Round of 16 - First legs II
Rafa Rumbles the Nou Camp
Barcelona 1 - 2 Liverpool
If this game is any indication, managers everywhere should order up copies of Fight Club and sign up for the bulk plan from PING. Throw out the training videos, what your team needs is some Karaoke fuelled drunken aggression and a handy supply of golf clubs. Craig Bellamy and John Riise as a pair, do not even remotely resemble Edward Norton and Brad Pitt but on this performance it's safe to say both find random violence equally therapeutic.
What a turnaround for a club seemingly troubled and unable to find the away day consistency required to mount a creditable challenge in the league. Lesser teams may have folded after conceding an early goal at the Nou Camp but Liverpool battled back to draw level and then take the lead and win. How fitting that the two miscreants in Portugal - Bellamy and Riise made up by matching each other on the scoresheet. If only every club could have its players take out their violent competitiveness on the opposing team.
Is Frank Riijkard losing the plot ? Most managers would have dealt with Samuel Eto'o's selfish attitude on the weekend with a more direct disciplinary approach. Teams don't pay players to play when they feel like - it's a player's responsibility as a professional to turn out whenever fit and required whether it's for 92 minutes or just 2. As disgusting and pathetic as Eto'o's remonstration, justification and follow up make up was - it was only matched by Riijkard's effete resolution of the affair before belatedly leaving Eto'o out of the squad for this match.
Perhaps starting Andres Iniesta in place of Thiago Motta and pushing Xavi further back to protect the back four would have given Barcelona more balance and attacking bite - then again perhaps playing only 2 forwards instead of 3 may have left Barcelona less threadbare in the middle of the park. In actual events Liverpool controlled the midfield while no one could deal with Bellamy's pace down the left. The Catalan club had more attempts on goal but the crucial ones were by Liverpool and more importantly resulted in goals. The best player on the pitch may have been Deco but the best team was definitely Liverpool. The training pitch pictures were a tad artificial but the teamwork on display here was real.
Momo Sissoko's return to the Champions' League lineup was a welcome return as it allowed Benitez to give his other midfielders license to rampage forward. After the first 20 odd minutes, when Barcelona were rampant, they slowly relinquished their dominance and Liverpool increasingly came into the game. Javier Saviola's miss when he went past Carragher was the turning point. Professional would be a fair description as Liverpool took their chances while Barcelona missed theirs. Deco tried all he could but everywhere around him a lack of creative focus seemed to blunt all of Barcelona's intentions. It was telling that Liverpool scored their second goal of a rebound, Bellamy passing back across goal for Riise, but when presented with his best chance off a rebound, Lionel Messi had his deflected over.
Barcelona have to go to Anfield and win by 2 goals. With games against Sevilla and Real on the horizon as well, Rijkaard's end may be nigh.
Unstoppable Force meets Immovable Object
Inter 2 - 2 Valencia
It baffles me beyond sanity why and how Inter insist on making things hard for themselves again and again. It amazes me how incredible Valencia are at ensuring you can never write them off. Keeping in theme with Brad Pitt's movies; In Guy Ritchie's movie Snatch (2001) starring Pitt, there is a crucial scene where a massive hired goon goes one on one in a fistfight with a much smaller and skinnier Pitt. The larger man repeatedly batters the hollywood heartthrob with a series of crushing uppercuts and hooks. Each time Pitt gets up. Eventually, Pitt takes his chance and socks the giant.. and fells him.
For giant read Inter - for Pitt say hello to Valencia.
For the opening and better part of the match Inter slaughtered Valencia. Storming forward, irrepressible and focussed it seemed a miracle if Valencia escaped a hiding. Inter promptly took the lead and continued pressing. They hit and missed posts, poured forward in numbers. Santiago Canizares was kept busy, Roberto Ayala and Raul Albiol were undersiege more than they have been this season. Yet, you sensed somehow, Valencia were not out of it. Slowly they held firm, rode their luck to a certain extent (One wonders what would have happened if Zlatan Ibrahimovic's header against the post had gone in). Inter dominated this match but failed to capitalise on their superiority - they may live to regret this.
