Real Madrid ease to a comfortable home win over Galatasaray

It was a perfect day at the office for Jose Mourinho and his boys as they emerged from their Quarterfinal 1st leg versus Galatasaray with a near perfect result. 3 goals giving them a sizable advantage going into the 2nd leg in Istanbul and no away goals conceded.


Fabio Coentrao and Raphael Varane, who were both doubtful before the game, were passed fit and took the field for Madrid. Michael Essien came in for Alvaro Arbeloa at right back in the only change to the starting XI from the side that played Manchester United in both games. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the customary Champions League goal for the 4th consecutive game in a row. It was a beautiful finish from the Portuguese who chipped it over the onrushing Fernando Muslera after receiving a neat through ball from Mesut Ozil.

Galatasaray though showed plenty of adventure and were not content on sitting back. Felipe Melo in the middle of the park had a very good game for the visitors. He was involved in most of the good work and the Turkish side showed good attacking intent as they tested Diego Lopez in the Madrid goal with some long rangers. However, playing such an open game they fell prey to Real's scythe like attack on the counter. Angel Di Maria had another good Champions League outing and Fatih Terim's side were finding it difficult to contain the runs of Ronaldo and Di Maria. Karim Benzema then added the second for the home side, when he chested down a Michael Essien before effecting a cool finish at the near post.

Despite going 2 goals down, Gala still strove forward looking to attack and had a decent spell of possession before half-time, but couldn't break down the Madrid defence where both Sergio Ramos and Varane had another excellent game. But, in the second half, it was all Madrid as Galatasaray faded with their players looking fatigued and their lack of experience at this stage. Real did not really have to get out of third gear and were in cruise control and soon got the third of the night when substitute Gonzalo Higuain, who had come on for Benzema, headed in Xabi Alonso's free-kick.

A job well done for Mourinho that sees Madrid with one foot already in the semi-finals as Galatasaray will need nothing short of a miracle to overturn this one. And they will have to do it without their ace marksman Burak Yilmaz, who picked up a yellow for simulation, when replays actually showed that a penalty should have been awarded for Ramos's stamp on the Turkish forward. Ramos did pick up a yellow eventually, with some claiming it was intentional, just like 2 years ago in order to clean his slate before the semis. But, the gulf in class between the 2 sides was evident on the night and it might be one that Fatih Terim and Galatasaray may not be able to bridge even in front of their home fans in Istanbul.

A Real Gala Affair

Joyous midweek if you are a football fan with passions (and tension) running high. The starry European nights are here, the very reason why Sir Alex Ferguson claims he is reluctant to hang up his boots just yet. For 3 of the Quarter-finalists tonight - Malaga, Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund - it marks a special occasion indeed. They are in the business end of the UEFA Champions League and that doesn't happen very often.

Real Madrid are in pursuit of the 'Decima', a 10th European crown. Madrid are the royalty of Europe already, but a 10th title would just push them into an exalted status altogether. For Jose Mourinho, it's the dream of a 3rd crown with as many teams, something that nobody has ever achieved before. With Barcelona running away with the league title, all of Madrid's energies are focused on claiming the big European prize. They were very close last year, going out agonizingly on penalties to Bayern Munich in front of their home fans. And Mourinho and his men would look to make that final step this year.

Cristiano Ronaldo is doing what Cristiano Ronaldo does - scoring goals, making plays, defying gravity to hang in the air, you name it. He is joint top scorer in this year's competition with 8 goals. He shares that mantle with a guy who he will line up against tonight, more on him later. An emotional encounter with his former club Manchester United in the previous round was a dicey one, but Real pulled through and he scored 2 goals to help them on their way. They have stuttered in the league, but then again it's understandable considering where their priorities lie.

What bodes well for them is the return to form of current captain Sergio Ramos and the emergence of teenager Raphael Varane that has strengthened the defence. The duo were Madrid's standout players in the tie against United and especially in the 2nd leg were the 2 best players on the pitch along with keeper Sergio Lopez. They still struggle when they are given the ball and forced to dictate the play and United exploited this weakness very well.

What they do have in plenty is goals and electric pace up top with Ronaldo, Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain forming a lethal trio that can tear into any side. They were before yesterday, the best attacking side along with Bayern having scored 19 goals in 8 games. Once again the first leg is at home, and Real will be keen to put this tie to bed right here, right now before embarking on their trip to 'Hell'.

