CL Semi-Finals Leg 1

stepbar

kaimera wrote:

Crap game really. Neither team looked like potential champs.

Fair dues to Utd tho for pulling a winner out.

Now now Liverpool fan?

evad_lhorg

to counter my previous statement....... YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS. brilliant, just brilliant. yet again the 3 previously poor players, carrick, fletcher and oshea had great games. Ronaldo wasnt the best but he takes so much pressure off the team just by running with the ball. he even saw the only realy danger moment in the second half and sprinted back to help Gabi take on Kaka'.

Scholes pass, amazing. giggs' run great and Rooneys finish nearly made my heart stop. YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!


very good formation that worked very very well. just the defense that was a bit uneasy which was unfortunate.

Roll on san siro

smemon

poor display by utd.

giving the ball away cheaply (evra, carrick) , long hoofed passes (heinze, o'shea) and lack of support to Rooney (giggs, ronaldo).

I don't care if they stepped it up in the second half, we could have been out of it at half time. Do that in Milan, with an even weaker defence, and it could be game over.

That Utd defence can't handle pressure. Bar Heinze, the rest i don't rate as defenders. Brown is woeful atm.

Rooney pulled us out of this one.. ronaldo can't be criticized, he was deliberately man marked and taken out of the game whenever the ball go near him. FFS, the milan side in the press conferences practically said he was the only player they were worried about and were prepared to take out of the game.

ronaldo was on the right side, the entire left flank was empty for large parts.. it's not ronaldo's fault the ball wasn't played into space.

herbieflowers

One less defender for the second leg is the only drawback, not sure PHB if Rio will be back, or Vidic for that matter....

I think it suits Utd that Milan will have to come at them, they could well kill them on the counter...

I think Kaka is their only major threat, up front they're lightweight, Gilardino didn't get a kick all night, and Inzaghi isn't much better imo

What a performance by Rooney...I thought that the floating role behind the main striker was his best position but he showed tonight that he can play with his back to goal, what a turn and cross away from Nesta in the second half!

Fletcher - another great performance, he seldom lost the ball...nor did the other midfielders - Carrick and Scholes - and that was key...Ronaldo didn't have a great game, first half he was dangerous...but if the ball isn't played to him quick on the counter teams can easily pull enough men from midfield to double or triple up on him

Pighead

smemon wrote:

That Utd defence can't handle pressure. Bar Heinze, the rest i don't rate as defenders. Brown is woeful atm.

Bollocks, Brown was solid tonight and was a better defender than Heinze tonight. Heinze got caught out twice by Kaka for the two goals and still gets lauded as the better player by you. Fair enoughHeinze had a much better 2nd half but Brown was solid as a rock as well.

God only knows what you would have had to say about Brown had he been the player at fault for Kaka's goals.

MisterAnarchy

herbieflowers wrote:

Fletcher - another great performance, he seldom lost the ball...

I had my doubts about him but he has played very well in the last month .
Great engine.

Raskolnikov

With the exception of Kaká (Man of the match), Nesta and Gattuso; Milan were absolute ****é tonight. Passing was awful, they kept giving the ball away, practically zero width in attack, etc.

I think United has more hunger to win the game and that played a part in snatching them the victory.

Raskolnikov

Pighead wrote:

Bollocks, Brown was solid tonight and was a better defender than Heinze tonight. Heinze got caught out twice by Kaka for the two goals and still gets lauded as the better player by you. Fair enoughHeinze had a much better 2nd half but Brown was solid as a rock as well.

God only knows what you would have had to say about Brown had he been the player at fault for Kaka's goals.

I thought O' Shea was United's best defender tonight :eek: Brown was good too though.

Pighead

Raskolnikov wrote:

I thought O' Shea was United's best defender tonight :eek: Brown was good too though.

Yeah thought he got in good positions going forward but didn't really do much with it when he got the ball. Really hope Gary Neville is fit and ready for next week though. He'll offer much more going forward.

MisterAnarchy

Raskolnikov wrote:

Milan were absolute ****é tonight. Passing was awful, they kept giving the ball away, practically zero width in attack, etc.