I wrote earlier on about how this may be the plum tie of the round of 16 in the Champions' League - more importantly, this was Inter's acid test in Europe. The prognosis so far ? They're still a bit off the pace. No doubt battering a slightly substandard Serie A week in week out has added a touch of complacency while lowering the performace levels of Europe's best stocked squad. To be the best you must play agains the best. Valencia, on the other hand, play in the toughest league in Europe, having to play week after week against a variety of balanced, tricky opponents. This gulf in experience paid off for the Spanish team as they came back and evened out the tie.
David Villa is more than just a sumptuous striker, as he creates so many chances for his team mates in addition to scoring goals. His free kick here was unstoppable, displaying a potency from set-piece as well as open play. Julio Cesar stood no chance and suddenly, Valencia had stopped a rampant Inter team in its tracks. You feared for Inter, them of the fragile mental state at times. Yet Inter continued where they had left off and bulldozed forward - aptly Maicon teamed up with Julio Cruz to slot home Inter's second. You felt that's it, Inter had held on. Surely Valencia were done. But no. With virtually the last play of the game, David Silva, volleyed a cleared corner into the goal. Inter were stunned, Valencia ecstatic.
The coaches both played interesting starting lineups - Roberto Mancini should have deployed Olivier Dacourt instead of Luis Figo at the start. Later on as Dejan Stankovic seemed to have run out of steam, he should have brought Figo on. Similarly, Hugo Viana would have done better in midfield than Carlos Marchena. More natural in that position he would be a better foil for dogged ball retriever David Albelda. The introduction of both into the respective lineups - in Dacourt's case earlier than Mancini would have liked, was perhaps an indication that both coaches had gotten their opening balance a tad bit wrong.
Inter may have lost the advantage but Valencia has surely captured the impetus in this tie. Away goals are crucial in the knockout round - having a brace is priceless - especially against Inter. Conquering armies have been broken by a stubborn last stand - Inter's season hangs in the balance. Inter have it all to do now - the Mestella awaits.
Rafa Rumbles the Nou Camp
Barcelona 1 - 2 Liverpool
If this game is any indication, managers everywhere should order up copies of Fight Club and sign up for the bulk plan from PING. Throw out the training videos, what your team needs is some Karaoke fuelled drunken aggression and a handy supply of golf clubs. Craig Bellamy and John Riise as a pair, do not even remotely resemble Edward Norton and Brad Pitt but on this performance it's safe to say both find random violence equally therapeutic.
What a turnaround for a club seemingly troubled and unable to find the away day consistency required to mount a creditable challenge in the league. Lesser teams may have folded after conceding an early goal at the Nou Camp but Liverpool battled back to draw level and then take the lead and win. How fitting that the two miscreants in Portugal - Bellamy and Riise made up by matching each other on the scoresheet. If only every club could have its players take out their violent competitiveness on the opposing team.
Is Frank Riijkard losing the plot ? Most managers would have dealt with Samuel Eto'o's selfish attitude on the weekend with a more direct disciplinary approach. Teams don't pay players to play when they feel like - it's a player's responsibility as a professional to turn out whenever fit and required whether it's for 92 minutes or just 2. As disgusting and pathetic as Eto'o's remonstration, justification and follow up make up was - it was only matched by Riijkard's effete resolution of the affair before belatedly leaving Eto'o out of the squad for this match.
Perhaps starting Andres Iniesta in place of Thiago Motta and pushing Xavi further back to protect the back four would have given Barcelona more balance and attacking bite - then again perhaps playing only 2 forwards instead of 3 may have left Barcelona less threadbare in the middle of the park. In actual events Liverpool controlled the midfield while no one could deal with Bellamy's pace down the left. The Catalan club had more attempts on goal but the crucial ones were by Liverpool and more importantly resulted in goals. The best player on the pitch may have been Deco but the best team was definitely Liverpool. The training pitch pictures were a tad artificial but the teamwork on display here was real.
