So far this week I have been able to catch a couple of great matches in European competition.

Barcelona - Arsenal

To be honest, I've dreamed about this match up all season. Prayed for it. Hoped for it. So when the draw for the quarters came out I was overjoyed. Yes, it is sad that they won't meet in the final, but at least they will meet! These are the two teams I most enjoy watching, as they both play powerful attacking soccer while passing in such a gorgeous fashion. To me, each of these teams captures what I love about soccer, the grace, balance, and vision of stellar buildups that lead to the power and glory of great finishes. When you play either side you know you are going to be challenged defensively, as they will play their game, regardless of who you are. The first half was just dominated by Barcelona as they came forward in waves and didn't hesitate to attack goal. Almunia was stellar in goal, stoning ridiculous chances from Ibra and Messi multiple times. The Arsenal defense bent but did not break as they were tested constantly in the first twenty. Unfortunately, Arshavin picked up knock midway through the first and had to come out for Eboue. Nasri's driven chance from the corner of the box barely missed, and it seemed that Arsenal regained some momentum. Each side continued to attack but no one could break through. The half time whistle left us with a frustrated Barca side and a thankful Arsenal squad heading for the locker rooms.

The second half brought a very different story, as Barcelona played in Ibrahimovic and Almunia came out into no man's land, realized he was in bad shape and tried to return but couldn't and Ibra placed a brilliant chip over him, scoring his first goal against an English side in style. Almunia's first mistake in an otherwise impressive game left Arsenal in bad shape. They had to press to get one back. Barca continued the dangerous attacking play and continued their signature style, holding a majority of the possession. When Ibra was played through again and buried a great strike into the upper right hand corner midway through the second half you had to figure the tie was over and an outclassed Arsenal team dealing with injuries to both Cesc and Arshavin was not something they could overcome. Painful really, as this side has dealt with injuries to Robbie Van Persie and so many others so well this season. Theo Walcott came on and made an immediate difference, scoring a goal that I can tell you little about, because my feed dropped for a couple moments. This goal clearly re-energized the Gunners, and they continued to press forward. A nice ball across the box that Fabregas had lined up to volley saw Puyol take the Arsenal talisman down, and Puyol was rewarded with a red and a seat in the stands for the second leg along with conceding a PK that Fabregas finished nicely albeit at the cost of a fractured leg. Unfortunate certainly, however he was bound to miss the second leg thanks to a yellow he received earlier in the match that made his tally throughout the competition high enough to receive an automatic one game suspension. The last ten minutes continued to be riveting as the rest of the game had been, however now it was Barcelona on the back foot as Arsenal came close to scoring multiple times. The final whistle sounded and the match finished a riveting draw, 2-2.

The next leg sets up to be extremely interesting, as Arsenal will be with Fabregas and Barcelona without Puyol, thanks to his red card and Pique, as he drew a yellow in the second half and reached his accumulation of yellows number just like Fabregas, who it appears will miss the rest of the domestic campaign as well thanks to this injury. This will drastically affect Arsenal's chances to win the Prem and the Champions League. Arsenal has a whale of a task ahead of them, needing to win at the Camp Nou, but they showed the resolve today that shows anything is possible. Barcelona knows what lies ahead and what they must take care of to ensure safe passage, yet I doubt they will play conservatively. However, losing both starting center backs could lead us to another shootout battle, which everyone would be grateful to watch, however painful it might be for the fans of both sides. Each team showed their class yesterday but the real test still lies ahead.


Fulham - Wolfsburg

After Fulham's stellar recovery against Juventus, they have to be considered a real threat to the Europa Cup. While being completely ordinary in EPL play the past couple months, the Cottagers have been on fire in Europe, overcoming any and all obstacles in their path. This game they approached with the same goal. Wolfsburg however is a team that has much more quality then any of their recent opponents in Europe, especially the incredibly dynamic strike partnership of Grafite and Dzenko. Each side moved the ball around well in the first half, and Fulham almost edged ahead via a blast from Dempsey that was bravely turned away. Neither side could bag the goal needed to push ahead and after an entertaining first half the second started.

Again the pace was relatively frantic and the game wide open, undermining Fulham's typical defensive styling. A brilliant ball from Dempsey on the wing found Zamora outside the box, and he beat his man back into the middle and struck a curler that managed to deflect off of a second onrushing defender that then squeaked around the goalkeeper. Zamora's quality this year has been undoubted, and he has impressed beyond belief. It only took four minutes for Zamora to bring a ball down in the box and lay off to an onrushing Damien Duff to put Fulham two to the good. Chamo stated earlier this year that Duff would make a major impact and he couldn't have been more correct all season. Duff's play throughout the year has made me wonder how I questioned the signing in the first place. Stellar work again from Zamora left Fulham in an enviable position, which unfortunately they conceded as Wolfsburg got one back two minutes before time, leaving Fulham with a precarious lead heading to Germany for leg two.

Being both a Fulham and USMNT fan, this was a glorious performance to watch as Dempsey was perpetually dangerous. His strike from outside the box showed much power and precision and he continues to look like the player that he had before his miserable injury earlier this year. Zamora has emerged into his own, and Capello will have to take a hard look at him in the near future as his strike rate continues to impress. Duff could be the most underrated EPL acquisition this year as he has done wonders for Fulham and likely will continue to do so. An impressive Fulham performance however was marred by a goal that could likely haunt them in the second leg, but the increasingly dangerous Fulham attack will likely have something to say about that.