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Champions League 2010-11
Topic Started: Jul 16 2010, 07:51 AM (4,379 Views)
gaviota
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A pretty easy win for Manchester United, Neuer did make some excellent saves to keep Schalke in the match but they never really tested van der Sar except for a few speculative shots from distance. Raul worked hard but ahd no service and was well amrked by Vidic and ferdinand. Despite neuer's saves this game had the feel of one where eventually manchester united would break them down and score and that is what did happen.

More injury misery for Barcelona as Andres Iniesta will miss the semifinal first leg with a calf injury picked up when he came on as a sub last saturday vs Osasuna. Again this emphasises the difference in depth, Barcelona had to call upon some regulars last weekend in the league and ended up losing Iniesta for this semifinal, first leg while Real Madrid enter the match much more healthy as their regulars were, for the most part, rested last weekend vs Valencia. I assume this means Keita will play along with Busquets and Xavi in midfield. Madrid come into this game on a very good streak while Barcelona are at one of their lowest moments of the current season.
CHAMP13NS
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valenciano
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gaviota,Apr 26 2011
01:59 PM

More injury misery for Barcelona as Andres Iniesta will miss the semifinal first leg with a calf injury picked up when he came on as a sub last saturday vs Osasuna.  Again this emphasises the difference in depth, Barcelona had to call upon some regulars last weekend in the league and ended up losing Iniesta for this semifinal, first leg while Real Madrid enter the match much more healthy as their regulars were, for the most part, rested last weekend vs Valencia.  I assume this means Keita will play along with Busquets and Xavi in midfield.  Madrid come into this game on a very good streak while Barcelona are at one of their lowest moments of the current season.

I think gaviota is on target with these comments, one team Madrid are in ascension now while the other Barcelona are going from one injury to another. That is not to say it will be an overwhelming win for Real Madrid but in my eyes, and I am not a fan of either club, they are favorites now over Barcelona. Messi and Xavi in particular are going to have to be at or near their best for the Blaugrana to succeed.

As for Manchester United's win over Schalke, Neuer showed he is a world class goalkeeper and his club showed why they are currently midtable in the Bundesliga. I am sure Inter fans are thinking much like we Valencia fans are now, "And we lost to this team?"
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Simon
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It's not normal to watch your team win a CL semi-final away leg 2-0 and be dissatisfied, but that is kind of how United fans are feeling right now. Really good performance from United who were going through the Schalke defence pretty much at will, but were up against a goalkeeping performance of the highest order from Manuel Neuer. The media have linked United with many keepers as replacements for VDS but two of the the names who come up most consistently are those of Neuer and David de Gea, and Neuer certainly put himself in the shop window tonight.

But great goalkeeping or no, I've rarely seen a game at this stage of a high-ranking competition where one team creates so many good openings and chances. It finished 2-0 but for a while it bore a worrying ressemblance to the 1997 games with Dortmund that I referred to earlier, in which United created chance after chance after chance after chance in both legs but ended up losing both games 1-0. Fortunately that did not happen tonight, and while 2-0 is a poor reflection of the game it is nevertheless a commanding position to be in after the first leg. It also apparently means that United are the first side ever to complete the semi-finals of the European Cup / Champions League without having conceded a single away goal in the whole of the competition.

Potentially, United are now in the position of being able to fully concentrate on our main objective, which is to win the league. I think the substitutions being made in the final half hour were with an eye towards the game at Arsenal on Saturday.

Damn City and that bloody FA Cup semi, or the treble would still be on!! :angry:
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rosarino
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That was a big of a mismatch as I can recall in a continental semifinal. Don't be greedy Simon ;), you and your fellow Manchester United fans should be happy with how your team played, as other than the finishing, which to me was more due to Neuer's play than poor finishing, United played a fine game. Their defensive record is exceptional but in this game United totally controlled midfield and imposed themselves on Schalke.
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Rufus T. Firefly
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If nothing else Schalke knows Manuel Neuer's summer price tag just went up considerably. Superb play in goal but Manchester United are a team which rarely makes mistakes, you have to beat them as they will not be gifting many games, particularly in Europe. Perhaps recent Manchester United teams when Ronaldo and Tevez were there had more overall talent but few play better as a team than this current edition.

