The expected glut of goalmouth action served up by two of Europe’s most illustrious attacking line-ups may not have materialised, but Barcelona and Manchester United still combined to produce an entertaining game at Camp Nou in the first leg of their Champions’ League semi-final.
As is usually the case when a high profile player misses from the penalty spot, Cristiano Ronaldo will be falsely accused of lacking bottle rather than simply being subjected to the law of averages. Pressure from the spot does not get more intense than when asked to re-take a successful effort when trailing 1-0 to a title challenger late in the season, as Ronaldo was required to do against Arsenal recently. Sir Alex Ferguson probably called it correctly when he said that, if anything, the opportunity possibly arrived too early in the game. That said he and everyone else would still have backed the Portuguese maestro to convert.
At this same stage in last year’s competition, an injury-ravaged United found themselves outmanoeuvred and outgunned by a fresh AC Milan side able to pour all of their efforts into the Champions’ League. Though injuries have not taken the same toll on the English champions this time around (Nemanja Vidic was the only probable starter to miss out), Barcelona’s faltering title challenge in Spain has provided them with a single focus as the season draws to a close.
In the early stages, Frank Rijkaard’s men pressed high up the field. Their midfield pushed forward onto United’s back line, forcing the heralded triumvirate of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez to retreat into their own half. Resultingly, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick found it difficult to strike up their normal rhythm. Again unfairly for Ronaldo, many observers view this tie as a direct competition between him and Lionel Messi for the “World’s Best Player" accolade. Judging their respective merits on this game is highly misleading. Whereas Messi continually received the ball in the final third with team-mates close at hand, much of Ronaldo’s possession was gained around the halfway line and with little support nearby.
Ferguson will be content that, despite incessant probing, Barcelona could only create one seriously threatening chance when Samuel Eto’o broke into the penalty area early in the second half. He will be less impressed with his side’s ability to defuse some of the pressure heaped upon them by retaining control of the ball for longer stretches. It is doubtful that a side containing Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes as well as the front trio were instructed to play on the defensive, so credit must go to Rooney and Tevez for putting in a hard defensive shift when their attacking capabilities were so effectively marginalised.
Overall, United will be happy to return to Old Trafford next Tuesday knowing that a win will see them through to the final in Moscow. Rijkaard will feel confident that his men can score in the away leg, especially with Messi further down the road to full fitness.
A final word of praise goes to Massimo Busacca, the Swiss referee, who gave an impeccable display which ranks among the best that I have seen in recent years. There were, as can be expected, a handful of minor calls which he and his assistants did not get right, but he was exact in all of the major decisions regarding penalty appeals and bookings and allowed an admirable flow to the match without becoming overly officious – too often the case in today’s near non-contact sport.
As is usually the case when a high profile player misses from the penalty spot, Cristiano Ronaldo will be falsely accused of lacking bottle rather than simply being subjected to the law of averages. Pressure from the spot does not get more intense than when asked to re-take a successful effort when trailing 1-0 to a title challenger late in the season, as Ronaldo was required to do against Arsenal recently. Sir Alex Ferguson probably called it correctly when he said that, if anything, the opportunity possibly arrived too early in the game. That said he and everyone else would still have backed the Portuguese maestro to convert.
At this same stage in last year’s competition, an injury-ravaged United found themselves outmanoeuvred and outgunned by a fresh AC Milan side able to pour all of their efforts into the Champions’ League. Though injuries have not taken the same toll on the English champions this time around (Nemanja Vidic was the only probable starter to miss out), Barcelona’s faltering title challenge in Spain has provided them with a single focus as the season draws to a close.
In the early stages, Frank Rijkaard’s men pressed high up the field. Their midfield pushed forward onto United’s back line, forcing the heralded triumvirate of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez to retreat into their own half. Resultingly, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick found it difficult to strike up their normal rhythm. Again unfairly for Ronaldo, many observers view this tie as a direct competition between him and Lionel Messi for the “World’s Best Player" accolade. Judging their respective merits on this game is highly misleading. Whereas Messi continually received the ball in the final third with team-mates close at hand, much of Ronaldo’s possession was gained around the halfway line and with little support nearby.
Ferguson will be content that, despite incessant probing, Barcelona could only create one seriously threatening chance when Samuel Eto’o broke into the penalty area early in the second half. He will be less impressed with his side’s ability to defuse some of the pressure heaped upon them by retaining control of the ball for longer stretches. It is doubtful that a side containing Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes as well as the front trio were instructed to play on the defensive, so credit must go to Rooney and Tevez for putting in a hard defensive shift when their attacking capabilities were so effectively marginalised.
Overall, United will be happy to return to Old Trafford next Tuesday knowing that a win will see them through to the final in Moscow. Rijkaard will feel confident that his men can score in the away leg, especially with Messi further down the road to full fitness.
A final word of praise goes to Massimo Busacca, the Swiss referee, who gave an impeccable display which ranks among the best that I have seen in recent years. There were, as can be expected, a handful of minor calls which he and his assistants did not get right, but he was exact in all of the major decisions regarding penalty appeals and bookings and allowed an admirable flow to the match without becoming overly officious – too often the case in today’s near non-contact sport.
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