Arsenal staged a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Standard Liege 3-2 in their Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners went into the game having lost successive league games to Manchester United and City – and it looked like it would be three defeats on the spin as they were 2-0 behind within five minutes in Belgium.
The opener came on two minutes when Eduardo’s fancy flick fell to Eliaquim Mangala, who beat Vito Mannone with a low drive from 18 yards.
William Gallas then fouled Milan Jovanovic in the box, with the striker easily beating Mannone from the penalty spot.
Arsene Wenger’s men were shell-shocked but recovered their composure as the first half went on, and pulled a goal back on 45 when Nicklas Bendtner coolly converted Abou Diaby’s defence-splitting pass.
The visitors enjoyed more possession after the break and grabbed a controversial equaliser on 78, when Cesc Fabregas’ free-kick appeared to be handled by an offside Alexandre Song, who squared for Thomas Vermaelen to bundle home from close range.
Eduardo and Vermaelen were both denied goals by a brilliant save and a goalline clearance – but the Gunners grabbed an unbelievable third goal on 81 when Eduardo turned the ball home from a corner to spark wild celebrations.
Rafael Benitez brushed aside criticism of Liverpool‘s downbeat 1-0 Champions League victory over Hungarian champions Debrecen by insisting he was happy because it was a win.
Liverpool’s display in their opening Group E clash was way short of their best, and they were made to struggle by a team playing in the group stages for the first time.
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If UEFA decides to charge Arsenal striker Eduardo for diving against Celtic he could face a two-match Champions League ban.
UEFA disciplinary officials are reviewing the incident when the Croatia striker won a penalty in the Champions League play-off round second-leg tie at the Emirates Stadium before deciding whether he will be charged.
A UEFA spokesman said: “We are reviewing the match to see whether a disciplinary investigation should be launched.”
Under UEFA rules, if charged and found guilty Eduardo could face sanctions up to a two-match ban in European competition.
Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith has called for Eduardo to face action and UEFA president Michel Platini confirmed he could be suspended.
Platini, speaking in Monaco, said: “There are disciplinary procedures at UEFA and the procedure could be taken to suspend the player.
“Scotland often start such procedures, last time it was a Lithuania player who was sanctioned.”
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Barcelona outclassed Manchester United last night by beating them 2 – 0 in the UEFA Champions League final played in Rome, Italy.
Goals from star forwards Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans a deserved victory and denied United from becoming the first team to retain the title since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1993.
It gave the Spaniards a unique treble having already won their domestic league and cup and meant they repeated a feat United achieved in 1999, which Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson had then claimed would never be matched.
It crowned a marvellous debut season for his Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola, who at 38 becomes the youngest coach to take European club football’s greatest prize.
For Thierry Henry it ended years of frustration especially when his then team Arsenal lost to Barcelona in the 2006 final.
“Finally I have won it! I have been waiting for so long for this moment,” said the France great, whose daughter celebrated her birthday as well on Wednesday.
“The last five minutes were the longest of my life. Even if we were 2-0 up we were playing the best team in the world (referring to the world club championship title United won earlier this year).”
Barca overcame early jitters to dominate large parts of the game as the English club never managed to get their usual high tempo game into gear.
In a clash billed as the match of the century pitting the best two teams in the world – with each one boasting one of the best two players in the world – only one played to their full potential.
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The clash of probably the best two players in the world, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the UEFA Champions League final tonight have been highly anticipated.
Defending champions Manchester United will walk out at Rome’s Olympic Stadium for Wednesday’s show-case final to face a Barcelona side who have already humiliated European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid this season.
It promises to be a battle royal between two teams at the peak of their powers and includes a sub-battle between arguably the world’s best two attacking players who can terrorise defences on their day.
United’s Ronaldo currently has the upper hand having won both the world player of the year crown and the Ballon d’Or in 2008 while his side aim to retain their Champions League title by beating Messi’s Barcelona side.
Dead-ball specialist Ronaldo hit a staggering 42 goals in all competitions last season, but his winner away to Porto and two at Arsenal in this season’s Champions League campaign have gone some way to answering criticism of his big-game temperament.
Barcelona centre-back Yaya Toure admits the Spaniards can ill-afford to allow Ronaldo the freedom to control the midfield if they are to fulfill their ambition to win the competition they last claimed in 2006.
“They are physically very strong, they have a truly great footballer in Cristiano Ronaldo and they won the Champions League last year, so we know it will be very difficult,” said the 26-year-old Ivory Coast international.
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Didier Drogba could face a lengthy ban from European football after confronting Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after the match where Chelsea lost to Barcelona last night in the second leg of the Champions League semi final.
