#3-Ronaldo rescues Real and Celtic surely stumped

In this post I'll review the four Champions League games played this week and look ahead to this weekend's FA Cup fixtures.

The first leg of the much anticipated Real Madrid versus Manchester United tie saw Cristiano Ronaldo play his former club for the first time since leaving in 2009. He started in a side that also included Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Xabi Alonso facing United with the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa in their line-up. United started off the better side and deservedly took the lead with a Danny Welbeck header on 20 minutes.But that was not before David de Gea made one of many fantastic saves yesterday, denying Fabio Coentrao. The visitors lead only lasted ten minutes before guess who pounced to level things up. It was a header that left Patrice Evra powerless and out of respect Ronaldo did not celebrate. That was how it stayed for the rest of the game however De Gea had to stop another Coentrao effort as well one from Sami Khedira. Van Persie came close a couple of times aswell. The result though sets up what should be a fascinating second leg at Old Trafford and expect another emotional night from Ronaldo on the 5th of March as he returns to 'The Theatre of Dreams'.

The other British side in action this week were Celtic, who lost 3-0 at home to Juventus on Tuesday. This means it will be an incredibly hard task for them to recover to go through to the quarter-finals. Alessando Matri, Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic scored the three goals for the Italian side. The latter two coming in the last 15 minutes proving the killer blow. The big risk taken by Neil Lennon was playing Efe Ambrose who only returned from the Africa Cup of Nations on the morning of the game. Ultimately, the Nigerian was at fault for 2 of the goals and could be the reason his team exit the competition. Watching the game on ITV, I thought that the result was a little unfair on Celtic, considering how hard they played for the best part of the game.

Champions League round-up

• A last minute equaliser from Mats Hummels earned Borussia Dortmund a vital 2-2 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk, putting them in the better position for the second leg.
• PSG scraped a 2-1 away win at Valencia, meaning surely the priority for the home leg is to defend. However they will be without star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Andres Guardado.

This weekend's FA Cup matches

• Luton vs Millwal: The only non-league team left in the competition have a home tie against Millwall, the team who beat Aston Villa in the last round. At least it's easier than Manchester City! I predict: 1-1
• Arsenal vs Blackburn: Arsenal's 8 year hunt for a trophy continues, with the FA Cup their only chance for silverware left this season. It won't be easy against Blackburn though who thrashed Derby 3-0 in the last round. I predict: 3-1
• MK Dons vs Barnsley: Championship strugglers Barnsley reached the semi-finals of this competition in 2008 and are only 2 games from that stage again. They face an MK Dons side who sit 12th in League 1. These two could meet again next season! I predict: 2-1
• Oldham vs Everton: Oldham knocked out the red side of Merseyside in the last round and hope to knock out their city rivals this weekend. They will have to do it without Paul Dickov though, who resigned at the start of this month. I predict: 0-2
• Chelsea vs Brentford (4th round reply): Brentford almost grabbed a shock win in the original game between these two but surely Chelsea will be too strong for them at Stamford Bridge. I predict: 5-0
• Manchester City vs Leeds: After beating Tottenham in the last round, Leeds will have to create another shock to reach the quarter-finals. The FA Cup is the only competition City can still realistically win this season so will be all out for the win. I predict: 2-1
• Huddersfield vs Wigan: Huddersfield beat Leicester in a 4th round reply on Tuesday to set up an interesting encounter against Wigan. The Latics will be hoping to blank out their poor Premier League form to reach the quarter finals for the first time in over 10 years. I predict: 0-0
• Manchester United vs Reading: United have still got a chance of winning the treble this season and beating Reading will put them one step closer to this dream. The Royals have a good record in this competition in the last few years though and will be tough to beat. I predict: 3-2

I will be back on Monday reviewing the games I've just previewed. Good luck to Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle who are all in Europa League action tonight. We might just have an English winner this season with those four clubs competing!

Olly Allen
Follow me on twitter: @OllyAllen1998