UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals, 1st Leg review - All over bar the shouting

THE midweek games in the UEFA Champions League produced plenty of goals and saw three out of the four ties virtually settled, with the second legs still to come.

CRUCIAL: Rooney scores the only goal at the Bridge on Wednesday

    The one tie that remains in the balance is the all-England affair, although it is advantage Manchester United after the first leg at Stamford Bridge.  Wayne Rooney can’t seem to stay out of the headlines at the moment.  This time, he did so for the right reasons.  Rooney struck the winner in United’s 1-0 success at Chelsea, to earn the Red Devils their first win in West London since April 2002.  The only goal came in the 23^rd minute.  Michael Carrick picked out Ryan Giggs with a beautifully-placed long ball.  Giggs made Jose Boswinga look silly, and by skipping easily around the back of the Portuguese defender, his pass told Rooney how to finish the silky move.  Duly, Rooney delivered and this time, he kept his celebrations to a far more dignified manner.  Chelsea struggled all night and seemed to lack the fight they should have shown, considering this is their only trophy chance this year.  Fernando Torres still looks bereft of confidence and although Patrice Evra produced a goal line to deny Frank Lampard and Ramires was denied a certain stoppage time penalty, there could be no complaints over the final outcome.  It sets up Tuesday’s second leg at Old Trafford perfectly.

DIFFICULT: Crouch's red card was a real letdown in Madrid

     However, Tottenham’s chances of progressing further look impossible, after suffering pure misery in Madrid.  From the moment Aaron Lennon was withdrawn at the last minute with a throat infection, Tottenham’s night went from bad to worse, eventually losing 4-0 in the Bernabeau.  Manchester City loanee Emmanuel Adebayor headed Real Madrid infront in the fourth minute, although Luka Modric could have dealt with the contact better on the line.  Ten minutes later, Peter Crouch got himself stupidly dismissed after two crude challenges on Marcelo.  Marcelo’s reaction to the red card was disgusting, but Crouch’s behaviour couldn’t be defended either, despite receiving some sympathy from Jose Mourinho.  A second header from Adebayor shortly after the restart had Madrid in control and as the game wore on; their movement on the ball was simply too much for a tiring Spurs outfit.  A beautiful strike from Angel di Maria painted a very grim picture with 18 minutes to go, and there was time for Cristiano Ronaldo to notch a fourth, producing the terminal blow.  Surely, Real won’t need to worry about the second leg this coming Wednesday at White Hart Lane.

     Another tie that is as good as over is the Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk quarter-final.  From the moment Andreas Iniesta walked through the Ukrainian defence in the second minute, the gulfing class was evident.  Barcelona won 5-1 through goals from Daniel Alves, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita and Xavi.  At the San Siro, the draw seemed to favour Inter Milan, but they were stunned by Schalke 04, who inflicted a 5-2 loss on the defending champions.  Dejan Stankovic produced a brilliant strike in the first minute, his speculative effort from 55 yards leave Manuel Neuer rather red-faced.  Afterwards, Schalke ran riot, as their great character won through.  Some will be wondering why they are limping around in the mid-table region of the Bundesliga.  Amongst the dismantling of Inter was a 70^th Champions League goal for the incredible Raul.  Cristian Chivu, who had been sent off in last week’s Milan derby, was dismissed for two yellows in this match too. 

     Real Madrid, Barcelona and Schalke 04 are all but through to the semi-finals, but the English quarter-final remains right in the balance.  The football world’s attention switches to Old Trafford for a belting second leg this week.

World Cup Final 2010: Holland 0-1 Spain - Iniesta Ends Years Of Underachievement

Spain becomes the eighth different team to win the World Cup, after a bruising and battering game in Soccer City on Sunday night.  Barcelona playmaker Andreas Iniesta was the difference, settling the outcome with Holland when we looked set for another final to be decided via the cruel fashion of penalties.

On paper, this match had the ingredients to be an absolute classic.  Holland, despite lacking the former ‘Total Football,’ guise, were playing well and in players like Arjen Robben and Wesley Snejider, the quality to turn a game on its head, just ask Brazil.  Spain turned up as slight favourites, and could also turn on the style when required, but also have the ability to grind out a result, should it be required.  Sadly, the billing didn’t live up to its occasion. 

Early on, it was the Spanish who produced the early pressing, with Maarten Stelkenberg forced into a smart save from a Sergio Ramos header.  Soon afterwards, the game transcended into a wrestling contest.  The Dutch took the ‘1990 Argentina’ approach, kick the living daylights out of your opponents and hope for the best.  English referee Howard Webb struggled to keep a complete control on events, slightly flustered it seemed, by having to dish out five yellow cards in fifteen mad minutes.  Mark Van Bommel was a disgrace all night, bickering with every single decision that Webb made, and as the game wore on, the Dutch started to drag their opponents into a wrestling contest.  Shortly before half-time, Nigel de Jong, Manchester City’s defensive shield, produced a shocking ‘kung-fu’ kick on ex-Liverpool man Xabi Alonso.  Webb tried desperately to not send anyone off, but how de Jong escaped with a challenge that frankly, is more associated with a cage fighting battle, is beyond me. 

In the second half, Snejider, involved in the general fracas, produced a moment of quality; with a measured pass which Gerard Pique made a meal of it.  Consequently, Robben was in the clear, with the whites of the goalposts beckoning.  Unfortunately, his shot was saved by Iker Casillas, with his legs.  Was that Holland’s golden chance?  During the brutal assaults on players, Ramos missed a golden chance with another header, and David Villa, desperate to score another goal that would win him the golden boot, narrowly missed making contact with a Jesus Navas low cross.  As extra-time beckoned, the yellow card count increased.  Howard Webb eventually showed 14, a new record for the World Cup final.

In extra-time, Robben missed another chance and was promptly booked for dissent, whilst substitute Cesc Fabregas missed a one-on-one.  Before the end of the first period, Johnny Heitinga took out Iniesta cynically and having being booked, Webb had no option, but to send the Everton defender off the field.  In the process, Heitinga joined the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Marcel Desailly in becoming the fifth player in World Cup final history to be dismissed.  With five minutes left, a Dutch free-kick took a double deflection off Fabregas and went behind.  Webb missed the deflection and left Holland incensed.  They then wanted a free-kick for a challenge by Joan Capdevilla on Eljero Elia, which wasn’t given. 

The Spanish went down the other end, and at the second attempt, Fabregas played a lovely ball through to Iniesta, who shook off Gregory Van der Wiel’s attention and stroked the winner past the despairing Stelkenberg.  Although Fernando Torres pulled up in the closing exchanges, with a suspected groin injury, Spain held on for a deserved success.

It was left to captain Iker Casillas to lift the trophy aloft, and ensure that the Spanish are really, the total dominant force in the international game.  They become the first team to win the World Cup, after losing their opening group game, as they did against Switzerland on June 16^th in Durban.  Despite only amassing eight goals in seven games, the Spanish deserve this success because they attempted to play football.  On Sunday, Holland turned the beautiful game into a disgraceful act of foul play, they got what they deserved which was nothing and scathing criticism worldwide.

CONGRATULATIONS SPAIN, ON BECOMING 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP WINNERS.