Champions League thread [Archive] - Page 13

Ash

01/05/2008, 9:04 AM

Ya agreed but then you could argue that the home team has an advantage with a further 30 mins at home so it probably balances itself out. It would interesting to see when knock out games have gone to extra time, how many times the away team has won. Struggling to think of any at the moment.

Bayern Munich away to Getaffe in this years UEFA Cup

shakermaker1982

01/05/2008, 9:06 AM

I just hope Grant keeps Essien at RB for the final.

elroy

01/05/2008, 9:07 AM

Bayern Munich away to Getaffe in this years UEFA Cup

True, but was thinking more along the lines of CL games.

Roadend

01/05/2008, 9:34 AM

I just hope Grant keeps Essien at RB for the final.

He looks to accommodating Ballack and Lampard by playing Essien at right back. Stupid.

Morbo

01/05/2008, 9:40 AM

Classics ...
Georgie : Time is us, time is up
Ray : The clock in the stadium still shows a minute of play left

Havent got exact quote but something to the effect of Ryan Babbel will never score ... queue a goal from 40 yards!!!!!

In fairness Ray didn't say Babbel will never score, he just implied that Crouch was more likely to score and I agree with him, just because Babbel scored form 40 yards (due to a Cech mistake) doesn't prove him wrong

Block G Raptor

01/05/2008, 9:44 AM

That was Babel's 5th CL goal this season, how many has crouch

geysir

01/05/2008, 9:59 AM

It was a good game.
I am usually glad when a team equalizes and the game goes into extra time.
A feeling of getting a good bargain, value for money.
Then the extra helping of pudding is if it goes to a penalty shoot out.
The drama is then complete. Felt a bit robbed that it didn't go that far.
It was a fluke that Chelsea went 2 goals clear, it wasn't in the script.

Does that mean the whining stops about that over inflated Mourinho?
If Chelsea play well and win, it's the players playing for Mourinho/ legacy/themselves.
If they play poorly, then it's Grant is a soulless grim w�nker.
Farcical stuff.

jebus

01/05/2008, 10:16 AM

I stand corrected. but surely that gives an advantage to the team playing away in the second leg as potentially they get 120 mins to score an away goal where as the other team only gets 90

True, one of Sepp Blatters ideas for discounting that is for the first leg to last 120 minutes, (90+30 ET) just incase the 2nd leg goes to extra time :D Honestly this was touted around, I remember someone on here, or Football365 maybe, asking 'so if Chelsea were 4-0 up on Fenerbahce at the end of 90 mins in the first leg, they would still have to play the extra 30 mins in case Fenerbahce won the 2nd leg 4-0 and took it to extra time?', the asnwer was yes they would have to.

I mean it's not rocket science to just change the ruling to say that away goals only count in the standard 90 minutes, once extra time kicks in it's discounted as a deciding factor

DaveyCakes

01/05/2008, 10:23 AM

It was a good game.

THe extra time was good, the second half was horrible. I didn't se the first half.

Does that mean the whining stops about that over inflated Mourinho?
If Chelsea play well and win, it's the players playing for Mourinho/ legacy/themselves.
If they play poorly, then it's Grant is a soulless grim w�nker.
Farcical stuff.

Unlikely, if he doesn't play up for the media, they'll never give him any credit.

NeilMcD

01/05/2008, 10:29 AM

True, one of Sepp Blatters ideas for discounting that is for the first leg to last 120 minutes, (90+30 ET) just incase the 2nd leg goes to extra time :D Honestly this was touted around, I remember someone on here, or Football365 maybe, asking 'so if Chelsea were 4-0 up on Fenerbahce at the end of 90 mins in the first leg, they would still have to play the extra 30 mins in case Fenerbahce won the 2nd leg 4-0 and took it to extra time?', the asnwer was yes they would have to.

I mean it's not rocket science to just change the ruling to say that away goals only count in the standard 90 minutes, once extra time kicks in it's discounted as a deciding factor

Its just simply a trade off for the fact that the home team in the 2nd leg are getting an extra 30 mins at home. So UEFA feel that counting the away goal balances this out.

