HOORAY for BARCELONA FC and MANCHESTER UNITED FC!

2:30 a.m. Philippine time.

As I opened my TV, I asked myself, "How will I be able to watch two games at the same time?!" Without another TV unit to spare, I didn't have much choice but to use the jump function. It was the Barcelona v Shalke game on Star Sports and the ManU v Roma on ESPN.

I was shocked to discover that Barcelona, the team clad with orange jerseys, wasn't going to have Ronaldinho and Messi in their line up and that Eto'o just came from a fitness test. It's sad to know that they weren't going to play in Barcelona's 6th Quarter Final game since the start of UEFA Champions League. My alarm also went up when I heard that Totti wasn't going to play as well. These were going to be exciting matches.

BARCELONA FC v SHALKE FC
The game started with a very calm atmosphere. Both teams weren't showing much intensity against each other. For a few minutes, the game was showered with mediocre plays, fouls, etc. But then, out of nowhere, Barca's striker Bojan Krkic found a chance to convert and he did, giving his team the lead. Of course, I wasn't able to see this at it's exact time of happening because I was thinking watching the ManU-Roma game that time. So I quickly switched back to Barcelona's game. A few minutes after Krkic's goal, the Shalke players tried to get some for their team with Kuranyi's attempt on the 16' and Westermann's on the 20' but their efforts were futile and were stopped by Barcelona's goal keeper. That was about it. A series of failed attempts stemming from excellent plays followed. I was disappointed to see that Henry wasn't able to convert since I was hoping to see some from him. Nonetheless, over-all, I was happy to see that my team pick for this match won, even without key players Ronaldinho and Messi.

MANCHESTER UNITED FC vs AS ROMA
STADIO OLIMPICO - The game started with a much higher intensity compared to the other match. I observed that even without the Roma striker Totti, the Red Devils were having a hard start. They weren't making an effective impact in the front third. There were a couple of below average through balls and goal attempts. An example was Anderson's long range attempt which passed high above his opponent's goal. On the other hand, AS Roma was playing very well despite having their star player sit this game out. Roma's Mirko Vucinic was playing really well and was showing his opponents that he was a threat to the ManU defense. They were showing a lot of short one-twos which definitely gave Manchester United some trouble. I thought that AS Roma might get a chance to win this one. Then, on the 39' minute, Wayne Rooney made an excellent cross which was converted by the Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo. This gave the Red Devils a boost in morale. This was soon to be followed by another goal from Rooney, who was, by the way, showing excellent performance in this game. AS Roma wasn't able to get back up after the the second goal.

These were exciting games but it was quite hard to watch both games alternately. I'm hoping that the next matches of this Match day will be better.

My bets: Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC.

-16