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Match Review : UCL Semi Final (1) - UNITED (1) vs Arsenal (0)
Posted by sChuMee
in
Manchester United
UNITED 1 - 0 Arsenal
1st goal : John O'Shea
It's the English battle between UNITED & Arsenal.. Should be a cracker & feisty encounter.. it has always been that way.. Keano used to say, if there's a game he would want to play again, it would be against Arsenal.. Ray Parlour also voiced out the intense rivalry between the two clubs.. it's never dull between UNITED & Arsenal.. i'm hoping the style continues.. I'm up for an enjoyable footy display.. Even though we've meet so many times before, this will be the first time that these two teams meet in the Champions League..
The newly-crowned PFA Player of the Year enjoyed one of his greatest moments in a semi-final against the Gunners, and his experience could be telling for United. And let's hope it's a glory day for both us & Giggsy.. However, Giggsy starts on the bench today.. This will be his 800th appearance if he is involved and i'm pretty sure he'll be involved later on.. Dimitar Berbatov finds himself on the bench alongside Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes with Darren Fletcher preferred and Carlos Tevez starts after Saturday's heroics against Tottenham. John O'Shea gets the nod at right-back with Wes Brown not considered fit enough to replace Gary Neville and Rafael probably not experienced enough. Evra will have a daunting task to tackle the quick Theo Walcott.. He was rattled by Lennon in the weekend, i'm hoping for a better display from the Frenchman.. As fancied by me, Ando will start for this match..
GREAT SAVE! Fletcher's cross is met at the back post by Wayne Rooney and his header loops off the back of Bacary Sagna's head and is clawed away by Manuel Almunia.
Great start from United and after Gibbs slips, Cristiano Ronaldo fizzes a ball across the face of the six yard box but Tevez can't apply the finishing touch.
Nasri has a little flick out at Anderson but referee Claus Bo Larsen gives him a warning rather than issuing the second yellow which would have ruled him out of the second leg.
Rooney cuts inside Sagna and almost picks out the advancing Tevez but the pass is cut out.
Ronaldo on his bike down the right flank but can't quite reach the searching pass.
Decent run by Fletcher into the penalty area but Nemanja Vidic can't pick him out.
Rooney is very much hugging the left flank with United playing a tight three in midfield.
Tevez tees up Ronaldo but he scuffs his 20-yard shot which rolls harmlessly through to Almunia.
Arsenal put their first decent move together but when Theo Walcott gets to the by-line, his pull back is cut out by Vidic.
Rooney gets ahead of Sagna but his cross from the left is cleared by Toure with Ronaldo and Tevez waiting to pounce.
Michael Carrick is playing the quarterback role and he comes very close to picking out Ronaldo's diagonal run with the perfect pass.
INCREDIBLE SAVE! United work the ball to the right and O'Shea squares the ball to Tevez whose slightly mis-hit shot from seven yards is superbly saved one handed to his left by Almunia.
GOAL!! UNITED LEAD!! From the corner, Carrick is left alone at the back post. Arsenal are attracted to the ball and leave too much space as the ball reaches O'SHEA who slashes home from close range with the ball taking a slight deflection off Silvestre. Thanks to KING SHEASY, we're leading 1-0!!! huhu...
An Arsenal free-kick sails harmlessly through to Edwin van der Sar.
Vital flick from Gibbs to prevent Ronaldo meeting a cross at the back post.
United force another corner as they dominate. Too much on Anderson's delivery and the ball runs out of play.
An incredibly ambitious effort from Rooney from just inside the halfway line but it fails to test Almunia.
Rooney tracks back and does just enough to put off Fabregas, his attempted shot embarrassingly comes off his standing foot.
Great first touch from Walcott, he finds Adebayor who tees up Fabregas but the 20-yard drive from the Arsenal skipper is held by van der Sar low down. Best move from the Gunners.
O'Shea's header sends Ronaldo clear but Toure nods away the cross.
YET ANOTHER GREAT SAVE!! Tevez stands the ball up at the back post but Ronaldo's header from no more than four yards hits Almunia and stays out.
Ronaldo's shot from 20 yards is held by Almunia at the second attempt and that is his sixth save of the match.
Almunia is brave to come off his line and get to the ball ahead of Tevez whose studs rake the neck of the keeper. Indeed Tevez has gone into the book for that challenge. That is stupid, Carlitos shouldn't get that yellow..
Ronaldo loses his footing which gives Gibbs the chance to cross but his delivery is headed away.
