Champions League Semi-Finals - Second Legs

[jonahjones]

Ji Sung Park and Cristiano Ronaldo put Manchester United out of sight after just twelve minutes at The Emirates.

[peza2605]

Ji Sung Park and Cristiano Ronaldo put Manchester United out of sight after just twelve minutes at The Emirates.

not out of sight but in a very very good position..

[Win2Win]

not out of sight but in a very very good position..
If they were playing Liverpool you'd still be kacking yourself :)

[jonahjones]

not out of sight but in a very very good position..

Pez, I know you are a worrier and I am myself - takes one to know one!

But do you really think Arsenal are going to score four goals without reply in the next sixty two minutes?! :)

[peza2605]

Pez, I know you are a worrier and I am myself - takes one to know one!

But do you really think Arsenal are going to score four goals without reply in the next sixty two minutes?! :)

football can be a cruel game at times im just admitting theres a possibilty it could happen no matter how slim :D

and yes boss i would be .

[chancer]

Its a stange game and a strange position for us united supporters. I was braced for a nervy tight game, i'm kinda stunned now:omg:.

[jonahjones]

A lightning break involving first Ronaldo, Park, Rooney and then Ronaldo again books United's place in Rome and finally allows Peza to breathe. :)

[peza2605]

que sera sera wherever we'll be we'll be . we're going to italy ,que sara sara :party

[chancer]

Who do you want to play in the final Peza, Both are tough

[jonahjones]

Robin van Persie nets a consolation from the penalty spot in an incident which sees Darren Fletcher (wrongly) sent-off which means he will miss the final.

[peza2605]

Who do you want to play in the final Peza, Both are tough

barcelona without a doubt, my dream final. went to the 1991 cwc final best night ever.

[scoobydoo]

what a :censored: idiot of a ref, he should come to England! :ermmm Christ if Uefa cant do something about that, they are a joke.

[peza2605]

gutted for fletch, penalty or not , to send him off was ridiculous.

[scoobydoo]

gutted for fletch, penalty or not , to send him off was ridiculous.

& then of course he misses Adebayor's challenge on Carrick...:headbange

[jonahjones]

Congratulations Pez, Scoob and Chancer. :wiggle:

Never in doubt! :wink

[mathare]

I have to say United were awesome this evening. The break for Ronaldo's second was simply stunning. Made Arsenal look very ordinary. Other than the gift penalty from the ref they never looked like scoring one, let alone the 4 or 5 they needed.

Gutted for Darren Fletcher too as there can be no appeal. I didn't really rate Fletcher before this season but he has been a great player for them in the big games. Not flashy but solid. Like Park. I didn't used to get him but he's another solid dependable player who will run for 90 minutes and puts in a lot of good work. I still don't rate Berbatov though and don't see him as a Man Utd sort of player, to be honest.

[peza2605]

hope we play like that on sunday :helper

[chancer]

Hopefully Fletcher will have his card overturned, i thought he was outstanding tonight:thumbs. I think Arsenal got shell shocked and caught cold tonight. They are a lot better team than tonight. I hope when we meet them in the league that they don't give us a backlash:ermmm.

[chancer]

Gutted for Darren Fletcher too as there can be no appeal.


How come Mathare?

[peza2605]

the only way they can appeal is mistaken identity apparently.

[chancer]

He was mistaken for someone who gave away a foul, does that count? Gutted for him then.

[scoobydoo]

He was mistaken for someone who gave away a foul, does that count?

:laugh Its crazy isnt it...as they said tonight if someone on the pitch would've lamped someone and had it not been seen by the ref, UEFA can look into it and punish them. There way of doing it means that they can protect a ref even though it makes them look an absolute joke. All the things they try and tinker with in the game (Platini!!!) and they dont do something about this...tells you everything you need to know about people who run the game, but dont understand it at all.;fire

[Win2Win]

Robin van Persie nets a consolation from the penalty spot in an incident which sees Darren Fletcher (wrongly) sent-off which means he will miss the final.
Well it all evens itself out, he can play in the next final :doh

An absolute farce though, easily fixed with a 10 second review, and the fact you have no appeal system is nothing short of pathetic in a Billion dollar industry.

