Champions League LiveBlog: Arsenal – PSV 1st Half
The Arsenal – PSV liveblog was chosen by the commenters on this blog. Hopefully, this turns out to be the best match of the day.
The return leg of this matchup is at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium and it finds Arsenal in hole after its 1-0 loss to PSV two weeks ago. It also finds Arsenal out of form having just come out of a three-game losing streak with an unimpressive 2-1 win against Reading on Saturday. Although, it must be noted that Arsenal has had a run of bad luck with injuries including captain Thierry Henry, who has been determined fit for this match but won't start.
PSV, for its part, is having a good season. It is 8 points clear of second place in the Dutch Eredivisie, although the squad just crashed out of its Cup competition. PSV, if it wins or draws today will also advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Not a bad season. Arsenal on the other hand has only the Champions League left to obtain hardware for the season. It is out of the Premiership title chase and is out of the Carling and FA Cup competitions.
As always, feel free to leave comments or email me at thefansattic [at] gmail [dot] com.
Lineups:
PSV: Gomes, Alex, Feher, Salcido, Sun Xiang, Cocu, Culina, Mendez, Simons, Farfan, Kone
Arsenal: Lehmann, Clichy, Gallas, Toure, Silva, Baptista, Denilson, Fabregas, Hleb, Ljungberg, Adebayor
Predictions anyone? I think we see Arsenal go out of the competition on away goals after a 2-1 victory. Away goals seem to be the way to go this round.
I’ll be attempting to liveblog the match via an internet feed so let’s all hope that my internet connection holds up and my computer doesn’t crash. It’s a bit of a dinosaur so things can go wrong with several applications running.
Commenter Cedrick doesn’t like my prediction saying his Gunners will prevail. Well, in my defense I did say Arsenal would win today’s matchup just that it wouldn't advance.
Kickoff – There was no pregame on my internet feed although I got to watch some South African club action (I think it was S. African). Sundowns beat Leopards 4-0. I was worried I got the wrong channel especially with the ManU - Lille match already starting on ESPN2.
3:00 – Early corner for PSV but no danger resulted from it. Anybody care to keep us updated on the Celtic – AC Milan and Bayern – Real Madrid matches?
6:00 – Another corner for PSV but headed away by Fabregas. Hleb gave the ball away carelessly on his end but Toure saved his bacon. PSV has looked crisp thus far and Arsenal has been haphazard with its passing. Although, Adebayor had a nifty run on the right side that he shot into the side netting.
9:00 - Arsenal is picking up the pace and the passes are strung together better as well.
11:00 - Gallas loses a contact lens and play is held up a bit.
12:00 - Gallas back on and the announcers are having a bit of fun saying Gallas can't see the pitch. PSV's Farfan tried a shot from a very difficult angle on the right side but Lehmann had the post covered easily.
15:00 - Ljungberg called for a foul for climbing on the back of a PSV defender to go for a header. He complains to the ref that you can't call a foul on an underwear model.
16:00 - Fabregas makes a wonderful pass to Adebayor in the box but his touch is a bit off and Gomes smothers it for PSV. Very good chance for Arsenal who seem to be picking it up a bit.
18:00 - Again Adebayor muffs his touch inside the box. Kone gets the ball on the counter but Arsenal slows him. I have been very impressed with Kone in the two matches so far. He has good touch and excellent pace.
22:00 - Toure knocks an excellent shot on goal from just inside the box on the right side. Gomes can only deflect it and the rebound gives Arsenal another good chance but can't capitalize. Adebayor has been seeing the ball a lot just hasn't been able to connect with anything or have a good touch.
26:00 - According to the announcers, PSV Brazilian defender Alex is nicknamed the Beast. Oddly enough, Arsenal's Brazilian midfielder Baptista is also nicknamed the Beast. Can there be two players from the same country on the same field with the same nickname? Baptista by the way just had an excellent side volley just go over the bar.
29:00 - I can't help but wonder what would it be like if there was a healthy Henry on the receiving end of all the excellent feeds Adebayor has received. Alex had denied Adebayor several times now and Adebayor has just failed to make good passes or touches.
33:00 - Arsenal was lucky that Philip Coco couldn't get a solid head on the cross from Mendez. Cocu was unmarked on his run through the box. Arsenal's defense is just not looking good. They will have to play like Barcelona last night to protect the suspect defense right now.
36:00 - Wow! That was a nice attempt at a bicycl by Baptista. He controlled the ball with chest and popped it up to set up his bike which went over the bar. Uh-oh. My feed is having problems. Hopefully I can get it back up quickly.
45:00 - Stupid feed is taking forever to "buffer." What have I missed?