Morbo

01/05/2008, 10:38 AM

That was Babel's 5th CL goal this season, how many has crouch

How many has Crouch played?
A bit hard to score from the bench.
5 goals fom Babbel doesn't convince me he is better than Crouch, 2 of those were in the 8-0 hammering of Besiktas when they were already 5-0 up and Besiktas had given up long ago so those 2 goals aren't very significant a game in which Crouch got the most significant 1st goal, another goal was against Arse where Arse had to throw everyone forward in a desperate attempt to get a last minute equalizer leaving Babbel one on one with Fabregas(hardly a great defender) and the goal last night was a bit poxy to me honest, Cech def should have saved it.
You can use stats to prove anything, 60% of all people know that

geysir

01/05/2008, 10:41 AM

When the away team evens things up in the 2nd leg then they have a big advantage.
Liverpool had Chelsea on the psychological rack after they equalized.

lionelhutz

01/05/2008, 12:22 PM

I expect Barca will be criticised for not creating many clearcut chances over the two games but was there really anymore they could have done? United defended brilliantly and in Ferdinand have the best defender in Europe at the moment.

The only way United were going to get into the final was by soaking up Barca's pressure and hassle them as they are a superior passing side. Playing an open game would be exactly what Barca wanted and would have resulted in a different team being in the final.

Had a poor second half but was better in the second. Should have done better with his effort but typical of the begrudger you are you nitpick about that rather than praise his brilliant run in the build up. He is only 21, he is still raw, plenty of potential. He is just like Ronaldo three years ago. He clearly has the talent to be an excellent player.

Whens Ronaldo going to fulfil his supposed potential??

lionelhutz

01/05/2008, 1:03 PM

Sums up what I was trying to say perfectly. Whether its Mancs V Liverpool or Chelsea its irrelevant. There will be killings. One guy said to me that he has a horrible feeling that we could be talking about deaths on the morning after the game instead of the game itself.

I love the positive vibe. Sounds like a Rambo tagline

lionelhutz

01/05/2008, 1:13 PM

Disagree. There was no daylight between the two. I'd say just about level and in such circumstances the attacker gets the advantage.

Hyypia's reaction wasn't that of a man who had been fouled and didn't get the penalty. He smiled and got up. The ref was definitely thinking about giving it until Hyypia put in the exaggerated dive. No sympathy for divers. If he hadn't dived he might have got it.

To me Essien got the ball - see the angle it went off at. I know Mr. Monotone Brady said it was a peno but I saw it differently.
.

There's no way Essien got the ball - they showed it again and again in the analysis - plain to see he missed the ball and got the man

old git

01/05/2008, 1:31 PM

There's no way Essien got the ball - they showed it again and again in the analysis - plain to see he missed the ball and got the man

ref did not give it end of story ... they even out over the season
probally this was for the penalty never given for arsenal against liverpool not so long ago in quarter finals :ball:

OwlsFan

15/05/2008, 9:28 AM

Chelsea to win 1-0 with a scuffed shot by Essien which goes in off the ar*e of Ferdinand :D

OwlsFan

21/05/2008, 6:47 AM

Anyone else prepared to offer a prediction?

shakermaker1982

21/05/2008, 6:55 AM

Man Utd 1 Chelsea 0. Tevez

Fingers crossed anyway. I hope Fergie goes for the throat from the off and puts Chelsea on the back foot. Man Utd need to score first to make the game interesting.

lionelhutz

21/05/2008, 8:53 AM

Man Utd 1 Chelsea 0. Tevez

Fingers crossed anyway. I hope Fergie goes for the throat from the off and puts Chelsea on the back foot. Man Utd need to score first to make the game interesting.

There's absolutely no chance he'll go for it. He never does against this Chelsea team or in the Champs League for that matter - and he certainly won't in the final.

I actually think Man Utd would def win if they did go for it but Fergie's too cautious in Europe. This cagey approach will play right into Chelsea's hands - they thrive in tight games. Chelsea to win an awful game 1-0 AET

Block G Raptor

21/05/2008, 9:37 AM

Chelsea on Pen's after 120 shotless minutes

cartman

21/05/2008, 9:37 AM

There's absolutely no chance he'll go for it. He never does against this Chelsea team or in the Champs League for that matter - and he certainly won't in the final.

I actually think Man Utd would def win if they did go for it but Fergie's too cautious in Europe. This cagey approach will play right into Chelsea's hands - they thrive in tight games. Chelsea to win an awful game 1-0 AET

i agree ferguson wont go out attacking tonight.. they havent a good record against this chelsea team over the last 2/3 years..i actually believe united are afraid of chelsea..
i can see chelsea being 1 up by half time..united will have to try and play at some stage then, and will get caught out late on.. 3-0 chelsea

superfrank

21/05/2008, 10:27 AM

The Big Day is here.

