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Thoughts on Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Barca?

Arsenal wins the second leg 3-1. Bold, I know.

Barcelona wins the second leg 2-0. They had chances and possessed the ball extremely well. Simply could not finish. Bojan's header would have been nice at the end.

REAL HENRY i thought you were wiser than that my friend. Im going with my red devils again winning 2-1. Barca will win the second leg easily... Barca DOESN'T play bad football back 2 back. United will demostrate their superiority once again at the Emirates!

Chelsea's defensive play was exactly like the brilliant Gus drew up. Not pretty but alas, this is how you win these types of contests. I can't quote the figures but teams from the mainland don't typically waltz into England and win at this stage of the contest. There's a reason why English teams have made up 3/4 of the Champions League final 4 the past 2 years. Not saying Barca can't but I'm firmly in Chelsea's corner on this one. Lose at home? Are you kidding me?

I like ManUtd 2-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea/Barca goes to Barca on kicks from the mark after another 0-0 game at The Bridge.

United beats Barca 2-1 in the final.

Arsenal will win at home to face Barca in the finals. ManU had a good run when the Arsenal back line was non existent but I am sure we will see Eboue out there getting some fire to the mid and with the home fans we will pull through.

Arsenal Barca rematch with barca winning again

Barca 1 Man Utd 0 in the final.

It will be a tall order for Arsenal no doubt but it will come down to haw bad they want it on the day.

It wouldn't shock me if Gooners won - but I think Utd will score and that means Arsenal would have to score three to advance. That, I don't see.

Should be a good game in any event.

If the final turns out to be United v. Barca... then we all know how much of a great game thats going to be! In order for arsenal to win they'd have to first be able to penetrate the back line with ferdinand and vidic. Confirming that Ferdinand will play in the next leg after leaving the pitch due to a collision with van der sar. So i don't think arsenal will do anything out of the ordinary to defeat the red devils.

Final in Wenger's sights:


Sky Sports webpage

Chelsea beats barca, i just think chelsea has a more experienced coach.

Cristiano Ronaldo was all they need last year, plus he has to make sure Madrid throw a couple of more millions for him.

I hard to predict these days, is not like the old day where Madrid and Milan made everybody look sorry.

I think Chelsea wins the whole thing but it will be a close one.

Chelsea used up all their cards in the semis sad to say their run will come to an end this week. I definately agree with regards to the quality of their current manager.

Barca is playing pretty good, I woulnd say they are "god" like the Spanish media are saying, if you ever watched the Milan of Baresi, Gullit and Van Basten you will know what Im talking about not to mention the Madrid of Di Stefano (from what my grandpa says).

I think Guardiola does not have the experience plus Chelsea still have some good players like Drogba and Anelka.

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to prove he was made for Madrid so is another hard one plus Ferguson has a really strong team.

I think Chelsea wins the whole thing.

I want Arsenal to win it though, I was amazed with Fabregas and in the last euro.

Fabregas to me is pure class, prob the next Zidane, he is another player that is most likely to go to madrid.

Plus Arsenal is young I like that.

ahh you are trippin big time my freind... Ronaldo already stated that he would NOT make a move to Madrid. He's on contract till 2012. he signed his new contract on 13/04/2007. So unless things go horribly wrong for him at United, i don't see him leaving anytime soon. You Madrid fans can for now just dream of having Ronaldo on your sqaud. and i can't beleive you mentioned Fabregas as probably being the next zidane! He's good when he's on a good night... but to put fabregas in the same category as zizou you got to be on crack. The only person i can even think that comes close to being compared to zidane is Johann Gourcuff. He's still a young player, but later down the road he will be amazing.

you may be right with your prediction coach roberts. But im thinking if United come out and challenge every 50/50 ball like they did in the first leg than Arsenal will have no chance in getting a result. arsenal are more than capable of cracking open any defense.. just the fact that you have 2 maybe 3(Evra)defenders who can shut down the best attackers leaves me wondering what will happen. lets just sit back and another classic encounter!