Showing posts with label liveblog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liveblog. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
LiveBlog: Liverpool v. Barcelona 1st Half
In the first leg of this matchup, Liverpool prevailed 2-1 on the strength of Craig Bellamy's iron game in the Nou Camp. The second leg finds the defending champions, Barcelona, on the ropes having suffered a weekend loss to Seville relinquishing first place in La Liga and all sort of internal intrigue. Ronaldinho and Eto'o are not on good terms; players are upset with manager Frank Rijkard; and the team is not living up to the gold standard set by last year's squad. If Barca can corral all of this and focus it on Liverpool there should be a classic matchup.
Liverpool, for its part, have been in good form but Saturday's last minute loss to hated rivals Manchester United may affect the team psyche as well as its fitness. The English side put forth a full strength squad for Saturday's match and many of those participants will have to go again rather soon. Luckily, no injuries resulted from Saturday's game. The team will have to guard against overconfidence in the 2-1 aggregate lead it has and the letdown of the ManU game. The team knows this is its last chance for glory this campaign and should come out in full force.
If you have questions, comments, criticisms, or dirty jokes, you can leave them in the comments, email me at thefansattic [at] gmail [dot] com, or IM today on AIM (screenname TheFansAtticBlog).
Line-ups:
Barcelona: Valdes, Marquez, Oleguer, Puyol, Thuram, Deco, Iniesta, Xavi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi
Liverpool: Reina, Agger, Arbeloa, Carragher, Finnan, Riise, Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko, Bellamy, Kuyt
Predictions anyone?
I flipped over to ESPN2 about 3 minutes too early and got an eyeful of something hideous--a world's strongest man competitor in a banana hammock. I think there should be warnings about this sort of stuff.
They showed Riise's legs before kickoff and it looks like they are recovered from the karaoke incident.
Kickoff
3:00 - not much action yet but Liverpool must be hoping that the Sissoko of the first leg shows up and not the Sissoko of the ManU match.
4:00 - as soon as I post that Gerrard sends a long pass on to Kuyt but it's just a touch too long as Valdes comes out just in time to pick up the ball.
6:00 - The three back lineup is looking shaky at this point for Barca as Liverpool has had a couple of dispossessions in midfield that make the blaugrana scramble back on defense.
9:00 - Tommy Smythe encourages Bellamy to hit Riise with golf clubs before every match because they played well after the last incident. Nice. Just then Riise sends one just wide right of the goal as Barca's defense still looks out of sorts.
10:00 - The thing is, as long as Barca doesn't concede a goal the defense is fine because the offense is so potent it can score quickly and against the run of play.
14:00 - Riise is having a great game so far with two shots, one that hit the crossbar, a corner won and some good feeds.
18:00 - Arbeloa goes into the book with a hard tackle on Messi. On the freekick Reina punches the ball out but Eto'o whiffs on his shot attempt but Barca still had an opportunity until Reina left the goal mouth to track down a loose ball.
20:00 - Sissoko into the book. He'll miss the next CL match if there is one. Did you see his hair? It looked like Shane Battier's wrinkly head but with the lines shaved in rather than natural. The free kick made it through the Liverpool defence and Marquez flicked it wide left. He was offside too.
23:00 - Barbaro, I mean Ronaldinho, pleads for a call when it looks like he was at fault.
26:00 - I don't know how Liverpool isn't up 1-0 after 4 consecutive shots on goal in a 4 second time frame. Valdes made a good save on Bellamy's first attempt from the right flank. The rebound went to Kuyt who was saved by Valdes and then Riise had another crack deflected. Finally Valdes grabbed the ball.
28:00 - Thuram into the book.
33:00 - Valdes makes a horrific blunder giving up the ball in his own half and is lucky Sissoko had his 35 yard shot bounce off the crossbar. Valdes is either going to be the hero or the goat in this one.
Porto is up 1-0 on Chelsea with a 15' goal from Quaresma. Roma is up 1-0 on Lyon on a Totti goal at 22'.
35:00 - Ronaldinho left unmarked on a corner but sends his volley way over the net from outside the 18.
37:00 - Kuyt down on the ground after a head-to-head contact with Marquez. He'll be ok. Marquez on the other hand, never will be.
39:00 - Eto'o called offside after he got behind the 'Pool defense, but Barca had a nice build up. The layoff is hurting Eto'o's timing right now.
43:00 - Ronaldinho had a nice run up the middle of the pitch and dumped it off to Eto'o but again he messes it up as Carragher took the ball away easily.
45:00 - Dangerous corner for Barcelona but Liverpool manages to come away unscathed.
Liverpool dominated the first half and is set to advance if it remains nil-nil. Join me in the 2nd Half post.
Liverpool, for its part, have been in good form but Saturday's last minute loss to hated rivals Manchester United may affect the team psyche as well as its fitness. The English side put forth a full strength squad for Saturday's match and many of those participants will have to go again rather soon. Luckily, no injuries resulted from Saturday's game. The team will have to guard against overconfidence in the 2-1 aggregate lead it has and the letdown of the ManU game. The team knows this is its last chance for glory this campaign and should come out in full force.