I've been trying not to think about it as much as possible but now I'm really nervous.

I can see it going either way. I think it depends on how Man U go about it. Grant, I'm sure, will tell his player to go out and play like they did in the 2-1 league win. Ferguson will need to get memories of that out of the players minds and get them focused on the job at hand. I'd say it'll be a very nervous match and there'll only be one goal in it come the end, hopefully scored by a Blue shirt.

see's it

21/05/2008, 10:46 AM

will rooney be playing right wing back tonight?

jmurphyc

21/05/2008, 10:57 AM

There's absolutely no chance he'll go for it. He never does against this Chelsea team or in the Champs League for that matter - and he certainly won't in the final.

I actually think Man Utd would def win if they did go for it but Fergie's too cautious in Europe. This cagey approach will play right into Chelsea's hands - they thrive in tight games. Chelsea to win an awful game 1-0 AET

He never really goes for it against any big sides. Utd only ever really "go for it" against weaker sides. It's a big risk playing an overtly attacking game against a top side, but Utd do seem to go into their shell a bit too much against sides on par with them. That said, I'm predicting Utd to do it, but it could go either way.

shakermaker1982

21/05/2008, 11:08 AM

Fergie has went for it in every game with Arsenal this season, the first game at OT with Chelsea and sent out attacking teams in both away legs against Lyon and Roma. If they aren't 'big' sides I don't know what are. I admit he played it safe when they met Chelsea in the league a few weeks ago but he only needed a draw and had Barca on the horizon.

This was the side he sent out against Chelsea in the League game:

Van der Sar; Brown, Vidic (Hargreaves 14), Ferdinand, Silvestre; Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (O'Shea 65), Nani, Giggs; Rooney (Ronaldo 64).

6 players who will start tonight and one that went off after 14 minutes. That result will have no bearing on the game tonight IMO.

jmurphyc

21/05/2008, 11:12 AM

Fergie has went for it in every game with Arsenal this season, the first game at OT with Chelsea and sent out attacking teams in both away legs against Lyon and Roma. If they aren't 'big' sides I don't know what are. I admit he played it safe when they met Chelsea in the league a few weeks ago but he only needed a draw and had Barca on the horizon.

I didn't watch the Arsenal games but against Lyon and Roma I really don't think Utd were very attacking. Their performance against Roma was excellent, but Roma were attacking more in the two legs than Utd were. Utd just did more with their possession with Roma, largely down to having better attacking players and a solid defence to snuff out Roma's threat. Against Lyon I felt both sides were very, very cautious.

Roadend

21/05/2008, 11:22 AM

Fergie has went for it in every game with Arsenal this season,

Oh you didn't see the game at the Emirates then, you shouldn't be commenting on it in that case.

gustavo

21/05/2008, 11:28 AM

Chelsea to win 1-0 with a Lampard deflected goal

shanman2

21/05/2008, 11:33 AM

man utd to win 2-0 aet. its going to be the worst final ever god damn it.

shakermaker1982

21/05/2008, 11:55 AM

Oh you didn't see the game at the Emirates then, you shouldn't be commenting on it in that case.

I did and I thought they played well on the counter and pushed lots of men forward when in possession i.e. the way Man Utd play in nearly every game. If they were 'afraid' of Arsenal they'd have stuck 10 men behind the ball and look to score at set pieces.

Lets all be realistic, the final is bound to be cagey early on. The game needs a goal early on so that it changes the complexion of the game.

jebus

21/05/2008, 12:39 PM

Chelsea 2-1 after extra time, Utd to lead at half time, Chelsea to equalise around the 65th minute mark and then nick a winner around 110th minute through Drogba

lionelhutz

21/05/2008, 2:34 PM

will rooney be playing right wing back tonight?

I would say so. He'll be thrown out on the right to accommodate "the best player in the world" - who is given the title of winger when in the last six months has played nearly always as a striker. And because Ronaldo a lazy b****ox Rooney will have to work his ass off on the right. What a waste of an excellent player.

