Mar 20
Porto it is then…
United perhaps have the better draw than some of the other big favorites for the Champions’ League. They’ve drawn with Porto, who are a far cry from the side that sneaked past us last time round, whilst, we get to face either Villarreal or Arsenal in the semis. The other end of the draw makes for exciting viewing; well, at least Bayern-Barca will be mouthwatering, can’t say much about Liverpool-Chelsea.
All your thoughts, predictions, etc go here. I’ll try to put up an early preview of the Fulham away game, as I’ll have to catch a flight.
Here’s the draw, if you’ve not seen it yet:
Barça – Bayern
Liverpool – Chelsea
Man Utd – Porto
Villarreal – Arsenal
Semi-finals.
Barca/Bayern v Liverpool/Chelsea
Man Utd/Porto v Arsenal/Villarreal
Over to you folks.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Porto: Preview
- Nani’s Medical | Rossi’s Loan | Anderson’s Permit
- Owen Hargreaves – Made of Glass or Different Class?
- Brazilian Twins Spotted at Old Trafford | Neville to Play Liverpool | Anderson to Porto Fantasies | Keane Tips United Over Arsenal
- Sunderland Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Woo! First comment for once!
I had the pleasure of seeing the draw during classes, and I was silently rubbing my hand with glee as Liverpool were drawn with the scum, whilst my scouser mates were moaning and groaning. What comes around goes around.
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liverpool – united @ rome!
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walcott out or season. gutted, he’s on my FF team… jeezz
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Liverpool do seem to have the Midas touch in Europe and as the form team at the moment in Europe you have to fancy them to beat Chelsea. But I think Barcelona/Bayern will have a bit too much firepower for Liverpool and will expose their weaknesses on the flanks a whole lot better than we did.
So a United v Barcelona/Bayern final. Either would be great!
Really though I’m a little worried. Last season we were firing on all cylinders. This season we’ve been papering over the cracks with a bunch of 1-0 wins and a defence that seemed impregnable. Now our defence has been exposed and our attacking weaknesses remain.
We are not getting the best out of Ronaldo this season. Tevez is half the player he was. Berbatov has not impressed against good quality opposition, and our midfield is being held together by Giggs getting a second wind. Our defence has been playing through injuries and looks tired. EVDS is returning to the sloppiness of last season. Nani and Anderson have faded completely.
The truth is we are a lot worse than we were last season, while Barcelona , Bayern and Liverpool are a LOT better. In Europe at least there is little difference between us and them. Thank god with the draw we got we potentially only have to play one of them.
But there is still the slight obstacle of Arsenal or Villareal.
Villareal are a crap team but they are draw masters. With a lucky goal they could beat us over two legs. Our attack will need to be on form to break them down.
Arsenal blow hot and cold. On their day they can beat us. But on average we are a much better team. So I think over two legs we could beat them comfortably.
Still my prediction is we can get to the final then rise to the occasion, get a penalty shootout, and EVDS will once again be the hero!
It won’t be pretty and we’ll ride our luck all the way. But I have a good feeling.
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Right, 2 things to note out.
#1 I have read in a reliable source news regarding our prospective new tshirt deal. I have read from a very reliable source that the topboy for Prudential (think its their insurance side), is mulling over a £80m gbp deal to be the next Man utd main sponsor. That is as far as i know, other than he is a |Chelsea season ticket holder – LOL!. You read it here frist, i think it is very likely to be Prudential as our next sponsors.. Source: City AM [financial newspaper in central london, very reliable source]
#2 – less important – good champions league draw :p.
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well, i would love to see a United v Bayern final, mostly because the one of the best games of football i’ve seen in the champions league this season was Lyon v Bayern, Bayern are worthy opponents for us. having said that Barca are playing well too. I want to see Liverpool exit as soon as possible, so come on Chelski!! Wouldn’t mind dispatching Arsenal ourselves aswell! The Cup is definitely ON! Bring em all on, Champions of England, Champions of Europe, Champions of the World, United
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I feel really bad for Bayern because they got Barcelona. Meanwhile United and Arsenal got what I feel is a free ride to the semis. Both Chelsea and Liverpool got what they deserved. Another meeting between the two and sorry but I am cheering for old Michael Ballack and Guus Hiddink this time. I want Liverpool DEAD. I want Rafa Benitez DEAD. I do not fear them but the sooner they are out of this tournament, the sooner I can laugh and celebrate.
