United 2-0 in the first leg. However, they did actually create some decent chances but kept being denied by the amazing performance of De Gea in the United goal. Even though they were defensively unstable, one away goal and they could just have easily gone through themselves. Thankfully, they didn't get it despite a nervous last ten minutes of hanging on from United. A great game of European football at Old Trafford that brought out the best of United and I'm absolutely chuffed to bits that I can finally celebrate something as a United fan this season.

Borussia Dortmund 1 (5) v 2 (4) Zenit St Petersburg Hulk (16), Kehl (39), Rondon (73)
Dortmund win 5-4 on aggregate.



My Opinion:
Dortmund scrape through despite Zenit fightback. After scoring four away goals you would have thought that things might have been a lot more straightforward for Dortmund. However, they made it difficult for themselves and ended up losing the second leg but doing enough to get them into the quarters. Kehl levelled for Dortmund on the night before half time but they were not at their best tonight. Although, they still pose a danger for any team in the quarters and will be tough to knock out.
Zenit were woeful in the first leg and pretty much lost the tie back in Russia. However, they put in a performance tonight despite the disadvantage of the scoreline. Hulk scored a typical screamer whilst Rondon netted in the second half but they still needed to score another two goals to go through. Dortmund held on to go through but Zenit can be proud of their run in the champions league this season. 

Best Goal: Van Persie, Hulk. Winner: Hulk

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Feel free to leave a comment below! 

Champions League: Round of 16 (Second Legs)

Chelsea 2 (3) v 0 (1) Galatasaray Eto'o (4), Cahill (43)
First Half: Goal! 1-0, Chelsea take an early lead as Oscar plays in Eto'o who scores with a low shot across goal into the far bottom corner. Lampard puts an effort wide of the near post. Hazard has a long range shot saved. Melo drags a low shot from the edge of the box wide across goal. Terry volleys over the bar from a Lampard free kick. Willian has an effort saved. Goal! 2-0, Terry has a header parried but Cahill scores from close range with an effort into the roof of the net following a corner.
Half Time: 2-0.
Second Half: Willian has a driven shot from the edge of the box saved. Bulut has a penalty appeal turned down. Lampard hits a free kick high and wide across goal. Azpilicueta blazes a shot high and wide across goal. Hazard has a shot across goal parried behind. Drogba scuffs an effort that is easily saved.
Full Time: 2-0.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Hazard. Chelsea ease into the quarter-finals. Eto's early goal seemed to ease any nerves and set the tone for the rest of the match. It turned out to be a reasonably easy night for Chelsea as they were hardly put under any pressure at all throughout the whole game by Galatasaray. Cahill scored just before half time and that was all but game over. It knocked the stuffing out of the Galatasaray players and they just never looked like scoring against a stern Chelsea defence tonight. Mourinho and Chelsea will be pleased and will look forward to another champions league quarter-final. 
Galatasaray were simply woeful and didn't turn up tonight. They posed no threat going forward and left the returning Drogba with nothing to feed off up front. Mancini will be hugely disappointed with his teams efforts in the second leg as they had a real chance to go through if they scored an away goal but it looked beyond them. Nevertheless, a decent run this year for Galatasaray who eventually got outclassed by Chelsea. 

Real Madrid 3 (9) v 1 (2) Schalke Ronaldo (21,74), Hoogland (31) Morata (75)
Real Madrid win 9-2 on aggregate.



My Opinion: 
Madrid storm past Schalke. Real Madrid are one of the favourites to win this years champions league and after that compounding drumming of Schalke I wouldn't bet against them. The damage had been done in the first leg and the tie was over before the second leg had kicked off. However, Ancelotti still opted to start Ronaldo and the world player of the year didn't disappoint, bagging two goals. It was a strong performance from Madrid who comfortably progressed into the quarter-finals. One thing is for sure, nobody will want to face the stars of Madrid in the Quarters. 

Best Goal: Eto'o, Ronaldo. Winner: Ronaldo

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Feel free to leave a comment below! 

