Barca -v- Arsenal, Champions League Q/Final 2nd Leg

peabutler

It actually took this match to realise how much I love Arsenal, I have always loved the club and supported with all my heart but never realised until Messi scored the 4th and I just stood up and collapsed on the ground, I was just in bits, it was like Messi had jumped from the screen and kicked me in the balls.

The Sparrow

The Sparrow wrote: »

I presume that is a joke?

I presume this is

Sizzler

Paparazzo wrote: »

Did anyone see who got MOTM? Just threw a ton on Bentner on betfair

Silvestre ran Messi close in fairness, he was a good outside bet at 500/1.

Dave147

Bah, backed Barca to win 3-1 tonight, sick Messi scored. Also at half time put 25 on under 5.5 goals so made a bit off the game anyway.

Frisbee

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Nice overreaction.

eZe^

Any chance Messi has an Irish grandmother?

Frisbee

Dave147 wrote: »

Bah, backed Barca to win 3-1 tonight, sick Messi scored. Also at half time put 25 on under 5.5 goals so made a bit off the game anyway.

I had 3-1 Barca with Bendtner scoring @ 100/1....

missingtime

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Can we have your spot so?

quarryman

peabutler wrote: »

it was like Messi had jumped from the screen and kicked me in the balls.

tbh, i'd prob let him do that.

Sizzler

Nikki Bendtner "Barca probably deserved it".

Is he doing the Kilkenny cat laughs festival this summer?

the_monkey

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Football doesn't work like that

You must forget how luck Barca were v Chelsea last year

What age are you?

Spiritoftheseventies

Graeme Souness 3 time european cup winner just came up there. Has a nice ring to it

SDTimeout

I thought arsenal gave a very good account of themselves in midfield battles. Nasri and Diaby worked very hard all night. Clichy brilliant and bendtner was trying.

The injurys have blighted us there's no doubt. But i'm not going to lose hope and we saw the current rulers of europe and the future rulers out there tonight.

That is all, as i don't want to get involed in petty arguments over such a masterclass performance from the best player on the planet.

redout

Barca played a phenomenal 600+ passes tonight with Xaxi contributing over 100

Hank Scorpio

nuxxx wrote: »

Barca to win 4-1 or so

cough

Won my little bet at work :rolleyes:

eZe^

eZe^ wrote: »

Any chance Messi has an Irish grandmother?

Yeah...Nessy from Leitrim

greendom

redout wrote: »

Barca played a phenomenal 600+ passes tonight with Xaxi contributing over 100

Yeah but how long were the passes

Boskowski

Ah well, Bayern will put manners on them. ;-)

Fizman

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Post of the century. Nearly fell off my chair. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you have taken heroin this evening.

I'm a Liverpool fan. I couldn't give a donkeys boll0x if Barca keep winning for the next decade. If they keep playing football like that, it will hopefully promote the idea than small, fit talented hard working lads can still win competitions, as opposed to the direct physical machine that your beloved Chelsea are in comparison. In that way, millions of other people will be attracted to the sport, instead of kill it.

You're hilarious.

Pro. F

Hard luck Arsenal. No shame in this defeat at all.
They really missed Cesc tonight. They missed so so many chances to play their forwards through on goal with simple passes. Cesc would have had a field day. BUT they still would have lost... Messi was untouchable, it was a privilage watching him.

magma69

Little off topic. Martin Keown is a decent analyst. Very articulate and knows what he is talking about. When he was a player I always got the impression that he was a bit of an idiotic gurrier but I was wrong. He knows his stuff and is actually a likable chap.

Sizzler

redout wrote: »

Barca played a phenomenal 600+ passes tonight with Xaxi contributing over 100

Arsenal score a goal in 347 passes and Barca score a goal every 150 passes based on tonight :eek:

To be more exact Messi tried 40 passes, completed 33 and scored 4, so 1 in 8passes he scores, beat that

the_monkey

rarnes1 wrote: »

Football doesn't work like that

You must forget how luck Barca were v Chelsea last year

What age are you?

Yes i realise how lucky they were .. but they still won ...
and they will continue to do so ....

32

redout

greendom wrote: »

Yeah but how long were the passes

128 short
391 med
90 long

Total 609

Bet you didnt see that coming :pac:

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Messi has big skills according to Almunia.:pac:

UpTheSlashers

baz2009 wrote: »

Messi has big skills according to Almunia.:pac:

Unbelievable tekkers!

gimmick

redout wrote: »

Barca played a phenomenal 600+ passes tonight with Xaxi contributing over 100

That is an outrageous stat!

