REAL MADRID 0
BARCELONA 2 (Messi 76, Messi 87)
Only two chances, one for either side, in a dreadful first half. Xavi should have done better after Messi played him in but he shot straight at Casillas. Ozil missed an absolute sitter on the rebound after Valdes fumbled a Ronaldo rocket. Barca reserve goalkeeper Pinto was sent off in a half time kerfuffle.
Pepe challenged fellow cheat Dani Alves for a 50-50 ball, both players had their fight foot raised, Alves of course spun away and pretended to be crippled, red card. Casillas parried a Villa shot straight at Pedro who headed wide with the goal at his mercy, as he fell Marcelo stamped on his ankle. I'm not sure if it was deliberate. Messi ran trough a typically reckless Xabi Alonso tackle but had a shot charged down, he was first the rebound and touched the ball to Xavi, he spread the ball out wide to Affelay on the right, Xabi Alonso took two quick glimpses past Messi, who was standing next to him, but somehow managed to forget to track him as he made a beeline for Affelay's centre at turned the ball at the near post. Xabi Alonso put his hands on his head. That's the reaction I have whenever seeing the useless, pointless twat. Messi played a ball into Busquets who trapped it and stood still, Messi took the ball off him and held off Diarra, who played the Peter Reid let him pass role, turned Ramos, knocked the ball past the statute that was Albiol, ran inside Marcelo then tapped into the bottom left corner. Fantastic goal, to paraphrase from Spartacus "A flower of beauty in a world of shit".
This game was a perfect summation of Spanish football, lots of diving and playacting with the occasional dirty foul. Dani Alves especially is a despicable player. Di Maria is an equal level of cheating bastard. Of course over in the UK Sky Sports and their La Liga salesman would have us believe La Liga and Barcelona especially are the bastions of virtue and fairplay.
Mourinho needs a miracle in the second leg and he won't get it. Real Madrid simply don't have a DM good enough to stop Barca's midfield rhythm. They've been playing together so long (because they can keep spending money they don't have to pay high wages and hold onto their best players) it gives them a massive advantage over other teams - trying to outplay them is a waste of time.
Attendance : 71,567
Red Card : Pinto 47 (Barcelona), Pepe 61 (Real Madrid)
Assists : Affelay, Busquets
26 April 2011 SCHALKE 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Giggs 67, Rooney 69)
Neuer was called into action twice in the opening 5 minutes. Schalke couldn't stop the bleeding as the visitors laid siege to their goal. The pick Neuer's saves was a superb one handed stop from Giggs. He denied Giggs again at the end of the first half. Rangnick's half time team talk must have been shit because Neuer was forced into another brilliant one handed save from Valencia seconds into the restart. A moment of magic from the despicable Rooney broke the deadlock. He turned onto a pass, feigned to shoot as a defender dived in with a sliding tackle, skipped past his outstretched legs and hit a reverse pass between three players and Giggs shot first time under Neuer as he ran off his line. Two minutes later Hernandez flicked a Valencia pass through for Rooney who again beat Neuer with a first time shot. Nani, on as a substitute, flicked a ball between two defenders to Evra, he bounced the ball off a knee and dragged a shot just wide of a post. Would have been one hell of a goal.
Another dreadfully sad night for the sport which presents a conundrum for ABUs like myself. Should Barca reach the final I think there's a 90% chance they'll beat United as United are not a good pressing side and will eventually be worn down by chasing shadows. I only give Real Madrid 60%. Real Madrid's approach play under Mourinho is more deliberate and measured which will allow United's defence to hold their shape.
Attendance : 54,142
Assists : Rooney, Hernandez
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