The quarter finals draw of the Champions League has pitted old foes against each other. A repeat of the infamous confrontations between Man Utd and Bayern, and also a repeat of Arsenal V Barca final a few years ago, while the French duo battle it out for a place in the last 4 as well as the domestic league title. Interesting.
Obviously United are favourites to see off Bayern Munich, but who ever said football was a precise science? I mean, Real were knocked out by Lyon, weren’t they?
Darren Fletcher is probably wise enough to realize overconfidence could be lethal to his side’s hopes of being crowned continental champions once more, stating the Red Devils will certainly learn from Real’s shocking exit at the hands of Lyon, so they won’t be making the same mistake Real did.
“You can be too presumptuous and start looking too far ahead,” Fletcher announced.
“People can say various things about the draw but the fact is these teams are in this competition because they have beaten big sides along the way.
“You don’t get to the quarter or semi-final of the Champions League by being a poor side.
“The warning signs are there. If you go into a tie underestimating a team like Lyon, for instance, you will be out.
“It is a tough draw. Outside of Barcelona, it is probably as tough as you could have got.
“We played them in pre-season and we were very impressed with them under Louis van Gaal. Since Christmas they have hit a bit of form. They have understood the way Louis van Gaal wants them to play.
“In Robben and Ribery, they have two of the best wingers in world football and are definitely a real danger in the tournament.”
The Allianz Arena hosts the 1st leg, with the return leg being played at Old Trafford, which is probably to Man Utd’s advantage, but if Sir Alex’ men are not on their guards it could be a repeat of the Lyon-Real affair which was also finalized at the Bernabeu. Would Rooney lead his side where Ronaldo couldn’t take his?
And let’s not forget Bayern did knock out Man Utd from the same round in 2001, and in 2002 another German side (Bayern Leverkusen) also knocked them out from the semi-final. In fact, United have not been able to beat Bayern in 4 games in the 21st century.
More News
According to SportItalia, The Gunners are starting to give up on signing Fulham and Australia’s veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, and even his alternate on their list Maarten Stekelenburg who plays for Ajax also appears to be a distant target by now, so Arsene Wenger is turning his attention elsewhere to find a proper goalkeeping options [...]
Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for his new signing Javier Hernandez as the 22 year old player performed well in his debut with The Red Devils in their friendly win over MLS All-Stars. Hernandez, a Mexican international signed by Old Trafford just before the WC finals in which he scored twice for his [...]
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini insists Robinho will be back at Eastlands. he is adamant Micah Richards has future with the club, but he is also undecided between Shay Given and Joe Hart so far. Mancini tackled many issues in his interviews with Sky Sports News and the Manchester Evening News. Of the two international [...]
Arsenal target Sebastian Giovinco will decide on his future sometime next week according to his agent Andrea D’Amico, who also expressed his disappointment in the fact Giovinco has not been giving enough playing time at his current side Juventus. Arsenal of course are the main contenders to land the ‘Atomic Ant’ should he decide to [...]
Brian Kidd was once Sir Alex Ferguson right hand, but now belongs to the ‘enemy’ camp at Eastlands, and he is adamant the Citizens are about to re-write history wntering a ‘great era’ as did United -when he was involved- in 1993. Man Utd had spent 26 years without a title, having last won the [...]