In another game worthy of attention, the under performing Bayern Munich FC team, which had slipped from first place to fifth in the German Bundesliga, overcame Europe’s most successful team, Real Madrid FC by two goals to one to edge them out of this season’s champion’s league tournament.
With Real leading by three goals to two from the first leg earlier played in Madrid, all they needed was a draw in order to qualify.
However, all their game plans were drastically altered when the Real team conceded an early goal in the tenth second of the match. The goal, which is the fastest goal in champion’s league history, came just after the match kicked off.
Real found it hard to come back into the game after that, and Bayern Munich later got their second goal in the second half. Although the Real team got a late goal via a penalty by Ruud van Nistelrooy, it was not enough to get the desired result as they exited from the competition on the away goals rule.
This early exit leaves Real Madrid with only one probable trophy in view-the league trophy. However, they are currently fourth on the table and are separated by four points from the leaders. It remains to be seen if the Real team has whatit takes to beat Barcelona FC and Sevilla FC to the title, or if this will be another season without a trophy for the team, their fourth without winning any silverware.
Arsenal FC of England could only manage a draw against PSV Eindhoven of Holland on their home ground. Having lost the first leg by a lone goal, Arsenal needed an outright win in order to qualify for the quarterfinals. They scored early in the second half, only to lose their lead with just few minutes left in the match.
The match ended in a draw, meaning that Arsenal lost out on a two to one goals aggregate score line.
For fans of Arsenal, seeing their side crash out of three competitions in just eleven days must have been a painful blow.
The club can only hope to qualify for Europe next season by placing third or fourth in the premiership.
Lyon, the dominant team in France, lost out too. They were beaten by Roma FC of Italy by two goals to nil. It was a shock result, given that the first leg ended in a draw in Rome. Given Lyon’s strength, everyone expected them to beat Roma easily. The result turned out to be a disaster for them in the end.
Inter Milan FC of Italy, the runaway league leaders in Serie A, were beaten by Valencia FC of Spain on the away goals rule. Having played a two all draw in the first leg at Milan, the two teams played out a goalless draw to ensure victory for Valencia. The match would however be remembered more for the ugly fighting scenes afterwards than the match itself.
Earlier in the season, many pundits had predicted that four teams out of Inter Milan, Lyon, Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid would surely feature in the semi-finals of the championship.
Now, with these big teams out, it remains to be seen which of the teams left in the race will eventually lift the trophy in Athens in May.
It has become really difficult to predict a winner. Or would any one reading this want to try to predict a winner?
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