As for Porto. No pushover but certainly the easiest of all the teams that were still alive. To win back to back titles you sometimes have to have the luck of the draw and get an easy opponent. Porto is not the Jose Mourinho run Porto. They are good but not great and we should have little problem drawing with them in Lisbon or even possibly stealing a win there and then winning comfortably at OT. Thats of course if the demons of Liverpool have finally been exorcised from the team’s collective consciousness.
I am tired of always seeing Arsenal get easy draws. They are clearly the fourth best English club in this competition but they always get the easiest draws throughout. What a way to back your way into the semis. Play weak sides, struggle against them but get through by the skin of your teeth.
My biggest hope was that Bayern and United would get an easy road to the semis. Well United got the easiest possible one, Bayern got the hardest possible without having to play us. A bad time for Bayern to meet Barca. Their most in form striker Miro Klose is gone for the rest of the season after having ankle surgery a few days ago. That leaves things to an out of form and injured Luca Toni and the under performing although improving Podolski. It’s important for Bayern to win this series against Barcelona if for no other reason, to hang on to Franck Ribery. Barcelona has always been his top team of choice and if Bayern could somehow humble and humiliate Barca by knocking them out, then negotiations would go much better in shutting Ribery up and convincing him that he is already with the best or close to the best team in Europe. Bayern are a great team but I don’t see their defense and average goalkeeping being able to stop Barcelona and Messi. I think these two ties will be high scoring but Barca will win in the end by one or two goals. I predict 5-3 on Agg.
Liverpool vs Chelsea. Liverpool could not have been matched against a more grueling and more determined opponent. And they are currently in great form and have Drogba and Essien playing well again. I am predicting a Chelsea win in this series but in fact it could go either way with just one mistake. A classic battle of attrition where the winner goes thorough
1-0 on Agg.
Arsenal will not be good enough to beat Villarreal. The Spanish side is sneaky good but the lack of Andrei Arshavin in the CL for Arsenal will make all the difference. Villarreal will win 2-0 at home and lose 1-0 at the Emirates and go through 2-1 on Agg.
Finally, United will draw 1-1 at Porto and and win 2-0 at OT to go through. Nothing fantastic or outstanding, just typical United doing enough to get through. What’s really great is if we go through, we will have the easiest of possible pairings, either Villarreal or Arsenal. Teams I know we can beat over two games. Let the Barca, Bayerns, Chelsea’s and Liverpool’s eat themselves and burn each other out to see who goes to the final to meet their Waterloo at the hands of Manchester United. Heres crossing our collective fingers and hoping the worst is now behind us in our pursuit for the ultimate dream. The Quintuple but above all, another Champions League triumph.
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For Arsenal to do well in what’s left, they will have to rush Fabregas back. Without Arshavin to orchestrate their attack, they will play rudderless football and fall badly. But with Fabregas in their midfield, they have a chance of doing well, even if he will be fighting fitness and trying to regain his form.
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@Usman [OZB]: You think they would have learned from the AIG fiasco to not get in bed with another American insurance corporation.
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@edwin: “Liverpool were drawn with the scum?” You mean the filth were drawn with the scum don’t you? Trust me, Chelsea are no less scummy than Liverpool who are nothing but totally putrid filth.
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@john freakin’ o’shea: Walcott should be known as Wallflower as he is so brittle and soft, he gets injured if a strong breeze hits him the wrong way. I honestly get frustrated with players like this who cannot seem to avoid injuries. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. Him and Louis Saha should never ever be caught on the same airplane with any of us. If so, give up your ticket and get the hell out of the plane. You don’t need to be anywhere near those jinx ridden muppets.
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@Grognard: I know! We look bad already having ‘Arrogance Incompetence and Greed’ adorning our shirts!
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@edwin: Sweet, I like that one.
