Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Wednesday roundup: Barcelona through to Champions League semis, Kagawa eyes Premier League, and Toronto carries the MLS flag





Barcelona 3, AC Milan 1 (3-1 Aggregate): There were probably a few brave souls who dared to bet on AC Milan going into Barcelona and nicking a result after holding the defending Champions League champions to a 0-0 draw at the San Siro last week, but Barcelona's dominance over Zlatan Ibrahimovic and co. was thoroughly asserted. With Bayern Munich on the horizion in the semis, the road to the Allianz Arena may still be bumpy yet, but the dream Barcelona v. Real Madrid matchup in the final is still on track.

Shinji Kagawa on Premier League radars?: The word out of Germany (specifically from Bild) is that Shinji Kagawa, who has been scintillating for Borrusia Dortmund this season, could be a target for Manchester United or Chelsea this summer. As is often the case, there will be questions about how well he could acclimate to the style of play in England, but I see no reason why he couldn't. Kagawa's presence in the Premier League would surely make an already popular league that much more so in his native land.

Toronto at Santos Laguna tonight (1-1 aggregate): The hopes of MLS glory in the CONCACAF Champions League hang in the balance tonight with Toronto FC, MLS's lone remaining representative, travelling down to the graveyard of so many MLS dreams and aspirations: Mexico. With Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans set to miss out through injury and suspension respectively, the task of duplicating FC Dallas's feat of winning in Mexico will only be that much more difficult. Ryan Johnson might just have to score a goal or two to make the unlikely victory a reality. Stranger things have happened, however; this is soccer we're talking about here.

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