Hi Folks,
Mark here.
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Last night we had the pleasure of watching two of the best teams in the world go head to head in an enthralling game of football, one of the best of the season so far. (View the goals here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1t1x5_man-utd-vs-ac-milan-goals)
United started well, getting a lucky early goal from Ronaldo, via Dida's best Jerzy Dudek impression, but they were worth their lead afterwards - Fletcher strong in tackle, Carrick distributed excellently and Ronaldo causing all sorts of problems to Jankoulovski and Seedorf.
Kaka, however, took over the game in a masterclass of midfield play - his first goal a brilliantly timed burst of pace past Heinze with a cool finish past the static van der Sar. His second was more down to some comedy defending from Heinze and the leaping Evra, but it was coolly dispatched to the corner.
United were staring elimination in the face and Ronaldo wilted under the pressure, absolved only by Milan doubling and trebling up on him. Maldini went off at half time, depriving the back line of a wealth of experience. Ex-Parma man Bonera didn't impress as his replacement. Likewise, when Gattuso was forced off with an injury, it deprived the Milan midfield of his excellent running and tracking down - the sub, Broochi, was anonymous. Kaka had a couple of goods chances to score early in the second half before Rooney, previously having done little bar argue with the referee, scoring from close range after a wonderful move and delicately scooped chip from Scholes. Suddenly, the nervousness went from United's play, Giggs and Scholes came into the game more, without Gattuso, Milan were being streched all over the place. A number of good free kick positions were wasted by Giggs and Ronaldo as Milan lost all attacking threat. (The horrendous Gilardino deserves sacking for his performance last night.)
It looked to be heading for a draw, until, just after 90 mins, Giggs won the ball in his own half and 8 seconds later, Rooney took advantage of bad positioning by Dida to lash one in from 20 yards. United breathed a sigh of relief, and take a lead to Milan, confident in their ability to score (and concede) goals.
The second leg is next Wednesday, and it is clear what United need to do - attack.
Man of the match: Kaka
Special award - worst performace in the competition so far: Gilardino
Player ratings:
van der Sar: 6 - might have done better for the 1st goal
O'Shea: 7 - surprised everyone by winning a crisp tackle in the first half
Brown: 6 - unconfident but it wasn't hard to keep Gilardino quiet
Heinze: 5 - at fault for 2 goals, his mark increased by one for the vast improvement in the 2nd half
Evra: 5 - intelligent going forward but a moment of madness with Heinze let Kaka score. Needless yellow card sees him suspended.
Ronaldo: 7 - a threat in the first half, but went missing as the Milan defense learned how to contain him
Carrick: 7 - another solid performance, played deeper last night than he usually does in the league, but excellent on the ball
Fletcher: 7 - Fergie seems to have found a role for the former waster - all action midfielder! Unlucky not to score.
Giggs: 8 - wonderful break for the winning goal, and set up Ronaldo for the first. Occasional missed pass.
Scholes: 7 - Got a grip when Gattuso went off, his passing wayward beforehand. Wonderful setup of Rooney's 1st.
Rooney: 8 - Not really in the game but when it mattered he scored the vital goals with confidence.
Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Showing posts with label Milan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milan. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Bayern vs Milan
Hiya Lads,
Mark here.
I sat through the tedium of last nights match between Bayern and AC Milan. Bayern were very average (although that is a tautology!), the old master, Filipo 'Offside' Inzaghi finishing well from a Seedorf flick on to prove there is life left in this Milan team. Seedorf himself, a suprisingly young 31, did well to open the scoring, shooting low past Krazy Kahn. Bayern resorted to long balls in the second half to try to force something, and viewers were left with the distinct inpression of a team with no ideas or creativity. It is clear they need an injection of new players. As for Milan, you could say the same thing, however United should be wary of the class midfield of Milan - Kaka is probably the best creative midfielder in the world, Seedorf has great experience behind him, even if his best days are over, Gattuso is a living legend, a tough all- action man, and Pirlo sets things up in the 'Carrick' role (as it shall henceforth be known. By me.)
