In the other matches, Chelsea lost to Fenerbahce 2-1 while Arsenal and Liverpool fought out a 1-1 draw. It was a story of two halves for Chelsea who first enjoyed a rich abundance of opportunities and dominance. Not that they played exceptionally well, it was the sub-par Fenerbahce players who could very well have opened the gates and invited Chelsea in to plunder their treasures.

If Jose Mourinho is the Special One, then Avram Grant is without doubt, the Blessed One. His luck was again evident in this match. He has the “easiest Champions League draw” compared to other English teams, a second leg home advantage, key injuries to their opponent who also gifted them an early own goal. Chelsea could even pull ahead 2-0 before the interval but a goal advantage is useless if you don’t know how to protect it.

Indeed, Grant did not count on Fenerbahce bouncing back so strongly in the second half. Whether it is the tactical changes, a “hairdryer treatment” or a motivational crash course which Zico has given his charges, it was good enough to rewrite the script. That is the hallmark of a great manager – reading of a game and plotting the downfall of an opponent.

Sadly, making key decisions is one aspect which Grant is at his weakest. Besides his inability to act decisively and getting the right results, he is unable to psych his players into a do-or-die battle. I can imagine the players looking to Grant for inspiration and then shaking their heads in despair or even contempt.

Grant’s continued persistence in a 4-3-3 formation is baffling considering that a 4-2-2 featuring Drogba and Anelka in the front line offers more penetration than having the latter in the wings. Unless of course, big Drog prefers to be the center of attention and can only tolerate supporting cast. Fine, if he is in scintillating form but he is not as sharp since returning from the African Cup, and Grant must decide whether to continue stoking his ego.

And what the heck is Essien doing at right back when the struggling midfield needs his muscles, creativity, and vision? Essien’s size may give the impression that he is just brute force but he has amazing pace and is actually an intelligent footballer who can distribute telling passes and function as an excellent conduit for supplies to the front line. His talents are wasted as a defender even if he excels in that role.

There are no excuses for Chelsea, they should instead examine their mistakes and devise ways to counter a rampant Fenerbahce in a week’s time; given the way the Turks was playing (drawing level and then overturning the deficit), the final whistle had saved Chelsea from a more humiliating 3-1 or 4-1 hammering.

As for Arsenal, Wenger is pissed off big time by Liverpool’s negative game and the “conspiracy” by the referee. In the second half, Arsenal were virtually camped in Liverpool’s half of the pitch and should have a penalty when Alexander Hleb was tugged back by Kuyt.

I feel that the penalty claim is valid but this is not the main issue in deciding the victor. In terms of finishing, Arsenal were not clinical enough. For all their possession, the Gunners could not find a way to get past Liverpool. And the lapses in defense is getting annoying. After taking an early lead through Adebayor, the celebration was short-lived as Liverpool hit back quickly when Kuyt scored from close-range.

Arsenal were unsettled by the equalizer which led to a decent spell of possession for Liverpool. In the second half, Wenger adopted a cavalier approach in search of a winner to minimize the damage of conceding an away-goal.

He exhausted all his attacking options and succeeded in pinning the Reds back but the second goal never materialize. With ten men behind the ball for extended periods, Liverpool held firm and head into the second leg with the upper hand.

Of the three, Manchester United’s passage to the semi-finals seem more secure. Roma were content to let the Red Devils dominate, especially the first half, as they took a cautious approach. I am sure the memories of a humiliating 8-3 aggregate defeat to the Red Devils at the same stage of the Champions League last season must be still fresh in their minds.

However, the scoreline flatters to deceive and Roma gave Manchester United enough food for thought in the second round. There was a half-hour of renaissance for Roma after falling behind to Ronaldo’s thumping header. United’s rearguard experienced heavy bombardment and nearly caved in, which will of course, put a new spin to the plot.

A mistake by the usually reliable Ferdinand nearly proved costly, but the danger was snuffed out, thanks to Van der Sar’s quick reflexes. It was when Rooney fired home the second goal that Roma’s ferocious attacks came to an end. Normal order was restored and the Red Devils had several more chances to score as they started to open up a disheartened Roma at will.

Alex Ferguson was smart enough to emphasize that the job was not done yet. He said: “I would have taken that scoreline before the game. I thought it was going to be difficult and for most of the night it was. Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal killed them a bit. We rode our luck in the first 20 minutes of the second half. We had to defend really well and we got a couple of lucky breaks in the second-half.”

He is right that Manchester United should only be satisfied and not ecstatic over the performance. After all, Roma were a weakened side – captain Francesco Totti was injured while Juan and Simone Perrotta were suspended. It wasn’t a comfortable victory and there was a strong element of luck to their goal scoring chances.

Manchester United will also do well to bear in mind that Roma are not goal shy, during the round of 16, they twice defeated mighty Real Madrid 2-1. In all, they have scored at least two goals in three out of four away games from the group stage onwards. So even if they had fallen behind by two goals, it is not beyond the Italians to muster an incredible comeback.

