Quarterfinals of the Champions league

                These past two weeks of the UEFA champions league have been filled with excitement, heart brokenness and controversy. The first leg of the quarterfinals ended up leaving Real Madrid and Bayern Munich with cushy aggregate goal advantage leaving their opponents, Apoel and FC Marseille, at a big disadvantage. It took Real Madrid about 20 minutes into the 2^nd half before Benzema was finally able to put away one of the many chances he had. This goal ignited a spark in fellow teammates as their seemingly disappointing performance against the underdogs APOEL, turned into a slaughter. Real Madrid was then quickly able to convert a goal from substitute Ricardo Kaka and another from Karim Benzema. APOEL who were the first team from their country, Cyprus, to make it this far in the competition were left heart broken when the final whistle blew. This result was not much different for Marseille who were paired against Bayern Munich. Bayern’s superior offensive side ended up crushing Marseille’s defense leaving the French team with a 2-0 disadvantage heading into the second leg.  Chelsea was also able to secure a 1-0 victory against Benfica in Portugal. This was a big deal for Chelsea fans as that away goal gave them a newfound hope for their team’s progression in the knockout stages; the reason why the away goals are so big is that in case of a draw, the away goals are the deciding factor between progressing to the next round or elimination. However, fan favorite Barcelona was unable to defeat AC Milan. Between the combination of a controversial pitch and defiant Italian side, the current champions were held at bay with 0-0 scoreline.

          The second leg was not much different than the first. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea were all able to hold onto their aggregate advantages and secure a spot in the semi-finals leaving heartbroken Marseille, APOEL and Benfica fans with nothing other than hope for next year’s competition. The only thing that changed was the Barcelona VS. AC Milan game. Plagued with controversy and anger, the Italian side was defeated 3-1 in Spain.

          As I mentioned earlier, this year’s quarterfinals were filled with controversy. First, Benfica was in an uproar over their 1-0 defeat at home because of some bad calls. Not only did the referee fail to give the home side a penalty kick over a handball, he also handed out numerous yellow cards which left Benfica’s defense in a sad state as both their captain and central defenders were deemed ineligible for the second leg at Stamford Bridge. Benfica’s luck was not changed as midfielder Maxi Pereira was controversially sent off for a second yellow card in England. Because of this extremely controversial call, the Portuguese side has decided to claim numerous complaints against the Skomina, the referee of the games.  The AC Milan vs. Barcelona was not much different. After handing out two penalties and eight yellow cards, the Italian side was left livid with a 3-1 defeat in Spain. It was quite clear that Bjorn Kuipers favored, and some believe gave the game, to the defending Champions.