Tag Archives: Champions League

Birmingham 1 – 1 Liverpool

Tiziano Vecellio
“Liverpool’s hopes of securing fourth spot and Champions League qualification suffered a big blow after a lacklustre draw at Birmingham. In a dour first half, Maxi Rodriguez hit the bar for the Reds, while Roger Johnson headed over at the other end. Liverpool took the lead when Steven Gerrard turned Lee Bowyer to curl in after Glen Johnson’s mis-hit pass. Birmingham hit back as Liam Ridgewell bundled in James McFadden’s cross and survived three late David Ngog chances.” (BBC)

Reds European dreams on hold
“Liverpool’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot are hanging by a slender thread after Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell earned his side a share of the spoils at St. Andrew’s. Reds skipper Steven Gerrard put his side ahead a minute into the second half but Ridgewell levelled matters nine minutes later.” (ESPN)

Liverpool held by Birmingham as Champions League hopes fade
“There is no disgrace in drawing with a Birmingham City side that have now taken points off every club in the top six at home but the harsh reality for Liverpool is that matching their rivals’ results is no longer enough. Liam Ridgewell’s equaliser, after Steven Gerrard had put Liverpool in front with his 10th goal of the season, means that Rafael Benítez’s side are four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City having played a game more.” (Guardian)

Liverpool draws with Birmingham, loses ground in hunt for fourth
“Rafa Benitez defended his decision to substitute star striker Fernando Torres despite seeing his misfiring Liverpool side drop further points in the race for fourth place with a 1-1 draw away to Birmingham.” (SI)

Birmingham City 1-1 Liverpool – Recap and Video Highlights
“Liverpool traveled to St Andrew’s Stadium to face Birmingham City in the English Premier League on Sunday, April 4, 2010. They needed a win to gain ground on 4th place Manchester City and keep their Champions League hopes a live. A loss would probably end their chances while a draw would also significantly hurt them. Birmingham City was middle of the table and safe from relegation heading into the match.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 3-0 Bologna – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, April 3, 2010

“Italian Serie A leaders needed a win on Saturday against Bologna as their lead was cut to one point. This was a result of last weekend’s loss against AS Roma which keeps the title race wide open. A win would assure they stay on top of Roma by one point and rivals AC Milan by three points.” (The 90th Minute)

Cagliari 2-3 AC Milan – Recap and Video Highlights – Italian Serie A – Saturday, April 3, 2010
“AC Milan traveled to face Cagliari in the Italian Serie A needing a win to keep pace with leaders Inter Milan. A loss for Milan would probably end their chances of winning the Scudetto. Cagliari are comfortably in the middle of the table but too far back to be in contention for a spot in the Europa League.” (The 90th Minute)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea: Ancelotti gets it right with his strikers

Carlo Ancelotti
“A tight game that was won the better side. United looked tired after their midweek game in Munich – Chelsea were fresher, brighter and created more goalscoring opportunities. They are now in the driving seat. Sir Alex Ferguson would have gone with a 4-5-1 regardless of Wayne Rooney’s absence, so it was essentially a straight change, with Dimitar Berbatov in to replace him. Michael Carrick was dropped after his poor display midweek, so Fletcher and Scholes played deep, with Park Ji-Sung in the central role he played so well against Milan.” (Zonal Marking)

Time for Berbatov to show he cares
“Manchester United have been called a one-man team for the past three seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo was said to carry them before leaving for Madrid and now Wayne Rooney is supposed to be their only match-winner. United fans might be fearing the worst ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford today, but Alex Ferguson has never allowed his team to rely on one player. In the same way that Ronaldo’s exit provoked a reaction from Rooney, his injury ought to prove the catalyst for someone else to step up. If Dimitar Berbatov is ever going to prove his worth to the club, this is his moment.” (WSC)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, April 3, 2010
“One of the biggest matches in the English Premier League this season took place on Saturday, April 3, 2010 as Manchester United hosted Chelsea. The two teams are separating by only one point head into the match and the result could determine who would win the title. Manchester United would be without star striker Wayne Rooney because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Champions League.” (The 90th Minute)