Milan never have width in attack.
They have Gatusso and Seedorf on the wings.

Aquos76

I also thought O Shea had an excellent game. I am just trilled that Man U managed to turn around that half time score. Whether it was one or two away goals we conceded, it meant that we would still have to score over there, which we are always capable of doing. The fact that we go over there with a lead puts Man U in a terrific position.

Fletcher and Rooney were out standing tonight.

kaimera

Now now Liverpool fan?

What does who I support have to do with anything?

I even made a comment on Utd winning.

Aquos76

Pighead wrote:

Yeah thought he got in good positions going forward but didn't really do much with it when he got the ball. Really hope Gary Neville is fit and ready for next week though. He'll offer much more going forward.

Neville is due back on Saturday against Everton afaik...

LegacyUser

If you make ridiculous stupid statements then you have to take the stick.

The Muppet

Aquos76 wrote:

Neville is due back on Saturday against Everton afaik...

I read on another forum that Rio may be back next week as well. That would leave Heinze available to replace Evra.

zAbbo

Interesting enough game, Milan came for the draw and took 2 away goals.

For a spell of about 15 minutes, Milan passed the ball superbly, I guess the Utd fans got sick of jeering for that long, a shame to see football fans boo a player being stretchered off.

The 2nd leg is always much better poised for entertainment, and it's a close call, home advantage to Milan should see them through, But I'm cheering for Utd, if Liverpool can get through, dream final

I'll agree that it wasn't a great game, a team from Mourinho or Benetiz might not defend as poorly as both teams.

stepbar

kaimara wrote:

Crap game really.

No you said it was a crap game, I have to disagree. It wasnt a "crap", game far from it. Okay it there was a lot of silly mistakes but the entertainment value was good.

mike65

By this time tomorrow night every mod better be on duty!

Mike.

LegacyUser

zabbo wrote:

I'll agree that it wasn't a great game, a team from Mourinho or Benetiz might not defend as poorly as both teams.

By taking away from the way football is meant to be played?

zAbbo

cheesedude wrote:

By taking away from the way football is meant to be played?

why have defenders at all then ? There were lots of basic mistakes which made the game more open, I appreciate top quality defending as well as attacking.

Guess it's best to stay away from match day threads here

joe316

zabbo wrote:

Interesting enough game, Milan came for the draw and took 2 away goals.

For a spell of about 15 minutes, Milan passed the ball superbly, I guess the Utd fans got sick of jeering for that long, a shame to see football fans boo a player being stretchered off.

The 2nd leg is always much better poised for entertainment, and it's a close call, home advantage to Milan should see them through, But I'm cheering for Utd, if Liverpool can get through, dream final

I'll agree that it wasn't a great game, a team from Mourinho or Benetiz might not defend as poorly as both teams.

but a manager cannot manage against one off stupid things, thats people, people do stupid things. Ferguson did the best with what was available, happy we won and especially impressed with the second half performance and that more players will be available for the next leg.

kaimera

No you said it was a crap game..

Ah selective quoting I see.

What did that have to do with who I support?
or was that a cheap attempt to get a rise out of me?

Sizzler

I suppose like most punters ( ) I thought Utd were bollixed at HT. Yeah Milan lost Gattuso early in 2nd half but Milan aint a one man team, I think Utd did excellent in the 2nd half and pressed really well, still managed to lose a lot of 50-50 balls though in parts but thats being fussy!
Great win in the scheme of things Milan made defending look easy in the 1st half and I feared for Utd in the 2nd as one slip and they were fooked if it went to 3-1.Ronaldo was quiet and they clearly had him pegged as the danger buachaill and played him very well.Rooney finally earned those gold stars for the 3rd goal, even if they dont go thru...WHAT A WIN. Better than the Roma victory in ways, tonights result was well earned which was just as pleasing

All Utd need to do now for the 2nd leg is keep the ball away from their back 4 and they'll be grand lol

stepbar

kaimera wrote:

Ah selective quoting I see.

What did that have to do with who I support?
or was that a cheap attempt to get a rise out of me?