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@Grognard: Id love to take the credit, But I happened to hear it on the radio!
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It’s a tough break that we play Porto at home first. I would have preferred it the other way around and this is why I think there should be a seeding system where the top ten teams are seeded before the tournament begins to ensure that they avoid each other until the last eight and to make sure that they play the return leg at home and not the other way around. If Porto were to have any chance, it would be by playing the first game on the road. They got that. So United will have to throw caution to the wind and try to score 2 or 3 goals and keep a clean sheet before they travel to Porto. I expect Fergie will take advantage of his Portuguese speaking talent in this tie and play Nani as well as Anderson. On paper they may not be the best choices but their ethnicity and their background playing in the Portuguese league or in Anderson’s case, being a former Porto player. There is motivation and pride their for these players and they need to play the home tie at least to show they belong. I think they will be extra motivated and hungry to show something. I don’t think we have to worry about Ronaldo. I’m sure he will show up as he has always hated Porto growing up and would love to knock them off. I also think Queiroz may have some words of advice to offer since he has been watching this team play all year long.
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@edwin: That’s OK, it’s still sweet.
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@Grognard: On paper we should go thru easily, but we all know that “on paper” dont mean shit. You know Bayern much better than anyone else on here, but I could easily see them winning by 2 goals at home then losing by 1 goal t the Nou Camp. Call me crazy but I could easily see Bayern going thru.
Porto should be a tough draw, followed by Arsenal(lord willing). But our road to the final couldnt be any easier(not saying Porto, or Arsenal are easy, just “easier” than the other side of the draw.) At this stage of the competition we have no one to blame but ourselves for not getting to Rome.
Heres hoping that the Liverpool debacle is a wake up call and our last loss of the year.
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@Grognard: So you regard Liverpool as our most hated rival now? It’s great you’ve finally seen the light.
Remember the start of the season when you said that you don’t regard them as our main rival? I hate those pricks sooooooo much 
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@johnsom33: Bayern are good enough to go through but the loss of Klose and Toni’s nagging leg injury are a cause for concern. I also worry about Bayern’s back four as Demichelis has been a little off form of late and Rensing for me is just not good enough. He’s not as useless as Almunia but he causes the same and worry and headaches for Klinsmann as the Aluminum One does for Wenger.
Barca are just too good and they were tipped as my favorite when this started. I’d be over the moon if Bayern won but I think Barca will beat them badly at the Nou Camp like 2-0 0r 3-0 and the lose a close open affair in Munich by 2-3 or 1-2. Barca has too much firepower and slightly better defense and goalkeeping.
The key for Bayern will be how well Ribery plays. If he plays lights out and auditions for Barca, Bayern have a chance. Bayern have been offensive minded all year and this has hurt them all year long. They haven’t gotten a clean sheet in Munich since I can’t remember when. For them to beat Barca they will have to go against their nature much like United did last year. Play hard core defense. And I’m not sure they or Klinsmann know how to do that. But in the CL, anything can happen and quite often does. I do fancy Bayern against either Chelsea or Liverpool but Barca may be too much for them without Klose and without a quality keeper.
Where Bayern can exploit Barca is in the air. With their domination of teams in the air and Schweinsteiger and Ribery’s ability to deliver pinpoint perfect crosses and set pieces, Bayern could shock a Barc team that never faces that kind of aerial assault in La Liga. It’s that kind of play that helped United beat Inter. Two headers in game two and a lot of near misses in game one from aerial mastery.
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@Liam: I still hate Chelsea a lot as long as bastards like Terry, Ass Cole and the Drogba are still there, but Rafa Benitez is just too much for my system to handle. I just despise that man. If I ran into him on the street I’d be in jail five minutes after. And it would be worth doing time for that. I don’t hate the Liverpool players as much as Chelsea’s, but the Manager is Adolf Hitler in my eyes. He must be destroyed before he spreads his cancer throughout Europe and the world.
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@johnsom33: I think we’ll handle Porto. We just need to assure they don’t score an away goal. As for Arsenal, I honestly feel Villarreal will beat them. No Arshavin and probably no Fabregas will mean zero goals for Arsenal and I think Villarreal have enough to find a way past Almunia the Muppet.
