TheCable

It has been a welcome return for the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after a two-month break following the end of the group stages.

The round of 16 has promised so much and has tried to deliver on the mouth-watering ties drawn to the excitement of fanatics worldwide. In the midst of all the pre-match braggadocio and other behind-the-scene events, it was business as usual on the pitch for Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ballon d’Or winner had not scored in three matches and was pictured apparently drunk by paparazzi at his 30th birthday bash which he threw few hours after a 4-0 drubbing of Los Merengues by Atletico Madrid. Also, two former Chelsea managers (sacked by oligarch Roman Abramovich) came head-to-head as Real Madrid coached by Carlo Ancellotti continued to own Schalke 04, coached by Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League-winning manager, Roberto Di Matteo.

ENGLISH REFS NEED EXTRA CLASSES ON OFFSIDE RULES

Two major games from different tournaments in two days and two different interpretations of the offside rule.

When Phil Dowd awarded Manchester United a dubious equalising goal on Monday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup through Ander Herrera, it sparked furious debate among football lovers and the media alike. When Herrera struck his shot, captain Wayne Rooney was in an offside position and moved slightly to evade the shot but the referee decided that was not interference of play.

The offside rule, as it can be summarised in present times, states that the referee shall penalise a team if its player in an offside position is interfering with play and/or gaining advantage for his team the moment the ball is played by one of his team mates (Law 11, Laws of the Game).

While Rooney was definitely miles offside, he also moved his body to ensure Herrera’s scrambled shot did not hit him and in doing so interfered with the keeper’s diving angle too. How that did not interfere with play leaves one to wonder.

Fast forward 24 hours and another English referee, this time Mark Clattenburg and his team of English referees were seen on live TV agreeing to rule out a legitimate goal scored by FC Porto against FC Basel in last Wednesday night’s UCL match.

Casemiro’s disallowed effort

Reviewing the ‘goal’ again, a corner into the box was met by a header and from the loose ball in the box, midfielder Casemiro bundled in from eight yards. While the on-loan Real Madrid midfielder went on celebration rampage, the consortium of erratic Barclays Premier League referees agreed the duo of striker Jackson Martinez and Ivan Marcano who could be clearly seen trying to get up after hitting the deck following a scramble to put their heads through the incoming corner kick. How that borders on interference still baffles me and we might never get to hear Clattenburg and his assistants’ explanation for this inexplicable error. However, a word of advice to UEFA – the competition’s ruling body – is for their referees’ committee to send the English referees to more courses where the rule should be better explained to them. Also, they should be reminded that although the BPL can sign multi-billion dollar TV deals, it doesn’t carry the excitement of the UCL and they would do well to leave their controversial decisions to their domestic competitions.

PEP NEEDS ATTACKING SOLUTION

“How did you survive the boredom Bayern Munich served viewers against Shakhtar Donetsk?” this is a question I have been tempted to ask people who mention the match (almost everybody cannot remember Bayern played in the Champions League on Tuesday!).

Since taking over the reins of FC Hollywood last summer, Pep Guardiola has looked to bring in the Barcelona model that won him over 10 trophies in three seasons, albeit with a little tweak. Bayern Munich won the Champions league in 2013 playing a robust grit-laden style filled with invention from the flanks and precision in the middle.

However, all that was flung out of the window on Pep’s arrival with the former Barcelona stalwart continuing the tiki-taka tradition he vehemently refuses to admit his teams play. It works a treat for Bayern on the domestic scene (they demolished their domestic opponent 8-0 last weekend) but in Europe, the big teams pick Bayern apart – Real Madrid humiliation comes to mind.

Against Shakhtar, the Bavarians dominated possession as expected but lacked conviction in their play and recorded only one shot on target from 8 attempts while the troubled Ukrainian team achieved same with their only shot of the night. Admittedly, Bayern’s defence kept free-scoring Luiz Adriano at bay, but most of their passes were sideways, epitomised by captain Bastian Schweinsteiger’s pass map.

However more worrisome was the view of Schweini being the furthest man forward, with Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller – natural penalty box players – playing deeper than usual in an unorthodox 3-3-4 formation. The boredom of their style on Tuesday night got to the Bayern boardroom too, with the club’s sporting director Mathias Sammer taking a grim look at his team’s style of play.

Guardiola needs to sort this team out, and fast, because when the big boys start trooping in the quarter finals upward they would be badly exposed tactically – that is if Bayern survive a banana peel encounter in Munich in a fortnight.

SNAPSHOTS

Gareth Bale needs to start taking games by the scruff of the neck while not being too selfish.

Although he has weighed in with some crucial goals in games this season, the Welsh wing-wizard needs to stop disappearing from games. He pops up only when he wants to score but other times he could be found standing akimbo while watching the opposition attack his team.

Cristiano Ronaldo did not become the best player in the world on such attitude, neither will Bale do same to survive Madrid’s boo boys and justify his heavy price tag

In the game of the week, Chelsea got a handful of PSG with a draw and an away goal to boot and are therefore in the driving seat to qualify for the next stage. However, they should be wary of self-acclaimed best player in the world, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The languid Swedish striker is well over his 30s and injuries have curtailed him this season. He is gradually returning to form and on the back of a wonderful scissors-kick goal in Ligue 1 in recent times, the former Inter Milan hit man caused the Chelsea backline all sorts of trouble and lacked only a goal.

London, watch out, Zlatan is coming.

On a final note, it seems the Brazilian defenders can still do their primary job – defend! Due to continuous ridicule on the back of their 7-1 World Cup drubbing by Germany, David Luiz showed his former employees he’s still got it with a virtuoso performance Nemanja Matic would be proud of.

Alongside his captain, Thiago Silva and young defender Marquinhos, the energetic but erratic centre back was a defensive rock on a night he featured from midfield and he excellently limited the influence of both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.

My accomplished player of the UCL week.