This is a critical period for Alex Ferguson as a lot of people have already appointed them as champions in their heart. His team is peaking at the right time and the fabulous R&R whirlwind is destroying everything in their path. Nevertheless, they are not infallible, as their track record indicates, and this superb run can be fragile.

So far, I see a very motivated United and the team spirit is strong but the weight of expectations and complacency can destroy their momentum. Small decisions which do not go their way and result in defeats, injuries to Ronaldo or Rooney, can be disastrous too.

Speaking of injuries, the situation with Vidic is worrying. I believe it will have a crucial impact on their title hopes. To a large extent, Rio Ferdinand is enjoying the best season of his career (recently appointed England captain) because he has struck up a formidable partnership with Vidic.

Vidic’s absence for two to three weeks will affect the stability of the defense and United may be left with only two regulars in their backline. Gary Neville is still trying to regain his fitness and Wes Brown, as I always believe, is not good enough to be a centerback and barely competent while deputizing for Neville.

Manchester United should not count their chickens yet when it comes to the Champions League, all-out attacks is nice to watch but not the way to go. Borrowing a page or two from Liverpool’s strategy will serve them well. In the Premier League, their greatest enemy is only themselves as none of their closest competitors look convincing at the moment.

Spalleti said: “I must congratulate my players. We played a great game and we made use of our counter-attack opportunities. It wasn’t easy to come back against Real but we’ve been patient and we’ve been rewarded.”

Real Madrid had a dream start and look set for a fourth victory when captain Raul stunned the Italians with an early goal. In the 8th minute, Arjen Robben scurried down the left and crossed for Guti. His weak shot will not have bothered Roma goalkeeper Doni but Raul was quick in sticking his foot out to divert the ball into the far corner.

Roma maintained their composure and nearly equalized within minutes, if not for the reflexes of Iker Casillas who stopped Marco Cassetti’s long range effort. The Italians continued with intermittent threats but it was obvious Real Madrid were calling the shots and plentiful chances emerged for them to take the lead.

However, luck and accuracy were not the order of the day. Ruud van Nistelrooy had a goal disqualified for offside. In the 21st minute, a mesmerizing run down the flanks from Robben created some space, from which a beautiful cross was floated but Raul, in the best of positions to capitalize, chose to head wide.

Three minutes later, Real Madrid paid for their slipshod finishing as Roma equalized. Francesco Totti found Mancini on the left and the Brazilian’s cross fell into the path of David Pizarro who beat Iker Casillas with a deflected shot off Fernando Gago.

While largely a pedestrian after his assist for the first goal, Totti sprang to life again after the break. In the 58th minute, the playmaker cum captain, showed why he is hailed as the Prince of Rome.

A perfectly-weighted pass dissected Real’s defense and allowed the onrushing Mancini to latch onto the ball, round Casillas and squeeze a shot into the net from a tight angle. On hindsight, if Gabriel Heinze had been less attack-minded, there will be sufficient cover instead of a gaping hole at Real’s rearguard.

In the 67th minute, Doni almost gifted Real Madrid a goal as he spilled a shot from Robben but it was cleared away in the nick of time. With 10 minutes left, Real manager Bernd Schuster made a double substitution involving Royston Drenthe (Robben) and Julio Baptista (Diarra).

Drenthe made immediate contributions as he crossed from the right for van Nistelrooy but the striker was unlucky to see his close range shot come back off the post. Two minutes later, after some excellent work by Raul, Baptista also had a chance to score but the ball, as if in a rugby match, was blasted well over.

I am not surprised if Real Madrid felt the defeat was unfair. Playing away, they accorded little respect to Roma, as they dominated possession and created clear-cut chances but were constantly denied and then went on to concede two goals.

This victory gives Roma a crucial advantage ahead of the return leg and to be fair, they were effective in dishing out Italian style football. Fact is, you can sleep for 89 minutes and score from the only shot on target. That is all the gulf you need between a winner and a loser and harsh reality it may be, but for some, it is the beauty of the game.

I feel that Real Madrid have nothing much to fear as their performance indicated that their creative juices are still flowing in abundance. With fanatical home support, they can be confident in overcoming this deficit.

Real also scored the all-important away goal which can be crucial in a tight match. This will force an open game as Roma will be less conservative in order to secure a safe passage, rather than to sit back and defend in numbers.

The only dark cloud for Real Madrid is the list of unavailable players. Sergio Ramos made the task harder after he was suspended for picking up a booking. This is a situation Schuster had hoped to avoid, with Pepe, Marcelo and Christoph Metzelder in the treatment room.

Schuster said: “We are going to suffer without Sergio Ramos. But then again I have only had my full defense for one game (through injuries) and that was against Barcelona. I would like to have more players available.”

A thin squad will of course be their undoing as they try to clinch the La Liga and Champions League. Fabio Capello won the League title but was sacked. It is difficult to outdo Capello, but anything less than a trophy (however insignificant), will make Schuster’s position even more precarious.

Come summer, I expect them to be again fully involved in the transfer market, to sustain their title challenges. But they do not need a Cristiano Ronaldo as another Galactico for next season, spending money to expand their defensive options will be a wiser choice.