Pep Guardiola hails brilliant Barcelona

Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of San Lorenzo, Gentile Bellini
“Pep Guardiola described Barcelona’s supremely dominant first-half performance against Arsenal as “the best 45 minutes” the Catalans have produced during his reign. A thrilling encounter ended 2-2 at Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, but Manuel Almunia had to be at his best in the first half to deny, amongst others, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Barcelona enjoyed 71% possession and produced a succession of excellent chances.” (ESPN)

Arsenal 2-2 Barcelona: Wenger’s side utterly outclassed, but somehow rescue a draw
“A crazy game of football to watch, a difficult one to analyse. Two open, attacking sides produced a wonderful game for the neutral, but one that will probably leave both managers absolutely fuming – Wenger because his side were awful and conceded poor goals, Guardiola because his side threw away a 0-2 lead.” (Zonal Marking)

Theo Walcott’s dazzling introduction gives Arsenal hope to take to Barcelona
“Theo Walcott’s introduction to the fray switched Arsenal’s flow to the dynamic and the direct to give the Gunners hope in the second leg at the Nou Camp. Barely twenty minutes had registered on the clock but those watching the game were in unified agreement that already, they were witnessing something spectacular. Arsenal had just survived the most relentless onslaught you are likely to see in world football this season but yet, somehow, came out of the early exchange with no goals conceded.” (Arsenal Column)

Fantasy Football Comes Alive
“Tonight, the game gets beautiful again. As Arsenal and Barcelona prepare to meet at London’s Emirates Stadium in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, this is fantasy football come to life: a showdown between arguably the two most attractive teams in Europe today. Here are two sides linked by a philosophy of flair, a shared vision that prizes creativity and fast, free-flowing, one-touch football above all else. It’s what the Spanish call tiki-taka, what the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, describes as ‘football that is like art’.” (WSJ)

School’s Out – 8 things I noticed from Arsenal vs Barca
“Before we start, I should probably preface this article by saying I’m going to be writing it in the style of the game itself. Which is to say, it will be overwhelmingly a Barca love in for the first 2/3rds before finally rallying to the Arsenal cause in the final stretch. So any over sensitive Gooners should probably skip to the end. You have been warned.” (FootballFanCast)

Arsenal 2-2 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, March 31, 2010
“Arsenal hosted FC Barcelona in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The two teams are known for playing very attacking and open styles that could provide a very entertaining match. Barcelona remain one of the favorites to win the tournament while Arsenal need a good result with the second leg at the Camp Nou.” (The 90th Minute)

Caniza experience crucial for Paraguay

“Can Lionel Messi reproduce his Barcelona form for Argentina? Will Wayne Rooney be able to sustain his current level of performance into June and July? Might Cristiano Ronaldo, or even Kaka, be fresher at the end of the club season because Real Madrid are out of the Champions League? The World Cup is where reputations are confirmed and football fans across the planet are hoping the stars to be firing on all cylinders in South Africa.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

The Professor’s Appeal Saves Him With One Arsenal Fan

“The harmony of 60,000 voices that drifts out of the Emirates Stadium in London every other week is evidence that sport can bring people together. Singing as one, Arsenal fans serenade the leadership of the bookish, 60-year-old Frenchman who leads their favorite soccer team. ‘One Arsene Wenger,’ rings the chant . ‘There’s only one, there’s only one Arsene Wenger. One Arsene Wenger!’” (NYT)

The Champions League Quarter Finals – A look ahead.

“As we’re about to seamlessly pass into another Champions League week, what better time is there to look ahead to the mouth watering quarter final ties ahead? Well, slightly later in the week perhaps, or even actually in said week as opposed to just before it maybe, but sod it I’m gonna do it anyway and I’ll be damned if such a trivial thing will stop me. So without further ado…” (Football Fan Cast)

Is this the best season of football in recent years?

