Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

The pinnacle of the European club season has finally arrived as Bayern Munich square off against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena. For the longest time, it seemed it was the destiny of the Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, these teams put forth strong performances and reached the finals deservedly.

Completing those tasks in the semifinals did have its costs as both teams are suffering from a number of suspensions. Chelsea will be without John Terry, Raul Meireles, Ramires, and Branislav Ivanovic. Bayern Munich will be without David Alaba, Holger Badstuber, and Luiz Gustavo.
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The quarterfinalists are set and the big boys advanced. Here are my thoughts on the games this week.

Bayern Munich 7, FC Basel 0
Bayern got an early goal and they kept on piling it on. Ribery and Robben had plenty of space pushing on the wings and Gomez was the beneficiary. They remain a dangerous side, but they still need Schweinsteiger to get back to form as they still at times struggled to control the midfield.
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The last four quarterfinalists will be decided this week where a couple of big teams (Bayern Munich, Internazionale, and Chelsea) will have to overcome first leg deficits. Here is a look at the games this midweek.

Bayern Munich vs. FC Basel
Bayern Munich dominated the first leg, but Basel got a late goal to steal a win. FC Basel has continued to impress this season and they will not be easy for Bayern Munich to break down.
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The Europa League picks up with the Round of 16. Here is a quick preview of the first legs.

Atletico Madrid vs. Besiktas
Madrid have not gotten results the past couple of weeks and face a solid team in Besiktas. Simao Sabrosa will return to his former team while Arda Turan faces a former rival from his time with Galatasaray. Madrid is more talented and they should take an advantage from the home leg. Atletico Madrid 2, Besiktas 0
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Half of the quarterfinalists are set and there is one big surprise with Cyprian side APOEL qualifying. Here is my recap of the games from this week.

Arsenal 3, AC Milan 0
Arsenal fought valiantly, but came up short as they could not build on the three goal first half. As much as AC Milan have to be disappointed for how they started the game, but they also did a solid job of killing off the game as Arsenal lost their way and got sloppy with their midfield passing. For AC Milan, it will serve as a warning that they need to improve and their left back situation is a big problem as Mesbah was mistake after mistake. They survived this game, but they need a lot of work to compete with the top teams in Europe.
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The second legs of the Champions League start up this week. It’s been three weeks since these teams faced off so many things may have changed since the first leg. Here is a look at the second legs this week.

Arsenal vs. AC Milan
AC Milan demolished Arsenal 4-0 in the first leg and should be able to cruise to victory. However, Arsenal are always able to score goals. However, the revival of Arsenal seems a bit exaggerated. They were lucky to get any result let alone a win against Liverpool on the weekend and were outclassed for 40 minutes by Tottenham the previous week. If anything, their finishing has been superb during their revival and they will need to stay on course if they are to win.

The key match-ups in this game will be the midfield and wings. Arsenal were overrun in midfield and they have to get control if they are to create enough chances. The wings will be key since Arsenal have a speed advantage with Chamberlain and Walcott on the wings. However, I think Arsenal without Arteta may struggle to compete with the energy in the Milan midfield. Arsenal should win the game, but AC Milan have a big enough lead that Arsenal cannot overcome. Arsenal 2, AC Milan 1 (AC Milan advances 5-2 on aggregate)
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The US pulled off a great upset getting their first win ever over Italy as Italy dropped their first ever game in Genoa. The US played a solid first half limiting the Italians to a couple dangerous balls over the top early and a late strike by Thiago Motta. The US struck on the counter often down the wing through Fabian Johnson, but their best chance was a strike from Clint Dempsey on a free kick that Buffon had to punch clear.

The second half saw the US come out struggling a bit but the US took the lead as a Fabian Johnson cross was settled by Altidore who laid it back to Dempsey who buried it past Buffon. The goal awakened the game, and the US found some better possession, but eventually Italy took control. The last 15 minutes saw Italy giving constant pressure, but the US defense made a number of blocks to preserve the historic victory. Here are my player ratings.
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It was strong midweek performances for home teams as all but one lost with the other earning an impressive draw. Here are my reactions to the games.

CSKA Moscow 1, Real Madrid 1
I expected this to be a close game as CSKA Moscow would keep the game compact. It was that way for the first half, but with Ronaldo giving Madrid the lead, CSKA came out in the second half and attacked. While they were never overpowering, they attacked with numbers confidently and deserved their late equalizer.

The pace of Doumbia and Sekou gave the Madrid defense problems. They were especially good at isolating the attacks down the left side of Madrid’s defense where Fabio Coentrao struggled against Sekou. The concern for the Russians was when they had success down the wings, they rarely had enough targets in the box to make those opportunities count.
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The Champions League got off to an exciting start last weekend and there are more big match-ups this week. The Napoli-Chelsea game probably tops the list given the pressure Andre Villas-Boas is experiencing. Here is a look at the games this week.
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The two Manchester sides got victories and most of the big sides got the victory. Here is a quick rundown of the games this midweek.

Manchester City vs. FC Porto
A disastrous end to the first leg at the Dragao puts Porto in a real hole. Manchester City thrive on the counter and with Porto needing two goals, the English side will advance. Manchester City 3, FC Porto 1 (Manchester City advances 5-2 on aggregate)
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