Congratulations to FC Barcelona for capturing their 2nd Champions League in 3 seasons. Three incisive goals from Messi, Villa and Pedro saw Barca cruise to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United. More analysis to follow.

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The live blog will be available at epltalk.com starting at at 2:45pm EST.

Which kind of final are we going to get this season? For every 1999 or 2002 final that people still talk about there seems to be an equal number of forgettable finals (think 2003) that produce more hyperbole than high-calibre football.

This season’s final has been branded a ‘dream match’ by many pundits and on the surface it is easy to see why. The clubs met at the semi-final stage in the 2007-08 season (Manchester United winning by a 1-0 aggregate) and again in the 2008-09 final with Barcelona claiming a 2-0 victory. This meeting can be considered a tie-breaker.

The current FC Barcelona squad ranks as one of the best in recent memory with a cast of many stars. Manchester United also have many star talents but their success this season has largely come down to the spot-on utilization of the full squad by Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex has not been shy in making changes to the lineup or shape of the team and he has got it right far more often than not this year.

Since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Manchester United have become less of a one-man show and a far more disciplined and astute tactical unit. They will need to get their tactics spot on as Barcelona play a patient, precise passing game. Barcelona hover around 65-70 percent possession in most matches and this is due to the creative trio of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. I don’t see any drastic change to Barcelona’s usual starting XI or their tactical approach.

To counter Barcelona, something many have tried and failed, I would fully expect to see a midfield of Ji-Sung Park, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia. It is possible another energy midfield presence such as Darren Feltcher may be preferred to Ryan Giggs but the other three should be no surprise. The much-maligned Carrick has been quiet but steady in central midfield this season. He has settled into a defensive midfield role and is one of United’s most reliable passers of the ball. Park and Valencia are tireless workers and will do exactly what is asked of them.

On the other side, the big question mark for Barcelona is the shape of their back four. You can write in Gerard Pique and Dani Alves but then who? Who will partner Gerard Pique in the middle to subdue Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez? Will it be Puyol or Mascherano? Mascherano may be better suited in terms of pace but he is not a natural central defender and could be pressured into mistakes. He is also not great defending set pieces so that may be an area for United to try and exploit. I was surprised the first time I saw Mascherano in central defence for Barcelona this season but he has performed well enough for Pep Guardiola to use him there frequently. The deciding factor is likely to be that Eric Abidal, Adriano and Maxwell are all just returning from illness or injury, so Puyol is then the most likely choice to start at the left-back position leaving Mascherano in the middle.

I expect a tight game and if United can press effectively high up the pitch and interrupt Barcelona’s rhythm, I can see them pulling off a narrow win by nicking a goal or two on the counter-attack or from a set piece.

I have no idea how much I would spend for a quality ticket to see this year’s Champions League Final. It’s a moot point as I wouldn’t be able to travel to London for the match but it’s a fun topic to discuss.

The cheapest ticket for this Saturday’s showdown between Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley Stadium is £150 – but touts (aka scalpers) are offering them for up to £7,000 on the black market. A quick Internet search returned hits for several websites offering tickets from £1900 to £3000.

With 55,000 season-ticket holders at United and 150,000 members at Barca, the demand for tickets for this season’s final is huge. UEFA.com indicates that “Each finalist club is entitled to take up to 25,000 tickets, which will be distributed directly to their supporters.” That leaves 36,000 tickets at UEFA’s discretion. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson criticized the ticketing structure, claiming that loyal supporters ultimately lose out as UEFA puts sponsors and dignitaries ahead of them. 25,000 tickets are for those VIPs.

The remaining 11,000 were sold via an application process, which included a £26 admin charge per ticket. It is many of these tickets that are now being offered for sale online as touts try to exploit the huge demand from both sets of fans.

On the other end of the spectrum, Champions League sponsors Opel have produced a rather clever marketing campaign which has gone viral in Spain. Opel sent a rather sketchy looking “tout” to walk the streets of the Catalan capital, near the Nou Camp, with authentic tickets for the Champions League Final.