A full blooded 50-50 between Toure and Patrice Evra is won by the United man.
Anderson almost finds Rooney down the left channel but again the ball is intercepted.
Arsenal seeing more of the ball as the half goes on but without any penetration. Looks like we're slowing our game down after that goal.. I've always hate it when we decided to defend this early..
Rooney cuts inside Sagna once more and looks to bend it inside Almunia's left-hand post but it is just off target.
Arsenal probe once again but yet again the move ends 30 yards from goal. Samir Nasri's pass intended for Adebayor is cut out.
A lovely move from United ends with a fine tackle from Silvestre on the advancing Carrick.
Walcott gets past the stumbling Evra but he opts to find Adebayor only for Rio Ferdinand to cut out the flick.
HALF-TIME! An unlikely hero has given United the lead but it could have been more if it wasn't for Almunia. I still think we shouldn't be defending that early.. We should be seeking for more goals...
HALFTIME!!!!!!!!!!!
Getting Ready for the 2nd half.. no changes from either side..
Carrick given space but his pass for Tevez is cut out by Toure.
Carrick steals the ball off Song but Tevez has drifted offside to end a promising position.
Tevez picks out Rooney but he can't pick out a colleague with his square pass across the 18-yard box.
Foul by Song on Rooney. He is also a booking away from missing the second leg. So Rooney, please be extra-careful.. PLEASEEEE!!!!!!!
Ronaldo is not closed down quickly enough and his shot deflects off Silvestre for a corner.
For the second time Anderson's corner is way over hit and runs out of play. That's a waste..
Evra's ball across the face of the six yard box is hooked away by Silvestre on his weaker side.
Ronaldo finds Rooney who tries to stand the ball up at the back stick only for Silvestre to nod away.
Sloppy from Fletcher who is caught in possession by Fabregas but Ferdinand gets back to nip the ball off the Arsenal skipper. And this is not the first time.. CAUTIOUS DEAR FLETCHER!!!
Ronaldo's cross from the right is repelled by Toure.
Walcott almost meets Nasri's cross at the back post but Evra does enough to block the header.
Ronaldo goes down on the edge of the penalty area but no free-kick and correctly so. Some histrionics from the Portuguese in response.
A double change for United and Giggs brings up 800 as he comes on along with Berbatov. Anderson and Tevez depart.Giggs has gone to the left flank with Ronaldo down the middle in support of the laconic Bulgarian. And that means Rooney will now shift to the right flank.. isk2.. COME ON ROONEY!!!
Vital header from Toure to prevent Ronaldo nodding home Rooney's cross from close range.
Great skill from Berbatov, the ball is worked to Giggs whose cross back to the Bulgarian is headed away by Silvestre with the Bulgarian lurking.
Adebayor slashes at Giggs' corner but the return cross from the Welsh legend is too high for Ferdinand.
Giggs marks his 800th appearance with a goal but it is chalked off for offside. A borderline decision as he looked to have timed his run perfectly. That goal should have stood.. Giggsy is clearly not offside..
Giggs gets behind Sagna but Almunia is off his line to quell the danger.
Another menacing run from Rooney but not an easy ball to find either Ronaldo or Giggs and Sagna comes across to clear.
Ferdinand goes through the back of Eduardo and Bendtner reaches Fabregas’ free-kick ahead of the advancing van der Sar but the Dane gets far too much purchase on his header from seven yards and a great chance is lost. A glancing nod would have seen the Gunners steal an equaliser and that vital away goal.
Ferdinand has had a dodgy back recently and goes down heavily after being clattered in the ribs by his keeper there.
Jonny Evans replaces Ferdinand.
Rooney goes down in the penalty area but the impressive Gibbs is strong enough to hold him off. Optimistic appeals but nothing doing.
Rooney's pass bounces around like a pinball on the edge of the penalty area but is eventually cleared.
Four minutes added time.
Fabregas gifts the ball away and this time Ronaldo's shot from 30 yards is wayward. Six shots tonight and four on target.
Of course one goal at the Emirates from United and Arsenal will need three.
Sagna's cross is flicked away by Vidic.
And it's the final whistle.. John O'Shea has fired Manchester United to a 1-0 victory in tonight's Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
I wouldn't say that this is not a fair result.. but we should have done better.. at least we're not conceding a goal.. that's the only good thing i can gather from this match.. 1-0 is not a healthy result ahead of the Emirates' trip next week.. HARD HARD WORK AHEAD..
