UEFA CL - Manchester United vs Roma - Apr 9
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I thought Pique look unsure again... and not very good. On the other hand, Silvestre look really good coming back after almost a year out... Good thing he is back, hope Fergie partner him with Rio if Vidic still cannot play cos Pique really look gong gong... don't seem to know what he is suppost to do...
On Neville's return... He didn't show much and had very little of the call coming on in the last 8 or 9 mins... But he looks pretty ok i feel... Hope Rio will be alright from now on... he had 3 stitches during half-time so that he can continue.
On other good points, Ronaldo, Scholes and Evra got a well deserve rest... Rooney also i guess...
Last night, i felt that Fergie took a big risk but lucky it didn't backfire on him...
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Another thing i saw last night was... Hargreaves played really well. I have not seen anyone bend it like Beckham since Beck himself... His crosses from the side was really effective always seem to be curling away from the Gk.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
Another thing i saw last night was... Hargreaves played really well. I have not seen anyone bend it like Beckham since Beck himself... His crosses from the side was really effective always seem to be curling away from the Gk.
yeah he was really good.. maybe he could become our next rb... although i believe the midfield needs him too
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Tevez header sets up battle of the entertainers
Manchester Utd 1 Roma 0
9th April 2008
Carlos Tevez struck as Manchester United defeated Roma to seal a Champions League semi-final match-up with Barcelona.
Roma should have taken the lead from the penalty spot after a foul by Wes Brown but Daniele de Rossi smashed the ball high over the crossbar. Edwin van der Sar denied Mirko Vucinic as Roma threatened but Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves forced saves from Doni. And Tevez scored with a diving header from Hargreaves' cross to seal the tie. <!-- E SF -->
The Argentine struck after 70 minutes and it was a goal that punctured any lingering hopes Roma harboured of a dramatic comeback. The Italians had been left stunned after their 2-0 defeat in Rome but, after enduring a poor start to the second leg, they showed great spirit to rattle their opponents.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had shown great faith in his squad prior to kick-off by leaving Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo out of his starting line-up. They were two of five changes from the team that drew at Middlesbrough on Sunday.
Changes or not, United had more than enough opportunities to kill off the tie in the first 10 minutes. Hargreaves was a revelation down the right for United, using his superb athleticism to run on to passes from midfield, and he delivered two telling crosses. The first was met by Giggs while Anderson drilled a low strike from the second - both efforts drawing saves from Doni.
But Roma should have forced their way back into the tie when referee Tom Hennin Ovrebo ruled that Brown had failed to make any contact with the ball while trying to tackle Mancini. De Rossi buried his head in his shirt after blazing the spot kick way over the crossbar but Roma took confidence from winning the penalty and enjoyed a spell of possession that saw them end the half on top.
And after Tevez headed home another excellent Hargreaves cross the tie was effectively settled. Further good news for the buoyant home fans arrived with 10 minutes left when Gary Neville came on for his first appearance since picking up an ankle injury on 17 March 2007.
Man Utd 1-0 Roma: Leading 2-0 after the first leg, Sir Alex Ferguson decides to leave Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney on the bench.
The Italians have a great chance to get back into the tie when Wes Brown concedes a penalty but Daniele De Rossi blasts it over the bar.
Among those watching is Man Utd legend Eric Cantona who receives a huge ovation just before the second half gets under way.
With the tie beyond Roma, Ferguson brings on Gary Neville for his first appearance in 13 months after suffering with an ankle injury
Tevez scored in the 70 mins with a diving header.
The Man Utd boss sees his side close out the win and must now plan for a semi-final against Barcelona who beat Schalke 2-0 on aggregate.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Pique, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Hargreaves, Park, Carrick (O'Shea 74), Anderson (Neville 81), Giggs (Rooney 74), Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Ronaldo, Scholes, Welbeck.Goals: Tevez 70.
Roma: Doni, Panucci, Mexes, Juan, Cassetti (Tonetto 56), De Rossi, Pizarro (Giuly 69), Taddei (Esposito 81), Perrotta, Mancini, Vucinic.
