The Week Review

Hello and happy Friday to you all, it's a pretty dark and dreary day here and it kind of sums up how I am feeling about football at the moment. The Champions League and Europa League second legs were in action and it was a mixed week for the English clubs, Man City got through to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League for the first time after a dull nil nil draw on Tuesday night against Kiev and Arsenal were beaten by MSN at the Nou Camp. Liverpool are through to the last 8 of the Europa League after a 1 - 1 draw last night at Old Trafford but it was the first leg that saw them get past their arch rivals.



So on Tuesday night, Manchester City were at home at home to Dynamo Kiev and were well in control from the first after they one in Ukraine by 3 goals to 1. I thought City would win this game very easily and I wasn't going to have a bet until I saw a certain Bookmaker offer 10/1 for City to win to new customers, that was far a fantastic offer and one I thought would certainly win me some money. One thing I can say about the game is it was probably one of the most dullest games I have ever witnessed and I will never get that time back. The only real moments of an excitement was when Vincent Kompany went off injured yet again for Man City and it looks like he will be out for about a month. The injury to their captain was just the start as Nicolas Otamendi also went off injured just a few minutes later but he is hoping he will be fit for the Manchester derby on Sunday. The game was very dull and Man City looked like a team who wasn't interested in scoring anymore goals and as for Kiev, well they were utterly dreadful and I did feel a bit sorry for their fans because their players just had no desire to have a go at City or create anything. Man City face PSG in the next round and that for sure will be a much bigger challenge for them but it should be a very good game because both sides are very dangerous going forward. A little mention about Jesus Navas, who was so poor on Tuesday night, he sort of reminded me of a racing pigeon, who keeps flying into lamp-posts.



Onto Wednesday where Arsenal faced Mission Impossible at the Nou Camp, it did seem very daunting especially the form that the Gunners were in. The team was a little surprise with Alex Iwobi starting instead of the inconsistent Theo Walcott but to be fair to the young lad, he has impressed recently and I think he deserved his place. The one thing that left me scratching my head was that Mathieu Flamini was in the starting 11 instead of Francis Coquelin. I thought Arsenal started off quite well but they kept giving the ball away and against a team of superstars, you are only going to get punished. The first goal in the opening 20 minutes when Arsenal lost the ball and Luis Suarez found Neymar who calmly slotted the ball past David Ospina. I did fear the worse because we are in poor form and don't look winning at the moment but I will give the boys credit, they played some nice football and had a couple of chances. Alex Iwobi caused a lot of problems for the Barcelona defence and was a little bit unlucky not to win a penalty when he was slightly clipped by Javier Mascherano, there wasn't much contact but with penalties that have been given recently then it was definitely worth a shout. Arsenal looked a lot better in the second half and got their equalizer with an absolute worldie from Elneny who curled the ball into the top corner past Ter Stegen after some good player from Alexis Sanchez. The Gunners all of a sudden looked like they were going to take the game to the Catalan side and applied a lot of pressure but just under 20 minutes later, Luis Suarez scored a beautiful volley into the top corner from a Dani Alves cross. I thought Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi were superb and both a little unlucky to be subbed off to be honest, Oliver Giroud and Theo Walcott replaced them and it was the latter who really frustrated me. Theo Walcott had a good chance but his first touch let him down yet again and he went to wide and it was an easy save in the end. The game was wrapped up 2 minutes from time and it was Lionel Messi who finally got his goal and it was a lovely dink over the helpless Ospina. I didn't expect much from the Nou Camp but I did want a performance from the players and to be fair to them, they didn't let themselves down but it was the first leg that cost Arsenal. Barcelona face fellow La Liga side Athletico Madrid in the next round, as for Arsenal it was another night of what could have been but hopefully they can take heart from the performance and put in a shift at Goodison Park on Saturday.  




Last night it was the Europa League where Tottenham had the task of trying to overturn the 3 - 0 that they suffered in Dortmund but you could tell by the team selection that their priorities lie elsewhere. Dortmund after brilliant to watch and they have a superstar in Patrick Emerick Aubameyang who grabbed another two goals which takes him to 34 goals this season. Spurs did have a go but I don't think they will be to fussed about going out if they go on and win the Premier League. Manchester United faced Liverpool at Old Trafford where they tried to comeback from their first leg defeat at Anfield. I don't really understand Louis Van Gaal at times and his team selections, I mean why would you play Juan Mata out wide and Jesse Lingard in the middle? Anthony Martial won a penalty on the half hour when he was brought down by Nathaniel Clyne and it was Martial who calmly slotted the ball to give United a lifeline. I think if Man United would have got to half time in front then the game might have been different but just before the break it was Philippe Coutinho who scored a wonderful chip to send the away section into raptures. The second half was a pretty dead rubber because the home side never really threatened to get back into the game. Liverpool face Borussia Dortmund in the next round, a match that Klopp didn't really want but it should be a cracker and the atmosphere should be amazing at both grounds, just imagine both set of fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone at the same time.


Right that is it for now, I will be back with a Vlog later to give my predictions.

Laters