When last did he lose the ball?

leninbenjamin

Osu wrote: »

Oh the irony... from an Arsenal fan!

Busquets takes the biscuit though. He's like Carvalho and Cannavaro except even more blatant. He's so good at those cynical little fouls to slow down play and then to cap it off he's a very convincing diver too... tbh I wish we had players as cynical as him at Arsenal. Song I suppose has no problem doing the cynical little foul, but then he just ends up looking clumsy and getting booked for it.

eZe^

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Jesus, are you serious? They might now even win this years CL, we all remember what happened after Rijkaard's Barcelona reached the summit.


Was just watching the interviews on Sky, I felt really sorry for Almunia tbh, he seemed so disappointed and shaken by the performance. I know he's been bad at times, but over the two legs he was only at fault for one of the goals really. Seems a nice guy too. It's weird how different your reaction can be to a team when you see their human side in interviews. Wenger was top class iswell, admitted he was beaten by the better team and tried to take as many positives as possible out of the game.


One thing you can't overstate is how well Arsenal reacted after the first half at the Emirates. They looked a totally different team and if they can learn to press the ball more when out of possession they'll go one step closer to winning the CL. Nice team, I'd really like if they won the PL this year, I've always admired Wenger.


On the Barca side of things, fcuking get in. One step closer to hopefully being remembered in the echelons of history. I remember less than ten years ago we were the biggest underachievers in the history of the competition. Us and Benfica had shoddy records compared to the Milans, Liverpools, and Madrids. I can't describe how much it would mean to me to retain the CL or league this year. Pep I literally love you, and you have fostered a great mentality into a team with excellent ability. Also, I remember less than 3 years ago complaining about Messi's wayward finishing and bad decision making. Holy sh*t man... Holy fcuking sh*t.

x PyRo

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Gutted, to say the least.

speedboatchase

As facebook status says "Messi might be good at footballing but does he know all the words to Rappers Delight? Exactly..."

:cool:

eZe^

x PyRo wrote: »

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Gutted, to say the least.

Look at the positives though, I've no doubt the Arsenal of last year would have absolutely crumbled after going 2-0 down to Barca after 60 minutes of K.O tie. Also, Arsenal will never face another side that will starve them of that much possession, so the highlighting of arsenal's lack of work off the ball was slightly overstated. I mean, sure they should harass much more, but this tie was the longest 180 minutes arsenal will be without the ball for a long while yet. It'll be interesting to see how they react too, will they learn from it and get stronger, or will it crack all the mental strength they've been building over the past few seasons.

dfx-

Headshot wrote: »

inter will beable to deal with barca alot better than Arsenal can

Barca's best performance for me by far and away was against Inter..under pressure of elimination in the group stages. Absolutely hammered them 2-0

I didn't think Messi was Barca's best player given the pressure and harassing of the midfield in the second half. Also still prefer Toure to Busquets..and Bojan played well too. Pedro was a bit off colour I thought..Xavi still MOTM for me.

cson

dfx- wrote: »

Absolutely hammered them 2-0.

Don't think I've heard that expression before

Haven't seen the game but I'll have to assume we just weren't good enough all over the pitch. Good luck to Barcelona, they'll take some stopping by the looks of things.

Ush1

cson wrote: »

Don't think I've heard that expression before

Haven't seen the game but I'll have to assume we just weren't good enough all over the pitch. Good luck to Barcelona, they'll take some stopping by the looks of things.

Barca breezed them. Be shocked if Inter can do much this round, specially with 2nd leg at the Camp Nou.

eZe^

Btw, when weighing in with performances;


Pedro was very very very disappointing, he lacked any real composure when making decisions, and seemed to just zip around the field aimlessly. He reminds me of Giuly to be honest, which is actually a good thing, he just needs to gain more experience.

Xavi was as good as Messi for me tonight, he is seriously a sublime specimen of spectacular. He is SOOOOO composed on the ball, and he knows everyone's position instantaneously. I seriously think he is the best midfield pivot I've ever seen play football. I can't believe how he's still getting better even at the age of 30. Ridiculous stuff.

Galvasean

What a performance by Messi!
Oh well I stand by my earlier statement if Arsenal (I'm a Gooner) were to lose I want Barce to win the Champions League - winning it at Madrid's stadium.
Best of luck in El Classico too!

Ush1

Good call eZe.

Even though Messi will get all the plaudits, Xavi was MOTM for me. The man is just a joke how good he is, constantly has time, never rushed. Insane player...

cson

Sizzler wrote: »

Nikki Bendtner "Barca probably deserved it".

Is he doing the Kilkenny cat laughs festival this summer?

