Curses Are Made To Be Broken

And so this one was…  Real Madrid beat Lyon 3-0 to secure a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in 7 years. HALA MADRID! Los Blancos were men on a mission right from the very start and the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu sang and cheered the boys the whole way through.

The evening, however, began on a somber and contemplative note…

A tribute was held and a moment of silence observed for Japan. Real Madrid again wore black armbands in respect for the devastation and suffering of the Japanese nation. And please, if you can, make a donation to the Red Cross or the charity of your choice – so much help is needed right now and every dollar counts. No donation is too small, folks. (Seriously, I work in the non-profit field and you’d be surprised by how much the little donations add up. People think that their modest amount can’t possibly count, but I assure you it does. Think of it this way: your dollar is one that they didn’t have before. So, please, if you can, give. It feels good to help!)

The teams started fast and furious. There were several possible chances, but no one managed to get past goalie Hugo Lloris (Someone cracked me up on Twitter last game saying  “Hugo Lloris is AWESOME on House! ;-)”)  until Marcelo released this little beauty (with an assist from Crispy) at 37′ to score and break the deadlock (Marcelo was on fire the whole game):

He was so thrilled (me too, I screamed like a freak!) I don’t know who was more excited – Marcelo or Pepe! Look at these two!

Poor Sergio got completely mashed in the middle of those two. Hope they didn’t break his nose again. And Marcelo, please be careful with your cleats in the second picture or Maisougio will be VERY unhappy with you.

Benz almost scored at 40′ but Hugo Lloris made a GREAT save. He did score at 42′ but it was obviously offside. Bah! We came back for the second half ready to kick some more arse but it was a hard fought contest. But finally – FINALLY – the third time was the charm at 65′ for Benzema!

Seriously, that has to be one of the most uncomfortable positions EVER. My knees and back are aching just looking at Lloris. OUCH.

Benz had a rather subdued celebration (but not THAT subdued) when he scored against his former team.  He almost scored AGAIN a minute later, but Lloris denied him again with a beautiful save.  It was do or die for Lyon at this point. They really needed to score. Mou took Cristiano out at 74′ and sent Manu in.  I think it was a good decision, Crispy didn’t look 100%, IMHO.

Mou gave him a little grimace of sympathy as he came off. Rest, Crispy, honey! We need you at the top of your game when we meet Barca. DiMaria put the final nail in Lyon’s coffin 2 minutes later with an assist from Mesut.

Of course, this earned him a huge hug from Marcelo. I bet he gives the best hugs, don’t you think? Mou took Fideo out at 79′ and gave us a little El Pirata action. I think that Mou is a secret wa-tishista! quite frankly.

Mmmmm, piratey goodness!  Mou took Benz out (to a big ovation from the crowd) at 84′ and sent Lass in. At this point, they were just keeping the ball away from Lyon until the final whistle. After the final whistle, both teams made a very classy gesture. They all took off their jerseys to reveal t-shirts that said “Animo Abidal” – A message of support for Barcelona defender Eric Abidal who was diagnosed with a liver tumor on Tuesday.

Mou said  “These things are bigger than any rivalries. We’re all with him, we all want this to end well. We all want Abidal to play football, for Abidal to be healthy. We all think this and we all feel this.” Marcelo echoed his comments: “I wish to express my support for Abidal and his family. Rivalry steps aside when things like this happen. What matters is that he recovers as soon as possible.”  Abidal will undergo surgery tomorrow.  We  here at HB & HB wish him the best and hope that everything goes well.

So, we’re on to the quarter finals. I wonder who we will draw?

And now, it’s time for Put On Your Game Face!

The caption on this picture is “Lisandro discusses with Pepe…” That is…doubtful, especially if you saw their mid-air collision. Pepe jumped insanely high and basically knocked Lisandro out with his hip. Lisandro took a major knock to the head. Of course, the TV had to replay it about 100 times. I can’t even imagine what words they are using to “discuss” the incident here. Pepe needed to chill a bit. He was a tad out of control this game.

The Other CrispyKarim. Lyon’s Cris decides to try a little light restraint on Benz. Wonder if our Crispy is jealous?

Nice boot-ay, Benz! You’ve got some serious junk in the trunk and we heartily approve.

This is not going to end well for poor Rico!  The picture is hilarious. Carvalho is “airing and sharing” his Ricoberries. Yoann is riveted by the sight while Xabi is shrieking in horror. What is really horrifying is that the caption misidentified Yoann as Cesar Delgado. Grizzled Cesar Delgado! Seriously, would you mix these two up?!

Yeah, I didn’t think so. I guess we’re just much better at analyzing boys here at HB & HB. We would never make such a mistake.

Lookin’ a leetle bit shifty there, Mou! What’s that about, eh? You look like a criminal.

Mesut just looked super pretty in this shot so I couldn’t resist adding it.

A few more bits and bobs…

These satiric paper mache figures of Barca coach Pep Guardiola and Mou are part of Valencia’s Las Fallas Fiesta which is a week long party with fireworks and processions honoring St. Joseph. When it ends on midnight of March 19, they burn the large paper mache figures that are displayed all over the city.

The Ozil Love Train continues to chug steadily down the track and The Ramos made us all very happy by telling FIFA.com that he’d like to stay at Real Madrid for life.

Next up his weekend is our derby vs. Atleti!  HALA MADRID!