CL Semi Finals - 2nd legs - POLL added

[stretford420]

How do you win against a team playing with 9 defenders and a guy standing on the half way line?

You played the exact same way against them last season. You just didn't create half the chances that Chelsea did and you got a penalty when you deserved it.

And we missed it. Who's to say that Chelsea would have scored theirs tonight if it was given?

That was the smartest way to play over 2 legs. A game over 1, however, will be very different.

Besides, we actually won playing that way last year. Apparantly it didnt work out quite as well for Chelsea.

[Witton_Lane]

My opinion is that you're wrong. Lets create a competition to find out statisticaly who is... oh snap!

Liverpool won the champions league and finished 5th in the league, so were they best team in europe?

Remember Ferguson whingeing back in the day when they got knocked out by Dortmund, because United were Champions the season before and Dortmund were 2nd he felt it was unjust that his side even had to play them.

Skip forward 12 months, United win the Champions League after finishing 2nd in the League the year before, he says **** all - and gets knighted for his jamminess. You could write a book on this foul clearings in the woods hypocrisy, you really could.

[stretford420]

because it means the final will be a much more entertaining, action-packed, memorable football match.

Just like your semi finals with Barca last year.....?

The 2nd leg of last years semi was a very entertaining, nerve-destroying, edge-of-your-seat game of football. Both sides played well and it was fun to watch.

The first leg was a bit dull but the point is, a final is played over one leg, not two. Both sides HAVE to attack and get forward, which means both sides will be left open at the back, which means we will see some amazingly fast paced attack-counterattack football.

So the first leg was dull and the 2nd leg was a very entertaining, nerve destroying, edge of your seat game of football?

Sounds exactly like Chelsea - Barcelona this year.

Why do both sides have to attack? Finals are normally cagey affairs.

Well exactly, Chelsea approached the task of beating Barcelona exactly the same way as Mr Ferguson did a year before.

Both sides have to attack if they want to ... erm ... win the game. I think we will see gorgeous attacking and counter-attacking.

[VillaAndLoyal]

I'm just glad the 2 best teams are in the final. They will go right at each other and put on a good display. Barca will need Marquez/Henry/Puyol for this one.

I think Barca are pretty over-rated to be fair. Only have one game-plan and can never adapt to changing situations. They spend half the game trying to walk the ball into the net.

United will never play an easier final, it will be a walk-over.

Oh and i'd much rather have Big John than E'to 8)

Good call. They've only scored 100 goals and allowed 28 in arguably the best league in the world.

It's no way near the best league in the world though is it. Real Madrid are not the force they once were, neither are Deportivo, neither are Valencia. Compare our league to the Spanish La Liga and it's quite clear which one is stronger.

If Chelsea had another ref on the night tonight it would have been a walkover to be fair. They got their tactics spot on throughout the tie, whereas Barca seem incapable of adapting, its attacking football or nothing.

And yes, some of the passing is imaculate, but up against a good strong defence like Chelsea's and how many chances did they create? Next to nothing. Very over-rated.

[thecatmanbeep]

And we missed it. Who's to say that Chelsea would have scored theirs tonight if it was given?

That was the smartest way to play over 2 legs. A game over 1, however, will be very different.

I think they might have had a chance of scoring 1 of the 4 penalties.

A game over 1 is more likely to be cagey. Why would you risk attacking Barca when you've seen how it's quite easy to shut them down with men behind the ball and then catch them on the counter?

[Jondaken]

Yes and Barca have pretty good credentials too. Ran away with La Liga weeks ago, final of the CL THIS year. And' I'm sorry, but you neer had the better of the first game at all. How can you with 10 players behind the ball for the whole game? In the second game you got beaten by 10 men. Yes you should have had a pen.. or two... but Barca should have also had 11 players on the field and a pen last week.

[thecatmanbeep]

Yes and Barca have pretty good credentials too. Ran away with La Liga weeks ago, final of the CL THIS year. And' I'm sorry, but you neer had the better of the first game at all. How can you with 10 players behind the ball for the whole game? In the second game you got beaten by 10 men. Yes you should have had a pen.. or two... but Barca should have also had 11 players on the field and a pen last week.

I'm not a Chelsea fan

That wasn't a penalty last week, Henry was already falling over and the ball had run away from him, even he didn't appeal.