On a side note, anyone gambling on tonights game should do so in Paddy Powers. If the "best player in the world" scores in the 90 mins you get your money back on losing bets. Not bad

see's it

21/05/2008, 2:37 PM

park never scores your wasting your time going to paddy powers.................

pass&move

21/05/2008, 4:05 PM

Chelsea score in the first 5 mins & win 1 - 0

DmanDmythDledge

21/05/2008, 4:11 PM

Have a bad feeling about this one. Essien and Ballack could end up dominating the middle of the park for Chelsea. Ferdinand and Vidic will have to be at the top of their games to keep Drogba quiet. I think it will be low scoring. Too close to call.

pass&move

21/05/2008, 4:14 PM

Thing Essien is playing right full

bennocelt

21/05/2008, 5:39 PM

Chelsea on Pen's after 120 shotless minutes

yeah exactly what im thinking too
In fact it would be fitting if Chelsea won it, would be a true reflection of the state of football today:(

shaneker

21/05/2008, 5:45 PM

Earlier today, thought 1-0 Chelsea. Now I've changed my mind, I'm going to go for Man U 2-1, with Ronaldo to score first.

Thats right, I said it.

bellavistaman

21/05/2008, 7:55 PM

Earlier today, thought 1-0 Chelsea. Now I've changed my mind, I'm going to go for Man U 2-1, with Ronaldo to score first.

Thats right, I said it.

Could be onot something here, worried about the fact chelseas havent gotten out of first gear yet

Closed Account 2

21/05/2008, 9:51 PM

...Ouch

old git

21/05/2008, 10:01 PM

Neish

21/05/2008, 10:13 PM

f*uck me a tough nailbiting 12o mins thought utd just about deserved to win it over the 12o mins,, everybodys favourite ronaldo i thought had a decent game great goal, barr the missed penalty.. delighted ambrovichs millions did not buy the european cup. felt terrible for terry to miss penalty he is a smashing player but once again penaltys are a lottery and as for drogba a clown at the end was in vidic's ( man of the match) pocket all night

roll on euro 2oo8 :ball:

Well said, I'm a United fan but I felt gutted for Terry(who is one of the few Chelsea players I like) if anyone should of missed it should of my that lovable character Ashley Cole, although Anelka would of been 2nd on the list

ccfcman

21/05/2008, 10:16 PM

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8854/terryuo1.jpg

TheBoss

21/05/2008, 10:17 PM

^ lol

It was a decent game, both sides having each half although Utd were slightly better when they were in control and also they were the better in ET. Penalties are a bad to win imo.

cheifo

21/05/2008, 10:26 PM

Man U better up until Chelseas fortunate equaliser and then Chelsea were the better team after that.Penalties cruel yes but compelling viewing esp when you dont really care who wins.

Morbo

21/05/2008, 10:32 PM

jmurphyc

21/05/2008, 11:02 PM

Drogba is a fool of the highest order and why was Terry taking a pen in the 1st place? hard to believe he was one of the top 5 peno takers available, probably just wanted the glory of scoring the winning penalty, serves him right

I thought that when I saw him stepping up too. As soon as I saw it was him taking the fifth penalty, I knew he's miss. I thought he'd work himself up way too much and blast it. I know it's easy to slag off Grant, but it was really foolish of him to choose Terry to take the final one. I don't have any idea why he decided to do that. Perhaps he let his heart rule his head.

I think had Drogba still been on the pitch it may well have been a totally different outcome as he may have scored his penalty. However, he can only have himself to blame for what happened.

bellavistaman

21/05/2008, 11:14 PM

like niesh im a mad united fan but my heart goes out to terry, hes a born leader, chelsea man through and through. Great spectacle all round, ronaldo did well but i felt rooney as usual was sacrifised to win, and they did win but football should be about individuals too. My man of the match was tevez, the man is outstanding. Work rate, honesty, the hole package for me. The sending off was a disgrace makelele surrounded the referee all night over every decision, tevez did what chelsea had done to united twice and they hit the roof, drogba, told me tonight what i always knew about him great talent, but a absolute clown, cant spell it properly but hes the most petchulant?? gowl to ever grace a football field, yet the top of his business. Hes a lucky boy the kept vidic away from him, christ it would have been like watching alien vs predator

OwlsFan

22/05/2008, 7:20 AM

I felt gutted for Terry(who is one of the few Chelsea players I like)

I am sure the 160k a week he's on will ease the pain.

Absorbing match but I still hate the soccer culture of feigning injury, shouting for a corner/throw that obviously isn't theirs, surrounding and moaning at referees and now stopping play when a player sits down and wants his leg rubbed.

What Maluda was doing on the pitch for 90 minutes I have no idea. If Makele had concentrated more on his football than harrassing the referee, Chelsea may have done better. Don't particularly like Chelsea but I would have preferred them to win as an ABU, despite having Drogbha and Ashley Cole on their books.