re: Champion' League 3/17

I just watched the Bordeaux replay, and as they are my French club, I'll give a cursory breakdown.

Laurent Blanc is a brilliant football manager. I expect France to snab him after the WC, which sucks for Le Girondins, but he's definitely done well to them so far.

With an away goal 1-0 lead in hand prior to the match, he played it smart with two holders, Diarra and Fernando. Chamakh played up top on his own, techincally, but going forward, it was more of a 4-2-1-3, with Wendel and Plasil acting as wingers.

However, both looked to cut inside, and with two holders, that freed up the fullbacks, including my personal man of the match, Benoit Tremoulinas, to give the Greeks all kinds of trouble.

Diarra's red card was a joke. Both yellows were questionable, especially the first, and Olympiakos should have been down to 9 at the end, maybe even 8 (a blatant score-opportunity-stopping handball and studs-up bitch-tackle should have both warranted more than their yellows).

Mitroglu's goal was special, and it was simply sloppy, lazy defending by Bordeaux, whose Achilles will be their centerbacks. Gourcoff's was lucky (bad keeping, really), but made up for a spectacular 50-yarder that boinked off the crossbar later in the middle of the match.

Chamakh's goal was beautiful to seal the deal. Tremoulinas chipped a lovely cross that just cleared the keeper's hands, and Chamakh soared to smash it home with a thundering header. I will be bitter if he goes to Arsenal, and Arsenal will be the hands on favorite to win the league in 2010-11 if he's there WITH Van Persie.

All in all, Bordeaux outplayed a weak Greek side, but they didn't play well, not at all. They have the talent to move on to a semi-final if they get the right draw, but I don't see them winning there.

That said, Let's geaux Bordeaux.