I believe having back Van Persie is a huge offensive boost and i hope Eboue gets some minutes today. No doubt it will be another classic encounter between the two.

oh ya.. Van Persie is money. He's BIG threat to United.. man i can't wait till 2:30

I cannot believe what i am watching........ 11 mins in...cant believe it.

Not playing with a lot of heart right now very dissapointing first half definately need Bruno.

Half
MSN 0-2 MAN

Definately not a good showing by any means should have been nasri off instead of gibbs anyone could have slipped and he wasnt playin bad at all, nasri has done very little in the middle in both legs very dissapointing. Good luck to ManU in the finals.

Nobody and i mean nobody thought the game was going to turn out the way it did.. and with Park scoring the first goal was just a sign of more to come. Arsenal came out guns blazing in the first 15 minutes.. but after United gained possesion and started knocking it around thats when Arsenal played started to play on the back foot. Can't take anything away from Ronaldo's thunderous strike! that was insane power. Like i said before.. arsenal had to find a way to get through ferdinand, vidic, and evra... which nobody on arsenal were up to the task to do. United came to play today and came away with the result. WE'RE GOING TO ROME!!!

Park cant dribble like ronaldo,or score like rooney but one of the best team player ever.. never stops running...im an Arsenal fan but to me park is the motm to me.. what a great player...

Manu was the better team the entire series and they deserve to advance as much as it pains me to say it. of course i will have to root for barca in the finals.

I think Fabregas has what it takes to be one of the best ever.

It will be matter of him going to a bigger and better club, like Milan or Madrid, they are waiting for him.

Remember that Cesc is the same age as Messi, he is still young.

From what I've heard, is either cr7 or kaka going to Madrid, some people say that maybe both of the would go.

I doubt they both go bc they are kind of expensive, if kaka goes back to form I think he is beter than Cristiano but right now, Cristiano is the best.

Nothing would be better than watching Cristiano vs Messi in the championship, both deserve to be there plus it will be another England-Spain war.

Chelsea has something to say about that though.

Will be a great game today i believe that Barcelona will be in the finals.

What a match with some unbelievable goals. Credit to Barca for still fighting a man down. Drogba should have finished his chances but the referee was absolutely awful. Pique's handball in the box was more than obvious. If the referee was screened, where was the linesman? You can't miss a call like that on that stage. The handball at the end of the game could have also been called but maybe the head official knew he was having a nightmare and just wanted to get off the pitch. Didn't even think Adibal's red card was justified. Essien's goal is the goal of the champions league right now, ahead of Adebayor's against Villareal and Ronaldo's against Porto. Should be a great final. Definitely pulling for Barca and Henry to win the final.

Awful is too nice a word for the ref in the Chelsea-Barca match. If ever there was a ref on the take, he was it. He blew FIVE calls in the box that should have been PK's for Chelsea. Drogba (twice) gets pulled down in the box before he can get a chance to finish (26th and 8nd minutes). Very hard to finish when you're on your back. Two obvious handballs, Pique's would have been called by a 12yo rec ref and the one on Ballack's shot in the 96th minute was almost as bad. But on that one the ref was right on top of. Didn't know you could turn your back on a shot, throw your arm in the air and get hit directly in the tricep and not have it be a hand ball. Ballack certainly thought it was. Then Anelka get pulled down in the box near the end and no call. The only call that was made 3-4 feet inside the box was not awarded a PK but a free kick just outside.

This ref should NEVER do another professional game and they should keep an eye on all his bank accounts.

Whose poor clearance resulted in Messi winning the ball before he passed it square to Iniesta?

Was it Essien? That's a shame after the bomb he hit in the first half.

Ref had a rough go of it. Ballack and Drogba seemed a bit upset there at the end.

Good to see the better team over two legs win. Finally, the modern tactical plan doesn't beat the technical, attractive plan. Soccer needs more rewards for teams that play the game the right way.

Barca wasn't the better team in this leg. Although they controlled the ball more, they had a total of ONE shot on goal. And maybe one other scoring chance. Chelsea should have had 5 PK's and won 6-1.

Hence, why I said "the better team over two legs."