Inter
“A brief break from the in-depth tactical analysis here, to round-up the major European leagues, highlight this weekend’s crucial table-topping fixtures, and celebrate how wonderful European football has been this season.” (Zonal Marking)

Teams of the Decade #2: Barcelona, 2008/09

“What more can you say about this Barcelona side? European champions, La Liga champions and Copa Del Rey winners, all in the first season under the charge of Pep Guardiola. And they didn’t do it by merely winning games, they did it by winning in style, making them perhaps the most universally respected side of the decade. The most astonishing thing about their La Liga performance was how utterly convincing they were in defeating the sides around them at the top of the table.” (Zonal Marking)

How Pep Guardiola is looking to improve on perfection
“Just how does Pep Guardiola improve on the most successful club side in a calendar year? We detail the tactical changes the Barcelona coach has made to his side to make them even better. After Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup in which the Catalan side recorded a never before paralleled, six cup wins in a calendar year, manager Pep Guardiola turned to his assistant Tito Vilanova, with bleary eyed with tears of joy, seemingly asking ‘where do we go from here?’ Just how does Pep Guardiola possibly improve upon perfection?” (Arsenal Column)

More Shots the Merrier in Quest for Football Goals

“Bobby Charlton perfected his shooting technique through hours spent kicking a football against a concrete well. Oliver Bierhoff developed his predatory instinct by practicing with his eyes closed. Brazilian striker Romario even attributed his ability to stick the ball in the net to a penchant for late nights and love making. But what really separates football’s top goal scorers from the rest isn’t ice-cold nerves, a cannon shot or unerring accuracy. It’s being selfish.” (WSJ)

Man … Superman … Leo Messi

“It’s not big and it’s not clever but sometimes swearing is the only thing that will do. Sometimes you’ve used up every other word and nothing else quite hits the spot. You’ve rummaged round the back of the sofa, rifled through the drawers, turned out your pockets and still come up empty. Pep Guardiola insisted that he was clean out of adjectives and frankly so was everyone else. Spain was suffering a severe shortage of superlatives last night.” (Guardian)

Grim scandal in Germany

“Barely two months ago, Michael Kempter was considered as the up-and-coming referee in German football, having progressed from Bundesliga to FIFA level at the age of only 27. Today, it is highly unlikely that he will ever be in charge of a professional match again. Manfred Amarell’s career as refeereing supervisor has fallen to pieces, too, and the most intimate details of his private life are currently the subject of public discussion.” (WSC)

Inter prospect breaks new ground

“Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea on Tuesday, there was one player at Stamford Bridge who also has claims to be a ‘special one’. The moment may have gone unnoticed in London but not in Nairobi where McDonald Mariga’s mum was blowing, yes, a vuvuzela as her son became the first Kenya – and the first East African – to play in the Champions League.” (BBC)

The changing Champions League

1 Reply

“UEFA officials at this morning’s Champions League quarter-final draw will have been delighted that the number of nations represented is at its highest since 1999. Indeed, it’s exactly what UEFA president Michel Platini was aiming for when he talked about democratising the top level of European club football. A major surprise this year is the inclusion of two French teams in Lyon and Bordeaux.”(WSC)

Tactics: United, Lille shirk midfield confrontation

Francois Perrier, Orphée devant Pluton et Proserpine
“Manchester United have already demonstrated this season that they are capable of overwhelming teams despite fielding what on first glance appears to be a conservative 4-5-1 formation, notably in the 3-1 Carling Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City in January. They were at it again in the 4-0 win against Milan last week, when a side fighting hard for the Serie A title were simply torn apart by a United team fielding only one dedicated attacking player in the form of Wayne Rooney.” (Football Further)

Barcelona 4 – 0 VfB Stuttgart

“Lionel Messi staged another masterclass to power holders Barcelona into the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Stuttgart. Messi struck a brilliant opener after just 12 minutes to put Barca on track, and then played a key role as Pedro Rodriguez made it 2-0 soon after as the Catalan giants built a 3-1 aggregate lead.” (ESPN)

