Champions League action continues this week with three huge clashes and one big test for an English giant.
Tuesday, a Chelsea team in a tailspin must face the surprising Danish side Copenhagen, one of the darlings of the group stage. Following a week that saw the Blues’ FA Cup title defense ended and their hopes at a long-shot Premier League title defense dashed, this is a London team in dire need of confidence.
In the day’s other pairing, Jose Mourinho must get his Real Madrid side to do something it hasn’t in six straight seasons: get past the round of 16 and a pesky Lyon side that seems to have the Spanish giants’ number.
Games continue Wednesday as Marseille host Manchester United and defending champs Inter Milan square off against a resurgent Bayern Munich.
Back in December, Chelsea fans were gleeful about this pairing, which on paper seemed to be an epic mismatch. Today, Chelsea is a team so far down the tubes that even stalwart Blues fans are sweating a match against an opponent whose season hasn't even resumed.
Where has it all gone wrong? Start with injuries in the back, Alex’s absence impossible to cover up. John Terry proclaims himself to be Mr. Chelsea, but the fact is his service this year in the back would earn him a seat on the bench anywhere else. His presence is a sharp sign that Chelsea have no other options.
The shining lights in 2011 have been few and far too brief: new signing David Luiz is the real deal, and Ramires has played far better than his detractors wish to concede. But the impotence of a once-feared attack has turned into self-fulfilling prophecy. You can make any excuse you wish - Didier Drogba’s malaria; Michael Essien’s overwork and exhaustion; John Obi Mikel’s vanishing act or Nicolas Anelka’s disaffection. Fact is, the ball isn’t going in the net and the look on the player's faces speak of frustration and panic.
Manager Carlo Ancellotti has been reduced to telling the baying hounds of the press that he will not resign. It’s hard to pin all the blame on the Italian, but it’s worth noting that the Blues’ tailspin coincided with the abrupt dismissal of longtime assistant Ray Wilkins. Whether or not a curse is involved is anyone’s guess; what is indisputable is that a team that looked like it could run away with all four trophies on offer in November now will be lucky to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
Copenhagen of course have not played a game in months because of the Scandinavian winter break. They are 19 points clear of their closest rivals Odense and will come in well rested after playing a string of friendlies. They also startled observers with their run of form in the group stages and were impossible to beat at Parken Stadium, even holding mighty Barcelona to a 1-1 draw there in November.
But while Copenhagen are rested, they are also young and probably rusty after a string of six prep games. Brazilian Claudemir was the hero for the team during the group stages, and is still expected to carry the heavy load, while Dame N’Doye runs alone up top. Martin Vingaard and Christian Bolanos provide the support in the same modified 4-4-2 the Danes showed against Barcelona’s trident. In that setup, Jesper Gronkjaer runs behind and left of N’Doye to clog the midfield in an effective 4-5-1.
The teams also have some shared history: midfielder Gronkjaer played for the Blues for four seasons and scored the famous goal on the last day of the 2002-03 season against Liverpool that put Chelsea into the Champions League. Since then, the Blues have been fixtures in Europe’s grandest competition. This of course, is Copenhagen’s first foray in the knockout stages.
For Mourinho, his first season in Spain has been one long, frustrating chase. No matter what Real Madrid do, they have found themselves staring at the backsides of a glorious and record-setting Barcelona team. Despite a roster brimming with talent others would kill to have - starting with Cristiano Ronaldo and continuing through Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Xabi - Madrid still cannot catch the Catalans.
The giants got some badly needed reinforcement in the January window, picking up Manchester City’s disaffected Emmanuel Adebayor in what now looks to be a move of sheer genius. His presence has forced feckless Karim Benzema to elevate his game and has covered up for the long-term absence of Gonzalo Higuain.
What Madrid have been is unstoppable in Europe, with a single draw to Group G runners-up AC Milan being the lone blemish on a spectacular first round. They racked up a group-stage best goal difference of +13, conceding only twice (both to Milan) and scoring 15; and they finished with the best record of any team in the stage. Nobody can doubt Mourinho's experience in this competition, either.
There is arguably no better time to face Claude Puel’s French side, for Lyon will be missing front-runner Lisandro Lopez (hamstring) and the team’s key playmaker, Yohann Gourcuff, is still not 100%.
But while Lyon have yet to win anything under Puel - to their fans' growing and noisy discontent - they are very tough to beat at home this season. They’ve only dropped one game at Stade de Gerland in what has been one of the tightest Ligue 1 seasons in recent memory, and only lost two in the group stages, both on the road, one a wild 4-3 match at Benfica that was one of the highlights of that stage.
What Lyon do have is the psychological edge, for they are unbeaten in six games against Real Madrid, ejecting the giants three times at this stage since the 2005-06 season. Last season, Lyon won at home thanks to Jean Makoun’s goal, then went through with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu thanks to Miralem Pjanic’s 75th minute leveler.
As Copenhagen are expected to do against Chelsea, Lyon is likely to show a more defensive formation than would normally be expected from a team playing on home soil, probably running Bafetimbi Gomis high and alone with Cesar Delgado on the flank. That doesn’t mean they can’t score; it just means they won’t take stupid risks.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League and the Barclay's Premier League.
