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This Night in Champions League Action: A French Quadruple
Chelsea ran riot in Copenhagen this evening, winning 2-0 with Nicolas Anelka scoring on both sides of the half. The west londoners got just the opposition they needed to turn their sad form around, with the bald Frenchman showing real class against a side who looked very much like they hadn't played in two months. Torres wasn't as lucky, though he's manufacturing chances. Here's a good summation of his current condition by the guardian liveblog: 59 min: Torres picks the ball up down the right and cuts inside. For a moment he's free in the box, one on one with the keeper, but hesitates and allows Antonsson to come back at him. Torres drops a shoulder and makes himself some more space, eventually getting a shot away, but the keeper's got time to position himself well and gets behind it. It's become a glaring confidence issue, this, but he's getting
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Champions League: Madrid roll into Lyon, Chelsea visit Copenhagen
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Adeus Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima
Commentary
A Love Letter to (North) London
(When it comes to the Champions League, I can't help but root for any English team, unless that team is playing against Arsenal... How the Gunners beat Barcelona is not for me to decide, for I'm certainly not an analyst. My best answer is that Arsenal beat Barca the same way Arsenal can be beaten: Solid defending and goalkeeping, making chances count, waiting for a couple sloppy passes and scoring on the break. As for the Spurs, I love to watch them. I'm an American Arsenal fan, so the Gunners/Spurs rivalry is a non-issue. Yeah, I get excited when they play each other, I get a bit worked up, but I watch my soccer on the t.v., not the telly. My villains are United and Chelsea, unless they're playing in the Champions League, not against Arsenal!) Dear North London: Thank you for last week. Thank you for entertaining us in such dramatic fashion. Thank you
Schedule
What to watch this weekend: Feb 19-20
Champions League knockout play now committed to memory, we're back into the domestic leagues with a touch of cup action in England, and the rest of the world getting on with earning points. As you may know, faithful readers, we tend to look to the Soccer Insider for our weekend tv listings, but seeing as so many of us watch matches through variously legal web outlets, we thought of expanding the list a bit this week. Fascinating, we know. All times Eastern US. Click the teams to see on which channel the games are being shown in your country. Fancy! Saturday, February 19th 7:30 am Chelsea vs Everton FA Cup The pick of the round. Everton has become a second-half-of-the-season team, and though they've lost the speedy little Bafana Bafana Steven Pienaar to Spurs, they're still a dangerous side. Though saying that, Evra is out with another injury just when
Commentary
The Loneliness of the Goalkeeper
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Barcenal: A Pregame Reading List
The marquee matchup of the Round of 16 is without a doubt Arsenal vs. Barcelona. That's partly because Arsenal is the one group-stage favorite that slipped into 2nd place in their group (behind Shakhtar Donetsk, due to losses at Donetsk and at Sporting Braga), and hence had to draw a group winner for the Round of 16. But it's also because these teams have an affinity, a rivalry, and a history. Their rivalry comes out of their affinity and their history. Both play what might be called the Dutch style of football--one that emphasizes possession, with the ball on the ground, intricate and sustained buildup (the opposite of "Route one" football), one- and two-touch passing (tiki-taka, if you will), individual technical skill, movement off the ball, a fearful geometry of passing angles..all in all, various aspects of "total" football. Indeed, this Dutch heritage is real, especially in Barcelona's case: their