vs
FC Barcelona vs Manchester United
The first half was quite exciting between the two clubs. Pedro scored on a nice feed from Xavi as they ran through the Man U defense. Edwin Van Der Sar guessed wrong and as a result, the ball ended up in the back of the net. Wayne Rooney would counter within 7 minutes with a nice give-and-go with Ryan Giggs. His shot was in the perfect spot as it curved around the sliding defender and away from Victor Valdes into the back of the net. Barca also had several opportunities to score, but they've either missed wide, or the passes into the slot have been beyond their reach. Manchester United has been getting dominated in possession and needs to maintain more control of the ball against Barcelona which is notorious for dominating possession. Manchester United only has 2 shots on goal and need to attack more, but be patient at the same time and not give the ball away when they're within 30 yards of the net.
The second half started with a bang with Messi scoring at the 54th minute. Although, the Man U defense looked lax and Messi never should've gotten that shot off with three defenders around him. Vidic just stood there, barely moved and allowed Messi that shot. Had he stepped up or even had the decency to play defense, Messi's shot should've deflect off him, away from the net. Kids, that's what happens when you don't move your feet, you get beat. Both Dani Alves and Michael Carrick received cards for late tackles. Carrick pretty much took out Iniesta, no dive there. Dani Alves had a dirty tackle on Patrice Evra from behind and as a result he got booked, albeit with much protest. Nani got inserted for an injured Fabio and Barca was ever so kind in taking their time with Manchester United reduced down to 10 men. David Villa scored on a beautiful lofted shot that was just over the reach of Edwin Van Der Sar into the corner of the net. Rooney had a great run in the 72nd minute, but was taken down without a foul call from the official who's been quite impartial in today's match. As the match progressed, United was getting more and more reckless in their attack and not everyone was coming back which is how Villa was given a great opportunity to score the third goal for Barcelona. In an attempt to compensate for Michael Carrick's lack of physical play today, even though he has only one yellow card. Paul Scholes was inserted into the match in his place, hopefully to give this team a boost and get them attacking in the final 14 minutes of the match. David Villa got away with a hand ball in the box which should've given United a penalty kick, but even with the goal line officials, they fail to spot it and Villa plays as though nothing happened. United's frustration was building as witnessed by Valencia's tackle on Messi where he simply ran over him, poor play on his part and he gave Barca more time to run off the clock. Man U had many great chances at the end of the match, but could not come through. Congrats to Barca for their championship!
Edwin Van Der Sar, a player whom I have greatly admired and who deserves to win his third Champions League title will walk away from the game with two titles among that many acolytes that he has earned throughout his career. I have always been a great supporter of dutch football and Edwin Van Der Sar played many international matches for the Netherlands, even coming back in 2010 to help them qualify, but did not partake in the World Cup of 2010. He's played in 130 international appearances for them, even though they failed to win a World Cup. He's won four league titles in the Premier League and two Champions Leagues titles. An unfortunate way to end a great career for Edwin Van Der Sar, but he was, and always will be, one of the greatest keepers to play the game.
The second half started with a bang with Messi scoring at the 54th minute. Although, the Man U defense looked lax and Messi never should've gotten that shot off with three defenders around him. Vidic just stood there, barely moved and allowed Messi that shot. Had he stepped up or even had the decency to play defense, Messi's shot should've deflect off him, away from the net. Kids, that's what happens when you don't move your feet, you get beat. Both Dani Alves and Michael Carrick received cards for late tackles. Carrick pretty much took out Iniesta, no dive there. Dani Alves had a dirty tackle on Patrice Evra from behind and as a result he got booked, albeit with much protest. Nani got inserted for an injured Fabio and Barca was ever so kind in taking their time with Manchester United reduced down to 10 men. David Villa scored on a beautiful lofted shot that was just over the reach of Edwin Van Der Sar into the corner of the net. Rooney had a great run in the 72nd minute, but was taken down without a foul call from the official who's been quite impartial in today's match. As the match progressed, United was getting more and more reckless in their attack and not everyone was coming back which is how Villa was given a great opportunity to score the third goal for Barcelona. In an attempt to compensate for Michael Carrick's lack of physical play today, even though he has only one yellow card. Paul Scholes was inserted into the match in his place, hopefully to give this team a boost and get them attacking in the final 14 minutes of the match. David Villa got away with a hand ball in the box which should've given United a penalty kick, but even with the goal line officials, they fail to spot it and Villa plays as though nothing happened. United's frustration was building as witnessed by Valencia's tackle on Messi where he simply ran over him, poor play on his part and he gave Barca more time to run off the clock. Man U had many great chances at the end of the match, but could not come through. Congrats to Barca for their championship!
Edwin Van Der Sar, a player whom I have greatly admired and who deserves to win his third Champions League title will walk away from the game with two titles among that many acolytes that he has earned throughout his career. I have always been a great supporter of dutch football and Edwin Van Der Sar played many international matches for the Netherlands, even coming back in 2010 to help them qualify, but did not partake in the World Cup of 2010. He's played in 130 international appearances for them, even though they failed to win a World Cup. He's won four league titles in the Premier League and two Champions Leagues titles. An unfortunate way to end a great career for Edwin Van Der Sar, but he was, and always will be, one of the greatest keepers to play the game.
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