To many folks get brainwashed by the ESPN analysts and announcers because of the pro-Anglo opinions in this country. Anytime a team has as much of the games that Barcelona did in those two matches, they are the better team.

I love some matches its "shots" and others its "shots on goal." I guess, whatever works better for the angle you are coming from. But, 100% shot to goal ratio isn't bad. Better then 0%.

If Manchester United doesn't sit in and plays Barca straight up, it could be quite a show for the Spanish. It will be interesting.

barca was the better team.

chelsea played conservative and tried to play smart long ball.

barca was more agresive and played like real men.

i think this one would much more closer.

hard to predict, ManU has Ronaldo and a good coach, barca has messi and super fast eto, puyol is a beast.

Whoever wins im hoping to be another great game, and cristiano ronaldo to prove he has what it takes to wear the glorious white jersey.

Alma Merengue you need to watch a lot more football matches. cuz your thoughts are really screwed up. Barca played on the backfoot most of the game... barca just passed a whole lot more than chelsea. chelsea created a lot more scoring oppurtunities. If anelka and drogba could finish most of their chances chelsea would've been facing manchester in Rome. Abidals red card was too harsh... Anelka obviously tripped and the ref just made the worst call in history. Man U got screwed too with Fletcher getting the ball first but taking out fabregas afterwards. But it's all good.. we have scholesy to take his place or anderson. I have all the faith in the world that the red devils will win yet again another champions league trophy. Barcelona's backline is completely empty. with marquez being out as well as abidal. Gaurdiola is going to have to do some real thinking.. cuz Manchester is gonna have a hell of a time with barca come the 27th. AND RONALDOS NOT GOING TO MADRID!!! keep dreaming Alma

i kinda disagree with you hollywood.. Essiens goal was something to savor. but both Ronaldos 40 yard strike vs. porto and his free kick from about the same place vs. arsenal were way better than essiens. But im not taking anything away from that beautiful strike. Being a Man U fan i cheered for that.

alright couple of things...

1) kickinit: how do you conclude Barcelona were the better team just based on the fact that they had the majority of the ball? Is that not taking an "angle" just like people who talk about shots? Barcelona has had possession over almost every single team they play in all competitions. That doesn't necessarily mean they are the better team. Barcelona were not the better team today, they created less oppurtunities and though they had a ton of possession that didn't necessarily mean they did anything with it. And I would argue they were not necessarily the better team in the first leg as well. Chelsea went to the Nou Camp with a gameplan of getting numbers behind the ball and defending as a unit. I think they executed their gameplan better than Barcelona in the first leg as every soccer fan would agree that a 0-0 game in Spain was a good result for Chelsea. Just because they sat back and absorbed Barcelona's attack doesn't mean they were the inferior squad. Chelsea made Xavi, Messi, and Eto'o virtually invisible over two matches and held Barcelona without a single goal for 180 plus minutes. Chelsea and Barcelona have contrasting styles and just because Barca's might be more attractive to the eye doesn't mean they are the best. If Chelsea had finished their chances (Drogba in the FIRST and SECOND leg) they would be advancing. But they didn't and Barcelona found a way to win late on which they deserve a ton of credit for but to say they were the better team I feel is debatable. It was a very very even tie.

2) Eagle#7: while I would not disagree that Ronaldo's goal vs Porto was unbelievable and definitely was worthy of goal of the competition, I just thought Essien's was a bit more magical based on the fact it was a first time volley under pressure, with his weaker foot. But I think the difference in our opinions could be based on the fact you see the games from behind red tinted glasses while mine are most definitely blue haha

i feel sorry for Chelsea.. but.. win is win.. i know its sad but it doesnt matter how much possession or how many shots they had, what a great game by both teams... but poor ref..

line up for MANU



park-rooney-C.ronaldo

anderson-scholes-carrick

evra-vidic-ferdinand-oshea

park probably mark messi again just like lastyear could be 4-4-2 when they defend and 4-3-3 when they attack,, barbatov is too lazy for barca..2-1 manu win!

Essien's strike was an absolute beauty just watched the game again the officiating was certainly "U4 club soccer at best" certainly missed a few key calls wouldnt be surprised if he confesses to throwing the game he cant be that bad at that level just unbelievable.

