12/1 EPL Talk

It has been frustrating after seeing Liverpool were held to a goalless 0-0 draw by relegation battler Stoke City. Haihzzz, I wonder why Liverpool just don't know how to play against Stoke, they can't really penetrate into their tight defence. TWICE 0-0? What's happening man? And why the hell Rafa put all his strikers on the bench who are capable of doing so? Torres, Keane, Babel were on the bench and Kuyt played alone up front, which was really an ineffective tactic.

On the next day, Chelsea were surprisingly thrashed 3-0 by the devils. That means Man Utd are now having the upperhand in the title race with 2 games in hand. While Chelsea's title ambition was seriously "damaged" after the miserable defeat. What is happening to Chelsea now? Scolari is now destroying Chelsea's reputation which was established by Jose Mourinho( I believe Chelsea fans must be missing him, and my dad did! A LOT!!!) Recently we have been talking about Chelsea during Morinho's Era: They were superb, these are what we realised:

1) Never lose a game at home in the league(86 matches unbeaten)
2) Have a rock solid defence, never give any chances to their opponents to come back when they score first (only the super on form Barca did that in CL)
3) No way they will concede 3 goals in a game
4) Treated their fierce rivals- Man U & Arsenal like a piece of cake!(always can beat them comfortably, thrash them, or "play with them"....etc)
5) Against Liverpool, League- 100% win!, only struggled against Rafa's strategy in cup competition
6)Good at set pieces(attack & defend)

However, After Scolari took over, everything seems to have gone... Lets see what happened to them:
1)Lost their unbeaten home record
2)Score 1st means nothing(even at stamford bridge Arsenal came from 1 goal down to beat them)
3)Thrashed 3-0 by Man United
4)Afraid of their title contenders.... Had lost to all 3 of them!
5)Poor at set pieces.( always concede corners)

English teams await their fate in Champions League Draw

It is confirmed that all 4 English side will be playing in this year's quarter-final of the Champions League after Liverpool comfortably eliminated Italian Champions Inter Milan from the competition. Last season we saw 3 English teams were in the semi-final and now, all 4 are in the last 8. Liverpool’s triumph in Milan on Tuesday night – the second by an English side after Arsenal's memorable win at San Siro, one of the the holy stadium in Italy where the visiting teams always failed to produce results. It is no doubt that we can now say the English teams are the best in Europe.

With 4 English Teams, 1 Spanish team, 1 Italian team, and 2 other surprises from Germany and Turkey. They must be waiting anxiously for the quarter-final draw on 14 March. Although the 4 EPL team would prefer those teams from other country, the possibility for an all English encounter remains sky high. By looking at the current situation, it is virtually inevitable that they will face each other at some stages later. So bring it on, who do you want to play in the last 8?

Here are some words from the players and managers:

• United manager Sir Alex Ferguson: "But it doesn't really matter who you play in the quarter-finals, they're all going to be difficult games. The important thing is we are there."
• Chelsea captain John Terry: "Hopefully we can avoid them(English rivals) but if we are drawn together we have to beat them.'
• Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard: "If that happens we'll deal with it at the time but it would be nice to avoid the English teams for as long as possible. It will be an exciting tie if we do draw one, that's for sure."
• Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas:"We'd like to avoid Barca at this stage and save them for the final after what happened 2 seasons ago, but if we do draw them then we know we will have a big extra incentive to beat them.

Teams line up for quarter-final draw: Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, AS Roma, Schalke, Fenerbahce

TSUNAMI in FA Cup quarter-final!

Casualties- Man Utd & Chelsea

Last year finalists Man Utd and Chelsea were out of the FA Cup following some stunning upsets.


Casualty no. 1- Manchester United

Portsmouth shocked last year's finalist Manchester United 1-0 away from home in FA Cup quarter-final. It was a memorable win as they recorded their first victory at Old Trafford since 1957. Man Utd had up to 64% of possession and made most of the attacking in the entire match but could not find a way past David James and Pompey's defensive backline who were inspired throughout. As Man U were busy attacking and trying to win the match, Portsmouth got their rare chance in the match by converting a penalty to win the match with 12 minutes on the clock.

Casualty no. 2- Chelsea

I believe Chelsea must be celebrating before the match when Pompey eliminate their biggest rival- Man U from the competition. Which means the rest 0f the EPL 'big 4' are no more available. From quad to treble, now? 2 left..... And now they seem having a big trouble after they blew up their glorious chance in the FA Cup by losing to a lower division side Barnsley. After knocking out Liverpool in the previous round, Barnsley continue to Giant Killing form to stun holder Chelsea 1-0 in the last 8 of the competition. All credits to Barnsley- the truly sensational giant killer, hope we can see them in EPL for the coming seasons.

3rd casualty- Newcastle United?

Perhaps they are the casualty who are staying in the "hospital" for some time..... When Liverpool "visit" them with players like Gerrard and Torres, it is predictably that they are going to add salt to their wound. Without any doubt, Liverpool cruised past them easily 3-0, Torres and Gerrard both scored. After Pennant's bizarre first goal, the second and third goal saw the flawless partnership of Gerrard and Torres combined well to finish off their opponent in brilliant style.

Milan, Madrid knocked out at home!

UEFA Champions League 7 times winner AC Milan & 9 times winner Real Madrid are out of the competition following their woeful defeat at home.

