Apr 24
Barcelona 0-0 Manchester United - Much better than last season
Red Rants had some problems in the last 10 hours or so - first our server was under maintenance for a looonnnggg time (they picked one hell of a time to do maintenance), and then there was a problem with our database that didn’t allow people to post comments. Both problems are resolved now, and I thank you for your patience and hope that you haven’t migrated somewhere else in the meantime.
We will be shifting servers in the near future to avoid any such future problems.
Ok, back to the match itself. In case you haven’t seen the game, I suggest finding a place to download it and watch it again, or trying to catch a replay on TV. My hangover prevents me from going play by play over last night’s events, although to the teams’ credit I managed to go through the whole game without sleeping (as opposed to the shit on a stick affair at Anfield when I dozed off 10 minutes into the game). If you’re pressed for time, read the beeb’s report or guardian’s minute-by-minute coverage.
What I DO want to discuss though, is the nature of United’s performance and what that holds for the coming days (both the Chelsea game and the second leg at Old Trafford).
United played quite well for their standards
Remember, we’re not Liverpool or Chelsea - we didn’t have the players in midfield or upfront to hussle and play ‘direct’ football. Some of you might disagree, but comparing United’s performance to Liverpool’s last year would be unfair for two reasons - one, the different styles of play, and two, the fact that Barcelona gave away that game last season with some shocking defending.
Instead, we were on the backfoot throughout, with Barcelona controlling the midfield through possession and their much better use of it. The crowd was a factor as well (in motivating the home side) and I hope United fans heed Fergie’s request to create a special atmosphere in the return leg to urge their team on.
We’re not Arsenal either - our game is usually played on a higher tempo with less emphasis on the short passes (although they’re still there). Arsenal might have done better against Barcelona, but that’s as much to do with psychology (they’ve done well away in Europe in recent years, United haven’t) as with their style of play (remember Villareal away in the 05/06 season? shambles…).
But the most important (and for me, positive) thing is that this side played a lot better against an arguably more dangerous side (in terms of attacking talent across the pitch) than it did last year away in the Champions League semifinals. There’s a lot of talk about how United should win this and play like that but at the end of the day, this was a bunch of kids who’ve shown considerable maturity in standing up to a strong team and come away without being embarrassed. United learned their lessons from last season and it showed in the way priority was given to closing down attacks and defending as a team.
That penalty
The penalty, without a doubt, changed the game. If it had gone in, there was always going to be more goals in it - a score draw or a 2-1 to either side was quite possible then because it would have given United more confidence and given Barcelona the added incentive to go forward and attack.
Ferguson said that perhaps the penalty came too early for United and Ronaldo was caught a bit unprepared. I find that true to an extent - the pressure got to Ronaldo and it might not have gotten to him if the pen had been in, say, the 10th minute. As things were, it was a surreal moment and too good to be true to be given a penalty in the first minute in a Champions League semifinal at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo missed (for the record I think with his European experience Hargo should have taken it, but hindsight is 20/20 and you’d have bet the house on Ronny scoring from a pen against Barca), and both teams were cautious after that. Barcelona focused more on possession and control than outright attack, and United, aware that they had rustled up a nest of bees, were cautious and focused on nullifying Barcelona’s threat as opposed to doing any serious foraging up front by themselves.
United did have a strong shout for a second penalty around the 29th minute, but that wasn’t given. Can’t say much about that, except that Ronny would have tried again and I’d still bank on him putting that one away. Should we now throw a strop and say we were denied clear-cut scoring chances by a referee? Nah, we’re not going to berate the ref. Unfortunately, this happens when you rely on single individuals to referee high-pressure games where something as obvious as home crowd pressure (not to mention the fact that it’s harder to give a second penalty than it is to give the first one) can influence the ref’s decisions. As Fergie said, you don’t expect to get one penalty at Camp Nou so to get a second there was no chance. At least that’s better put than doubting the integrity of the referee, which surprisingly hasn’t earned Rafa Benitez any fine up till now…
Team selection
Unfortunately Vidic was ill but Wes Brown did a good job as his replacement. Brown is a confidence player and he grew into his added responsibilities yesterday. He’s a great asset to have in the squad with his experience, loyalty and defensive abilities. Sure, he’s not a natural right-back, but of all the center-backs playing at right-back for the top four this season, who’d you back? Exactly…
Ferguson held back Nani and Anderson for the next two games, and when you think about it, this time around we have players we can rely on to freshen things up and still win games for us. Come Stamford Bridge, I would expect at least one of these 2 to get a starting role. Strength in depth, coupled with maturity and experience, gives us a much better chance of progress this season than it did last season.
Park, Scholes and Carrick played an important role in ‘getting the job done’ without making too many mistakes. EVDS put the defence under pressure a bit with a few erratic clearances but was otherwise solid. Hargo had a decent game as well and hopefully he’ll be in midfield for the return leg alongside Anderson to provide the team with some added bite. It was also interesting to see United play Rooney on the wing because it was a testament to Fergie’s flexibility and that of his players as well. How many strikers do you know who, despite being first-choice for their team, will willingly take on a defensive role in midfield?
Looking forward
It’s Stamford Bridge and then back to Old Trafford for the next 2 parts of the ‘most important time of our season’. We could lose against Chelsea and still win the Premier League, but because of the lack of an away goal we now need to beat Barcelona at OT.
And if we can beat Real Madrid 4-3, and AC Milan 3-2 - I see no reason why United can’t win again against top European opposition at the Theatre of Dreams. We’re good enough to win the next two games, and at the very least I think we’ll pick up a point at Stamford Bridge and progress to the Champions League final to play … Chelsea … in Moscow.
Over to you.
- A disgruntled fan’s views on the Barca game
- Barclona v Man Utd: Preview
- De Rossi for Manchester United?
