UEFA Champions League: What Each Side Needs To Reach the Semifinals

Now that the four matches that consist of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals have been completed, the big picture of who will advance onto the Champions League semifinal has become clearer in some cases, but has also remained uncertain in many other cases.

For example, it has become clear that Lyon will most likely be the French side that will advance onto the Champions League semifinal (Lyon's first ever semifinal in the competition).

Also, we know that Barcelona will be much weaker in the return leg without the presence of Gerald Pique and Carles Puyol for suspension.

And, with stars such as Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas both out with injury, the second leg will be just as interesting as the first leg.

But also at the same time, we don't know what will happen to Manchester United now that Wayne Rooney is out with that sprained ankle.

And the same goes with CSKA Moscow, who were extremely lucky to leave the San Siro with just a 1-0 defeat after Inter were dominant.

So now that the first leg has been completed, here is a recap of each of the four matches, and what each of the eight sides must do in order to advance onto the Champions League semifinal.

Tuesday, March 30

Bayern Munich-Manchester United

First Leg: Bayern Munich 2, Manchester United 1

Recap: Even though Manchester United were able to take the lead just 64 seconds into the match on a goal from Wayne Rooney, Manchester United allowed Bayern Munich to slowly take over the game, which cost the Red Devils dearly.

Throughout the first half, Bayern had several great opportunities, but Hamit Altintop and Ivica Olic both missed golden chances to score, and the first half ended with United up 1-0.

In the second half, Bayern continued to press, and they got rewarded as Gary Neville got a caution in the 76th minute for a handball. The infraction gave Bayern a great free kick opportunity, which Franck Ribery was able to deflect off Rooney and past Edwin Van der Sar to give Bayern a much deserved goal.

After the goal, Bayern continued to push forward, and in the ending of the match, Patrice Evra completely screwed up and dribbled the ball towards his own net, which Olic was able to take over and give Bayern a 2-1 win.

During the play leading up to the goal, Wayne Rooney sprained his ankle in a tie-up with Mario Gómez, which will leave Rooney on the sidelines for two to four weeks. Fortunately for England fans, his World Cup chances have not been dented at all.

What Bayern Munich Must Do To Advance

Bayern deservingly won this match, but they must start to finish better.

Bayern missed many great chances to score in the match, but were never able to put it away, and now with the big match against Schalke coming up this weekend, now is the time for Bayern to start putting the ball in the back of the net.

Also, Bayern will need to continue to hold onto possession of the football for a large portion of the time, which they were able to do extremely well at times in the first leg as Bayern held the ball 60 percent of the time.

What Manchester United Must Do To Advance

Right now, the main item on the agenda is not Wayne Rooney, as he would have missed this return leg regardless of the injury due to accumulation of yellow cards.

But anyway, it is now time for Manchester United to have a repeat performance of the Round of 16 second leg against AC Milan (in which United won 4-0), in the return fixture on April 7 at Old Trafford.

Man United have proven that they can win without Rooney recently (at Wolverhampton on March 6 and at Bolton last Saturday, March 27), but this is still Bayern Munich they are facing, and it will truly take a team effort to advance.

That means that despite the Chelsea clash on April 3, Man United will need to focus solely on offense, and will need a complete and strong match if the Red Devils are to advance onto the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.

Lyon-Bordeaux

First Leg: Lyon 3, Bordeaux 1

Recap: An extremely entertaining fixture between the only matchup in the quarterfinals that have two clubs from the nation facing each other, with Lyon proving that they are the better of the two sides with their 3-1 victory.

Lyon were able to do this by finally starting to attack in the 10th minute off a goal from Lisandro López, but it was countered just four minutes later by Marouane Chamakh to give Bordeaux an extremely important away goal.

With the second goal, the game really started to open up offensively, and after goals were nearly scored by both sides, Michel Fernandes Bastos gave Bordeaux a 2-1 lead on an absolute rifle of a shot in the 34th minute.

In the beginning of the second half, the game really started to slow down but Lyon won a controversial penalty decision in the 77th minute that probably was not deserved, but López converted to make it 3-1, which was the final goal.

However, López will be suspended for the return leg due to accumulation of yellow cards, but regardless of only having the football for 37 percent of the match, Lyon still won.

What Lyon Must Do To Advance

Lyon must continue to finish these great chances that they were able to get. Scoring three goals against a Bordeaux side that had not lost in the Champions League this season before the first leg is no easy task.

Also, Lyon must not allow Bordeaux to continue to get such great chances in front of Hugo Chavez, as despite how well he has been in the Champions League this season, he needs to get help from a Lyon side that has been extremely defensive so far in this Champions League campaign.

And finally, Lyon must keep up this intensity. Even Lyon's President Jean-Michel Aulas described the tie as "a war," and it is extremely important to win this quarterfinal for Lyon to show how dominant they are in France.