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regarding arshavin, doesnt being cup tied get scrapped from semi finals onwards???
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@realred: I sure hope not because that would go against the whole reason for having the rule. I mean if that was the case, what’s the point of having such a rule?
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Its been rather quite for the last few days, whats up with everyone?
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@Grognard: Grog Bayern need to play THE GERMANS in their team, because the Germans sure know how to reach the FINALS of competitions
. If Bayern somehow manage to get to a semi final against the scousers (which I think is highly unlikely, because Chelski will do them like they did last time to get to Moscow), then I think Bayern will whip scouse arse 
. I notice Barmy Benitez is talking about Man Utd and Fergie again. The man is OBSESSED with our club, and what we are doing. Does he ever talk about L’fool? If the blues DO the scousers in the CL games, then Rafa Barmy-nitez is already thinking of a way to somehow blame Fergie and United. BOund to be our clubs fault isn’t it?.
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the only thing i have to fear about porto is one man HULK,
this guy is a physical freak and has a great left foot, reminds me of adriano almost, he may cause united a few problems, neutralise him, we are ok
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@edwin: O yes, we are so incompetent that we are 4 points clear at top of PL, and game in hand. In the semi finals of the FA cup, and quarters of the CL – I’d say that was very incompetent indeed
. Only thing that worries me about tomorrow is that DOWD is the referee. Am I right in thinking we have LOST more of our games where he has reffed us? Jb any enlightening stats on our losses when Dowd has been in charge? Please 
. I know Dowd is a BIG L’fool fan. So I expect Fulham getting most of the decisions.
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@john freakin’ o’shea: That would be nice, but unfortunately Lfool for all their shouting will not make Rome.
.
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@edwin: You’ve got scousers as mates – what’s wrong with you Edwin? You need to call 999 and get a doctor Bro
.
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Damn! This time United will play the 2nd Leg of the Quarterfinal AND Semifinal AWAY…. I dont think it would be a problem in the Quarterfinal… But in the Semis….
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@Craig Mc: Obsession usually means fear. He fears us and he knows he wasted his luck in a league game. I’d love to meet those fucks in the final but I would even love it more to see Bayern kick their ass too. We really got the best draw possible and the best semi final possibility as well. I’ll be shocked if we don’t make the final.
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@Darth Red Diablo: Well we got a peach of a draw, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Key to playing 2nd leg away is to not concede at home, that or run the score up on them eg. 3-1, 4-1, 5-1 etc. But with the way we’ve scoring I’d say shutting them out at home is vital!
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@Mr.Muhozi: Hey good to see you back Mr. Muhozi. You have been very silent of late. Getting ready for the baseball season. Even without A-Rod, they do look strong and ready to perform well.
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@Darth Red Diablo: Bottom line mate is if we can’t beat Porto, we don’t deserve to go on anyway. So relax and take my word for it, we will make it to the semis. I am 99.9% sure of it. There is no way Porto should beat us. They aren’t in the same class as Inter and look what happened to them. They are also just a little better than Sporting and look what Bayern did to them. This is not a Mourinho run Porto side.
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@Redrich: Agreed. Shutout at home is vital but especially now when we aren’t as prolific as in the past.
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I hope Liverpool and Chelsea kick the living crap out of one another, and then some, going to ET in the 2nd leg. I want to see an epic battle of Evil v. Evil where the winner is decided by the last man standing!!
I wish much hurt on both of them!!
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Grognard wrote: “this is why I think there should be a seeding system where the top ten teams are seeded before the tournament begins to ensure that they avoid each other until the last eight and to make sure that they play the return leg at home and not the other way around.”
Following your logic hell why not also give the top ten teams a four-goal lead at the start of their matches against non-top-ten teams. In fact why bother with the other teams at all.
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@Grognard: yeh agreed, a seeded system would work best, so the best match would actually be the final, again I’ll use the NBA playoff system as a good example, teams get rewarded for how they perform during the season, home ground advantage etc.. and it’s not just based on who won last year.
in other news, i’m non-plussed about getting porto, I want us to go through the best teams and win, and give no scouse, rent boy or any other knob-jockey any excuse of why we’re the best in england and europe.