Champions League: Round of 16 (Second Legs)

Barcelona 2 (4) v 1 (1) Manchester City Messi (67), Kompany (89), Alves (90)
First Half: Messi has a penalty appeal turned down. Iniesta strikes a low dragged shot from long range wide across goal. Milner puts an effort across goal wide. Neymar has a goal ruled out for offside. Silva blazes a shot across goal from the edge of the box over the bar. Neymar has a low shot parried past the near post. Xavi has an effort parried away at the near side. Nasri has a low volley saved. Neymar has an effort headed off the line by Fernandinho.
Half Time: 0-0.
Second Half: Dzeko has a low shot saved. Messi cuts inside and hits the far post with a low shot. Dzeko is denied with a header by a great save away from the far top corner. Zabaleta slices a shot wide of the far post. Nasri fires a shot over the bar from the edge of the box. Messi fires a low shot from long range wide of the near post. Goal! 1-0, Barcelona take the lead on the night as Lescott fails to clear, allowing Messi to chip the ball into the far side. Xavi has a strike from the edge of the box parried behind at the near side. Iniesta slices a long range shot wide. Dzeko has a penalty appeal turned down. OFF! Zabaleta is shown a second yellow card and sent off for dissent. Fabregas has a shot parried behind the near post. Goal! 1-1, City equalise on the night as Kompany scores with a close range tap in from the rebound of Dzeko's parried header across goal. Goal! 2-1, Barcelona take the lead again as Iniesta plays the ball to Alves who beats the defence before blasting a shot past Hart.
Full Time: 2-1
Barcelona win 4-1 on aggregate.



My Opinion:
A shame to see City go out but the task just proved too much for them. Barcelona controlled the majority of the game as you would expect but it took them until the 67th minute to break the deadlock in the second leg. Messi scored a delightful goal which all but ended the tie. They did concede a late goal which meant another City goal would put them out but Alves ended any hope for the English club by smashing past Hart in the last few minutes. They deserved to win this leg but it was a farcical first leg where the decisions favoured Barcelona. 
Man City gave themselves chances but they were unable to take any of them until it was too late. Kompany was their star player by quite a distance, proving himself to be a talisman at the back for City whilst leading by example. They really needed to score first to have any hope of going through but the Messi goal just killed them off. Kompany gave them a little bit of hope at the death but Alves soon saw to that. Another learning experience for City in the Champions League but I fully expect them to come back stronger next year. 


Paris Saint-Germain 2 (6) v 1 (1) Bayer Leverkusen Sam (6), Marquinhos (13), Lavezzi (53)
Paris Saint-Germain win 6-1 on aggregate.

My Opinion:
Well this was a pretty one-sided affair with Paris coming through with flying colours. The damage had been done in the first leg where Paris romped to victory and stacked up the away goals. However, Sam gave Leverkusen an early lead in the second leg but his efforts proved to be in vain as Paris equalised not long after before Lavezzi put them ahead on the night. In the end, Paris strolled into the quarters with ease, thrashing Leverkusen 6-1 on aggregate. Not many teams will want to face PSG in the quarters with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Lavezzi leading their front line. 

Best Goal: Messi, Lavezzi. Winner: Messi

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Feel free to leave a comment below! 

Champions League: Round of 16 (Second Legs)

