Source: Daily_Mail
Andy Townsend: Trust me, it's Barcelona who are the Real deal
The millions spent by Real Madrid in the summer were meant to signal a shift in power back to both Spain and the nine-time winners of the European Cup.[LNB]But, for me, the only threat from La Liga that Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal must fear remains Barcelona who, despite making heavy weather of their group, will only get better.[LNB]Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo will start to have more impact now that he is fit again and will rack up more goals. And if he comes up against one of our teams, he will be doing everything he can to show us what we are missing.[LNB] Pedigree: Ronaldo is assured a warm welcome should Real find themselves pitted against against an English side in the quarter-finals - or beyond[LNB]But Kaka hasn't got going for Real and, despite all the expensive additions, they could even come a cropper in the next round. They can turn it on at the Bernabeu but I can still see Real readily conceding goals, which is not the case with United, Chelsea or even Arsenal.[LNB]The English trio won't need to worry about Madrid or Barca in the next round and none of the opponents whom our remaining teams could face will be giving Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti or Arsene Wenger sleepless nights.[LNB]Inter Milan always flatter to deceive and I can't see them beating our teams over two legs. AC Milan's ageing midfielders like Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso have seen better days. And while Bayern Munich's win at Juventus was huge, are they really littered with players of quality?[LNB] Ready to explode: Will Barca's Zlatan Ibrahimovic break his non-scoring hoodoo in the Champions League knockout stages?[LNB]If the draw is kind, I can see all three English sides reaching the last four and I wouldn't be too surprised if United and Chelsea square up again in the final.[LNB]I am eagerly anticipating the knockout rounds because the group stage was as poor as I have seen. Olympiakos against Arsenal typified it. The Greeks were petrified against a team of kids.[LNB]Apart from Bordeaux, who excelled to emerge as group winners, and plucky Rubin Kazan, there has been little to fire imagination. Bring on the business end of the competition.[LNB] The future's Ramsey: Arsenal's Aaron compared to Manchester United great Paul ScholesRibery admits he'd have better chance of Champions League glory at ChelseaVIDEO SPECIAL: Potty Jens Lehmann takes toilet break during Stuttgart's Champions League win over Unirea Urziceni[LNB] Explore more:People:Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, Carlo Ancelotti, Alex FergusonPlaces:Barcelona, Madrid, Spain