It’s the only way to go! no win, championship, title is respected more than one travelled and battled through the hardest roads, I sure hope that if not Porto, then either Arse or Villa can give us that red blooded challenge, it is when victory is sweetest.
not through a walk in the park.
In all that said, i hope we meet ‘fools in the final, only so we can serve their heads on a platter in anfield.
man, I keep hearing ‘fool fans still talkin shit up, dunno if they’ve even thought about their next match?
i remember when we trounced em 3-0 last year and we moved on business as usual.
friggin insects.
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@Natzca: If you travel the hardest road to the final who would be left to play in the final?? Porto, Villareal, Arsenal?? I guess I’d be less interested in that game than the prospects before us now! With the other side of the draw being so strong, the final (if we make it) will provide the truly classic match-up that you crave!
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@Craig Mc: Dowd has reffed us 3 times this term. Each game ended 1-0 – we beat QPR and West Ham and lost to Watford. He’s the ref for the David v. Goliath match-ups, but he only issued 5 yellows and no reds in those games.
None the less he’s a ref, and so he’s a cunt!!
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@realred: I checked and Arshavin in Cup-Tied through the end of the competition. No worries mate!!
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@Redrich: We played Watford this season? I think you mean the 1st leg against Derby.
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@Aymen: You are right, my friend. My bad
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@Redrich: No worries we all stuff up from time to time. By the way, what city do you live in? Surely you’re not awake in Europe at this hour. I’m slowly reading my Biochemistry textbook on a sunny afternoon in Melbourne counting down the hours until we finally get a chance to put things right after last week.
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Easy ticket to the final it seems, I really dont think arsenal could handle united by now, Fabregas was crocked for a long period of time, He needs games to get back to level fitness. I just hope Bayern and Barca beat the living crap out of each other! And what goes for bayern barca must go double to pool and chelski, i wish them to be plagued by long term fuckin injuries!
I want pool at the final! 18-4 here we come!
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@Natzca: Nobody remembers who you beat on your way to the final or to the trophy. They just remember that you won it all. That is and always will be the most important thing. The easier it is the better it is because it’s money in the bank then. I just want the trophy, not style points because I beat great teams to get there.
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@Grognard: Well Its the semis i am MORE worried about!
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@Darth Red Diablo: If Villareal do get through, I dont think we have a lot to worry about. They are draw specialists, and the defensive and Spanish version of Liverpool. And we all know how Liverpool play. However, when Villareal go out to score a goal, like they have to if they wanna get to he final, the are easy to break down. They have some slow players, defenders arent strong in the air and they park the bus so good that even Sunderland would be proud.
Look at their results against Panatinaikos, Aalborg and Arsenal before that. If United score a goal, we will have a goal feast. We only need some luck against them! In the qualifiers, we hit the post three times, remember?! Just think back to the games in September and May, have you ever seen a team in the Champions League park the bus like that?! Cause I sure havent! If we get an early goal, I will go as far as saying we might get another Roma 2007. 
And Arsenal, dont worry. Without Arshavin, they are no better than Porto. Cause yes, they can be good. But they usually arent. Even with Fabregas in the side, the way Arsenal have played this season, even with him, has been woeful. So I wouldnt worry too much. Im delighted about the draw, and the possibility of facing Liverpool or Bayern in the final is mothwatering!
Fuck Chelsea and Barca, we met them last season. I want us to get new opponents each year, so they dont know us and we dont know them. That way we can play our true style instead of that fucking defensive approach. Rome, here we come!
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@Grognard: I remember the game against Juve in 1999… Ah, great times!
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Quote/FACT from FSW after the quarter-final draw:
“Manchester United must now be favorites – they have an easier draw than us. Our half of the draw is the more difficult now after this draw.
“Obviously we did not want to [play on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster] and with the second….
Obsessed!
Quote from Gus Hiddink:
“Both teams (Chelsea and Liverpool) like to play football and have players in their teams to play in an attacking way. That’s a guarantee for big clashes.”
Really????
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