If you have questions, comments, criticisms, or dirty jokes, you can leave them in the comments, email me at thefansattic [at] gmail [dot] com, or IM today on AIM (screenname TheFansAtticBlog).
Line-ups:
Barcelona: Valdes, Marquez, Oleguer, Puyol, Thuram, Deco, Iniesta, Xavi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi
Liverpool: Reina, Agger, Arbeloa, Carragher, Finnan, Riise, Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko, Bellamy, Kuyt
Predictions anyone?
I flipped over to ESPN2 about 3 minutes too early and got an eyeful of something hideous--a world's strongest man competitor in a banana hammock. I think there should be warnings about this sort of stuff.
They showed Riise's legs before kickoff and it looks like they are recovered from the karaoke incident.
Kickoff
3:00 - not much action yet but Liverpool must be hoping that the Sissoko of the first leg shows up and not the Sissoko of the ManU match.
4:00 - as soon as I post that Gerrard sends a long pass on to Kuyt but it's just a touch too long as Valdes comes out just in time to pick up the ball.
6:00 - The three back lineup is looking shaky at this point for Barca as Liverpool has had a couple of dispossessions in midfield that make the blaugrana scramble back on defense.
9:00 - Tommy Smythe encourages Bellamy to hit Riise with golf clubs before every match because they played well after the last incident. Nice. Just then Riise sends one just wide right of the goal as Barca's defense still looks out of sorts.
10:00 - The thing is, as long as Barca doesn't concede a goal the defense is fine because the offense is so potent it can score quickly and against the run of play.
14:00 - Riise is having a great game so far with two shots, one that hit the crossbar, a corner won and some good feeds.
18:00 - Arbeloa goes into the book with a hard tackle on Messi. On the freekick Reina punches the ball out but Eto'o whiffs on his shot attempt but Barca still had an opportunity until Reina left the goal mouth to track down a loose ball.
20:00 - Sissoko into the book. He'll miss the next CL match if there is one. Did you see his hair? It looked like Shane Battier's wrinkly head but with the lines shaved in rather than natural. The free kick made it through the Liverpool defence and Marquez flicked it wide left. He was offside too.
23:00 - Barbaro, I mean Ronaldinho, pleads for a call when it looks like he was at fault.
26:00 - I don't know how Liverpool isn't up 1-0 after 4 consecutive shots on goal in a 4 second time frame. Valdes made a good save on Bellamy's first attempt from the right flank. The rebound went to Kuyt who was saved by Valdes and then Riise had another crack deflected. Finally Valdes grabbed the ball.
28:00 - Thuram into the book.
33:00 - Valdes makes a horrific blunder giving up the ball in his own half and is lucky Sissoko had his 35 yard shot bounce off the crossbar. Valdes is either going to be the hero or the goat in this one.
Porto is up 1-0 on Chelsea with a 15' goal from Quaresma. Roma is up 1-0 on Lyon on a Totti goal at 22'.
35:00 - Ronaldinho left unmarked on a corner but sends his volley way over the net from outside the 18.
37:00 - Kuyt down on the ground after a head-to-head contact with Marquez. He'll be ok. Marquez on the other hand, never will be.
39:00 - Eto'o called offside after he got behind the 'Pool defense, but Barca had a nice build up. The layoff is hurting Eto'o's timing right now.
43:00 - Ronaldinho had a nice run up the middle of the pitch and dumped it off to Eto'o but again he messes it up as Carragher took the ball away easily.
45:00 - Dangerous corner for Barcelona but Liverpool manages to come away unscathed.
Liverpool dominated the first half and is set to advance if it remains nil-nil. Join me in the 2nd Half post.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Champions League LiveBlogs
Tuesday and Wednesday mark the return legs for the Round of 16 Champions League matches. I'll be liveblogging Tuesday's Liverpool-Barcelona match which is set for 11:30 PST on ESPN2. I will try to kick off the liveblog around 11:15.
As for Wednesday's liveblog, there are several options. The ESPN2 game is scheduled to be ManU-Lille. I can find feeds for the other 3 (Bayern Munich-Real Madrid; Celtic-AC Milan; Arsenal-PSV) and will liveblog whichever match gets the most votes in the comments.
Hope to see everyone here this week.
As for Wednesday's liveblog, there are several options. The ESPN2 game is scheduled to be ManU-Lille. I can find feeds for the other 3 (Bayern Munich-Real Madrid; Celtic-AC Milan; Arsenal-PSV) and will liveblog whichever match gets the most votes in the comments.
Hope to see everyone here this week.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Champions League LiveBlog Liverpool - Barcelona 1st Half
Alright, we're going to have a go at with the internet feed of the Barcelona-Liverpool match. Hopefully my computer doesn't start smoking at some point today.
In the week's premier CL match, the reigning champions, Barcelona, face off against the 2005 champions, Liverpool at the Noucamp (Barca's home). Both squads come into this match with internal turmoil. Barcelona has seen one of its stars, Samuel Eto'o, refuse to come into a match and Ronaldinho publicly upbraiding him for it. For the Scousers, it may be even worse because badboy Craig Bellamy is alleged to have attacked teammate John Arne Riise with a golf club after a karaoke incident.
Liverpool has also found, after spending millions last summer on new acquisitions, itself wanting in the Premiership trailing Man U by 16 points. The squad has been eliminated from the FA and Carling Cups as well. This is the team's only real chance for hardware this year. Barcelona, on the other hand, is tied for first in La Liga with Sevilla and has looked to be in better form than Liverpool overall.
This should be an excellent matchup with Liverpool's physicality and Barcelona's skill.
Lineups:
Liverpool-Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa, Riise; Sissoko, Alonso, Gerrard; Kuyt, Bellamy
Barcelona- Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Belletti, Marquez; Xavi, Deco, Motta; Messi, Ronaldinho, Saviola
Refresh frequently to get timely updates.
As it was yesterday, feel free to email me with comments, criticisms, dirty jokes or whatever at thefansattic [at] gmail.com or leave them in the comments section. Let me know what you are hoping for in this match. Personally, I am holding out hope of seeing The Robot from Peter Crouch although he's not in the starting lineup.
Ok, just had my first casualty as my internet connection went down. A quick restart of the modem and router cured it. Let's hope that's the worst thing that happens. So, my internet feed just changed to an Asian language. I need to locate an English feed because I can't understand it.
And another modem crash...this can't be good. Now I can't get the feed. I saw 30 seconds of match and thank god Liverpool doesn't have its yellow jerseys. Porto just went up 1-0 on Chelsea and Terry is injured again.
14:00 - Goal!!! Right when I get back on Deco heads one home for Barca. And Sheva just leveled it for Chelsea.
22:00 - Feed back up and I get to see Horseface with his mouth gaping open looking for its feedbag. And, Agger gets a ticky-tack yellow. THis is going swimmingly for the Reds and myself as well.
25:00 - Shot of Eto'o banished to the stands...What the hell is he wearing? I can only describe it as some sort of outfit you would see Victoria Beckham (nee Posh Spice) wear. All white suit with buttons and stuff.
27:00 - It's really frustrating to not have seen the first 20 or so because I have no idea how the flow of this game is going. Liverpool seems to be alright. And, the Italian Oscar goes to...Zambrotta. Ah, who are we kidding, all the soccer players from that country deserve one. A sort of lifetime achievement award.
34:00 - Is it too much to ask to get a shot or Riise's legs? I want a look at the evidence.
35:00 - That was a brutal choice by Kuyt on the tackle. What was he thinking? The ref had no choice to book him. Liverpool is having incredibly difficulty getting that last pass through to setup good things.
38:00 - Belletti with a brutal tackle for Barca this time. Another yellow. This match could get ugly, but the physicality might benefit Liverpool if they can keep composure. Good effort by the Golfer (Bellamy) on the set piece header.
41:00 - GOAL!!!! The golfer gets it on this one. That was pretty lax defense on Barca's part.
45:00 - That goal may go to Kuyt or Bellamy...we'll see...they should give it to the Karaoke Kid because of his week. And we're tied at half, 1-1. Oh, and just for the sake of it, I'm glad Marquez was partially at fault for Liverpool's goal. I'll start up a second post for the 2nd half. Hopefully, we will all have less technical difficulties.
In the week's premier CL match, the reigning champions, Barcelona, face off against the 2005 champions, Liverpool at the Noucamp (Barca's home). Both squads come into this match with internal turmoil. Barcelona has seen one of its stars, Samuel Eto'o, refuse to come into a match and Ronaldinho publicly upbraiding him for it. For the Scousers, it may be even worse because badboy Craig Bellamy is alleged to have attacked teammate John Arne Riise with a golf club after a karaoke incident.
Liverpool has also found, after spending millions last summer on new acquisitions, itself wanting in the Premiership trailing Man U by 16 points. The squad has been eliminated from the FA and Carling Cups as well. This is the team's only real chance for hardware this year. Barcelona, on the other hand, is tied for first in La Liga with Sevilla and has looked to be in better form than Liverpool overall.
This should be an excellent matchup with Liverpool's physicality and Barcelona's skill.
Lineups:
Liverpool-Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa, Riise; Sissoko, Alonso, Gerrard; Kuyt, Bellamy
Barcelona- Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Belletti, Marquez; Xavi, Deco, Motta; Messi, Ronaldinho, Saviola
Refresh frequently to get timely updates.
As it was yesterday, feel free to email me with comments, criticisms, dirty jokes or whatever at thefansattic [at] gmail.com or leave them in the comments section. Let me know what you are hoping for in this match. Personally, I am holding out hope of seeing The Robot from Peter Crouch although he's not in the starting lineup.
Ok, just had my first casualty as my internet connection went down. A quick restart of the modem and router cured it. Let's hope that's the worst thing that happens. So, my internet feed just changed to an Asian language. I need to locate an English feed because I can't understand it.
And another modem crash...this can't be good. Now I can't get the feed. I saw 30 seconds of match and thank god Liverpool doesn't have its yellow jerseys. Porto just went up 1-0 on Chelsea and Terry is injured again.
14:00 - Goal!!! Right when I get back on Deco heads one home for Barca. And Sheva just leveled it for Chelsea.
22:00 - Feed back up and I get to see Horseface with his mouth gaping open looking for its feedbag. And, Agger gets a ticky-tack yellow. THis is going swimmingly for the Reds and myself as well.
25:00 - Shot of Eto'o banished to the stands...What the hell is he wearing? I can only describe it as some sort of outfit you would see Victoria Beckham (nee Posh Spice) wear. All white suit with buttons and stuff.
27:00 - It's really frustrating to not have seen the first 20 or so because I have no idea how the flow of this game is going. Liverpool seems to be alright. And, the Italian Oscar goes to...Zambrotta. Ah, who are we kidding, all the soccer players from that country deserve one. A sort of lifetime achievement award.
34:00 - Is it too much to ask to get a shot or Riise's legs? I want a look at the evidence.
35:00 - That was a brutal choice by Kuyt on the tackle. What was he thinking? The ref had no choice to book him. Liverpool is having incredibly difficulty getting that last pass through to setup good things.
38:00 - Belletti with a brutal tackle for Barca this time. Another yellow. This match could get ugly, but the physicality might benefit Liverpool if they can keep composure. Good effort by the Golfer (Bellamy) on the set piece header.
41:00 - GOAL!!!! The golfer gets it on this one. That was pretty lax defense on Barca's part.
45:00 - That goal may go to Kuyt or Bellamy...we'll see...they should give it to the Karaoke Kid because of his week. And we're tied at half, 1-1. Oh, and just for the sake of it, I'm glad Marquez was partially at fault for Liverpool's goal. I'll start up a second post for the 2nd half. Hopefully, we will all have less technical difficulties.
Champions League LiveBlog Wednesday at 11:30 PST
The plan is to LiveBlog one of the Champions League game on Wednesday. Unfortunately, ESPN2 is scheduled to show the Chelski - FC Porto match that pits Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho against the squad he took to the 2004 Champions League title. The WWL is putting the Liverpool - Barcelona match on ESPN Deportes but I'm going to see if I can get an internet feed of the 'Pool match that won't kill my computer in slow and agonizing manner. If not, I'll just LiveBlog the Chelsea match. See you there.
Champions League LiveBlog: Arsenal v. PSV Eindhoven 2nd Half
2nd Half
Well, I must say I have been surprised at how well PSV has played given Arsenal's form as of late. I don't foresee any changes to the lineups for the second half. It has been good yet unexciting match so far. Let's hope for, as Cedrick does, for something to liven it up.
51:00 - Six minutes in and still no excitement. If I were Arsenal I might be a little concerned with all the mistouches and poor play in the back. Several times the defense has looked suspect. Oh, and damn my stupid computer.
54:00 - Very nice cross to Kone, who looked offside, who attempted a full volley but didn't get his foot on it solidly. This is how PSV will score if they do at all. Springing Kone with a nice pass/cross on a counter.
57:00 - PSV is playing with fire because it can't get the ball out of its end and is concedeing corners.
60:00 - There's the Henry we've come to love, whining about a small touch from PSV.
61:00 GOAL!!! Well, I was wrong about Kone scoring but Mendes knocks one in from 28 yards out after Kone fed him nicely. It was definitely against the run of play and perhaps the first mistake Lehmann has made all night.
63:00 - Senderos is booked after slipping and then deliberately handling the ball. That's the problem with Senderos, he makes youthful mistakes and gets too many cards.
65:00 - We're witnessing history as Sun Xiang comes on for PSV's da Costa. Sun Xiang is the first Chinese player to get field time in a CL match.
69:00 - Rosicky set up Fabregas for a hard shot from the top of the 18 but Gomes made a tremendous save.
72:00 - Sun Xiang gets his first CL foul. That, my friends, is history as well.
76:00 - The Beast, Julio Baptista, on for Hleb. Tardelli out for PSV.
77:00 - PSV had another great opportunity but Senderos blocked the Mendez shot.
81:00 - The Beast put a dangerous free-kick on goal that Gomes bobbled. Apparently, Smyth thinks there is a third Arsenal side. The one that doesn't play inspired or with much creativity. That's 3 sides. Can he go for a fourth?
87:00 - Only a few minutes left. WE'll see an all out attacking effort from the Gunners but will they be able to break out of the poor form they have shown. Gomes with another quality save coming out of the goal to snatch the ball out of the air.
90:00 +1 - Game over. PSV 1 - Arsenal 0. An upset I would say. Arsenal surely didn't come out with much life. Rather flat if you ask me. PSV played a masterful match and obviously had the better tactics and execution. Arsenal will have to play much better in the 2nd leg to advance. Man of the Match goes to Gomes for PSV who was mistake free all night and made several outstanding saves.
Thanks for being with me on my first LiveBlog efforts. I'll be here tomorrow for the Liverpool - Barcelona match. Hope to see you again.
Bayern Munich pulled one back with van Bommel's second half goal but still lost 3-2. Ryan Giggs put Man U up one with only a few minutes left to lead them to a 1-0 victory. Celtic and AC Milan fought to a scoreless draw.
Well, I must say I have been surprised at how well PSV has played given Arsenal's form as of late. I don't foresee any changes to the lineups for the second half. It has been good yet unexciting match so far. Let's hope for, as Cedrick does, for something to liven it up.
51:00 - Six minutes in and still no excitement. If I were Arsenal I might be a little concerned with all the mistouches and poor play in the back. Several times the defense has looked suspect. Oh, and damn my stupid computer.
54:00 - Very nice cross to Kone, who looked offside, who attempted a full volley but didn't get his foot on it solidly. This is how PSV will score if they do at all. Springing Kone with a nice pass/cross on a counter.
57:00 - PSV is playing with fire because it can't get the ball out of its end and is concedeing corners.
60:00 - There's the Henry we've come to love, whining about a small touch from PSV.
61:00 GOAL!!! Well, I was wrong about Kone scoring but Mendes knocks one in from 28 yards out after Kone fed him nicely. It was definitely against the run of play and perhaps the first mistake Lehmann has made all night.
63:00 - Senderos is booked after slipping and then deliberately handling the ball. That's the problem with Senderos, he makes youthful mistakes and gets too many cards.
65:00 - We're witnessing history as Sun Xiang comes on for PSV's da Costa. Sun Xiang is the first Chinese player to get field time in a CL match.
69:00 - Rosicky set up Fabregas for a hard shot from the top of the 18 but Gomes made a tremendous save.
72:00 - Sun Xiang gets his first CL foul. That, my friends, is history as well.
76:00 - The Beast, Julio Baptista, on for Hleb. Tardelli out for PSV.
77:00 - PSV had another great opportunity but Senderos blocked the Mendez shot.
81:00 - The Beast put a dangerous free-kick on goal that Gomes bobbled. Apparently, Smyth thinks there is a third Arsenal side. The one that doesn't play inspired or with much creativity. That's 3 sides. Can he go for a fourth?
87:00 - Only a few minutes left. WE'll see an all out attacking effort from the Gunners but will they be able to break out of the poor form they have shown. Gomes with another quality save coming out of the goal to snatch the ball out of the air.
90:00 +1 - Game over. PSV 1 - Arsenal 0. An upset I would say. Arsenal surely didn't come out with much life. Rather flat if you ask me. PSV played a masterful match and obviously had the better tactics and execution. Arsenal will have to play much better in the 2nd leg to advance. Man of the Match goes to Gomes for PSV who was mistake free all night and made several outstanding saves.
Thanks for being with me on my first LiveBlog efforts. I'll be here tomorrow for the Liverpool - Barcelona match. Hope to see you again.
Bayern Munich pulled one back with van Bommel's second half goal but still lost 3-2. Ryan Giggs put Man U up one with only a few minutes left to lead them to a 1-0 victory. Celtic and AC Milan fought to a scoreless draw.
Champions League LiveBlog: Arsenal v. PSV Eindhoven 1st Half
Today's match is at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven. The four times these two squads have met in European competition Arsenal is unbeaten with 2 wins and 2 draws.
Last year's Champions League (CL) runner-up, Arsenal, finds itself back in the hunt for the European Cup and in 4th place in the Premiership with a long shot of challenging for the league title. PSV the defending Dutch Eredivisie champion leads Ajax by five points this season. Arsenal advanced from group G in first place over FC Porto. PSV advanced behind Liverpool out of group C.
If you so desire, you can send me comments via email at thefansattic [at] gmail.com or just put them in the comments field. Refresh often to get updates. I will also attempt to keep you updated on the other CL matches today.
Lineups:
Arsenal will be led by its graceful French striker Thierry Henry, who sat out the recent Cup match against Blackburn. The Gunners will be boosted by the return of William Gallas after a long stay on the injured list but are still without Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, who has a broken foot. Arsenal is running out a 4-4-2 (defenders, mids, strikers).
Arsenal- Lehmann, Gallas, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Hleb, Silva, Fabregas, Rosicky, Henry, Adebayor
Subs- Almunia, Ljungberg, Julio Baptista, Denilson, Flamini, Djourou, Aliadiere
PSV is led by its captain Phillip Cocu. But, the Dutch side is facing a serious injury problem with Patrick Kluivert, Michael Reiziger and John DeJong all out with injuries and Jefferson Farfan doubtful for the match. PSV comes out with a 4-4-2 as well.
PSV Eindhoven- Gomes, Kromkamp, Alex, Da Costa, Salcido, Culina, Simons, Cocu, Mendez, Kone, Tardelli
Subs- Moens, Vayrynen, Addo, Feher, Sun
For some reason a few of the Dutch fans are dressed as M&Ms. I wonder if those little kids the players walk out with ever have sticky hands? Like they've been eating PB&J right beforehand. I wouldn't like that.
Well, it looks like I might have been wrong about PSV. It looks like they may have a 4-3-3 lineup with the same players. Oh well.
Kickoff
3:00 - Early on PSV controls the ball and Kone gets a shot off from the 18 after Arsenal failed to clear a set piece. There is no clock on the broadcast so I'm just guessing on the time.
Still no clock and PSV is showing some spirit and have controlled the play so far. Arsenal seems relaxed and just biding its time until the moment strikes.
(9:00 mark???) Kone just blew by Gallas but let the ball go out. I could seen Kone causing some problems with his speed.
11:00 - Tardelli just blew a gilt-edged opportunity after Fabregas misplayed a ball in the 18. Tardelli had a hard touch and the ball went right to Lehmann.
14:00?? - PSV and Gomes just got lucky when Rosicky's shot was barely deflected by the keeper and Salcido cleared it off the line as it trickled toward the goal. It wasn't a great shot but it wasn't a great save either.
17:00 - Arsenal is finally gaining its form with good possession and dangerous opportunities. Senderos headed a Fabregas corner wide left. (Technical difficulties are slowing me down. Read: my crappy computer.)
22:00 - PSV mounts its first attack on Arsenal in some minutes with a Mendez shot on goal from 22 yards. Arsenal is still unable to link up the midfield and strikers successfully so far.
25:00 - So far Rosicky seems to be the biggest threat for Arsenal but Adebayor looks like he could cause some trouble today. The reason Arsenal may be having trouble linking up is that PSV seems to 9 or 10 men behind the ball all the time with Kone up top on his own.
27:00 - Henry tried to squeeze one in over the keeper but sent the ball over the crossbar by a lot.
31:00 - Cocu has a strong shot easily stopped by Lehmann who was in perfect position. After a two good stops by both teams defenders, Arsenal found the possession and Henry found Rosicky who got off a good shot. Rosicky will be scoring or assisting in this game. Mark my words. He looks really good today.
32:00 - Smyth, the announcer, "we've seen both sides of Arsenal this year. The side that plays brilliantly and scores. And, the side that plays brilliantly and doesn't score." ????
37:00 - Pleasantly surprised that there has not been much diving and theatrics so far in the match.
40:00 - Culina just hit another of PSV's shots that went straight to Lehmann. Let me just say it is a real pleasure to see Henry on the ball. Right before Culina's shot he was on the ball for 10-15 seconds and nobody could take it from him and he got off a decent shot from the 18.
42:00 - Adebayor is called for the first offside of the match. That goes to show how tentatively this match is being played thus far. Right as I say that, Rosicky fed Henry the ball in traffic, the ball pops up in the air off a defender's foot and Henry volleys the ball at Gomes. Beautiful little play.
45:00 - Right before the end of the half Henry finds Adebayor on a through ball. PSV slows him up and Adebayor knocks it back to Henry who quickly turns and attempts to curl a shot into the right upper corner of the goal from the left side but it goes high as several of his attempts so far.
Halftime - 0 - 0.
Elsewhere, ManU and Lille are knotted at zero as are Celtic an AC Milan. However, Real Madrid is throttling Bayern Munich 3-1 with two goals by Gonzalez Blanco and one by Van Nistelrooy. I'll be putting up a new post for the 2nd half. Thanks for joining me.
Last year's Champions League (CL) runner-up, Arsenal, finds itself back in the hunt for the European Cup and in 4th place in the Premiership with a long shot of challenging for the league title. PSV the defending Dutch Eredivisie champion leads Ajax by five points this season. Arsenal advanced from group G in first place over FC Porto. PSV advanced behind Liverpool out of group C.
If you so desire, you can send me comments via email at thefansattic [at] gmail.com or just put them in the comments field. Refresh often to get updates. I will also attempt to keep you updated on the other CL matches today.
Lineups:
Arsenal will be led by its graceful French striker Thierry Henry, who sat out the recent Cup match against Blackburn. The Gunners will be boosted by the return of William Gallas after a long stay on the injured list but are still without Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, who has a broken foot. Arsenal is running out a 4-4-2 (defenders, mids, strikers).
Arsenal- Lehmann, Gallas, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Hleb, Silva, Fabregas, Rosicky, Henry, Adebayor
Subs- Almunia, Ljungberg, Julio Baptista, Denilson, Flamini, Djourou, Aliadiere
PSV is led by its captain Phillip Cocu. But, the Dutch side is facing a serious injury problem with Patrick Kluivert, Michael Reiziger and John DeJong all out with injuries and Jefferson Farfan doubtful for the match. PSV comes out with a 4-4-2 as well.
PSV Eindhoven- Gomes, Kromkamp, Alex, Da Costa, Salcido, Culina, Simons, Cocu, Mendez, Kone, Tardelli
Subs- Moens, Vayrynen, Addo, Feher, Sun
For some reason a few of the Dutch fans are dressed as M&Ms. I wonder if those little kids the players walk out with ever have sticky hands? Like they've been eating PB&J right beforehand. I wouldn't like that.
Well, it looks like I might have been wrong about PSV. It looks like they may have a 4-3-3 lineup with the same players. Oh well.
Kickoff
3:00 - Early on PSV controls the ball and Kone gets a shot off from the 18 after Arsenal failed to clear a set piece. There is no clock on the broadcast so I'm just guessing on the time.
Still no clock and PSV is showing some spirit and have controlled the play so far. Arsenal seems relaxed and just biding its time until the moment strikes.
(9:00 mark???) Kone just blew by Gallas but let the ball go out. I could seen Kone causing some problems with his speed.
11:00 - Tardelli just blew a gilt-edged opportunity after Fabregas misplayed a ball in the 18. Tardelli had a hard touch and the ball went right to Lehmann.
14:00?? - PSV and Gomes just got lucky when Rosicky's shot was barely deflected by the keeper and Salcido cleared it off the line as it trickled toward the goal. It wasn't a great shot but it wasn't a great save either.
17:00 - Arsenal is finally gaining its form with good possession and dangerous opportunities. Senderos headed a Fabregas corner wide left. (Technical difficulties are slowing me down. Read: my crappy computer.)
22:00 - PSV mounts its first attack on Arsenal in some minutes with a Mendez shot on goal from 22 yards. Arsenal is still unable to link up the midfield and strikers successfully so far.
25:00 - So far Rosicky seems to be the biggest threat for Arsenal but Adebayor looks like he could cause some trouble today. The reason Arsenal may be having trouble linking up is that PSV seems to 9 or 10 men behind the ball all the time with Kone up top on his own.
27:00 - Henry tried to squeeze one in over the keeper but sent the ball over the crossbar by a lot.
31:00 - Cocu has a strong shot easily stopped by Lehmann who was in perfect position. After a two good stops by both teams defenders, Arsenal found the possession and Henry found Rosicky who got off a good shot. Rosicky will be scoring or assisting in this game. Mark my words. He looks really good today.
32:00 - Smyth, the announcer, "we've seen both sides of Arsenal this year. The side that plays brilliantly and scores. And, the side that plays brilliantly and doesn't score." ????
37:00 - Pleasantly surprised that there has not been much diving and theatrics so far in the match.
40:00 - Culina just hit another of PSV's shots that went straight to Lehmann. Let me just say it is a real pleasure to see Henry on the ball. Right before Culina's shot he was on the ball for 10-15 seconds and nobody could take it from him and he got off a decent shot from the 18.
42:00 - Adebayor is called for the first offside of the match. That goes to show how tentatively this match is being played thus far. Right as I say that, Rosicky fed Henry the ball in traffic, the ball pops up in the air off a defender's foot and Henry volleys the ball at Gomes. Beautiful little play.
45:00 - Right before the end of the half Henry finds Adebayor on a through ball. PSV slows him up and Adebayor knocks it back to Henry who quickly turns and attempts to curl a shot into the right upper corner of the goal from the left side but it goes high as several of his attempts so far.
Halftime - 0 - 0.
Elsewhere, ManU and Lille are knotted at zero as are Celtic an AC Milan. However, Real Madrid is throttling Bayern Munich 3-1 with two goals by Gonzalez Blanco and one by Van Nistelrooy. I'll be putting up a new post for the 2nd half. Thanks for joining me.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Champions League LiveBlog Tomorrow
The Champions League Round of 16 begins tomorrow. There is a slate of 4 games on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to soccertv.com, the first leg of the Arsenal - PSV Eindhoven match will be on ESPN2 at 11:30 a.m. (PST). I'll be liveblogging the match. Come join me if you can't watch the match and have some fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
