The stage is now set for a first ever all English Champions League final in Moscow. Manchester United have earned their place in the finals after a screaming shot taken by Paul Scholes. Scholes was suspended in 1999 when Manchester United won the CL final in Munich won himself an all expense paid trip to his biggest game ever. Rising soccer master Lionel Messi made his presence felt at Old Trafford but failed to find the final dagger to sink the Red Devil's chances of progressing with an away goal. The English club was under pressure to win this match as their loss against Chelsea this weekend lead critics to believe that they would lose tonight. They were also without the services of Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic. Two players that have played an integral role in thier success this season. In their place Sir Alex decided to use striker Carlos Tevez and defender Owen Hargreaves. Barcalona on the other hand welcomed back their defensive gaurd Carlos Puyol and seemed the more comfortable of the two. The match was one of the most thrilling I have witnessed in the Champions League. Old Trafford was a sea of red as Man U supporters filled the stadium in red clothing. All eyes were focused on two of the greatest players on Earth. The Argentine Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. The question arised which one would shine on this big stage? Which one would score? If there was ever a time to prove their skills, it was now. The match up between the second and third runner up of last seasons FIFA World Player of the year.The game started at neckbreaking pace as Barcalona's Messi took the ball and pushed forward down the right side of the box and was immediately fouled by Scholes who could not keep up with his speed. The foul resulted in a quickly taken free kick that failed to create a goal. The game then became a tug of war as both sides attack lines threatened each others halves. As the time ran Barcalona slowly began to take control of the game controlling all the possession. Manchester was forced to chase for the ball as the Spaniards passed the ball fluently among themselves. United then began to apply pressure and forced Barca's midfield into a series of mistakes. These mistakes eventually led to Ronaldo recieving the ball on the left wing and pressing forward. He was foiled with precision by Zambrotta but a lack of judgement made the defender pass the ball to a phantom team mate in front of goal. He had no idea that Scholes was lurking closeby like a shark eyeing its kill. Scholes wasted no time cashing in on his gift. The ginger haired assassin raced on to ball and kicked a screaming shot 25 yrds away from goal that pierced the right corner netting. It was 14th minute of the game and Barcalona saw all their hard work go up in smoke. Old Trafford went up in roars and their opponents were left to wonder what just happened.
The momentum now switched to Manchester United but the Argentine bomber, Messi took Barcalona on his shoulders and attacked Man U'S goal with an amazing display of foot magic that left his defenders dazzled. In the 19th minute he tricks Scholes with a couple stepovers and fires a shot at Van de Sar. Messi relentlessly continued his attack on Manchester United and forced the into defense . Manchester soon came back on the attack with determination. In the 21st minute Tevez breaks from his defender and crosses a ball into the box. Ronaldo determined to head the cross rises to greet the ball drawing both of Barca's central defenders towards him. Ronaldo is just short and the two defenders clash into each other causing temporary headaches. In the 33th minute Iniesta gets open and runs down the left wing before passing the ball to Deco who then hits a shot that goes over the goal post. Deco soon after becames the final recipient of a beautiful set of passes performed by his team mates. He then makes the final play a low shot that is just wide of the target. Messi was determined to score and shifted wings to gain space. He cleared a pathway to the box and crossed a deadly ball into the middle which Van De Sar strtetched his entire frame to clutch. The Red Devil's soon grew tired of withdrawal and pounced on the Spaniards in the 39th minute. Park and Nani pulled off a combination move that should have ended the contest, but the finishing touch left little to be desired. Park found himself open on the left aand crossed a beautiful ball into the box towards Nani who took a glancing header that went wide of the goal. The final minutes of the half belonged to Barcalona. Samuel Etoo quickly ran up the pitch during a counter attack taking on defenders before he got assistance from his team mates. He then passed the ball Deco who swiftly played it on to the foot of Abidail who was lurking on the left. The french left back then shot the ball, but was blocked.
