So, who would join Barcelona and Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League? Porto and Arsenal went into last night’s games with a slight advantage as they had drawn their away games and scored away goals. The current champions Manchester United and Spanish side Villarreal were certainly not going to give up without a fight.
Problems
Arsenal went into the game with serious problems at the back. Defenders Johan Djourou with a knee and Gael Clichy with a bad back, joined William Gallas and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on the injured list.
The good news for Arsenal was that versatile midfielder Abou Diaby and experienced defender Michel Silvestre were both available after injury.
Absent
Villarreal had serious problems of their own with the excellent Spanish international Marcos Senna missing the game after getting injured at the weekend and fellow midfielder Santi Cazorla also absent.
Despite the problems they had at the back, Arsenal would have backed the fire power they possess going forward to see them through to the semi-final.
Manager Arsene Wenger said,
“I believe the team has shown great mental strength through the whole season. We have another good opportunity to show those mental strengths against Villarreal on Wednesday. What makes me confident is that recently, in every single game, when the odds were against us we found the resources within the team with a strong response every single time. That happened at Villarreal, that happened again at Wigan on Saturday and every time we came out strong. I believe we have turned the season in a very positive way and put ourselves in a great position to qualify and we want to take advantage of that. These boys are winners. The hunger they have shown every single day in training and the focus they have shown is great, so that’s why we have improved a lot. So there is still a lot more to come.”
So, was Wenger right to have so much belief in his men?
The answer was a most definite yes. Arsenal produced a vibrant display of attacking football that will have worried the other teams left in the competition. It soon became not a matter of whether they would win, but a matter of by how many they would.
Opened
The excellent Theo Walcott opened the scoring after just ten minutes, running through onto a Fabregas flick and finishing expertly.
Villarreal were never in the game and the tie was made almost safe on the hour when Adebayor finished neatly.
Arsenal got the third goal their play deserved nine minutes later when Robin Van Persie fired home from the penalty spot. Villarreal’s night was summed up by the dismissal of Sebastian Eguren for disputing the award of the spot kick.
Relieved
Champions Manchester United were mightily relieved to name Rio Ferdinand in their starting eleven. His partnership with Nemanja Vidic has been crucial to their success this season and he had been sorely missed during his spell on the sidelines.
Porto were at full strength accept for defender Jorge Fucile.
The two teams went into the game at the top of their respective leagues but in vastly contrasting form. United lost two games in a row and then stumbled to victories over Aston Villa and Sunderland, whilst Porto were unbeaten in twenty games.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called on his players to show the same sort of spirit his side did in 1999 when they won 3-2 in Juventus,
“We have had a lot of good European nights but Juventus is probably the one that stands out. After a draw at home, we won away, which we hope is the same again. It was a night when a lot of the big players played well. There are plenty of performances we would like to replicate and I trust these players to do it. They deserve that because of their performances over the last two or three years in big away games in Europe.”
So, was Fergie right to trust his players?
He most definitely was. United became the first English team to ever win in Porton and brought an end to the Portuguese champions long unbeaten run.
The man who stepped up to the mark was the player officially called the best in the world. Many have questioned whether Cristiano Ronaldo can produce the goods in the big games but after just six minutes of this one he produced something of astonishing quality.
Unstoppable
The ball broke to Ronaldo and from forty yards he struck an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the Porto net. It was a breathtaking goal and one worthy of being scored by a truly great player.
For the next eighty-four minutes Porto huffed and puffed but rarely troubled the exceptional partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic back together again. In fact, the best chance fell to Vidic who somehow managed to put the ball over the bar when it looked easier to score.
Second year
So for the second year running three of the four semi-finalists are from England and at least one finalist is guaranteed to be English for the fifth year in succession.
Platini won’t be happy! 🙂
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