AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers Group Stage Schedule

After winning the Play Offs/Pre-Qualifying matches, the Azkals now advance to the Qualifying Group Stage of the AFC Challenge Cup.  So, here’s the schedule of their group stage matches:

Myanmar vs Philippines

March 21 @ 5PM Philippine time

Philippines vs Palestine

March 23 @ 5PM Philippine time

Bangladesh vs Philippines

March 25 @ 5PM Philippine time

But unfortunately, the games held in Myanmar will not be aired live here in the Philippines as Myanmar government has denied ABS-CBN’s request to cover and broadcast the game.  They might give us a copy of the footage of the game which ABS can air on Wednesday (although this has not yet been officially confirmed by ABS)….

Well, that sucks.  It’s not gonna be as exciting to watch when you know who the winners will be.  If there’s no ABS coverage, is there a possibility to do live stream from Myanmar TV coverage?

Champions League Quarterfinals Schedules

The Champions League Quarterfinals has been drawn and here are the teams who will face off each other to reach the semi-finals:

Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspurs

1^st Leg: April 6 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM

2^nd Leg: April 14 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM



Inter Milan vs Schalke

1^st Leg: April 6 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM

2^nd Leg: April 14 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM





Chelsea vs Manchester United

1^st Leg: April 7 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM

2^nd Leg: April 13 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM



Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk

1^st Leg: April 7 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM

2^nd Leg: April 13 @ 3:30AM or 5:30AM

Over-all, it seems like a good draw.  The "strong" (well, at least in my opinion) teams are not playing against each other yet. 

The teams who have wished to avoid Barca in the quarterfinals can now breathe a sigh of releif... except for the Spurs, that is.  Everyone is assuming that Barca is a shoo-in for the semis, I do hope they live up to that expectation... you know what they say in football, anything can happen.

I want the defending champions, Inter Milan, to advance to the next stage and many think they got lucky in the draw when got the "weakest" team in the 8 that are left.  But at the same time, I'm kinda rooting for the underdog, hoping Schalke can still play against Real Madrid later on (and beat them). 

Will keep you updated on the final timeslots of Balls Channel’s live coverage.

Champions League Quarterfinals

And then there were eight… The following teams advance to the Quarterfinals:

Here’s the sked of the matches:

1^st Leg

April 6 – 3:30AM Philippine time
April 6 – 5:30AM Philippine time

April 7 – 3:30AM Philippine time
April 7 – 5:30AM Philippine time

2^nd Leg

April 13 – 3:30AM Philippine time

April 13 – 5:30AM Philippine time
April 14 – 3:30AM Philippine time
April 14 – 5:30AM Philippine time

Will update you after they draw the teams for the match fixtures on Friday.  In the meantime, here's a great article about the Quartfinals Draw of the Champions League and the 8 teams remaining.

Champions League R16: Lyon v Real Madrid Munich Recap (2nd Leg)

0 – 3

Lyon v Real Madrid
Replay: March 17 @ 9PM

Real Madrid just really dominated this match in their classic Spanish posssession style of football.  They had way more chances than Lyon and we able to convert three of them.  I guess they finally broke the record of never beating Lyon in a match, and it’s a first time since 2004 that they finally reached the Quarterfinals stage.

Cristiano Ronaldo did play after all but was not able to score a goal (I guess I’ll have more chances to see if this is true).

former Real Madrid legend & captain, Raul who is now playing for Schalke

With Schalke also advancing to the next round, I wonder if the two teams will get to play against each other.  This would be a really interesting match, but my money would be on Raul’s Schalke :P

Champions League R16: Kobenhavn v Chelsea Recap (2nd Leg)

0 – 0

Kobenhavn v Chelsea
Replay: March 17 @ 6:30PM

The match ended with both teams failing to score.  But it was not without trying on Chelsea’s part, they had so many attempts but they were just not able to convert them into goals. 

The 2 goals from their 1^st Leg match will advance Chelsea to the Quarterfinals.  A nil-nil draw may do at this round but they might want to work on their finishing in the next games.

Champions League: Marseille vs. Manchester United 2nd Leg Recap

1 – 2

Marseille vs. Manchester United

Another one of the matches I didn’t watch J  But looking at the numbers, they seem to have the same number of chances, but Man U converted two of theirs and even contributed to Marseilles only point. 

So, the Red Devils will advance to the Quarter Finals stage.

Champions League: Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich 2nd Leg Recap

3 – 2

Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich

I’m sad that Bayern did not advance to the next round.  The way they lost the match makes me weep.  You would’ve have though they had it in the bag with a 3-1 aggregate lead by half time.  But in a dramatic turn of events, Inter Milan re-organized and produced two more goals with the 3^rd goal scored in the last-minutes of the 2^nd half, ending Bayern’s run in the Champion’s League. 

It’s frustrating because Bayern had more chances than Inter did, and some of their on target shots were really close calls.  But they just weren’t able to convert them into more goals.  In the end, they made crucial defensive mistakes that Inter capitalized on.  It’s heart-breaking to lose like that, giving away your lead at the very end of a match.

With both formidabble teams, it was an intense and nerve-wracking game to watch, same as their 1^st leg game.  It was very fast-paced match with swift counter attacks on both sides.  It would have been nice if this match was on the later stages of the tournament, it’s sad to lose one of the stronger teams this early on in the competition.  Bayern should have reached at least the semis, I would have loved to watch more of  their attacking style of play.  On the bright side, at least one Italian team still has a chance to win Champions League (and of all Italian teams, it’s the one I didn’t wanna win).