Final 2009: FC Barcelona v. Manchester United FC

Round of 4 Pool Standings

It seems that each year the pool gets tighter and tighter, which may speak to the increasing football savviness of the participants. Coming off of two consecutive runner-up finishes, Cantona is poised to capture this year's pool if his beloved United can repeat as European champions. It also appears that the Bonus Pick (worth 3 pts.) could be a big factor in determining the prize-winners. With Cantona, Banana Island, and Team Auckland all having picked Manchester United to win it all, the Continentalist stands out in the second place pack as the only one to have picked Barça. What does this all mean? I'll leave it to you to ponder, but keep in mind that the final is worth 8 pts.

United v. Barça is a dream match up for most of the world's football fans. With a little luck we'll get a more open contest than the two matches they played against each other in last year's semifinals. Enjoy. And to the many United fans in the pool -- may the best side win ;)

Last 4 Results: Leg 2, Day 2

¡¡ Iniesta!!

Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona {Agg: 1-1, Barcelona advance on away goals}

Essien 9'

------------------------------Iniesta 90+3'

Wow.

Tough to sum this match up in a short post. Chelsea looked much more dangerous thoughout this match than they ever did at Camp Nou. Despite once again having very little possession, the Blues had many more good chances on net than Barça did. While Chelsea looked strong, they did very little to build up play from the back or midfield and their lone goal came on a brilliant -- but one-in-a-hundred -- strike from Michael Essien off a flukey deflection near the top of the box. However, after being held scoreless for 183 minutes, Andres Iniesta (who has been Barça's best player over the last month or more) scored the tie-winner in breathtaking fashion with Barcelona's first shot on target the entire night in the 3rd minute of extra time to send the blaugrana through.

If the first leg ended with Barcelona feeling they'd been robbed by the referee, tonight's match ended the same, but even more heatedly, for the Londoners. To be fair, the referee had a terrible game and Chelsea supporters will surely feel they were cheated out of an appearance in Rome through several missed penalty calls -- the most obvious omission being a hand ball by Pique late in the second half. But the bad decisions affected both sides as Barça's left back Eric Abidal was sent off with a ridiculous red on what appeared to be almost no contact in a challenge against Nicolas Anelka, leaving Barcelona to fend with only 10 men for almost 30 minutes. After the final whistle the Blues completely lost their composure with Didier Drogba flying in the face of the referee and yelling "It's a fucking disgrace" into the TV cameras.

In the end, people can bitch all they want about referees, but it was Chelsea's refusal to push for an away goal in Barcelona which left them exposed. This match will be debated for a long time to come, but the CL Final in Rome is a dream matchup for the neutral. Barça will be missing both their right and left backs-- Abidal and Dani Alves, respectively -- due to suspension (have I mentioned how much I hate the fact that cards are carried over into the final?).

Barcelona will certainly be considered the underdog as they are facing the in-form defending champions and have shown over the last few years to have a very difficult time scoring against English sides. Still, the final will feature the potent strength and attacking power of Manchester United against the finesse of the highest goal-scoring side in Europe in Barcelona. Mouth-watering to say the least.

¡Visca Barça!

BarçaBarça final?

Last 4 Results: Leg 2, Day 1

Park Ji-Sung all but ends the tie in the 8th minute.

Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United {Agg: 1-4, Manchester United advance}
------------------------------Park 8'
------------------------------Ronaldo 11'
------------------------------Ronaldo 61'
Van Persie 76'

Manchester United proved to have too much power and class for Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, putting the tie away with two goals inside the first 11 minutes. The rout started when Park Ji-Sung capitalized off young Gunner defender Kieron Gibbs' slip on a Ronaldo cross. Next the Emirates were stunned when Ronaldo nailed a scorcher of a free kick from well outside the area. Finally they sealed the tie early in the second half with a lightning counter attack that covered a ton of pitch in an instant: Ronaldo back flick-Park-Rooney-Ronaldo... match over. On a night which Arsene Wegner described as his worst in 25 years of managing, United dominated in every aspect and have surely shown they deserve to defend their title in Rome on May 27th. The only black mark for the Red Devils on an otherwise glorious night was the harsh red card given to Darren Fletcher for a tackle on Cesc Fabregas in the area which means the industrious Scottish midfielder will miss the final. Congrats to the United fans in the pool -- you have a lot to look forward to in your second consecutive CL Final appearance. Tomorrow we'll learn who will challenge you.

WB & Me

Wear it with pride.

On the eve of the second legs of the semifinals, just thought I'd give a shout out to my peeps from WB. This is the shirt Cantona gave me in 2006 when I left for an LA stint. It was worn by an indoor team the studio fielded in 2000 which was eventually disbanded due to excessive injuries and a shallow bench. Along with the World Cup 2006 Friends Pool, it's what tipped me into following club football. Many good times at lunch watching World Cup matches at the J&B, and CL matches on the screening room's HD projection TV with Cantona, Banana Island, and Claret & Blue. In that spirit, the Continentalist and I'll be watching the second half of Arsenal v. United at Bobby G's in Berkeley tomorrow in case anyone can swing by.

Peace out, WB and x-WB'ers.

Round of 4: Mid-Tie Power Rankings

1. Team Jerusalem
2. Eastern Influence
3. Cantona
4. Banana Island
---Team Auckland
---The Continentalist
5. Real Marin
6. The Claret & Blue
7. Crown City FC

With everyone picking United over Arsenal, the only separation in this round's Power Rankings was Team Jerusalem and Eastern Influence picking Chelsea over Barcelona. The Gunners appear to be in too big of a hole to overcome United. While most give Chelsea the edge for keeping a clean sheet at Camp Nou, the lack of an away goal could come back to bite them. The Catalans are riding high off an historic 2-6 victory in Madrid on Saturday, and if Barca scores first the Blues won't be able to park the bus in front of the goal. Cheers to the semis.

Last 4 Results: Leg 1, Day 2

John O'Shea is the unlikely hero as he scores the leg's lone goal for United.

Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal

O'Shea '17

Manchester United acheived the result Sir Alex Ferguson claimed he desired, a 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford. While they will be happy to have kept a clean sheet, the Red Devils may regret that they didn't put the tie away with a second or third goal after dominating long stretches of the match. Keeper Manuel Almunia was the Gunner's saving grace as he came up with several fantastic stops to limit the damage and keep the Londoners in the tie with a glimmer of hope as the sides square off at the Emirates on Tuesday.