Despite all the pre-match negativity, Ronaldo silenced his critics and the hostile Porto fans after just 5 minutes by scoring a thunderbolt from 40 yards to give Man U the perfect start. Exquisite!! From that point on Man United looked strong affording Porto very few attempts on goal. Just before half time it should have been 2-0 to United with a John O'Shea flick on from Ryan Giggs' corner, however Vidic shot over the bar from five yards. The defender understandably held his head in his hands. Just as at the Emirates, United were controlling the match in the first half but appeared to lack urgency.
Throughout the second half the Porto substitute Mariano caused problems for United, pushing Evra into a number of unnecessary errors. 10 minutes in, Porto had a decent chance as Mariano jumped between John O'Shea and Rio Ferdinand to connect with a deep Raul Meireles cross, which fortunately went wide. Two minutes later Patrice Evra was booked for clattering into Mariano. A nervous Evra again failed to close Mariano down at 85 minutes but fortunately Lopez sidefooted Mariano’s cross straight to Van de Sar. These were tense times for United fans, with both teams painfully aware that United’s lead was very fragile with a single goal from Porto being enough for the home side.
However Manchester United managed to hold on to set up a mouth watering all English semi with Arsenal. For the fifth season in a row English football is guaranteed a representative in the final, which is further evidence of the quality of the beautiful game in our green and pleasant land. If only more of the players in our top clubs were English, but that is a debate for another time ...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Champions League Quarter Final Result 15th April Arsenal 3 Villareal 0
The pre-match ovation for Pires was a nice touch from the Arsenal fans and well deserved by the veteran of over 300 games in the Arsenal kit. Despite his disparaging comments in the week about the youth of Arsenal’s team, Pires also said that if he scored he wouldn’t celebrate out of respect for his old club. The Arsenal fans were of course hoping not to witness that gesture as with only the single away goal under their belts, Arsenal really didn’t want Villareal to score at the Emirates.
Arsenal started very brightly with a handful of attempts on goal in the few minutes and rightfully deserved to go ahead after 10 minutes with Walcott skilfully converting a cheeky flick from Fabregas. Throughout the first half Walcott looked threatening on the right with Adebayor also pushing forward strongly. Arsenal thought they’d scored a second after 28 mins when Adebayor followed up a free kick from Van Persie, but despite howlers from the Villareal defence the ball didn’t quite go over the line.
Villareal did begin to wake up as the half progressed. Although they never looked convincing at the back with Gonzalo in particular making a number of errors, Villareal did start to look dangerous going forward. Arsenal had a nervy end to the first half with Villareal conceding a corner, which fortunately was headed over the crossbar.
Arsenal started well in the second half but hit a nervous patch as the first hour approached by conceding a number of free kicks. However Arsenal answered any accusations of fielding too inexperienced a team when Adebayor got on the end of a great pass from Van Persie and scored just before the first hour.
At 66 minutes Walcott won a penalty after being brought down by Godin. The Villareal players protested strongly with Eguren pushing the referee too far and ending up with a red card for his trouble. Van Persie sent it screaming into the top right corner to shatter 10 man Villareal’s hopes for the tie and to set Arsenal up for a semi final with Manchester United. Should be a great tie!
Arsenal started very brightly with a handful of attempts on goal in the few minutes and rightfully deserved to go ahead after 10 minutes with Walcott skilfully converting a cheeky flick from Fabregas. Throughout the first half Walcott looked threatening on the right with Adebayor also pushing forward strongly. Arsenal thought they’d scored a second after 28 mins when Adebayor followed up a free kick from Van Persie, but despite howlers from the Villareal defence the ball didn’t quite go over the line.
Villareal did begin to wake up as the half progressed. Although they never looked convincing at the back with Gonzalo in particular making a number of errors, Villareal did start to look dangerous going forward. Arsenal had a nervy end to the first half with Villareal conceding a corner, which fortunately was headed over the crossbar.