Mourinho and Guardiola with some pre match theater as they exchanged barbs in their press conferences. Not surprising from Mourinho, maybe alittle surprising Guardiola got drawn into it but he also may be trying to light a fire under his team too.
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Johnbuildr
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Rufus T. Firefly,Apr 27 2011
02:07 AM
<< Perhaps recent Manchester United teams when Ronaldo and Tevez were there had more overall talent but few play better as a team than this current edition.>>


That really is the key to this particular ManU team, now isn't it? Several big names as always, but they play such good team ball that they are difficult to break down under any circumstances or type of attack.
Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum



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Hector
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Super defence from Manchester United, but their attack completely pinned Schalke in their own defencive half for most of the match. I read where Alex ferguson said his club were getting a bit frustrated by all the remarkable saves Neuer was making but that he adjusted them at halftime and a goal which was correctly called offside but was put in the net by Chicharito Hernandez actually lifted the club's spirits because the coach claimed they then realised they could put a shot past Neuer. An interesting psychological look at the situation I thought.

OK Mourinho is in another war of words with an opposing coach, what else is new? The question being asked is whether Guardiola fell for his trap in responding or whether Pep actually is motivating his own club as Rufus T Firefly also referenced? I guess we will find out in less than 5 hours. A lot of talk here and throughout the media how Madrid are the team on the rise while barcelona are declining, well depsite the result in the Copa del rey Final, which only was attained after extra time, Barcelona have been the team controlling play in both of the previous two matches played. What they lacked was finishing in both of those games, but sooner or later you would expect Barcelona to start finishing their goal opportunities.
iPuerta amigo, Sevilla esta contigo!
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Winslow
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Wednesday's first leg...
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Real Madrid 0, Barcelona 2.

This scrappy, ornery tie at the Bernabeu, which spilled over at halftime with handbags outside the tunnel, finally turned to the Catalans on a late brace by Messi. He put Barca ahead with 15 minutes to go, beating Sergio Ramos to the near post and tipping Affelay's cross between Casillas's legs; several minutes later he took a handoff from Xavi and zoomed past and through Real's tired defense before rolling a shot inside the far post.

By then, the home team was down to 10 after Pepe was sent off for a high challenge on Dani Alves; it was a questionable call, as the ball was there to be won, but Alves sold it well. In the aftermath Mourinho was sent to the stands for mouthing off to a linesman. Real was never going to win even before this, as it never really challenged Barca.
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Yogi
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I think Winslow's analysis is spot on, Messi's 2nd goal against Madrid's tired defense was a beauty. Pepe's red card was very harsh in my opinion, he was going for the ball and got there late as Alves just beat him to it. Ok his cleats were exposed but that to me is a yellow not a red especially in a game where the referee was letting a lot of rough play by both sides go without blowing the whistle.

Before the sending off I thought the game looked headed for a 0-0 tie which would have kept it open for either team in leg 2 with Barcelona probably having the slight advantage. But after the expulsion Barcelona turned their play up and Afellay added some fresh blood to their team and set Messi up for that first goal.

Why did Mourinho only make one change, at the half taking off the skillful Ozil for Adebayor? Where were Higuain and Kaka who could have added something offensively to a Madrid team who did very little offensively all game whether they were playing with 11 or 10.

Barcelona were the better team and while not as dominant as Manchester United were the day before they ended up winning on the road by the same score which makes both of next week's return games look already decided. We appear set for a replay of the 2009 Final.
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Lalo
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The red card to Pepe may have been too harsh but you get what you harvest and Mourinho, at home, ha dhis team playing too conservatively. Like the league game, also at the Bernabeu, but notably unlike the Copa del Rey game on a neutral field and which Madrid won, the home team tonight were too cautious, gave the ball up to Barcelona and sat back and defended too deep. Pepe who was so dynamic in the first two games between the clubs was much more a defensive midfielder in this game with his primary task being kicking the opposition.

