Thierry Henry makes bold Champions League bracket prediction
- The CBS Sports Golazo team made their predictions for the Champions League
- Most of the panel were aligned with who would lift trophy this year
- Jamie Carragher and Kate Abdo take shots at Manchester City in their predictions
By Max Mallow
Thierry Henry stunned his CBS Sports Golazo co-hosts with his Champions League bracket predictions as the quarterfinals got underway on Tuesday.
Henry was joined by Kate Abdo, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Peter Schmeichel for the first leg of Arsenal's clash with Bayern Munich and Manchester City's tie with Real Madrid, where Richards was highlighted on the channel's Roll of Honor for his correct predictions last year.
The majority of the crew predicted City to lift their second Champions League in as many years - this year's final will be played at Wembley Stadium - but Schmeichel was first to break rank after predicting Madrid to beat Pep Guardiola's team over two legs.
Schmeichel, a legendary goalkeeper at Manchester United, picked Madrid to eventually beat Barcelona 2-1 in an El Clasico final, though it was Henry who stunned the panel with his bracket.
Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman backed former club Arsenal to go all the way and win their first-ever Champions League crown, with the way he went about it generating a laugh out of all his colleagues.
"Oh me? I only care about Arsenal because they are in," Henry joked. "So I'm going to go straight with the champion. The Arsenal. Bye, see you later."
Henry didn't even bother to predict the rest of his bracket, drawing a laugh from both Abdo and Schmeichel, and didn't reveal who he thinks Arsenal's opponents in the final could be. He did say, however, that the Gunners will emerge victorious in the final 3-0.
For Henry's prediction to come true, Arsenal will need to put in a strong performance in Munich after being held to a 2-2 draw by Bayern at the Emirates Stadium. If they emerge victorious over the Bavarian giants, they will then need to overcome either City or Madrid if they want to reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2006 - when Henry was still leading the line in north London.
Pundits pick for Champions League final
- Micah Richards: Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid
- Jamie Carragher: Manchester City 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
- Kate Abdo: Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona
- Peter Schmeichel: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
- Thierry Henry: Arsenal 3-0 (no opponent picked)