Round of 16 First Leg Wrap-up

Anderlecht 0-5 Bayern Munich
Wow. This always looked like a lopsided tie, but I didn’t expect this. With ten goals in their last two European matches, and five different scorers in today’s match, Munich is starting to look like the favorite everyone was calling them when this tournament began. Stick a fork in this one … Bayern will move on comfortably.

Fiorentina 2-0 Everton
Everton has looked invincible in this campaign … until today. Without some fairly major heroics by US international keeper Tim Howard, this could have been a lot worse. The Toffees will have it all to do next week at Goodison Park, but with some of the goalfests they’ve been able to produce, I wouldn’t be shocked with any possible result. Fiorentina is undefeated in Europe this season, as was Everton until today’s stumble, and I’d have to guess that the Viola will do what’s needed and move on.
(Match report from Fiorentina Offside)

Marseille 3-1 Zenit St. Petersburg
A brace from Cisse went a long way toward putting this tie to bed for Marseille, but if things turn around early in St. Petersburg next week, they might very well come to regret that 82nd minute away goal scored by Zenit. Marseille looks good, but this one isn’t over at all. I agree with Magnusson - you should have gotten more.

Bolton 1-1 Sporting CP
Troubling result for Bolton. They’re one of the least productive offenses in Europe this season, and have found nothing resembling a replacement for Nicolas Anelka since he took up his surprise winger duties at Chelsea. Bolton has lived by the clean sheet this season, and they might just die by it. My gut tells me Sporting will have enough to keep them from scoring, and with their away goal in hand, that’s all they need to do.

Rangers 2-0 Werder Bremen
Rangers fans will have been happy to see some scoring at Ibrox, even if both goals were basically gifts from a very shaky Tim Wiese in Bremen’s goal. This is hardly an unassailable lead in most cases, but ask anyone in European football who the best team is at parking the bus in front of the net, and Rangers will be the answer most of the time. It doesn’t win them any new fans, but they can hold a 0-0 like nobody’s business. Rangers should go through.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Hamburg
A cagey start to the first Bundesliga derby of this year’s competition. I say first because there might well be another. A single second-half goal for Leverkusen separated these two, but a single home goal in Hamburg will even things out. This is still anyone’s tie. Still, Leverkusen did well to hand Hamburg their first European defeat of the season, and only their fourth conceded goal in nine matches. I still tip Hamburg, because I don’t see them conceding again at home, and I think they’ll score, probably twice.

Tottenham 0-1 PSV Eindhoven
Spurs ought to be waking up from that Cup hangover right about … now? Since winning the Carling Cup, they’ve dropped a terrible league loss to Birmingham and now given up a crucial away goal to PSV in Europe. Smart money doesn’t bet against Juande Ramos in knockout competitions, but they’ll have to earn it. This one’s too close for me to call.

Benfica 1-2 Getafe
As everyone on the various interwebs sounds the deathknell of Spanish football after Real Madrid and Sevilla crashed out of the Champions League, Getafe (and that little Barcelona club) are making a firm case that La Liga’s European adventure isn’t quite over yet. After going up a man in the 9th minute, a 2-1 win isn’t perhaps the best imaginable result, but it does mean that Benfica will have to score twice in Spain next Thursday. My money’s on the Azulones.

Category: UEFA Cup

Tags: Round of 16, Anderlecht, Bayern Munich, Everton, Fiorentina, Rangers, Tottenham, Spurs, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Getafe, Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Bolton, Sporting CP, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille, Zenit St. Petersburg, , UEFA Cup, Tag Index

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