Champions League 2011/12

Robben and Badstuber really need to be careful to not get a 2nd yellow! THAT can turn the match on its head. Otherwise you'd expect Bayern to win at home and Real to win in Madrid and the degrees of the victories will determine who goes through.

Ribery MoM so far in Half time. Love the way he holds up the ball, has such good balance and is so tenacious. Him and Arbeloa are basically wrestling for most of 1st half. Dude's pretty strong for a small guy.
 
Cuky said:
Webb made a big mistake...I would have given Marcelo a straight red card
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Possibly. It was a pretty ill tempered affair overall I thought - somewhat surprisingly so. Embarassing stuff from both sides - I expected it from Madrid (and Robben) but didn't know Ribery was such a lil diva.

Marcelo's challenge was violent play, but it wasn't all that dangerous (not straight legged, studs up or any of that). More just frustration.

Then again, Rooney was rightly sent off for less for England earlier in the season.
 
Yeah that was pure cynical and out of frustration! Could've easily been red.

Ryan, Ribery's always been a HUGE diver. Nonetheless, what a performance when the pressure is at highest and when it matters most! That's when great players show up and thrive under it and he sure did! Man of The Match probably.

Anyway, Howard Webb did a pretty good job overall I thought in a game that was ANYTHING but easy to ref.

And he gave 6 bookings to Real Madrid players and 3 to Bayern but Philipp Lahm's booking in 64th minute was his only bad decision in my opinion. He'd barely committed a foul all game unlike Arbeloa who committed 4-5 before he finally got a card and the way he blocked Di Maria's sprint isn't even a clear cut foul, most will give it but some referees not and it wasn't in a dangerous enough position to be warranted a yellow. Harsh yellow there but other than that good job by Webb.

The deserved team won. It would've been harsh on Bayern to draw this match 1-1 after they were superior nearly the whole game but the first 10 mins of each half.

And I think after today, Barca fans will be more scared of playing ONE 90 minute match at Allianz Arena against Bayern in a final if that happens. Imagine if this had been the final and there was no return leg? It'd be over.

It'll be very difficult for any team to beat Bayern at their stadium in ONE match in 90 minutes. They've won every single time they've played there in this year's CL and history doesn't lie. Before today's game, Real had lost 8 times to Bayern in Munich and drawn ONCE in 9 matches. Mourinho of course said: "History is full of irrelevant numbers from the past"

But history doesn't lie. Another victory for them against Real at home. Make that 9 wins and 1 draw now.

Of course this tie is FAR from over. For us neutrals it's probably the best result as it leaves it wide open. All in all not a bad result for Real either with that crucial away goal. A simple 1-0 will do the job at home.

Can't wait for next week now!
 
Unfortunately, Schweinsteiger just wasn't back at 100% already - it was a gamble to bring him in the first place. That kinda cost us the clean sheet, since one of his many hiccups resulted in the counter attack leading to the goal. Still, you can't blame him at all. Anyone who has seen his performances over the past few years up to the injury sustained against Napoli (and those that followed back-to-back) knows THAT wasn't a quarter of the player he usually is.
Another disappointment was Luiz Gustavo who never really seemed to be the stabilizing factor for our defence. Definitely a position that still holds potential for the future, shouldn't we actually decide to put Kroos AND Schweinsteiger on all the time ... though that seems risky against the big guns and thus unlikely.
Lahm wasn't at his best either - but his side hardly was the danger zone today and he made up for defensive mishaps with his brilliant run and assist in the end.

All the other guys on the pitch today who wore red: chapeau!
Ribery was average, in a sense that this kind of quality now has become his "routine", really. Robben very good with some good runs. Boateng was solid, Badstuber IMMENSE - fantastic performance! What a long way he has come since helping out as a makeshift left back, getting schooled by United and co.
Kroos on the 10 - well, where he obviously belongs. Sad for Mueller, but in the ideal starting line up, imho, Thomas would belong on the right flank, but that's Robben-territory.
Gomez actually had some terrific moments winning back possession from Real's genuinely surprised midfielders. Add to that a couple of good chances and the winning goal: I can't complain! I'm very critical when it comes to Mario, but a performance like that further cements his status as one of the best strikers around.

