CL knock out stage

[DeLorean]

I enjoyed it. Chelsea were excellent without the ball I thought but Barca probably still did just about enough to maybe have scraped a 1-0. Still though it sets it up nicely for the Bridge.

Dunphy was talking some rubbish about United being far more ambitious in possession last year at the Nou Camp. United made no attempt to play at all, just like Chelsea and I'm sure the studio slated them at the time. It's gas the way he pretends to be a student of Spanish soccer yet he only passed judgement on Alves on last nights performance, surely he would have had an opinion already if he really was watching them every wkd.

[KK77]

I enjoyed it. Chelsea were excellent without the ball I thought but Barca probably still did just about enough to maybe have scraped a 1-0. Still though it sets it up nicely for the Bridge.

Dunphy was talking some rubbish about United being far more ambitious in possession last year at the Nou Camp. United made no attempt to play at all, just like Chelsea and I'm sure the studio slated them at the time. It's gas the way he pretends to be a student of Spanish soccer yet he only passed judgement on Alves on last nights performance, surely he would have had an opinion already if he really was watching them every wkd.


Must have been watching the same game as me so as i agree with everything you said in your post. Barce played the football and tried to win the game. They had chances just didn't take them. Overall i think Chelsea will get through. Might be their year.

[corkboy360]

Backed Ronaldo first goalscorer at 5/1 with a small stake.
Hopefully:cool:

[Stuttgart88]

It'll be interesting to see if Adebayor delivers, and Van Persie if he recovers for the second leg. These guys are always going on about the club not being able to fulfill their ambitions yet neither seems to realise that if they were less erratic in front of goal and not missing for 20 games a season (Van P) then maybe Arsenal would be more successful. Talk about abdicating responsibility.

Nasri is a good player and may make a contribution.

I think overall Arsenal's defence will let them down. There's no way they'll keep United out over the 2 legs. I the tie will be like the QF against Liverpool last year, Arsenal will play very well for long periods and I expect they'll score but they'll concede dumb goals & United will go through in the end.

[NeilMcD]

Utd are playing at an unreal high tempo tonight. Arsenal are really struggling to keep a hold of the ball as Fletcher and Tevez and Rooney are right on them every time. Fair Play John O Shea.

[corkboy360]

Money back if Adebayor scores last.

[NeilMcD]

I think its funny that Arsenal get so much credit for playing great football, they do at times, but I would much rather watch Man Utd anytime. They play at such speed and power and pace and skill. Tonight they should have the game over already but the key thing is they don't.

[corkboy360]

Lost interest when my bet went

[OwlsFan]

I think its funny that Arsenal get so much credit for playing great football, they do at times, but I would much rather watch Man Utd anytime. They play at such speed and power and pace and skill. Tonight they should have the game over already but the key thing is they don't.

Well, let's see who plays with the "speed, power, pace (different from speed?) and skill" in the return leg? Man U had all of those 4(3?) for the first half hour but they couldn't maintain it but I expect the same from Arsenal in the return leg. Man U rely on the skill of certain individuals but the passing ability isn't spread throughout the team. Arsenal rely totally on the passing game from back to front with fewer star names.

[NeilMcD]

Well I said it on this thread that when Man Utd were going to Porto needing to win or to have a very high scoring draw that I thought they would win the Champions League and I am even more confident of that now. I can't see Arsenal holding out Man Utd at the Emirates but even if they do I think their best chance is to win on penalties.

[DeLorean]

Has RVP any chance of making the second leg? Adebayor is lost without him. I thought United would be more comfortable going into the 2nd leg, and probably should be but still think they'll scrape through. It will be a nervy game though and I can see da goons scoring first. It was the double substitution from hell last night and far too early. For such an experienced player Giggs hasn't a clue how to keep the ball. He's too weak to hold it up and he tries way too risky passes. Anderson was playing quite well anyway. Berbs for Tevez speaks for itself.

[Mr Maroon]

Has RVP any chance of making the second leg? Adebayor is lost without him.

Yeah, I think van Persie is expected to be back for the second leg.

[OwlsFan]

It was the double substitution from hell last night and far too early. For such an experienced player Giggs hasn't a clue how to keep the ball. He's too weak to hold it up and he tries way too risky passes. Anderson was playing quite well anyway. Berbs for Tevez speaks for itself.

United (Tevez included) has run out of gas at that stage and some time before to be honest. Giggs was introduced to bring a bit of energy back but it didn't quite work out while Berbatov was supposed to sneak a goal but it didn't etc etc

[DeLorean]

United (Tevez included) has run out of gas at that stage and some time before to be honest. Giggs was introduced to bring a bit of energy back but it didn't quite work out while Berbatov was supposed to sneak a goal but it didn't etc etc

They had hit a bit of a lull alright but wouldn't say they had ran out of steam. They looked far more clueless once the substitutions were made I thought. I could see what he was trying to do alright but I thought it was stupid, Tevez is the king of important late goals as well.