Just remember a ugly win is better than a pretty loss.

hahaha i need to watch more soccer?

let see.

In my cable tv, soccer channels.

1. Goltv: soccer 24 ours 7 days per week, including La Liga, Brazileirao, and Colombian soccer.
2. ESPN Deportes: All Champions League games, Dutch League, Euro MNts, South American MTs, Mexican League
3. FSC: Italian League, ping pong epl
4. Centro America TV: Central American soccer
5. TYC: Argentinan and South American Soccer
6. Fox Sports En Espanol: Copa Libertadores, Argie League, CCC CL, MLS, World Soccer
7. Univision, Galavision, Telefutura: All CCC games, and Mexican League games, friendly matches from all over the world.

Now you think I need to watch more soccer?

Barca was the more agresive team, you are acting like Chelsea had all these great chances and they finish it... haha they had a couple of lucky runs out of long balls from the back, thats all, barca always went up to look for the goal even when they had a man down.

In El Camp Nou, Barca had like 40 chances and chelsea had 2, are you serious?

Nobody is talking about possesion here, im talking about the better team went to look for the win and they did, they have the attacking tools to do it.

Im not saying Barca is going to win, Im not even a Barca fan but they were the better team and ManU is going to be the underdog on this one.

Puyol is back, Henry would be back I think.

I was watching an interview where Ronaldo was speaking spanish already, looks like he is ready to live his dream, he is going to be play for los Merengues.

Although my dads best friend is in Spain right now and he was told Kaka is also planning to move to Madrid too, that the negociation is going fast now bc he is not happy at Milan.

Good luck to both teams.

It's amazing how different one can view this sport. Also interesting is how similar your analysis is to the ESPN folks hoping and praying for a Man U/Chelsea match-up. Hmmm, the pro-Anglo influence in America is a neat dynamic.

Now, be careful what you say because I never said Chelsea's plan was bad or almost didn't work (although it was disappointing). I said I felt Barca was better. This was due to more a lot more possession; constantly trying to attack against 9-10 highly trained, and paid, men packed in the Barca final third for 180 minutes. Oh yeah, and Barca continued this pressure for a large period of time shorthanded after a phantom red card. (The referee made errors both ways).

Isn't having the ball and possession, and trying to attack, the point of soccer? A great team can't help if the other team chooses not to, or can't, and is inferior. You even said Barca "has had possession over almost every single team they play in all competitions." That's making my next point that, not only is Barca better the Chelsea, but is arguably the best club in the world at the moment. (Most Americans will only realize that if they beat the beloved and adopted Man U).

Again, too many folks only look at tactics, tactics, tactics and forget to appreciate the beautiful and technical side of the game. What Barca did vs. a highly trained Chelsea was enjoyable and not something that comes along that often.

Alma Merengue:

Looks like you watch most of the good soccer on those channels. If it's not EPL, EPL, EPL and EPL then folks won't appreciate it. Good stuff!

dani alves is overrated... poor crosses

One poor game makes alves overrated? Because that is one of the few games ive seen him play poorly.

Alves is truly a remarkable fullback i believe that we have seen the risk factor that is associated with the way he plays very similar to roberto carlos he is attack minded that this puts him at risk to a counter attack if he is matched up with someone of a similar style of play, he is definately not a bad player just needs to stay home and choose his runs so he dosent get exposed again in the future.

It will truly be a great matchup for the finals being a Arsenal fan i am going with Barca.

Ok dont blame anything of eto'o in the 96th minute he jumped up to block a last resort shot with his arms tucked in and it hit him in the shoulder that is indirect contact so that was not a handball, piques was a fluke it bounced up into his hand the ref didnt have a view neither did the linesman k cool get over if the malouda call that was stupid there should have been no free kick he made first contact off the ball tryin to push alves, drogbas was stupid he dove and the barca back was simply tryin to catch him from falling so he grabbed his jersey to try and hold him up! haha

Barca deserves to move on chelsea stands no chance if you let a team like ManU possess a ball for 70% of the game they are gonna straight up murder you cRonaldo is just that good, 2nd when you say they only have one shot, OMG they have one shot and scored it imagined if they had about 8 game over, they were just playing it safe by possessing thing ball cause they knew all they had to do is have at least 50% possesion and a tie to win. Its not like they made that rule up at the end so barca would advanve they knew what they had to do.