- Man Utd v Barcelona: Preview
- Blackburn v Manchester United - Preview
Tags: Match Reports · UEFA Champions' League
April 24th, 2008 at 9:07
Reminded me of “The Rumble in the Jungle” with Ali, I’m just waiting for the knockout blow…
Unleash the Anderson?
April 24th, 2008 at 9:17
i think 0-0 is a great result, if barca cant score against us, at nou camp, in front of about 90 000 fans, what makes anyone think that they can score against us at old trafford.
im predicting a 2-0 win for united next wednesday.
to chelsea now,
im guessing that both sides will rest players for their CL ties, but can chelsea really afford to do that?
April 24th, 2008 at 9:24
Cantona in a film for French TV :):
http://lachaine.tf1.fr/lachaine/telefilms/papillon-noir/0,,3819332,00-extrait-eric-cantona-.html
April 24th, 2008 at 9:30
scholes was a joke! he shud not play vs Chelski and the return leg! where’s andy? wat the fuck wif rooney on the wing? n put psrk instead of a fit nani? joker!
hargo or tevez shud take penalties…also hargo shud take freekicks! ronaldo shud not bossed everything!
P.S : anyone knows where is david may and jesper blomqvist now? both retired or still playing? thanks! a
April 24th, 2008 at 9:36
We played like a 4th division team. Hopeless performance… United players seemed clueless every time they got the ball. Not a single shot on/off target in second half!!!
Players were throwing away the ball/possession as if its not a ball but some bomb or grenade thats gonna burst anytime!!!
“Oh the ball has been passed to me… But what do I do with it???”
Only 37% possession!!! Joke!!!
April 24th, 2008 at 9:47
Hrm, best news out of it for me is that Brown had a stormer - looks like Vida is out at Chelsea, and we all know they’re going to hoof it to Drogba all day, looking for him to either play football or dive like a baby.
Also sounds like, as we know, Ronaldo is not a world class striker. The fact that Fergie isnt’ willing to stick Rooney up there alone says to me we’re getting a new one in the summer.
Big two games coming up. Victories in both and the season is a great one, defeats in both and its another story…
April 24th, 2008 at 9:47
What a time for server problems! Fcbnews had the same problems. I’ve now managed to get my report done if you want to read the Barça side of things. http://fcbnews.com/barca-0-manchester-united-0/
Looking forward to next week’s thrilling score draw
April 24th, 2008 at 9:52
scholes was a joke! he shud not play vs Chelski and the return leg! where’s andy? wat the fuck wif rooney on the wing? n put psrk instead of a fit nani? joker!
hargo or tevez shud take penalties…also hargo shud take freekicks! ronaldo shud not bossed everything!
P.S : anyone knows where is david may and jesper blomqvist now? both retired or still playing? thanks!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:02
I was a little disapointed to be honest, too much emphasis on tactics. Park to contain Messi, Rooney out wide who did not get a kick, Tevez god knows where he was playing, and Ronnie up front.
I wish we would have played our normal game and attacked them, with Rooney knocking the two centre backs about a bit as they looked fragile. Ronnie out wide and Anderson closing the midfield down.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:15
Kienu,
Scholes was probably our most effective player. He broke up a huge amount of their play in the centre of the park, putting in a performance that would have the press salivating had it come from a Makelele/Mascherano. He did what was needed of him on the night.
The main problem was Ferg’s tactics, why he persisted with so many players out of position is beyond me. It looked as though he was going out there to attack with Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo and Park. Instead he jumbled them into strange midfield positions, if he wanted to boss midfield why didn’t he go with his usual set-up with three central midfield players (Anderson/Carrick/Scholes) and three attacking players (Nani/Ronaldo/Rooney). Very strange decision and it was obvious the players weren’t happy playing out of position.
Very disappointing night with the added embarrassment of Ronaldo throwing himself to the floor time and again, he should take a leaf out of Messi’s book and get on with playing football.
Well done Brown, Ferdinand, Evra & Scholes, the rest went missing (along with the majority of passes).
April 24th, 2008 at 10:17
“i think 0-0 is a great result, if barca cant score against us, at nou camp, in front of about 90 000 fans, what makes anyone think that they can score against us at old trafford.”
Easy, because ManU can’t play same way in Old Trafford. You have to attack, and there will be more options to score for Barcelona.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:22
Jig,
scholes’ role and style is not suited to this kind of tactic and position….he just cant tackle! he was giving away a lot of silly and dangerous freekicks near the box and it could be costly! put hargo or andy there anytime and they can even drive the team forward rather than passing it back all the time ala mr paul scholes!
crap tactics with so many out of position players! without puyol, rooney cud had outmuscled the two CBs of barca and might even draw more fouls or penalties;) rooney wif corners? crap! hargo to take free kicks!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:24
A wonderful article on uefa.com, recounting the experience and emotions of the various members of the treble winning squad of 1999 when we won the UCL:
http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/kind=32/newsid=685482.html
April 24th, 2008 at 10:24
0-0 is a great result considering our home record in europe and in the league this season. Although it was not pretty, I can understand the tactics as well. But what I can understand was how woeful we passed the ball when we had it. Saying that, we did manage to get away with a draw, and we have a great chance at home.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:34
United played shit no doubt. it was the worst performance by us all season if you ask me. thanks to that defensive tactic we have added the pressure of making sure we have to win at Old T. no draws. I dont doubt man u’s ability to win at OLD T but there’s also a possibility for us to draw. I hope we dont live to regret the defensive tactics we used at Nou.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:35
First and foremost im disappointed, this team which we love so much was in my mind overawed and played with little or no conviction. The biggest culprits were Rooney (maybe injured), Park & Ronaldo. Tevez played like a lion and so did Scholes, Hargo had a tidy game too at right back as did evra.
Overall though I felt if fergie had switched Rooney to up front with half hour to go like he did in Rome we would have got more chance and maybe a goal…..