[old git]

They had hit a bit of a lull alright but wouldn't say they had ran out of steam. They looked far more clueless once the substitutions were made I thought. I could see what he was trying to do alright but I thought it was stupid, Tevez is the king of important late goals as well.

ran out of steam & clueless am i missing something here
united played fantastic football in first half maybe should have been 3-0 at half time.. looked like they had started second half a bit more cautious maybe wary of 1-0 lead and let arsenal back in to game ... even though arsenal never really created any clear cut chances . substitutions were a bit strange alright should maybe have brought on giggs first and then took off tevez later .. watched setanta after game and pat dolan was on talking s**t kept going on about how well arsenal had done to only concede 1 goal and how well players had done etc..and that it was a great result to take back to the emirates .. hardly even mentioned utd in his summary just to say they may rue miss chances and tevez was totally wrong to be shakin his head coming of for a world class player .. tevez he said not worth 30 million loads of effort & running but no real class :confused:

[DeLorean]

ran out of steam & clueless am i missing something here

Clueless was a bad choice of words. They were just a bit ragged midway through the 2nd half. Passing wasn't as crisp, lots of wrong options, etc.

[KK77]

ran out of steam & clueless am i missing something here
united played fantastic football in first half maybe should have been 3-0 at half time.. looked like they had started second half a bit more cautious maybe wary of 1-0 lead and let arsenal back in to game ... even though arsenal never really created any clear cut chances . substitutions were a bit strange alright should maybe have brought on giggs first and then took off tevez later .. watched setanta after game and pat dolan was on talking s**t kept going on about how well arsenal had done to only concede 1 goal and how well players had done etc..and that it was a great result to take back to the emirates .. hardly even mentioned utd in his summary just to say they may rue miss chances and tevez was totally wrong to be shakin his head coming of for a world class player .. tevez he said not worth 30 million loads of effort & running but no real class :confused:

In all fairness after the battering they took 1-0 was a great result so don't see anything wrong with what Pat Dolan said there. Also Tevez shouldn't be shaking his head coming off no matter how well he played. Also don't see a whole lot wrong with his comments on Tevez really. He's a great player yes for working hard and unsettling defenders but he's hardly a Drogba or Torres now.

[NeilMcD]

I think the point old git is making is that Utd Batter Arsenal for most of the match last night and Arsenal are the emphasis of the analysis and the credit that is going around. I found RTE very anit Utd last night to be honest. They were looking at Utds bad points and picking out Arsenal's high points. It was as if Man Utd were a big club and Arsenal were some small team.

I thought Utd produced one of the best 45 mins in a long time and the second 45 was not bad either and Arsenal did not have one clear cut chance and were reduced to a half chance from a free kick.

[Closed Account 2]

But at the end of the day you weather a storm...

The thing is Arsenal have a good chance of going through, and you have to credit their keeper and, to a degree, the manager for setting out a system that was in essence damage limitation away from home. They have left themselves a fair bit to do but they are in a pretty similar situation to Chelsea, essentially they need to keep it tight and hope to score a goal. Not letting another one is vital.

[old git]

But at the end of the day you weather a storm...

The thing is Arsenal have a good chance of going through, and you have to credit their keeper and, to a degree, the manager for setting out a system that was in essence damage limitation away from home. They have left themselves a fair bit to do but they are in a pretty similar situation to Chelsea, essentially they need to keep it tight and hope to score a goal. Not letting another one is vital.

credit manager for setting out a system that was in essence damage limitation away from home :confused: nearly backfired big time as diaby on left side of midfield non existance left a 19 year old rookie defender to try and stop ronaldo & o shea numerous times raiding down the wing in first 45 mins at least 2 goals should have been scored from these chances ... wegner made no attempt in 45 mins to correct this problem and got of lucky as tie should have been over at half time ... would give utd plenty of credit if they had scored more but in fairness ferguson picked team based on work / skill / passion to harry arsenal all over the pitch a big improvement on last few utd games :ball: has the makings off another great game next tuesday at the emirates advantage slightly in utd's favor with 1-0 lead and would still fancy them to score again but would be very intresting game if arsenal score first

[lionelhutz]

I'm sticking with an Arsenal Barcelona final.

2nd leg predictions;

Arsenal 3 - 1 Man U (can't see Arsenal keeping a clean sheet)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Barcelona

[DeLorean]

It could be a tense night at The Emirates alright but I can't see United conceding 3 goals. Arsenal might score the first one alright but I'd fancy United to score at some stage.