The tout was offering a single ticket for 10 euros…watch what happens:

The third installment of this season’s ‘El Clasico’ match-up between Real Madrid and Barcelona could have been renamed ‘El Fiasco’. Depending on your outlook, it may have been surprising to see Jose Mourinho’s Madrid squad setup with such bullying tactics. Both coaches had strong words for one another in the press conference so I was not surprised that the atmosphere was tense.

The game was hyped in some circles as a Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo showdown to see who the true best player in the game is right now. That for me was just one of the sub-plots available. To dismiss the array of talent on both squads is naive. According to Deloitte, Real Madrid pay €192m (£170m) in wages to a squad that cost €475m to assemble. Barca hand over €235m to a group who cost €175m to buy. Barcelona spend less on transfers because of the success graduates of Barcelona’s academy — La Masia de Can Planes (loosely translates from Catalan as “The Farmhouse”) have had with the first team. Among the graduates are key first-team players Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Carles Puyol, and Víctor Valdés.

The game itself was a cagey affair in the first half with both teams not looking full sharp and taking more interest in fouling their opponents. The half-time whistle brought no relief to the tension as Barcelona’s backup goalkeeper, Pinto, was sent off for seeming to punch Madrid’s match-day delegate Miguel Porlán “Chendo” in the midst of an argument with Alvaro Arbeloa.

The game changed early in the second half when Pepe and Dani Alves both went for a loose ball and Pepe appeared to catch Alves on the shin. Alves writhed on the floor like his leg had been broekn and referree Wolfgang Stark showed Pepe the red card. Personally, I thought the referee was conned by Alves’ roilling around and at most should have given a yellow card. Don’t believe it? Watch this video!

Jose Mourinho sarcastically applauded Alves as he was stretchered off and gave the fourth official a thumbs-up for good measure. Mourinho’s performance earned him a red card and he will not be on the touchline for the return leg. Alves returned to the pitch less than 5 minutes later and appeared to be just fine.

I suspect that had Pepe not been sent off that the game would have ended as a dour scoreless draw. Pepe and Lassana Diarra had done a good job of harrassing Messi, playing in a deeper position because of Iniesta’s absence, and Xavi which stifled some of Barcelona’s creativity.

A scoreless draw was not to be after the sending off and there are two moments of pure class to discuss with Lionel Messi being at the heart of both of them. His second goal in particular deserves to be celebrated not just by Barcelona fans, but anyone who is even a casual soccer fan. It was an expression of artistry that elevates the game to the heights it should always strive to reach. Watch the marvelous second goal and tell me if you’ve seen a better display in such a big game. Remember, this is not some beer league team, this is a very good Real Madrid squad who were looking to keep the score close.

Unfortunately, things got ugly again during Jose Mourinho’s post-match press conference. Some of his remarks are completely scandalous and Barcelona manager Pep Guardialo refused to acknowledge them.

Barcelona are considering legal action against Mourinho while UEFA confirmed that its Control and Disciplinary Body would hear numerous cases against Real on May 6, ‘in relation to the throwing of missiles, a pitch invasion, the red card shown to Pepe, the dismissal of the coach José Mourinho, as well as the inappropriate statement given by Mr Mourinho to the media after the match’.

Mourinho has essentially conceded the semi-final to Barcelona stating that a 2-0 deficit will be very difficult to overturn.

The first legs of the quarter-finals saw 3 of 4 matches end with large advantages being established. The fixture that all the attention will be focused on this week will be the second leg match between Manchester United FC and Chelsea FC.

United played a perfect road game and took an important away goal and a 1-0 aggregate lead back to Old Trafford. United are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season but Chelsea won on their last trip to Old Trafford 12 months ago. Chelsea need at least a 2-0 or 2-1 victory to advance. A 1-0 result for Chelsea after 90 minutes would take the game to extra time.

Chelsea are seeking a sixth UEFA Champions League semi-final appearance in eight seasons while United are bidding for a fourth in five years. Chelsea’s domestic league hopes are all but gone so I would expect them to throw everything they have into Tuesday’s game.

Depsite all the talk of how daunting it can be for away clubs to play at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, FC Barcelona are sitting on a massive 4 goal advantage. In order to advance, Shakhtar must do what only three clubs have previously managed in UEFA competition – overturn a four-goal first-leg deficit.

