ForeverInLoveWithJus

Sorry John, didnt work out, they are out, lost 1-0..

PastyHusty

Barcelona 0-0 Celtic (Celtic 1-0)
Club Brugge 0-1 Bordeaux (Bordeaux 4-1)
Inter Milan 4-3 Benfica (Milan 4-3)
Marseille 2-1 Liverpool (Marseille 3-2)
PSV Eindhoven 3-0 Auxerre (PSV 4-1)
Real Mallorca 0-3 Newcastle United (Newcastle 7-1)
Roma 2-1 Villarreal (Villarreal 3-2)
Valencia 1-0 Genclerbirligi (extra-time being played)

The yound Celtic keeper, Paul Marshall .. he was outstanding tonight! He pulled off save after save after save to keep Celtic in the lead overall. A brilliant defensive display from the rest of the team also helped Celtic to a brilliant victory.

Liverpool and Roma are out, as I expected they would be. The match between Benfica and Milan seemed like a top quality one. A lot of the goals were scored in the first half of the second half, it was hard to tell who would come out on top!

Newcastle United were simply great.

Duffyboy

Barcelona (0) 0-0 (1) Celtic

YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Wonderful. Simply brilliant. Amazing performance by Marshal and created save after save. The rest of the team were fabulous and Barca looked second rate for most of the game. I wonder how this is gonna affect their league form which is subliminal at the minute.....

Marseille (3) 2-1 (2) Liverpool

As unlucky as the scousers were to conceed that penalty and red card, Liverpool probably wern't the better team out of the two. I wouldn't like to be Gerrard Houllier at the minute. If he doesn't snap up a champions league spot this term, he's a cooked goose.

Mallorca (1) 0-3 (7) Newcastle.

As pitiful as Mallorca are doing in the league right now, under no circumstances should anyone take away from Newcastle that they've knocked 7 goals past spanish opposition in Europe. I'd consider a final between them and Inter or Celtic at the minute.

Roma (2) 2-1 (3) Villarreal

Just as I thought. As soon as Roma let the goal in, they were screwed over, Regardless of the performance. Let this be a lesson all over the continent that if you fail to score away and conceede at home then you simply ain't gonna make it this year.

Valencia (2) 2-0 (1) Genclerbilirgi

Unlucky on the Turks who did well to take the contest into extra time. It's like I said above though, if you can't get the away goal that will put you in control then these things are gonna happen.....

PSV (4) 3-0 (1) Auxerre

This for me is a shock. I thought the French had it in them to go at it a bit more and defend better. Ah well with the likes of Van Bommel around.....

Inter Milan (5) 4-3 (4) Benfica

A classic. Tense, end to end, subliminal. And you must admire Benfica's spirit, knowing that they got within one goal of knocking Inter out. A brilliant advertisement for the competition that some people still think should be scrapped.

Club Brugge (1) 0-1 (4) Bordeaux

It was never going to be easy for the Belgians to overcome the French giants and with the style from Bordeaux, it showed. Bordeaux's efficiency paid off in this one and it was going to be tough for the underdogs to create a comeback.

Well there's my UEFA cup rant for the evening. Overall I'm satisfied with the results and now I'm going to be kind and curtious, and I'm going to piss off.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Great result for Celtic, rode their luck but they deserve it. Liverpool seemed to be quite poor. Poor Roma, tried their best.

MMB

Yes and so damn deserved! Brugge just wasn't anywhere yesterday, too bad! Great European campaign though with wins against Dortmund, Ajax and AC Milan


Fantastic game by Benfica and Inter, damn I enjoyed that one! Glad Inter's through They're one of the main favorites now together with Valencia if you ask me.

PastyHusty

Full Quarter-Final Draw
Bordeaux .v. Valencia
Marseille .v. Inter Milan
Celtic .v. Villarreal
PSV Eindhoven .v. Newcastle United

Finally the English TV channels will show someone other than Liverpool!!

ForeverInLoveWithJus

I wont really get to see any games once again, I think I can watch Celtic except the commentary will be in the Irish language.

MMB

UEFA CUP 1/4 Finals

Bordeaux - Valencia
Valencia is the obvious favorite here. Their strength lies in a strong and compact side. They're not as dependant anymore from Aimar now as they were last season and that's a good thing.
Bordeaux is a strong team which shouldn't be underestimated despite their currently low ranking in the French domestic league. In the 1/8 finals they eliminated the champion of Belgium, Club Brugge. Brugge played their 'power football' (the same kind of football that gave Brugge sensational wins against Dortmund, AC Milan and Ajax) for 90 minutes, but Bordeaux never backed down.
I see Valencia making the real difference at home, in the second leg.


Marseille - Inter
Two teams who have had the same history over the last couple of seasons. Every season they start with title ambitions and every year it's a season of up and downs, resulting in a disappointing place behind the best of their league, followed by a wild and hot summer of expensive transfers.
This year it's no different. Inter is currently struggling with Lazio and Parma for the fourth place, giving Champions League qualification football next season. Marseille is in the same battle, but in their case for the third spot against Sochaux, PSG and Auxerre. While Inter is only 1 point away from their fourth spot, Marseille is already 10 (!!) points away from their aimed third spot (with only 7 games left to play - a nearly impossible objective).
Nevertheless it seems like (for so many teams of the eight remaining in this cup division) winning the UEFA Cup is the only oibjective left this season to still bring some light into the season.
Over the two matches, Inter seems to be the favorite. They're recuperating important players who are coming back from injuries or suspensions (Emre, Cannavaro, Materazzi, Recoba) right in time. The UEFA Cup is perfect for a team like Inter. They lack consistency to win the Scudetto (Italian championship), but in the UEFA Cup it's different with the knock-out system. You have to be the best over two games to win and advance, not over the course of 34 games! Inter has a fantastic side in both quality and quantity. Players like Emre, Recoba, Vieri, Martins, Zanetti, Cruz, ... can all make the difference.
Marseille on the other hand are a strong and compact side with a lot of organisation, but they're oh so vulnerable at the offensive end. If their opponents can shut down the goal machine who they call 'Drogba', then Marseille mostly finds it very difficult to score. They're far too dependant of Didier Drogba.
I think it will be two very exiciting and spectacular match-ups with eventually Inter advancing.


Celtic - Villarreal
No doubt, Celtic is the main favorite here. At home they're nearly unbeatable and they score easily in away matches. A great side with a lot of strength and determined players.
The biggest danger for Celtic could be an underestimation of their opponent, Villareal.
Villareal proved that their good form this season isn't a fluke. With Jose Mari, Riquelme and Anderson in front they have a fantastic offensive triangle, which could break any defense in half.
After spectacular results against Galatasaray (1/16) and AS Roma (1/8) you can bet they're motivated and ready to take on Celtic!
Difficult to predict a winner here, but I think Celtic will advance although it could be very, very close!


PSV - Newcastle
Newcastle's the favorite here. PSV need to put anything on the UEFA Cup as the title is lost for them in the Netherlands. But with Robben injured they miss a very important player.
Bellamy and good old Alan Shearer can make the difference anytime and therefore I don't predict too many problems for Newcastle who I see advancing into the 1/2 finals.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Thanks for those summaries John, I will listen to one of those matches on radio tonight, I think it could be Celtic.

MMB

Thank you, you're welcome
Just my short personal preview on tonight's matches