Barca v Inter

[KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab]

Very interesting game going on. Still 0-0, but Inter down to ten men after Sergio Busquets made a banquet of a silly palm into his face by Thiago Motta. Messi just gone very close to taking the lead.

Before the sending off, Inter seemed to be doing a very good job stopping any attacking play simply by sticking very tight to Ibrahimovic, and not allowing Messi anything centrally. He looked extremely lonely without people linking up with him.

[Prufrock]

Very interesting game going on. Still 0-0, but Inter down to ten men after Sergio Busquets made a banquet of a silly palm into his face by Thiago Motta. Messi just gone very close to taking the lead.

Before the sending off, Inter seemed to be doing a very good job stopping any attacking play simply by sticking very tight to Ibrahimovic, and not allowing Messi anything centrally. He looked extremely lonely without people linking up with him.

Do Barca get to pick their Semi-Final referees? Never a red card in a million billion years for me. Then he gives Messi a free-kick because Eto'o wouldn't let him run through him and cards Chivu (I think) for a perfectly good tackle. Mourinho will go mental if Barca win this, and it would be understandable. Inter still look fairly comfortable, though there is a long time left, and the fact they simply cannot keep the ball now will probably mean Barca will win.

[boltonboris]

Very interesting game going on. Still 0-0, but Inter down to ten men after Sergio Busquets made a banquet of a silly palm into his face by Thiago Motta. Messi just gone very close to taking the lead.

Before the sending off, Inter seemed to be doing a very good job stopping any attacking play simply by sticking very tight to Ibrahimovic, and not allowing Messi anything centrally. He looked extremely lonely without people linking up with him.

Do Barca get to pick their Semi-Final referees? Never a red card in a million billion years for me. Then he gives Messi a free-kick because Eto'o wouldn't let him run through him and cards Chivu (I think) for a perfectly good tackle. Mourinho will go mental if Barca win this, and it would be understandable. Inter still look fairly comfortable, though there is a long time left, and the fact they simply cannot keep the ball now will probably mean Barca will win.

I think it's roles reversed in terms as having the ref on your side. The one last week probably had an Inter tattoo on his arm...

It was never a card for the sending off, you see it all the time and it was an unfortunate collision.. Foul yes, card no!!!

[TANGODANCER]

An utter bore fest. Keep possession, go-nowhere football that's so Italian. Play acting, jessie reactions and just a coulple of goal chances. Add home boy officials and, if it soesn't get better, off it goes.

[boltonboris]

By the way, Cambiasso in that holding role is as good as anything else out there in the world.. Sneijder is also a class act, but he's not had much of the ball tonight

[Prufrock]

By the way, Cambiasso in that holding role is as good as anything else out there in the world.. Sneijder is also a class act, but he's not had much of the ball tonight

Agreed. Sneijder is top top class.

It's not boring, the play acting and falling over is becoming annoying, and tactically it so interesting.

Julio Cesar's kicking is shiiiiiite.

[bobo the clown]

Despite it now being 1-0, the side issues of this game are all the reaasons I loathe football at these standards. Diving, flopping about, hystrionics, raging at the ref's.

... & that's before that preening cock Morinho get's into the action. God, I loathe him.

[Prufrock]

Despite it now being 1-0, the side issues of this game are all the reaasons I loathe football at these standards. Diving, flopping about, hystrionics, raging at the ref's.

... & that's before that preening cock Morinho get's into the action. God, I loathe him.

I love him! Everything he does is so calculated. He makes it us against them, gets his players fighting, I mean he got Sammy Eto'o to defend with discipline for an hour, and he takes all the pressure from his players and takes it himself. He is tactically top drawer, and his players love playing for him. Ended up rooting for them tonight. Agreed about the diving and histrionics of the players though, very tiresome.

[Prufrock]

And such a good defensive performance from the players. They can't have had 25% possesion second half, but until the last ten minutes Barca, after all that has been raved about them, didn't even look like creating a chance, never mind scoring. Very tense the last few minutes, but unlike TD I never found it boring, very, very intruiging.

[bw@bw]

And such a good defensive performance from the players. They can't have had 25% possesion second half, but until the last ten minutes Barca, after all that has been raved about them, didn't even look like creating a chance, never mind scoring. Very tense the last few minutes, but unlike TD I never found it boring, very, very intruiging.

I am with you Prufrock.

Attack against defence - and defence wins!

Maybe the refe evened things up with the disallowed goal??

[BWFC_Insane]

Despite it now being 1-0, the side issues of this game are all the reaasons I loathe football at these standards. Diving, flopping about, hystrionics, raging at the ref's.

... & that's before that preening cock Morinho get's into the action. God, I loathe him.

I love him! Everything he does is so calculated. He makes it us against them, gets his players fighting, I mean he got Sammy Eto'o to defend with discipline for an hour, and he takes all the pressure from his players and takes it himself. He is tactically top drawer, and his players love playing for him. Ended up rooting for them tonight. Agreed about the diving and histrionics of the players though, very tiresome.

I can't understand folk that don't like Mourinho.

I think he's utterley brilliant. Superb at planning, motivation, psychology. He's just utterly marvellous.