Im hoping and praying that the penalty miss does not come back to haunt us!
See you at the Bridge lads to win the league.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:51
WIKIPEDIA FOR MAY AND BLOMQVIST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesper_Blomqvist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_May_%28footballer%29
Scholes , Ferd the SUPER RED and especially EVRA THANK YOU! I ‘D like to thank our tacticians too. Fergie and Queiroz you played the game of the year yesterday night.
I have a simple question for you. What the fck is going on with these Barca players? They seem to be pro-evolution players. I mean do they play the playstation game? Cause the whole season they use only one way to score goals. The same rtrd way they tried yesterday. They try that turn pass to the penalty spot after they are behind the fullback.
I MEAN ! COME ON YOU CRAZY RETARDS ! IT’S not the WINNING XI here IT’S THE UCL.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:54
now SAF vows to go for attack on wed! if we had attempeted to attack yest….at least we cud had a secure one goal advantage to bring home considering barca’s defence was shaky without puyol yest! now in order to go for a full attack, we might get exposed to counter attacks! crap!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:58
I liked Ferguson’s tactic. He played safe when the entire world said that United will destroy Barcelona. ManU now have a better chance than our team. But when you start palying your style our players may find more space at old trafford. Toure and Zambrotta were instrumental in keeping Ronaldo quiet. I do agree with a lot of you that Anderson should start ahead of scholes. Messi hopefully will regain full match fitness by the second leg.
No hard feeling intended - “It looks like only barca can play the same style of football both at home and away” (I know sometimes (most of this season) it made us looked stupid.)
Our performance weren’t clinical but it atleast did one thing - the second leg english commentators will show a little more respect to such talented, out of form team.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:01
There are 3 premership sides in the semi finals, that should tell us someting. European sides don’t like playing against English teams, we play at a high tempo which does not let them settle on the ball.
We week in week out beat sides in the premiership, but then suddenly try and complicate orselves in playing players in positions that thay are not comfortable in and suddenly hope it will work.
Fergie is a superb manager but in Europe he over complicates things. We should play our high tempo aggressive attacking game.
The pride of all Europe!!
April 24th, 2008 at 11:10
These are a few observations of the past few matches. Pardon me if its not structured properly.
1. United haven’t been playing well for the past few matches. Its hell of a time for a dip but I really think it is. Boro, BBurn and now Barca. Not that I’m saying we played bad against Barca, in fact quite the opposite. What really worried me about these last few matches, to call it a dip, is the fact that our passing radar is totally off. In all these 3 matches we couldn’t string good passes throughout. And passing being the mainstay of our play, it has hurt us.
2. However, we haven’t been made to pay for it. To win doubles and trebles, a side need alot of luck. We did not have it against Portsmouth in the FA cup, but depite pretty average performances in recent matches, we are still on tops for the double. The dip can’t and won’t last much longer. We can afford probably another average game against Chelsea and get a draw there. But apart from that, if we get back to playing like we did a month back, we are almost through.
3. I agree with Grognard about Tevez. I’ve never been convinced about his ability to play in the Premiership. He would be more suited to Spain or Italy. Yesterday was a prime example where only he knows what he was doing. Its easy to say that SAF put him really deep and theres nothing he could do. But thats nonsense. He was supposed to be playing just behind Ronaldo, but he takes too many touches of the ball in a crowded area.
4. As far as last nights game goes, I think its not that great a result for us. But we played well. When Liverpool, Milan and Porto all did it, its was called tactical play and the ability to play negative but when we do it, it is said that this is not how United should play. If we would’ve gone to attack, we could’ve been walloped to be quite honest. CL is 2 legged. All we needed to ensure was that we were in the tie for the 2nd leg, which we did. So now its OT.
5. In the next 2 games, the first goal will be the most important set of goals of the entire season. Especially in the return leg, if Barca score first we might have to conjure a miracle. I really am not worried about Chelsea purely because in the Toad I trust. He will do something stupid like hes uncanilly managed to do in all of Chelsea’s important matches.
6. I really hope to stitch up the title with a draw this weekend and see us in the CL Finals.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:15
I don’t know what to make of the performance. Football is about stopping your opponent scoring while getting some goals yourself. In one respect we were excellent, the lads were disciplined, committed and well organised. Despite almost 90 minutes of continuous pressure the Barca attack never really cut through our back line. There were a few moments of concern but by and large Barcelona were rendered toothless. Particular credit should go to Evra who shut down his flank excellently, Scholes who shielded the backline with a surprising level of capability and Ferdinand who commanded the defence and came out on top of an intriguing tussle with Samuel Eto’o.
However with regards to the other aspect of football, going forward, we were utterly abysmal. Was there ball retention, possession, attacking flair, danger from set pieces, an eye for a counter attack? No, all completely absent. The issue is not that Barca had 65% possession; it was that we could only manage 35%. I would hazard a guess that our possession stats last night must rank amongst the worst the club has had in a decade. There isn’t much point in trying to single players out for this, for every bad pass hit there was a lack of movement or options from other players. Every time someone cheaply lost the ball in attacking positions there was no support to help them out etc. From anything other than a defensive viewpoint the performance was a 1/10 job.
From a tactical point of view the whole thing was bizarre. If we are going to play so deep we might as well of put Pique and Silvestre at full back and moved Hargreaves and Evra forward. Similarly SAF has often emphasised the importance of away goals and possession in the CL. Well both were summarily ignored last night. In addition the inclusion of Tevez and the use of a 4-4-2 formation goes against what seemed to be SAF’s tactics for Europe. I have no problems with a defensive performance in a game like this; personally I think you are asking for trouble if you go into the Nou Camp gung ho. But what we did last night was park the bus, a thing many have been keen to criticise the likes of Reading for in the past.
