Arsenal must draw on the spirit of Deportivo after their humbling in Milan, while Bar�a are benefiting from Alexis S�nchez's form
"This is the Champions League, not the Chumpions League!"
So bawled the exasperated commentator reflecting on the zany finale in St Petersburg for the benefit of the English television audience. As this seesawing game lurched towards the finish, a memorable climax was produced thanks to two moments of comedy goalkeeping. First Yuri Zhevnov produced a classic howler to gift Benfica a late equaliser. Then down the other end Artur fumbled to provide an even later matchwinner for Zenit. Once all the blushing had subsided, the two teams could reflect upon an entertaining affair which sets up the second leg beautifully. Benfica have two away goals to their credit. Zenit have the advantage of a win to protect, and the encouragement of having earned a goalless draw in Portugal during the group stages (they emerged unscathed from a trip to Porto).
Luciano Spalletti described it as "a very emotional and passionate game. My players won this with their hearts, although they showed a lot of quality as well." True enough. The former Roma coach has done a spectacular job since he moved to Russia, winning the title in his inaugural season, adding the cup, and taking Zenit into the Champions League knockout phase for the first time. He is already considered the most successful foreign coach in the history of Russian football. Although Zenit still have a big task ahead of them in Lisbon, they are capable of achieving it.
And Spalletti showed that those inside San Siro were not the only elated Italians on Wednesday night.
Talking of champs and chumps ?
Arsenal's seasonal crumble is on the cards. It speaks volumes that the main sentiment as their beleaguered team head to Sunderland in the FA Cup, and then host Tottenham in the Premier League, is unremitting pessimism. It is not like they haven't been here before. Tumbling out of competitions in quick succession is a foible that happens with worrying regularity. Even the famous Invincibles of 2004 crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in a matter of days.
If that mauling at the Serie A champions, Milan, is the prelude to another calamitous collapse, the Arsenal hierarchy really has no excuse to put their heads in the sand and, when they come up for air, mutter something about sustainable business models. This is an unsustainable football model. Arsenal have lost seven of their last 17 games, and this is not even their first blip of a campaign blighted by desperate lows.
So is there any reason for optimism? They could dig out a tape of Deportivo La Coru�a's 2004 vintage, a side that produced one of the greatest of all European comebacks having been trounced at San Siro. Trailing 4-1 from the first leg, they won 4-0 at the Riazor to floor Milan. "The game turned out exactly the way I dreamed," said the coach, Javier Irureta, afterwards, and even that was an understatement.
I know, I know. Rearrange the words "straws", "clutching" and "at". But that is all Arsenal have to hang on to now.
For an apparently ageing side, Milan don't half have some zip
A friend who lives in Milan had not been too positive about Massimiliano Allegri's team before their meeting with Arsenal. The Rossoneri were, he reckoned, worryingly old and slow ? a criticism that has in fairness been levelled at them for some time now. That stereotype was demolished by a performance that displayed unrelenting energy, zest, and spontaneity. Italian worries that traditional English pace might expose them were laughed out of town once Kevin-Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho went on the rampage, while Theo Walcott did his invisible man routine.
Although Arsenal's first XI was exactly three years younger than Milan's, Allegri's team were hardly full of pensioners. The coach does have some old heads at his disposal but notably Alessandro Nesta was on the bench, while Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini played only bit parts. Once Seedorf had made his early departure, the only outfield player that might be considered a veteran was 34-year-old Mark van Bommel. The bulk of the team was in the mid-late 20s age bracket, normally the peak age for a footballer. Allegri has been clever in the way he has quietly evolved a more youthful, invigorated team while keeping the wise old heads around to lend their experience.
Most people can't see beyond a Spanish winner this season, but Milan's excellence shows they are capable of having a say in this competition.
Bar�a's pass masters outdo Alexis S�nchez
Barcelona's young Chilean had every reason to feel chuffed by his contribution to an impressive statement of intent at Bayer Leverkusen. He scored two expertly taken goals to give his team a handsome first-leg advantage, and earned the praise of his manager. "Alexis is putting in a lot of work and is scoring a lot. He opens up the pitch for us and his movement is great," enthused Pep Guardiola. "I'm very happy for him. He's a very humble guy." S�nchez, who hails from Tocopilla, a town in the north of Chile with a population that's about a quarter of the capacity of the Camp Nou, was born into a family of fishermen, and his father left them soon after to work in a mine.
He has added something to Barcelona this season, and he was deserving of the headlines this week. But, typically of this team, the most beautiful thing about both of his goals was not his input, but the assist. First Lionel Messi, then Cesc F�bregas, delivered breathtaking passes to give S�nchez something to chase. Those sublime touches are worth watching again and again.
The garden may not be entirely rosy back in La Liga, but Bar�a will not give up their European crown without a flourish.
Apoel need another miracle
As the Cypriot underdogs headed home after a 1-0 defeat in Lyon the glass was at the exact point where half empty meets half full. On the downside, they struggled as Lyon exerted their authority with a dominant performance ? they created 15 chances to Apoel's one. The upshot is that they only lost by a narrow scoreline, one they feel they can overturn at their own ground.
The Lyon coach, R�mi Garde, senses that this advantage is precarious. "We would have liked to score more goals. Hopefully we won't regret that in the second leg," he mused.
Apoel are not unfamiliar with this kind of challenge. They experienced it before this Champions League odyssey really took off. They had been beaten 1-0 away by Wisla Krakow in the qualifiers, but recovered to win 3-1 in Nicosia, a moment that left a profound impression on the coach, Ivan Jovanovic. The Serb has worked more than enough miracles already during this campaign and sooner or later the magic touch will presumably wear off, but one thing is certain. His players are not short of faith.
"It will be a different story in Nicosia," suggested the defender William Boaventura. "Lyon are a very good team. They get to this stage every year and of course people expect them to beat us. But we're not going to give them the victory without a fight. We always tend to struggle away then we win at home. I really believe we can turn this tie around at home."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/16/champions-league-five-things-learned
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