The first leg was even in terms of chances. The second leg was a landslide in Chelsea's favour.

[stretford420]

And we missed it. Who's to say that Chelsea would have scored theirs tonight if it was given?

That was the smartest way to play over 2 legs. A game over 1, however, will be very different.

I think they might have had a chance of scoring 1 of the 4 penalties.

A game over 1 is more likely to be cagey. Why would you risk attacking Barca when you've seen how it's quite easy to shut them down with men behind the ball and then catch them on the counter?

Probably but your never going to see 4 penalties given in a game.

A game over 1 should be more exciting. It might be more cagey at first, but eventually somethings got to give, and with the attacking players on show it wont be long before it does. And when that goal goes in, this things gonna **** explode.

[VillaAndLoyal]

Yes and Barca have pretty good credentials too. Ran away with La Liga weeks ago, final of the CL THIS year. And' I'm sorry, but you neer had the better of the first game at all. How can you with 10 players behind the ball for the whole game? In the second game you got beaten by 10 men. Yes you should have had a pen.. or two... but Barca should have also had 11 players on the field and a pen last week.

4 penalties, not two.

[stretford420]

At the end of the day, if Chelsea had been capable of keeping a clean sheet over 94 minutes, regardless of if the referee missed 4, 44 or 444 penalties, they would have been in the final.

I said on here in the first half that if ever there was a defence that would lose concentration and make a slip and conceed a goal, and was flamed over it.

Last season, United conceed 0 goals over 180 minutes against Barcelona and go through. This season, Chelsea conceed 1 over the same length of time and go out.

[Jondaken]

Yes and Barca have pretty good credentials too. Ran away with La Liga weeks ago, final of the CL THIS year. And' I'm sorry, but you neer had the better of the first game at all. How can you with 10 players behind the ball for the whole game? In the second game you got beaten by 10 men. Yes you should have had a pen.. or two... but Barca should have also had 11 players on the field and a pen last week.

4 penalties, not two.

I cannot see how a case can be made for the second one. I *slight* pull on the shirt, but he had let go by the time Drogba decided to decided to fall. I dont agree at all with this mentality of any contact means a foul. If hes pulled or pushed over/offbalance, then yes, give a pen, but as far as the pictures show, there was little to no force being exerted on him.

But all this 3 pens claim is pointless. The first pen would have changed the outlook of the game. Barca being 1-0 up would have changed the outlook of the game. Barca having 11 men and not 10 would have changed the outlook. You cant possibly say those three penatly claims would have happened had desicions before had not went the "right" way.

All in all, what happened happened. 5 pen claims were not given. A man was sent off. Barca scored an away goal and Chelsea never.

And as a final note, I think Man U will gub them in Rome.

[thecatmanbeep]

I cannot see how a case can be made for the second one. I *slight* pull on the shirt, but he had let go by the time Drogba decided to decided to fall. I dont agree at all with this mentality of any contact means a foul. If hes pulled or pushed over/offbalance, then yes, give a pen, but as far as the pictures show, there was little to no force being exerted on him.

You can't see the case, because you're not looking at the right thing.

It's not the pull on the shirt, it's when he puts his left leg across Drogba and trips him.

[stretford420]

Penalties aside, do you, or do you not, all agree that if Chelsea's defense had been able to keep their concentration until the final whistle and kept a clean sheet, they would be in the Champions League Final?

I hope this teaches Chelsea a lesson about the importance of defending.

[thecatmanbeep]

I think we all agree that if Chelsea kept a clean sheet they'd be in the final.

Of all the people to mess up it was Michael Essien, nobody could have predicted that.

[stretford420]

I think we all agree that if Chelsea kept a clean sheet they'd be in the final.

Of all the people to mess up it was Michael Essien, nobody could have predicted that.

And this is the difference between Chelsea this year and Manchester United last year imo. Last year, Barca had about 4 or 5 shots in stoppage time and our defence dealt with all of them. Barca get forward once against Chelsea in stoppage time and score.

The difference between the two sides is that one keep their concentration until the end of the game, and the other do not.

