| Welcome to Soccer Futbol Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Champions League 09/10 | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 23 2009, 05:46 AM (4,898 Views) | |
| raconteur | Feb 16 2010, 09:02 AM Post #181 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Nesta and Thiago Silva should play so I will get the opportunity to test out my observation of how well Milan plays defensively when those two are in the lineup. Other than the Inter match, this will be Milan's toughest test of the year and I want to see how they respond. Needless to say Ronaldinho and Pato will also play key roles in this match. I will be happy that Giggs won't play as his grit always helps Manchester United out. They have a lot of worker bee types in midfield, just the sort who will be used to pressure Milan's midfield. |
![]() |
|
| Simon | Feb 16 2010, 05:41 PM Post #182 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
AC Milan 2-3 Manchester United Odd game. United were set up pretty well I thought, but were undone just three minutes in when Ronaldinho's shot was deflected past VDS. I didn't think United got themselves back up to speed for a while after that, in fact Milan had a couple of decent openings and each one came from the incredibly sloppy way we were continually giving the ball away. We looked awkward at the back, Park was offering nothing and Nani put about 6 crosses over, only one of which was any good. Ronaldinho looked dangerous and you could see how furious Ferguson was with his team, at one point he was screaming at Jonny Evans over something or other. I thought we showed composure to get back in the game and eventually got an equaliser as fortunate as Milan's goal had been - nicely worked attack and a trademark well-timed run from Scholes, but the ball went in off his standing leg! I'd like to have been a fly in the dressing room at half-time, Fergie must have gone ballistic. I thought the second half was very different, we got a grip on the ball a lot more and we got on top. The refereeing was awful, he seemed determined to blow up for every single little nudge or contact, and most of those were going to Milan - not what you want when they have Beckham, Ronaldinho and Pirlo to take them. It was amusing in the 58th minute when the ref finally gave us a free-kick and the whole pub gave an ironic standing ovation to the ref - only for the replay to reveal that that shouldn't have been a FK either! Valencia's introduction made a big difference IMO, he had the beating of Favalli and stood a nice cross up for Rooney's brilliant first header. Rooney's second was almost surreal, no-one tracked his run and he was left free to head past Dida. At that point I felt the very least we should have got was 3-1, as we could draw Milan onto us and hit on the break. Rooney was brilliant, Valencia was well on top, the San Siro crowd were silent and Milan's heads seemed to go down. In fact I thought they were showing their age by then. When Valencia fizzed that ball low across goal, if only Rooney had gambled he could have completed his hat-trick and put us 4-1 ahead. So it's an irritation that some slack marking allowed Seedorf to reduce the arrears, and Milan had another couple of late openings. The Carrick sending off was maddening as well, the ball was already rolling away and he didn't need to touch it. I can see the ref's reasoning, but what a silly second yellow to pick up! Overall, I don't know whether to be pleased or not. On the basis of the second half I think we could have put the tie to bed, and yet we were that crap for stretches of the first half that we could have been three down by HT. I'll take a win in the San Siro against AC Milan though, of course, and I feel that from this position we should finish the job at OT, where we've got a fantastic home record in CL games. |
![]() |
|
| Yogi | Feb 16 2010, 09:39 PM Post #183 |
![]()
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Milan paid the price for not putting Manchester United away early, I of course saw the game with different colored glasses than Simon and I thought Milan could have been 2 or 3 goals in front before Scholes goal, probably the first one in his long career he has scored with his non kicking foot! But Milan could not put those goal opportunities away. In the 2nd half Rooney found the seems in Milan's defense and got on the end of two nice crosses, Valencia really did play well and gave Favalli the run around. Too bad for Milan that Antonini had to leave with an injury before the 1st half ended as he was dominating his side of the field. First game I can recal all season where Milan's defense was vulnerable with both Nesta and Thiago Silva on the field but that was thanks to Valencia and Rooney's play. Tough loss for Milan, they really did not play poorly but still lost at home and now need a 2 goal win at Old Trafford, something which naturally won't be easy. Lyon with a 1-0 win over Real Madrid thanks to a beautiful long range goal from Jean Makoun. Lyon hit the post and kept Casillas busy on the counter attack while Real Madrid's best chance was a long range shot from Cristiano Ronaldo which Lloris pushed around the post. I think Lyon will regret not winning by more than one goal as Madrid has a deficit which they can make up at home. |
![]() |
|
| Mr. Pither | Feb 16 2010, 10:51 PM Post #184 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I see your point Yogi, Milan did not play poorly, it is just that United have become a pretty ruthless team. Rooney has really blossomed since Ronaldo's departure and to me it seems like this is now becoming "his" team. Ronaldinho plays in spurts at this stage of his career but he was quite effective in this game. Pato on the other hand looked to me like he has not yet gotten his mojo back after his injury layoff. Again I will agree with Yogi that Lyon may regret not beating Madrid by more than a goal. They had their chances to add to their lead too. Great goal by Makoun. But Lyon also will take some confidence into leg two after the way they defended against Real Madrid. Porto have not had good luck in recent years vs English clubs but they also have a goalscorer in Falcao Garcia in good form while Arsenal has numerous absences, including Arshavin, Eduardo and Gallas. Logic would say red hot Bayern should defeat slumping Fiorentina, especially at the Allianz Arena in Munich but when has logic ever played a part in football? |