As for the outcome itself, it was ok and I consider it neither a good or bad result. We ‘should’ still see off Barcelona at OT but we have been in this situation before. We have had a few 0-0 results away over the years and they have invariably turned round and bit us on the backside. What way do you approach the home game, do you go at them in the knowledge you are in deep shit if they catch you on the break? Or do you sit back and be patient and let them grow in confidence? The result last night has left SAF and the players with a biggest question mark possible over the approach to the game. If we were behind we could go out knowing what we had to do. If it was a score draw we could take it patiently and if we had won we could sit on the lead. A 0-0 leaves us somewhat in limbo, let us just hope the players (and management) don’t let nerves get to them on the night.
Ultimately though there is little point in judging this result in isolation. We can only truly reflect if the lack of ambition (and ability) shown yesterday was the right decision on Tuesday night at 10.00pm.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:17
YEAH! now SAF vows to go for attack on wed! if we had attempeted to attack yest….at least we cud had a secure one goal advantage to bring home considering barca’s defence was shaky without puyol yest! now in order to go for a full attack, we might get exposed to counter attacks! crap!
April 24th, 2008 at 11:34
I for one don’t understand what the hell makes people
think that beating barca at OT would be as easy as taking away
a candy from a kid. May be, all players realised their
worst fears yesterday. Even a draw would cost us the CL.
I hope players rise their performance…
April 24th, 2008 at 11:48
Fergie tactics and team FORMATIONS, are making us a feckin joke in Europe!. If he hasn’t got the faith to play players in their normal positions, then he should get rid of them. A total joke!. I am embarassed to the hilt by last night’s performance. And to think that Fergie was boasting to the media that the world wanted a United/Barcelona final, NOT AFTER LAST NIGHT THEY DON’T. The way he played our team last night, says to the rest of Europe, we have no confidence of progressing unless we play 10 men behind the ball all the time. Manchester United will always play their way of football - hahahaha - I don’t think so, certainly not in Europe. I am sick to the back teeth of this type of game play. Barcelona have every good chance of scoring at Old Trafford, because they won’t be faced by all our lot behind the ball. If they do, then we will look like total tossers again. YES I DO RANT, BUT NOW RANT OVER.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:49
We are so reliant on Ronaldo scoring as well our midfield do not score. Rooney is struggling in front of goal and Carlos works so hard but is not a natural goal scorer.
We need goals from Scholes, Carrick who have only managed two between them, i think the attitude of sides you stop Ronaldo you stop United.
Players now have to step up to the plate and take resposbility we need more goals from all round the side not just Ronnie!!!
April 24th, 2008 at 12:00
Stephen: Last night had nothing to do with a lack of goal scorers. There was no movement, passing was poor, there was a lack of ambition, there was no creativity or cutting edge and half the players were out of position. Barca didn’t have to stop Ronaldo, infact they didn’t really have to stop anybody.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:05
JB, I agree but sometimes you need something out of nothing in games like that last night.
Bar Ronaldo and to some degree Tevez we some to lack that at times, when games are tight we always just seem to always look at Ronaldo to score and feel that centre mids should chip in with more goals.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:13
Fully agree with JB. 0-0 is probably worse than having to come back
from a 2-1 loss. Now, Fergie has to make a big decision before the
game-does he set up to go on the offensive from the word go and in
the process leave the doors open for a sucker punch, or do we play
a waiting game and hope Barca would commit forward leaving space
behind. Whatever is the decision, one thing is clear-if they score
first, it would take a miracle to recover.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:36
The bus should’ve been Carrick, Anderson and Hargreaves, and it should’ve been parked about 10 metres further up the pitch. Barca had so much time on the ball, I think it even confused them…why are they letting us just stroll up to their penalty area like this?
It didn’t look like some Italian inspired masterstroke, it looked like they were exhausted and desperate to cling on…but they clung pretty damn well though
April 24th, 2008 at 12:39
A rather disconcerting match from United. Barca’s possession and the role of Messi was significant. But we may see something different from United at Old Trafford. Player selection will be different for one. And I thought Ronaldo had a decent individual game at the Nou Camp. Problem was that he seemed to be playing alone most of the time. No support.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:41
With Anderson and Nani rested, I expect them to get a run out on Saturday. The rest of the team is a bit more of a mystery to me, given that:
Scholes and Hargreaves can’t play 2 matches in 4 days
Rooney is clearly unfit for some reason or another, and Tevez, well I dunno about Tevez.
More bad news is that Chelsea were able to rest SWP, Mikel and Essien, so they should all be fresh and fast. I really don’t rate SWP, but he does shoot all the time, and it’d be just our luck if he finally found his scoring boots this weekend. Lampard not playing could be a benefit to Chelsea IMO…
2 matches. Ronaldo, Rooney - if you want to prove yourselves, you can’t ask for a better ground to do so.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:42
Performance aside it is a good result. It is not unreasonable to have to win at home to progress to the semis. Nou Camp is intimidating and the players looked very nervy probably why they could not string a pass together. It will be a different story at home. Barcelona need to score and so do we, so it will be an open game. Of course that leaves us vulnerable on the counter attack whereas last night we had men behind the ball the whole time and rode our luck.
April 24th, 2008 at 13:10
probably they could complete passes coz they were sitting too deep and not playing the usual fast game (as we are used to). Fergie adopted a very safety first approach and it worked so it was indeed a good result. You are normally expected to win on your home ground and Barca didnt
April 24th, 2008 at 13:47
Result aside, I am a supporter of United because I love to watch them play. Last night was like watching my favorite super hero defect to the dark side. If I was happy to just look up the league table every week and watch them climb point by point then fine, but I’m not. I want to see beautiful football. It pains me even more because this one game brings to question Ronaldos credit over Messi. I honestly would not want to ever see them play like this again. Tactics or no tactics, this is not United. We didn’t play like this to win in 99′ we shouldn’t have to do it now.