The second half began very much like how the first like first ended with Barcalona pressuring Man United's defense. The red devil's then felt it was best to withdraw and protect their lead. Their defensive line went from 4 players to 9. Ronaldo soon found himself alone up the pitch. Tevez began to emulate his injured teamate Rooney as the striker transformed himself into a defensive midfielder. Ronaldo was not satisfied with defending the goal and gestured to his team mates to come forward. They ignored him and bolstered down as they prepared for the storm to attack. Once again Man U is forced to weather the storm as Messi and company push forward to gain a point. The game is approaching the 51st minute and Man U finally see some light. Evra manages to bring the ball forward and is swiftly tackled to the ground by Zambrotta. The referee gives Zambrotta a yellow card for his work. The tackle results in a free kick in a dangerous position to the left side of the field. Goal scorer Scholes takes the kick, directing the ball into the box. Rio Ferdinand is the first person to reach the ball and heads it into Ronaldo's path. Tension rises as Ronaldo brings the ball to his feet. Puyol and Milito close in on Ronaldo and he quickly passes the ball to Nani who takes a weak shot. The next couple of minutes that would then enfold belonged to young Maradona, Messi. He decides to take on Scholes and leaves him flat footed as he skipped around him and ran towards goal. Ferdinand and Brown however managed to stop his progress before he was able to do damage. The ball was then swiftly cleared and ended on the right wing where it was greeted twin wingers Nani and Ronaldo. The skillful midfielders decided to put on a show of their own as they portrayed magnificent skill performing marvelous one touch passes that destroyed Barca's defense. The twins found themselves at the goal and the crowd sat at the edge of their seats in anticipation. Everyone wondered what would be the end result of such finesse. Their beautiful dispay ended in disappointment as Cristiano passed the ball to Nani who lost his composure and shot the ball into the crowd.
In the 60th minute Ineista was replaced by the frenchman Thierry Henry. Messi drives forward towards the box and is brought down by Carrick within 30 yrds of the goal. Deco takes a swift free kick direct on goal but it gets a deflection and goes out of bounds for a corner. The corner results in a Man U possession with Ronaldo at the helm. He takes the ball and pushes up the wing and is greeted by Zambrotta. Ronaldo desperate to score overpowers the defender and slips ahead but is called for a foul. The referee then hands him a card for his actions. Barcalona take the free kick and Henry soon his first touch of the ball. He takes the ball at the foot of the box and passes it to Messi who sees back heel pass to Etoo that was well read by Ferdinand. The next attack would come from Man U. Park gained possession of the ball carried it up the pitch but was fouled Yaya Toure. The referee then continued with his card parade and gave Toure one of his own. The game then became a fighting bout as strikers from both teams took turn pulling shots on goal. The first came from Henry who attacked Van De Sar's goal with a brilliant header. Van De Sar was up for the task and prevented the ball from passing his line. Tevez then tested Valdes with a shot from outside that went just wide. Henry would threw a returning blow with a trademark dribbling move that left him open on the left. He then took a shot that quieted the Old Trafford supporters, but failed to pass the goal line. It was then the managers time to act. Rijkaard refused to give up and brought on offensive reinforcements. He took brought off Iniesta and Etoo, and replaced them with Bojan Krikic and Gudjohnson. Ferguson seeing this decided to bring in experience and defense. Nani and Scholes were substituted for Giggs and Fletcher. The two teams then remained gridlocked until a mishap by defensive partners lead to Evra recieving Wes Brown's boot in his face. He failed to shake off the injury and was stretchered off the pitch as Barcalona saw the injury time clock deplete. When the final whistle was blown Old Trafford went into a party mood. The stage is now set for Man U to face either rivals Chelsea or Liverpool in the final Battle Royale in May. It should be a mouth watering affair.
My two cents: This game was played on the field but the real battle was between the managers. Ferguson knew he needed a goal and decided to field an attack minded team. He placed Tevez up front with Nani and Ronaldo supporting him. He also shifted made the Portuguese exchange wings. Ronaldo ran on the left while Nani took the right. In centre midfield Sir Alex decided to bring in the experience of Scholes with the defensive stance of Carrick and the resiliance of Park. He then created a second placed defensive line utilizing Evra and Hargreaves on the wings and Wes Brown and Ferdinand in the centre. Fergurson used a mixture of youth and experience to outwit Rijkaard's. Ferguson's goal was to gain a goal and then close the game down, only attacking on the counter. This team differed from his set up in the first game that was built with defense in mind. The speed up front allowed the defensive players to keep in line, while Ronaldo, Nani and Tevez and Evra would be able to attack on the counter Carrick, Hargreaves, Park and Brown could continue to hold off attacks from Messi and Etoo. This defensive stance kept firm ground despite Barcalona's masterful passing and gradually led them to make mistakes. The English team remained organized and focused in defense. Sir Alex made sure his team was full aware of the quality that faced them and insisted that they made no mistakes. This was demonstrated by Hargraeves bicycling away the ball off the sideline in an effort to not to concede a free kick and Tevez and Nani falling back in defense to create a wall against Barcalona's attacks. Ferguson has managed to train a team that is in tune to the task at hand and relentlessly pursue their goal till the final minute.
