Friday 18 March 2011

English teams given good chance

On the face of it, the draw for the quarter and semi-finals of the Champions League has been kind for the English sides.

There will definitely be one English side in the semis, with Chelsea facing Manchester United in a repeat of the 2008 final.

Images of John Terry's penalty miss and Didier Drogba's red card in Moscow are sure to be trotted out in the lead-up to the match, but both sides are markedly different to how they were then.

Chelsea now 'boast' £50m man Fernando Torres, and while he hasn't scored for them yet, he is sure to cause United no end of problems.

Nemanja Vidic has been sent off four times in his United career. Three times against Liverpool and one time against Chelsea, with Fernando Torres in the opposing side each time.

Torres' presence worries Vidic and this is a problem Sir Alex Ferguson must address before the tie. Vidic should not be intimidated by Torres as he is a world-class defender in his own right.

As for United, they are surely a weaker side than they were in Moscow.

They can no longer call on the talents of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, and must be worried by their apparent lack of quality.

They have great talents, like Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Nani, but Chelsea should fancy their chances as United have been quite one-dimensional this season.

As for the other English tie, Tottenham should be delighted with their pairing with Real Madrid.

They go into the game with nothing to lose, they have been written off by everyone and can get on with their business in a quiet fashion.

But they do have a realistic chance.

Real Madrid are nowhere near the side Barcelona are, and if Spurs can keep the score down in the first leg in Spain, they will have a great chance in the return leg at White Hart Lane.

The Spurs fans will create an amazing atmosphere, an atmosphere which intimidated European champions Inter Milan earlier this season.

If Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart are fully fit and in top form, they could beat anyone.

This will be their acid test, and if they can do to Jose Mourinho's side what they did to Inter and AC Milan, they will be seen as a giant of European football.

If they do overcome Real, they are likely to face Barcelona in the semi-finals.

That will be a different challenge altogether, and they would need Barca to be well below-par if they were to beat them.

But Real is the first challenge and the only thing they should be concentrating on.

The return leg at White Hart Lane will be a spine-tingling event and the Spurs players will relish the challenge.

Harry Redknapp deserves this moment for all the hard work he has put in over the years, from the job he did at Bournemouth to his salvation job at Portsmouth.

Spurs have come a long way since Redknapp took charge, and this is their moment. They have had great occasions already this season, but this will be the icing on the cake.

Barca should beat Shakhtar in their quarter-final, although that is not a certainty given the Ukrainian side's imperious home form.

A Tottenham-Shakhtar semi-final would be some story and would take a great effort by both clubs, but nothing is impossible.

Defending champions Inter face Schalke in the other tie, with the winner drawn to face the winner of the Chelsea-Man Utd tie in the semis.

That presents a great chance for an English side to reach the final as Schalke are struggling in the Bundesliga and Inter are not the side they were under Jose Mourinho.

The competition needs an English side in the final, and this draw gives the sides left, particularly Chelsea and United, a great chance of making it to Wembley.

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