Congrats on winning. Who cares if Benfica were better in the first half.....for their antics they don't deserve anything! Good shyte!
CRon MoM... Take the three points in spite of a lacklustre 1st half... It's gonna be uphill for Benfica now, and a win against Copenhagen at home would virtually assure qualification...
They were handkerchiefs......means they want the manager sacked. Don't know who started the tradition but I think it started in Spain or Italy. I'm gonna take a stab and say Barcelona?
No amount of diving or whining could save Benfica today. This type of performance and result is what we need more of. A gritty performance where we hardly get any chances, but when we DO get chances, we TAKE them. I would love to see more of this.
So what do we put the worrying first half display down to... 1) Benfica wanting it more 2) Tactical Ineptitude 3) Stage Fright 4) Dodgy pitch All of the above I say... need to start in a different gear if we are going to seriously challenge in this competition. Alex got a 'Get out of Jail free' card on this one...
Huge win, puts us in pole position in the group. [result]Celtic get the result at home too, putting us three points up on them and five up on Benfica and Copenhagen.[/result]
3 points against Denmark and we're pretty much guaranteed a place in the next round. Bad start, good second half. Might be able to rest some players in the last few group games.
He's not necessarily wrong though.. Our tactics have been shit lately and we were lucky to get out of Portugal with the result...
So because a player plays for Benfica, he is Portuguese? Did you know Benfica played more foreign players than Portuguese players today? No, I'm sure you didn't know that. I think United were lucky to get that win, but I'll take it. They looked really poor in the first half, were not moving the ball well at all. While Scholes looked his usual solid self, the problems seem to be in the centre of the field (thanks mostly to Carrick and O'Shea) and the back line was shaky. If you offered me a draw at the half, I probably would have taken it so the 3 points is big! They looked a lot better in the second half. Ronaldo finally came around and started some good attacks. MoM in my opinion with Scholes a close second.
Rooney? Were we watching the same game? What about Ferdinand, and Neville? Nothing fancy, but they did what they had to. Vidic didn't look bad, though he wasn't tested too much. But to say Rooney played well doesn't really work for me. He did well to relieve the defense of pressure, but his touch was just awful. It's okay, though...he's still got a ways to come.
It was a decent match capped off by a good goal, it was good to see both Arsenal and United stuff the Portugese.
Karagounis (Greek). Besides diving he's a major whiner/complainer/asshat although he can occasionally create some changes. Not today - Benfica fans were praying Scholes would injure him... ;-)
I think you guys are way to hard on Rooney. He hasnt played much football since Chelski. He is getting back but going through a rough patch, that all players go through, even Ronaldo. Our play wasnt helped by playing one up front and we couldnt keep hold of it or even get hold of it. Second half was a massive improvement. Better concentration and passing. Star man - Gabby honourable mention Vidic, Scholes and Ronaldo when he didnt try to take on every player. It was another classy Scholes performance, but Gabby edges it.
Heinze MOM without a doubt. Vidic really can't be dropped now, he is an absolute beast in the middle.