With one deadly turn and shoot, Fernando Torres crushed Inter Milan's Champions League dreams.
The Spanish striker's second-half goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead against 10-man Inter and pushed the series to 3-0 Liverpool. Game over. The Milan clubs are DONE in this year's Champions League.
Liverpool joins Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester as four of the eight teams to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. They join Roma, Barcelona, Fenerbahce and Schalke 04 in the quarters.
So what went wrong with Inter? Say what you want, but the referee in the first match changed things dramatically when he sent off Marco Materazzi. That, coupled with Ivan Cordoba's knee injury, opened the door and Liverpool took care of the rest.
There is no feeling bad for Inter, with it's star-studded roster and seemingly bottomless pockets. Even though Inter is still in first place in Serie A I can't help but get the feeling that Jose Mourinho is in Milan right now checking out condos. Whether it is AC Milan or Inter Milan, Mourinho will be speaking Italian soon enough.
Kudos to Liverpool and oft-criticized Rafa Benitez for guiding his team into the quarters and keeping alive the club's hopes for a trophy this year. I still don't rate the Reds' chances of winning it all, but you can never count them out.
The draw for the quarterfinals is set for Friday. Here is the draw I would like to see:
- Arsenal vs. Roma (Talk about some beautiful soccer this series could provide)
- Chelsea vs. Barcelona (For old time's sake)
- Manchester United vs. Liverpool (Nothing like having neighbors meeting in the Champions League quarters)
- Schalke 04 vs. Fenerbahce (This assures that one underdog reaches the semifinals)
I will admit that I'm really rooting for a Schalke-Fenerbahce matchup because it would assure three high-profile pairings, including an All-England quarterfinal.
What matchups would you like to see in the quarters? What did you think of today's match? Share your thoughts on both topics below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
Have a tip, story idea or suggestion? Send it to:
EPL > La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, etc.
What I want to see:
Chelsea - Barcelona
Man Utd. - Schalke 04
Arsenal - Roma
Liverpool - Fenerbache
Posted by: USvsIreland | March 11, 2008 at 06:21 PM
I'm a huge EPL guy, and I think this year's CL demonstrates the league's tremendous quality, especially at the top. The CL results, coupled with the successes of Championship teams in the FA Cup (and, I might add, the success of Celtic and Rangers in other competitions) certainly bolster the claim that UK football is tops in the world.
That said, I'm already resisting the onslaught of "the EPL is the greatest league the world has ever known" hyperbole that is bound to come down the pike any moment.
I'm not a fan of either Italian or Spanish football, but let's acknowledge that English clubs are having a phenomenal year, and keep in mind England's performance in Euro qualifying before we get too far ahead of ourselves...
Posted by: briguy | March 11, 2008 at 06:38 PM
Nowhere have I said, or will I ever say that English players are the best. But the EPL is by far the top league in the world. It's arguable whether the bottom half of the EPL are as good as the other bottom halfs of the top four leagues.
If you take a look at the last 5 Champs League seasons the EPL has more teams that made it to the Quarters and Semis than any other league.
Posted by: USvsIreland | March 11, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Rafa has the last half. What say you Hicks and Gillette.
Fernando Torres is worth the price!
Posted by: Nath | March 11, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Rafa has the last laugh. What say you Hicks and Gillette.
Fernando Torres is worth the price!
**correction***
Posted by: Nath | March 11, 2008 at 07:03 PM
Hicks and Gillette are such A-holes not spending the money on Torres this summer.... in all seriousness he is only good because of rafa (sarcasm is flowing like wine)
Posted by: Reid | March 11, 2008 at 07:08 PM
Torres simply amazing...
Posted by: Joe_in_ND | March 11, 2008 at 07:08 PM
USvsIreland--
My comments weren't directed at you--not in the slightest. I was commenting more generally on the press that's sure to come in the next two weeks about the EPL.
Posted by: briguy | March 11, 2008 at 07:10 PM
I didn't say he was good because of Rafa. I meant that Rafa recognized his skills and wanted to sign him.
Posted by: Nath | March 11, 2008 at 07:23 PM
I'd lay down my life savings that Schalke 04 vs. Fenerbahce and Chelsea vs. Barcelona WILL be drawn on Friday.
Posted by: kpugs | March 11, 2008 at 07:23 PM
Kpugs, are you saying that the FIFA's drawing is rigged? How could you think that? We all know that FIFA is as clean as the driven snow, totally impervious to to the possibilities of behind the scenes machinations. Especially HRH Blatter.
Posted by: Hincha Tim | March 11, 2008 at 07:32 PM
I think the EPL has the best top 4 teams in Europe but I don't think it's the best LEAGUE in the wold. Just look at how UK counries perform in the world cup. Italy, France, Germany & Portugal were the top 4 teams in the WC.
Posted by: Henry | March 11, 2008 at 07:32 PM
I dont mind americans owning my favorite team, but the way they use do their business in public i dont like. I also don't care how the players and rafa are getting about 10%-15% of the blame. A lot of money has been spent to improve this team, and in the beginning of the year (where they dropped points) there was about 10 minutes of serious play at the end of each game.... Hicks and Gillette are a little long in the tooth to be on the pitch.... direct about 50/50 blame their way, not the majority
Posted by: Reid | March 11, 2008 at 07:34 PM
That's definitely the most balanced draw as for all 4 games. I'd love to see Roma - Barca, but preferably in the semi's. Roma - Fenerbahce would be fun too.
My top 2 "Please God, No" games are Liverpool - Chelsea (an apocalypse guaranteed to be the lead game on ESPN2), and Roma - Man United. I picked up my Roma bandwagon tickets on sale early, but it would be as bad as last year, they'd be beaten mentally before they ever stepped on the field.
Posted by: eric | March 11, 2008 at 08:02 PM
Maybe Liverpool should quit the Premier League and just play Champions League matches
Posted by: kco | March 11, 2008 at 08:16 PM
briguy
You are definitely right. The English press blows everything out of proportion.
kco
I wish man, I wish. :D
At least let us switch to La Liga or Serie A. We'd have a better chance of winning the title there.
Posted by: USvsIreland | March 11, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Great, thanks. Have to take you off my rss feed because you give away results in yr headlines. Ah well.
Posted by: tancredi | March 11, 2008 at 10:45 PM
What a beautiful goal soccers goal. Torres is just pure class as a striker in every way. He may the best we have ever seen if he stays healthy. Just a breath taking goal because it was all skill,vision,execution and poise without an iota of luck.
Posted by: Thom | March 12, 2008 at 12:11 AM
How many brits are playing in the top five EPL? How many italians in the top five Serie A? Be serious: let's talk about who's the best at the next Euro Championships, and you'll get the real value... CL does not rock, if I can say so. And Forza Roma!
Posted by: vipero | March 12, 2008 at 07:05 AM
The biggest story to come out of yesterday's result was the promised resignation of Mancini. We're going to have Internazionale, Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool all with new managers next year.
Given the Italians self-promotion, and the calls for Barcelona to regain its identity, I think the following moves take place:
Inter: Marcello Lippi (none)
Barcelona: Michael Laudrup (Getafe) Chelsea: Gus Hiddik (Russia)
Liverpool: Jose Mourinho (none)
Rafa goes back to Spain and continues to lobby for the Real Madrid job - while getting paid by someone else (Valencia or Sevilla). Rykaard takes time off and does consulting for Ajax.
Posted by: McD | March 12, 2008 at 01:14 PM