|
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD | |
![]() |
|
| Merengue | Feb 16 2010, 11:07 PM Post #185 |
|
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
A 1-0 loss on the road is not disastrous from Madrid's standpoint. Madrid had more of the ball but it was Lyon's counters which were really dangerous. Both Delgado and Lisandro Lopez played very well i thought while Lyon's defense did not give much time or space to Madrid's attackers. Pellegrini's halftime switch taking Marcelo off, who had a poor game, I thought helped Madrid but while Madrid had more of the ball, they lacked that connection between midfield and attack. Guti's absence was felt. What is up with yellow cards carrying over from the group stage? Xabi Alonso and Marcelo received cautions in this game meaning they will miss the return leg. Makes no sense to me. |
| http://twitter.com/#!/SocrFutbolForum | |
![]() |
|
| Johnbuildr | Feb 17 2010, 06:47 AM Post #186 |
|
Advanced member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
<<....Overall, I don't know whether to be pleased or not. On the basis of the second half I think we could have put the tie to bed, and yet we were that crap for stretches of the first half that we could have been three down by HT. I'll take a win in the San Siro against AC Milan though, of course, and I feel that from this position we should finish the job at OT, where we've got a fantastic home record in CL games. >> Oh, yes, notwithstanding your wild eyed (and mouthed) manager throughout the match, I think you should be more than pleased Simon! (At one point he was wildly berating Rooney after a ManU goal, to the point where an assistant had to pull him out of Rooney's face and back off the field. Could Sir Alex be getting sa bit senile??? )As you correctly point out, this thing certainly could have gotten away from you in the first half. ManU's right back had a devil of a time with Ronaldinho the entire half. At least two strikes could have as easily gone in the net as they missed by the narrowest of margins. What a different game it would likely have been with the home team up 2-0! But the second half was ManU's. Quite an impressive performance on the away pitch. One thing I noticed was that Dida could have come off his line for a save once, if not twice, as both Rooney's headers were not that far away from the goal line. Arguably, pretty unaggressive play by him on both header goals. Sparkling goal by Seedorf of the trailing or back inside heel. My son and I remarked how we remember the day when he could have personally taken control of this entire match. Odd then, now seeing him only come off the bench later in the game....time passes on I guess. |
|
Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum | |
![]() |
|
| raconteur | Feb 17 2010, 10:07 AM Post #187 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It was a game of two halves, Milan failed as others said to fully exploit their advantage in the first half then Manchester United put away theirs in the second. The two keys to the game for me were Scholes goal, probably the most fortunate of his career and Antonini's injury. As Yogi wrote, with Antonini's sub Favalli being unable to keep up with Manchester United's wingers, especially Valencia, Milan were made to suffer. I understand your point John about Dida possibly coming off his line on both crosses which led to Manchester United's 2nd half goals but that has never been his game, he is not quick off his line, he is more of a shot stopping keeper than one who comes off his line. Give credit to United for both crosses, they were precise, the 2nd goal caught Thiago Silva backpedalling which prevented him from jumping and challenging Rooney's header, the third goal came when Milan were pushing forward and Nesta lost track of Rooney who got on the end of Fletcher's well placed delivery. As for Seedorf, I expect he will start in leg 2. He always plays well against Manchester United, Rooney himself said earlier this week that Seedorf is the best player he has ever played against. His backheeled goal gives Milan some chance, albeit remote in game 2 but he should start in place of Beckham who in my opinion played a disinterested game against his old club. Manchester United know how to play road games in Europe, their run these past few years in Europe remind me very much of what Milan did in the mid 2000s (I still can't call last decade the noughties!) and going home up a goal and with three road goals in their favor, makes Milan's task in game 2 extremely difficult. |
![]() |
|
| SuperEagle | Feb 17 2010, 10:38 AM Post #188 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I wonder if Beckham's presence inspired Fergie to toss some boots about? :lol: Somebody talked about United's ruthless streak and I found that appropriate to last night's game. This team just knows how to win these sort of matches and they typically do not waste opportunities in front of goal. Fabio Capello was at the game, you know he is loving Wayne Rooney's current form. Wenger has already admitted Arsenal will be playing a defensive game tonight at Porto. One bit of good news is Eduardo should be available after initially being listed as doubtful. |
![]() |
|
