Posts Tagged ‘Manchester United’

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals Draw (2008-09): It’s Liverpool vs. Chelsea Again!

Friday, March 20th, 2009

UEFA Champions League

The draw for the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, today at 12:00 CET (I liveblogged the event on Soccerlens).

No Serie A teams were involved alas, and most of us will be watching the next rounds sighing in sadness and regret. Yup. No Juve, no Inter, no Roma… sad sad sad. But while we cry, there’s no reason not to enjoy the best football action European football still has to offer.

I’ll try to make a more elaborate analysis later in the day, but for now here are the draw results.

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2008/09 UEFA Champions League
Quarter-Finals
to be played April 7/8 and 14/15

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Villareal
Villarreal
vs.
Arsenal
Arsenal
Man Utd
Manchester Utd
vs.
Porto
FC Porto
Liverpool
Liverpool
vs.
Chelsea
Chelsea
Barcelona
Barcelona
vs.
Bayern
Bayern Munich


.

2008/09 UEFA Champions League
Semi-Finals
to be played April 28/29 and May 5/6

.

Man Utd/Porto
vs.
Villarreal/Arsenal
Barcelona/Bayern
vs.
Liverpool/Chelsea


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Manchester United 2-0 Inter Milan: Nerazzurri Complete Italy’s Big European Disillusion (UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Second Leg)

Friday, March 13th, 2009

Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, bottom left, reacts with teammate Rio Ferdinand, top left, after scoring a goal during their Champions League second round, second leg, soccer match against Inter Milan at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Wednesday, March 11, 2009. (AP Photo)

Bad luck? I don’t buy it. Okay, had Inter’s woodwork efforts (Zlatan’s crossbar and Adriano’s post) entered the net you probably wouldn’t be reading these lines now, but certainly there are factors other than old-fashioned “sfiga” (as the Italian press is claiming) explaining Inter‘s defeat at the hands of Manchester United Wednesday.

How about the fact that for the third consecutive year, Inter are out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16? How about “Man Utd played better, and showed 100% cynicism by converting their two biggest scoring chances in the game”? How about the fact that yet again, English club football has proven its superiority over its Italian counterpart? It’s sad to admit folks, but the truth often hurts and this case is no different: for the late part of the 2000′s, EPL >>> Serie A big time.

As for José, at least in the eyes of the English press he’s just “not special any mour“.

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Inter Milan vs. Manchester United: The PLAYERS

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

inter-man-utd_cl-gazzetta

So remember that great “Serie A vs. EPL” section on La Gazzetta which I promised I’d partially translate?

Here’s the first batch of pink-goodness: a look at ALL THE PLAYERS from tonight’s Inter Milan vs. Manchester United UEFA Champions League match.

Boy I can’t wait for game-time. Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this. (oh, and credit goes where credit is due of course: the original)

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Make or Break Time for Serie A Teams (UEFA Champions League R16 Return Legs Preview)

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

It really is make or break time for the Italian sides in the UEFA Champions League. All three teams face uphill struggles against their English opponents, and it will be tricky for any of them to progress. Roma and Juve both have a one-goal deficit to recover, while Inter travel to Manchester on level terms.

Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa, left, battles for the ball with Juventus' Pavel Nedved during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Juventus at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. (AP Photo)

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Inter Milan 0-0 Manchester United: José’s Defense Holds, See You at Old Trafford Everyone (UEFA Champions League Round of 16, First Leg)

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

UEFA Champions League 2008-09 - Inter Milan vs. Manchester Utd

On the positive side, here’s a neat little stat for you: this was José Mourinho’s 13th encounter vs. Sir Alex Ferguson and so far, the Scottish legend has only managed to beat his Portuguese counterpart (wait for it)… once! You better believe it.

You better also believe that if the Nerazzurri play at Old Trafford the way they played this match’s first half, they’ll be out of Europe faster than José can say “Pirla”, and that’s a fact. The final 0-0 between Inter Milan and Manchester United is not such a bad one in itself (it’s the best home draw a team can get), but alas this was a game which also evidenced the tactical & technical superiority of the Red Devils over their Italian opponents, particularly in the first 45 minutes.

One can only hope that José saved some his half-time advice (which remotivated Inter towards playing at least decently in the second half) for the second leg, as the Nerazzurri will be needing every bit of it when they travel to Old Trafford in a match with everything still left to play for.

Manchester United Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, right, challenges for the ball with Inter Milan forward Davide Santon, left, and Romanian defender Cristian Chivu during a Champions League, Round of 16, first leg soccer match, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb.24, 2009. (AP Photo)

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