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| Champions League | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 13 2007, 02:00 PM (4,080 Views) | |
| Simon | Apr 22 2008, 02:10 PM Post #286 |
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The ball came to Riise on his right and I think he's so left-footed he just didn't dare to use his weaker foot to clear, so he went with his head. Why, if he'd used his right foot he might have sliced it into his own goal! This is like Christmas come early for United fans (and, I suppose, Chelsea fans as well)! 94th minute, right in front of the Kop, and the Liverpool fans' damn song from Carousel dies in their throats! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/Aym...riisehahaha.jpg As El Profe says, this is far from over, but knowing the way Liverpool play it's very significant that they go to Stamford Bridge behind, rather than with a lead to defend. And as I say, Stamford Bridge has been an impenetrable fortress for some years now... |
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| Hector | Apr 22 2008, 05:10 PM Post #287 |
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I feel Barcelona has to come out early and put pressure on Manchester United. When I've seen United play this season in Europe, they've been good at absorbing pressure and picking their time to attack. They are efficient and they move the ball quickly which is something Barcelona don't do as sometimes their try to over elaborate their plays. This is where Barcelona will need Messi and Eto'o to run at United's defense and shoot. We already know Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney will do that on the other end. There is a good contrast in styles between the two and I hope that will make for a good game. Their history as Simon explained points in that direction. |
| iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo! | |
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| SuperEagle | Apr 22 2008, 09:31 PM Post #288 |
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Simon may be right that Riise is so left footed that it never occurred to him to try and clear that cross out with his right but a professional player no matter what his dominant foot is, especially a defender should be able to clear a ball away with both feet. I think El Profe may be on to something as both teams do look evenly matched. Extra time and beyond wouldn't surprise me either. I'm hoping Barcelona-Manchester United gives us more skilled play than Tuesday's semifinal. I think because the two teams aren't so familar with one another there will be a bit more space in this game plus both teams are more attack minded than Liverpool and Chelsea are. |
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| alabastergremlin | Apr 22 2008, 10:31 PM Post #289 |
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We've seen two very nice goals by diving headers this week (Donovans was nice with the setup by Beckham) now that Riise put his in. I watched this game up until the 83 minutes when I left for work. It wasn't a great game by any means but what a way to end it... ...that was about as poor of a decision as you can make as a defender. I even read a post by Jeff Agoos on another board making fun of the goal! I suppose the thought dominate foot theory is as close as we will get to the answer but why on Earth would somebody attempt a diving header in that situation? I can only imagine how Liverpool fans feel right now... |
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| robdog | Apr 22 2008, 11:24 PM Post #290 |
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They will feel like A: or B: or C: |
| Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis | |
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| Simon | Apr 23 2008, 06:28 AM Post #291 |
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Apparently Riise is investing in a new Sat Nav to stop him heading in the wrong direction! Tonight's game is a much more enticing prospect. Even the sound of 'Barcelona against Manchester United in the Nou Camp' is evocative. These two are among the biggest four or five clubs in the world and yet have only played one another 7 times. So it's an exciting game, but I'm not sure it's come at a great time for United as we haven't played too well in our last couple of games and we have some injury problems. Van der Sar, Hargreaves and Anderson missed our last game through injury, Rooney got a hip injury and had to come off, and Vidic missed training yesterday having only just returned from an injury lay-off. I would expect some of these players to be risked, but whether they are fit enough is open to question. The league is our priority and Ferguson has to be responsible as we have our most important game of the season on Saturday at Chelsea. Still, if we play well I think we've got a decent chance of beating Barcelona tonight but it should be said that one-off cup occasions like this can go either way. Thierry Henry isn't having a great time at Barca but he's always done well against United and he'll be well up for it tonight. I just hope Fergie resists the temptation to tinker too much. He often unduly changes United's set-up to cater for the opposition in Europe. Obviously some degree of adaptation is necessary when away at the Nou Camp, anything else would be naive. But as the Telegraph put it this morning, "Sir Alex Ferguson is obsessed with the idea that to win a match on foreign soil some kind of tactical masterstroke has to be pulled, hence Rooney as lone striker, or Ronaldo himself in Rome. More often than not Fergie's tinkering emasculates his team in Europe, and as a consequence takes the wind from Ronaldo's sails". It's worded a bit strongly but I think there's more than an element of truth there. I think it's important for us to score one or two tonight, whether we win or not. A 0-0 draw is not IMO a good result and a loss without scoring would really complicate things for the second leg. |
