CL BAR 0 – 0 ManU
Well this game was surprising for the total dominance by Barcelona. It started with Man U in Real Madrid style white, which may have explained the rest of the game! A second minute penalty was missed by Ronaldo who should have had a second one later in the game.
Messi showed just how dammed good he is, injury and or fitness the reason for his fairly early substitution I would hope. Ronaldo for his part had some free kicks from which to show his talents after the penalty miss, but they were all too far out.
It took until right near the end of the first half for a Barca player to be carded for a continuous series of pretty cynical fouls on Ronaldo, the player rather than the ball was played on many occasions.
The second half was much the same as the first. Man U were somewhat surprisingly not in the game at all really. Maybe it was some SAF tactical genius, cede possession but so long as the penalty area is protected it should be ok. Barcelona for their part outdid themselves considering their form in all competitions coming into this game, but they look like a team of individuals and Messi is by far the stand out player in a team of stars. Iniesta is a master of making the most of a nudge or a half block in a tackle, and frankly deserves contempt for his continued going to ground like some sort of flailing ballerina. Its the dive around the player, a supposed art form in to some, which makes it seem all the more like an effort to get the free kick rather than just play the game.
The stats said 63% for Barcelona overall, Man U need Rooney to be more than a defender to turn this one around, Scholes probably shouldn’t start and they need to show some real ambition.