Think Chelsea will have too much muscle for Barca, they'll be chaos for every Chelsea set piece and they'll win on the night.

[Closed Account 2]

credit manager for setting out a system that was in essence damage limitation away from home :confused: nearly backfired big time as diaby on left side of midfield non existance left a 19 year old rookie defender to try and stop ronaldo & o shea numerous times raiding down the wing in first 45 mins at least 2 goals should have been scored from these chances ... wegner made no attempt in 45 mins to correct this problem and got of lucky as tie should have been over at half time ... would give utd plenty of credit if they had scored more but in fairness ferguson picked team based on work / skill / passion to harry arsenal all over the pitch a big improvement on last few utd games :ball: has the makings off another great game next tuesday at the emirates advantage slightly in utd's favor with 1-0 lead and would still fancy them to score again but would be very intresting game if arsenal score first


The thing is Wenger can only go with the squad he has available to play. Arshavin, a world class player who can tear any team apart, is cup tied in Europe. Rosicky, who was a great player a few years ago in Dortmund, is almost always injured. Fabreagas is only begining to come back to 100% since the Liverpool injury at the start of the year, Wallcott is also a bit rusty. His only operational strikers (Adebayor and Bendtner) are too similar to play together in a system for any significant stretch of time, and to be honest Bendtner is barely premiership class. I would imagine had Eduardo*, Van Persie, Arshavin and/or Rosicky been available he would have played a more positive system.

* - although he was listed it's clear he was not fully fit.

[old git]

The thing is Wenger can only go with the squad he has available to play. Arshavin, a world class player who can tear any team apart, is cup tied in Europe. Rosicky, who was a great player a few years ago in Dortmund, is almost always injured. Fabreagas is only begining to come back to 100% since the Liverpool injury at the start of the year, Wallcott is also a bit rusty. His only operational strikers (Adebayor and Bendtner) are too similar to play together in a system for any significant stretch of time, and to be honest Bendtner is barely premiership class. I would imagine had Eduardo*, Van Persie, Arshavin and/or Rosicky been available he would have played a more positive system.

* - although he was listed it's clear he was not fully fit.

wenger is the manager bought arshavin knowing he was cup tied !! adebayor/ bendtner both brought through by wenger why if both to simalar players he had plenty of chances to strenthen team in last year or so but did not do it :confused:

[Rovers fan]

It's nothing to do with having to strenghten his team. Not many teams could fully cope with the amount of players arsenal were missing - Van Persie, Clichy, Arshavin, Gallas, Rosicky with Eduardo, Fabregas and Walcott coming back from injury.

[irishultra]

Its going to be very tough for Barca but I really believe they can go through. Chelsea are favourites now it has to be said but when they have to come out and score that is when Messi, Iniesta and Eto'o will come to the fore. I have a sneak feeling it will finish 2-2 putting Barca into the final. Heres hoping.

[Umberside]

Man Utd - Barcelona final would be the most exciting. No offence to Arsenal, but I rather Barca's attacking style.

[old git]

It's nothing to do with having to strenghten his team. Not many teams could fully cope with the amount of players arsenal were missing - Van Persie, Clichy, Arshavin, Gallas, Rosicky with Eduardo, Fabregas and Walcott coming back from injury.

manager sets out his squad at start of season... then in january u have option to strenghten squad if long term injuries or get fresh players in wenger only brought in 1 player who is cup tied in champions league :confused:

[Denis The Red]

Man, I'm looking forward to the next two nights, should be great. Man U to go through with a hard fought 1-1. Can't call the Chelsea-Barca one.

[osarusan]

I'm going to miss tonight's game due to work. Sickening.

[DeLorean]

Rooney, Tevez and Evra are all one yellow away from missing the (potential) Final.

Not sure what the Arsenal situation is.

[old git]

Rooney, Tevez and Evra are all one yellow away from missing the (potential) Final.

Not sure what the Arsenal situation is.

have to get result tonight before worrying about missing final... hard to see rooney & tevez holding back worried about getting booked :D either way heres hoping its another cracking game tonight 2 good footballing sides and utd may just have enough firepower to see them through :ball:

[shakermaker1982]

Rooney, Tevez and Evra are all one yellow away from missing the (potential) Final.

Not sure what the Arsenal situation is.

Diaby
Van Persie
Song
Nasri

are all a yellow card away from missing the Final.

[rambler14]

Rooney, Tevez and Evra are all one yellow away from missing the (potential) Final.

Not sure what the Arsenal situation is.

Evra and Rooney are your bankers for yellows there!

[Lionel Ritchie]

Hope Arsenal and Chelski can do it. Head says Barca and Man U though.

