And then there were four......

This last week was not particularly exciting when it came to soccer action in Europe. The league matches went all as expected and did not bring any exciting moments or recognizable matches. The only thing that made this week exciting was the second leg of the UEFA champions league. After a gruelling first leg two weeks ago, this week was to bring some thrilling matches. The first to matches of the second leg were played on Tuesday. The first encounter was between Real Madrid (Spain) and Galatasaray (Turkey). After a disappointing first leg and a 3-0 loss for the Turkish side, the second leg did not look very promising. To everyone's surprise, the game turned out to be exciting and full of thrilling moments. The game started out 1-0 for the Spanish side, but quickly turned around and became 3-1 for the Turkish team. It might have been the home crowd that inspired Galatasaray, but they drew themselves close to moving on. Unfortunately, Ronaldo scored for Real Madrid and sealed his team's ticket to the semi finals. The aggregate finished 5-3 for Real Madrid. The second game of the day was Málaga (Spain) vs Borussia Dortmund (Germany). The final decision of who would move on to the next round came down to this match, after a 0-0 tie two weeks ago. The German team was the heavy favourite, but the game had some twists and turns. The teams charged and the game progressed to a 2-1 for the Spanish team. It was clear that they would be moving on; until the 90th minute. In the last three minutes of the match. The German team scored twice and drove the final stake into Málaga's heart. They claimed their rightful spot in the champions semifinals. 

On Wednesday, the two other matches took place. The first was between Barcelona (Spain) and PSG (France). The previous match (tie 2-2) had left some uncertainty and it wasn't clear who would win. This next match would clear up the picture and define the better team. To be honest PSG dominated most of the match and scored the first goal. Barcelona was being eliminated up until the last 17 minutes of the game when they equalized the score. They held on for the 1-1 tie. The aggregate finished 3-3 but Barcelona moved on because of away goals. The final math of the quarter finals was Juventus (Italy) vs Bayern Munich. After a 2-0 to the Italian side, this game was supposed to be their time for redemption. They needed to change and win. Unfortunately this game, although on different soil, was a mirror reflection of the first leg match. The German machine cruised to a 2-0 win again and easily advanced to the next round.

After those four teams qualified for the next round, the semis promised to bring very good match ups. After the lottery was played, the match ups where decided: Bayern vs Barcelona and Real Madrid vs Borussia. No matter how they would have been arranged, the matches would have turned put to be awesome. There is no week team in this round and everything is possible. Bayern is favoured because of Barcelona's weak performance against PSG and Real Madrid is favoured because of their excellent results lately. Either way, the semifinals will bring some very exciting moments. The battle of Spain vs Germany, the powerhouses of the football world. Let's hope that next week will bring us the greatest matches of the year and the best soccer from all four teams.

A.C.P.