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| Martin | Apr 23 2008, 07:32 AM Post #292 |
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I have to admit I nodded off watching my recording of Liverpool-Chelsea when I got home from work so I think that says a lot about what I felt about that game! Fortunately I awoke just as the added on time began so I did see Riise's horrible error. I don't know what he was thinking trying to dive to head that cross away, while it would have been more natural to clear that ball away with his right foot, a dominant left footer like himself could still easily have cleared it away with his left. Both Chelsea and Liverpoool left Drogba and Torres so isolated up top, no surprise then that both had difficulty going it alone against the opponent's defense. Good point Simon about Ferguson and his desires to do tinkering on the road but what I've noticed about Manchester United is that they've developed an almost Milan-like ability to grind out results on the road and steal games at the very end in European matches. But what I think helps United so much in these sort of games is their ability to quickly counter, that is what Barcelona will really have to be wary of tonight. This game, matching two European powers, is what the Champions League is all about and like fans around the globe I too am anxiously awaiting the chance to see Messi, Eto'o and company go against Ronaldo, Rooney and friends. |
| Club Sportivo Desamparados | |
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| shelsoccer | Apr 23 2008, 11:21 AM Post #293 |
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Whether Riise should have cleared the ball with his left foot, right or head -- and, yes, his choice to use his head was inexplicable -- he had to do something. Anelka was on the door stoop and would have easily tapped in the cross if Riise hadn't done something. Of course, his "something" was every bit as devastating as an Anelka tap-in would have been. |
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| robdog | Apr 23 2008, 12:55 PM Post #294 |
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Valid point. I think if you look at the play again, Rafa needs to address why his defenders (two of them mind you) allowed Kalou to get the cross off in the first place??? Tired Legs, complacence??? Who knows, but I think there is more pressure on L'Puke to score at Stamford Bridge, a feat that the scousers haven't done since Rafa has took over. Also, Chelsea has not lost a match there in 4 years, but a 2-2 draw would be a loss. Most Blues fans thought L'Puke had the advantage coming into this match, because of no faith in the tactics of the Stupid One. Now there is a glimmer of hope. We shall see next week
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| Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis | |
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| rosarino | Apr 23 2008, 02:23 PM Post #295 |
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Barcelona 0-0 Manchester United The big story of this game was Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty miss in the 3rd minute after Milito handled a ball in the penalty area. After that miss Barcelona controlled the ball with Deco, Xavi and Toure controlling the midfield but Manchester United defended well and kept Barcelona's attackers in front of them for most of the game. I thought Messi played well, especially in the first half but he was too far away from goal to cause much damage and then as expected for a player just back from injury he ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Manchester United seemed very content with the 0-0 score and rarely ventured forward and when they did Barcelona's defense marked them well, in the end a 0-0 tie leaves both teams hopeful for the return leg and as a fan I hope both open up a bit more and give their skillful players a chance. |
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| Simon | Apr 23 2008, 03:02 PM Post #296 |
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Hardly know what to make of that. I said before that 0-0 is not a good result away in Europe, but my opinion was slightly revised after those 90 minutes. I thought all along that it was important to have the energy of Anderson and Hargreaves in midfield so that we could look to impose ourselves. Unfortunately, injuries messed this up. Vidic was out and so Brown shuffled across to CB and Hargreaves had to be deployed at RB. Anderson apparently could have played but Ferguson rested him for the more important game on Saturday. Fine, but I wish we'd changed it when it became apparent that we couldn't impose ourselves on the game. Rooney was played despite manifestly still being injured, so why did we risk him? If the policy is to hold players back who aren't fit, as with Anderson and Vidic, how come Rooney started the game and was left on for so long? We managed only a few spells of passing football and enterprise, and when we did we looked dangerous, such as when Carrick burst in on the left and shot wastefully wide. But they were few and far between. I don't mind Ronaldo playing more centrally as he does it well, but when play through the middle is so congested we needed proper width. Park is a good player but not really a classic winger, and a half-fit Rooney didn't give us width either, so Ronaldo was isolated and Tevez ended up coming back further and further looking for the ball. Very quickly IMO it became clear that we needed Nani and Giggs on to give us that width and carry the game to Barca, but although they both came on it was very late and the pattern of the game was set in stone by then. Once your forwards are isolated and your midfield sucked deep, it's very difficult to break that