Wednesday March 19 two games would decide the final two teams to the round of 8. At the beginning of the day Borussia Dortmund led Zenit St. Petersburg 4-2 on aggregate. Manchester United trailed 2-0 to Greek Champions Olympiakos. Dortmund was in the drivers seat with a 2 goal lead going into the Signal Iduna Park.
Zenit opened the game with a long knuckled shot from Hulk which Roman Weidenfeller was unable to coral. About 15 minutes later Sebastian Kehl would answer with a goal of his own for Dortmund. At this point the game score was 1-1 but aggregate was 5-3. In the second half at around the 73rd minute Jose Rondon would strike for Zenit, trying to keep their hopes alive. At that point of the game I believe it was too late even though the aggregate ended at 5-4. The Black and Yellows of Dortmund earned their spot in the last 8 and Zenit were eliminated.
The second game on Wednesday was Manchester United and Olympiakos. United had a different look in their eyes while walking out to the crowd at Old Trafford. David Moyes and the boys had an uphill battle being down 2-0 before the whistle even blew. Plenty of chances were squandered by both teams early. Manchester United were at a pace that their Greek opponents couldn't keep up with. At the 24th minute Ryan Giggs sent in a beautiful pass to Robin Van Persie which was defended all wrong. The only defense for Olympiakos was a penalty in the box. The referee pointed to the spot and RVP took complete advantage. Just before halftime Robin Van Persie would be heard again with a great setup by Giggs and Rooney. Van Persie's second was the easiest of them all. At half time the aggregate read 2-2.
The final half was an all out fight. Both teams with questionable fouls. On tired legs Olympiakos had begun to show some holes. While it seemed DeGea of Manchester United got better and better in goal. The 50th minute would prove to be the big mistake by Olympiakos. A possible goal saving foul outside the box setup Rooney and Van Persie from about 20 yards out. Rooney stepped over and RVP buzzed a rope with bend through the wall and into the back of the net. United were able to score the 3 goals they needed to advance and the round was officially over.
On Friday the drawing for the Round of 8 in Champions League will take place. Lets take a look at the 8 squads who will be represented. The teams will be representing four countries. From England you have Chelsea who defeated Galatasaray and Manchester United who defeated Olympiakos. From Spain you have 3 teams. Atletico Madrid who defeated A.C. Milan. Real Madrid who blew passed Schalke 04 and Barcelona who defeated Manchester City. France has one representative in the defending Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain. PSG defeated Bayer Leverkusen. The last two teams represent Germany and were both in the 2013 Champions League final. Borussia Dortmund defeated Zenit St. Petersburg and Bayern Munich defeated Arsenal in a great clash between the Gunners and Bavarian champions.
Many questions have to be asked with these great squads advancing. Is Bayern still the favorite and will they repeat? Will Real Madrid continue to score at will against any side? Can Manchester United who was written off be a legit contender in this tournament? The 3 big time players right now in this tournament have to be Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Obviously it won't happen but i'd love to see Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Dortmund vs Bayern , Manchester United vs Chelsea, and Paris St Germain vs Atletico Madrid. Any way you look at it there will be plenty of action. Is there a diamond in the rough that hasn't shown through yet? Who do you want to see drawn in the round of 8? Let us know here or at our twitter @OTPSoccerblog. Or on our Facebook On The Pitch Soccer Blog.
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