In the 60th minute Ineista was replaced by the frenchman Thierry Henry. Messi drives forward towards the box and is brought down by Carrick within 30 yrds of the goal. Deco takes a swift free kick direct on goal but it gets a deflection and goes out of bounds for a corner. The corner results in a Man U possession with Ronaldo at the helm. He takes the ball and pushes up the wing and is greeted by Zambrotta. Ronaldo desperate to score overpowers the defender and slips ahead but is called for a foul. The referee then hands him a card for his actions. Barcalona take the free kick and Henry soon his first touch of the ball. He takes the ball at the foot of the box and passes it to Messi who sees back heel pass to Etoo that was well read by Ferdinand. The next attack would come from Man U. Park gained possession of the ball carried it up the pitch but was fouled Yaya Toure. The referee then continued with his card parade and gave Toure one of his own. The game then became a fighting bout as strikers from both teams took turn pulling shots on goal. The first came from Henry who attacked Van De Sar's goal with a brilliant header. Van De Sar was up for the task and prevented the ball from passing his line. Tevez then tested Valdes with a shot from outside that went just wide. Henry would threw a returning blow with a trademark dribbling move that left him open on the left. He then took a shot that quieted the Old Trafford supporters, but failed to pass the goal line. It was then the managers time to act. Rijkaard refused to give up and brought on offensive reinforcements. He took brought off Iniesta and Etoo, and replaced them with Bojan Krikic and Gudjohnson. Ferguson seeing this decided to bring in experience and defense. Nani and Scholes were substituted for Giggs and Fletcher. The two teams then remained gridlocked until a mishap by defensive partners lead to Evra recieving Wes Brown's boot in his face. He failed to shake off the injury and was stretchered off the pitch as Barcalona saw the injury time clock deplete. When the final whistle was blown Old Trafford went into a party mood. The stage is now set for Man U to face either rivals Chelsea or Liverpool in the final Battle Royale in May. It should be a mouth watering affair.
My two cents: This game was played on the field but the real battle was between the managers. Ferguson knew he needed a goal and decided to field an attack minded team. He placed Tevez up front with Nani and Ronaldo supporting him. He also shifted made the Portuguese exchange wings. Ronaldo ran on the left while Nani took the right. In centre midfield Sir Alex decided to bring in the experience of Scholes with the defensive stance of Carrick and the resiliance of Park. He then created a second placed defensive line utilizing Evra and Hargreaves on the wings and Wes Brown and Ferdinand in the centre. Fergurson used a mixture of youth and experience to outwit Rijkaard's. Ferguson's goal was to gain a goal and then close the game down, only attacking on the counter. This team differed from his set up in the first game that was built with defense in mind. The speed up front allowed the defensive players to keep in line, while Ronaldo, Nani and Tevez and Evra would be able to attack on the counter Carrick, Hargreaves, Park and Brown could continue to hold off attacks from Messi and Etoo. This defensive stance kept firm ground despite Barcalona's masterful passing and gradually led them to make mistakes. The English team remained organized and focused in defense. Sir Alex made sure his team was full aware of the quality that faced them and insisted that they made no mistakes. This was demonstrated by Hargraeves bicycling away the ball off the sideline in an effort to not to concede a free kick and Tevez and Nani falling back in defense to create a wall against Barcalona's attacks. Ferguson has managed to train a team that is in tune to the task at hand and relentlessly pursue their goal till the final minute.
Rijkaard on the other hand decided not to make much changes in his team. He kept Etoo up front with Messi and Iniesta in support. In his midfield he went for attacking prowness and defensive stance with Deco, Toure and Xavi. He then had an experienced backline that consisted of Puyol, Zambrotta, Abidal and Milito. Rijkaard team was built for forward movement as both Abidal and Zambrotta push forward to service the forwards. Rijkaard's cards were obvious, Messi would play an integral role on the right using his skills to bring him into an attacking position after which he would either pass or take a shot. Manchester United learned this from the opening leg and formulated their defense to meet him at the end of his run with a wall made by Ferdinand and Brown. I believe if Rijkaard really wanted to get a goal he should have started Thierry Henry. Henry is familiar to Manchester United's play and has scored at Old Trafford on numerous occassions. He threatened the goal a number of times in both games and could have been that significant figure. Rijkaard could have also went with the option of taking Deco off and have Etoo play along side Krikic, we saw on Sunday how Grant used his strikers to impose on Man U's defense which lead to the penalty awarded. Barcalona were also guilty of trying to keep the create the perfect goal. Many times they entered the box. Instead of taking the shot they overplayed the ball resulting in Man U defenders closing down their shooting range.
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1993 or 1999?
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