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Champions League 2010-11
Topic Started: Jul 16 2010, 07:51 AM (4,380 Views)
Simon
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Yeah, I agree with Sporting that that would be the likely course of action.

Really good match last night between United and Chelsea. I think both teams showed why they've been so prominent over the last 5 or 6 years. Chelsea were very effective, moved the ball intelligently and Frank Lampard was ghosting into space as he's always done, but he didn't properly get hold of his shot when he had a decent chance at 0-0. Hernandez nicely headed a cross in which was disallowed for a narrow offside. The margins were also tight for the first goal, but Hernandez timed his run perfectly to meet Giggs's precision low ball in and fire it home.

Hernandez's sharpness is one of the things making a difference for United this season. His instincts in the box are perfect and he's been rattling in the goals - all for just £6m! Meanwhile Torres, who cost £50m, still looks lost up front. Big gamble by Ancelotti to drop Drogba and go with Torres to partner Anelka. Most people said that would be a mistake and so it proved. Torres didn't do anything and was subbed out at half-time for Drogba, who then had a brilliant second hald and scored a really well-taken goal. That put Chelsea right back in it, only for United to finish it off almost immediately. Another nice assist by Giggs and an emphatic finish by Park Ji-Sung. Good stuff from United, into our 4th CL semi-finals of the last 5 seasons. We're getting players back fit and we're in good form, we haven't lost or in fact even conceded a goal on our travels in Europe this season while meanwhile we've won 25 and drawn 3 of our last 28 home games, so we're in good shape. Meanwhile a lot of people are of the opinion that the credits have now started rolling on Ancelotti's time in charge at Chelsea. We'll have to see how that plays out.

Anyone interested in tracking the form of Fernando Torres at Chelsea should check out this fascinating site:
http://hastorresscoredforchelsea.com/


Tonight's two matches look quite anti-climactic. Spurs have had a great debut season in the CL and have scored a hatful of goals at WHL against Werder Bremen, Twente and Inter, but it's fanciful to think they could turn round a 4-0 deficit. I still reckon they could win on the night though, which would be a nice send off for Spurs in this competition where they've been a real breath of fresh air. Arsenal and Chelsea have also scored plenty of goals, and I heard an unusual fact today that London has thus set a clear record for the most goals scored by clubs from one city in a European competition season. Oddly, this announcement was not followed by a reminder that there's still never been a London team to reign as European champions. Perhaps a northerner like myself should have phoned in with that fact, purely in the interest of balance of course! ;)
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enganche
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Since nobody else has done it, I will give the scores for this week's 2nd leg matches, and as all predicted, there was little drama anywhere, although Drogba's goal yesterday gave Chelsea hopes which were extinguished about a minute later by Park!

Tuesday's results
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Barcelona

Wednesday's results
Schalke 2-1 Inter
Tottenham 0-1 Real Madrid

Strange how both days had identical scores in both games.

Real Madrid beat Tottenham when Cristiano Ronaldo, who did start, shot from outside the box and somehow Gomes let the ball slip between his hands and into the goal. Tottenham pushed for a goal in the first half and wanted a couple of penalties but the ref did not grant them their wish. Madrid did lose Ricardo Carvalho with a yellow card which will rule him out of the semifinal first leg.

Raul was the story once more for Schalke, scoring one and setting up Howedes for the other as Schalke beat Inter.

So the semifinals are set:

Manchester United-Schalke
Real Madrid-Barcelona

Probably the three biggest clubs in Europe and outsiders Schalke. With all respect for our Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid fans, I will be pulling for the outsiders from Schalke.
Prefiero morir de pie que vivir arrodillado
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Don Balon
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Count me as one of those surprised Mourinho basically played his first team vs Tottenham. The move using Carvalho backfired though as enganche explained. Raul was amazing, I was among the many who doubted he still had it in him but also give Raul credit for deciding to end his career in the Bundesliga with a Champions League side, in other words still playing at a very high level, rather than looking for a retirmenet like league in North America, Japan or the Middle East.

