Barcelona vs Manchester United - May 28th, 19:45

[Alcaraz]

We almost had in 2009 fianls if I'm not wrong. We had 49% i think..

Saw that stats in soccernet I think.

goals not possesion will matter in the game mate, u know that, frankly u cant stop Barca from dominating posession but what u can do as Mourinho showed us one fine day, is to make sure Barca do ot do anything worthwhile with their possesion and that I think will be key

 

[Jak]

The longer Man Utd stay level for the better really. As the game goes on barca will tire and this will allow Man Utd to counter quickly and score.

 

[sunilvk7]

goals not possesion will matter in the game mate, u know that, frankly u cant stop Barca from dominating posession but what u can do as Mourinho showed us one fine day, is to make sure Barca do ot do anything worthwhile with their possesion and that I think will be key

Yeah, I couldn't care less about possession. That was for GodCubed's post.

Well, frankly, they are. It would be a miracle on par with Jesus' return to Earth if United have more possession.

 

[Alcaraz]

Yeah, I couldn't care less about possession. That was for GodCubed's post.

TBH Mourinho's tactics to stop Barca are sound and I believe he could have won 2-3 games out ofthe 4 El Clasico's if he did not have a player sent off due to some Oscar performaces


most notable: Pepe gives a hard but seemingly fair challenge to Dani Alves, Dani Alves acts like he broke his leg and has to be removed from the pitch by a stretcher, for that challenge Pepe is sent off and the very next minute, Dani Alves sprints back onto the pitch after being removed by a ****** stretcher , Mourinho has my sympathy, I would go absolutely ballistic if I was him and saw this happen in a top level game


would not be suprised at all if a Man Utd player is sent off

 

[Niall]

Very, very nice OP.

I think it will be very close, hopefully the referee will be strong, if he books a Barcelona player the first time they dive/hound the ref that would stop it from becoming a farce.

I will go for ... 2-1 Barcelona, just hope it's a good game.

 

[Nixon]

goals not possesion will matter in the game mate, u know that, frankly u cant stop Barca from dominating posession but what u can do as Mourinho showed us one fine day, is to make sure Barca do ot do anything worthwhile with their possesion and that I think will be key

He just showed that you can stop Barcelona from dominating possession with that stat. In the 2009 final they managed to keep hold of the ball for similar periods of time as Barcelona.

However I think Manchester United's best chance comes from the speed of their counter attacks. They can't give away cheap ball either otherwise it'll be a long long night. If they keep it scoreless for the first half Barcelona will get nervy, and Barca will tire in the last 15 minutes or so if they have to maintain their pressing game. So there are certainly opportunities for Man Utd in the game, and it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. And for one of the only times in my life, I'll be supporting them.

 

[Alcaraz]

He just showed that you can stop Barcelona from dominating possession with that stat. In the 2009 final they managed to keep hold of the ball for similar periods of time as Barcelona.

However I think Manchester United's best chance comes from the speed of their counter attacks. They can't give away cheap ball either otherwise it'll be a long long night. If they keep it scoreless for the first half Barcelona will get nervy, and Barca will tire in the last 15 minutes or so if they have to maintain their pressing game. So there are certainly opportunities for Man Utd in the game, and it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. And for one of the only times in my life, I'll be supporting them.

yeah but Man Utd were hardly in the game after their first goal, and after the first goal Barca pulled back massively and placed Messi in the Central Midfield and started to play a more defensive game letting Man Utd push before breaking down their attacks in their own half and then doing a fast counter-attack

 

[joeere11]

If we try to match barca and go 4-3-3 we won't win the game, but if we good 4-4-1-1 I think we have a great chance to beat them.
Utd 2-1 (hernandez, park - messi)

 

[Andy]

Will post a picture of my tickets when I get home from work

Think it will be a close game and I believe we can win. Carrick is going to struggle in the midfield and he won't have any time on the ball and when that is the case he always seems *****. Got a feeling Vidic may be sent off, he is the best defender in the world when the ball is in the air but doubt he will have one header to win with the exception of set pieces. May be worth a tenner Hoping it isn't the case obviously.

Going to say United will win on pens with Busquets falling over and missing the crucial pen, would love to see him hold his face!!!

 

[AussieOchoa]

Barca 4-1 Man Utd

Rooney (Wonderstrike )
Messi x 2
Villa
Bojan (Super Sub)

Probably won't happen, will probably go to penalties.

 

[GodCubed]

We almost had in 2009 fianls if I'm not wrong. We had 49% i think..

Saw that stats in soccernet I think.

But Barca just weren't as good as retaining the ball then as they are now. They have had an average of 73.3% possession per game in the Champions League this season, compared to 65.6% in 2009 (stats from Opta), which rather highlights just how much better they are at ball retention now.

 

[Average Joe]

Imagining it goes to penalties, who would score and who would miss? My guesses -

Rooney - Goal
Messi - Miss :O (VDS save!)
Nani - Goal
Villa - Goal
Giggs - Miss!
Xavi - Goal
Park / Scholes - Goal
Iniesta goal

etc etc

 

[FrankieDolan]

Think barca will win 2-1 in 90 minutes.
Although i think if valencia is onform it could change the game, he has been a big plus for utd so i think he could possibly change the game for some reason.

