Tuesday, November 21, 2006

champions league - match day 5

this morning, i scrolled through the guide to see who would be playing in uefa champions league. what did i see for the first match? my brother's fav team, celtic, would be taking on manchester united. each team is leading their respectives leagues, and manchester is leading the group in the champions league.

the air was electic in the east end of glasgow. celtic park was rocking. the red devils of manchester united were visiting, and both sides seemed ready for a great match.
-the first half was dominated by manchester. their passes were crisper, they seemed more organized on the offensive end, and their stars were shining. celtic, however, seemed a step slow in the back, confused on offense, and with the exception of lennon, their stars were invisible. yet, @ the midway point, it was tied @ nil.
-celtic seemed much more lively during the second half. manchester still looked sharp. both sides had moments of sloppiness, but they also had flashes of brilliance. guys like christiano ronaldo, who i dislike, looked great. giggs had a nice free kick @ one point. rooney, who was good in the first half, disappeared in the second.
-in the 80th minute, there was a terrible call against manchester. it set up a set piece about 25 yards out. nakamura buried it in the back of the net. upper corner. van der sar didn't have a chance.
-in the 83rd minute, it seemed that saha was offsides. he was alone in the box, and just stopped. the keeper came out and blocked a weak little attempt. saha though he was off, and didn't even try. play until the whistle moron. you would have equalized it.
-in the 86th minute, a pretty bad call went against celtic. not as bad as the one against united, but still a bad one. free kick about 20 yards out. deflected. with a hand, just inside the box. yellow card to celtic. penalty kick. saha shoots to lower corner. great save by celtic's keeper, boruc. really, he started going the wrong way (or maybe was faking the wrong way) and then dove back and knocked the shot away.
-a few minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle, and celtic park echoed with songs of their supporters. celtic moves ahead of manchester in their group. tied on points, but leading with the tie breaker. celtic may not end up winning the group, but they are through to the next stage.

next up on the tube, a chance to watch my favorite internation team, real madrid. real is taking lyonnaise tonight. real is playing in front of their home crowd, and i hope they don't disappoint.
-eleven minutes in, and lyon is up 1 to nil. i think last time i wastched these two sides play, lyon was victorious. crap. am i bad luck?
-eighteen minutes in, and real looks sloppy. their not stringing together any passes, the defense looks too relaxed, and they could be in for some problems tonight.
-thirty minutes in, and i'm distracted by reading blogs. lyon has a corner kick, real gives up too much space and the keeper doesn't make a great effort either. 2-0 lyon.
-38th minute, real is still giving a poor showing. they've got a corner, it swings out to van nistelrooy, who heads it back across, and diarra buries a header in the back of the net. 2-1. pretty nice goal, especially since diarra also took a high boot to the head on the play and still finished.
-the first ten minutes of the 2nd half have been pretty good. lots of action, both teams working hard. real madrid has come out fired up, trying to equalize. so, lyon is having to match intesity on the defensive end.
-60th minute, some great touches by van nistelrooy and raul, but robinho blows the shot.
-82nd minute, not much has been happening lately. cross into the lyon box, raul hits a great header that beats the keeper, but hits the post. the ricochet goes right to van nistelrooy, who puts it home. all even @ 2-2.
-87th minute. van nistelrooy fouled hard at the edge of the box. well, maybe it wasn't a foul. some contact. but, real madrid is awarded a penalty shot. ruud missed one from the spot on match day 4. and...this one is blocked. good save keeper. wow, back to back matches that i've watched had a keeper save on a pk, at the end of the game.
-91st minute, some pushing & shoving after a foul. yellows awarded to players on each team.
-and it finishes that way after 3 minutes of stoppage time. 2-2.
if able, i'll watch chelski play tomorrow.

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