Hey, The Chosen One did his best to drag us to the semi-finals

eZe^

Galvasean wrote: »

What a performance by Messi!
Oh well I stand by my earlier statement if Arsenal (I'm a Gooner) were to lose I want Barce to win the Champions League - winning it at Madrid's stadium.
Best of luck in El Classico too!

Thanks Ross, when I started watching friends Joey was my favourite (because I was young and had that stupid slapstick sense of humour), then when I was a teenager Chandler was my favourite (I enjoyed the cringey sarcasm), but now you're definitely my favourite. Anyone that thinks otherwise is imo a ridiculous human being.

UnitedIrishman

Wow. Unfortunately missed the first half due to training but came in and the aul fella wouldn't stop talking about Messi and his hat-trick.

It'll be interesting to see how Inter deal with Barca. I fully expect Inter to do a hatchet job on Messi in the San Siro - like Chelsea did years ago under Mourinho. It won't do much as Real learned last year if they do decide to go down that route. But they won't be able to live with them if they play as well as they did against Arsenal - no side can. You have to come up with a system of trying to beat them or have the game(s) of your life.

Just amazed at how well Barca pass the ball. Been watching them for the past number of seasons in La Liga but the way they move themselves out of trouble is just unbelieveable. Kids across the world should be shown how they play and told that's how it's done. A credit to football.

Pro. F

eZe^ wrote: »

Xavi was as good as Messi for me tonight, he is seriously a sublime specimen of spectacular. He is SOOOOO composed on the ball, and he knows everyone's position instantaneously. I seriously think he is the best midfield pivot I've ever seen play football. I can't believe how he's still getting better even at the age of 30. Ridiculous stuff.

Yes Xavi was so important tonight. He was the gun and Messi was the bullet. He set Barce's attack free with his passes which let messi do his thing.

Kirnsy

Absolutely no shame. in fact i feel proud of the effort the lads put in. if things had gone differently (dodgy offside in the first half @ 1-1/messi not getting a lucky rebound before a majestic finish @ 1-0 etc) we may have been singing their praises, however nothing away from Barca.

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Especially Xavi IMO. In both legs he was untouchable. And in Pep Guardiola you have a manager i really really admire and genuinely feel affection for. A really classy guy.

I genuinely felt that we had the right idea in pressing barca and even did well too in the first 20 or so minutes. But that man Messi. He scored at exactly the wrong times for Arsenal, right after the equalizer, and then just before half time to go 3-1 up. In fairness he is absolutely brilliant and congratulations to him. Truly a privilege to see one of the greats light up a match.

However IMO there are positives to be taken from this for Arsenal. Squad will be strengthened, players gain experience and know how and the world will be taught that that is how to play football.Onwards and upwards for Arsenal hopefully we can bounce back and learn from this.

And as I posted in the barca thread, the very best of luck for the rest of the Champions League. Stick it to Madrid

SlickRic

wow.

just saw the highlights.

Xavi and Messi in that sort of form is just ludicrous, and actually a little unfair.

PHB

I think this was an impresive game for Barca, but I think people can take too much out of it. Arsenal play an open game, and as such, Barca are going to be very very hard to beat in that. If they all click, as they did tonight, they can destroy you.

I think Inter will still provide a very tough test for Barca on their way to the final. Much tighter as a team will frustrate Barca in a way that Arsenal didn't come close to doing tonight. Still favorites to get through though

JerryHandbag

Messi (and Barca in general on this form) are the reason why its called the beautiful game.

Kirnsy

gimmick wrote: »

That is an outrageous stat!

When last did he lose the ball?

rumor has it he lost it once 4 years ago.....but i doubt that's true. He's never lost the ball..

flahavaj

the_monkey wrote: »

I am a Chelsea fan and it's not killing me to see Arsenal out ... but Barça - I mean - Great for the fans , don't get me wrong, amazing team and all . But lets be honest they will probably win Europe for the next 6, 7 years .... ruining the sport for everyone else , Thank christ they don't play in the english premier league .
Chelsea should just not bother entering the CL for the next 5 years.

CL
2010 - Barça
2011 - Barça
2012 - Barça
2013 - Barça
2014 - Barça
2015 - Barça
2016 - Barça


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the Competition is dead....

Frisbee

Barca are a class above. Can't begrudge them that victory, they truly deserved it.

Messi is scarily good.

gandalf

A very painful match to watch as an Arsenal fan. I knew I was watching beautiful football I just wished it wasn't happening against Arsenal. The better team won over the two legs without a doubt and I am now looking forward to the World Cup in the Summer and watching Messi playing in it.

Now hopefully we can stuff Tottenham at the weekend and cheer everyone up