[shakermaker1982]

I'm hoping for a Man Utd-Barca Final. I think Man Utd can grab a goal tonight so Arsenal will need to score three. I wouldn't totally write the gooners off but Man Utd should progress if they can boss Arsenal from the start like last week. Fletcher, Tevez and Rooney are the key men for United tonight - Arsenal struggled with the pressure and pressing last week and couldn't get going.

Chelsea will look to bully Barca which means they will venture out of their own half tomorrow night which is awfully good of them. Expect to see plenty of long balls to Drogba.

[NeilMcD]

Once again Arsenal flatter to deceive in a season. Utd tonight got the goals they deserved in the first leg. Its the funny the way footall works. How anyody thought that Arsenal could keep Utd Scoreless tonight was beyond me.

[NeilMcD]

Evra and Rooney are your bankers for yellows there!

I reckon Rooney may be taken off now. In addition I think the myth that Ronaldo does not score in the big games and well and truly been blown out of the water

[NeilMcD]

Disgraceful decision by the ref. Fletcher is going to miss the final now. That card should be cancelled out. Now way should he have been sent off.

[NeilMcD]

Cracking stuff in the RTE studio tonight. Fair play to Souness sticking up and standing up to Dunphy and Giles.

Best retort back to Dunphy in ages, when he said to Souness you do not know what you are talking about.

"who exactly did you mange Eamonn"

[old git]

Cracking stuff in the RTE studio tonight. Fair play to Souness sticking up and standing up to Dunphy and Giles.

Best retort back to Dunphy in ages, when he said to Souness you do not know what you are talking about.

"who exactly did you mange Eamonn"

same dunphy who was talking tonight how good utds defence is.... the same dunphy who on the preimership slated same defence as weak and leaking to many soft goals.. :confused: having said that watched match on utv and jim beglin must be the worst ever .. first half disagreed with every referee decision in utds favour and kept going on about how unlucky this young arsenal team had been tonight... the same team who took 65 mins to register first shot on target and were totally outplayed by utd over the 90 mins .. the old show pony ronaldo looked very impresive tonight also :D

[SkStu]

quick question - why cant the red card be appealed? Making a big deal of it over on the BBC matchtracker without actually explaining why...

cant wait to watch that game later tonight!!

[old git]

Disgraceful decision by the ref. Fletcher is going to miss the final now. That card should be cancelled out. Now way should he have been sent off.

disgracefull decision wonder will as much fuss be made by media about this incorrect penalty award ... seems he will miss final as you can only appeal red card if ref sent of incorrect player ...
adabayor nasty over the top tackle on carrick was worth more than a yellow and could have done carrick some serious damage :mad:

[highlight100]

Will Fletcher serve a ban in the premier league as-well?

[NeilMcD]

No European competition is not connected with the Premiership.

[old git]

same dunphy who was talking tonight how good utds defence is.... the same dunphy who on the preimership slated same defence as weak and leaking to many soft goals.. :confused: having said that watched match on utv and jim beglin must be the worst ever .. first half disagreed with every referee decision in utds favour and kept going on about how unlucky this young arsenal team had been tonight... the same team who took 65 mins to register first shot on target and were totally outplayed by utd over the 90 mins .. the old show pony ronaldo looked very impresive tonight also :

jesus it's getting worse now giles saying he thought it was a penalty but player should have only received a yellow as he tried to play ball .. then says he got touch on ball and then brought down fabregas for penalty :confused::confused: even souness saying it was a penalty now only dunphy disagrees now

[old git]

quick question - why cant the red card be appealed? Making a big deal of it over on the BBC matchtracker without actually explaining why...

cant wait to watch that game later tonight!!

all the experts on t.v saying u can only appeal on mistaken identy ( e.g wrong player sent off ):confused:

[SkStu]

thanks og, seems like a crazy rule to me!

[old git]

thanks og, seems like a crazy rule to me!

seems a crazy rule alright ... in the preimership it can be changed by referee after game or appeal panel . :ball:

[Emmet7]

Disappointing from Arsenal, the first goal and slip by the defender ruined the game as a competitive fixture. I hope Aresenal come back stronger from this and they will have Arshavan next year. Their defence was torn apart at will by Utd. But I think Arsenal are a better team than the final result suggests.

Dunphy up to his usuall immature behaviour in the studio, not respecting other people on the panel. The guy is incredibily insecure, he thinks anyone new who comes on the panel will take his job in time.

It's time Dunphy was put out to pasture now. No-one who actually knows their football thinks Dunphy is an expert. Fair enough Giles comes out with an odd thing that makes sense although even he can say some bizarre things at times such as saying Ryan Giggs was not a great player! But Dunphy is just there to back up Giles.

It was like Punch and Judy on the panel tonight with Giles and Dunphy and poor Sounses stuck in the middle. Please let this be the last season we have to watch this circus, which some people believe is incisive analysis.