The Barcelona - AC Milan tilt is another highly anticipated contest in the 2012-13 Champions League as the two sides have an interesting history against one another in this competition. The teams enter the Round of sixteen matchup with completely different sets of expectations.
Barcelona comes in expected to win the entire tournament. They are widely considered the best team in the world at the moment due to a tremendous Spanish League start and because of its start player and also Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi. The team ended the first half of the 2012-13 with no losses in the Spanish league and 16 wins. Their Champions League play has not always been the most impressive, but the team managed to win Group G with four wins, one loss, and one draw.
AC Milan has had the complete opposite start to 2012-13. The team has won nine, tied three, and lost seven in the Serie A. The team started the season off with just four wins in their first fourteen. They have since improved and have gotten clutch goal scoring from 20-year old Stephan El Shaawary who has 14 goals in 19 games. The team has not had a convincing run at the Champions League as they tied for second place in Group C after winning two, drawing two, and losing two. One of their wins was courtesy of a Zenit St. Petersburg own goal.
Barcelona will win if they do what they do best and limit Milan's chances at a counterattack. Barcelona will dominate possession in both matches and has the more potent attacking threats. Barcelona should look to score as many goals as possible in the first tilt so that they can play a more reserved match at the Camp Nou in the second leg.
AC Milan will win: If they do as Celtic did; contain the Barcelona pressure, limit their chances and make the most of their counter attacks. Look for Milan to play conservative at home and attempt to earn the draw.
Match Days:
-Feb. 20 At Milan
-March 12 at Barcelona
History:
The teams have met 13 times in the tournament's history. Their first meetings were in the round of 16 in the 1959-60 tournament with Barcelona winning both legs by a combined 7-1 score. In 1994, the two teams met in the final and Milan took home an overwhelming 4-0 win.
In the 2000-01 edition, the two met in Group H. Milan won the first match 2-0 and the teams tied the second 3-3. In 2004, the teams met in the Group stage again with Milan winning the first match 1-0 and Barcelona taking the second 2-1.
The teams encountered one another in the semi-finals of the 2005-06 championship with Barcelona winning on the first leg 1-0 and the two sides tying the second leg 0-0. In the 2011-12 cup, the two sides met in Group H and tied the first match 2-2. Barcelona recovered to win 3-2 in the second game. The sides met once more in the quarter-finals of that tournament and drew the first match 0-0. Barcelona took the second game 3-1 by virtue of two Messi penalty goals.
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