I love the way he went on the pitch at the end. He is so desperate to win, and his reaction was just superb. I think the English game is far more bland and less interesting without him there!

[CAPSLOCK]

I love him

Pray he doesn't go to Liverpool

[bobby5]

Despite it now being 1-0, the side issues of this game are all the reaasons I loathe football at these standards. Diving, flopping about, hystrionics, raging at the ref's.

... & that's before that preening cock Morinho get's into the action. God, I loathe him.

I love him! Everything he does is so calculated. He makes it us against them, gets his players fighting, I mean he got Sammy Eto'o to defend with discipline for an hour, and he takes all the pressure from his players and takes it himself. He is tactically top drawer, and his players love playing for him. Ended up rooting for them tonight. Agreed about the diving and histrionics of the players though, very tiresome.

I can't understand folk that don't like Mourinho.

I think he's utterley brilliant. Superb at planning, motivation, psychology. He's just utterly marvellous.

I love the way he went on the pitch at the end. He is so desperate to win, and his reaction was just superb. I think the English game is far more bland and less interesting without him there!

Agree with that. Absolute genius of a manager.

[Prufrock]

And such a good defensive performance from the players. They can't have had 25% possesion second half, but until the last ten minutes Barca, after all that has been raved about them, didn't even look like creating a chance, never mind scoring. Very tense the last few minutes, but unlike TD I never found it boring, very, very intruiging.

I am with you Prufrock.

Attack against defence - and defence wins!

Maybe the refe evened things up with the disallowed goal??

It's an interesting one, and I think, and this isn't a mistake, that Gareth Southgate summed it up well with his analysis, in that, at first look, I thought handball straight away, but when you see it again it really isn't clear cut. As for evened up, it's a weird one. For a start I think the Motta red card is as bad a decision as you will see, it's been discussed as 'silly' or that he was 'asking for it' but to me, when you are a midfielder in that situation, being run towards the touchline with someone behind you, your hand goes out, to shield and just so you know if and where the person behind you is. Maybe I'm naive but to me I think that's all he was doing. THe fact he has caught him in the face means it's probably a foul, but not even a booking for me, never mind red. That said, who knows what would have happened if he had stayed on. From then on Inter were playing for 0-0 without even a thought for nicking one on the break, it simplified their task. I was somehow nervous watching the last 15 mins even though I didn't really care, proper tension!

[TANGODANCER]

And such a good defensive performance from the players. They can't have had 25% possesion second half, but until the last ten minutes Barca, after all that has been raved about them, didn't even look like creating a chance, never mind scoring. Very tense the last few minutes, but unlike TD I never found it boring, very, very intruiging.

The second half was definitely better, but it was only with 15 mins to go that it got lively. Ten man defence (why would it be different when you're protecting a 2 goal lead and a man missing at this level?) against a desperate attack . Defence won hands down. Milito must have been knackered as, apart from Eto'o he was a lone warrior. Messi was immnse, but it all came to nothing. Oh, and Pique' goal was offside.

I couldn't watch that every week for free. Technical, where? All the players (including the goalkeeper at times, in one half. How technical is that? Ref and liners gave all the meaningless decisions to Milan granted, but not one to Milito who got pushed, pulled and kicked to death for nothing. .

[Prufrock]

And such a good defensive performance from the players. They can't have had 25% possesion second half, but until the last ten minutes Barca, after all that has been raved about them, didn't even look like creating a chance, never mind scoring. Very tense the last few minutes, but unlike TD I never found it boring, very, very intruiging.

The second half was definitely better, but it was only with 15 mins to go that it got lively. Ten man defence (why would it be different when you're protecting a 2 goal lead and a man missing at this level?) against a desperate attack . Defence won hands down. Milito must have been knackered as, apart from Eto'o he was a lone warrior. Messi was immnse, but it all came to nothing. Oh, and Pique' goal was offside.

I couldn't watch that every week for free. Technical, where? All the players (including the goalkeeper at times, in one half. How technical is that? Ref and liners gave all the meaningless decisions to Milan granted, but not one to Milito who got pushed, pulled and kicked to death for nothing. .

'Technical where'? Everywhere on the pitch. Barca didn't become shite overnight, and Inter are a top side. It depends on whether or not you can enjoy watching a really good defensive display, or prefer the end to end 7-6 stuff. Tonight was proper sporting tension.

[Athers]

I enjoyed that immensely...

Zlatan got zero space/time into his feet although wouldn't have taken him off, as he at least had height for when Barca switched policy to crossing it in.

Messi now has no goals in 6 against Mourinho - although what a save from Julio Cesar, unbelievable.

[Tombwfc]

I'll second that. The media bollocks that go's with him in this country - the idea that every breath he takes is part of a carefully concocted scheme to beat the other team is tiresome, but he is brilliant. The most entertaining manager ever, easily.

[James B]

I love him

Pray he doesn't go to Liverpool

he won't go to liverpool

pray to the gods he doesn't end up at united instead. would be greedy for them to replace probably the greatest manager of his era with, well the greatest manager of his era

[Prufrock]

I love him

Pray he doesn't go to Liverpool

Nae gonna happen. United eventually, unfortunately, and if he wins this with Inter, which I think he will, Real next year. Win the Spanish title, and will then have a massive shout for best of all time.