Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
Andy Pakes previews this Sunday afternoon clash in the first edition of Game of the Week for 2012
Dave Hughes tells us about his sporting hero, Wes Morgan
The Yorker’s prediction of a Real Madrid win was proved right but no one expected such large margin of victory. The evening started badly for Spurs as Lennon dropped out just before kick-off will illness and the squad was reshuffled. A goal from Adebayor from a poorly defended corner put Madrid ahead after only five minutes. Three more goals, from Adebayor, Ronaldo and Di Maria, gave the Spaniards a huge advantage going into their second leg next week and a clean sheet also negates Spurs’ chance of revival through away goals. They will also miss Crouch, whose red card completed a misery trip for Redknapp and his team to the Bernabeu. Real Madrid looked lively and skilful and it’s hard to see them not progressing to the next round.
Tuesday’s other match produced the biggest shock of the week’s fixtures and gave The Yorker its first incorrect prediction. Schalke, placed 11th in the Bundesliga, were more than a match for Inter Milan and after going in 2-2 at half time, they dominated the second half. Three more goals gave them a spectacular 5-2 win at the San Siro and they now have the advantage going into their home tie next Wednesday. It’s still hard to call this one though, I think: this result was unexpected and full of goals so Inter could just as easily turn it back around for a dramatic win.
Man United travelled to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and this game gave The Yorker its second wrong prediction. United played an attacking 4-3-3 and outplayed Chelsea in the first half, taking the lead through a Rooney goal after fantastic build-up play from Carrick and Giggs. Chelsea threatened in the second half and looked like scoring but Van der Sar kept them at bay and even the introduction of Anelka didn’t change the outcome of the game. United lost Rafael to injury, despite this being his first game back from a hamstring injury, but welcomed back Ferdinand after his long spell on the side lines. United’s defence looked solid and their attack lively and The Yorker is backing them to continue their good home form and progress to the semi-finals, although it will be tough against a talented Chelsea side.
In the week’s final game, Shakhtar Donetsk travelled to Barcelona. With both teams top of their league and qualifying impressively so far, on paper it promised to be a good game. However, Barcelona proved once more they are a class above the rest and lead 3-0 with more than half an hour left to play. Shakhtar pulled a goal back but this only seemed to fuel Barcelona more and they scored two more goals to complete a 5-1 win. They have to make the return journey to Ukraine next week but it’s hard to see them losing this one now and football fans everywhere are already excited at the prospect of a Madrid-Barcelona semi-final.
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