 

[Joss]

Want a Utd win.

Also writing an article for STV ahead of the game (A tactical preview, don't you know.) so I'll post that on here when it's published!

Think it will be really interesting and Dani Alves is going to be one of the most important players for me. Utd can try and contain him with Park, or opt for more pace down the left hand side - Fabio and Nani are both options but Park is definitely the most likely candidate. If Utd don't communicate properly in midfield, and players don't cover for one another, they could be done for, though in terms of picking up Messi.

I mention it in my article, but the key thing isn't man-marking Messi, but marking zones of the pitch and relying on Carrick mainly to do a double job - picking up Iniesta and also Messi when he comes into his zone (which requires Giggs and then Park to move across). Will be a really interesting game and apparently the referee is one that likes to let games flow - which should benefit Utd, both in terms of Barca not being able to throw themselves to the floor every time they lose the ball and also in terms of Utd counter-attacking being efficient and not cynically cut short by Barca fouls.

---------- Post added at 02:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

But Barca just weren't as good as retaining the ball then as they are now. They have had an average of 73.3% possession per game in the Champions League this season, compared to 65.6% in 2009 (stats from Opta), which rather highlights just how much better they are at ball retention now.

Busquets will be key to this. He sets their tempo and provides an important "get out of jail free" card to Xavi/Iniesta when they're under pressure in midfield. If Rooney can sit on him, and Hernandez can force their defence deeper, United can really disrupt their rhythm and, like Arsenal largely did in the first leg this year, keep them in their own half/on the half-way line which will still mean they have plenty of possession but United can hit them on the break etc.

2-1 United in 90 mins I think.. Will be v. close.

 

[CtPauley]

I think we have a better chance this year than we did in 09. Personally I feel Barca will play Mascherno CB and Puyol at LB so hopefully Valencia can exploit Puyol much like he did against Cole. I think the pace of Hernandez could cause a lot of trouble for Barca as well. Too tight to call imo.

 

[GodCubed]

Want a Utd win.

Also writing an article for STV ahead of the game (A tactical preview, don't you know.) so I'll post that on here when it's published!

Think it will be really interesting and Dani Alves is going to be one of the most important players for me. Utd can try and contain him with Park, or opt for more pace down the left hand side - Fabio and Nani are both options but Park is definitely the most likely candidate. If Utd don't communicate properly in midfield, and players don't cover for one another, they could be done for, though in terms of picking up Messi.

I mention it in my article, but the key thing isn't man-marking Messi, but marking zones of the pitch and relying on Carrick mainly to do a double job - picking up Iniesta and also Messi when he comes into his zone (which requires Giggs and then Park to move across). Will be a really interesting game and apparently the referee is one that likes to let games flow - which should benefit Utd, both in terms of Barca not being able to throw themselves to the floor every time they lose the ball and also in terms of Utd counter-attacking being efficient and not cynically cut short by Barca fouls.

---------- Post added at 02:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

Busquets will be key to this. He sets their tempo and provides an important "get out of jail free" card to Xavi/Iniesta when they're under pressure in midfield. If Rooney can sit on him, and Hernandez can force their defence deeper, United can really disrupt their rhythm and, like Arsenal largely did in the first leg this year, keep them in their own half/on the half-way line which will still mean they have plenty of possession but United can hit them on the break etc.

2-1 United in 90 mins I think.. Will be v. close.

Hehe. Find it funny how you can talk with such authority on a subject less than 24 hours after you came to me in a panic saying, and I quote, that you "don't watch either side".

All correct though. Carrick is in particular interesting - of all the things that have changed since 2009, Iniesta v Carrick is one that hasn't, and he conclusively lost that last time.

 

[Andy]

I think we have a better chance this year than we did in 09. Personally I feel Barca will play Mascherno CB and Puyol at LB so hopefully Valencia can exploit Puyol much like he did against Cole. I think the pace of Hernandez could cause a lot of trouble for Barca as well. Too tight to call imo.

No Abidal?

 

[DMF]

Apparently Abidal may not be match fit to start the game, although I expect he will start.

 

[Joss]

Hehe. Find it funny how you can talk with such authority on a subject less than 24 hours after you came to me in a panic saying, and I quote, that you "don't watch either side".

All correct though. Carrick is in particular interesting - of all the things that have changed since 2009, Iniesta v Carrick is one that hasn't, and he conclusively lost that last time.

Sssshhh! I knew most of the stuff already to be fair.. Just read through Jonathan Wilson's article and I was sorted!

 

[MisterStubbs]

Brilliant op mate!

Can not wait for this, such a special way to end the season and will be made even better if we can lift the trophy at the end off it to add to the Premier League title. Not bad for side media call "not that strong".

Two of the greatest football clubs going head to head so expect some fire works. I predict a tight match with only the odd goal winning it.

Barcelona 1 Manchester United 2

Wayne Rooney
Xavi
Javier Hernandez

Believe!