Turkish football is always associated with emotionally charged passionate crowds, colorful and vibrant atmosphere and players and managers who tend to play with their hearts on their sleeves. Fatih Terim, 'the Emperor' as he is called, has steered Galatasaray into the final 8. And whatever folks may say, they have earned their right to be here. You must be doing something right when you have the competition's joint leading goal scorer in your ranks. Burak Yilmaz has been on a tear in the Champions League and has matched Ronaldo when it comes to scoring. What is of real significance is that Gala have netted only 11 goals so far and Yilmaz has bagged 8 of them. Real though have failed to keep a single clean sheet so far and that will be encouraging news for the Turks as they will look to take back a precious away goal.

Didier Drogba is one man who striker who knows how to take his team to glory as he exemplified last year. He has joined the Turkish giants along with Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder to add some bite and Champions League winning experience to the squad. It has been 12 years since Galatasaray made it this far, way back in 2000-01 and it was Real who stopped them, emerging 5-3 winners on aggregate after each side won its home leg. They are charged with a mammoth task once more and while not impossible, it is isn't the easiest. Plus, with Madrid having had a big 2 games against United, you'd reckon they would have dusted off any rust and have that big game win under their belts. While for Gala, they did well to rally to beat Schalke, but this is a stern test for them.

TEAM NEWS

Fabio Coentrao and Raphael Varane both missed the game at the weekend and are rated doubtful for tonight's encounter. Varane, if he doesn't make it, will be a big miss as he was one of their key guys against United repelling many an attack. Iker Casillas is fit again, but it is very unlikely that Mourinho will start the Spanish captain preferring to go with Diego Lopez instead.

Engin Baytar and Aydin Yilmaz have not traveled to Spain and that means Johan Elmander (remember him from Bolton Wanderers) could feature. Otherwise, the Emperor has a full complement of players to choose from.

Galatasaray have improved markedly since the competition began and have gotten better with every game. With Yilmaz firing in front of goal and new additions Drogba and Sneijder, they carry a sizable threat. The first leg though will be important as a heavy defeat could leave them with too much to do in Istanbul. Real at their best this season have been unplayable especially when Ronaldo and Di Maria get on the ball. Plus there's a certain 'the Special One' in their corner, who knows all about winning the Champions League. It could very well turn out like their last encounter with home wins for each side with Madrid scoring more.

Fatih Terim before the game said: "When the draw was made, we drew a team whose goal it is to win the trophy. Madrid have some of the most important players and maybe the best coach in the world. We know very well who we are facing but in the Champions League we have already proved our strength and belief. We will have a great game regardless of the result." So we can expect goals and a good dose of entertainment, it sure does promise to be a Real Gala affair.

Barcelona vs AC Milan Preview: UEFA Champions League Round of 16

The Camp Nou will have a vibrant atmosphere tonight. For the second time this season, the historic stadium will witness a 'Catalan' mosaic night - 90,000 cards carrying the Blaugrana's traditional colors and the Catalan flag along with the central slogan of "Som Un Equip" (We are a team) are to be given out. The setting is the 2nd leg of Barcelona's Round of 16 clash versus AC Milan; a tie in which they find themselves 0-2 down on aggregate after the 1st leg.

AC Milan pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever when they stunned European powerhouse Barca not just beating them, but also doing such a fine job of preventing any goal scoring opportunities whatsoever for the Spanish side. The Italian Job at the San Siro was near perfect and Milan come into Catalonia country looking for a sequel to the act that is as good if not better.

A young and athletic Milan side clamped down on Barca as they cut down the spaces in which the Catalans usually operate and pressed them when in possession allowing them very little time on the ball. And in attack, employed a very direct approach using the pace of their forwards and Riccardo Montolivo's passing ability in midfield that exposed some of Barca's traditional failings, namely the lack of pace in the central defensive pairing of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. They hunted as a pack and were on the scene as soon as the ball found a Barca player harrowing and forcing a bad pass or a turnover to win the ball back. They also cut the supply line usually provided by the full-backs in Dani Alves and Jordi Alba. Their performance was so good that they allowed only 2 shots on goal all night with just a solitary effort on target. Not in every game does Lionel Messi have only one touch inside the penalty box and fail to muster a single shot on goal.

The key question tonight will be whether the Rossoneri can reproduce that performance from 2 weeks ago when they displayed exemplary levels of concentration and executed their strategy to the tee. It will be tough as Messi and co. are a force to reckon with at home. Barcelona have had a bad last month, February has traditionally been their Achilles heel, suffering back to back losses to arch rivals Real Madrid to go with the disappointment of the 1st leg.