| Mr. Pither | Feb 17 2010, 02:22 PM Post #189 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Wednesday's results Bayern 2 Fiorentina 1 Porto 2 Arsenal 1 Identical scores on Wednesday night and both matches were marked by controversy, particularly Bayern's win over Fiorentina. And guess who were tonight's officials? Norway's Tom Henning Ovrebo did Bayern-Fiorentina, he was the referee in the controversial semifinal last year between Chelsea & Barcelona and who wrongly ruled out a Luca Toni goal against Romania at Euro 2008. And the Porto-Arsenal ref? None other than Ireland's favourite, Martin Hansson of Sweden, the ref in the now infamous France-Ireland World Cup qualifier with Thierry Henry's handball. Ovebro was awful in the Bayern-Fiorentina game, first awarding a penalty in 1st half injury time when Bayern scored on the play, if the ref had let play continue for 3 seconds more. Fortunately for Bayern, Robben converted the penalty. Then he sends Fiorentina's Gobbi off for a foul impeding Robben which clearly was a foul and a yellow but not a red. Finally he, and more importantly his linesman, failed to call back Bayern's game winner in the 89th minute when a rebound came to a Bayern player who headed it to Miroslav Klose who was 2 metres offsides! But the flag stayed down, Klose headed it in and Bayern won 2-1 over a Fiorentina team who played a very solid game and deserved more. Arsenal have much less to blame the officials for than Fiorentina for their road defeat. Goalkeeper Lukas Fabianksi could not hold a low cross by Porto's Varela and the ball squirmed into the net for Porto's first goal. Arsenal rebounded when Porto let them head the ball several tiems inside the area off a corner and Sol Campbell eventually headed it into the net. Then early in the 2nd half, Fabianski inexplicably picked up a backpass from Campbell then gave the ball to the ref who gave it immediately to Porto who took a quick free kick with Fabianski's back turned to the play. Falcao Garcia scored while Fabianski was retreating into his goal. Arsenal were all over Hansson but really I don't see anything wrong with letting the quick indirect free kick take place, it was up to Arsenal to be more attentive. Neither Arsenal nor Fiorentina played badly and with an away goal and only a one goal loss, they each are very much into these second legs. But they were each the victim of some poor luck tonight. |
|
P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD | |
![]() |
|
| Yogi | Feb 17 2010, 03:01 PM Post #190 |
![]()
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Fiorentina were robbed, pure and simple. A wrongly issued red card and then a goal scored from way in an offside position. It was not even close. They did not look like the team that have struggled so much in Serie A. But that late Klose goal now emans Fiorentina will have to open up more in the return game which will give Bayern more space on the counter, something which Robben and Ribery are very much able to exploit. I do not think a ref should allow a quickly taken free kick for an indirect kick inside the penalty area. At least let the defending team set something up. It is to avoid quickly taken free kicks that we see the annoying habit of a defender standing over the ball until the ref instructs him to back off. After this event, expect to see more teams doing just that anytime there is a free kick anywhere near a dangerous area. |
![]() |
|
| ursus arctos | Feb 17 2010, 03:37 PM Post #191 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
This is what I get for supporting Fiorentina and being a socio of Barcelona. Karma can be a bitch . . . |
![]() |
|
| robdog | Feb 17 2010, 04:35 PM Post #192 |
![]()
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I guess there are more people on the Tom Henning Øvrebø Hate bandwagon. I am telling you this guy is corrupt & on the take. Check to see if he has some hidden bank accounts or something. Just like Drogba said, "It's a phucking disgrace!!!"
|
| Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis | |
![]() |
|
| ursus arctos | Feb 17 2010, 04:41 PM Post #193 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
C'mon Rob. If he was on the take, he would be able to afford this year's shirt (or last year's, that one is from two seasons ago). |
![]() |
|
| Merengue | Feb 17 2010, 10:36 PM Post #194 |
|
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
You guys have me laughing out loud and my wife thinking I am crazy [well she already knows that, she thinks I am crazier! :lol: ] Hard to imagine Ovebro and his crew getting many more Champions Leagues games after Wednesday's latest abomination from them. Fortunately he is not on the list of World Cup referees but Thierry Henry's friend Martin Hansson is! Looked to me like Campbell accidentally touched the ball, he was not intending to pass it back to Fabianski but by the same token the goalie should not have put the official in the position to make the call and should have just booted it away. Then he compounded it by innocently turning his back and remonstrating towards the linesman while Porto were taking the free kick. Like Yogi I do not like quickly taken free kicks for the reasons he gave, to counter act them it encourages teams wasting time by standing over the ball. I know the whole point of quickly taken free kicks is to discourage time wasting and to award quickly thinking teams but while it sometimes work as it did for Porto, it often results in more time wasting. |
| http://twitter.com/#!/SocrFutbolForum | |
![]() |
|
| Sporting | Feb 17 2010, 10:53 PM Post #195 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
With reference to quickly taken free kicks, perhaps Simon remembers this one: Liile vs. Manchester United The goal |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · UEFA · Next Topic » |





![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)




)
You guys have me laughing out loud and my wife thinking I am crazy [well she already knows that, she thinks I am crazier! :lol: ] 
5:03 PM Jul 10