This week in sport: 15-21 March 2010

It was a busy week in the world of sport with the Champions League round of 16 and 6 Nations rugby concluding. Masters tennis and the return of Tiger Woods to our tv screens give us plenty of talking points.

GOOD WEEK

Fulham: The Cottagers overcame a 3-1 first leg defeat to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals against a very average looking Juventus side. They certainly didn’t make things easy for themselves on the night, falling a further goal behind in the opening stages. The storming comeback was completed with a delicious chip from outside the area by Clint Dempsey.

UEFA and the Europa League: This week’s round of games provided no end of drama (see above) and an absolute bucketful of goals. Valencia and Werder Bremen ended 4-4 and Hamburg progressed, despite losing 4-3 on the night against Anderlecht. Even Liverpool got in on the act, putting 3 past Lille. The Champions League draw produced a couple of mouthwatering ties, with holders Barcelona taking on Arsenal and Bayern Munich against Manchester United in a repeat of the 1999 final.

Ivan Ljubičić: The big-serving Croat finally won his first Masters tournament at Indian Wells at the grand old age of 31. En route to the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal before beating Andy Roddick to claim the title.

Honourable mentions: Arsenal, France rugby team and Leo Messi.

BAD WEEK

Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti: Dumped out of the Champions League in midweek by José Mourinho’s Inter, Chelsea were looking for a strong response against Blackburn to keep pace in the title race. Unfortunately for them, a stale display meant they left Ewood Park with only a point, losing ground to Manchester United and Arsenal.

AC Milan: The geriatricos of Meelan started the week without 2 of their more senior players Alessandro Nesta and David Beckham due to season-ending injuries. Having watched Inter only manage a draw against Palermo, the Rossoneri knew that a win at home to Napoli would see them supplant their city rivals at the top of Serie A. A comical mix-up between Massimo Oddo and Christian Abbiati allowed Napoli to take the lead before Pippo Inzaghi levelled matters. That turned out to be the last goal of the game and Milan had squandered their opportunity to go top.

The FIA: The ban on refuelling during races has led to the excitement being sapped out of races according to many observers. Drivers adopt a more cautious style, looking to conserve tyres and fuel and the cars all adopt the same homogeneous strategy. The rule change has meant Q3 has lost the element of surprise, when a lightly-fuelled wildcard could charge to the front of the grid. High-profile drivers including Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher have spoken out this week against the rule changes, causing much embarrassment to the FIA and Jean Todt.

Honourable mentions: Phil Brown (told you so!), Iain Dowie, Juventus and Tiger Woods for a cringe-inducing interview on ESPN.