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Champions League
Topic Started: Jan 23 2007, 11:32 AM (2,293 Views)
valenciano
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Manzanares,Apr 10 2007
08:36 PM

It looked to me like Chelsea just wore Valencia down. It was an intense match but Valencia seemed to get too conservative when only up 1-0 and Chelsea's 2nd half addition of Joe Cole gave them better control in midfield and their individual strength in one on one battles came into effect. That is why I think they wore Valencia down. By the way, anybody see David Villa?

I'll agree with the comments about Chelsea outmuscling Valencia and even Quique Sanchez Flores said the same post game. Morientes did so well in this game but I guess he was running out of gas in the 2nd half after returning from injury and that is why he was taken off but I would have liked to have seen him play longer as really he was the only one of Villa, Silva and Angulo who troubled Chelsea in this game. The comments about Albiol leaving and the team losing something with Viana in there are true too. In the end the injuries to the team and Marchena's suspension just didn't give Valencia enough depth in a game like this and Chelsea's physicalness wore them down. Credit to Chelsea but I am proud of Valencia's run in this Champions League. Time to concentrate on the close league race in Spain and ensure next year Valencia will have the chance to improve on this performance.

In today's games, Milan had the offensive ideas and Bayern didn't. Looked to me like defenders Lucio and van Buyten, along with sub Pizarro were Bayern's main offensive weapons. They missed the injured Schweinsteiger. But Milan played a smart game and Nesta was excellent in their defense and Seedorf provided the offensive spark today in a game where Kaka was contained.
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Martin
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Milan were, well...Milan. Efficient and very technical plus they knew how to nullify Bayern. I think valenciano is correct, Schweinsteiger's absence was really felt by Bayern but with Milan's midfield in good form it is hard to break through them. Then you had Alessandro Nesta playing like he did pre injury where he was the best defender on the planet. Milan's defenders all did a good job of anticipation but nesta's play today was a clinic on defending. And how about Seedorf's goal and his nifty backheel to Inzaghi for the 2nd? Sets up a very intriguing semifinal against Manchester United.

valenciano, for me Valencia made a mistake in trying to sit back and counter attack against Chelsea. Sure Chelsea did wear them down but Valencia also invited them to attack them more and while I don't see them play as often as you likely do, for me that isn't Valencia's game. They possess the ball well but in both legs against Chelsea after jumping out to the lead they became too passive and ended up paying a price for that.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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rosarino
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In don't really think Milan were that efficient. I mean they could have had 3 or 4 goals if they had converted the opportunities they created, especially on the counter attack. But they did play a very intelligent game and really controlled this match. The praise for Nesta is well deserved but the entire backline did well as did the midfield in shutting Bayern down. Maybe the germans did miss Schweinsteiger but the fact is Milan's midfield and defense just covered Bayern up completely. Seedorf also contributed with two nice bits of skill on both goals. What is interesting is how Milan won easily without much of a contribution from Kaka who was pretty quiet tonight. That is a good sign for Milan's future in this competition.
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Merengue
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Milan did play a smart game and as others have remarked their midfield took over the match and dominated Bayern's. I also thought the Milan defense was superb and always were in the right spot. The anticipation as noted was excellent. Good point about Kaka being relatively subdued yet Milan still won easily on the road. What's that about playing the second game at home being an advantage? Both Milan and Chelsea went on the road after drawing leg 1 at home and won.

Chelsea are a determined, physically strong team and they were rewarded for their attacking play. I too am disappointed that Valencia went away from their standard play and became too cautious. You don't do that against Chelsea. To beat them you do what Barcelona or Liverpool have done to them in the past, attack them and press them in midfield. Valencia did that in the first half of both games but got away from that in the second half and threw both games away.

Congrats to Manchester United fans here. Your team was splendid. That should be a game few of the club's fans will soon forget. A perfect storm is a good description of that match, everything came together and went right for Man U and wrong for Roma. Just don't expect to win every game from here on out 7-1!
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garbaggio
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Great cracker of a goal by David Villa!

I think I'll just go ahead and award all this week's Champions League goals to Villa.

:rolleyes:

In addition to highlights, I've only watched the 1st half of Man U - Roma and the Bayern - Milan game up to the point where they had gone up 2-0.

Obviously it was an awesome performance by Man U but I thought the run of play was fairly even in the early going. But Roma errors gave Man U the openings they needed and it was 3-0 before many games have even got past the early "feeling out" stage. I liked the simple, quick and effective way Man U moved the ball around on the 2nd goal (helped by Chivu's whiff). It started with the defenders switching fields in the back and then, a few seconds and touches later, Alan Smith had them up 2-0.

I was trying to root against AC Milan since all the match-fixing crud and stuff since last season has made me ignore Serie A this year. But they have too many classy players that I like. When they showed Seedorf warming up pre-game I was wondering why they were focusing so much on one of the subs (I thought the starters would be marching out together in the pre-game ceremony at that point). Kaka may have had a quiet match but he made a nice cut to the inside that drew several defenders before laying the pass off to Seedorf on the first goal. Of course Seedorf still had to beat some defenders and get off a good low far post shot.