It's the English battle between UNITED & Arsenal.. Should be a cracker & feisty encounter.. it has always been that way.. Keano used to say, if there's a game he would want to play again, it would be against Arsenal.. Ray Parlour also voiced out the intense rivalry between the two clubs.. it's never dull between UNITED & Arsenal.. i'm hoping the style continues.. I'm up for an enjoyable footy display.. Even though we've meet so many times before, this will be the first time that these two teams meet in the Champions League..
The newly-crowned PFA Player of the Year enjoyed one of his greatest moments in a semi-final against the Gunners, and his experience could be telling for United. And let's hope it's a glory day for both us & Giggsy.. However, Giggsy starts on the bench today.. This will be his 800th appearance if he is involved and i'm pretty sure he'll be involved later on.. Dimitar Berbatov finds himself on the bench alongside Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes with Darren Fletcher preferred and Carlos Tevez starts after Saturday's heroics against Tottenham. John O'Shea gets the nod at right-back with Wes Brown not considered fit enough to replace Gary Neville and Rafael probably not experienced enough. Evra will have a daunting task to tackle the quick Theo Walcott.. He was rattled by Lennon in the weekend, i'm hoping for a better display from the Frenchman.. As fancied by me, Ando will start for this match..
Full Squad :
VDS
Sheasy Rio Vida Evra
Fletcher Carrick Ando
Ron Roo
Tevez
SUBS: Berba, Giggsy, Scholesy,Park, Foster, Evans, Rafael.
GREAT SAVE! Fletcher's cross is met at the back post by Wayne Rooney and his header loops off the back of Bacary Sagna's head and is clawed away by Manuel Almunia.
Great start from United and after Gibbs slips, Cristiano Ronaldo fizzes a ball across the face of the six yard box but Tevez can't apply the finishing touch.
Nasri has a little flick out at Anderson but referee Claus Bo Larsen gives him a warning rather than issuing the second yellow which would have ruled him out of the second leg.
Rooney cuts inside Sagna and almost picks out the advancing Tevez but the pass is cut out.
Ronaldo on his bike down the right flank but can't quite reach the searching pass.
Decent run by Fletcher into the penalty area but Nemanja Vidic can't pick him out.
Rooney is very much hugging the left flank with United playing a tight three in midfield.
Tevez tees up Ronaldo but he scuffs his 20-yard shot which rolls harmlessly through to Almunia.
Arsenal put their first decent move together but when Theo Walcott gets to the by-line, his pull back is cut out by Vidic.
Rooney gets ahead of Sagna but his cross from the left is cleared by Toure with Ronaldo and Tevez waiting to pounce.
Michael Carrick is playing the quarterback role and he comes very close to picking out Ronaldo's diagonal run with the perfect pass.
INCREDIBLE SAVE! United work the ball to the right and O'Shea squares the ball to Tevez whose slightly mis-hit shot from seven yards is superbly saved one handed to his left by Almunia.
GOAL!! UNITED LEAD!! From the corner, Carrick is left alone at the back post. Arsenal are attracted to the ball and leave too much space as the ball reaches O'SHEA who slashes home from close range with the ball taking a slight deflection off Silvestre. Thanks to KING SHEASY, we're leading 1-0!!! huhu...
An Arsenal free-kick sails harmlessly through to Edwin van der Sar.
Vital flick from Gibbs to prevent Ronaldo meeting a cross at the back post.
United force another corner as they dominate. Too much on Anderson's delivery and the ball runs out of play.
An incredibly ambitious effort from Rooney from just inside the halfway line but it fails to test Almunia.
Rooney tracks back and does just enough to put off Fabregas, his attempted shot embarrassingly comes off his standing foot.
Great first touch from Walcott, he finds Adebayor who tees up Fabregas but the 20-yard drive from the Arsenal skipper is held by van der Sar low down. Best move from the Gunners.
O'Shea's header sends Ronaldo clear but Toure nods away the cross.
YET ANOTHER GREAT SAVE!! Tevez stands the ball up at the back post but Ronaldo's header from no more than four yards hits Almunia and stays out.
Ronaldo's shot from 20 yards is held by Almunia at the second attempt and that is his sixth save of the match.
Almunia is brave to come off his line and get to the ball ahead of Tevez whose studs rake the neck of the keeper. Indeed Tevez has gone into the book for that challenge. That is stupid, Carlitos shouldn't get that yellow..
Ronaldo loses his footing which gives Gibbs the chance to cross but his delivery is headed away.