Messi happy to help those in need
“A man who torments opposing defenders is equally adept at helping children in need. FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, as part of the UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year 2009, received a cheque for €100,000 from the adviser to the UEFA president, William Gaillard, before last night’s UEFA Champions League first knockout round second-leg encounter with VfB Stuttgart at Camp Nou – before going to on to score twice in an outstanding display as Barcelona charged into the quarter-finals.” (UEFA)

Forget Rooney, magical Messi is the world’s best
“The famously insular world of English football has been quick to crown Wayne Rooney as the best player in the world in recent weeks – unsurprisingly perhaps in a World Cup year – but in Barcelona on Wednesday night, Lionel Messi demonstrated exactly why those claims ring hollow with a masterful performance in a 4-0 rout of Stuttgart.” (ESPN)

EPL – The Rashomon Effect

“With eight games to go (9 in Chelsea’s case) and this being the closest league finish in many many years, it presents endless opportunities for the dreamer in me to fantasize – a la that Kurosawa classic, Rashomon. Presenting two of such tales with four crucial fixtures (chapters) taken as the crux.” (BigFourZa!)

Oliver Kay Interview: EPL Talk Podcast

“Six weeks ago, Oliver Kay joined us ahead of the onset of UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16, venturing a prediction that the English Premier League teams would find this year’s tournament rougher than those of the preceding seasons. Today, Oliver joined me to reflect on the knock-out round performances of Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Also, we look forward to this Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Liverpool and ask what Liverpool needs to go to maintain their string of good performances over Alex Ferguson’s side.” (EPL Talk)

The Life of Brian

“Everyone knows footballers live a life less ordinary, but Brian Laudrup must be in a select band of one to have personal experience of the inside of a car boot after being whisked away from the clutches of irate Fiorentina fans. ‘It was a complete nightmare,’ Laudrup told Soccernet of his first season of calico, the topsy-turvy 1992-93 campaign which saw La Viola metamorphose from title pretenders to relegation fodder. ‘The fans were so disappointed. I don’t think they wanted to beat us up, but it was a very hostile atmosphere. Cars were set alight, armed police on the streets, so it was quite hectic’.” (ESPN)

France Is Back in Football Hunt

“It’s elementary sports psychology: To produce their best in the biggest moments, athletes are advised to recall peak performances from the past. But as Bordeaux prepares to face Olympiakos for a place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals tonight, Laurent Blanc, coach of the French club that’s been the surprise of this year’s tournament, will focus his team’s attention not on the six European matches it’s won this season, but the only one it didn’t.” (WSJ)

Mid-Week Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast
“Looking back on the mid-week action for Premier League sides in Champions League, Europa, and within the Premiership, analysts Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer join host Richard Farley on this version of the EPL Talk podcast.” (EPL Talk)

Match Of The Midweek: Chelsea 0-1 Internazionale
“How would you feel if you were Roman Abramovich after this evening’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Inter? When he disposed of Jose Mourinho just over three years ago, it was reportedly a show of player power the likes of which the English game had seldom seen before.” (twohundredpercent)

Different Routes Yield Same Result
“One of the joys of sports is that they confound just about any theory that attempts to explain them. When Real Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League last week, and Manchester United produced one of the biggest victories in its history, it was reasonable to conclude that stability counted for something.” (NYT)

Italian press celebrate Inter’s victory over Chelsea
“Having held a grim-faced silenzio stampa (press silence) for the past week, Jose Mourinho’s relationship with the Italian media had reached a new low on the eve of Inter’s Champions League return leg against Chelsea. A touchline ban, a pitiful display against Catania and ongoing grief with Mario Balotelli had formed a simmering backdrop to the game, with the Nerazzurri lumbered with the added burden of being Italy’s sole survivors in the competition.” (WSC)

Chelsea vs. Inter Milan
(footytube)