With players like Maldini, Nesta, Pirlo, Kaka and Seedorf I have trouble rooting against Milan. Is Ronaldo cup-tied and unavailable for the Champions League?
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siralfred
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Forza Zlatan!
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garbaggio,Apr 12 2007
09:12 AM
Is Ronaldo cup-tied and unavailable for the Champions League?

In a word: Yep!
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rosarino
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A poster whose screen name is garbaggio and you don't follow Serie A? :P Milan does have a classy team on the field and apart from the players mentioned there's also Gattuso who although a feisty S.O.B. is also a guy who'll at least try and shake your hand after kicking you! ;) In all seriousness though I think Gattuso while a tough player isn't dirty. Hard but fair as the English like to say.

You have to admire a guy like Seedorf who seems to have been playing at a top level since the 90's. We all know about Maldini's longevity but Seedorf has lasted a long time now too and is I think still only in his early 30's. Milan's match with Manchester United will have a lot of interesting personal battles all over the field.
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Simon
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I saw Bayern Munich - Milan on Wednesday, it wasn't much of a game IMO. Milan did a professional job and did everything they needed to do.

I was quite surprised by how limited Bayern were coming forward. They played at a good pace in the first 20 minutes and I thought they had Milan stretched on a few occasions. The Italians did not look too comfortable dealing with crosses and Bayern had a couple of openings that could have given them the ideal start. When Milan settled down I thought they passed the ball well but were pretty blunt up front. Filippo Inzaghi had his usual flurry of offsides and looked rusty, understandably having only just come back from injury. But then those two Milan goals in quick succession killed the tie. I actually thought Kaka had a decent game for Milan, he was quietly effective and his pass to Seedorf was a good one. Seedorf played very well and took his goal brilliantly, even if Van Buyten's defending was slightly naive.

Also, I know strikers are to be given the beneit of the doubt but I'm still pretty sure Inzaghi was offside when he received Seedorf's clever backheel. Cool finish past Kahn, though. Afterwards, Bayern lacked any urgency or penetration and never suggested they could get back in the game. Makaay was a particular disappointment. It was surprisingly easy for Milan to hold Bayern at arm's length and they actually wasted several good opportunities to add further goals on the break. All in all it was the familiar routine from Italian football's 'What to do when in the lead' textbook. They kept possession, they stayed behind the ball, they committed niggly little fouls in the centre circle, they stayed down upon any contact in order to break up any rhythm Bayern had (see Gattuso claiming he'd been hit in the face?), they wasted time in any way possible. The result was never in doubt.

I would expect Milan to take a negative approach to both legs against United. They won't risk what is a fairly old and slow-ish defence being exposed against the pace and punch of United's attack. They'll defend and look to hit on the break. I think the key for United is to take the lead. Trying to break down an Italian team that has a lead to defend is just about the most frustrating experience in football!
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futbol4
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rosarino,Apr 12 2007
02:27 PM
Milan does have a classy team on the field and apart from the players mentioned there's also Gattuso who although a feisty S.O.B. is also a guy who'll at least try and shake your hand after kicking you! ;) In all seriousness though I think Gattuso while a tough player isn't dirty. Hard but fair as the English like to say.


My favorite footballer...Rhino. You are right about him. He's been known to get hard tackled by an opponent and get up to shake his hand for a good whack.

He's an intimidating figure on the field but he's all heart. Reminds me a lot of Dunga.
Four hundred years ago, English-speaking illegal immigrants slipped into Jamestown, Va.
When will America start getting serious about protecting its borders? - L Powers
U S A! MEXICO! BARCA, BARCA, BARCA! MILAN!
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rosarino
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Simon, you available this week? I hear Manchester United may need an extra defender! United's injury woes in defense are extraordinary. I was reading they may have to use O'Shea and Brown as their central defenders tomorrow against Milan. But other than saha, their atatck and midfield seems pretty healthy so with Ronaldo and Rooney available to run at a defense and playing at home they have to feel optimistic depsite the defensive injuries. Milan are healthy and on a roll in both Europe and in the league. Sets up an intriguing match tomorrow.
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valenciano
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rosarino,Apr 23 2007
11:12 AM
Simon, you available this week? I hear Manchester United may need an extra defender! United's injury woes in defense are extraordinary. I was reading they may have to use O'Shea and Brown as their central defenders tomorrow against Milan. But other than saha, their atatck and midfield seems pretty healthy so with Ronaldo and Rooney available to run at a defense and playing at home they have to feel optimistic depsite the defensive injuries. Milan are healthy and on a roll in both Europe and in the league. Sets up an intriguing match tomorrow.