Did I forget David Alaba? Well, I guess most people on here haven't really gotten him on the radar before the match, much less as a left-back - it was only a couple of weeks ago that Heynckes decided to play into the Austrian wunderkind's strengths on that position. A very versatile player, undoubtedly, but I'm beginning to suspect he has found his best position now. Really helps Ribery up front, too.

All in all this victory impressed me, but the close result might actually not be enough to make the dream of a home final come true. Like most teams, Real plays quite a bit better on their home turf.
 
Webb did well.

Shambolic acting and crybaby antics from both sides. It's a pity retrospective action is not in place as several players would be expecting heavy fines and bans.

A draw would have been a fair result. Ozil was the best player for Real. Coentrao was a disaster and Ronaldo.

When will he learn to pass when required and stop his silly stepovers that get him nowhere ?

I wonder how Bayern will set up at the Bernebeau. They could hit with pace on the counter quite easily and one more goal should seal the tie.

Real on the other hand perhaps were too defensively minded. Would Mourinho be so bold as to play two strikers upfront ?
 
David Alaba has been a revelation at left-back over the past few weeks! Another good performance tonight. The Austrian is just getting better and better. Toni Kroos was great today and yes Schweini is clearly not fully fit yet. He wasn't half the player he normally is and I wasn't at all surprised when Huyckenes subbed him.

I disagree about Luiz Gustavo though. I thought he was pretty solid and put in a very good performance.

All in all bravo Bayern but this is far from being over. But a win was deserved today especially for Mario Gomez who never gave up and KEPT threatening more and more as the match went on. I wonder how his Spanish language is....

For me, Mourinho made biggest mistake by playing Coentrao instead of Marcelo as left-back. Marking Robben was never gonna be easy for ANYONE but Marcelo is a lot faster and his speed could've helped. Instead he brings him on late on in a very negative change for Ozil and plays him in an unfamiliar position where he can only be a bit clumsy and make a few fouls.
 
jose: defeat is coming lad go n' kick some legs.
marcelo: take that german fella!

-----mission accomplished-----


joke aside, bayern truly deserved the win imho. they were fighting for that and God finally helped them with that goal (God made it I think, Gomez could still miss that). kudos to both teams for putting some huge effort and making it a very intense game as expected. I still don't remember anything clear from the first half, it just flew by. so looking forward to the clash at Bernabeu already.
 
Yeah, meant to say Bayern were excellent and Madrid pretty poor. The risk of playing a top 4 like Real did is that those 4 become isolated from the rest of the team, and there's no link up. Alonso and Khediera couldn't really get forward much, and generally it looked like Madrid players would have to do it 'alone' or in twos against a well organised defense.

Sets it up nicely for the Bernebau. As a neutral couldn't really ask for a better scoreline. Real have to score, and given they likely will so do Bayern. Should be fantastic.
 
Hahaha yeah, Real really do commit a LOT of fouls! People thought Spanish referees are whistle happy but that's not entirely true. You see even an English ref like Howard Webb who lets a lot go couldn't help but keep whistling against them tonight. They constantly kick the opposition. And sure Ribery and co made the most of them but they are fouls nonetheless. Often the fouls are quite cynical too like Arbeloa's or Alonso or Marcelo's. I wonder what the total number of fouls they committed tonight was. 6 bookings as well.
 
marcelo is a disgrace.. can get disqualification from Platini.

Overall, Ribery was great, Jose too sure about win at home so he stared to defend too much. Interesting game at Bernabeu. Bayern can go through, especially with Nouer.
 
I have one picture for all

ronaldo.jpg
 
Good match, thoroughly enjoyed it.
Fantastic performances from Ribery, Alaba (what a discovery for me) and...Gustavo Luiz. I don't agree at all with rentalkid, for me Gustavo Luiz were outstanding. The weak point clearly are Badstuber and Boateng, i can see now why Van Buyten still plays a lot (and IMO Daniël is an absolute disaster).

The away goal is a blessing for Madrid.

Lahm should not have got a yellow and Marcelo a red, that was a stonewall red card.

A special mention goes to Pepe, yesterday he proved that he is more than a vilain...he is a very bad player in the building up of the game. Especially in the first half all he did was giving pointless long balls that gave immediate possession to Bayern. Coentrao was disastrous too...not good enough for Real Madrid. And then there was a third Portugese player on the pitch who gave a very clever assist. Don't remember his name.
 