A full blooded 50-50 between Toure and Patrice Evra is won by the United man.
Anderson almost finds Rooney down the left channel but again the ball is intercepted.
Arsenal seeing more of the ball as the half goes on but without any penetration. Looks like we're slowing our game down after that goal.. I've always hate it when we decided to defend this early..
Rooney cuts inside Sagna once more and looks to bend it inside Almunia's left-hand post but it is just off target.
Arsenal probe once again but yet again the move ends 30 yards from goal. Samir Nasri's pass intended for Adebayor is cut out.
A lovely move from United ends with a fine tackle from Silvestre on the advancing Carrick.
Walcott gets past the stumbling Evra but he opts to find Adebayor only for Rio Ferdinand to cut out the flick.
HALF-TIME! An unlikely hero has given United the lead but it could have been more if it wasn't for Almunia. I still think we shouldn't be defending that early.. We should be seeking for more goals...
HALFTIME!!!!!!!!!!!
Getting Ready for the 2nd half.. no changes from either side..
Carrick given space but his pass for Tevez is cut out by Toure.
Carrick steals the ball off Song but Tevez has drifted offside to end a promising position.
Tevez picks out Rooney but he can't pick out a colleague with his square pass across the 18-yard box.
Foul by Song on Rooney. He is also a booking away from missing the second leg. So Rooney, please be extra-careful.. PLEASEEEE!!!!!!!
Ronaldo is not closed down quickly enough and his shot deflects off Silvestre for a corner.
For the second time Anderson's corner is way over hit and runs out of play. That's a waste..
Evra's ball across the face of the six yard box is hooked away by Silvestre on his weaker side.
Ronaldo finds Rooney who tries to stand the ball up at the back stick only for Silvestre to nod away.
Sloppy from Fletcher who is caught in possession by Fabregas but Ferdinand gets back to nip the ball off the Arsenal skipper. And this is not the first time.. CAUTIOUS DEAR FLETCHER!!!
Ronaldo's cross from the right is repelled by Toure.
Walcott almost meets Nasri's cross at the back post but Evra does enough to block the header.
Ronaldo goes down on the edge of the penalty area but no free-kick and correctly so. Some histrionics from the Portuguese in response.
A double change for United and Giggs brings up 800 as he comes on along with Berbatov. Anderson and Tevez depart.Giggs has gone to the left flank with Ronaldo down the middle in support of the laconic Bulgarian. And that means Rooney will now shift to the right flank.. isk2.. COME ON ROONEY!!!
Vital header from Toure to prevent Ronaldo nodding home Rooney's cross from close range.
Great skill from Berbatov, the ball is worked to Giggs whose cross back to the Bulgarian is headed away by Silvestre with the Bulgarian lurking.
Adebayor slashes at Giggs' corner but the return cross from the Welsh legend is too high for Ferdinand.
Giggs marks his 800th appearance with a goal but it is chalked off for offside. A borderline decision as he looked to have timed his run perfectly. That goal should have stood.. Giggsy is clearly not offside..
Giggs gets behind Sagna but Almunia is off his line to quell the danger.
Another menacing run from Rooney but not an easy ball to find either Ronaldo or Giggs and Sagna comes across to clear.
Ferdinand goes through the back of Eduardo and Bendtner reaches Fabregas’ free-kick ahead of the advancing van der Sar but the Dane gets far too much purchase on his header from seven yards and a great chance is lost. A glancing nod would have seen the Gunners steal an equaliser and that vital away goal.
Ferdinand has had a dodgy back recently and goes down heavily after being clattered in the ribs by his keeper there.
Jonny Evans replaces Ferdinand.
Rooney goes down in the penalty area but the impressive Gibbs is strong enough to hold him off. Optimistic appeals but nothing doing.
Rooney's pass bounces around like a pinball on the edge of the penalty area but is eventually cleared.
Four minutes added time.
Fabregas gifts the ball away and this time Ronaldo's shot from 30 yards is wayward. Six shots tonight and four on target.
Of course one goal at the Emirates from United and Arsenal will need three.
Sagna's cross is flicked away by Vidic.
And it's the final whistle.. John O'Shea has fired Manchester United to a 1-0 victory in tonight's Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
I wouldn't say that this is not a fair result.. but we should have done better.. at least we're not conceding a goal.. that's the only good thing i can gather from this match.. 1-0 is not a healthy result ahead of the Emirates' trip next week.. HARD HARD WORK AHEAD..
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