Arsenal v. Barca - Champions League Final

[troutman]

http://www.uefa.com/index.html

in 1 hour, 11 minutes . . .

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL...Id=422038.html

Ronaldinho says he has been inspired by Sevilla FC's UEFA Cup heroics to produce a flurry of goals in the UEFA Champions League final.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/4987034.stm

Countdown to Barcelona v Arsenal

Paris is alive with anticipation ahead of the clash between Barcelona and Arsenal - the most eagerly awaited Champions League final for years.
Fans of both sides are partying in the shadow of the city's famous landmarks, with kick-off now just hours away.
It has been confirmed that Robert Pires will start in Arsenal's midfield, with Jose Antonio Reyes on the bench. And England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has backed a five-man Gunners midfield to cause Barca "a lot of problems".

"Most eagerly awaited"? According to the BBC I guess.

[azzarish]

"Paris is alive with anticipation ahead of the clash between Barcelona and Arsenal - the most eagerly awaited Champions League final for years. "

To be honest I think the most eagerly awaited final in years was last year when AC Milan played Liverpool. It was a fantastic final to boot, better than the dire, drab affairs that they usually are. I bet this is a one goal game and has nowhere near the excitement as last year.

[Footscray]

Should be a good one - I dunno if it can possibly be better to watch than the FA Cup final though, what is it with Liverpool and the exciting cup finals.

[cheung31]

Live Scoreboard:
http://eurosport.com/football/uefa-c...tc140709.shtml

Originally Posted by Footscray

Should be a good one - I dunno if it can possibly be better to watch than the FA Cup final though, what is it with Liverpool and the exciting cup finals.

Yeah what is up with that? Still can't believe that wild affair, Gerrard, what a strike!!

[troutman]

1942: The teams march out into the stadium - passing a table with the trophy standing proudly on top of it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/4991278.stm

[SoCalFlamesFan]

Ooooohh.. bad decison by the ref... Lehman sent off (correctly) but he should have played the advantage.. should be 1-0 Barca.. and man.. if England have to rely on Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole in the world cup they are in trouble..

[troutman]

2004: SENDING-OFF Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Dramatic scenes as Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann becomes the first man to ever be sent off during a Champions League final. Lehmann comes out of his area to meet the onrushing Samuel Eto'o and brings him down. The ball runs to Ludovic Giuly who tucks it away but the goal does not stand as the referee has already blown for the foul.

[SoCalFlamesFan]

1-0 ARSENAL

Sol Campbell.. from a free kick that wasn't... there is no justice..

[Pagal4321]

Ahhhh Gunners, how I love thee.

Although it should be 1-1.
Very nervous though about being down to 10 men. But they are playing well to box Barca out, until the end of the half there. WHAT A PLAY by Almunia too...just getting a touch of the Eto'o shot.

Good game thus far.

[Footscray]

Originally Posted by cheung31

Yeah what is up with that? Still can't believe that wild affair, Gerrard, what a strike!!

Such a great game, I felt bad for Hammers but Gerrard's goals, even Cisse's was just amazing.

Interesting CL final so far, Gooners are definately benifitting from the reffing but as a neutral it is entertaining to watch regardless.

[josef]

GO Arsenal GO!!! but man how good is ronaldinho!! - this guy is just unbelievable!! anyway i really dislike small deco - this is guy is just an .....

[Winsor_Pilates]

Had to call in sick to watch this 1.
Great header by Sol. I think (hope) Arsenal can squeeze out a win today. Can't afford to sit back in the 2nd half though. Barca will come hard.

Go Gunners Go!!!!!

[troutman]

2045: At half-time people using our player rater have rated Thierry Henry as Arsenal's best player with an average score of 7.87 with Sol Campbell second on 7.11. Ronaldinho received the highest score for Barcelona with 7.65 ahead of Samuel Eto'o on 7.36.
Results of polls taken on the Rater at half-time showed 61% of our users believe Arsenal will hold on to their lead in the second half while 64% feel that Jens Lehmann should not have been sent off and the Barcelona goal should have stood.
BBC

[josef]

too bad for arsenal - larsson was the matchwinner for barca

[Pagal4321]

Larsson was the key substitution for Barca. I almost **** my pants when he came on.
Bah, I'm too depressed to discuss this mtach right now, later on tonight hopefully.

[troutman]

2125: GOAL Barcelona 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal are shattered as Henrik Larsson flicks a ball on to Samuel Eto'o inside the area and he guides the ball inside Manuel Almunia's near post to equalise.

2128: GOAL Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal
Disaster for Arsenal as substitute Juliano Belletti puts Barcelona ahead. Henrik Larsson plays a brilliant reverse ball through to the substitute who drills the ball through the legs of Manuel Almunia from a very tight angle.

2143: In the end with the 10 men on a night like this they just couldn't keep Barcelona at bay, Just look at the chances they had at 1-0 to take the game away from Barcelona and if they had scored a second they would have won.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Son of a .....
I think that's the last time We'll see Henry playing in an Arsenal kit.
Sat back too much and tried to rely on a dead tired defence, without giving Henry any help.
I was really hoping Reyes wouldn't be put on too. Van Persie or someone else might have been able to generate something, but Reyes is useless.

I expect some major changes before Arsenal's next season.

[Pagal4321]

Winsor, I refuse to beleive that Henry will leave. Such speak is sacrilegious. My only hope is that they bring him back.
Cole is gone, Pires is gone, hopefully Henry is back, at least the midfield will stay relatively intact with the young guys.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Pagal, I don't wanna believe it, but I think he's really disappointed with the lack of offensive help he has been given this year and the arguements he was having with Wenger during the game didn't look good. I think he's only stay if we can bring in some big name support fast enough to convince him next season will be different.

Agree on the others though. The young mid field should mature nicely next season and Walcott being named to England without ever playing a premiership game indicates that he might be a pretty good striker for the future too.

[SoCalFlamesFan]

Though I am no Arsenal fan, I really hope that Henry doesn't leave - especially not for a team outside the Premiership - he is such a catalyst for that team - the team is really improving with all the young players -

As for the game - very good second half - enjoyed it...