Arsenal started well in the second half but hit a nervous patch as the first hour approached by conceding a number of free kicks. However Arsenal answered any accusations of fielding too inexperienced a team when Adebayor got on the end of a great pass from Van Persie and scored just before the first hour.
At 66 minutes Walcott won a penalty after being brought down by Godin. The Villareal players protested strongly with Eguren pushing the referee too far and ending up with a red card for his trouble. Van Persie sent it screaming into the top right corner to shatter 10 man Villareal’s hopes for the tie and to set Arsenal up for a semi final with Manchester United. Should be a great tie!
Champions League Quarter Final News 15th April
After last night's champion's league thriller, it's difficult to imagine that tonight's games will be as exciting. However for the fans of both Man United and Arsenal, tonight is definitely a pivotal night in their seasons. Man U of course already have a couple of trophies in the cabinet this season and a fighting chance of winning 3 more, although they've certainly made things difficult for themselves by conceding 2 goals at home to Porto last week. To reach the semi-finals United must win at the Estadio do Dragao, which is something no English side has managed before. However after last night's performances by Liverpool and Chelsea, it feels like anything is possible. United fans will also look to 1999, when United overcame the odds to beat Turin 2:3 after drawing at home and then trailing 0:2 away and then of course went on to win the Champions League final after a dramatic come back against Bayern Munich.
Arsenal only have a mathematical possibility of winning the league this year, although are still in with a chance of winning the FA Cup this year. However the Champions League is particularly poignant to many Arsenal fans, who are still hurting from 2006, when due to Jens Lehman's sending off after 18 minutes, many Gooners feel they never had a proper crack at bringing the trophy back to North London. The 4-1 win against Wigan at the weekend means that, after a poor start to the season, Gunners' only loss this year has been at Roma (a tie they eventually won on penalties). Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger certainly believes his side have the mental strength to beat Villarreal tonight and the Gunners have the advantage of an away goal after drawing 1-1 in the first leg. Arsenal will however be without defenders Johan Djourou and Gael Clichy, which further weakens the Gunners backline in the absence of William Gallas. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia's ankle also rules him out of tonight's match.
However Villarreal are also under strength, missing midfielder Marcos Senna, the goal scorer of the first leg, who limped off at the weekend with a hamstring injury in a 2-0 defeat by Malaga. The Primera Liga side's midfield is also weakened, with Santi Cazorla injured and wingers Cani and Mati Fernandez doubtful. It will therefore be fascinating night of football. My prediction is that Man United will pull it off tonight by beating Porto 1:2 and that Arsenal will go through by scoring a single goal at the Emirates. So less of a goal fest than last night but all the elements will be in place for a fascinating semi final!
Arsenal only have a mathematical possibility of winning the league this year, although are still in with a chance of winning the FA Cup this year. However the Champions League is particularly poignant to many Arsenal fans, who are still hurting from 2006, when due to Jens Lehman's sending off after 18 minutes, many Gooners feel they never had a proper crack at bringing the trophy back to North London. The 4-1 win against Wigan at the weekend means that, after a poor start to the season, Gunners' only loss this year has been at Roma (a tie they eventually won on penalties). Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger certainly believes his side have the mental strength to beat Villarreal tonight and the Gunners have the advantage of an away goal after drawing 1-1 in the first leg. Arsenal will however be without defenders Johan Djourou and Gael Clichy, which further weakens the Gunners backline in the absence of William Gallas. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia's ankle also rules him out of tonight's match.
However Villarreal are also under strength, missing midfielder Marcos Senna, the goal scorer of the first leg, who limped off at the weekend with a hamstring injury in a 2-0 defeat by Malaga. The Primera Liga side's midfield is also weakened, with Santi Cazorla injured and wingers Cani and Mati Fernandez doubtful. It will therefore be fascinating night of football. My prediction is that Man United will pull it off tonight by beating Porto 1:2 and that Arsenal will go through by scoring a single goal at the Emirates. So less of a goal fest than last night but all the elements will be in place for a fascinating semi final!
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