Momo Sissoko's return to the Champions' League lineup was a welcome return as it allowed Benitez to give his other midfielders license to rampage forward. After the first 20 odd minutes, when Barcelona were rampant, they slowly relinquished their dominance and Liverpool increasingly came into the game. Javier Saviola's miss when he went past Carragher was the turning point. Professional would be a fair description as Liverpool took their chances while Barcelona missed theirs. Deco tried all he could but everywhere around him a lack of creative focus seemed to blunt all of Barcelona's intentions. It was telling that Liverpool scored their second goal of a rebound, Bellamy passing back across goal for Riise, but when presented with his best chance off a rebound, Lionel Messi had his deflected over.
Barcelona have to go to Anfield and win by 2 goals. With games against Sevilla and Real on the horizon as well, Rijkaard's end may be nigh.
Unstoppable Force meets Immovable Object
Inter 2 - 2 Valencia
It baffles me beyond sanity why and how Inter insist on making things hard for themselves again and again. It amazes me how incredible Valencia are at ensuring you can never write them off. Keeping in theme with Brad Pitt's movies; In Guy Ritchie's movie Snatch (2001) starring Pitt, there is a crucial scene where a massive hired goon goes one on one in a fistfight with a much smaller and skinnier Pitt. The larger man repeatedly batters the hollywood heartthrob with a series of crushing uppercuts and hooks. Each time Pitt gets up. Eventually, Pitt takes his chance and socks the giant.. and fells him.
For giant read Inter - for Pitt say hello to Valencia.
For the opening and better part of the match Inter slaughtered Valencia. Storming forward, irrepressible and focussed it seemed a miracle if Valencia escaped a hiding. Inter promptly took the lead and continued pressing. They hit and missed posts, poured forward in numbers. Santiago Canizares was kept busy, Roberto Ayala and Raul Albiol were undersiege more than they have been this season. Yet, you sensed somehow, Valencia were not out of it. Slowly they held firm, rode their luck to a certain extent (One wonders what would have happened if Zlatan Ibrahimovic's header against the post had gone in). Inter dominated this match but failed to capitalise on their superiority - they may live to regret this.
I wrote earlier on about how this may be the plum tie of the round of 16 in the Champions' League - more importantly, this was Inter's acid test in Europe. The prognosis so far ? They're still a bit off the pace. No doubt battering a slightly substandard Serie A week in week out has added a touch of complacency while lowering the performace levels of Europe's best stocked squad. To be the best you must play agains the best. Valencia, on the other hand, play in the toughest league in Europe, having to play week after week against a variety of balanced, tricky opponents. This gulf in experience paid off for the Spanish team as they came back and evened out the tie.
David Villa is more than just a sumptuous striker, as he creates so many chances for his team mates in addition to scoring goals. His free kick here was unstoppable, displaying a potency from set-piece as well as open play. Julio Cesar stood no chance and suddenly, Valencia had stopped a rampant Inter team in its tracks. You feared for Inter, them of the fragile mental state at times. Yet Inter continued where they had left off and bulldozed forward - aptly Maicon teamed up with Julio Cruz to slot home Inter's second. You felt that's it, Inter had held on. Surely Valencia were done. But no. With virtually the last play of the game, David Silva, volleyed a cleared corner into the goal. Inter were stunned, Valencia ecstatic.
The coaches both played interesting starting lineups - Roberto Mancini should have deployed Olivier Dacourt instead of Luis Figo at the start. Later on as Dejan Stankovic seemed to have run out of steam, he should have brought Figo on. Similarly, Hugo Viana would have done better in midfield than Carlos Marchena. More natural in that position he would be a better foil for dogged ball retriever David Albelda. The introduction of both into the respective lineups - in Dacourt's case earlier than Mancini would have liked, was perhaps an indication that both coaches had gotten their opening balance a tad bit wrong.
Inter may have lost the advantage but Valencia has surely captured the impetus in this tie. Away goals are crucial in the knockout round - having a brace is priceless - especially against Inter. Conquering armies have been broken by a stubborn last stand - Inter's season hangs in the balance. Inter have it all to do now - the Mestella awaits.
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