Cause its typical of what Liverpool supporters I know would say. That is all

kaimera

Cause its typical of what Liverpool supporters I know would say. That is all

We're still entitled to our opinions as are you folk

PHB

The whole injury situation is a bit unknown, but theres a chance that all three of Neville, Rio and Vidic will be back, we'll just have to see. (Vidic is the most likely currently)

Ronaldo wasn't great, but certainly wasn't poor.
While Kaka's goals might have been to do with bad defending, the first goal was real class, and the only diff would have been if there was a pacey defender.
The second goal was really impressive, bad defending, but impressive.

The first goal for United was bad defendning, Ronniee with a free header. Oh yeah, btw, Ronaldo has a bad game, i.e. he only scores one goal. Funny world eh He was generally pretty average, but he still scored. Normally thats enough for a player to have a good game ya know. And sorry, this whole he had a bad game is actually bull****. He wasn't up to his usual standerds, i.e. one goal and two assists or something, but he was ****ing fantastic in the first half. He made some seriously good runs at the Milan defense, testing them in the best possible way, and the reason they might have been tired in the second half probably had something to do with this. Also, his shot with his left foot was ****ing fantastic.
In the second half he wasn't as good, but he was still pretty good. RTE are just crapping on as normal. He scored another goal in Europe, but I'm sure in the next game, they will say he still hasn't performed in Europe, despite having a couple of goals and assists in the knockout stages.
Sure Kaka was incredible, but Kaka is incredible, better than both Rooney and Ronaldo currently, possibly, and probably, the best player in the world.

The second goal from United was just pure class, not poor defending, same with the third goal. Except the initial loss of ball, I don't see how you could criticise the Milan defense.

Overall, good game I thought If you thought this was crap, good luck enjoying tomorrow night

Onto that, Carvalho appears to be fit enough, which is a huge huge boost for Chelsea.

RasTa

Nothing new to say that hasn't already being mentioned but it's games like this that make me very proud to be a Manchester United fan.

That is all.

copacetic

PHB wrote:

The whole injury situation is a bit unknown, but theres a chance that all three of Neville, Rio and Vidic will be back, we'll just have to see. (Vidic is the most likely currently)

Ronaldo wasn't great, but certainly wasn't poor.
While Kaka's goals might have been to do with bad defending, the first goal was real class, and the only diff would have been if there was a pacey defender.
The second goal was really impressive, bad defending, but impressive.

The first goal for United was bad defendning, Ronniee with a free header. Oh yeah, btw, Ronaldo has a bad game, i.e. he only scores one goal. Funny world eh He was generally pretty average, but he still scored. Normally thats enough for a player to have a good game ya know.

The second goal from United was just pure class, not poor defending, same with the third goal. Except the initial loss of ball, I don't see how you could criticise the Milan defense.

Overall, good game I thought If you thought this was crap, good luck enjoying tomorrow night

Onto that, Carvalho appears to be fit enough, which is a huge huge boost for Chelsea.

have to disagree on the 3rd goal, it was a great break and a nice early shot from rooney, but Dida was asleep. he was closer to the far post than the near post! He got nowhere near it. I thought it was terrible goalkeeping..

Still happy to see utd looking good for the final, all the sweeter to beat them there than beat milan again:D

kaimera

Eh, didn't the first goal go down as an og by Dida?

stovelid

kaimera wrote:

Crap game really. Neither team looked like potential champs.

You're taking the p*ss right?

kaimera

You're taking the p*ss right?

*yawn*

No. Is it that hard to comprehend that I didn't think the game was great?

stovelid

zabbo wrote:

a shame to see football fans boo a player being stretchered off.

.

Zaboo, in fairness, the game was poised at that stage and when I saw him go(and stay) down, I cursed him too, thinking he was being a typical Italian. I assume the fans thought the same.

PHB

Eh, didn't the first goal go down as an og by Dida?

But then they changed it back to Ronaldo.
I thought the rule was that if it was going on target, if it got a deflection, or even two deflections, it counted for the attacker. Either way, he totally made the goal in every way.

I could see the 3rd goal being bad keeping, but to be honest, even if he was better positioned, it was perfectly placed.