April 24th, 2008 at 13:48
Wondered if that huge pitch at nou camp was the problem..VDS was struggling with his kicks. Our long balls continuously failed, but could gather up momentum with our short passes….
There was no point in having Rooney up front. Much much better defensiely thn Ronaldo. Good thing that Brown held his nerve.
Taking a look from a neutral, Messi proved here that he was way beyond r7 in controlling a game, although he didnt have any shot on goal.
I hope r7 lives lives up to his predictions at OT.
April 24th, 2008 at 13:52
Hi first time post new reader well anyway to the point…..
am i the only one that thinks that was great tactical play from feugerson last night. of course we were out there for a 0-0 what manager is so dumb he decidides to go gung ho againt the talents of xavi deco messi bojan too name a few. When we wernt winning titles did you see teams going gung ho against us, when we drew at the beginning of the season did teams go gung ho against us. the answer NO cause form takes a second to change and at all times you are 1 pass away from changing your season.
Sir alex was smart last night using the players strength he knew park would run him self to death and show a 100% commitment with out any nonesence remember this is messi on the same wing and we wernt sure want to exspect from him.
rooney on the right makes sence again great stamina 100% commited and didnt do anything stupid.
ronaldo upfront well hes gotta play somewere dont he and against teams like brcelona i wouldnt want him shouting at the heavens while abidal and whoever team up against hargreaves.
Scholes had a good game compared to most players he got stuck in what is what youll never see in spain, he slowed down the pace of the game when he had the ball that was a great idea from fuergeson. Lets see a team that like fast flowing football what do we do play with a slow tempo keep the ball abit longer ennoy them get them frustrated take the pressure of the deffence for a while o im forgetting use would of been fantasising about fast flowing football away from home in a champions league semi final against a team equal to us in terms of idiviual tallent we had a suprisingly good back 4 but a wobbly one that you normly would exspect. Sir alex didnt no if that back 4 would pay off or not and imm glad he didnt take the risk.
Now things wont get complicated at home with away goals and stuff the teams are starting level, both have to attack. exspect anderson to start this time like many of use were crying out for nani and park on the wings with rooney and ronaldo upfront.
April 24th, 2008 at 13:56
One big positive for me from the match is that we didn’t make any rash tackles or bad fouls that could have earned us yellows or even a red. The players were disciplined. One yellow to Hargreaves in the whole game, I think?
And look, defending for 90 minutes when the other side (a world class side, at that) has 65% possession, and not conceding a goal is fairly impressive.
April 24th, 2008 at 13:58
Barca had 17 shots on goal to our 6…
Rooney needed to play upfront, with Ronaldo.
Scholes was wonderful, agree with the makelele comment.
Back four brilliant.
My man of the match was VDS
GO UNITED LETS LOOK AFTER CHELSEA AND GET HOME TO PLAY ‘UNITED’ FOOTBALL
April 24th, 2008 at 14:06
I can’t believe the stick United are getting after this result, which I think was a very good one. We were fortunate in as much as we played poorly, but got a positive result. 0:0 away from home in Europe is no disgrace. Especially when you consider what happened to us last year against (imo) a poorer team.
A trend I have noticed more often than not in Europe is that the home team, whoever they may be generally dominates the game. This rung true last night, and again… to come away with a clean sheet is a good result.
I fully expect the tie to be played out as an exact opposite at OT, with United having the lions share of possession and goal scoring opportunities. And from what I have seen of Barcas defense, I am highly confident we will score. And hey, if we can keep a clean sheet there, then we should expect nothing less at home.
I’m very optimistic about us making the final. You should be too!
April 24th, 2008 at 14:19
all are valid points but the bottom line is, if united can’t beat any team you throw at them at old trafford, they don’t deserve to go through.
April 24th, 2008 at 14:40
You are missing the genius of this tactics… With a BIG game against Chelsea this weekend and a tough away game at Nou Camp Fergie needed not to lose last night and STILL keep the squad fresh (Chelsea has an extra day to recover from Anfield).
He did both! We got 0-0 (which is good enough, I think) and out players were parked in our own half all game keeping the running to a minimum… It must have felt like a training session for our players so they should be fine against Chelsea.
We will break Chelsea at SB and win at OT and Fergie is still the greatest!
April 24th, 2008 at 14:45
I spent hours thinking what was the formation yesterday, then I found it to be 10-0-0. Many are happy with a draw - not me. I am not mad at Ronaldo’s miss, but the rest of the game. The game played with no passion - never wanted to win. Alex cleverly lied to the media that we are going for an away goal. Any team in the world would put ten man defense and escape with a draw in nou camp.
There is another away game coming up - Chelsea would have boosted their confidence - after seeing our display against a team which had an awful season. 4 or 5 players were given new role and they were practicing on the semi-finals?
Poor Game
April 24th, 2008 at 15:07
Madsman: You would think that, but a 90 minute rearguard action (even if you are camped in your own half) is often as tiring mentally and physically for players as an end to end attacking match.
April 24th, 2008 at 15:17
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/04/24/manual_150327.html
Things like this make you realise that football and formations may not be as important as we often think.
April 24th, 2008 at 15:30
sad, Sad, SAD, SADDDDD!!!!!! That was the tempo of our game yesterday. To hell with tactics. You should see the way teams beat Barcelona up in the La Liga. They were 2 goals up against Betis and still lost 3-2. Betis did not earn their win by playing the so called tactics. They took their chances against a poor barcelona defense. And what the hell in the world is rooney doing playing 7, Ronaldo Playing 9. It is sick. Liverpool beat Barca up at the same bloody Nou Camp with the same so called 90,000 freaking out supporter, including hitman Ronaldinho. United had no excuses at all. Now United needs a miracle. And by the way our magic number does not always have to be 7. Thats why eleven people play soccer. Concentrate on building the team around every players ability. Not Mr. Super Ronnie. And yesterday i had to hear people tell me why Messi finished second best ahead of Roanlado. Messi is not yet fully fit. Finally when playing Barca it is not about not conceding, no it is about who scores more. Winner takes it all. You can chose to play that crap with Chelsea and the likes but not Barca. The only word in their dictionary is attack. NO defending. Score and Score more goals. That is how Barca play. UNITED you have to realise it is about time to rise up to the occasion, play the game we know, the way we know and get the result we need. Wheather against Chelsea, Barca, West Ham, or Wigan. For God sakes call the shots!!!!!. Wake up Ronney, Tevez, and all of you. You can do it. This is not the time to be weak. You can do it . But do it our way. ONE UNITED. SEE U AT MOSCOW!!!!!!
