The Champions League semi-finals were played this past week, and what they served up, in place of entertainment and attractive football, was disappointment. Disappointment neither at the score line for each match, nor at the atmosphere in Gelsenkirchen or in Madrid. But at what was on display on the pitch by what is meant to be three of the four entrants in the penultimate stage of what is the biggest club competition on this planet. The only team deserving of praise whatsoever is Manchester United, who played to their capability, albeit against a toothless opposition who looked overawed at the occasion of their own first Champions League semi final.
Schalke put on a poor show up and down the pitch, despite starting the brighter in the opening few minutes. The German side had an air of vague apathy about them when United had the ball, and there was hardly any display of urgency to get the ball back and create something with it. The midfielders were nowhere to be seen when it came time to pressure Carrick, Giggs, and even Rooney when he dropped all the way to the half way line, and the Red Devils were given what looked like the equivalent of a practice outing rather than the match this occasion deserved. This is not to say that the Schalke players were standing still, not at all.
The problem was that they were seldom looking to close down players by running down that last two or three yards of space between themselves and the man in possession. When they did get the ball, Schalke looked devoid of ideas on what to do with it. United, on the other hand, played up to the mark. Ryan Giggs is a force of nature, and he proved it again by scoring one and setting up another. Carrick is recovering confidence and quality in leaps and bounds, and overall United look a side comfortable in the knowledge of their own capability, both to keep them at bay and to hound them when the need arises. The 2-0 victory in Germany has sealed the tie, as the 1-0 win over Chelsea had earlier.
Old Trafford has been an impregnable bastion for United this season in Europe, and Schalke look terribly unlikely to move United from their current position as the most miserly side when it comes to conceding goals. Rooney had a game where all his considerable skill and energy were on display, and it was quite a sight. His return to form, more than anything else in this United outfit, will be crucial as the season draws to a close. The third of four Clasico matches took place at the Santiago Bernabeu, and to this writer’s surprise, Jose Mourinho sent out a side without a mandate to attack.
Sure enough, Pepe’s introduction in the midfield had paid rich dividends for Real first in the league meeting and then in the Copa del Rey final, where the Portuguese centre back cum defensive midfielder hounded Barcelona’s players tirelessly for the entire duration of the match. His contribution was immense when it came to keeping Barcelona’s attacking intentions in check, particularly whenever Messi made a move forward.
In the absence of Carvalho, Sergio Ramos had been moved into the centre back position, and Arbeloa and Marcelo were to hold the flanks. Playing again with three holding midfielders in the form of Alonso, Diarra and Pepe, Real’s key attacking creativity was going to come from Oezil, and the German looked to supply Ronaldo and Di Maria with passes to push forward. That said, it appeared Mourinho’s orders, mystifyingly, were to hold back and absorb Barcelona’s pressure.
There were times during the match where Ronaldo was just standing and sulking, waving at his team mates to support him further up the pitch. They did not respond in the least. With Oezil’s departure at half time, Real lost their main creative influence, and Adebayor, who replaced him, only served the purpose of chasing between Barcelona defenders trying to get the ball, often in a very callous way.
As is the case whenever these sides meet, temperaments were on a hair trigger, and there were hard challenges aplenty from the start. Arbeloa and Alves picked up yellow cards towards the end of a half of football where Real looked capable of repeating their performance from the previous two meetings; Barcelona were playing the way they always do, but were finding it hard to get any real penetration. Ramos and Albiol were making for an unenviable pairing in the centre of defense, but Casillas gave a great performance to deny Barcelona’s front men, particularly Villa. The scuffle at half time was bizarre in that it was prompted by a player from Barcelona’s bench. On that note, I do doubt that Barcelona’s substitute keeper Jose Pinto will be missed much in the wake of his red card.
The turning point of the match was Pepe’s red card, and from thereon in, Barcelona were always odds on to win. The incident itself bordered on the disgusting, and it was a combination of the lowest form of a reckless challenge, the lowest form of acting, and bipolar refereeing. Moments after being kicked on the shin by an oncoming Mascherano, Pepe’s high foot, which, as it turns out, made no actual contact with Alves’s leg, saw the Brazilian hit the ground and roll around apparently in the worst of pain as his team mates surrounded the referee to demand punishment for Pepe. The red card was pulled out, Pepe left the field, followed shortly by the forced removal of Mourinho for his reaction, and Alves hopped off the stretcher and back onto the field.
Barcelona won the game eventually, and Messi’s second goal was nothing but magnificent, but the night was marred by Barcelona players hitting the deck again and again. Busquets was theatrical as always, and Alves’s antics only served to spoil the mood in what was otherwise a commanding display. Real will feel hard done by the referee who served up a straight red card for Pepe after a similar challenge by Busquets on Alonso went unpunished.
Barcelona did what they had to do to win. It is sad that this entailed attempting to cheat the referee, and eventually succeeding in said attempts. Mourinho’s rant at the end will do little to earn Real Madrid any sympathy, and one hopes that in the second leg, if only due to the desperation of the circumstances they find themselves in, Real Madrid will look to attack and, combined with Barcelona, put on a game of football, not a farce.