LegacyUser

Rooney struck out of nothing...I also absolutely love the way Rooney and Ronaldo can turn their men. Jesus Christ, the class.

If Jesus Christ was alive today, he would look like Cristiano Ronaldo...

stovelid

kaimera wrote:

Eh, didn't the first goal go down as an og by Dida?

Yup

kaimera wrote:

*yawn*

No. Is it that hard to comprehend that I didn't think the game was great?

So:

a champions league semi final between two european giants

5 goals. Two - kaka and rooneys second - of which were f*cking superb and one scored in the dying minutes of the game to clinch the game

A high tempo throughout

Good passing and assists (scholes assist for rooney FFS)

If this constitutes a crap game, you're deluded or a liverpool fan. Good luck with the beautfiul game tomorrow night.

Big Ears

It was a great game to watch , end to end action at times . The turning point really was Gattuso having to go off . I wasn't too worried for Milan when Bonera went on for Maldini as I felt that as things were United didn't have enough of the ball(and especially in the last third) to catch him out . However once Gattuso was going off and Brochi came on I immediately fancied United to win . I've never rated Brochi , he's a woeful player .

Not only did Gattuso going off allow United to run right through Milan at times but Pirlo was severely affected by Gattuso's absence when Milan had the ball . Gilardino is amazingly lazy , he did **** all , all game and showed no interest . I feel sorry for Kaka , he destroyed United in the first half and simply wasn't given the outlet to do so in the second after Gattuso left . When talking to some of my mates who support United today I informed them that Kaka would run riot on United's stand in defence tonight , to which I was told he is overrated and not that good :rolleyes: .

As for United , bar the second goal their defence was good . Heinze was simply burned for pace for the first one , nothing he could do . Van Der Sar seems to be a little past his peak to me or maybe he's just out of form . Carrick was anonymous for a huge part of the game until United really got going .

Ronaldo was a bit subpar , not crap but average . As the game progressed he became less of a threat and lost the ball more . Scholes was good and that flick for Rooney's first was a stroke of genius . Fletcher was top class tonight , broke up the play well , played the passes he needed to , generally played his part of holding midfielder to a tee . I didn't think Giggs was that great , didn't seem to do a lot for me . Rooney did very well considering he was up against the man mountain that is Nesta(who I thought was fabulous tonight) , two goals and the second one was a brilliant strike .

I can't blame Dida as at first it might appear he's out of position , however Rooney not only hits it first time but hits it at an odd angle(in order as to hit it as early as possible) catching Dida out . If Rooney takes a touch or even if he just waits for the ball to come across a bit more Dida gets into a better position . If he covers that near post too early he's open to having the ball put into the other side(as most people would have with the ball coming to them like that on their right foot) . Put the goal down to careless loss of possession and a great finish .

I fancy Milan to pull it out at the San Siro . if Gattuso is fit that is , simply because playing with Brochi in the team is like playing with 10 men most of the time .

Dave!

kaimera wrote:

Eh, didn't the first goal go down as an og by Dida?

RTÉ gave it to Ronaldo.

Great f*cking match there tonight!

Brown and OShea were pretty solid, Heinze was better than usual I suppose, Evra wasn't great, missed a few passes Ronaldo was laying onto him up the wing. Fletch played a stormer (had a good shot saved), Ronaldo wasn't up to his usual standard, but he was still keeping Milan busy up the wings; Giggs did nothing for the whole match, save setting up Rooney. Came close with a couple of free kicks too. But he coulda came off for Smith I think. Scholes was getting hastle from Gattuso in the first half, but once he went off he had more space to act the maggot. I thought he was booked in the first half (which would be mean he misses the 2nd leg), but apparantly not He is a bloody ridiculous tackler, Ferguson needs to have a word with him about that. His strong tackles are needed, but not his careless ones. Carrick didn't do anything.
Rooney didn't have the support but did well all things considered (2 goals is a good day at the office!).
Van Der Sar coulda done more to stop Kaka's goals, but I suppose he was owed a couple more anyway. Kaka played a stormer, reminded me how good a player he is.

