Lyon Who?

Real Madrid is asking themselves many questions today as they have nothing left to look forward to except La Liga for the rest of the season, where they sit atop the league over their arch rival FC Barcelona...for now. All their Champions League hopes came tumbling down in a 1-1 draw as they lost to an inferior team in Lyon that was dominated during most of pitch play...more shots, more corner kicks, more possession, and copious amounts of shots on goal albeit mainly in the first half. Even defender Alvaro Arbeleo said it best that "[Madrid] fell to an inferior team, which makes it more painful than ever. We lacked a bit unity and aggressiveness." What it all boils down to is the fact that Real Madrid could not capitalize, even with a gimme goal once Gonsalo Higuain slipped past Lyon's keeper for an open net just to hit the post. What it all boils down to is blindly admitting that the French Ligue's fourth ranked team was a good adversary for a dominating squad such as Madrid. And that's about as realistic as finally admitting that Theirre Henry is actually not a cheat. Who thinks that is going to happen anytime soon?!

And once again, I have to give accolades to one of the best players in Champions League play with Wayne Rooney after his 4-0 shellacking of AC Milan. He has to be one of the more cerebral strikers in the game by the way he is able to slip in goals effortlessly and make defenses break down single-handedly. Not surprisingly, Manchester United dominated AC Milan during the Last-16 match play of Champions League futbol where Rooney scored four goals from a goal differential 7-2 over their Italian counterparts. This highlight reel of a game kind of worries me as who to has to play Rooney's England in Group C during World Cup play, which is less than three months away. The United States will probably finish second to move on if their premiere players (i.e., Davies) do not fully recover from injury. But who is to say what Messi can do for Argentina or what Ronaldo can do for Spain in their own groups?

So, if you still have not gotten your fill from my pitch talk then come by Mercury Bar East on 33rd St and 3rd Avenue and catch all of the futbol action every day, seven days a week. We show all sports and we are the best sports bar in Murray Hill, if not the whole island. Feed your futbol fix before the World joins in June.