Fitness the key for Brazillian success

“Following the international friendlies, I wrote last time that the week’s big winner was Argentina coach Diego Maradona. Seven days later, perhaps his Brazilian counterpart can crack the biggest smile. As Andre Kfouri wrote in the sports daily Lance!: ‘Dunga must have loved the elimination of Real Madrid and Milan from the Champions League. The Spanish giant, because Kaka will have a lighter fixture list in the build up to the World Cup. And the Italian giant because the pressure to recall Ronaldinho will diminish. And the national team coach will be cheering for Chelsea to knock out Internazionale – a rest for Julio Cesar, Lucio and Maicon, more work for Drogba’.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Chelsea Leans on Turnbull as Mourinho Returns

“It would be the cruelest of defeats for Chelsea fans if the Blues, a team built at great expense to win the Champions League, were to be eliminated by the man previously tasked with capturing European glory for the club. Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, will return to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with that same goal as the boss of Inter Milan, which holds a 2-1 lead in the two-game elimination series. The current Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, will try to do what Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink could not do.” (NYT)

Turnbull Produces in Pinch

“Ross Turnbull enjoyed a mellow afternoon in goal for Chelsea in its 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, which briefly took the club back to the top of the Premier League standings. There was nothing he—or anyone—could have done about Scott Parker’s first-half piledriver, which rocketed past him, and his only semitough save, off Carlton Cole in the match’s dying minutes, was competently pulled off.” (WSJ)

Milan no longer able to mask the decline of Italian clubs’ fortunes

“Milan had come to fail. Despondency was close to the surface and bound to overwhelm the side as soon as Manchester United scored. The visitors were diligent enough, but they could not fend off a weariness of soul and body in the 4‑0 loss. Too much has rested on them for too long.” (Guardian)

David Beckham, The Green & Gold

“The Champions League match between Manchester United and Milan had been punctuated by what are now starting to become familiar images. The green and gold gold scarves and the “Love United Hate Glazer” flags are starting to feel like part of the furniture at Old Trafford, but the question that was on many people’s lips could probably best be summarised by a four letter acronym: WWDD? Beckham’s appearance on the pitch had been greeted with, in rapid succession, cheers, boos and laughter and, while he didn’t disgrace himelf on the pitch, his presence on the pitch was in itself a sign of the times – a practical demonstration of the gulf in quality between Manchester United and Milan.” (twohundredpercent)

Manchester United 4-0 AC Milan – Recap and Video Highlights – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, March 10, 2010

“Manchester United brought a 3-2 lead into the second leg at Old Trafford against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Milan needed a 2-0 win or to score many away goals to have any serious chance. It would be a tough test as Manchester United have a history of being very difficult to beat at Old Trafford in the Champions League. Pato was unavailable for Wayne Rooney was fit for Mancheser United.” (The 90th Minute)

Beckham Grabs the Scarf, but Not the Reins, of Protest

“It was a highly significant game in the Champions League knockout match between Manchester United and AC Milan last night and Wayne Rooney continued his devastating form with two more goals in what is a 30-goal season so far. Nani made one of the assists of the tournament to set up his second, curling the ball into Rooney’s path with the outside of his foot. The 4-0 defeat exposed AC Milan as an aging, blunt shadow of their former selves, increasingly reliant on Ronaldinho’s capricious flashes of brilliance. But guess who stole the show?” (NYT)

Arsenal Saunters While Bayern Survives

“As Muhammad Ali demonstrated, sports fans will warm to a braggart provided he lives up to his boasts. Followers of Arsenal have waited a long, long time for Nicklas Bendtner to deliver his prophesied knockout performance. ‘Trust me,’ he had said last autumn, ‘it will happen. I look around at other players, I see my own ability, and I can’t see anything that tells me I won’t be among the best strikers in the world.'” (NYT)