Like Yogi noted, whether with 11 or 10 men Real Madrid did not do enough to win this game and unlike the previous two games between the clubs, this time they paid the price for their cautious approach.

The defense may have been tiring but Messi's 2nd goal was superb. Earlier, somebody here wrote how Barcelona needed Messi and Xavi to play well in order to win, well they did and we see what happened.
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Don Balon
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Lalo I think is absolutely right about this Champions League, Madrid got what they deserved for their cautious and physical approach. When you play physically, even when the ref as today allows a lot of contact, you run the risk of getting players sent off. Barcelona were not innocents either but of the two it was Madrid and especially Pepe and Lass Diarra who were playing very physically in this game.

Barcelona looked to win this game and their more positive approach paid off, as a neutral I am happy to see that. Now we are exposed to Madrid, especially Mourinho complaining how the officiating prejudiced them and how Barcelona have never won a 'clean' Champions league under Guardiola! Does Mourinho have any shame?
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Manzanares
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I do not want to sound like a chorus but I join Lalo and Don Balon in thinking Real Madrid got what they deserved for their temerity in attack when playing at home combined with their physical play. And where I watched the game, many Real Madrid fans, including some who post here, felt the same. Mourinho's post game rant about a conspiracy against Real Madrid and/or in favor of Barcelona was pretty sad and should be an embarassment for any Real Madrid fan.

What got me about Madrid's tactics in this game is they were at home, against a Barcelona who were a little wounded after the Copa del Rey loss, who were suffering some key absences, and this comes after Madrid experienced success in the Cup by playing more ambitiously against Barcelona than they did in either game at the Bernabeu. So tonight Mourinho again plants Madrid in a defensive stance and their only halfway decent opportunity in the entire game was Ronaldo's long distance shot which Valdes only batted down. Other than that Madrid's offensive output in this game was ZERO. And all the while Higuain and Kaka who ripped apart Valencia on the weekend sat on the bench while the only change was the physically imposing but technically limited Adebayor for Madrid's most skilled player Ozil.
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raconteur
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Manzanares,Apr 27 2011
03:00 PM
What got me about Madrid's tactics in this game is they were at home, against a Barcelona who were a little wounded after the Copa del Rey loss, who were suffering some key absences, and this comes after Madrid experienced success in the Cup by playing more ambitiously against Barcelona than they did in either game at the Bernabeu. So tonight Mourinho again plants Madrid in a defensive stance and their only halfway decent opportunity in the entire game was Ronaldo's long distance shot which Valdes only batted down. Other than that Madrid's offensive output in this game was ZERO. And all the while Higuain and Kaka who ripped apart Valencia on the weekend sat on the bench while the only change was the physically imposing but technically limited Adebayor for Madrid's most skilled player Ozil.

So very true. Madrid may feel aggrieved about the red card but at home they showed so little initiative. You reap what you sow and Madrid did not deserve a result from this game and it was nice to see Messi seal the game with a superb individual effort.
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Pique
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Madrid played for the draw even though they were at home, Barcelona were looking to win the game. Yes Pepe's red card made it more difficult for Madrid but Barcelona were holding the ball and looking for the openings which they eventually found, whether there were 11 or 10 men on the field, and this in big part was due to the fresh legs of Afellay setting Messi up for that first goal. And as a few others asked, where were Real Madrid's changes? Messi's 2nd goal was an anthological one, the type people will talk about for years to come.
Esas son las leyendas de futbol mexicano,
En todo Mexico hay un Chiva hermano!
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Martin
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I thought Mourinho's ultra conservative game plan was the wrong way to go about this game, as Manzanares noted so many things were in Madrid's favor heading into this game, yet he played for a 0-0 draw at home. And to add to those tactics were his classless rants both pre and post game. Personally I am tired of Mourinho dirtying the towels at the club I have supported for years.

That being said, everything was pointing to what Mourinho had intended, a 0-0 tie as Madrid again were stopping everything Barcelona could attempt, that is until Pepe's harsh sending off which did change the game.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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