After losing 2-1 in the first leg of two to Porto, a Portuguese team in Portugal, Arsenal wouldn’t let their quarterfinal birth slip. Arsenal got the massage, as they put in a 5-0 thumping of FC Porto, without star Cesc Fabregas , at Emirates Stadium in London, England. Arsenal jumped on top just 9 minutes into the game on a Nicklas Bendtner goal. After goalkeeper Manuel Almunia booted the ball upfield, which was flicked on by midfielder Andriy Arshavin to midfielder Samir Nasri. Nasri then played a lovely ball into the gap between the two Porto center backs. In the commotion, Porto defender Fucile collided with his keeper. Bendtner was the first to jump on the ball, and he swiftly poked it into the back of the net to give Arsenal a one nil lead.

With the aggregate at 2-2, Arsenal played with confidence, and they struck back in the 25th minute. Arshavin took advantage of a poor Porto clearance, Arshavin weaved his way to the left side of the Porto penalty area. He fired a cross to a wide open Bendtner, who tallied his second goal of the night. Arsenal and Porto traded close calls, but it was Arsenal who scored yet again. Samir Nasri turned in a brilliant run, as he weaved through three defenders before firing a shot that careened off the left post and bounced in. Arsenal wasn’t done, as Emmanuel Eboue received a ball from Arshavin to tuck away the fourth goal for Arsenal. The fifth goal completed the magic hat trick for Bendtner, who was given the honors of taking the penalty after Eboue was brought down in the box by Fucile. Arsenal won 6-2 on aggregate.  

Meanwhile, in the 2nd leg of the other Round of 16 matchup, Bayern Munich snuck by Fiorantina…
barely. After taking a 2-1 victory at home, Bayern needed to lose by 1, while scoring 1 away goal, based on the method of the system. Fiorantina jumped in front on a brilliant Juan Vargas goal. The Peruvian took advantage of a poor clearance by Bayern goalkeeper Jorg Butt and slid in a terrific finish under pressure to give Fiorantina a 1-0 lead. Stevan Jorvetic gave Fiorantina a 2-0 lead after heading a goal home off a terrific backheel pass by Alberto Gilardinho. This goal started a period of rapid goal scoring, Bayern gained a goal back when Franck Ribery slid a pass to the top of the box, where Mark Van Bommel let a shoot go towards the left post. His prayers were answered, as it went out of the keepers reach. Fiorantina seemed poised to advance after another combination between Jorvetic and Gilhardino, this time a head to head combination. Arjen Robben shut the celebrations down only 1 minute later, as the midfielder hit a 30 yard beauty that went straight for the top shelf.  

After that point, the roles had flipped. It was Bayern that was holding on for advancement, and it was Fiorantina that was looking for a miracle goal to win the tie. Bayern held on for a 3-2 loss, but in the bigger picture, they held on for a 4-4 aggregate score, with Bayern the advancer on away goals, with an advantage of 2-1. The future Round of 16 matches will be: Lyon v. Real Madrid, Manchester United v. AC Milan, Chelsea v. Internazionale, Sevilla v. CSKA Moskow, Barcelona v. Stuttgart, and Bordeaux v. Olympiacos.   

Authored By: Dave H.