Great game overall, quite pleased with the result! I had optimistic money on United winning 2-1, but I was expecting Milan to win because of our ridiculous defence. I really really hope we have Vidic back for the 2nd leg....... He is a beast, get him back!!! He'll soon put a stop to Kaka!
Failing that, we'll be lucky to hold onto the win with 2 away goals against us and playing in the San Siro. That is of course unless we see a performance reminiscent of the return leg against Roma Smith better start this time!

Right, now -- not sure who too root for tomorrow!

edit: Dida was a bit too much to the right for Rooney's winner, but I doubt he was expecting a shot (Rooney didn't even look up ffs). I'd say he was conscious of Ronaldo zipping it at top speed down the left, so he was anticipating that.

Hobart

It's laughable how some Manu supporters still hang onto the "Ronaldo was good" type comments, as if the guy needs some backup. Lets be honest lads, he was pretty poor for the first half, and even worse in the second (despite his 'goal' early in the game) half.

For me, Carrick was as culpable. He was, again "Mister nowhere man" just like the bad'ol days of Michael Carrick. Scholes and Rooney were the legends of this game tonight, and they will need to repeat that performance if Manu are going to get a result in Milan, and it's a big if.

A one goal defeat with two away goals would have been snapped up by Milan at 19:00 today, don't you forget it.

Guy:Incognito

PHB wrote:

But then they changed it back to Ronaldo.
I thought the rule was that if it was going on target, if it got a deflection, or even two deflections, it counted for the attacker. Either way, he totally made the goal in every way..

When I saw it I thought OG. The first ball hit hm on the head and stopped going on target. He then jumped up and pushed it in when I reckon if no one had touched it it was going to bounce and come back up in front of the goal or go over.

Dave!

Hobart wrote:

It's laughable how some Manu supporters still hang onto the "Ronaldo was good" type comments, as if the guy needs some backup. Lets be honest lads, he was pretty poor for the first half, and even worse in the second (despite his 'goal' early in the game) half.

For me, Carrick was as culpable. He was, again "Mister nowhere man" just like the bad'ol days of Michael Carrick. Scholes and Rooney were the legends of this game tonight, and they will need to repeat that performance if Manu are going to get a result in Milan, and it's a big if.

A one goal defeat with two away goals would have been snapped up by Milan at 19:00 today, don't you forget it.

Ronaldo was poor by his own standards, but decent enough compared to the others on the pitch.

Not sure I'd say Scholes was much of a legend tonight. He was completely tamed by Gattuso in the first half, but did admittedly get back into it in the second. Fletcher had a better game than Scholes IMO.

Carrick might as well have not been there...

S.M.B.

Hobart wrote:

It's laughable how some Manu supporters still hang onto the "Ronaldo was good" type comments, as if the guy needs some backup. Lets be honest lads, he was pretty poor for the first half, and even worse in the second (despite his 'goal' early in the game) half.

For me, Carrick was as culpable. He was, again "Mister nowhere man" just like the bad'ol days of Michael Carrick. Scholes and Rooney were the legends of this game tonight, and they will need to repeat that performance if Manu are going to get a result in Milan, and it's a big if.

Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick were all fantastic during United's periods of dominance in the second half. Saying Carrick was poor and Scholes is a legend sounds absurd to me.

stovelid

Hobart wrote:

Scholes and Rooney were the legends of this game tonight,

Fletcher had a great game too

Hobart

I actually watched the game.I thought Ronaldo was on a road to nowhere down the left wing tonight. I thought most passes he made were incomplete and I also thought his crossing/deadball/freekick opportunities were brutal.

BTW I'm not a Roinaldo 'basher' as such. I actually think he deserved his PFA awards. I just think he had a bad game tonight, like Carrick.

S.M.B.

Hobart wrote:

I actually watched the game.I thought Ronaldo was on a road to nowhere down the left wing tonight. I thought most passes he made were incomplete and I also thought his crossing/deadball/freekick opportunities were brutal.

BTW I'm not a Roinaldo 'basher' as such. I actually think he deserved his PFA awards. I just think he had a bad game tonight, like Carrick.