mold. You can't just flick a switch. It was all very frustrating. I did fear the worst, as Barcelona have so many good players and had all the ball as a consequence of United's lack of balance. That was a very make-shift defence with Hargreaves and Brown in unfamiliar positions and VDS only just back from injury (and shaky with his kicking at times) but thankfully, the defence proved to be the silver lining. Although Barca had so much possession and territory they never managed to create a clear-cut chance and were reduced to long-range shooting. Great credit for that has to go to the defenders, especially Ferdinand, plus Scholes who mopped up a lot in midfield. Frustrating night then. I don't know whether the players had one eye on the title showdown with Chelsea, whether the injuries and re-jigged team robbed us of our balance or whether this was simply a continuation of our disappointing form over the past 3 or 4 games. Probably it was a combination of all three factors. Of course if the penalty had gone in it could have been different and the away goal would have been priceless. I should also say that IMO the referee was dreadful. Any little contact between two players was automatically given as a freekick. Due to the nature of the game that mostly benefited Barca, but it should be said that his incompetence was even-handed and we also got several nothing free-kicks when no foul had taken place. Although he did manage to see the obvious Milito handball, he could have given us a further couple of penalties for trips on Ronaldo (both of which would certainly have been FKs if anywhere else on the pitch, though as if an away team could get three pens at the Nou Camp!) and could have given Eto'o one. Oh well, I suppose given the injuries a 0-0 in the Nou Camp is decent, and we can finish the job at OT. Nevertheless I must admit I'm disappointed we didn't do better and at least get an away goal. |
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| Manzanares | Apr 23 2008, 05:07 PM Post #297 |
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This game highlighted what I think is one of Barcelona's problems this season, the team maintain possession well but once they get it they pass it side to side too much in the last third of the field and lack penetration. For all his faults, this is where Ronaldinho is missed as he has the ability to break down a defense with quick combinations usually with Eto'o, Messi or Iniesta. A healthier Messi also is able to do that but he isn't yet 100%. If I were Barca I'd give him some minutes this weekend in the league but not too many to wear him down and hope that he'll be fresh for next week's return game in Manchester. Manchester United defended well and Ferdinand especially was a wall but on the other end Barcelona also did well defensively, so both clubs neutralized the other. Next week one or both will have to open up a bit more and that should give the attackers more space. About Liverpool vs Chelsea, I agree with Martin that both teams left Torres and Drogba too isolated to be effective attacking. Again you wish in the 2nd leg one or both teams will show more desire to win the game rather than not lose it. |
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| cafetero | Apr 23 2008, 11:40 PM Post #298 |
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I think both Barcelona and Manchester United will look at this first game as a lost opportunity, Barcelona failed to convert their clear advantage in possession into goals while Manchester United missed that early penalty. But both this game and the Liverpool-Chelsea match I got the feeling both teams were basically playing the first leg to get to the second, in other words they were speculating on this game and looking to determine the series next week in leg 2. A little more ambition in both matches and some team could have taken a big advantage into that return game. |
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| Don Balon | Apr 23 2008, 11:52 PM Post #299 |
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I think in general this is true but I would say of the four semifinalists, it was Barcelona who most looked to attack. Manchester United came to the Nou Camp to defend and they achieved that goal but cafetero is correct both Barca and United failed to take advantage of the circumstances presented them. So it is off to Old Trafford to determine the series. I think that match will be a good one because now United has to attack and look for the victory which should give Barcelona more space for their own attacks. That should set up an attractive second match between these two teams. |
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| Merengue | Apr 24 2008, 09:15 AM Post #300 |
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I absolutely agree with Manzanares here, Barcelona do lack penetration in their attack as when they get close to goal they try too hard to make the "perfect" play and end up passing the ball from side to side looking for an opening which gives the defense time to recover. Manchester United did very well last night keeping Barcelona's attackers in front of them but Barca also made that task easier by over elaborating their plays. Henry hasn't been physically well recently, not only with injuries but he also was ill in the week leading up to yesterday's match but I think this was a game where he could have been very useful as he has plenty of experience playing against Manchester United and is a player they know and respect much, I would have played him more than for the final 13 minutes and in fact even in that limited time, Henry did cause some danger. Plus with Ronaldinho out injured, Henry may be Barcelona's best right footed player on free kicks. Last night they had numerous opportunities on free kicks but wasted many of them. |
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