Champions League Round Up: 1st Leg, 1/4 Finals.

Arsenal @ Villareal, 1-1. The first leg of Arsenal’s quarter-final campaign marked the return of Cesc Fabregas from injury; however, Arsenal’s spectacle last night was Emmanuel Adebayor, who equalized on a spectacular scissor kick. Arsene Wenger should be excited at the prospects of his next three Champions League matches: an advantage over Villareal with an away goal, the next game to be played at home, and a couple of encounters with either Porto (whom they trashed 4-0 earlier in their campaign) or the slumping Manchester United.

Side note: Is Fabregas bothered at all by the allegations by Hull that he spat at their assistant manager, Brian Horton? Arsenal and their team captain have to respond to the claim within the week.

FC Porto @ Manchester United, 2-2. I find this one a shocker: two away goals scored at Old Trafford? I expected a lot more from Manchester United given the supposed talent difference between them and Porto; the home team’s defense was a disappointment, but one can’t take away the credit from Porto’s Cristian Rodriguez (for the nice strike) and Mariano Gonzales (for the wide open shot; where was United’s defense?). Fergie himself has pointed his finger at his team’s lack of concentration especially on defense, and why not? Porto’s fighting chance and United’s demise in this tournament may very well be thanks to that late second goal.

Side note: Is it true that, following United’s recent win over Aston Villa, Federico Macheda’s Facebook details now show, “You have been poked by 75,000 people?” Hey, how does it feel after?

Bayern Munich @ Barcelona, 0-4. A superb demolition job by Barca; it was supposed to be a high-scoring affair for both teams but the visitors got smothered big time by the home team’s three-man frontline: Lionel Messi scored two while Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o had one apiece. Jurgen Klinsmann’s face at the third minute and all throughout the game spelled helplessness and frustration, and that’s exactly how Bayern should feel, disappointing all fans who expected a goal-fest.

Side note: Hans-Jorg Butt, Bayern’s goalkeeper, got smacked big time time in face by Henry’s boot after defending against the charging Frenchman; it was followed by a long stoppage, then by the goalkeeper taking off his kit and walking towards the end of the box. I thought he was going to be subbed out, but it turned out that he was just going to change uniforms to replace the bloodied one. Then, with those red marks across one side of his face, he got the ball and readied the goal kick.

Chelsea @ Liverpool, 3-1. I had a hard time watching the game after Chelsea scored their second goal; sure, I was ecstatic by the fifteenth minute of this game and the other one at Camp Nou, with both of my favorite teams up by one and two, respectively. However, while one went ahead and completely obliterated the opposition, the other crumbled and conceded three goals, two to a second-string defender, even! I can’t take anything away from Branislav Ivanovic: he was so consistent he scored twice from the same spot, so props to him. It was all the more frustrating to see the Diving Ivorian seal the deal with a third goal.

It ruined my day when Chelsea eliminated Liverpool last year in this same tournament, and now it seems like it’s happening all over again.

Side note: Ivanovic’s two-goal success last night was a testament to the Big Aristotle’s wisdom. He has been quoted saying:

“If you go around the league, anybody with the last name ‘vich’ is a great shooter. Radmanovic, Vujacic… all those ‘iches.”

- Shaquille O’Neal, on his nickname Shaqovich