Goal! Weekly Article 9: European Champions League

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE SPOILS EURO SHOW
Riise gifts Chelsea chance, Ronaldo penalty miss costly for United
By Julius Ross

A dramatic end at Anfield and a subdued display at the Nou Camp saw defensive superiority prevail in the first legs of the European Champions League semi-finals last week.

An incredible 94th minute own-goal by Liverpool substitute John Arne-Riise and a poorly taken penalty by Manchester United’s Portuguese winger Christiano Ronaldo were the major incidents in the two highly anticipated clashes.

Only two goals were scored in the encounters, with the all-English showdown between Liverpool and Chelsea finishing in a 1-1 stalemate and the Barcelona – Manchester United clash ending in a disappointing 0-0.

The two results leave the ties tightly poised for the second legs; however, both United’s Old Trafford and Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge usually prove difficult stadiums for away teams to secure a positive outcome, consequentially seeing United and the Blues as slight favourites to progress to the final.

Although England boasts three out of four representatives in the semi-finals, the British sides approached the games with extreme caution.

Manchester Untied soaked up considerable Barcelona pressure by having up to 10 men behind the ball for most of their clash in the Nou Camp.

Some may argue that Manchester United’s cautious and defensive display was a smart tactic, as they now hold a slim advantage going into the tie at Old Trafford, but it effectively ruined a potentially magnificent football match.

The game in Spain would have taken on a completely different appearance, however, if United’s in-form winger Ronaldo had not failed to score from the penalty spot in the third minute.

Ronaldo uncharacteristically fired his spot-kick high and wide, after Swiss referee Massimo Busacca had correctly awarded United a penalty when Barca defender Gabriel Milito had handled inside the area.

It was United’s only clear chance of the game, and they struggled to impose themselves on the match, managing an inadequate one shot on target as they sat back and absorbed Barca’s numerous attacks.

Barcelona, on the other hand, dominated proceedings, accumulating 20 shots and controlling 73% of the game’s possession.
Argentine starlet Lionel Messi was an inspiration for the home side; his close control, penetrating runs and creativity exciting the 98,000 strong crowd.

The only failure in Barcelona’s performance was not finishing their numerous chances, and Manchester must be applauded to some extent for their defensive composure in keeping a clean sheet.

After absorbing excessive pressure at the Nou Camp, United will be favourites heading into the second leg, but cannot write off Barcelona; the Catalan club will only need a score-draw to progress, whilst United will need to win outright to advance.

Sir Alex Ferguson replied to criticism in the media and has vowed to attack Barcelona on home soil, which will make for a very attractive second leg.

Like United, Chelsea will carry a slim advantage heading into their second leg against fierce Champions League rivals Liverpool.
There had been much pre-match criticism of this particular semi-final, with many critics posing that the ties between Liverpool and Chelsea are regularly goalless bore-fests.

In the previous six Champions League encounters between the sides there had only been three goals scored, with the ties typically being decided by small details in passionate and tense encounters, and this match was no different.

Both sides were wary of the importance of the tie, and sat back and defended conservatively, resulting in a cagy affair with numerous mistakes and turnovers of possession in the midfield.

Although the clash at Anfield was a rather scrappy and cautious affair, no-one could argue that the atmosphere was dour.
The Liverpool faithful were in full voice, and belted out a spine tingling, six minute rendition of their famous chant You’ll Never Walk Alone, which drowned out both the small grouping of Chelsea supporters as well as the Champions League anthem, prior to kick-off.

Buoyed by their boisterous home-support, Liverpool started the better of the two teams and created the early chances through a long-range effort from Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt.

The home side was rewarded two minutes before half-time after a rather scrappy goal by Kuyt sent the Anfield crowd wild.
Liverpool continued as the more dominant side in the second half and did enough to potentially make the scoreline 3-0, but for Petr Cech’s heroics in the Chelsea goal.

Cech made a string of fantastic saves from the likes of Fernando Torres and Gerrard to thwart the Reds and keep the sides level.

Liverpool dictated most of the play, and created almost double Chelsea’s scoring opportunities, with the Blue’s stars Frank Lampard playing well below his potential and striker Didier Drogba supremely outclassed by a defiant Jamie Carragher.

In the closing stages Liverpool looked to have placed one foot in the final, but Anfield is famous for its dramatic finishes in Europe, and as the final whistle came ever closer, a seemingly harmless 94th minute cross by Solomon Kalou was deflected in the Kop net via defender John Arne-Riise’s head.

Liverpool were stunned, Chelsea ecstatic.

It had changed the complexion of the two-legged tie completely, leaving Chelsea suddenly favourites with a priceless away goal and Liverpool, despite their dominance, underdogs.

Liverpool is yet to score under Rafa Benitez at Stamford Bridge, but when a passionate Steven Gerrard was quizzed by a reporter post-match about the prospect of scoring at the Bridge, he replied, “We haven’t played there with Fernando Torres, have we?”

The Reds have also scored away at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal and at the San Siro against Inter Milan in the knock-out stages, which will give them confidence to score in the second leg.

The semi-finals, although both lacking the high quality displays of footballing ability that many fans and pundits were hoping for, still managed to highlight the unpredictability of the Champions League, which makes it such an entertaining competition.