Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Monday – season already over?

Anyone else feel as though all the excitement and potential late drama for this season has disappeared?

Manchester United took less than 40 seconds to score against title rivals Chelsea, all but killing the game and the Londoners’ hopes of retaining their Premier League crown, while in Italy AC Milan made it 18 Serie A trophies with a 0-0 draw at AS Roma. Barcelona took a giant stride towards a third straight La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Click on this link for our European roundup.

Champions League finalists United and Barca both need a point to clinch their respective league titles, though for the Catalans three wins will be their priority. Why? Nine points plus 91 equals 100, which would set a new record for points scored in a La Liga season.

Read here for a look back at the Premier League season and five key moments for United. The first was the signing of Javier Hernandez, who darted through Chelsea’s defence on Sunday to give the home team their explosive start. Another key performer, seemingly in big games, is South Korean Park Ji-sung.

AC Milan’s latest scudetto will come as a relief to their fans but the Italian giants face tough times ahead. Read our analysis on the future for the Rossoneri.

The only league that looks like serving up any kind of late season drama is Ligue 1, where serial past champions Olympique Lyon are making a late title surge. They have the referee to thank mind you. But bring on the drama in France. And the Netherlands, where the Eredivisie will be decided this weekend.

Back to France, and the latest on the racism row. Should coach Laurent Blanc stay or go?

Soccer Break Wednesday

That Champions League and drama undoubtedly go hand in hand was again in evidence after another tense night in Europe, with one blog even describing Inter Milan’s comeback victory over Bayern Munich as one of the best Champions League matches of all time.

As if that’s not enough, a “Little Pea” was scoring a double for Manchester United to send them through to their 11th quarter-final in just 19 years of the competition. No club has reached the last eight on more occasions.

What a night of action. Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar, instrumental in last year’s cup win, made another bad mistake. Are you worried Inter fans?

Despite the nervous ending for Man United it was all smiles in the end, Wayne Rooney in bullish mood after the match.

Looking to join holders Inter and Premier League leaders Man United in the next knockout round on Wednesday are fellow European giants Real Madrid while Chelsea should progress against Copenhagen.

Real, for all their spending and talent, have not reached the quarters since 2004, and failure again at the hands of Olympique Lyon would leave many baffled critics and fans. Do you think with twice Champions League winning coach Jose Mourinho at the helm they have a better chance?

On to Chelsea and rumours that Fernando Torres, badly in need of a goal to boost his confidence, could be rested. Where’s the logic in that?

Soccer Break Monday

Good day everyone and welcome to a new week. Following a great weekend of footballing action and with so much at stake over the next few days in Europe, there is plenty to discuss.

Let’s begin with a look at the FA Cup quarter-finals, and please add the weekend of April 16/17 to your diaries as the Manchester derby will make its way to Wembley for the semi-finals while Stoke face Bolton.

There was drama in Spain (see photo), Barcelona’s thriller in Sevilla ending 1-1 to see their La Liga lead cut to five points.

Could Real yet pip them to the title? And will Real’s highly sought after coach Jose Mourinho remain at the club?

This is a huge week for the Madrid side, who play Olympique Lyon for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals. If statistics are your thing, read on here for the low down ahead of the four last 16 second leg ties this week.

Another two clubs badly in need of a last eight spot, are holders Inter Milan and 2010 runners-up Bayern Munich who were drawn together in the last 16. Will Bayern give their coach Louis van Gaal an end to the season to remember after the Dutchman announced last week he would leave at the end of the season?

The news that dominated the weekend was of course the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Sport, in particular football, is doing its best to bring some cheer to the people, in however small a way.

Not quite a feast of football in tasty Lyon

It was my first trip to Lyon to see Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid and though I knew what to expect on the field given the Spanish side’s troubles here in the past, I had no idea what the city or its famed cuisine would be like.

In the end, the food in one of France’s gastronomic centres probably outshone the fare on the pitch although it was a decent game with both sides fighting for every ball in the cold and the rain.

Karim Benzema’s goal against his former club 43 seconds after coming on as a substitute added a bit of spice and Bafetimbi Gomis’s 83rd minute equaliser for Lyon means the last 16 second leg at the Bernabeu on March 16 is nicely simmering.

But nothing could quite compare to the culinary delights of Lyon’s bistrots and brasseries. Pistachioed sausages, calf’s head, a floating island of meringue on custard with pink pralines and the simply majestic “Andouillette Maison Ravier avec Sauce Moutarde a L’Ancienne” (which OK is effectively tripe.)

The city itself was probably a 1-1 draw between the beautiful old town, with narrow streets and quaint squares, and the slightly bizarre outer ring with garish modern architecture and a lack of town planning. (Note to self for next time. When booking what appears to be the closest hotel to the stadium, check there is actually a bridge nearby to cross the river.)