Subs Not Used: Curci, Cicinho, Aquilani, Brighi.Booked: Perrotta.
Att: 74,423
Ref: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).
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Puyol will be suspended in the first leg at Nou Camp on the 23 of April...
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This faker Mancini...
Justice prevail when De Rossi, who had scored in Italy's World Cup final shoot out, made a complete mess of his spot kick, ballooning the ball high over Edwin van der Sar's goal to roll Z...
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Originally posted by zocoss:
Puyol will be suspended in the first leg at Nou Camp on the 23 of April...
13 days till we face Barca, i will be counting down =)
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I think at the end, Barce and Pool will get into the final cos United and Chelsea will still need to fight it out for the premiership title so they can't rest players on the 26 of April... whereas Pool and Barce will rest their squad before their 2nd leg match...
Same like last year where AC Milan rested the whole squad and united couldn't...
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the match haven come don demoralise us le..i rather utd win the cl then the epl seriously but now i want both..lets jus hope they carry on to the end ..barca not so good like before...despite messi henry puyol..they are conceding soft goals in thier league..
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Can, we can make it, with the squad we played this morning im sure we can hold barca to a 1-1 draw or even a 0-1 win!
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I would prefer the epl title anytime... CL is a bonus.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
PAUL SCHOLES will play his 100th Champions League game tonight.
The Manchester United midfielder, 33, joins just eight others who have reached the landmark including Ryan Giggs, Raul and David Beckham.
Boss Alex Ferguson said: “He was out for 3½ months earlier in the season.
“It took him a few months to get his rhythm back but recently he has been absolutely fantastic.”
Skipper Gary Neville makes his comeback in what will be his 99th Champions League game.
But asked if Scholes would be handed the armband, Fergie quipped: “Paul would regard that as punishment!”
so he never get his 100?? -
nope he did'nt
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mancini.. lmao.. no comments sia..
and just to recap a bit.. a bit weird that they complain C ronaldo was showboating.. if anyone could just find a video on youtube, there was once mancini did an outrageous display of keepy-uppy (timbang) against an opponent.. lols..
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Originally posted by Sienx:
the match haven come don demoralise us le..i rather utd win the cl then the epl seriously but now i want both..lets jus hope they carry on to the end ..barca not so good like before...despite messi henry puyol..they are conceding soft goals in thier league..
agree. I think at this stage, the teams that can cause us problems like the Milans, Madrids are gone, so MUFC does have a good chance.
The key to this barca is that despite their attack, their defence is suspect and that plays to MUFC's strength.
Henry is nothing new to MUFC's defence and to date, Barca is also chasing the La Liga so they are exerting also.
Irregardless of Pool/Chelsea, they are both playing boring football and it is a shame arsenal did not get through for their endeavours.
Pool is playing only with Gerrard and Torres, the rest 9 are for defence. Chelsea despite changing Grant is not playing any attractive football.
I would prefer a Barca/MU final with all players fit so at least we get good football. With Chelsea, it is going to mechanic, with Pool, it is going to be boot and run.
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Originally posted by dinky1409:
mancini.. lmao.. no comments sia..
and just to recap a bit.. a bit weird that they complain C ronaldo was showboating.. if anyone could just find a video on youtube, there was once mancini did an outrageous display of keepy-uppy (timbang) against an opponent.. lols..
i think it is just a case of sore losers. Anyway, was quite surprised that SAF choose to rest him. But it is quite amazing the strength in depth.
Cause one thing, with Evra, his aerial and physique are suspect, but with Silverstre, he is more a tank.
And if GaryN get more match fit, his crosses are going to be so welcome.. but then, we don't have attackers with good aerial except Ronaldo.
Saha, the glass man is still injured.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
I think at the end, Barce and Pool will get into the final cos United and Chelsea will still need to fight it out for the premiership title so they can't rest players on the 26 of April... whereas Pool and Barce will rest their squad before their 2nd leg match...
Same like last year where AC Milan rested the whole squad and united couldn't...
to me, Pool is doing the same as Milan. Pool, when they know they can't get title, rotates and keep their players soley for the UCL.
