The first legs of the first knockout stages were completed last
night – let’s take a closer look at the action…

Lyon 1            Manchester United 1
Benzema 54        Tevez 87

Carloz Tevez’s 87th minute strike gave Manchester United that all
important away goal as they drew with Lyon. The French champions
had taken the lead early in the second half through the highly
rated Karim Benzema.

The Stats said:

• Over 2.5 Goals
• Lyon to get the Most Cards

Actual result:

• 1-1
• Lyon 3 Yellow Cards, Man United 1

Both these teams are know for their free-flowing football, but last
night the importance of the game meant neither side wanted to over
commit going forward. As the stats suggested, Lyon did indeed earn
more cards, 3 yellow’s (30 points) compared to United’s 1 (10
points).

Arsenal 0 AC Milan 0

Arsenal bounced back from their 4-0 away loss to Man United in the
FA Cup, by holding the current European Champions AC Milan to a 0-0
draw at the Emirates. In fact the Gunners dominated the match, but
lacked the cutting edge to break down Milan’s stubborn defence.

The Stats said:

• Under 10 Corners (with a saver on Exactly 10)

Actual result:

• 11 Corners

Arsenal dominated the possession (57%) in last night’s match.
Arsene Wenger’s men were looking to take a lead into the second leg
and racked up an impressive Corner total of 9. While restricting
Milan to just 2. This took the game just Over the bookies’ 10
Corner total margin.

Celtic 2          Barcelona 3
V of Hesselink 16 Messi 18
Robson 38            Henry 52
                       Messi 79                              

Lionel Messi’s brace gave Barcelona a 3-2 lead to take back to the
Nou Coup after a pulsating first leg at Celtic Park.

Celtic had taken the lead through Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in the
16th minute, but his strike was cancelled out by Messi’s first goal
of the game 2 minutes later. Barry Robson then gave Celtic a lead
to take into half time. But in the 52nd minute Thierry Henry
equalised and the Catalan giants eventually made the break-through
in the 79th minute via Messi’s second goal of the game.

The Stats said:

• Over 3.5 Cards in the match

Actual result:

• 4 Yellow Cards

There were 4 Yellow Cards in last night’s encounter (40 Booking
points), 3 for Celtic and 1 for Barca. The match looked like it was
going to finish under the 3.5 Cards margin set by the bookies,
until Georgois Samaras was booked for diving in the 90th minute.

Fenerbahce 3 Sevilla 2
Kezman 17      Dracena (og) 23
Lugano 57      Escude 66
Senturk 87 

Metaja Kezman gave Fenerbahce the lead before defender Dracena put
through his own net making the score 1-1 at half time. The hosts
then took the lead again in the 57th minute through Diego Lugano,
but the visitors once again levelled thanks to Julien Escude’s 66th
minute strike. Fenerbahce grabbed a late winner through substitute
Semih Senturk giving the Turkish champions a slender lead to take
into the second leg.

The Stats said:

• Under 10 Corners (with a saver on Exactly 10)

Actual result:

• 10 Corners

The bookies’ marker of 10 was spot on in this match. The hosts won
3 corners, Sevilla 7. Sevilla’s Corner haul of 7 was up on the
average of 4.3 they had during the group stages. The fact they were
chasing the game contributed to their above average Corner count.

* * * * *

The Champions League knockout stages return on the 4th March. But
we’ll be back in touch next week, taking a close look at the stats
from all the first leg matches. Plus an in-depth preview of all the
second legs.

www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk

Best wishes,

Matt Nesbitt
Champions League Bet
www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk