That Goal!

Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid won, Liverpool drew for a voided punt, and the 2 Win recommendations (Barcelona and PSG) both ended in miserable draws; I suppose the warning signs for those 2 losing punts were there, and a more judicious prediction would have been to have them as draw-no-bet.

In La Liga, Real cut the gap at the top to 5 points. They still have a mountain to climb to reach Barcelona though, and it will be interesting to see how involvement in the Champions League affect the league form of both teams.

The results in the Premier League drew the most interest. By losing at Old Trafford, the title hopes are more or less over for Man City. But it's THE goal that is still on everyone's minds. Rooney's bicycle kick was just a thing of beauty. The execution of a bicycle kick is the most spectacular in football, and I think every young footballer dreams of performing one that wins a game in front of a buoyant crowd. Just like Rooney did. I still have engraved in my mind the Van Basten one in his early days at Ajax. Every 4 years during the World Cup, the networks are always debating the greatest goal ever scored during the tournament. Maradona's solo run against England in Mexico 86 is very often cited The one. For me, the greatest goal I have ever seen in my life (not just the World Cup) is the semi-bicycleta of Mexico's Negrete against Bulgaria during the same Mexico 86. I still marvel at the technicality and execution of the goal as I watch it on youtube. The angle, the body position, and the many other options that the Mexican could have used other than the bicycleta... it seemed he had it all figured out at 100 mph before his perfect execution. Just out-of-this-world, as the commentator was saying.

Nothing of interest for Monday, but lots of interesting Champions League football resuming this week. And if there's any value in racing, I'll post it. Thanks for staying tuned.