I like Essien. To be honest, he's the only Chelsea player I do like. I'm gutted for him that after being the most important player in that team for so long, he made the mistake that cost them their place in the final. He's really matured since he announced himself on the English scene by trying to dismember Xabi Alonso a few years ago, which amazes me when I look at the childish, unprofessional behaviour of some of the idiots that the poor man shares a locker room with.

[steve1986]

At the end of the day, if Chelsea had been capable of keeping a clean sheet over 94 minutes, regardless of if the referee missed 4, 44 or 444 penalties, they would have been in the final.

I said on here in the first half that if ever there was a defence that would lose concentration and make a slip and conceed a goal, and was flamed over it.

Last season, United conceed 0 goals over 180 minutes against Barcelona and go through. This season, Chelsea conceed 1 over the same length of time and go out.

Dear god please go and find a man united forum i really do not understand what the need is to post here especially the way you are, Chelsea were by far and wide the better team over two legs, it was definitely a handball at least the way i saw it and that would have been red card pen goodnight.

i was hoping that you would beat them but the way you are going on about it makes me hope they turn you over with every post i read.

[Mark8691]

heystally, in recent weeks, we've had tonights match, which was very exciting, the 3 - 1 against Liverpool which was a good game, the 4 - 4 with Liverpool which was the game of the season and the 4 - 3 against Bolton which was incredible....

...boring? Nah.

4-4 with Liverpool wasnt dull, because it was Liverpool playing, not becuase it was Chelsea. You got what you deserved after that performance last week.

Really cant comprehend that view.

As i said last week, if that had been our team and we defended llike that at the Nou Camp...all our fans would have been rushing to the reaction thread and posting about our 'superb' defensive performance.

Defending is as much an art as attacking..and i also appreciate a team that is capable of shutting up shop and giving sucha disciplined performance.

It's a skill Villa will have to learn more if they wish to break the top 4..

[heystally!]

That wasn't a penalty last week, Henry was already falling over and the ball had run away from him, even he didn't appeal.

Bull

Shit.

Talk about only seeing what goes against your team. That was stonewall last time round.

So if we're going by "penalties that should have been given would have been goals", it should have been 1-0 to Barca at the Nou Camp, and 2-1 Chelsea at the Bridge (because only Pique's handball was a legitimate penalty) so they would have gone through on away goals anyway.

EDIT: This is not a scientifically-based argument.

[heystally!]

heystally, in recent weeks, we've had tonights match, which was very exciting, the 3 - 1 against Liverpool which was a good game, the 4 - 4 with Liverpool which was the game of the season and the 4 - 3 against Bolton which was incredible....

...boring? Nah.

4-4 with Liverpool wasnt dull, because it was Liverpool playing, not becuase it was Chelsea. You got what you deserved after that performance last week.

Really cant comprehend that view.

As i said last week, if that had been our team and we defended llike that at the Nou Camp...all our fans would have been rushing to the reaction thread and posting about our 'superb' defensive performance.

Defending is as much an art as attacking..and i also appreciate a team that is capable of shutting up shop and giving sucha disciplined performance.

It's a skill Villa will have to learn more if they wish to break the top 4..

I don't think anyone is suggesting Chelsea didn't play well to keep Barcelona out.

It was just boring. If it was Villa in that situation, I'd want them to play the game to win it, whether it was pretty or not. As a neutral, I want to see the best game of football, and Barcelona play more exciting football. Chelsea don't.

[chrissmith921]

Whatever way you spin it, you have nothing to back up your claim of being second best in Europe.

2nd in the league last year, runners up in the champions league last year and beaten semi finalists this year, having the better of their semi final in the process.

Pretty good credentials...

In your opinion you were the better side.

Fact is fella, you're out. Its like Glastonspur coming on here and telling us in his opinion Spurs are best placed to tackle the top 4, or my opinion we're the best team in the **** world. Oh yes. But thats all it is - opinion.

Barcelona done you lot over, the fact that you sat back for 170 of the 180 minutes of the Semi final kicking anything that moved and getting away with it kinda proves that what goes around, does come around when you were denied penalty after penalty.

Drogba and Ballack have proven to many exactly why your club is a 'pretend' big club - you were **** shite before you got the Russians money, and you're not in the same league in terms of stature as any of the other teams involved in the latter stages of the Champions League - a rich mans play thing, thats all you are.

Tit.