[mathare]

All the TV replays show he got the ball so the fact he can't appeal the decision is shocking. I can understand yellow cards not being appealable (he says, inventing a new word) but surely you should be able to appeal against decisions like that one last night. Even Wenger said it wasn't a red card, which is tantamount to admitting he saw something that happened on the pitch

[vegyjones]

One good thing about Fletcher being suspended is that he will probably play in the big league matches and will be fully committed to the cause as he desn't have to worry about picking up an injury before the cl final!

[scoobydoo]

All the TV replays show he got the ball so the fact he can't appeal the decision is shocking. I can understand yellow cards not being appealable (he says, inventing a new word) but surely you should be able to appeal against decisions like that one last night. Even Wenger said it wasn't a red card, which is tantamount to admitting he saw something that happened on the pitch

Its like being on death row...and they know you're innocent! But they have to do it because that is the rules. So UEFA are murderers!:doh :laugh

Seriously though..I cant see UEFA backing down at all, he is one of their best refs isnt he and yet he got the penalty wrong, so sending off a player who made a good defensive challenge and then Adebayor should've been sent off for his 'assault' on Carrick imho. :ermmm As Keith just said, in a Billion pound industry...they have to bring in tv replays now. Its just not acceptable anymore. There has to be justice not only for players who commit offences that are missed by the ref, but for players where a ref makes an error. You can't just have it one way Michel! :ass2

[mathare]

Its like being on death row...and they know you're innocent! But they have to do it because that is the rules. So UEFA are murderers!:doh :laughHe (Fletcher) did the right thing and left the pitch without argument. He knows he got the ball and didn't protest so that has to work in his favour. Even if the sending off had stood but there was no ban for the final that would be a decent comprimise. A replay at the end of the game or something to see whether or not the ban applied, then the game itself doesn't need to be delayed. Sure, in closer games than last night's a sending off could change the game but that's what you have to put up with, and no different to how it is now. But at least players wouldn't be wrongfully suspended.


Seriously though..I cant see UEFA backing down at allNo, nor can I.

[scoobydoo]

Even if the sending off had stood but there was no ban for the final that would be a decent comprimise. A replay at the end of the game or something to see whether or not the ban applied, then the game itself doesn't need to be delayed. Sure, in closer games than last night's a sending off could change the game but that's what you have to put up with, and no different to how it is now. But at least players wouldn't be wrongfully suspended.


I agree with this, though as you say, if the game had been 1-0 Utd at the time, this could've changed the whole match/tie.I guess this happens all the time and we accept it but its UEFA knowing he is innocent after the event that is winding me up. Its just wrong and let us hope that even if Fletcher doesn't get off this 'ban', then nobody else, whichever club they play for has to go through it....even Liverpool players if we have to! :wink

Just watching Sky Sports News and UEFA insiders have said that he was sent off because although he got the ball, he denied Fabregas a goalscoring opportunity! Well yes that is the point of tackling someone I guess! Oh please God tell me they dont really believe this....its just unreal!!!:omg:

I agree with what you said last about Fletcher Mat, he has been terrific when he has played this season and last night he was outstanding...until he made the mistake of tackling Fabregas...:ermmm

[mathare]

I agree with what you said last about Fletcher Mat, he has been terrific when he has played this season and last night he was outstanding...until he made the mistake of tackling Fabregas...:ermmmThat's the thing though, he could have let Fabregas score. It wouldn't have affected the tie and he could then play in the final. Madness.

[chancer]

The fact that he did make the tackle when United are 3 nil up is the reason he's earning so much respect this season.

[jonahjones]

An absolute screamer from Michael Essien gives Chelsea an early lead over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

[Win2Win]

Now that was a flippin penalty for Chelski!

[scoobydoo]

Do Chelsea deserve this lead?? Can you see Barca coming back at all????

[mathare]

Has the goal really made any difference? If Barcelona equalise they go through, right? So in those terms Barcelona still need the one goal they needed at the start of the match

[Win2Win]

If Drogba wasn't well known for falling over with every breeze, he'd probably have had 3 penalties by now! :rolleyes:

[jonahjones]

Eric Abidal is sent-off for Barcelona after sixty five minutes.

[peza2605]

havent seen all the match but that sending off was even worse than last nights in my opinion.

[scoobydoo]

:yikes:

[jonahjones]

Andres Iniesta scores for Barcelona in the third minute of injury-time with their first effort on target.

[jonahjones]

How much did Platini pay the referee to avoid another all-English Champions League Final?

Some scandalous decisions.