At the back, Nesta was great last night, as he has been for a number of years.
I don't think Milan will beat United, but even if they do, Liverpool or Chelsea will surely beat them in the final, the 38 year old Maldini and the lack of quality strikers will prove to be Milan's downfall.
Liverpool played out their perfunctionary win over PSV last night, which tells us nothing about how they will do in the competition. However, the elimation of Barca will provide them with great belief but they must learn to hold possesion of the ball (c.f. Momo Sissoko). The Pool look fresh now, and have no other league or cup commitments, whereas Chelsea will be stretched with their thinner squad and fixture pileups, and further hampered by the aparent hoodoo Benitez has over Chelsea in cups...
So, the Champions League is shaping up beautifully now, I can't wait
Join us from 10pm GMT tonight for the podcast,
Cheers,
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Mark here.
I sat through the tedium of last nights match between Bayern and AC Milan. Bayern were very average (although that is a tautology!), the old master, Filipo 'Offside' Inzaghi finishing well from a Seedorf flick on to prove there is life left in this Milan team. Seedorf himself, a suprisingly young 31, did well to open the scoring, shooting low past Krazy Kahn. Bayern resorted to long balls in the second half to try to force something, and viewers were left with the distinct inpression of a team with no ideas or creativity. It is clear they need an injection of new players. As for Milan, you could say the same thing, however United should be wary of the class midfield of Milan - Kaka is probably the best creative midfielder in the world, Seedorf has great experience behind him, even if his best days are over, Gattuso is a living legend, a tough all- action man, and Pirlo sets things up in the 'Carrick' role (as it shall henceforth be known. By me.)
At the back, Nesta was great last night, as he has been for a number of years.
I don't think Milan will beat United, but even if they do, Liverpool or Chelsea will surely beat them in the final, the 38 year old Maldini and the lack of quality strikers will prove to be Milan's downfall.
Liverpool played out their perfunctionary win over PSV last night, which tells us nothing about how they will do in the competition. However, the elimation of Barca will provide them with great belief but they must learn to hold possesion of the ball (c.f. Momo Sissoko). The Pool look fresh now, and have no other league or cup commitments, whereas Chelsea will be stretched with their thinner squad and fixture pileups, and further hampered by the aparent hoodoo Benitez has over Chelsea in cups...
So, the Champions League is shaping up beautifully now, I can't wait
Join us from 10pm GMT tonight for the podcast,
Cheers,
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Champions league
The Pool had a very good win last night, not the most entertaining game, as was feared by everybody, but there is a horrible look of inevitability in Liverpool's CL Challenge.
Bayern were lucky to draw against Milan, and are clear favourites for the 2nd leg with the 2 away goals. Now we'll see what Milan are made of...
As for tonight's games:
Roma vs United should be a really good game of football, United should be positive enough tonight, as they could really use an away goal. Once again though, a lot depends on Rooney and Ronaldo to do the business. They haven't so far in The CL this season so it is a big game for them. Is Ronaldo the best player in the world, as some hysterical media outlets (and Ferguson!) dub him - he goes MIA against good teams in Europe, so tonight and next is the time to prove it.Looking at Roma's team, they look very strong, with players of the quality of Totti, Mancini and De Rossi, and they will cause United a lot of problems, especially with United missing 3 first choice defenders. it must not be forgotten however, that this Roma team only finished 5th last season in Serie A, and are currently way off Inter's pace at the head of the table this season.
Overall, an intriguing game, and one I will not bet on...
Chelsea vs Valencia should be a tough, close encounter. I think the key to this game is how Chelsea will contain Valencia on the break, especially Villa, Joaquin and Vicente. Vicente may relish Chelsea's right back (whoever they are going to play there) and Villa has the quality to trouble Terry and Carvalho. As for Chelsea attacking, Lampard or Ballack must break forward to create space for Sheva and Drogba, and I think they have the quality to score tonight....
We will be discussing all the Champions League results tomorrow night on the podcast - subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/okeydokefootball or visit our website below.