Real Madrid’s date with destiny

“When Real Madrid went to Hampden Park for the 2002 Champions League final they thought that winning the trophy was their destiny. The club was in its centenary year and Florentino Perez had assembled a team of Galácticos to win the competition that is so entwined with their history. With half-time approaching and the scores level Roberto Carlos floated a high cross to Zinedine Zidane on the edge of the penalty area. Turning on to his weaker left foot, Zidane volleyed the ball into the top corner of Bayer Leverkusen’s goal.” (WSC)

The Premier League Gives Up On Play-Offs… For Now

“With as near as he can manage to understatement, Richard Scudamore confirmed this afternoon that his idea of play-off matches for the fourth Champions League place will not be taken any further forward – for now. It was something of a surprising decision. Unlike Game 39, this new idea didn’t require a great deal of support from outside of the Premier League. The smaller clubs, it was assumed, would sell their grandmothers for a sliver of a chance of getting into the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and the big clubs – who were obviously keen not to see their hegemony broken up – were against it, but didn’t hold enough of a blocking vote to prevent it from going through.” (twohundredpercent)

Notts County: The Long View

“Notts County might not be a name that sets the pulses of football fans around the world pulsing. It doesn’t even do that for most of the city of Nottingham, never mind the rest of planet football. In recent decades County has been comprehensively outshone by its near rivals just across the River Trent at Nottingham Forest.” (Pitch Invasion)

Is the Copa Libertadores better than the Champions League

“There are people who argue that South America’s Copa Libertadores is better than the Uefa Champions League. It’s a perverse view, often motivated by bitterness – a bit like those who like to claim that The Beatles were over-rated. The Champions League congregates the best players from all over the world – it’s where they want to be, and where they need to shine these days in order to be considered truly great. But if Europe’s leading club competition is Lennon and McCartney, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the Libertadores is Herman’s Hermits, as last week made abundantly and gloriously clear.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

TIm Vickery Interview: EPL Talk Podcast
“On this episode of the EPL Talk Podcast we welcome Tim Vickery, who picks up on some of the theses regarding player developed that we addressed with Andy Brassell two weeks ago. Then, Tim talks to us about some notable players in Brazil, talking about how their styles would fit into the Premier League. Then, we talk about Tim’s support of Spurs, the nature of being a club supporter, and how he found his way to Brazil.” (EPL Talk)

Barça pep talk for Ibrahimović

“FC Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola was pleased to see Zlatan Ibrahimović silence his critics after the striker helped the UEFA Champions League holders to a first knockout round first-leg draw away to VfB Stuttgart.” (UEFA)

And Then There Was One

2 Replies

England against Scotland in 1877
“Let’s talk about Scottish football for a bit. We’ve obviously visited this ground before; back in November, Fuse did an incredibly intricate and in-depth series of posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) looking at the troubles of the Scottish League, In it, he surmised that the easiest way to fix the problem of declining revenues and quality was to consolidate several local clubs into one team; the revenues to keep lower league teams (and, truthfully, some upper league teams) are just not there to support one club per 20,269 citizens.” (Avoiding the Drop)

Breathe and Stop… Manchester United: ‘An Italian Team from Another Era’

“… Where else to start but Manchester United’s impressive 3-2 win over AC Milan at the San Siro, which hands them a desirable advantage heading into the 2nd leg of their Champions League round of 16 knockout clash. United have become a truly masterful European outfit over the last three seasons, winning the tournament once and reaching two finals, and on the evidence of Tuesday’s game they look capable of making it all the way to Madrid for round three.” (Just Football)

Football Weekly Extra: Arsenal and Real Madrid on the back foot

“Kicked out of the near-earth-orbit studio by overrated Indie rockers Vampire Weekend and with a presenter still somewhere in the alpine wilderness, Football Weekly makes do with a broom cupboard and whoever Producer Pete could find five minutes before recording was due to commence. Luckily he found Paul MacInnes, Rob Smyth, Kevin McCarra and Paul Doyle at a loose end and they all agreed to do him a turn. The hastily assembled bunch waste no time getting stuck into the week’s Champions League action, including Lukasz Fabianski’s night to forget, a Rooney-inspired comeback at the San Siro and Bayern Munich’s ludicrously offside goal to beat Fiorintina.” (Guardian – James Richardson)