A stoppage time goal from Andres Iniesta earned Barca a 1-1 draw on the night and on aggregate and sent the Catalans into a final meeting with Manchester United at the end of this month on the away goals rule.
Chelsea had legitimate grounds for complaint after being denied at least two good penalty appeals by the referee – who was still considered good enough by UEFA to officiate at last year’s Euro 2008 championships – but that will not be regarded as any excuse by UEFA when they come to judge Drogba’s conduct.
Ovrebo had to be escorted from the pitch by a platoon of stewards with Drogba apparently bent on a physical confrontation.
To compound his intimidating behaviour, the Ivory Coast international then turned to a television camera and screamed into it, describing the official as a “f-ing disgrace.”
Chelsea are also likely to be in hot water with UEFA after infuriated fans threw flags at the officials and the Barcelona bench on the final whistle.
However, Drogba is unlikely to be punished by his club as manager Guus Hiddink said he understood that emotions after such a match run high.
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Nairobi – An Arsenal fan in football-mad Kenya hung himself following his team’s 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said on Wednesday.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in the capital Nairobi’s Embakasi neighbourhood, hung himself in his Arsenal shirt late Tuesday after the match, police said.
“We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying,” Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, said.
“We didn’t know he was going to hang himself until Wednesday morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony,” Otieno said outside the deceased’s home.
(Via Sport24)
Arsenal FC could not stop Manchester United from booking their place in the Final in Rome and possibly becomming the 1st club to retain the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era after they were subjected to a crushing 3-1 defeat.
Arsenals hopes effectively vanished inside the opening eleven minutes after first Ji-Sung Park, capatilising on a slip by Kieran Gibbs in the box, and then Christiano Ronaldo, catching Manuel Almunia out with a SCREAMER of a free-kick struck from miles out for United.
Trailing 3-0 on aggregate and totally demoralised there was simply no way back for the Gunners who did not bring their current form to the party. The only downside for Sir Alex Furguson’s team was the dismissal of Darren Fletcher, who now finds himself missing out on the final, for bringing Cesc Fabregas down to concede the penalty which would be converted by Robin van Persie, Arsenal’s late and feable reply.
The Emirates was awash with swirling red and white flags before kick-off but blue proved the colour here, Man U winning in the same all-blue they wore when they lifted the European crown for the 1st time at Wembley in 1968. A short distance across north London they left their fans dreaming of a fourth triumph on 27 May after shattering Arsenal’s 5 year unbeaten home record in Europe. They did so in style although there is no doubt that Arsenal presented the game on a silver platter, hitting the self-destruct button by gift wrapping Uniteds 1st goal. So ended Arsenal’s 514 minutes without conceding in the competition and with it the dreams of Rome.
In the end the Gunners were nowhere, completely bossed by an unrelenting United side who controlled the game from the kick off. Arsenal did not turn up for the game and United have now got one hand on the trophy.
Manchester United swept past Arsenal last night in the second leg of the Champions League semi final. They won 3 – 1 at the Emirates stadium.
Sir Alex Ferguson‘s side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week’s first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 minutes to set up a 4-1 aggregate triumph that booked their place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona, who meet in their decider on Wednesday.
United, who beat Chelsea in last year’s final, were given a helping hand from Arsenal as South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung punished an embarrassing slip from Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring.
Cristiano Ronaldo then deceived Manuel Almunia with a long-range free-kick, and the Portuguese striker put the result beyond doubt when he added his second goal after half time.
Arsenal barely tested United keeper Edwin van der Sar until Robin van Persie converted a late penalty after Darren Fletcher was sent off, ruling him out of the final, for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.
Even that couldn’t detract from a fantastic display from United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.
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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has recovered from his groin strain and will return to the squad for the second leg semifinal in the UEFA Champions League against Manchester United on Tuesday night.
The Dutch international, Arsenal’s leading scorer this season, has been out since April 18 and is likely to rejoin Togo target man Emmanuel Adebayor up front as the Londoners bid to overturn a 1-0 deficit at their Emirates stadium.
“He is available and he is in the squad,” Wenger told reporters on Monday. “He is one of those players who gives me an opportunity to make a (selection) decision, but we are very conscious that it is all about our team performance tomorrow.”
Former United defender Mikael Silvestre was also included in Arsenal’s squad but faces a late test on a groin problem.
“Everybody is very focused and we are ready for the game,” the Frenchman said. “It is important to have everyone available and in the squad for this kind of game.”
Wenger rested eight of those who played in the first leg for Saturday’s 3-0 win at Portsmouth and said that decision had given him a refreshed group.
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