What a week in Europe. This final matchday was definitely one of the best I have ever seen. It had all of the elements - underdogs advancing, shock results from the big clubs, and some of the expected teams inching their way through. Let's start in Basel.
Manchester United's 2-1 loss to FC Basel was the most shocking result I have seen in the Champions League. Rubin Kazan's 2-1 win at the Nou Camp in 2009 was also a stunner, but was early in the group stage and had no effect on qualification. Coming into the game, I didn't think the Swiss side had a chance - if they played really well they could hold United to a draw, maybe threaten a few times, but still wind up in the Europa League. Completely wrong. Not only did Basel win the game, but they were the better side, which was completely unfathomable twenty-four hours ago. Xherdan Shaqiri was simply fantastic in the middle, and Alexander Frei played like the Frei prior to Euro 2008. Most importantly, they took their chances when they were given, while United was continually wasteful. Even on United's goal, Macheda managed to strike the crossbar from six yards out with the net at his mercy. Manchester United's season is looking more and more like Chelsea's season last year. There were dampened expectations, but they got off to a fantastic start to calm the worries. Now there is a reality check, and this team, especially defensively, is far from elite. The talent is still there, and (minus his moaning about the officials, which for the first time, I did not hear following a loss) Sir Alex is a fantastic manager, so there is no need to panic. But the club is out of the Champions League, face Manchester City at Eastlands in the FA Cup, and lost in the Carling Cup to Crystal Palace. Other than the FA Cup, that leaves the league, which will be very difficult with City, and the Europa League. United could be hard-pressed to find a trophy this season. The United fans may stop singing at the Arsenal fans because they'll feel just like them.
Marseille's win over Dortmund was nearly as stunning, after the German side took a 2-0 lead inside thirty-five minutes. However, with Olympiakos winning, the French side needed a win and stormed back to win 3-2. Mathieu Valbuena's wonder-goal won the game for Marseille just two minutes after they had leveled the score off of a corner. The French side deserved to go through after displaying such quality. I would love to see Marseille matched up against Inter in the draw. It would be two sides that are struggling terribly domestically but playing fantastic in Europe (which makes no sense whatsoever). It's stunning for Olympiakos, who had won three of their final four games after dropping the opening two. The Greeks beat a weakened Arsenal side 3-1 to give themselves the best chance, but fell a point short due to Valbuena's winner. The Greeks will have to settle for the Europa League.
The controversy was served up in Croatia, of all places. Lyon came into the final matchday trailing Ajax by three points and seven goals, heading to Zagreb to face Dinamo while Ajax hosted Real Madrid. These are the facts: Ajax had two goals wrongly ruled out for offside in a 3-0 loss to Madrid, while Lyon, tied 1-1 at half-time, scored six goals in the second half to win 7-1 and go through. I'm not into conspiracy theories (see: Chelsea-Barcelona, 2009 - not a conspiracy, simply horrendous officiating), but there are some bases for angry fans to fuel their claims. Especially after a Dinamo Zagreb player looks like he is winking at Gomis after Lyon's fifth goal. It is foolish to accuse without evidence, so as of now, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb are in the clear, but I will be interested to see if any more facts arise. I honestly hope not, because UEFA has had so many issues over the past decade with the Eastern Europe scandal, as well as domestic scandals in Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey. If not, this is as stunning a comeback for Lyon as it was for Marseille. The French teams really put on a show this week (other than Lille).
Again, I am truly shocked United crashed out. As for City, I could see it coming. Many of the players had little-to-no European experience and they were handed a very difficult group. Porto and Lille were huge disappointments as well - they both needed a win in their final game against arguably inferior opposition, and both could only muster 0-0 draws. The draw for the knockout round is next Friday. Here is how I'd rank the teams, in terms of strongest to weakest:
Pot 1 Pot 2
1) Barcelona 1) Napoli
2) Real Madrid 2) AC Milan
3) Bayern Munich 3) Marseille
4) Chelsea 4) Zenit
5) Arsenal 5) Bayer Leverkusen
6) Inter Milan 6) Lyon
7) Benfica 7) CSKA Moscow
8) APOEL Nicosia 8) FC Basel
Teams in Pot 1 cannot be matched up against 1) those in their federation or 2) the team that finished runners-up in their group. So Inter cannot play Napoli, AC Milan or CSKA, and likewise, Bayern cannot play Napoli or Bayer. I'd really want to avoid Napoli or Milan, as those two sides are much stronger and talented than any of the other teams in Pot 2. APOEL and FC Basel are true minnows now and are likely to be eliminated unless they face one another. The draw will determine the fate of some of the weaker teams, as a matchup with Barcelona or Real Madrid would be deadly.
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