Sucker punch, suckers!!!

I am so happy I don't even know where to begin...

Hmmm, should I start by Moron-hu's misery or Barcelona's victory? This is Moron-hu, and I don't really feel like being sportsmanly today and have a laugh at his expense, Ha ha ha ha!

Let's start with the shock upset of the season, even bigger than Hercules defeat of Barcelona in week 2.  Truth be told a depleted Mardid lost to Sporting Gijon's dying moment sucker punch, but more importantly the loss ended Moron-hu's long-standing and flawless record at home (having not lost 150 home games since February 23, 2002, spanning a period of 9 years with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Madrid).  There was no comparison between the two sides with Madrid taking 13 shots-on-goal out of a total of 33 shots vs. Gijon's sole strike out of a total of 4 shots.  Hats off to Sporting GK's Juan Pablo for his heroic efforts!!!

Now, will this be a bad omen for Moron-hu? Will they lose their next home match when they host Barcelona? After all misery loves company!!!

Barcelona's win was a pleasant surprise and broke recent tradition where the team plays poorly after playing international and Champions League games spanning a few seasons now.  I predicted a hard earn draw, but was more than happy with an under-strength Barcelona victory and Madrid's humiliating loss.  It was also good to see Afellay, Keita, Thiago and Mascherano get more play time.

Next up?  FCB welcomes Shakhtar to the Camp Nou for the first leg of the Champions League clash!

Why Real Madrid will finally break the last-16 jinx?

Hello reader,

Here are the reasons why I believe Madrid will defeat Lyon:

First, Benzema is an ex-Lyon striker who knows his French league opponents well, similar to Ibrahimovic and the Italian League.  Benzema was effective against Auxerre (scoring a hat-trick) and Lyon in the Champions League, and with Bilbao, Levante, Malaga, Racing Santander, and Hercules in La Liga.  His braces against the last four minnows show he is more confident and will not give up his place to new arrival Adebayor.

Second, Madrid has Moron-who was Louis Van Gaal’s interpreter at Barcelona and the self-titled “Special One” who knows how to bring about the best in his players.  Moron-who was brought in to alleviate Madrid of its Champions League drought – which interestingly coincided with his successes with FC Porto and Inter Milan.  Moron-who will most probably play defense to protect Madrid’s away goal, the way he did against Barcelona when he was with Inter Milan and can afford to, especially since Lyon is not a high-scoring machine.  Furthermore, Moron-who is a Sun Tzu Art of War style master tactician who between today and Wednesday, will have said something to agitate Lyon enough for them to lose their cool.

Third, Cristiano R. is not playing which typically means a more efficient Madrid team.  C.R. tends to shot on goal from long range distances wasting Madrid’s opportunities.  C.R. is also known for being stingy with the ball, although he has been an effective partner to Benzema lately.  Thus if he does play, Madrid will have better scoring chances if he decides to keep feeding Benzema rather than  focus on beating Messi for most goals scored.

Fourth, Madrid should have a healthy Defensive Line who will play a hard and physical game and shut out Lyon.

Fifth, lousy refereeing means that Madrid can and will get dangerously physical and get away with it.

Lastly, history is irrelevant! The fact that Lyon have been the team that has done away with Madrid is irrelevant when you factor all the above and that Madrid has the crucial away goal.  Nonetheless, Lyon knows it has to attack and has a chance of striking fear into the hearts of the Madridistas if they can score at the Bernabeu.  Viva Olympique Lyonnais!

Please feel free to share your thoughts and take a look at the nice deals from Amazon, I think I'll treat myself to the Official Crested maroon colored cap.  

All the best!