Real Madrid CF recovered a 5-1 loss at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup third round, winning the return 4-0. Leixões SC lost 6-2 at FC La Chaux-de-Fonds in the 1961/62 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup preliminary round but took the tie with a 5-0 triumph in Portugal. FK Partizan also lost 6-2 at Queens Park Rangers FC in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup second round first leg, but prevailed on away goals with a 4-0 victory in Belgrade.

Defending champions Internazionale FC have an even higher mountain to scale. They were defeated 5-2 at the San Siro by FC Schalke 04. No side has ever recovered from such a big home deficit to win a UEFA Champions League tie.

Tottenham Hotspur FC are heading home to White Hart Lane down 4 goals to Real Madrid CF and do not have the comfort of an away goal to ease their burden. It looks to be a monumental ask for their first adventure into the Champions League to continue. Two rash and unnecessary tackles by Tottenham forward Peter Crouch were the turning point of the match. Crouch gave the referee little option in either case but to show him a yellow card. The second tackle resulted in the red card being shown with only 15 minutes gone on the clock. Tottenham’s hope of an away result were gone just as quickly.

Real Madrid CF are primed to reach a first UEFA Champions League semi-final for eight years. That Madrid squad, which included the likes of Ronaldo, Raul and Zinedine Zidane, lost in the 2002-03 semi-finals to runners-up Juventus.

Spurs have to go a long way back in their history — almost 40 years to find inspiration to overturn the deficit they face. Down by a 4-2 margin to Polish side Górnik Zabrze, Tottenham were imperious at home producing an 8-1 victory. That was under the guidance of Tottenham legend Bill Nicholson who served the club in every capacity from boot room apprentice to club president.

I was looking forward to an exciting Champions League tie between perennials AC Milan and newcomers Tottenham Hotspur. The match did deliver excitement but was marred by the mindless actions of both Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and Mathieu Flamini. UEFA is already investigating the incidents involving Gattuso and Tottenham coach Joe Jordan. On two occassions Gattuso had a go at Jordan, the first a grab of the throat and the second a headbutt. Allegations have flown back and forth from both sides but it is a blemish on the game no matter who was to blame. Gattuso has been involved in these types of incidents before and while the cliches about him being a snarling, spiky midfielder are all fine and well, the truth is that he is a tempermental, cheap-shot artist who brings himself and his club into ill repute. Search for ‘gattuso suspension history’ and tell me I’m wrong.

UEFA will render their decision on Monday. Their rules stipulate a minimum three-match ban for assault, although the governing body have the power to dole out lengthier suspensions in exceptional cases. Chelsea’s Didier Drogba was banned for six UEFA competition matches – two of them were deferred – following his actions at the end of a match against Barcelona in 2009, when he repeatedly had a go at the referee before swearing into a live television camera.

Before Gattuso’s antics, a blatant two-footed tackle by Mathieu Flamini on Vedran Corluka early in the second half was somehow only worthy of a yellow card. Corluka had to leave the game and was later seen on crutches with a protective boot over his right foot. Corluka will have an x-ray today to determine the extent of the damage. Because Flamini was booked, he will not be punished further.

Looking past the nonsense, there were many positives to talk about. True to his word, Harry Redknapp had his team take the game to Milan in the first half. Tottenham lined up with a 4-4-1-1 formation with Peter Crouch leading the line, Van der Vaart playing in his familiar trequartista role. Tottenham passed the ball around comfortably and their primary tactic was to exploit the height of Crouch with crosses from the flanks. In particular, Crouch was trying to match himself up against the smaller fullbacks rather than deal with the centre backs.

The second half was a different story as Massimiliano Allegri elected to bring Pato on for Clarence Seedorf at the interval and the switch improved Milan’s attack. The final outcome might have been much different if not for the heroics of Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who twice denied Mario Yepes headers by making acrobatic saves. The Rossoneri kept pressing forward in the second half but ultimately were caught by a counterattack around the 80 minute mark. Sandro made a vital interception and substitute Luka Modric poked a pass between two defenders to the speed merchant Aaron Lennon. Lennon jinked past Yepes leaving him on his backside in the process and laid the ball on a silver platter for Crouch to score the winner and most importantly a vital away goal. Milan were denied a late equalizer when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was judged to have fouled Michael Dawson before scoring with an overhead kick.

If I were creating a football textbook, I would include Tottenham’s display here as an example of how to play an away leg in a European cup competition.

WOW ! Some great match-ups including a repeat of last season’s final with Inter Milan facing Bayern Munich. The match-up that will likely garner more press is the Arsenal v Barcelona. The two clubs play similar styles though Barcelona is still the better side for my money. It’s not impossible to think Arsenal could pull an upset but I remain unconvinced of their back 4 and they do not have an undisputed number 1 goalkeeper. Still, this should be a fun tie to watch. Thank you UEFA !

We’ll have more thorough analysis of these match-ups once the January transfer window has closed.

Champions League Round of 16 draw in full:
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea

First-leg matches will be played on February 15, 16, 22 or 23. Return legs will be played on March 8, 9, 15 or 16.

Dortmund’s form this season has been exceptional. In the early autumn, many people thought that perhaps they would start to fade away by now, but they’ve in fact managed to do the complete opposite. Incredibly, they now find themselves 11 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen in second, and rather comically, 17 points ahead of the supposedly mighty Bayern Munich. Dortmund’s dominant position hasn’t been down to the poor performances of their rivals though – after all, Leverkusen have only lost twice all season – but because of their own ruthlessly consistent displays. They have dropped points in just one of their previous 14 games (a 1-1 draw with the ever-stubborn Hoffenheim), and as a result, you could be forgiven for thinking they have already wrapped the league title up. To compare them to Europe’s other leading clubs at present; they have a points-per-match average of 2.69, whilst Arsenal average 2 points and Lille average just 1.82. The only side who can actually match Dortmund in the major leagues are Barcelona, who average 2.7 points per game.

They comfortably have the best defensive and attacking records in the Bundesliga, and yet their forwards are some way off Theofanis Gekas’ tally of 12 goals. This only serves to demonstrate Dortmund’s collective strength though – Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios both have 8 goals to their names, but Dortmund are not reliant or one or two exceptional sources of talent to keep them at the top of the pile. Instead, they have a young, hungry, vibrant squad who are willing to work for each other, and tackle any obstacle in their path as a single, united entity. The talent is of course there, in the form of Kagawa, Barrios, Nuri Sahin, Neven Subotic, Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski, to name a small collection, but as Bayern and Schalke are currently proving (for all the wrong reasons), talent is nothing without the right mentality.

The Black & Yellow’s manager, Jürgen Klopp, has got the defence looking beautiful in its shape and form – a site that should have any aspiring young coach jotting down notes – particularly the way they effortlessly narrow up and switch to a back five whenever they come under any sustained pressure. Three defenders will form an unusually narrow back three, a winger and a full back become wing backs and the midfielders plug any additional holes, which makes trying to pick them apart an unenviable task. This defensive wall has provided them with the base point to play what has actually proven to be extremely entertaining counter attacking football, reminiscent of Manchester United’s counter attacking play in the 2007/08 season.

This return to form will be a massive relief to the loyal Dortmund following, who pack out the stunning Westfalenstadion through both the good and the bad times. In the past, these supporters have seen their side win six league titles, a Champions League, a Cup Winners’ Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. Perhaps they are now finally on the cusp of once again bringing some silverware home, and who knows, maybe in the not-too-distant future they will be able to replicate the one night they have never forgotten. On 28^th May 1997 – they beat Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final. Playing at the Olympiastadion, which was then the home of their rivals, Bayern Munich, Dortmund overcame a Juve side absolutely packed full of star names; Zidane, Deschamps, Boksic, Di Livio and the emerging Del Piero. Two Karl-Heinz Riedle goals and a decisive second half Lars Ricken strike provided the underdogs with their first European Cup, and it was hoped that the success would continue. Unfortunately though, they have won just one major trophy since then (the league title in the 01-02 season) and hadn’t looked like winning any more until this season. In recent years, they have been cursed by financial difficulties, numerous coaches have come in and failed to redirect the sinking ship, but now, finally, they might just live up to their potential.

If ever this current, promising Dortmund side does need to look for encouragement, they only have to look back to this legendary night in Munich.

The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!