Real Madrid Dumped by Lyon

In maybe the most shocking soccer news of the year, mega money spenders Real Madrid have once again been dumped from the Champion's League in the round of 16. In a season where they dreamed of getting to the final which will be played at their home stadium, Madrid fans were once again severely disappointed.

Madrid got off to a flying start with their first chance on goal coming after just 16 seconds. Minutes later Madrid were in front after Cristiano Ronaldo escaped down the left wing and beat the Lyon keeper with a low strike between his legs. Madrid continued to poor on the pressure and they should have been up two in the 25th minute. After getting behind the defense, Gonzalo Higuaín rounded the goalkeeper but could only find the post as he blew a glorious chance at the open goal. He once again was denied minutes later as Hugo Lloris made a great save to keep the game at 1-0. The tie could have easily been won in the first half as both Kaka and Ronaldo also spoiled fantastic scoring opportunities.

Real Madrid would ultimately pay for the lack of finishing as Lyon shocked the Bernabeau in the 75th minute with a great movement which culminated in a Miralem Pjanic goal. As the ball crossed the line, a pin drop could be heard as the Madrid supporters went silent. Madrid never found a way back and were lucky to not be embarrassed further as both Lisandro and Cesar Delgado both missed easy chances as they last minutes ticked away.

The shocking defeat was yet another cruel loss for the Los Blancos, especially this year after spending over $360 million on Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema and other players. Lyon was added to the list of recent Madrid Champion's League executioners including Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma and Liverpool.

To get a better feel of the true disappointment in Madrid, take a look at these newspaper headlines:

• Madrid AS's front page read: "Catastrophe. Madrid couldn't overcome Lyon, not even in the Bernabeu."
• El Pais's headline read: "Football has no price."
• Barcelona-based sports dailies El Mundo Deportivo and Sport, meanwhile, both went with a huge "KO" on their front pages.

• El Mundo Deportivo twisted the knife by highlighting the possibility of Madrid's arch rivals Barca defending their European crown at the Bernabeu in May. "Madrid will not be in the Bernabeu final! Failure of Florentino's project, incapable of overcoming the last-16 of the Champions League for the sixth successive year. Barca's dream of winning their fourth European Cup in Chamartin (Bernabeu) grows."

• Sport added on their front page: "The great failure", whilst underneath showing the pictures of Perez, Pellegrini, Ronaldo and Kaka with captions alongside them. The captions read: "'Florentino, broken. 300 million euros thrown away'. 'Pellegrini, sentenced. The Bernabeu calls for his head'. 'Cristiano, humiliated. He promised every title and has already lost two'. 'Kaka, the next problem. He left the pitch insulting the coach'."

Manchester United Dominates AC Milan

Manchester United left no doubt as to who was moving onto the Champion's League round of eight as they put AC Milan to the sword with 4-0 thrashing. The complete destruction of Milan on Wednesday night left the final aggregate score at an eye popping 7-1 in favor of Manchester United.

It was a tall task for Milan heading to England after they had been thoroughly outplayed two weeks ago in losing 3-2 at home. On that occasion it was Wayne Rooney, who showed why he is now rated as one of the top 5 players in on the planet, scoring multiple glorious headers to shock the home fans.

Needing to score at least two goals to have any chance, Milan were doomed from the beginning. Just 13 minutes in, Rooney was up to his old tricks, placing a breathtaking header inside the far post after Gary Neville had crossed the ball into the box. Milan rarely challenged the United goal in the first half and just a minute into the second half, the tie was put to rest when Rooney once again slotted home from close range after a glorious outside of the foot Nani cross put him through.

The rest of the game had little meaning as Manchester United only further embarrassed Milan, ballooning the scoreline to 4-0 on the night with goals from Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher.

All in all it was a truly dominating performance by Manchester United over the two games and they look poised to make their third consecutive run to the final.

Arsenal Crush Porto; Advance in Champions League

Arsenal put their Champions League worries behind them as they put on a soccer masterclass against Porto at the Emirates Stadium. Following two horror errors from backup goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski in the first leg, Arsenal came home needing a victory to move on in the knockout stages.

From the start it looked like it would be Arsenal's day. After a weekend to forget, in which he missed four easy tap in goals, Nicklas Bendtner responded with the first hat trick of his career. Bendtner poked home his first in the 9th minute after Porto goalkeeper Hilario and Arsenal winger Andre Arshavin collided, spilling the ball in the box. He then tapped home his second in the 25th minute after Arshavin masterfully dribbled through three Porto defenders and squared the ball across the six yard box.

The tie was put to bed in the 63rd minute as Frechman Samir Nasri put on a show on the right side of the Porto 18-yard box. The Arsenal winger played a one-two with Abou Diaby before breaking the ankles of three Porto defenders with his nibble feet before drilling a low shot to the far post from close range.

Porto never stood a chance as Emmanuel Eboue netted the fourth just three mintues after Nasri's goal, once again coming from a beautifully weighted through ball from Arshavin. Bendtner finished up his hat trick in the 90th, converting a penalty after Emmanuel Eboue was dragged down in the box.

Robben Wonder Goal Saves Bayern Munich

In what turned out to be the game of the day in the Champions League yesterday, Dutch winger Arjen Robben saved Bayern Munich with a breathtaking long range strike. Heading into the second leg match up with Fiorentina in Italy, the German giants held a slight 2-1 lead on a controversial offside goal at the end of the first match. Although Bayern led, the away goal by Fiorentina in the first leg meant a 1-0 home result would be good enough to advance the Viola onto the next round.

Under harsh conditions in Italy (high winds, rain & sleet) the game got off to a cracking start for the hosts. Juan Vargas put the home side in front after 27 minutes and Fiorentina doubled the lead in the 54th through Stevan Jovetic. While Fiorentina led on aggregate, one Bayern goal would once again level things and send tie into possible extra time and a shootout. That goal from Bayern finally came with a fantastic strike in the 60th minute from Mark van Bommel, which then set off 11 minutes of mayhem which saw four goals scored.

Fiorentina responded to Bommel's goal four minutes later with another Stevan Jovetic netting in the 64th to put the hosts up 3-1 in the tie, and 4-3 on aggregate. The lead would only last a minute, as Bayern's Arjen Robben took the ball on the right wing, cut inside and unleashed a stunning left footed blast that left Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastian Frey no chance. Robben's goal evened up the score at 4-4 on the day, but Bayern Munich's two away goals againt Fiorentina's one in the 2 legged match, is what eventually sent the Germans through to the next round.