April 24th, 2008 at 15:34
d game rocks! ur the man wif the plan!
anyone knows where is david may and jesper? i need to look for them for my magazine…thanks!
April 24th, 2008 at 15:42
UTSAV:A 0-0 leaves us somewhat in limbo, let us just hope the players (and management) don’t let nerves get to them on the nighT:
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT MATE,I FELL WE WILL GET BITTEN ONCE AGAIN:HORRIBLE PERFORMANCE
April 24th, 2008 at 15:47
Why is everyone saying we struggled we have done exactly what liverpool do in europe counter and defend well and finish them off at home which is why they have reached the final 2 times in the last 3 years we have to go into the game confident we have scored 59 at home and only conceded 9 we average over 2 goals scored and we let in less than .5 a game we will beat em at home we have the class quality and depth i think we are very much on for the double also what makes you think they can score away from home when they can’t even score at home!
April 24th, 2008 at 15:49
To everyone who is dissapointed that we didn’t go out for a win yesterday, I have to tell you one thing: our current team does not have real European pedigree. We can win at home, but we have yet to score a major victory away with the current side. So we played to neutralise this weakness, and it worked, we didn’t concede. Barca have to score now, as do we, and I think in an open game at Old Trafford we still have a huge advantage. Obviously we’ve got the Chelsea game to contend with, and perhaps we will be a litle more tired, but that is what our strength in depth is for. We have a great chance to go through, and from the way that game looked in the first 5 mins, if Ronaldo had scored we would have dominated them. It’s a pity we didn’t and it wa shocking how often we gave the ball away,but most of the culprits were the less experienced players who can be forgiven. We forget how badly this squad has done in Europe until last year.
This year I still think both trophies are ours to lose, but with the squad we’ve got we need to go out and be careful sometimes. Rooney was poor but I think that could spur him on to do well against Chelsea. If we can get a win or a draw at the Bridge then we’ll put ourselves in a great position.
April 24th, 2008 at 15:49
come on people the added incentive old trafford is gonna be deafening i’m ready for one the best games in modern history!
April 24th, 2008 at 15:53
[Utsav]
Agree with points. 1, 2, and 5!
Especially 5…I think the first goal at OT (2nd leg) is super crucial. I don’t think SAF is going to go all out at OT, although he says so now. He knows it’s better to be solid and get a goal than try to be desperate from the start. We all know how Kaka almost won Milan the game last year all by himself. True, we nicked it in the end, but dyu expect things to go our way all the time? I reckon the match at OT will be the ‘game of the season’ - I can either see a win for us, or a 3-3 draw.
Also, I was disgusted with Ron yesterday, not for missing the penalty but for acting like such a spoilt kid afterwards. It’s as if he knows the whole world’s eyes are on him, and that makes him a bit more proud and haughty on the night. Stop whining for every foul mate and don’t wave your hands at your teammates all the time! He better be true to his word and get us the winning goal at OT.
April 24th, 2008 at 15:56
(D Game)
You’re correct about Betis. But you need to realise that the game you refer to is a stand alone league match. If it were the CL final, we would’ve given a proper go. Also, its a valid point that you need to beat the best teams to win the CL.. and so we will at OT…
Its a 2 legged game. Its half time and its 0-0. Plus its at OT now. Not that bad a scenario, eh?
April 24th, 2008 at 16:22
Gotta love Ronaldo promising to score next week at Old Trafford. Give him points for courage, but he’s setting himself up for a world of hurt should Barca pull it off. I think Man. U. should take the 0-0 and run with it; it’s a good result considering Barca owned the run of play for the most part.
April 24th, 2008 at 16:57
ronaldo must not take free kicks and penalties from now…like that to hargo or tevez! scholes must not start! but if based on current scenario and trend….wif andy rested, he will start at chelski and then scholes will start again on wed! bugger!
April 24th, 2008 at 17:06
Excellent defensive performance/disgraceful attacking performance would be my summary of the game. 35% of possession for supposedly the best team in Europe was humiliating. Fair enough, Barca, as the home team, would be expected to dominate posseission but you would expect something a lot closer like 55:45 in favour of Barca.
Stating the obvious I know, but a special mention to Rio who was a colossus in defence once again, and Brown and Evra, who had blinders next to him. SAF’s attacking tactics were eccentric to say the least; what with Ronaldo and Rooney swapping jobs for the night, and playing Tevez in no mans land, where all three tried their best to play the Invisible Man (with great success I might add).
0-0 is a good result, considering the performance, but I agree with the people who say that this has the potential to come back and bite us on the backside. Who remembers when we played Barca’s rivals Real Madrid the year after the Treble? We drew 0-0 at the Bernabeu in the first leg and everyone was hailing it as a brilliant result and installing us as hot favourites to progress. What happened next? We proceeded to let Madrid kill us on the counter at OT and race into a 0-3 lead, eventually losing 2-3. Not saying that will happen this time round, but Barca have the same kind of quality as that Madrid side to do something similar. You don’t even need to go that far back in time actually; even this season Milan secured a goalless draw as the Emirates and we all know what happened next……
Having said that though, with our fantastic home record in this competition, I fully expect us to beat Barca at OT and progress to the final, expecially if that man Anderson starts. It’ll be a nervy game, but I think we’ll edge it 2-1 in the 2nd leg.