Hijinks and Low Comedy in Champions League

“The coincidences during Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League games were simply too delicious to go without notice. At Porto’s Dragão Stadium in Portugal, the referee from the game that featured Thierry Henry’s infamous Hand of Gaul goal, Martin Hansson, was excoriated by Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger for a call that led directly to Porto’s game-winning goal. Henry, of course, is a former star at Arsenal. Hansson’s vapor lock during France’s playoff victory over Ireland last year sent the French to South Africa and the Irish into conniptions.” (NYT)

United in Italy; Real in Trouble

“Few people would confuse Wayne Rooney with a rocket scientist, but the increasingly deadly and dangerous Manchester United striker used his head not once, but twice, as the Red Devils nearly crushed A.C. Milan’s hopes of advancing in the UEFA Champions League with a 3-2 win in the first leg of their home-and-home, total-goals series at the San Siro on Tuesday.” (NYT)

AC Milan 2-3 Manchester United: 8 Key Observations
“Classic European nights. When we complain about the stifling dominance of the Big Four; when we curse every transfer that sends a promising young player from a lesser club to the Big Four; when we ponder proposals such as debt-to-revenue restrictions, foreign player quotas, and playoffs for European places; when we talk about all these things, we are talking about the promise of classic European nights like Tuesday night at a raucous and roaring San Siro. Some observations…” (EPL Talk)

Play-Offs For A Champions League Place: Game 39 Revisited?

“Small wonder that Ian Watmore’s brain-child of ‘reforming’ the FA Cup senseless was leaked to the press at the weekend. No more than forty-eight hours after the story broke in the press (with more or less no fanfare anywhere other than in The Times, which broke the story), the Premier League comes up with its proposal to jazz up the end of the season. Their answer, a play-off for the fourth Champions League place, is an act of evil genius so simple that one is almost tempted to stand and give grudging applause. And let’s make this absolutely clear, this idea has nothing to do with evening things out or redistribution of money. It’s about the Premier League snatching the end of the season away from everybody else.” (twohundredpercent)

European heavyweights meet again

“While the Champions League takes centre stage this week with the ever enticing first knockout round, arguably the biggest fixture of all is scheduled in the backwaters of Thursday night’s Europa League. Ajax vs. Juventus has been played out as a European Cup final as well as a Champions League final, and the sound of the fixture may well have the same effect on the ears of lovers of football history as the Madeleine cake in the mouth of Marcel Proust.” (ESPN)

Beckham to put emotion to one side

“AC Milan’s press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round first-leg tie against Manchester United FC was even more animated than usual as the massed ranks of the media jostled for positions at Milanello.” (UEFA)

Dear Rafa Benitez – Beforeza #2

“Note : This post was written after the defeat to Fiorentina in the Champions league. With me still lost for words over the loss at Emirates, I’d like to make a re-visit to continue my support for the man who cares for the club the most. So some of the readers who are new to this blog kindly have a look. (For the old ones, yeah the ‘Psycho’ part was re-edited for obvious reasons.” (All Four One..)

Van Nistelrooy Gives Hamburg Spark

“Twenty minutes into the second half of Hamburg’s match at Stuttgart on Saturday in the German Bundesliga and the score deadlocked at 1-1, visiting coach Bruno Labbadia called in the cavalry. The lanky figure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy trotted on to the pitch for what was only his sixth appearance in the last 15 months. Within twelve minutes, he had turned the game, striking twice from close range, first with a left-footed pounce and then with a cool right-footed diagonal finish. Hamburg went on to win 3-1, rising to fourth in the league standings and keeping its hopes of a Champions’ League spot next season intact.” (WSJ)

How soon is now?

“‘How soon is now?”, asked The Smiths. As the dust settles on West Brom’s consecutive clashes with their two closest rivals at the top of the Championship, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, we can ask much the same question with regard to promotion to the Premier League.” (thetwounfortunates)