Cheers,
Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Bayern were lucky to draw against Milan, and are clear favourites for the 2nd leg with the 2 away goals. Now we'll see what Milan are made of...
As for tonight's games:
Roma vs United should be a really good game of football, United should be positive enough tonight, as they could really use an away goal. Once again though, a lot depends on Rooney and Ronaldo to do the business. They haven't so far in The CL this season so it is a big game for them. Is Ronaldo the best player in the world, as some hysterical media outlets (and Ferguson!) dub him - he goes MIA against good teams in Europe, so tonight and next is the time to prove it.Looking at Roma's team, they look very strong, with players of the quality of Totti, Mancini and De Rossi, and they will cause United a lot of problems, especially with United missing 3 first choice defenders. it must not be forgotten however, that this Roma team only finished 5th last season in Serie A, and are currently way off Inter's pace at the head of the table this season.
Overall, an intriguing game, and one I will not bet on...
Chelsea vs Valencia should be a tough, close encounter. I think the key to this game is how Chelsea will contain Valencia on the break, especially Villa, Joaquin and Vicente. Vicente may relish Chelsea's right back (whoever they are going to play there) and Villa has the quality to trouble Terry and Carvalho. As for Chelsea attacking, Lampard or Ballack must break forward to create space for Sheva and Drogba, and I think they have the quality to score tonight....
We will be discussing all the Champions League results tomorrow night on the podcast - subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/okeydokefootball or visit our website below.
Cheers,
Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Tuesday, 3 April 2007
CL Preview
Howdy folks,
Mark here.
I think I'll fall into a coma if I even consider the PSV-Liverpool match tonight, so straight onto
Milan V Bayern.
Bayern are missing Old Man Kahn and van Bommel, so the edge may be with Milan tonight. However, I fancy Bayern over the 2 legs, as Gilardino/Inzaghi won't score many goals, based on form this season. The difference tonight could (again) be Kaka and the distribution of Pirlo.
Bayern have Makaay in fine form, Podolski is good but out of form since the World Cup. They haven't much creativity in midfield - Salihamidžić was finished a few years ago, Schweini is inconsistant, and the others are choppers.
Overall, I feel a bit of a slugfest tonight, with Milan scraping it 1-0, and I fancy Bayern to win the 2nd leg through brute force. Kaka is the key, expect Hargreaves to be all over him like a cheap suit.
Probable teams
Milan:
Dida; Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Marek Jankulovski; Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini; Kaká, Clarence Seedorf; Alberto Gilardino.
Bayern:
Michael Rensing; Willy Sagnol, Daniel Van Buyten, Lucio, Phillipp Lahm; Hasan Salihamidžić, Andreas Ottl, Owen Hargreaves, Bastian Schweinsteiger; Roy Makaay, Lukas Podolski.
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
Mark here.
I think I'll fall into a coma if I even consider the PSV-Liverpool match tonight, so straight onto
Milan V Bayern.
Bayern are missing Old Man Kahn and van Bommel, so the edge may be with Milan tonight. However, I fancy Bayern over the 2 legs, as Gilardino/Inzaghi won't score many goals, based on form this season. The difference tonight could (again) be Kaka and the distribution of Pirlo.
Bayern have Makaay in fine form, Podolski is good but out of form since the World Cup. They haven't much creativity in midfield - Salihamidžić was finished a few years ago, Schweini is inconsistant, and the others are choppers.
Overall, I feel a bit of a slugfest tonight, with Milan scraping it 1-0, and I fancy Bayern to win the 2nd leg through brute force. Kaka is the key, expect Hargreaves to be all over him like a cheap suit.
Probable teams
Milan:
Dida; Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Marek Jankulovski; Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini; Kaká, Clarence Seedorf; Alberto Gilardino.
Bayern:
Michael Rensing; Willy Sagnol, Daniel Van Buyten, Lucio, Phillipp Lahm; Hasan Salihamidžić, Andreas Ottl, Owen Hargreaves, Bastian Schweinsteiger; Roy Makaay, Lukas Podolski.
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com
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