If Rafa or Pool really goes for the title as they mentioned, I don't believe they would have gotten this far in the UCL.
In a way, Rafa's smart, he is playing to the money and glamour of UCL. And in this way, keeps his job.
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Originally posted by zocoss:
I think at the end, Barce and Pool will get into the final cos United and Chelsea will still need to fight it out for the premiership title so they can't rest players on the 26 of April... whereas Pool and Barce will rest their squad before their 2nd leg match...
Same like last year where AC Milan rested the whole squad and united couldn't...
the good thing about our current squad now is, with the exception of scholes and giggs, most of our players are still young and energertic.. the chacne for a double this close has not come in a long while and i'm pretty sure every singleone of our players with the full support of millions of fans around the world are gonna give a 110% for every remaining matches... the return leg played with our backed up players alread y proved the depth our team strength..
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in addition, i think carrick is doing well despite his low profile. His ability to keep the ball and to distribute is over-shadowed.
However, i like his attitude of keeping quiet and just working hard. Hope he can score more goals like he did against Roma.
It would be good if Anderson or him starts to knock in a few.
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Originally posted by 4getmenot:
the good thing about our current squad now is, with the exception of scholes and giggs, most of our players are still young and energertic.. the chacne for a double this close has not come in a long while and i'm pretty sure every singleone of our players with the full support of millions of fans around the world are gonna give a 110% for every remaining matches... the return leg played with our backed up players alread y proved the depth our team strength..
just to check, I think MF and attack, we are quite okie but defence like getting abit old, right?
Brown, Rio, Vidic, Silverstre, Neville, EDS.. Only Evra, Pique, Foster are like mid20+?
Correct me if I am wrong.
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Originally posted by 4getmenot:
the good thing about our current squad now is, with the exception of scholes and giggs, most of our players are still young and energertic.. the chacne for a double this close has not come in a long while and i'm pretty sure every singleone of our players with the full support of millions of fans around the world are gonna give a 110% for every remaining matches... the return leg played with our backed up players alread y proved the depth our team strength..
I belief the heart may be willing but the body and legs still needs a good rest... The problem for United this time will be the timing of the matches... Its very unfortunate that the Chelsea match is in between the 2 legs CL matches... United play away to Blackburn on the 19 and Barce on the 23... so you can expect Fergie to change some players but away to Blackburn isn't going to be easy even if the first 11 steps out let alone fringe players...And if first 11 are used against Barce, then they only have 2 and a half days of rest compare to Chelsea 3 and a half when the meet on the 26 early kick off 7:45pm... After this is over, they play Barce again on the 29... So you see our matches is rather too close to each other.
United play on the 19, 23, 26 & 29.
Chelsea play on the 17, 22, 26 & 30.
Chelsea got a better timetable than united. They get extra 1 day of rest before they play United and another extra day rest for their 2nd leg CL match...
I am only alittle worried that United have to play 4 very important matches in 10 days whereas Chelsea has 13 days almost 2 weeks... It could take its toll on the players...
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Originally posted by zocoss:
I belief the heart may be willing but the body and legs still needs a good rest... The problem for United this time will be the timing of the matches... Its very unfortunate that the Chelsea match is in between the 2 legs CL matches... United play away to Blackburn on the 19 and Barce on the 23... so you can expect Fergie to change some players but away to Blackburn isn't going to be easy even if the first 11 steps out let alone fringe players...And if first 11 are used against Barce, then they only have 2 and a half days of rest compare to Chelsea 3 and a half when the meet on the 26 early kick off 7:45pm... After this is over, they play Barce again on the 29... So you see our matches is rather too close to each other.
United play on the 19, 23, 26 & 29.
Chelsea play on the 17, 22, 26 & 30.
Chelsea got a better timetable than united. They get extra 1 day of rest before they play United and another extra day rest for their 2nd leg CL match...
I am only alittle worried that United have to play 4 very important matches in 10 days whereas Chelsea has 13 days almost 2 weeks... It could take its toll on the players...
yup.. but grant wants more rest day for chelsea..they say its not enuff... xD