Champions League Today :-)

[Malenko]

The thing that impresses me about Lyon is that they are bloody fast going foward and have great passing and movement.

I think they could to the semis at least.

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[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I think Lyon are a top class team. Sure they aint no Barcelona or Milan, but so what? Everyone seems to be underrating them when to be fair, they've been very impressive the whole way through. All depends on the draw though. Against Milan I don't think they'll do it, but if they can draw someone like PSV or Inter/Porto then I reckon they'll get even more momentum and even more of a boost in confidence for them to get through and possibly win it. Doubt it, but they are a good side so you never know.

My money is on AC. It was them from the start, well them or Barcelona. I've got faith that Juve can do it but I'm not going to try jinx anything and get cocky. I'd love another Milan/Juve final, don't care about you haters either. If they beat us in like a month in Serie A, then I want Juve/Milan to be the CL final, it's the only way for revenge if they beat us and win Serie A. It'd probably be either another super close game with hardly no goals, or a game with quite alot of goals, it goes either way sometimes with us two. If the strikers are on top top form, then I'd say it could be a high scorer seeings though the strikers are pretty much all world class. If the defence is on super form though, then it'll be tight like usual. So tight that I love watching it, because it shows how good the two teams are all around and so evenly matched. Saying all that, there's a long way to go yet

[G-O-D]

Well, I feel that Chelsea have the ability and the form right now to reach the finals in Istanbul. But anything can happen from now to then, so nothing is for certain.

And Lyon is a good team, people shouldn't underestimate them. Once you reach the quarter finals, there is no such thing as a 'weak' team.

[therockbox]

Adriano's hat-trick booked Internazionale their place in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League as they defeated Porto 4-2 on aggregate.

The Serie A outfit managed to come away from Estadio Dragao with a 1-1 draw from the first leg and recorded a 3-1 win on home soil to become the third Italian side to reach the last eight.

Porto came into the game off the back of a 4-0 loss at the weekend and soon found themselves in trouble as the hosts went in front after five minutes.

A slack pass towards Jorge Costa handed possession to Adriano who muscled his way past the veteran defender and fired in a left foot shot that was deflected high over the head of the stranded Vitor Baia who could only stand and watch the ball drop underneath the bar.

It was a much-needed goal for the Brazilian which clearly restored his confidence after he had managed to find the net just once in his last 12 games.

The early goal should have been the spark for an entertaining encounter but instead the sparse crowd inside the Giuseppe Meazza were treated to a dull display as neither set of players appeared capable of retaining possession.

Benedict McCarthy looked the only player capable of opening up the Inter defence but the striker found himself a lonely figure up front as he lacked any support from his team mates.

The second half did at least see Porto up the tempo as they went in search of an equaliser.

Ricardo Quaresma gave Francesco Toldo in the home goal his first real worry with a swerving right foot strike from outside the area that drifted just wide of the keeper's left hand post.

Porto's attempts to finish an equaliser opened up gaps at the back and a perfectly weighted pass from strike partner Julio Cruz played in Adriano who flicked the ball into the top of the net with the outside of his left foot to grab his, and Inter's, second of the night.

However the current European champions were not going to give up their title without a fight as they attempted to produce a late rally.

Giourkas Seitaridis' mis-hit cross that struck the base of a post was an early warning for what was to follow as Jorge Costa poked home a loose ball from a corner to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

The tension amongst the home fans began to rise as Porto sensed the chance of a late equaliser similar to the one that knocked out Manchester United at the same stage of last season's competition.

Javier Zanetti should have wrapped it up for the hosts when he galloped through a static defensive only for his finish from a tight angle to be hacked off the line by Pedro Emanuel.

But the full back's miss was not to prove crucial as Adriano made sure Roberto Mancini's side would progress with a curling effort from just inside the area that completed his hat-trick.

[Malenko]

I started watching the game but got bored, but I'm not surprised to see Inter through.

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[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Yeah so next week is another big week in the CL, well a huge week actually. The big Liverpool/Juve game is on, well big for me anyway and for most English fans I suppose. Should be a cracking game even more when it's at Anfield, plus that's good for us I reckon as if we can get a victory there we could probably hold Liverpool in Turin, but we'll see.

05/04/2005

Liverpool 2-2 Juventus

Lyon 3-1 PSV

06/04/2005

Chelsea 3-2 Bayern

Milan 3-1 Internazionale

I reckon Lyon will actually nearly cruise into the next round, should win at home. Chelsea should too in all honesty, but I reckon Bayern will push them all the way and if it is the score I predict, it'll give them the edge as they're damn solid in Munich and would only need one goal to go through. AC should beat Inter in the first leg, but then again it is a derby match and the crowd will be red hot for both teams, so this one is very hard to call. AC are too strong for them though if you ask me, so they should take the win in the first leg. Like I said about Liverpool/Juventus, I think it'll be a cracking match but I'm not too sure if we'll walk away with a win. I mean a draw for us wouldn't be bad at all when you think about it. In Turin we know we can hold our own if we're at our best, so it's going to be alot about this first leg I reckon. Very hard to predict though and I'm praying that fucking Nedved is fit for once. Everytime he gets back he just gets injured again, it's a piss take. Always in the big games too, so we need him in this first leg for the full ninty minutes, and we need him to stop Gerrard at times.

[therockbox]

With all our injuries, it wouldn't surprise me for Juve to walk through. I hope that Biscan can carry on his good form in Europe though, seeing as Hamann's injured.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Well tonights the night. Baros is playing which I'm happy about, always wanted to see him at Juve so it'll be interesting to see him against us. Hamman, Morientes and Pellegrino are all out, one due to injury and obviously the other two cant play because of the cup tie thingy. Nedved is back for us too, which is a huge boost that's for sure. I'm just really up for this game, one that I've wanted to see for so long, so I reckon it'll be pretty big.