It’s easy to imagine that during their pre-match handshake prior to last Saturday’s clash, Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger exchanging regrets over the mishandling of their respective side’s matches in the Champions League only days before.
They probably greeted each other with a rueful smile on their faces, safe in the knowledge their opposite number had probably miscalculated, resulting in the prospects of their team progressing unnecessarily becoming a whole lot more difficult.
Thanks to the failure in his ability at doing some basic arithmetic, Pellegrini’s decision not to go for the jugular and chase another goal in the Allianz Arena meant Manchester City finished runners-up in the group, landing the booby prize of a mouth watering tie with Barcelona.
The following night Wenger could only watch on in frustration as his Arsenal side succumbed to a two goal defeat at the hands of Napoli, which combined with Borussia Dortmund’s victory in Marseille, saw the Gunners knocked off top spot presenting them a tie with the holders Bayern Munich.
Despite words of confidence and defiance emanating out of the Etihad and the Emirates, no one should be in any doubt that both City and Arsenal have pulled the short straw in their quest to land the trophy with the big ears.
Barcelona may not be the force they once were, (there are still holes in their backline and the transition of their playing style under Tata Martino has led to some below par performances) but stopping Messi and co. is a daunting challenge.
With Neymar now beginning to flex his muscles in the short term absence of the little Argentine genius and the excellent form of Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona possess attacking flair which will keep Pellegrini up all night, as he struggles to devise a plan to overcome them.
Certainly in Sergio Aguero City do possess someone who can trouble the likes of Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, but a positive result is a must for the Manchester outfit before the visit to the Nou Camp.
Whilst the tie up between City and Barca is most certainly the tie of the round Arsenal’s two legged clash with Bayern is something which will have the football purists licking their lips.
The Gunners have set the pace in the Premiership but doubts are beginning to surface as to their abilities as potential Champions, largely down to losses to both Manchester clubs and their lack of a cutting edge in the final third.
Their reliance on Olivier Giroud to find the back of the net allied to the lack of players in the Patrick Viera and Tony Adams mould at Wenger’s disposal, highlight just exactly why the odds on them overcoming their German counterparts are high.
Yes, there was the win in Bavaria last term when they came close to overcoming a 3-1 first leg deficit and of course, earlier this season Wenger’s men somehow escaped from Dortmund with the three points. But, Bayern will fancy their chances of moving ever closer to becoming the first ever team to reclaim their title as Europe’s top club.
Elsewhere the Galatasary v Chelsea meeting has added spice thanks to the return of Didier Drogba to Stamford Bridge. While Jose Mourinho is finding that the old adage ‘things are never the same when you return to an old club’ may ring true, the Blues should be favourites to progress to the last eight.
Despite being in charge of arguably the weakest Manchester United team in recent years, David Moyes must be relieved at the pairing of the Red Devils with Olympiakos while the Madristas in Spain must be confident the path to the much craved 10th European crown will not end at the hands of Schalke.
The multi- millionaires of Paris Saint-Germain will fancy their chances of knocking out Bayer Leverkusen. Everyone’s second favourite team, Borussia Dortmund, will look to repeat their heroics of last season and defeat an average Zenit St Petersburg who somehow qualified for this stage after notching a paltry six points in the group stage.
The match up between AC Milan and Atletico Madrid should be an intriguing contest too.
The aristocrats of Milan are in the midsts of one of their poorest Serie A campaigns in living memory, whilst Diego Simeone’s Atletico are showing real signs they are indeed the real thing as the threaten to end the Barca Real stranglehold in Spain. Confidence will surely be high for the fans of the ‘mattress makers’.
It may only be December, but February cannot come too quickly for this scribe, when the sound of Zadok the Priest again cascades down from the stands and out of our televisions. I expect the fans of Barca, PSG, Bayern, Atletico, Man Utd, Dortmund, Chelsea and Real are also waiting with baited breath.
Until then messrs Pellegrini and Wenger may well have ample reasons to look back at the final group games as a chance missed.
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