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| Champions League 2010-11 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 16 2010, 07:51 AM (4,389 Views) | |
| Merengue | Feb 15 2011, 08:28 AM Post #136 |
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I know what he is going through. Will be interesting to see how Spurs play without Bale and Modric as those in my view are two of the three players, van der Vaart being the other, who really made a difference for the club in the group stage. I'm assuming they will take a more defensive approach into this game especially on the road but with Milan facing some significant absences too there could be an opportunity if Spurs show some initiative. As Don Balon wrote Raul did receive a good reception in Valencia, mainly from Madrid fans I think[!] but this is an intriguing game between Valencia and Schalke. The German club has a good attack with Huntelaar, Raul, Farfan and Jurado but defensively they are vulnerable although with Neuer in goal they have a goalie who can keep them in a game. Valencia have been playing well in 2011 but this will be a stern test for them. Should be a good game. |
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| Winslow | Feb 15 2011, 02:04 PM Post #137 |
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Tuesday's results... . . . . . AC Milan 0, Tottenham 1; Valencia 1, Schalke 1. No Bale, no Huddleston, no Jenas? No problem! My Spurs brought their A game to the San Siro and picked up the only goal with ten minutes left, on the counter after Milan had them pinned down for about 15 straight minutes. Lennon was set free on the right for a 2-on-2 with Crouch; after a 40-yard run he beat one defender and drew the other to him before laying off to the big fella, who rolled the ball inside the unguarded far post. Beautiful! More trouble for the Rossoneri in the return leg, as Gattuso picked up a booking that means suspension (and could pick up more than that, as he tried to pick a fight with Spurs' assistant boss Toothless Joe Jordan after the final whistle). Milan ought to be without Flamini in London as well, after a disgraceful flying two-footed challenge that drew yellow, deserved red, and knocked Corluka out of the match. In Valencia, it was a happy Spanish homecoming for that Raul fella, who leveled the match just after the hour mark after Soldado gave the Ches an early lead. Not exactly what the home side wanted as it heads off to Gelsenkirchen (love that name!) in a few weeks. |
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| Simon | Feb 15 2011, 02:12 PM Post #138 |
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That's a great result for Tottenham, but playing defensively isn't really in their DNA so they will still be piling forward at the Lane in the second leg. There should be opportunities for Milan. Looked to me like Spurs were the better side in the first half and were unlucky not to be ahead, but Milan came back into it in the second half and Tottenham's eventual goal was against the run of play. Very good performance by Lennon (and by Crouch), though Lennon still hasn't quite ironed out the inconsistencies of his final pass once his jet-heeled pace has got him into good positions. By the way, Gattuso might think he's a hard man but he's a very silly fella for picking a fight with Joe Jordan!!
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| Don Balon | Feb 15 2011, 02:18 PM Post #139 |
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A great night for the visiting clubs. I did not see Milan-Tottenham but it sounds eventful from Winslow's report. I did watch Valencia-Schalke and Valencia had the ball and created an early goal as Mathieu broke down the left and his low cross was knocked in by Soldado. A well worked goal and particularly in the 1st half Valencia looked like they were capable of scoring more. But their finishing let them down and when on target Neuer was there. Like Merengue wrote pre match Neuer can keep his team in a game and that is what he did until midway through half no. 2 Schalke moved forward and Raul received the ball inside the area, spun and beat David Navarro before firing to the first post past Vicente Guaita in goal. A well taken goal a few mnutes after Raul had another nice effort turned away by Guaita. Then in injury time Raul set up sub Hao who almost won the match but was denied by Guaita. So probably a deserved draw as Valencia did not take their chances and the eternal Raul came through with a nice goal to even it for Schalke. A definite advantage for both road teams tonight when they return home for leg 2. |
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| Mr. Pither | Feb 15 2011, 02:25 PM Post #140 |