Bayern Munich (3) 1 v 1 (1) Arsenal Schweinsteiger (55), Podolski (57)
First Half: Robben volleys into the ground and over the bar. Martinez has a goal ruled out for offside. Cazorla has a free kick deflected off the wall and wide of the far post. Giroud has a header saved at the near post. Alaba puts a low shot from the edge of the box wide of the near post. Robben has a shot blocked at the near side. Mandzukic heads across and over goal. Gotze has a low volley saved.
Half Time: 0-0.
Second Half: Robben has a penalty appeal turned down. Goal! 1-0, Bayern take the lead as a low Ribery cross finds Schweinsteiger who slots in at the near side. Goal! 1-1, Arsenal strike straight back and equalise as Podolski outmuscles Lahm before firing in a fierce close range shot straight through Neuer into the far top corner. Chamberlain has a shot from the edge of the box saved at the far side. Gnabry blazes a shot over from the edge of the box. Penalty! Koscielny fouls Robben inside the box. Muller tries to give Fabianski the eyes but the keeper saves a low Muller penalty near the centre of goal.
Full Time: 1-1.
Bayern win 3-1 on aggregate.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Fabianski. Draw not enough for Arsenal as Bayern go through. Bayern were definitely not at their best tonight but in the end got the job done and go through to the quarter finals. They had large periods of control and never looked like losing the tie. By taking the lead, Bayern looked to have ended things altogether but they conceded pretty much straight after to keep the pressure on them to see the game out. Muller will be a bit embarrassed with his late penalty effort after trying to give Fabianski the eyes but the Polish keeper was having none of it. 
Arsenal had a good run in the champions league this year but just came up against a much better team in this round. It was an extremely tough task to come to the Allianz arena needing to score at least two goals without conceding and it proved to difficult. They deserved a draw in the second leg and played pretty well. Arsenal didn't create too many chances and as the game went on the team got progressively more tired which really scuppered their chances. Some pride was restored for the Gunners but in the end they will rue Ozil's missed penalty and Scziezny being sent off in the first leg.  

Atletico Madrid (5) 4 v 1 (1) AC Milan Diego Costa (3,65), Kaka (27), Turan (40), Raul Garcia (70)
Atletico win 5-1 on aggregate

My Opinion:
Atletico Madrid scored that crucial away goal in the first leg but they absolutely destroyed Milan in the second. They scored an early goal through Diego Costa and never looked back, netting a further three times on the night and emphatically sending Milan crashing out. Milan had a tough task ahead of them but they never looked in the tie. A miserable season continues for Milan who are struggling in their domestic league and are now knocked out of the champions league in crushing style. However, Atletico are having a brilliant season and make it an even better one by progressing into the champions league quarter finals with ease. They will be dangerous opponents for anyone in the next round and nobody will want to draw them. 

Best Goal: Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Diego Costa. Winner: Diego Costa

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Feel free to leave a comment below! 

Champions League: Round of 16 (First Legs)

Galatasaray 1 v 1 Chelsea Torres (9), Chedjou (65)
First Half: Willian missed with a long range chip that goes wide of the far post. Goal! 0-1, Chelsea take the lead as Torres slots a shot from Azpilicueta's cross into the centre of the goal. Willian has a low shot from long range saved. Lampard fires a long range free kick over the bar. Ramires puts an effort over the bar. Hajrovic has a shot saved. Yilmaz has a low shot from the edge of the box parried past the far post.
Half Time: 0-1.
Second Half: Torres has an effort parried past the near post. Chedjou strikes against the near post with an effort from close range. Goal! 1-1, Galatasaray equalize as Chedjou scores with a close range volley following a corner. Torres drags a low shot wide across goal. Telles has a blast from long range parried over the bar.
Full Time: 1-1.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Lampard. Chelsea held in Turkey. Galatasaray started the game slowly but got more involved as the match progressed. They went into half time 1-0 down but came out in the second half looking to get an equaliser. Chedjou came close to levelling the match but hit the near post before finally scoring with a close range volley. The result means Galatasaray are still in the tie but they will most likely need to score twice at Stamford Bridge if they are to progress. 
Chelsea started really well and Torres scored within the opening ten minutes to settle any nerves. It looked like Chelsea were going to score a second before half time but they ended up spurning plenty of chances. They didn't put the game to bed with a second goal and paid for it as they were pegged back to 1-1. In the end, Mourinho played for a draw. The result favours Chelsea as they have that vital away goal under their belt. I fancy Chelsea to do the job in the second leg and can't see how Galatasaray are going to stop a strong Chelsea side. 