The Stade de Gerland was also not what I expected for the home of one of France’s powerhouses. It was slightly rundown but with an intriguing Roman feel with columns outside and big stone steps leading up to the stands.

It is easy to forget that Olympique Lyon are a provincial club who had never won a French league title before sealing seven in a row from 2002.

Real Madrid battle French demons and knockout round jinx

Olympique Lyon’s Stade de Gerland has proved to be something of a graveyard for Real Madrid’s European ambitions over the last decade.

The nine-time European Cup winners travel there for a Champions League last-16, first leg on Tuesday with an abysmal record to look back on from previous visits – three defeats, no goals scored and six conceded.

Their first trip to the French city came in the 2005-2006 season group stages when they slumped to a 3-0 defeat, and the following year they met again at the same stage to fall 2-0.

Last season, a spectacular strike from Jean Makoun gave Lyon a 1-0 win in a last-16 first leg, and Claude Puel’s men went on to progress to the quarter-finals with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.

That result made it six consecutive seasons that Real Madrid have failed to make it to the final eight of Europe’s elite club competition, despite them having spent world record sums on players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and former Lyon striker Karim Benzema.

The arrival of Jose Mourinho as coach at Real, fresh from winning the Champions League with Inter Milan last season, has raised expectations that he can finally break the club’s first knockout round jinx.

The Portuguese is a specialist in knockout competitions and has fonder memories of the Stade de Gerland.

Champions League returns — can anyone stop Barcelona?

How we’ve missed the Champions League. It’s nine weeks since the line-up for the last 16 was completed and a couple of months since the draw offered up a handful of belting ties, including Inter Milan v Bayern Munich in a repeat of last season’s final.

We’ll have to wait a week for that one, with the more leisurely format these days meaning we see just two matches a night. This week, we can look forward to AC Milan v Tottenham and Valencia v Schalke on Tuesday, with Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk and Arsenal v Barcelona on Wednesday.

So, to get to the question in the headline, can anyone stop this mesmerising Barcelona side winning the tournament for the second time in three seasons?

While I don’t think there’s much doubt that Pep Guardiola’s team are the pick of the 16 sides teams in the competition, playing a style of football that can take the breath away at times, they are far from invincible. An injury or an off-day for Messi, the absence of Carles Puyol at the back or a perfectly executed tactical job, such as the one masterminded by Jose Mourinho last year, could see them thwarted again. 

Inter look weaker than last year, but Manchester United have been remarkably difficult to beat this season and the other three English sides also have the powerful incentive of playing in that “home” final at Wembley.

Arsenal are obviously the biggest outsiders of that group, given that they have to face Barcelona in the last 16, but don’t write them off quite yet. They will have learned a lot from last season’s tie, when they barely got to touch the ball for long periods at home and away, and in Theo Walcott they have a player with the sort of pace Barcelona do not often come up against in Spain and who could give them a real fright.

But if Barcelona do in fact march on, I suspect their strongest rivals will come from closer to home. Under Guardiola, Barcelona have won every one of their games against Real Madrid but I can assure you they would not relish coming up against the nine-times champions in their favourite competition.

Barcelona v Inter Milan — Champions League live

Barcelona attempt to come back from a 3-1 defeat in the first leg when they host Inter Milan at Camp Nou. Will it be a happier night for Lionel Messi? Can Pep Guardiola get his own back on Jose Mourinho? Or will the Italians confirm their superiority and make it through to the final in Madrid?

Bayern Munich booked their place after a hat-trick from Ivica Olic earned them a 3-0 win in the second leg against Olympique Lyon and a 4-0 victory on aggregate. Read on in the live blog for details on how that happened.

Champions League live blog — Bayern Munich v Olympiqye Lyon

Bayern Munich take on Olympique Lyon in the first leg of the second Champions League semi-final and we’ll be following the match between these two stylish teams live from 1845 GMT, 2045 in central Europe.

Will the game be able to match Inter Milan’s crackling 3-1 victory over Barcelona? We’ll be here from around an hour before kick-off with on-the-spot detail from our reporter in the stadium, Karolos Grohmann and plenty of other contributors. Please join us for the fun.

Champions League Live: Man Utd v Bayern, Bordeaux v Lyon

We’re following the Champions League quarter-final, second legs live this evening. Join us here for updates and on-the-spot comment from Manchester United v Bayern Munich and Bordeaux v Lyon. Can Bayern hold on to their slim lead at Old Trafford? Will Wayne Rooney be fit? Is there any way back for Bordeaux? And can anyone match the feats of Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s victory over Arsenal last night?

Champions League quarter-finals — live

We’re live blogging the night’s two Champions League quarter-final first legs, with expert commentary and analysis, including on-the-spot details from our reporters in the stadiums (or stadia, if you prefer).

Join us here from around 1645 GMT for all the build-up and action from the biggest club competition in town.