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I think they are ready to make Gattuso an honourary Welshman for picking a fight with Joe Jordan! ![]() Spurs defended well for a club not known for their defence and I thought they frustrated Milan in the first half. Adding Pato and taking off the ineffective Seedorf helped Milan not so much for what Pato did as it dropped Robinho deeper where he saw more of the ball. Although Milan ahd better of the play in the 2nd half theey did not create too much danger and then as Simon noted Lennon went on his fine run, fed Crouch and game over. Ibra scored a nice bicycle kick goal in injury time but it was correctly ruled out for Ibra's push on Dawson. A wonderful win for Tottenham as you could see Milan are not the same team without the cup tied Cassano and van Bommel. |
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P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD | |
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| Simon | Feb 15 2011, 02:36 PM Post #141 |
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Haha tricky one though isn't it, as Gattuso made his name at Rangers and is married to a Scot, while Joe Jordan used to play for AC Milan! Gattuso must have picked up some tips as that was a nice 'Glasgow Kiss' he planted on Jordan, but Big Joe would still knock seven bells out of him. I like the way Joe had taken his glasses off just on the off chance that it was going to kick off
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| Dr. Z | Feb 15 2011, 03:29 PM Post #142 |
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I am looking forward to tomorrow's Arsenal-Barcelona game. I know Arsenal feel like they have some unfinished business with Barcelona after losing in the 2006 Final and in last year's knockout rounds. And I do think this will be a difficult series for Barcelona as Arsenal are an improved team from last year with Fabregas and van Persie healthy and Nasri and Walcott both improved players from last season. But Barcelona are in my opinion better too, Messi is taking his play up to an even higher level, Pedro is improved and Villa really adds a dynamism to the team's play that was missing last year with Ibrahimovic. But Puyol will miss leg 1 which does hurt Barca's defense as it either requires moving the quick Abidal to the center and leaves Maxwell, not the best of defenders, against the quick Walcott or it will force the inconsistent Gaby Milito to play centrally with Abidal staying on the left. I am curious as to what Pep will decide to do. |
| Poniendo el pecho a las balas! | |
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| Merengue | Feb 15 2011, 03:51 PM Post #143 |
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The warm welcome for Raul was only at the airport and at Schalke's hotel because Valencia's fans well remember how often Raul has buried their club over the years and he may have done it once again with his goal. They naturally whistled him every time he touched the ball but he played a smart game and with Neuer's saves, Valencia's misses and most of Valencia's inability to create many chances despite plenty of possession, Schalke are well placed for leg 2. Some stimulating comments Dr. Z on tomorrow's Arsenal-Barcelona game. The common opinion is you can not beat Barcelona by attacking them as Arsenal prefer to do. I disagree and think a team with speed like Arsenal has who also presses Barca and has their own offensive ability to convert their chances can beat them. This will be Arsenal's chance as they will be at home |
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| robdog | Feb 15 2011, 07:39 PM Post #144 |
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Just in case some of you missed the excitement:![]() btw, that was the 2nd altercation between the two. During the match for some reason Gattuso ran over to the Spuds bench & shoved Mr. Jordan in the throat. Don't know what that was about. Probably because Flamini two footed challenge made Corluka leave the match & he needed crutches to move around. I am thinking his leg might be broken, but I don't know. This is what Redknapp had to say about it:
Terrible display by Milano. Definitely not football from them. <_< |
| Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis | |
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| Yogi | Feb 15 2011, 08:07 PM Post #145 |
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A poor game from Milan who did not deserve anything from it. No complaints from me about Tottenham winning. As somebody else mentioned, adding Pato and dropping Robinho behind the forwards gave Milan more of an attack in the 2nd half and as Milan were improving and starting to look more dangerous, Spurs got that counter attack and scored. This result will make it difficult for leg 2 but bottom line is without Cassano and van Bommel, Milan just are not as good of a team as we have been seeing in Serie A. As for Gattuso, well he should be facing a suspension, he usually knows how to control his aggression pretty well but Tottenham knew he can be volatile, they baited him and he took that bait. An unsavory end to what overall was a pretty mediocre game in my opinion. |
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| SuperEagle | Feb 16 2011, 05:19 AM Post #146 |