Schalke 1 v 6 Real Madrid Benzema (13,57), Bale (21,69), Ronaldo (52,89), Huntelaar (90)

Best Goal: Torres, Bale, Ronaldo, Huntelaar. Winner: Huntelaar

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Champions League Round of 16 (First Legs)

Olympiakos 2 v 0 Manchester United Dominguez (38), Campbell (55)
First Half: Dominguez has an effort blocked by Vidic. Cleverley slices a volley over the bar. Perez fires a low shot from the edge of the box wide of the near post. Goal! 1-0, Olympiakos take the lead as Dominguez directs a long range shot into the opposite corner to wrong-foot De Gea. Rooney has a shot blocked.
Half Time: 1-0.
Second Half: Goal! 2-0, Campbell doubles the lead with a curling shot from long range into the near bottom corner. Olaitan fires a volley wide of the near post. Van Persie fires a shot over the bar. Young has a shot blocked.
Full Time: 2-0.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Dominguez. United slump to defeat in Greece. Olympiakos were the better team and deserved to win the first leg. They took full advantage of a very poor United performance and put themselves in a good position heading to Old Trafford. their first goal looked fortunate at first but after viewing the replays, it was clear to see Dominguez intentionally directed the ball into the opposite corner. There was no doubt about the class of the second goal as Campbell scored a lovely curling shot into the bottom corner. 
United were simply atrocious. It was a terrible performance and it leaves them with a huge task to turn this tie around in the second leg. United failed to create many chances but their best one fell to Van Persie who fired over the bar. They never got going and it was extremely lacklustre. Very disappointing as United needed a good champions league run this year with their troubles in the league. It will be a massive task to turn this around but United are capable of putting on a performance at Old Trafford, it just remains to be seen if they can pull it off. Heaps of pressure will be placed on Moyes to turn things around but at the moment, every mistake and poor result is being scrutinised. 

Zenit St. Petersburg 2 v 4 Borussia Dortmund Mkhitaryan (4), Reus (5), Shatov (57), Lewandowski (61,71), Hulk (69pen)

Best Goal: Campbell, Reus, Lewandowski. Winner: Campbell

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott

Champions League Round of 16 (Second Legs)

Manchester City 0 v 2 Barcelona Messi (54pen), Alves (83)
First Half: Negredo has an effort across goal cleared away from goal. Kompany has a headed effort saved on the line. Xavi has a long range driven shot parried away. Negredo heads wide of the near post.
Half Time: 0-0.
Second Half: Penalty! Demichelis fouls Messi on the edge of the box. OFF! Demichelis is shown a straight red card for being the last man and denying a goalscoring opportunity. Goal! 0-1, Barcelona take the lead as Messi slots the penalty low and down the middle. Silva has a volley saved. Pique has a goal ruled out for offside. Goal! 0-2, Barcelona double their lead as Alves skips past the defence before slotting a low shot from an acute angle through the legs of Hart.
Full Time: 0-2.



My Opinion:
My man of the match was Messi. Barcelona put one foot in the Quarters. The major turning point of the match was when Barcelona were awarded a controversial penalty and Demichelis was sent off as a result. It was definitely a foul by Demichelis but for me, the challenge looked to have been just outside of the box. No doubt that it was a red card as he was the last man and clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity. Barcelona may well have scored from a resulting free kick but Messi was never going to miss from the spot. Consequently, City were forced into damage limitation mode for the rest of the match.

Man City played well in the first half and came closest to scoring when Kompany had a header cleared off the line. Negredo had a few chances but failed to open the deadlock. Not sure why Pellegrini opted to change the formation of the team from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. Seems to me like they paid Barcelona too much respect and should have stuck to how they normally play. It was a huge shame to see the game ruined by Demichelis being sent off. Totally deserved a red but he proved once again to be City's weak link. Going one down was tough to take but they conceded a late goal which pretty much ended the tie. It will take a monumental effort at the Nou Camp to overturn the deficit but I can't see it happening. 

Barcelona eased themselves into the match and played cautiously in the first half. Their only real chance of note came when Xavi had a long shot parried away by Hart. However, they were awarded a huge boost early in the second half as Messi was given a penalty. Once they went 1-0 up and had the extra man, they dominated the match. They were brilliant with and on the ball and showed their class. Alves scored a late goal to pretty much end the tie as Barcelona go into the second leg with two away goals. They will be massive favourites to progress now and I can't see them losing the tie from here. 

Bayer Leverkusen 0 v 4 Paris Saint Germain Matuidi (3), Ibrahimovic (39pen,42), Cabaye (88)

Best Goal: Alves, Ibrahimovic. Winner: Ibrahimovic

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mattaylott