PS Kienu, I think that’s a tad harsh. Ronaldo is still the man for penalties! Though Hargo should be 2nd choice penalty taker.
April 24th, 2008 at 17:18
Wat are you talking about Kienu ‘ronaldo must not take free kicks and penalties from now’ he missed 1
pen and suddenly he shouldn’t take them anymore!!! He is one of the best penalty takers in the world
and his free kicks aren’t the worst. Ronaldo should take free kicks from long range and Hargo from
short but Ronaldo should definately still take pens.
April 24th, 2008 at 17:20
ok we got a point away in the nou camp, but how?
Our brilliant defence? Barca’s lack of penitration in the final third? our free flowing attack minded style of play? NOT!
From a football fans point of view, lastnight was attrocious, United treated the ball like something from the middle ages black death period, all we needed was a bell ringer shouting “plague plague unclean unclean”
What the fuck happened to attack attack attack? Is this the way we want to progress through competitions? like a boring Arsenal from the nineties? liverpool in the eighties/today? chelsea today?
We are UNITED, a club that prides itself on the way we play football, we have honour, pride and confidence in our abilities, at least i thought so. Can you imagine Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Harry Gregg or Denis Viollet not getting at least one shot on goal on target in the second half? Yes, they defended like a team but also attacked in numbers too.
Surely in this year of all years, we owe it to the memory of those greats who perished in Munich, to play with conviction and style. Bottom line is that the Barca team were there for the taking, we could have beaten them easily and taken it really handy in OT next week. But hey its only half time, and we’re gonna stuff them next week and all will be forgotten, or will it?
April 24th, 2008 at 17:25
Lahm contract negotiations break down, his manager says he will probably leave in the summer
April 24th, 2008 at 17:29
Since it took a long time and effort to write it I am posting my game and player reviews on this post because of the fact that site went down for a time yesterday and because it looks like everybody has moved on to this one.
Well this game ended pretty well like I predicted. I thought both sides would be good for one goal a piece but as it turned out, 0-0 was not that far off from what I felt would be the final score. Where to start? This game has positives and negatives for United. Let me start by eating crow once again regarding the selection of Paul Scholes. Every time the Ginger Ninja starts to look over the hill, he comes back and proves me wrong with a great defensive performance tonight. The team played a fantastic game of zone defense and really soaked up the pressure well. Not once did I feel that Barca had a true scoring chance. All they had all evening is a number of half chances and speculative efforts. Had Ronaldo scored on his woeful penalty attempt, I think the game would have opened up a bit.
United’s game plan was perfect even though it wasn’t pretty or adventurous. A game like this requires more caution and courage in defense. The lads really played hard. Offensively they looked flat footed all evening and they were unable to string any passes together because they lacked that jump and the fact that Barca played a predictable press. After the first five minutes it was clear to me that Barca would have over 60% of the possession. United were terrible in counterattacks. They just couldn’t get into a higher gear and their passes and lack of imagination was stunning to watch. Yet, this was a very positive result. You have to love our chances back at OT. The away goal would have been sweet but I cannot believe that we are not going to beat them at OT, no matter how good they might be. They couldn’t get the job done against us tonight in front of a very loud pro Barca crowd. Their only chance at OT is if they catch us on the counter when we are attacking. With players like Messi, that’s possible but I think unlikely.
The three things that bothered me the most in this case were as follows;
1. Ronaldo has to stop crying after every foul that isn’t called in his favor. Enough already. Be a man and take it. It’s causing him to lose his focus and referees are not calling them on him not so much because of his diving, but because of his attitude towards them.
2. Wayne Rooney should have been scratched for this game. Not only was he unfit and totally useless, but playing him in a position like RMF behind Ronaldo wasn’t only neutralizing his skills, but incredibly stupid on Fergie’s part. What was the point? Park or Nani could have played that role with more success.
3. Not playing Anderson from the start was a mistake even though the result favors us. His pace and urgency may have helped on counters as well as helped us kick our game up an extra gear.
PLAYER RATINGS! PLAYER RATINGS! PARTY TIME EXCELLENT ….WELL;
EVDS 7.5/10 - Very solid game and made a few steady if unspectacular saves. Was well positioned all game but he did make a few poor clearances in the first half. Never looked like he would be beaten.
HARGREAVES 7.5/10 - Predictably never had the offensive influence in the game due to the pressure of the opponent but he defended like a true vet and like he has played that position all his life. How many threats can any of you remember that came from his side. It was clear they were going to pick on Evra instead. Good calm clearances all game long.
RIO 7/10 - At times he was magnificant but he was also slppy a few times on back passes and a few clearances that could have hurt us if it weren’t for Barca’s inability to take advantage of the gaffs. He commanded the high balls in the area and he never let anybody get behind us.
BROWN 7.5/10 - Very surprisingly strong performance. He looked calm and reserved and never made a wrong touch. Also made some good tackles and backed up Rio and Evra very well.
EVRA 8/10 - Was outstanding defensively. He had a massive job against Messi but did a decent job neutralizing him in the penalty area. Messi made some nice plays and moves but he never really got any shots on goal and his play making was off form thanks to the pressure and quality marking as well as tackling of the little Frenchman. His defensive game has really improved over the past 18 months.
ROONEY 4/10 - And trust me, I’m being kind. In all the years I have watched Rooney play, I have never seen him play so poorly or be so anonymous on the pitch. Clearly the lad was hurting but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he was tactically positioned poorly and that he did absolutely nothing when the ball was at his feet. No running and causing havoc. It was awful. I felt I was in a time warp and I was watching Rooney play at the age of 45. If he’s not better for Chelsea, sit him down.