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Van Persie has been in very good form the past month and he I think is the biggest difference between the current Arsenal from last year's team which went out to Barcelona. I think Merengue has hit on what should be Arsenal's strategy, pressure Barcelona in midfield and look to hit them on the break even if that goes against Arsenal's natural tendencies. They can mix that up by looking to keep possession at times too but we all know Barcelona will put them under intense pressure of their own when the Gunners have the ball. Barca clearly are favourites but Arsenal have the qualities to pull off a surprise. Fundamental to that will be for them to play without fear and look to have "a right go at them" as Harry Rednapp said about his Spurs before they faced Milan. Even this Gunner has to praise Spurs for a fine display. They clearly frustrated Milan and forced them to lose their heads on their home pitch. Ultimately Modric's inability to go from the start I think helepd Spurs as they went with two holding midfielders, Palacios and Sandro, who each played well and helped shield the backline as Spurs played an intelligent away game, playing more defencively than is their norm. But that style snuffed out Milan and they eventually got them on the break. |
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| Hector | Feb 16 2011, 05:46 AM Post #147 |
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That is the way I saw the match too. Valencia had their opportunities, did not take advantage of them and eventually were punished by an old nemesis, Raul. The guy can still play and remains one of the smartest attackers around. |
| iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo! | |
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| Sammy Maudlin | Feb 16 2011, 10:22 AM Post #148 |
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Like my fellow Spurs fan Winslow I am very, very happy about yesterday's result in Milan. Spurs played intelligently, more defensively than usual as Supereagle pointed out with their twin holding midfielders, and it was good to see Sandro playing well. Yet Spurs still were able to control play and as both van der Vaart and Pienaar tired midway through the 2nd half Rednapp wisely put on Kranjcar and Modric, two technical players who helped Spurs maintain possession and eventually kill off the game. An excellent win on the road and it was gratifying to see how not the inexperienced Spurs but rather the ultra experienced Milan was the team which cracked under the pressure and lost their heads. |
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| Simon | Feb 16 2011, 11:01 AM Post #149 |
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I'll be interested to see tonight's match, especially as it's in London. Arsenal are a quick and talented side, but this issue remains about how they often tend to lose their nerve in big games. They have beaten Chelsea this season, but they have also lost at United, and I recall them losing at home to Spurs having led twice. Wenger is constantly talking up Arsenal's 'mental strength', it always seems to me that he 'doth protest too much'. The other thing is that Arsenal's defence is not really proven, and if they're put under concerted pressure they will often fold. I must say that few would have thought 'this is a team that will knock Barcelona out of the CL' when watching Arsenal losing a 4-0 lead at Newcastle and drawing 4-4 the other week. We can guarantee that Barca will put Arsenal under sustained pressure for spells of these two matches, and I think they will definitely score some goals in the process. But in the meantime, Wenger says "everyone expects an exciting game because it is two teams that play quality football. We want to be faithful to our philosophy and pass the ball well so we can dominate the game" - so hopefully we should be in for an open and entertaining match! |
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| Martin | Feb 16 2011, 11:02 AM Post #150 |
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I too thought Spurs played a smart game but was not surprised by Sandro's play in midfield as I have seen him play like that for Internacional of Brazil in the Copa Libertadores. For a young player [21] he has already played in a lot of high intensity international matches. Spurs did make Milan lose their heads, and not just Gattuso as we saw with Flamini's wild tackles. But they particularly targeted Gattuso (via Joe Jordan) and their taunting paid off as he lost his head. With all of Milan's midfield absences, both via injury and being Cup tied, now that Gattuso wll be missing for the return, Milan will be seriously hurting. And playing Thiago Silva, one of the up and coming elite defenders in the world, in midfield may have been Alegri's only option with all of their absences, but it is hardly an ideal one. I occasionaly flipped over to see Valencia-Schalke and my comments are similar to others on here, Valencia just could not place that final pass to break through Schalke's defense and as we know Raul does not make many mistakes when given a chance. |
| Club Sportivo Desamparados | |
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