I too will join enganche in supporting Schalke to win this competition. In an era of mega clubs with multi euro rosters, I think it would be a great change if a club like Schalke with zero Champions League titles, won it all this season. Schalke may not be a small club but compared to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, they are small.
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Sammy Maudlin
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I thought Spurs gave it a pretty good go against Real Madrid. They put them under some initial pressure but just could not put one in. Now if one of those penalty appeals had gone their way then maybe the momentum would have been there to make it a closer 2nd leg. Wishful thinking perhaps but Spurs ahd a good run in this Champions League now time to return to league play and try and reclaim a Champions League place for next season, something which Tevez' injury for Man City may make easier.

What great passes from Ryan Giggs yesterday. Good to see players like Giggs and Raul, stars a decade ago, can still make a difference at this level.
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Simon
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I think Ryan Giggs and Raul have got ageing portraits of themselves in their attics!

I was impressed with Spurs yesterday, they did give it a good go as Sammy says. Okay they were never really in with a chance of overturning the first leg deficit but they played with pride and made it a game that the neutral observer could enjoy for what it was (actually, credit both teams for that). Also, the fans created a great atmosphere, it kind of had the feel of a celebration of the whole European adventure. Even after that huge howler from Gomes, there was no cynicism or complaint from the Tottenham fans and they generously applauded both teams.

It did seem to me, like others have said about Schalke, that here was a 'big club' who nevertheless can not take CL football for granted and so have really savoured every second of their exploits this season. And as a lot of CL football is so cagey, it's been brilliant to follow the progress of a team whose results have been 2-3 and then 4-0 against Young Boys, 2-2 and then 3-0 against Werder, 3-3 and 4-1 against Twente, 4-0 down against Inter only to come back to 4-3 with a thrilling Bale hat-trick and then win 3-1 at home, winning a group ahead of the reigning champions and then impressively eliminating AC Milan - it's been a great journey for them.

Right, I'm off to Istanbul for a week or so, thought I'd say in case anyone thinks I'm ignoring messages or that I've gone off football! Should be fun - providing United's results hold up in the big matches they play in that time! ;)
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robdog
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Simon have fun on vacation. Just an FYI, I believe the last 3 or 4 European Cup Champs knocked out Chelsea in route to grabbing the title. I hate to type this, but the Treble might be a reality. Cheers.
Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis
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Sporting
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Simon might not be going on holiday...could be work, who knows?! In any case, Istanbul is said to be well worth a visit.

Anyway, one nice thing about last nights' game was Casillas' non-celebration when Gomes made the mistake for the goal. Perhaps it was because going 5-0 up on aggregate didn't warrant anything big, but I prefer to think that it was compassion for a fellow keeper that brought on this (non) reaction.
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Merengue
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Good point Sporting about Casillas non celebration. Thye do say there is a bond between goalkeepers and you often see them talk or commiserate with one another after a match has ended. Tottenham did have an enjoyable Champions League run and I think we all enjoy when non traditional Champions League clubs do well in the competition (unless of course they are beating your own club!) Schalke have been in plenty of recent Champions Leagues but have never progressed as far as they have this year. My impression of them is they are sort of a German version of Atletico Madrid, a pretty big club with a history of underachieving and a set of fans who have almost come to expect underachievement. Thus their current success in the Champions League must be greeted with a lot of joy in Gelsenkirchen even if their current league position means they will not be in next season's Champions League unless they win it all this year.
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Nkono
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As everybody has acknowledged, there was little excitement in these second leg games, but what has surprised me about not only both of Inter's games but also the last few months, is how much Samuel Eto'o's play has dropped off. He basically carried Inter through the Rafa Benitez era and the first month or so of Leonardo's time in charge as Inter recovered from their sloppy play under Benitez. But these past few months have seen Eto'o missing more chances than he normally does and just generally not playing as well. I comment because this has been uncharacteristic for him.
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robdog
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Not sure if we discussed this yet, but that goal from Dejan Stanković was the highlight of the 10/11 Champion's League. Neuer made an excellent stop for the long ball, but Stanković's technique was simply impeccable. I can watch that goal over & over. Shall we do it again???
Supporter for FCK, San Lorenzo, Chelsea, Pachuca, Corinthians & Real Betis
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raconteur
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Champions League disciplinary situation ahead of the semi-final, first leg fixtures:

Playing on Tuesday

Schalke 04 v Manchester United

Misses next match if booked: Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Jose Manuel Jurado, Kyriakos Papadopoulos (all Schalke 04)

- -

Playing on Wednesday

Real Madrid v Barcelona

Suspended: Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid)

Misses next match if booked: Raul Albiol, Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Ramos (all Real Madrid)


Schalke's coach Ralf Rangnick, who looks like a slightly younger David Letterman (a US late night TV host) says Benedikt Hoewedes may miss the match with injury. Hoewedes is Schalke's best defender but at this stage of the copetition you never know if a coach is speaking the truth or engaging in disinformation. Dimitar Berbatov may also miss the game but with the same caveat.
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Merengue
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I like the comparion of Ragnick with Letterman! :lol: I do not know if Schalke are playing games with Howedes' status but Berbatov is definitely out fo Manchester United as he did not make the trip to Germany. United of course are favorites but Schalke have been on a great roll in the Champions League, unbeaten since losing in group play to Lyon. Every round people have looked at Schalke as the optimal draw but Schalke keeps advancing while those other clubs have gone home. Raul is in the best fom I have seen him in since 2003 and he has been the key figure in their advancement. But United are as strong a defensive team as there is in Europe and this will be Schalke and Raul's ultimate test. You can imagine Vidic and Ferdinand will be paying close attention to him.

Maxwell joins Barcelona's other left backs on the injury list but Puyol will be back and likely will fill in at left back on Wednesday with Mascherano sliding in the middle to play alongside Pique. Madrid will miss Khedira thru injury so Lass Diarra should come into the starting team in his place. The question in my mind is when will Mourinho turn to Higuain and/or Kaka to give an offensve lift off the bench?
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Simon
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United fans are very wary of this tie, as I can remember a few occasions where we've been done by 'inferior' German opposition. The most painful one was 1997 when we got to the semis against Dortmund and utterly played them off the pitch in both games, created a host of chances, were astonished at the increasingly unlikely and freakish ways in which the ball stayed out of their net and then actually ended up losing both games 1-0 as Dortmund went on to win the trophy that year. We were heavy favourites in 2002 against Leverkusen as well, but contrived to get ourselves knocked out on the away goals rule. Last season stung as well, 1-0 up inside a minute in Germany in the first leg against Bayern Munich, we controlled the game but let two ridiculous late goals in to lose 2-1. Back at OT we battered Bayern and were 3-0 and cruising, only for Rafael to get sent off, Carrick to get outmuscled for a Bayern goal and then Robben to score a great goal and knock us out. IMO we could and should have been in our third consecutive final last season and aiming for a fourth final in a row this year, but I guess it underlines the point that you have to take your chances in knockout football and keep your concentration at all times.

It's worth recording a couple of milestones for Edwin van der Sar. If he plays tonight he will be making his 13th career appearance in a CL semi, equalling a record currently held by Claude Makelele. He is also aiming to set a new record as the first goalkeeper to keep 50 CL clean sheets.
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Don Balon
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As Simon pointed out Manchester United have had toubles with German clubs in the semifinals but that was then, this is now. Schalke have had a wonderful run in the competition and seem energised by their coaching change but let us also remember this is a midtable team in their local league. Not even outsides like Monaco in 2004 and Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 were that low placed in their home league when playing in the semifinals.

For those of us in ther 40s, it is nice to see players like van der Sar, Giggs, Scholes and Raul still excelling!
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Winslow
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Tuesday's first leg...
.
.
.
.
.
Schalke 04 0, Manchester United 2.

Wary? Why? Schalke came out tight-assed and never loosened up, letting United run around, over, and through them from the get-go. Neuer and wasteful finishing kept the visitors off the board for more than an hour, until Rooney finally deceived everyone by faking a shot from the top of the box and slipping a lovely pass through the middle to a streaking Giggs; he rolled it under the keeper to break the deadlock. Two minutes later Rooney added a second after a similar play, and that, said John, was that. (Thank you, A.A. Milne.)

Hoping for better from the Big Two tomorrow. But probably the most annoying thing from this semifinal is Curt Menefee on the FSC post game.
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