CARRICK 5/10 - Carrick had a very poor game. Constantly made poor tackles drawing fouls, his passes were terrible and players were getting around him easily. His one great opportunity to lay in a pass to Ronaldo for a tap in goal was wasted when he uncharacteristically decided to take a crack with his left foot. We all no the result. A simple pass to any of three open targets in the 6 yard box would have given us a 1-0 win. Very disappointing performance.
SCHOLES 8/10 - For me he was the man of the match. His defensive play and surprisingly strong running and energy saved our bacon numerous times. Quite often it was he bailing out Carrick or Rooney from their poor touches or defensive errors. And he never laid off one poor pass all night considering Barca were using a press. He looked really young and energized tonight. The tactics and formation never really allowed him to do much offensively but boy did he do his job.
PARK 5/10 - Why was he out there? He clearly is not suited to a game where possession is important. Yes he works hard but most of the time nothing ever comes out of his effort. His passing was poor and he looked out of it quite a bit tonight.
RONALDO 6/10 - A poor game by his standards. He ran hard when he had the ball but quite often he was caught standing and looking at the play rather than sprinting to an opening. He was preoccupied with the referee all night long and he seems to get taken out of a game early if he is tackled harshly. Zambrotta should have received two yellows for all the poor and rough tackles on him. Still, he was nowhere to be found and his passes were terrible. And where was he for a shot or two. His free kicks were also useless.
TEVEZ 4/10 - Has just been cast as the lead in the new version of “The Invisbible Man†He was worse than Rooney because there was nothing physically wrong with him. Incredibly disappointing performance in a Spanish speaking city against his Argentine teammate Messi. I expected a heroic effort from him. Instead what I got was confirmation of everything I have said about him in the past. He is not good enough to start regularly for Manchester United. Doesn’t have the physical presence the ball holding skills to be a top line striker. He’s much better in short bursts late in a game but it was clear he didn’t have it today or Fergie would not have taken him off too after subbing Rooney off earlier. That was a clear statement from the Gaffer that he knew he was out of juice.
NANI 5/10 - Did nothing with his 20 minutes.
GIGGS - Not enough time to do much.
FERGIE 7/10 - Mixed result for the Gaffer. Tactically he got the game right as to what we had to do to keep Barca from scoring. Where he got things wrong was where he had Rooney play and why he had him and Park start.
April 24th, 2008 at 17:46
phoenix red: a point? This isn’t the Premiership, you know. What happened was we didn’t get the beating we got in the San Siro last year.
April 24th, 2008 at 17:54
fair enough, just got a bit lost on the rant, you know the point i was making though!
April 24th, 2008 at 17:55
Kienu, Ronaldo is one of the best penalty takers around at the moment, Hargo and Tevez don’t have the composure or the ability that Ronaldo has from the spot. Scholes was our second best player, behind Evra, so I don’t see why you want him dropped. Anderson is out of form and Scholes is our best passer in the team, if we are trying to keep possession then he should definitely have Scholes playing, Anderson rushes things too much.
April 24th, 2008 at 18:07
Got to agree with Conor, one penalty miss doesn’t get Ronaldo sacked from those duties. Scholes was great lastnight, played like his life depended on it, more of the same please Paul. Brown, Evra, Ferdinand and Hargo all deserve a mention for superb defending.
Michael,so thats alright then, we didn’t get beaten, they might not beat us next week but still get through. This years team is quite different to last years, we might win the european cup this year!
April 24th, 2008 at 18:22
there are 2 main observations that can be gained from last nights match.
1, defensively we were by and large outstanding, denying Barca any real opportunities of note and the team must be applauded for this.
2, going forward we were crap with a capital c and I lay the blame for this firmly at SAFs door. for a start we had a centre forward playing right wing and a right winger playing centre forward, the term square pegs in round holes comes to mind.
Added to this we had Park starting in the biggest game of the season when in reality the boy seriously lacks the quality to make a major impact at this level, especially when some one like Nani is fit and available.
Also the Carrick / Scholes partnership lacks energy and bite and opposing teams can dominate us to easily when they are together like last night and the Arsenal game.
Anderson can do everything that these 2 can do and also provide energy, pace,strength and the abillity to join in the attack which begs the question, why did he not start the game.
All in all, a draw is a decent result and I believe we have the players to beat Barca at home, my biggest concern is SAFs ability to select the right players to make the system work coz if he picks the same players next week that he did last night I would really be worried.
April 24th, 2008 at 18:23
Phoenix
We’ve not lost a match or drawn 11 consecutive times. that must tell you something. It is them that’ll have to grit their teeth and fight to go through.
April 24th, 2008 at 18:25
[Everyone]
Park was selected for his defensive abilities more than anything else. there, you must admit, he is better than all the other options we had…
April 24th, 2008 at 18:56
we’ve all been down this nerve racking track before. Our team doesn’t make it easy on us.
Yes, at the Theatre of Dreams our record is very impressive and long may it last! This is cup football, where form books get torn up! I hope that Fergie’s gamble pays off, many of us have questioned the master before and had to eat their words, me included!
The antidote to lastnight would be a fine attacking,free flowing performance from the lads in OT next week, with a 2-0 win.
April 24th, 2008 at 18:59
we have just to take care of chelski in the bridge before that, i’m sure we can win playing the UNITED WAY, come on you RED DEVILS!
April 24th, 2008 at 19:08
kienu man!
ronaldo put the penalty in the net in that super crucial game vs Arsenal (that too when he had to take it again). Yesterday too he would have put it 10/10 times if allowed again! There is no player in the world who doesnt miss penalties!
ronaldo has scored lots of very crucial penalties already (in WC and for united). The law of averages demanded a miss or two sometime (and that has happened). Hopefully he’ll be back to his best sooner than later.
April 24th, 2008 at 19:15
grognard,
you an anderson fan now mate? =)