Real Madrid vs Tottenham : Recap

What did we learn about yesterday's game? Finally after getting beyond the haunted round of 16, Madrid can really be seen as contenders for the title. They sure did play like it. I'll give Spurs some credit for the first half performance and also playing with 10 men for such a long time but all in all they were outplayed by a way better team with better players and a better manager. As simple as that. Madrid was as fluid as ever seen this season and constantly peppered Gomes' goal. Defending by Spurs was constantly last ditch and this was premise to the domination of Madrid in the match. The European adventure was sweet and entertaining while it lasted for Spurs and hats off to them as they shocked the two strongest teams in Italy to get where they are and played great football, but they must now step aside as the greater teams make way. If Real Madrid can stay healthy and get all of their players back to peak form, especially the likes of Higuain (Great to see him back) and Ricky Kaka they will seriously have to be contenders for the title at Wembley. Madrid will have no excuses for not putting in a great showing in the next round (given they see off spurs) who ever they play as they are practically out of the La liga race. It will be all champions league and copa del rey final for las madridistas.This being said, how do you rate Real Madrid's chances of winning back their beloved Champions League trophy?

What's left of Italian Football?

Did Inter Milan single handedly save Italian football today from the ultimate shame? Or maybe just for a couple weeks until they play their next opponents, who knows, but all we can say based on what we have seen is that Serie A is on the drop. As we all know by know Germany's Bundesliga will be 3rd ranked league in the world and will be granted that 4th CL spot opportunity while only 3 Serie A teams will be competing for European's Football most prestigious competition. The League will have a long way before it can get back to its dominating years like in the recent past such as the 90's, when Juventus was probably the most feared team. Now Juventus can't even scare Bari...or Cesena. Teams like Juventus and Roma are in disarray, Milan a top european team now hasn't been past the round of 16 since they last won it in 2007. Italy seems to be depending on growing teams such as Napoli and Udinese to carry the torch but it seems Napoli's Europa dream was short lived. Who knows how long Serie A will be in a slump? I sure can't give an answer but I will admit i like the direction teams such as Napoli and Udinese are heading and with a little more money invested in teams like Roma, Milan and Lazio...I surely believe they all will be reckoned with in the future. For now, and for the past few years Italy has been riding on Inter's back but how much longer can they carry it? Let's wait and see.....btw Super Win for Inter vs Bayern...amazing come back! Leave comments...tell me what you think.

Arsenal FC vs Barcelona FC : What did we witness?

1.That both these teams play the sport beautifully. Smooth passing ( sometimes over passing) silky skills, great movement and over all just great on the eye.

2. Arsenal's defence is really not that good ( barca EASILY could have killed this TIE by the 65th min)..desperately missed Sanga on the right and Clichy falls asleep way to regular, Dani Alves enjoyed tonight!

3. That Lionel Messi is human. Did he really miss 2 one on ones?? In the same game?? wow didn't know he does that. Nice through pass for Villa's opening goal still.

4. Cesc Fabregas? No sir...JACK WILSHERE. The teenager is the heir to england's midfield and will be a regular for years based on what we have seen. Not sure if he was tackled more than twice today. Hardly ever caught on the ball( unless Eboue played a ridiculous pass to him) fantastic passing and a driving force in the midfield. Could have easily worn Cesc's captain armband in this game. BOSS!

5. Cesc Fabregas continues his hot streak of having a stinker against his boyhood team. 2 out of 2. Besides his beautiful clip to RVP in the first few minutes was non existent  and gave the ball away a good few times. Should have taken the note pad out and write down pointers based on Xavi's and Iniesta's ball retention skills and decisive passes on the big occasion.

6. Barcelona has NO PLAN B. No depth at all. None what so ever. They were evidently rattled by the RVP equalizer and had no answer to the lift in Arsenal's game although they dominated this game since the 10th minute. If the first 11 doesn't do the job, it won't be done.

7. Barcelona will boss any midfield in the world, on any ground, at any time. Only thing they need is the motivation to get up and walk out of the dressing room. It is tooooo easy for the catalans. At points in time, Arsenal didn't have a touch on the ball for something near to two minutes or even 3. That is crazy!

Tell me what you thought of the game and my point of view on the first leg. Champions League is back!

Tommy Smyth's top 25...agree?

As of Thursday, February 3, 2011...will be updated by him on Thursday, Feb 10th 2011

1 Barcelona
2 Manchester United
3 AC Milan
4 Arsenal
5 Napoli
6 Borussia Dortmund
7 Real Madrid
8 Inter Milan
9 Manchester City
10 Chelsea
11 Porto
12 Tottenham
13 PSV Eindhoven
14 Roma
15 Estudiantes
16 Fluminense
17 Lille
18 PSG
19 Shakhtar Donetsk
20 Copenhagen
21 Atlas
22 Villarreal
23 Zenit St Petersburg
24 Lazio
25 Udinese

After the past weekend there might be a bit of a shuffle. I have to disagree on some of these placings. For one, Napoli has had a great season thus far but Borussia Dortmund has been sensational. They have totally dominated Germany so far and have hardly slipped up. They have ever presently been better than Napoli this year in my opinion, even within the past couple weeks. I actually would give them 4th spot based on their year. The ever improving Udinese is really getting up the table and should climb much higher than that 25th place. Chelsea continue to stutter, should they lose their top 10 place? Surely Inter may find themselves in the top 6? What about Arsenal and Man United? after losing a 4 goal lead and ending a 29 unbeaten streak respectively, should their position be lowered? One thing is for sure, Barcelona has been the best for the past two months comfortably and deservedly are number one! Give me your ideas on this.

Record Weekend of Premier League goals...Good or Bad?

Must admit I'm a huge fan of high scoring games, its really good on the eye but is there as much bad as good of this? This past weekend there were many high scoring games and pretty exciting ones but did this record weekend highlight the quality of attack in the EPL or the lack of defense from various teams. In most games I watched or saw the highlights for there were many set piece goals as if they teams have forgotten how to defend them. Once again Arsenal struggled from them (poor referee I might add) Man United, Sunderland, Aston Villa...it is an alarming trend..

How Credible is La Liga? (Spanish Football League)

Lets not take anything away from the quality that is Barcelona and Real Madrid, but let us be serious. How credible is this league? These two teams average almost 4 and 3 goals a game. How often have these teams had to fight for a result? 90% of the time the result is a given. People always like to call the names of players at the various spanish teams but are they really that good. The English Premier League and Italy Serie A have shown what a competitive league should be and is like and still giving quality football. Please Give me your opinion