Feature: Champions League Semi-finals Revisited

At the end of the first leg of the semi-finals, the experts stated that both games were well-placed going into the return leg which has kept the excitement of the football world intact. A goalless draw between Chelsea and Barcelona at Camp Nou while a slender 1-0 win of Manchester United over Arsenal.

Much was expected from Arsenal at the Emirates especially after the bombastic pre-match comments by some of their players. Manuel Almunia claimed that he knew the secret of beating United while Arsene Wenger went on to state that certainly his side are capable of scoring goals on their home turf.

None would have questioned Arsenal’s ability to do so. It took just eight minutes for the tie to be decided. A Cristiano Ronaldo’s ball across saw Kieran Gibbs tumble down which allowed Park Ji-Sung enough space and time to slot it home thereby, give United the all important away goal and unassailable 2-0 lead; given the strong defence United have when Ferdinand and Vidic are paired.

If it was not all, Ronaldo showed once again why he is considered the best player on the planet. In the past, many have branded him as a big game flop but that was once again put to rest by the Portuguese showman when his free-kick just zoomed in at the near post.

The ‘Keep The Faith’ banner at the Emirates looked ironical especially with the dejected Arsenal fans wondering what had struck them. If you thought this was it, a fine counterattack saw the two R’s combine with Ronaldo adding his second. David Beckham, who owns his allegiance to Manchester United, was seen cheering his former club which made the night even better for the Red Devil faithful.

Immediately, as the mind searched for answers as to what went wrong with the Gunners, the only answer which came to mind was the lack of experienced players. The summer saw the likes of Hleb, Flamini and Gilberto Silva move for greener pastures. While all the fans expected Wenger to sign a big name, the only worthwhile signing made was a 20 year old Samir Nasri.

Of course, Andrey Arshavin was added but only in January and that the Russian couldn’t feature in the Champions League made it worse for the Gunners. One remembers that the last trophy Arsenal won was the final game of a certain Patrick Vieira who left for Juventus thereafter. The 2005 FA Cup final...

The scenes of Arsenal fans leaving the stadium even before the final whistle showed that there were cracks and the difference between Manchester United and Arsenal was too hard to take for some. Emmanuel Adebayor rightly said,” I think we have taken a step backwards.”

For Manchester United, Darren Fletcher was unlucky to have been sent-off and shall miss the finals after having what he called as his ‘best season’. An error by the referee and the Scotsman shall miss the Rome trip.

Over to the second semi-finals and it looked like the game would also follow the similar pattern of the first as Michael Essien gave Chelsea an eighth minute lead. Barcelona passed the ball, enjoyed better possession but failed to penetrate the compact defence of the English giants.

The hero against Real Madrid over the weekend, Lionel Messi was tightly marked and wasn’t allowed any space whatsoever. Of course, the absence of Thierry Henry was very much apparent.

Chelsea felt undone in the first session with Florent Malouda being brought down by Dani Alves, who was one of those who flopped for the Catalan side. Eric Abidal wasn’t far behind as he appeared to have tripped Didier Drogba, whose reputation as Cristiano Ronaldo precedes the judgement is made by any referee.

Nicolas Anelka was pushed inside the area by Yaya Toure while in another instance, Gerard Pique handled the ball. A Michael Ballack shot was blocked by Samuel Eto’o and the upper arm was used to stop. In between was sandwiched the Eric Abidal sending-off which was again questionable. Tom Henning Ovrebo’s refereeing took center-stage and the frustrations of Chelsea players and fans were justified.

For many of the Chelsea players, this was probably the best chance to win the Champions League which even manager Hiddink acknowledged. Seeing their dreams being quashed aside within seconds was something they couldn’t come to terms with especially after going down in a tie-breaker to Manchester United in the finals last season. Many eyed a Chelsea-Manchester United final as the best revenge for the Blues which would have redeemed the likes of John Terry, Nicolas Anelka for missing the spot-kick and Didier Drogba for being sent-off.

Having said, that one must give Andres Iniesta his due 'respect' as he scored when the hopes of Barcelona had gone bleak. Almost everyone had conceded that Chelsea are through to Rome and one man whom the Stamford Bridge faithful would never forget is Iniesta.

Though the heroes of the semi-finals were Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta but it was the Men in Black who will be in news for sometime...        

Rahul Bali.