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gerd said:
The weak point clearly are Badstuber and Boateng
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50% disagree on this one, Gerd. Badstuber is a blast. If he isn't already, he's on the best way to become one of THE best centre backs in Europe. He's only 23 but acts like he's 32. He's calm, his awareness & building up play with his left foot are exceptional. It's no wonder that he's already become Germany's #1 centre back. He's sensational, trust me on this one :)

Regarding Boateng, though, he's a different story. He's got all the talent and physical strength, but he's still lacking 100% professionalism and concentration. Anything can happen anytime with this guy, but here's still hoping things will sort themselves out over time. He's had some positioning troubles last night and didn't take any offensive risks when he probably should have, but he also made a great save vs. Benzema which potentially could have lead to a draw if he didn't.

Still, if I were to name only one position in Bayern's play which is making me nervous, it's probably Boateng. But as I already said, I wouldn't give up on him too soon, he could very well be in for a great future on his position.
 
Never take Mourinho's talk about refs too serious.

50% is to influence the ref in the second leg (which is infuriating, but lots of coaches/managers do this)

50% is damage control (which is quite funny).
 
:LOL: Real Madrid and Barcelona fans will use everything to attack each other. That said, Marcelo is an idiot. He has been very angry in the last couple of months. I don't remember him like this in the past but he has become very annoying now. He is like a spoiled child. No wonder the Brazil NT coaches had problems with him in the past.

Bayern were awesome yesterday. Neuer is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world now. So calm and makes a tough situation look very easy by making the right choice. He and Ribery are MOTM for me.

Real had a good game also and got the important away goal but Bayern were better. Ronaldo, besides the assist, did nothing. He is one of the players that can hurt you if he doesn't perform and you don't have the balls to sub a player like him. I think Kaka could have been a better choice. Di Maria is an immensely talented player but he overdoes the simplest things. Still needs to mature.

And I thought Webb was great. He can't have everything right in the end.
 
No, Zeem, it's not an isolated thing. This is the usual Marcelo/Pepe/Ramos aggression in the last minutes when they are losing. They've done this (or worse) in the last 3-4 seasons in every important match they have lost (and sometimes even winning). It's something they do regularly in Spain, too. Marcelo was sent off twice only this season for similar violent kicks, and Pepe has a long history behind. Ramos only in the Classicos, but that's not an excuse for violent behavior.

No option to play the ball, from behind, just to harm the other player. It should be a straight red and it's a disgusting tackle that can injury someone.

About the match, the first half was even and anyone could have scored. The intensity level was awesome. I got tired only to watch them run and fight!

The second half was another story, and in my opinion Mourinho failed again to read the match. Madrid could have gone for the win, but they prefered to speculate behind. They payed it. It's true that they can destroy Bayern at the Bernabeu in the 2nd leg, but I think Mourinho didn't understand how to stop Bayern in the wings. It was the main danger for the full match for them and costed them a late goal.

Alaba was magnificent and Ribery brilliant. For Real, I think Benzema was his best player. The ref was quite good, it's a hard match to ref. The only mistakes I can recall were a possible penalty to Gomez by Pepe and the red to Marcelo. But he was good in my oppinion and didn't have any effect in the result.

I'm eager to watch the 2nd match. Let's hope Schweinsteiger gets a bit more fit, because he was quite weak yesterday and Bayern missed him a bit in the last 30 meters.

Did I say Ribery was truly awesome?
 
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Off topic:

Without wanting to sound like a terrible smart ass and simply because it sounds a little strange in German ears, let me explain the difference between Bayer and Bayern:
- Bayern is German for Bavaria, hence Bayern Munich (as Munich is the capital of Bavaria)
- Bayer refers to the German pharmaceutical/chemical company Bayer AG, hence Bayer Leverkusen (as Leverkusen is the location of the main Bayer factory and the team was originally made up of factory employees)

Hence the 'n' at the end makes a big difference and the words Bayer and Bayern have actually got nothing to do with each other.

I hope I haven't offended anyone by posting this explanation and it is not aimed at you drekkard, its just that I have read things like 'Bayer Munich' or 'Bayern Leverkusen' a little too often on English speaking boards without saying something.
 
About Coentrão:

He had to face Robben and Lahm with little to no help from Ronaldo.

He didn't play well, but that's not exactly an easy situation to be in.
 
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