Left field

Barca tired? Not on this evidence

Men tuning in for lots of action in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg ties would have rued the decision to stay in front of the TV on Valentines’ Night when Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen and Olympique Lyon against APOEL Nicosia reached the 40-minute mark.

Both were 0-0. APOEL had not registered a shot on goal. Barcelona had dominated their German opposition with 78 per cent of possession, yet no opening score.

There have been reports of a tired Barcelona recently, justifiably. The La Liga and Champions League holders have slipped to 10 points behind arch rivals Real Madrid, who are about the strongest outfit left in Europe’s premier competition on current form.

Perhaps this woke Barcelona up as Alexis Sanchez netted a 41st-minute opener.  Coach Pep Guardiola said afterwards: “I think for the spectators the second half was more fun to watch than the first.”

Barcelona scored two more goals, Lionel Messi came alive, and the Catalans conceded just one in a hugely improved second-half display, that led Leverkusen defender Vedran Corluka to say the tie was over. Few would argue with him.

More in the balance is Lyon’s tie with unheralded APOEL, who will head back to Cyprus with just a one-goal deficit. Can the Nicosia side make more history and reach the quarters?

In action on Wednesday will be Arsenal’s record goalscorer Thierry Henry when the London-club travel to the San Siro for their AC Milan clash, while Zenit St Petersburg host Benfica. Valentine’s Day will be over so let’s hope for romance on the pitch in the first halves.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Soccer scores and the power of the pub

Let's be honest here, people, predicting the English football scores has proved to be a lot trickier than many of us imagined.

You'd have thought that the frankly obsessive interest most of us here at Reuters Soccer Blog Heights take in football would see us approach this competition with the pitiless, sweeping brilliance of Celta Vigo in their 'EuroCelta' heydey of 1998-2000*.

But no. It turns out we're strictly second division, rather like Celta now, in fact, when it comes to predicting the scores. Still, at least we now know why.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger puts his success in football down to being brought up in the Croix d'Or bistro in Duttlenheim. Wenger said:

"I even learned about tactics and selection from the people talking about football in the pub... who plays on the left wing and who should be in the team."

This is good news for me, as my dad was brought up in a pub so I'm going to get him to do my predictions this week. Expect great things.

To recap, briefly, you get one point for predicting the right result, and make that five points if you get the score spot on. This week there are double points, and possible forfeits, for Stoke v Manchester United, and there are always bonus points available, but I'm afraid they are entirely on my whim. Here's how things stand at the moment: