Champions League 12/13

[Semi-Neutral]

Madrid, depends on three things. If, A) Ozil is playing well, B) Ronaldo is playing well, and C) Marcelo is playing/ playing well. Ozil has been the difference maker for the past few games, and he's finally looking like the Ozil of old. We all know what Ronaldo can do, and Marcelo is very dangerous on the left and helps Ronaldo a lot in playing his game. I think Munich are better than United; their defense is good, their midfield is much better, and Gomez is a deadly striker. I think Madrid do have the edge over Juventus, simply do to their attack and the Italian side's lack of one. (by that I mean no good strikers)

 

[Tembbi]

Still don't think United have what it takes. This isn't the 2009 or 2011 team with a top 3 player in almost all positions. Scholes is old, Giggs is probably worse, De Gea is no Der Saar, Nani is benched for Young (lol), Hernandez isn't being as effective as his first season, their midfield is nonexistent, etc... It's now all about Rooney, Valencia, van Persie, and a bunch of overrated players and past-it seniors.

2011 United? Jesus, it was 10x worse than current Manure.

- Gary Neville
- Hargreaves
- Brown
- Owen
- Berba
- Park
- O'Shea

Now these guys are replaced by...
+ Van Persie
+ Young
+ Jones
+ Kagawa

I don't know how you make the 2011 squad better... 2011 is like the worst United team I have ever seen.

In 2009, they at least had Ronaldo and Tevez.

 

[SEvolution]

2011 United? Jesus, it was 10x worse than current Manure.

- Gary Neville
- Hargreaves
- Brown
- Owen
- Berba
- Park
- O'Shea

Now these guys are replaced by...
+ Van Persie
+ Young
+ Jones
+ Kagawa

I don't know how you make the 2011 squad better... 2011 is like the worst United team I have ever seen.

In 2009, they at least had Ronaldo and Tevez.

Berba was shit?

Hargreaves? United miss that guy badly now.

Der Sar better than De Gea = Fact

imho young and jones are just another lot of overrated english talents add Welback and Clev too. (minus young's professional simulation skills)

Non-existent midfield of now and defence i hope Evans and Rafael stay on form as i don't see Vidic getting his super-form back anytime soon.

Kagawa is not proven to be a threat yet.

 

[Ode to Django]

United have goal threats throughout there side, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandez. Added to the fact they play very direct.

They are being underestimated & will match up vs anyone, added to the fact luck is always on there side, that group watch them now go and draw Celtic.

 

[Ursegor]

It really depends who they draw. United would do well against Real Madrid I suppose. Real Madrid couldn't exploit United's main weakness (midfield) since Madrid themselves can't control games. It would be some high scoring games. Rooney + RvP would tear Ramos and Pepe a new one and Ronaldo would try to put on a show infront of his old club. Which means that he would totally suck by doing stupid stepovers, shooting from 50 yards, showcasing a new fauxhawk hairstyle and slowing the game down.

They would have worse chances against Barca, Bayern, Juventus. These 3 are all about possession and midfield control. But then again they also have Phil "Nesta Matthäus Redondo Maradona" Jones. So they could beat anyone, really.

 

[Jenks]

I don't know why everyone is focusing on Rooney and RVP. Scoring is not United's problem, defending will be. Personally I'd like to see them play Barca at some point, it would be interesting to see how a diamond midfield does against a side that always tries to play through the middle.

 

[ammarfcb]

I don't know why everyone is focusing on Rooney and RVP. Scoring is not United's problem, defending will be. Personally I'd like to see them play Barca at some point, it would be interesting to see how a diamond midfield does against a side that always tries to play through the middle.

wait man utd hav a midfield? qpr (bottom of the league) properly have a better central midfield then them. haven't seen them dominate a single epl team's midfield all season long.

if i was to illustrate man utd flow of play it would just be big oval shape around the pitch with the ref in the middle.

 

[Malappapper]

United have goal threats throughout there side, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandez. Added to the fact they play very direct.

They are being underestimated & will match up vs anyone, added to the fact luck is always on there side, that group watch them now go and draw Celtic.

How many goals has Valencia scored this season?

 

[Ode to Django]

How many goals has Valencia scored this season?

idk 84? near Mullers record or is it Messi's now?

He is a very good player & is a goal threat as are the others.

I'm not disputing Man Utd play poorly or have a pants defense/midfield but they can give anyone a game because they score goals out of nothing. Even moreso now than ever.

@Jenks AC Milan used the diamond vs Barcelona in all four encounters last season & faired very well espeically with the know how of Van Bommel, Nesta & Silva. In the knockouts it was Ambrosini who was outstanding & Nesta nullified Messi.

 

[Jenks]

wait man utd hav a midfield?

Not usually but it's something Ferguson has experimented with a bit this season.

 

[Malappapper]

idk 84? near Mullers record or is it Messi's now?

He is a very good player & is a goal threat as are the others.

I'm not disputing Man Utd play poorly or have a pants defense/midfield but they can give anyone a game because they score goals out of nothing. Even moreso now than ever.

@Jenks AC Milan used the diamond vs Barcelona in all four encounters last season & faired very well espeically with the know how of Van Bommel, Nesta & Silva. In the knockouts it was Ambrosini who was outstanding & Nesta nullified Messi.

Well, let me help you. Antonio Valencia has scored 0 (zero) goals this season in 13 appearances. He has during his United career scored 16 goals in 120 games. That makes Pedro and Alexis look awesome!

Nullified Messi? I though he won a penalty when Absrosini (or was Antonini) brought him down inside the box. Messi also put Alexis through on open goal in the first leg, only for Alexis to pass it back for Xavi. Messi also put Thiago through on a one-on-one against the the Milan keeper, only for Thiago to spurn the chance. I am not sure, but did he assist Iniesta's goal as well?

 

[footyfan]

@Jenks AC Milan used the diamond vs Barcelona in all four encounters last season & faired very well espeically with the know how of Van Bommel, Nesta & Silva. In the knockouts it was Ambrosini who was outstanding & Nesta nullified Messi.

In which matches is he actually nullified? Or do you define nullifying as taking him out? A case could be made for the very first group game but it was hardly a 1 man mission. The team did a good job surrounding him at all times. Don't be blinded by 1 good tackle. The knock-out second leg, Messi was amazing. He was good in all the other 3 games anyway. In both wins for Barca, he was instrumental. How is that nullifying when he's the main reason his team (a) topped the group (b) progressed to the semis?

Edit: On whoscored.com, here are his ratings for each match:

Milan (home) first leg group stage - 8.5 (Man of the Match)
Milan (away) second leg group stage - 9.4 (Man of the Match)
Milan (away) first leg QF - 7.1
Milan (home) second leg QF - 10 (Man of the Match)

Nesta's ratings from the same matches - 7.5, 5.7, 6.3, 5.3

Nesta's best performance was clearly the first group game where he made that very good tackle. That match was also the only one where Milan came close to Barca in terms of team average rating (6.68 vs 6.78). The team defensively played extremely well in that first game.

 

[Malappapper]

He also assisted Pedro's equalizer in the very first game, after making fools of the entire Milan defense.

 

[footyfan]

Assisted Xavi's goal with a beautiful pass as well. His dribble and shot set up Iniesta for the rebound in the last game.

It's funny though that all 3 goals he scored were penalties. Clearly he still has problems scoring from open play vs them. Abbiati made some great saves in all the games, so credit to him.

But Messi is not just about scoring, and we all know that.

 

[Ode to Django]

Well, let me help you. Antonio Valencia has scored 0 (zero) goals this season in 13 appearances. He has during his United career scored 16 goals in 120 games. That makes Pedro and Alexis look awesome!

Nullified Messi? I though he won a penalty when Absrosini (or was Antonini) brought him down inside the box. Messi also put Alexis through on open goal in the first leg, only for Alexis to pass it back for Xavi. Messi also put Thiago through on a one-on-one against the the Milan keeper, only for Thiago to spurn the chance. I am not sure, but did he assist Iniesta's goal as well?

Pedro/Alexis are awesome & i would likewise call them goal threats aswell.

He did all of that in the four games? not particularly Messi standard i'd say & was invisible for most of the matches & also left frustrated alot. Maybe nullified was too stronger word but he was most definately second best to Nesta who did a superb job on him with his knowledge.