Ronaldo was ineffective cause he was up against 3 Milan players. And your Carrick comment is just wrong. Apart from his missed opportunity he did very little wrong and an awful lot right.

Hobart

S.M.B. wrote:

Ronaldo was ineffective cause he was up against 3 Milan players. And your Carrick comment is just wrong. Apart from his missed opportunity he did very little wrong and an awful lot right.

Ronaldo, imo, was poor given his performances recently, albeit because of Milans tactics.

I have to say again, imo, I did not see Carrick adding any value to the Manu push in the 2nd half, and Scholes seemed to take over where Carrick lacked. I would be surprised if Carrick had more than 1 shot on target or more than 4 completed passes in the 2nd half.

S.M.B.

Hobart wrote:

Ronaldo, imo, was poor given his performances recently, albeit because of Milans tactics.

Fair enough, but his presence on the pitch did have an influence on the game though.

I have to say again, imo, I did not see Carrick adding any value to the Manu push in the 2nd half, and Scholes seemed to take over where Carrick lacked. I would be surprised if Carrick had more than 1 shot on target or more than 4 completed passes in the 2nd half.

4 completed passes? Are you serious? And he had the exact same number of shots on target as the legend Scholes who was playing in a more advanced position.

eirebhoy

kaimera wrote:

Eh, didn't the first goal go down as an og by Dida?

No Ronaldo.

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=2360/match=300138/report=rp.html

The initial shot was on it's way in before Dida pushed it in which means it goes Ronaldo.

Hobart

S.M.B. wrote:

....4 completed passes? Are you serious? And he had the exact same number of shots on target as the legend Scholes who was playing in a more advanced position.

Look, it's an opinion. Not a statement of fact. Maybe I should have clarified everything by saying...I Reckon, I thought IMO would have done.

To clarify, I reckon Scholes and Carrick were played as attacking midfield players, in conjunction with Ronaldo and Rooney. Rooney was top, as is normal, Scholes was outstanding.

I reckon Ronaldo and Carrick had very bad games, given their positions and expected roles in midfield.

The game turned, to Manu's advantage, with the withdrawl of Gattussso, how lucky they were for that exclusion.

S.M.B.

Hobart wrote:

Look, it's an opinion. Not a statement of fact. Maybe I should have clarified everything by saying...I Reckon, I thought IMO would have done.

To clarify, I reckon Scholes and Carrick were played as attacking midfield players, in conjunction with Ronaldo and Rooney. Rooney was top, as is normal, Scholes was outstanding.

I reckon Ronaldo and Carrick had very bad games, given their positions and expected roles in midfield.

The game turned, to Manu's advantage, with the withdrawl of Gattussso, how lucky they were for that exclusion.

No need to clarify that it's just your opinion!

Makes a little more sense if you considered Carrick to be part of United's front 6. I saw him more as a second holding player alongside Fletcher where he was a little at fault for letting Kaka run ahead of him for the first goal, presuming Heinze had enough pace to deal with the situation. When United were dominant I thought he did a consistently good job in taking the ball of the back 4 and linking up with those ahead of him. Just as good a job as Scholes did ahead of him.

Hobart

S.M.B. wrote:

No need to clarify that it's just your opinion!

Makes a little more sense if you considered Carrick to be part of United's front 6. .

I didn't. He is not, by nature or form an attacking player, just a midfielder, not an AM. I would have thought that his main function was distribution and attacking backup, if needed.

S.M.B. wrote:

I saw him more as a second holding player alongside Fletcher where he was a little at fault for letting Kaka run ahead of him for the first goal, presuming Heinze had enough pace to deal with the situation.

Holding? Holding what? Not to have a pop at you, and I'm not, but I feel that the whole 'holding' term is continually over used.

There was no holding in this game. It was passpasspass, like it allways is with Manu. Show me where they held, and I'll see some holding!!!

S.M.B. wrote:

When United were dominant I thought he did a consistently good job in taking the ball of the back 4 and linking up with those ahead of him. Just as good a job as Scholes did ahead of him

Fair enough. That's your opiniuon. I disagree. I thought he had a poor game, particularly in his distribution.