[peza2605]

like i said i havent seen all the match, but that one in injury time wasnt a penalty, as for the rest i dont know, seems like chelsea are not happy.

[jonahjones]

but that one in injury time wasnt a penalty

I think it was a penalty Pez. He lifted his hand above his head to block the ball and the ball hit it.

[mathare]

Has the goal really made any difference? If Barcelona equalise they go through, right? So in those terms Barcelona still need the one goal they needed at the start of the matchTold ya :)

And my bet on Barca for the Champs League rolls on still - phew!!

[peza2605]

I think it was a penalty Pez. He lifted his hand above his head to block the ball and the ball hit it.

it looked to me like it hit his back, but then again ive had a few.

[chancer]

Chelsea robbed(thankfully). I think United have a better chance against Barcelona. Is it just me or have a lot of big matches this season revolve around dodgy refs?

[piggy]

gutted, bomb norway thats what i say , to miss one stonewall penalty maybe forgivable but two:ermmm and two more claims that we have all seen given at times ;fire don't worry eufa the rev did you proud and youve got the money spinning final you wanted.

[piggy]

it looked to me like it hit his back, but then again ive had a few.
i haven't yet but i'm starting now :D

[Win2Win]

This is why I gave up betting on football 2 years ago, many matches decided by Team FA/EUFA rather than the teams themselves, and it has now got much worse.

The match last night was a complete farce, I've seen the local under 8's Sunday games refereed better than that.

The two big winners were UEFA & the bookies.

We are getting to the stage that the teams may as well stay at home and the ref will decide the result :splapme

[peza2605]

i wish mourinho was still chelsea manager, can you imagine the reaction ?? i honestly think the pique handball was the only cast iron penalty though.

[mathare]

Ooh, just read on the BBC that Man Utd could appeal Fletcher's dismissal according to the UEFA general secretary

[Win2Win]

Ooh, just read on the BBC that Man Utd could appeal Fletcher's dismissal according to the UEFA general secretary

On past evidence the appeal date should be set for August then! :splapme

[scoobydoo]

Ooh, just read on the BBC that Man Utd could appeal Fletcher's dismissal according to the UEFA general secretary

I've just read that Mat although the end of the story shouldn't get too many hopes up;

Taylor has offered United a sliver of hope that Fletcher, 25, could turn out against Barcelona on 27 May, although he admitted the likelihood was that the decision would stand.

"I must stress there is normally no way these matters can be overturned," he warned.

Which basically means that even if we see that he got the ball, we won't change our minds because we don't want to. They are just a bunch of suits who can't relate to ordinary fans, in no other sport in a major final would this happen if a player was not guilty of an offence. Democracy my :butthead:. UEFA preach endlessly about fair play.... where is UEFA's fair play in putting things right.God I would love to have an argument with one of those :icon_tong running them...

Did anyone see Lovejoy on the 606 interactive last night...he was absolutely gutted??

[mathare]

Did anyone see Lovejoy on the 606 interactive last night...he was absolutely gutted??I hate Self-Lovejoy, he's disappearing up his own :butthead: His attitude towards lower league football, for example, is shocking for someone who is a self-declared authority on football.

[scoobydoo]

I hate Self-Lovejoy, he's disappearing up his own :butthead: His attitude towards lower league football, for example, is shocking for someone who is a self-declared authority on football.

He was being pretty biased last night, understandably gutted but he got a mouthful from a chap from Wales, calling him arrogant about 4 times I think...you would have liked the call!

[scoobydoo]

havent seen all the match but that sending off was even worse than last nights in my opinion.

Just watched the highlights pez and I agree it was as bad as Fletchers. I think it could be bad news for him as if he gets off, there is no doubt they will want Abidal's rescinded as well.
I also agree that there was only one clear cut pen I saw, Pique's handball....and I really cant see why it wasn't given??? Drogba was falling all over the place so it is difficult to give him them sometimes, though I admit the defender did grab a bit of his shirt so technically it could've been given. The Malouda one seemed outside to me at first and wasn't totally sure about the handball at the end.

The thing that looks worse for UEFA, apart from an incompetent ref, was that we know Platini doesnt/didn't want 2 English teams in the final. When something like this happens with so many appeals going ignored, it makes people think something dodgy has gone on even though I dont reckon that happened in this case. But Chelsea can feel pretty aggrieved I reckon.