But at the end of the day Chelsea lost Barca advances good game sorry chelsea but no wants to see a pathetic rematch between ManU and chelsea and watch ManU completely destroy them haha your welcome for my input haha

Quote:

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piques was a fluke it bounced up into his hand

---

Must be a new rule "Fluke hand ball - no penalty "

You Barcelona fans are such idiots. I don't care if you play the "beautiful game" and can possess the ball. That's like saying one basketball team is better than the other because they play 4 corners and pass the ball 20 times before they take a shot. The end result is ALL that matters. You play in a sub-par domestic league where if you are touched you fall down and the whistle blows. The players act like pre-Madonnas and little girls. some even look like women.

You deserved to lose that game and you're acting like you blew Chelsea away. There are 4 blatant penalty claims. 2 of which are so horrendous that they warrant an investigation into why it wasn't called. Yet, there will be none because UEFA has mysteriously gagged the official...

There's no questioning that Malouda was hacked down 3-4 yards inside the 18 in the 1st half...There is NO question that Pique handed the ball. It's not a fluke, moron. It's a handball. Penalty. 3-1. Any person watching the game can see that.

Congrats. I hope the world got what they wanted. I know Platini and Blatter did.

Just remember where the best league in the world is when you get your ass handed to you on the 27th.

ManU 4-1

how many times a game does Drogba flop?

soccer is a cruel game at times. bottom line - chelsea got short changed but should have scored a few more and overcome the non-calls. why did they sit back so much? barcelona only had 10..attack and score and take the ref and his bad calls out of play.

Were you watching the game at all?

Chelsea did attack. Chelsea's play style is counter-attacking whether they're playing Barcelona or West Bromich Albion. This means that when they dispossess you, they look to quickly exploit the numbers you pushed forward and score. They may not control teams at times as much as YOU'D like them to but, it is a strategy used by teams all over the world. And chances to score? When there are 4 opportunities to score ruined by should-be penalized infractions that limits your chances to score doesn't it?

just an fyi - i was pulling for chelsea and wanted them make it through to knock off Manu in the finals. i also like Drogba but feel he is too quick to flop and complain when he doesn't get the call. he hasn't always played this way. also, i know how they usually play and they didn't do their usual "thing" againt Barcelona.

instead they sat back with 10 behind the ball and in their back 1/3 and applied little pressure, let Barca get everyone in their 1/3 even when they had a man advantage. They should have pressured more at least at midfield, forced more turnovers and scored a ton and not leave it for the ref to screw them over. and they shouldn't sub out Drogba. they coulda/shoulda won even with the bad calls.

what makes a team the best is their ability to win games.

barca dominated chelsea in both games, could not finish the first game, chelsea and their ladys strategy got a point in spain.

now that didnt work out in the 2nd game, long ball and defensive soccer would only work when you play uneskilled physical leagues.

drogba could have finish it but he didnt, so maybe he is not good enough to win the champions league, you ever though about that? you ever wonder why Madrid is offering all the money for Kaka, Ronaldo or Messi and not for Drogba?

maybe chelseas strategy on putting 10 men on defense and to wait for a lucky rebound out of a long ball isnt enough to beat this barcelona team that just humillieated the greatest team of all time.

barca was better and more agresive than chelsea, get over it and move on.

there is always next year ; )

We are about to see one of the greatest games of all time, both attacking teams, the 2 best players in the world about to face each other.

i wouldnt blame on barcelona... its all REF's fault... and both team has different style of playing soccer. and win is win..

United 2 Barca 0. thats how the final is going to turn out.

I have said it before i will say it again a ugly win is better than a pretty loss.

Eagle7
I have to disagree with you this time being anti-ManU as a faithful Arsenal fan "my money" will be on Barca.