FORM
Barcelona have lost 3 of their last 5 games which includes the 1st leg. They did however win their game against Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 over the weekend with Messi finding the net and scoring for the 36th consecutive La Liga game. Barcelona are well poised to reclaim the La Liga title with a 13 point lead over Real Madrid who overtook city rivals Atletico Madrid over the weekend after Atletico's loss.

Milan are unbeaten in their last 5, winning 4 and drawing 1, the draw coming in the Milan derby against Internazionale. Mario Balotelli has been firing away propelling them to league success as they've moved up to 3rd just 2 points adrift of 2nd placed Napoli. After a torrid start to the season, Massimiliano Allegri seems to have found the right mix and the team has a settled look about it and is churning out results week after week.

TEAM NEWS
Midfielder Xavi is back for Barca after missing a few games with a minor injury. The biggest name missing continues to be their manager Tito Vilanova, who is away in the United States undergoing treatment for cancer. The absence of Vilanova certainly seems to have had an impact on the side as they have struggled since his forced absence after having made a flying start to the season.

Milan striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who had an exemplary game at the Giuseppe Meazza, is out with a micro-fracture that he picked up during the game at the weekend. Allegri will not be able to call upon the services of Balotelli with the Italian being cup tied and that means a start for either former Barca man Bojan Krkic or teenager M'baye Niang alongside the talented Stephan El Shaarawy.

TACTICS & KEY BATTLES
Jordi Roura will not look to make too many changes in the line-up. Alexis Sanchez or Cristian Tello may get a start ahead of Cesc Fabregas in the attacking third to introduce some width into the game which they lacked in the first leg.

Pazzini's injury means a forced change up front for the Italian side. Niang, the 18 year old striker signed from French side Caen, was impressive in the first outing coming on as a sub and had a hand in the second goal. He would be slight favourite to start ahead of Bojan who is a similar type of player to El Shaarawy and hence may be used as a sub. Outside of that, there aren't likely to be too many changes with the likes of Antonio Nocerino and Mathieu Flamini offering good midfield back-up from the bench.

How well Milan defend will go some way in determining the outcome on the night. The Camp Nou will be a cauldron with a fervent atmosphere reverberating around the stadium and for some of Milan's youngsters it would be first time experience. If they can keep the game goalless for a good portion of the game, they will have succeeded in taking the crowd out of the game.

AC Milan have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 8 away games in the Champions League. That should be of some encouragement to the Catalans as they set about their task of overturning this deficit. However, Milan too would take heart from the fact that Barcelona too have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 6 knockout stage games at home, winning 4 and drawing 2.

Against Deportivo at the weekend, Barca interjected their usual brand of possession football with long balls and more direct play, clearly something that they have been working on and designed at unlocking a Milan defence that they couldn't find an unlock code too. We will see more of the same from Milan as they will sit back and defend in numbers looking to catch the Barca defence out on the counter.  The hosts need to ensure that they don't play too high a line and their full-backs must take cognizance of where the centre-backs are positioned as they hurtle forward.

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Andres Iniesta - No matter the numerous Ballon'd Or awards and the constant claim of the World's greatest, it is Iniesta and not Messi who is the key cog for Barca and Spain when it comes to games of this magnitude. He has time and again popped up with match winning performances on the grandest stage, just ask Chelsea. Even in the first leg, he looked the only player in a Barca shirt that looked capable of making something happen.

Stephan El Shaarawy - The electric forward was a constant threat to Barca in the first leg and posed all sorts of problems with his pace and direct running at the defenders. 'The Little Pharaoh  had a few opportunities in the first half that he may have liked to make better use of. He will surely get some more as Barcelona go looking for goals and how he makes use of them might well decide if his side progress to the next round.

Barcelona are no doubt faced with an uphill task as they look to revive their quest for Champions League glory. Standing in the way will be a young and physically fit Milan side that left them short of breath and short of ideas at the end of the 1st leg. It promises to be an exciting contest and a keen tactical battle that will see the clash of two contrasting styles in the 'Tiki-taka' against the 'Catenaccio'. Barca have been the dominant team in Europe the last half a decade and will need to call upon all their experience to ensure there is no Italian delight at the final whistle.

LIKELY XI's
Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Alexis, Pedro, Messi
AC Milan: Abbiati, Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant, Ambrosini, Muntari, Montolivo, Boateng, El Shaarawy, Niang