A team can cover for injured players for a game or two but it is over a longer period of time when the injuries are felt. But with these injuries piling up do the Manchester United fans think their team should place emphasis on one of the 3 competitions they're still invlved in over the others?
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Simon
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I can't believe we have to go into a Champions League semi-final with AC Milan in the midst of such an injury crisis. Only 10 outfield players were fit to train on Monday. Our first choice back line of Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra are all out injured and our most experienced reserve Silvestre is out for the rest of the season. Wes Brown and Gaby Heinze are good defenders and will hopefully do a good job for us, but there's no way John O'Shea, who's primarily a left-back but has played in centre-mid as a utility man, is good enough at centre-back for a CL game against Milan. And Darren Fletcher at right back? He's a good reserve centre-midfielder when on his game, but has never really convinced on the right of midfield and now has to play at right back, a position he's totally unfamiliar with?

Even Edwin Van Der Sar's form has been a bit dodgy recently, so unfortunately I find it hard to imagine Milan not scoring at least one away goal. We have no fit midfield reserves as Park and even Richardson are injured and O'Shea and Fletcher will be in the defence. But at least the first choice four of Giggs, Carrick, Scholes and Ronaldo are all fit, touch wood! Up front, Louis 'balsa boy' Saha is injured again but at least Rooney's fit and playing well, as is Smith, with Solskjaer an option off the bench. God knows who our other substitutes will be. In recent weeks we've had youth team defender Craig Cathcart on the bench, who's yet to play for the first team, but now even he's out injured for the rest of the season! Annoyingly we have a lot of good players out on loan, such as right back Phil Bardsley who's at Villa, Northern Ireland international centre-back Jonny Evans who's doing really well under Roy Keane's management at Premiership-bound Sunderland, Gerard Pique at Zaragoza and Giuseppe Rossi who's scored 7 Serie A goals since January for Parma. We could do with all of those players now.

So should we prioritise? I can't speak for the other reds but personally if I had to pick one to win it'd be the Premiership. We used up a 'get out of jail' card at the weekend but I don't think we can afford another slip and we have a tough run-in - away at 5th place Everton in a north-west derby, away in the Manchester derby against Man City, away at Chelsea, home to West Ham who always do well against us. Should we concentrate on these games? But we're in the semi-finals of the CL, and I think we're better than AC Milan. If we come through over two legs we have a one-off final against an English club, so we have a great chance of winning the CL. And we're in the Cup Final!

So no, I don't think we can prioritise. We just have to give it everything we have for another month and see where it gets us...
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Merengue
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I don't know how today's game will end up but I do know it won't be 7-1! I'll be interested in seeing how Manchester United's makeshift backline deals with Kaka and company and how Milan's defense will handle the ability of Ronaldo and Rooney to run at the defense. Should be a fascinating matchup. I'm going to enjoy watching Kaka and Ronaldo two of real emerging stars in the game.
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Winslow
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First leg result...
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Whoo! It finished 3-2; Man U took the lead five minutes in, Milan led at halftime, then Rooney tied it on the hour and won it seconds into injury time. Awfully good stuff.

The first goal was strange; C. Ronaldo improbably popped up between defenders on a corner and put a powerful header off Dida's collarbone, over his shoulder and into the net. Then Kaka took over, scoring twice as Milan carved up the Red Devil defense. After Man U missed a few chances (as did Kaka, who put a wide-open shot over the bar), a ball at the top of the box went lickety-split from IIRC Fletcher to Carrick to Scholes to Rooney, who went in alone; Kaka got a piece of it, but not enough to keep it out. Some good saves by Dida kept it tied until the 90th, when Giggs put Rooney through for a shot just inside the near post (where the Milan keeper had left way too much room).

So both sides can go to the San Siro next week feeling good; Man U only needs a draw, while the Rossoneri have two away goals. But I'd say the Mancunians are more under the gun; they'll still have injury problems, and another 2-1 loss in Italy will put them out.
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rosarino
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Entertaining first leg. Winslow has already described the goals, the first goal ended up being given to Ronaldo after the official scorer had gone back and forth between that and a Dida own goal. I can't argue with crediting it to Ronaldo as it was going in before Dida's desperate stretch helped it along. The three rising stars all scored today, C. Ronaldo, Rooney and Kaka. After Man U got off to their good start it was Milan who took over the game and had that 2-1 halftime lead as Kaka exploited Heinze in particular who had a poor first half.

But speaking of injuries, I think it was Maldini and Gattuso leaving who helped tip the balance in favor of Manchester United as they controlled the 2nd part of the game. You'd think Milan may have learned their lesson a few years ago in the final against Liverpool about sitting on a lead but apparently they didn't. United's more offensive approach got it's deserved result with Rooney's injury time winner. I'm with Winslow, Dida was horribly out of position on that goal. In fact while he did make some good stops during the game I also thought he could have saved all 3 of Manchester's goals. No wonder reports are that Milan want to buy River Plate's goalie Juan Pablo Carrizo for next season.

Anyway an entertaining first leg and it sets up a dramatic return match next week in Milan.
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