I really don't care who wins (really, I don't). But I would like to see some attacking and some scoring. To ensure this, I hope one of them scores early. Then we got us a game. The longer there's no score, the greater chance of 0-0 and PKs. UGH!!!

the best coach in the state told me that ManU is going to win, that they are solid everywhere.

I think Barca takes it, they are just too good on top, too many weapons.

Im hoping for lots of goals and hoping that ManU comes to attack and they dont use the same ladies strategy of putting 10 men on defense and waiting for cr7 or rooney to get a lucky long ball rebound.

Im not pulling for barca but i rather watch an attacking minded team win, i hate defensive soccer with a passion.

Once we get Kaka and cr7 next year, we should dominate again.

Oh my god alma merengue are you smoking peyote or something. Man United plays amazing offense! they are the most feared counter attacking team and can score on ANY team in a blink of an eye... especially Barca! Batca sits back and lulls their opponents to death with passing till they finally pass and get a goal. United play to score the whole 90 minutes of a game. Not only can Ronaldo score goals but so can rooney, park, scholes, hell the whole team. I think you need to put a little more thought into your replys or stay in La Liga football. Madrid lost to liverpool which is not horrible loss at all... but to say that United don't play attacking football is just retarded.You'll feel dumb when neither Ronaldo or Kaka go to Madrid. Glory Glory Man United!

I heard from a good source that Kaka already sign for Madrid. Kaka is already a Merengue, now we just wait for cr7 to come to join the new galactico era.

tom henning overbro or whatever is a worse referee than the worst referee at high school soccer in South Carolina. That is how bad he refereed the Barca Chelea game two weeks ago, such a shame should be a repeat of Moscow....i cant believe I'm saying this but i hope Manchester (GOD I WILL KILL MYSELF SOME DAY FOR SAYING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!) destroys Barcelona on Wednesday

Man United will win! im glad your heart is pulling you to a fine decision Zola.

If ManU put 10 men on defense. Is gone be a 1-0 game.

If ManU comes to play, Im predicting Barca 4 ManU 0. Barca has too many weapons for a lonely Ferdinand.

impossible, impossible, impossible, real madrid are poor this year so obviously theyll let up 6 to barca and if they can score two manchester can certainly score more

earlier this season manchester beat chelsea 3-0, it hurts me to right that, but with this knowledge manchester are certainly capable and will win in rome tomorrow night

When and where is the game being televised?

Tomorrow i believe at 2pm something, and it should be on espn2.

ManU only has 3 real chances.

1. Barca playing his worse game ever.
2. Ronaldo doing something out of this world
3. Sir Alex making something out of this planet

There is not way ManU is gone get away with this one, I hate Barca but they are just too powerfull.

Is gone get interesting.

ESPN:

Watch the game today?

Manchester United were completely out classed today. Barcelona were without the better team and it was definitely enjoyable watching Man United chase the ball the entire game. Xavi and Iniesta completely controlled the midfield. I don't remember seeing either one of them lose the ball once the entire game. The better team won without question.

wow.... manu should have pull rooney off ...not park... look what happend...[censored]

I didn't think Park was playing particularly well either though. I thought Fergie would take Park off for Tevez at halftime rather than have Tevez come in for Anderson

anybody in a red devil jersey wasn't playing particularly well, unless you count Ronaldo who had his chances. To bad Fletcher wasn't playing, at this point in time I think I would have taken him over Carrick. Can't stand John Oshea but who else are you going to put back there...I don't know it just seemed like United were tired or just weren't fast enough.

i agree

Very disappointed in Manu's energy level after the first 10' and particularly after Barca's first goal. You kept waiting for them to hit the gas but they never did. No spirit, no fight, not the hallmark of an English team. Certainly, a lot of that had to do with Barca. They came out playing very aggressive on defense and that is NOT the hallmark of a Spanish team. I think that surprised Manu a bit. And Sir Alex was definitely outcoached by Guardiola.

is this simple.

when you play the best ping pong long ball team vrs the best street futbol team, street futbol is too much.

Madrid would take over next year, we will show barca who truly runs this show.