What Bordeaux Must Do To Advance

After this first leg loss, it is now up to Bordeaux to get settled and get off to a strong start in the return leg now that they have an away goal.

Bordeaux will get some help with the return of captain Alou Diarra from suspension in the second leg, and will of course have the home crowd behind them with the match being played in the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

But probably the most important thing for Bordeaux to do is that they must just continue to attack the Lyon goal, as sooner or later they will get something past Hugo Lloris.

Wednesday, March 31

Arsenal-FC Barcelona

First Leg: Arsenal 2, FC Barcelona 2

Recap: The most hyped of all of the fixtures, Arsenal-Barcelona got off to a start that no Arsenal fan wanted to see, as Barcelona continued to relentlessly attack the Arsenal goal. Hoever, Barca continued to find themselves denied by either Manuel Almunia or by a last-second save by the Arsenal defense.

Arsenal also lost Andrei Arshavin and William Gallas to injury in that first half, but the Gunners were lucky that Barcelona had yet to score.

But just 25 seconds into the second half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic finally overcame the obstacles of failing to make a major impact against an English club in the Champions Leauge by depositing a lob into the back of the net to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead.

And after more attacking by both sides, Barcelona got another goal by Ibrahimovic in the 59th minute by lifting the football over Almunia to give Barcelona a 2-0 advantage.

But that second goal from Ibrahimovic truly galvanized Arsenal, as it was Theo Walcott who tied up the match in the 69th minute to give Arsenal hope.

Several minutes later, former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry came on to replace Ibrahimovic, but the entire match was about to flip on its head as a major confrontation was about to happen.

It involved the leg of former Barcelona product Cesc Fabregas and Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, the latter of which got red carded for his illegal tackle as Fabregas was about to take his penalty in pain.

Fabregas then scored on the ensuing penalty, tying the match at two, but for some reason he remained on the pitch despite having the injury.

As the match headed towards its conclusion, Barcelona kept possession and did nothing with it as the match ended in an exhilarating 2-2 draw.

What Arsenal Must Do To Advance

We really saw a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Arsenal during the match, as they really did look fantastic in the final 20 minutes.

But Arsenal must bring that great match with them to the Camp Nou in the second leg, because if Barcelona continue to play like they did for the first 60 plus minutes, it will be a long night for Arsene Wenger's men.

Also, Cesc Fabregas of course will not be available with the accumulation of yellow cards, and with both Arshavin and Gallas unavailable due to injury, it is up to Arsenal to get at least two goals in the second leg.

What FC Barcelona Must Do To Advance

For starters, Barcelona cannot have a repeat performance of the final part of the second half in the Camp Nou if they want to make another Champions League semifinal.

Inter Milan-CSKA Moscow

First Leg: Inter Milan 1, CSKA Moscow 0

Recap: The final matchup of the Champions League quarterfinal, CSKA Moscow traveled to the San Siro in Milan to take on an Inter Milan team that has had recent trouble in Serie A, but they still now find themselves in the Champions League after a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in the second leg against Chelsea in the Round of 16.

Throughout the first half, it was Inter Milan that found themselves in control, as they continued to find great chances to score goals, but Inter lacked the killer touch to put the ball away.

As the second half begun, Inter continued to pound the CSKA Moscow goal, and they finally got that goal in the 65th minute from Diego Milito, but Inter blew at least four more golden chances to score.

Meanwhile for CSKA Moscow, they will be without both Yevgeny Aldonin and Milos Krasic due to accumulation of yellow cards.

But to CSKA Moscow's credit, they did nearly tie up the match towards the ending, but Tomas Necid was unable to finish past Julio Cesar, as the Brazilian keeper took care of the football easily.

What Inter Milan Must Do To Advance

For Inter, they must figure out a way to finish better.

Throughout the match, Inter had many great opportunities to score, but they were only able to get one goal.

Also, they must not allow CSKA Moscow to get off to a strong start at the Luzhniki Stadium in the second leg, as a goal by CSKA Moscow could prove to be costly if Inter are going to make the semifinals.

What CSKA Moscow Must Do To Advance

After this first leg, CSKA Moscow were fortunate not to concede any more goals than the one that was given up to Milito in the 65th minute.

But now with no Aldonin and Krasic for the second leg due to suspension, it is up to CSKA Moscow to take more of an attacking approach, as they are capable of beating Inter if they get more chances.

But most importantly, CSKA Moscow must use their advantage of playing in the Luzhniki Stadium to their best of their ability, as Inter still have not won in Russia during this Champions League season (they had a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan during Matchday Two of the Group Stage).

So now, it is up to Keisuke Honda and company to find out how to get at least two goals to beat Inter, but CSKA Moscow are by all means still in this tie.

Finally, these were four more extremely entertaining fixtures in the Champions League quarterfinals this week as we move even closer to finding out who will lift up the trophy on the Bernabeu on May 22.