Real Madrid 1-2 AS Roma(Roma win 4-2 on aggregate)

Roma produced a superb away performance at the Santiago Bernabeu to deservedly knock 10-man Real Madrid out of the Champions League. They won 2-1 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate. Real Madrid seem they have not recover from their recent poor form after a 4-2 win in La Liga few days ago. Despite winning 2-1 at the home two weeks ago, the Italian side were widely considered as outsiders against the Spanish champions. Both teams had their chance in an open encounter, but the 71st-minute dismissal of Madrid defender Pepe finally tipped the balance in Roma's favour. Taddei duly headed the visitors in front two minutes later and, although Raúl González levelled with 15 minutes left, Vučinić struck in added time to ensure it is Roma who take their place in the draw on 14 March.

AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal (Arsenal win 2-0 on aggregate)

Young gunners ended Milan's era and send them packing after an outstanding display at San Siro. They made history by becoming the first team to beat AC Milan at San Siro in European Competition after that impressive result. A 0-0 draw at home look like Arsenal are facing a difficult task 2 weeks later when they take on Milan at San Siro. Instead, started the match boldly, at a high tempo, and were superb throughout a first-half they dominated, yet couldn't find the vital breakthrough goal. Finally, on 83 minutes, Arsenal got the goal they truly deserved. Fabregas found himself in space, burst forward, turned Gattusso and hits a superb early shot from distance that took Kalac by surprise. With the Arsenal fans in the stadium ecstatic, and many Milan fans streaming out of the ground, Arsenal got the second goal through Adebayor, who taped in from close range after a Walcott's low cross.

Teams who progressed into quarter-final:

Barcelona, Arsenal, Man Utd, Fenerbahce, Chelsea, AS Roma, Schalke

-Match between Inter Milan and Liverpool will be played on 11 March.

-Quarter-finals and semi-finals draws will be made on 14 March in UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Is Avram Grant good enough for Chelsea?

After losing to Spurs in the League Cup Final, the quadruple dream is over for Chelsea. Who cares? The treble is still on! And recently there are problems surrounding their Israeli coach- Avram Grant, who was surprisingly chosen to succeed Jose Mourinho last September. Many pundits suggested that Grant isn't a suitable man to lead Chelsea towards success. Some people even said that he looks like a butcher rather than a football manager!

Can he be more successful than Jose Mourinho? The short, brutal answer is, 'No.' Mourinho was adored by the Chelsea fans (and, it was clear, most if not all of the Blues' players). He was always going to be a hard act to follow, whoever took over. In the first place, the owner of the club Roman Abramovich's dismissal of Jose Mourinho without a good reason could be a costly mistake to the club. The fans continued to chant Mourinho's name at Chelsea matches, suggesting that Grant had not yet won their hearts.

In addition, rumours are spreading that many of Chelsea's key player could leave the club this summer if Grant remains at the club. The newspaper adds helpfully that relations between Grant and his coaches, Dutchman Henk Ten Cate and long-serving Scot Steve Clarke, are "uncomfortable."Apparently their Chelsea futures will be determined by the appointment of the new manager, who could be another Dutchman, with both Guus Hiddink (a friend of Abramovich) and Barcelona's Frank Rijkaard (Ten Cate's boss at Barca) identified as possible successors. It is clear that people at Chelsea are showing their unwillingness to play under Grant.

In fact, his record at the club may be acceptable, just 3 defeats in 36 matches in charge at Chelsea. But they will be slightly disturbed that the three matches Chelsea have lost under Grant have been 3 very important and big matches- a cup final and Premier League games against their title challengers(Arsenal & Man U). They may be wondering whether their manager lacks the ability to produce results in big matches. Unlike Mourinho, who had won 3 cup finals & an unbeaten record against Arsenal in his 3+ years reign at the club.

After All, it will be interesting to see whether he can produce results when Chelsea's season, which is far from over, takes them into the latter stage of the Champions League and the FA Cup. A memorable treble may become realistic? Or if they get things wrongly, they could end the season with nothing? We will see when Grant and his squad are attempting to prepare for two crucial cup ties this week: the return leg against Greek champions Olympiacos in the last 16 of the Champions League, then the FA Cup quarter-final against Barnsley.

UEFA Champions League last 16 preview

With the first leg of the Champions League had already played, here are some selected important matches as we take a look at the chances for some big teams of progressing into the quarterfinal.

AC Milan vs Arsenal (first leg 0-0)
Arsenal could blame themselves for not taking their chances in the first leg as AC Milan secured a goalless draw at Emirates and looking good to beat Arsenal in the second leg at home.

Prediction: Milan through

Man United vs Lyon (first leg 1-1)

Lyon look as if they have beaten Man U in the 1st leg but Carlos Tevez's crucial late away goal in the first leg provide them the upper hand into the second leg for Man United.

Prediction: Man U through

Barcelona vs Celtic (first leg Barca lead 3-2) A win and 3 away goal for Barca in the first leg, they are certainly in a comfortable position and should not face any problem of advancing into the last 8 of this competition. Prediction: Barca through

Inter Milan vs Liverpool (first leg Liverpool lead 2-0)

A magnificent 2-0 victory in the first leg puts Liverpool in command of this tie. Perhaps this is the biggest margin so far in the last 16 as Liverpool got the definite advantage over their opponent. While Inter is facing an impossible task and need a big miracle to overcome the 2 goals deficit

Prediction: Liverpool through

Real Madrid vs AS Roma (first leg Roma lead 2-1)

Close one. Madrid played well in the first leg and were unlucky as Mancini's second-half strike earning the Roma a slender advantage to take to the Santiago Bernabéu. However, with an away goal, they will be confident enough to pit Roma in the second leg at home.

Prediction: Madrid through

Chelsea vs Olympiacos (first leg 0-0)

Olympiacos produced an impressive display to tame Chelsea and earn a scoreless draw in the first leg. With Chelsea looking invincible at home, they are expected to overcome their opponents in the second leg.

Prediction: Chelsea through