Tuesday April 29, 2008 Finished Old Trafford
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Scholes fires United to final
Paul Scholes's stunning first-half strike earned Manchester United a nervy 1-0 win over Barcelona at Old Trafford that sent them through to the Champions League final. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- Manchester United
- Barcelona
90+7' The free-kick is headed clear, and the final whistle goes! Paul Scholes's stunning winner sends United through to the Champions League final after an evening of excruciating tension here at Old Trafford! Over to you, Chelsea and Liverpool...- 90+6' Ronaldo brings Bojan down wide on the Barca right. Up comes Valdes!
- 90+5' There can't be long left now! Ferguson checks his watch!
- 90+3' How much time will be added for Evra's injury?!
90+2' Evra is stretchered off, with Mikael Silvestre coming on.
90+1' Evra is receiving treatment in the United area after being caught in the face by Deco.
90' Puyol's cross from the left is brilliantly cleared by Brown before Ronaldo produces a superb headed clearance to repel another cross from the left! Messi goes down under Fletcher's challenge, but nothing's given! There will be three minutes of injury time!- 89' Bojan is picked out in space at the back post but Brown comes across to tackle him!
- 88' United doing their best to play out time here. Rijkaard rolls the dice for the last time and sends on Eidur Gudjohnsen in place of Toure.
- 86' Giggs's long pass drifts through to Valdes.
- 85' Ronaldo runs the ball down the United left and wins a throw-in off Zambrotta.
- 84' Bojan's cross from the right is easily fielded by van der Sar.
- 83' Park's pass towards Giggs on the left is just too strong. Finger-nails are being bitten to the quick here. Steel yourselves for a nervous finale.
- 81' Ronaldo gallops infield from the United right before thumping a left-footed effort into the advertising hoardings on the near side of the Barca goal. Van der Sar gathers Henry's dinked cross from the left at the other end.
- 80' Tevez and Park collectively dispossess Abidal on the far side. Ten minutes to go!
- 78' Messi darts into the box from the left and wins a corner. Henry gets a header in from Xavi's corner but it's straight at van der Sar!
- 77' A double substitution for the home side. Nani and Scholes depart, with Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher coming on.
- 75' Carrick breaks up a Barca attack with yet another timely intervention in midfield. The former Spurs man has had a fine game. Messi weaves into the United area from Bojan's lay-off and Carrick is there again!
- 74' Puyol does well to clear Carrick's pass down the United left with Ronaldo in close attendance.
- 73' Xavi is inches away from getting on the end of a threaded through-ball from Messi!
- 72' Ronaldo gives the ball away cheaply on the United left and Deco bends in a cross that Ferdinand heads clear.
- 71' Henry's sloppy back-pass gives United a corner on the right. Carrick gets his head to Nani's delivery but sends the ball wide of the right-hand post. Barca make another change, with Bojan Krkic coming on for Eto'o.
70' Toure is booked for diving in on Park, meaning he will miss the final if Barca progress.
69' Hargreaves is caught offside in an advanced position on the United right.- 68' Ronaldo goes into the book for hauling back Zambrotta as they chase a ball down the United left.
- 67' Toure fires a low right-footed effort well wide from about 30 yards.
- 66' Ronaldo concedes a free-kick for catching Zambrotta in the face.
- 65' Ronaldo almost seizes on a loose ball in the Barca box but he's denied by a superb tackle from Puyol!
- 64' Deco's effort from the free-kick is deflected just wide of the left-hand post for a corner, which United survive.
- 63' Carrick is cautioned for a push on Messi as he advances down the centre. Free-kick to Barca about 30 yards out.
- 62' Half an hour to go. A second goal for United would really settle their nerves, but a goal for Barca would put them firmly in the driving seat.
- 60' Great stuff from Nani! Brown cuts out Messi's cross from the corner and United break, Nani beats Abidal on the edge of the box before lashing a shot over the crossbar. Barca make their first change. Thierry Henry - heartily booed for his Arsenal connnections - replaces Iniesta.
- 59' Barca come forward again now, and Deco's shot from the right is blocked for a corner by Brown.
- 58' Tevez curls in a cross from the right that's too high for Ronaldo.
- 57' Lovely football from United! Tevez and Ronaldo exchange passes on the edge of the Barca box before the Argentine fires in a left-footed effort that Valdes parries!
- 56' Messi jinks his way into the United box on the left before shanking a shot well wide of the left-hand post.
- 55' Ronaldo's cross from the left is headed up into the air by a defender and then gathered by Valdes. Park and Tevez were lurking with intent at the back post.
- 54' Deco is booked for wrestling Park to the ground, after the Korean failed to realise that play had been halted for a free-kick.
- 53' Nani attacks Ronaldo's low cross from the left but the ball is just diverted behind for a corner at the near post!
- 52' Zambrotta is booked for sliding in on Evra on the near touchline.
- 51' Milito cynically blocks Ronaldo off at the corner and the ball reaches Ferdinand at the back post. His cross finds Nani on the left, and he is dispossessed.
- 50' Ronaldo wins a free-kick for being held back by Zambrotta as he tries to get away down the United left. Evra wins a corner off Zambrotta.
- 49' United's lead is as slender as they come. One goal from the opposition will take them from winning to losing in one fell swoop. Park is challenged on halfway by a flying Zambrotta, and a free-kick is awarded.
- 48' Messi's low pass from the right is diverted behind for a corner by Ferdinand. Puyol comes forward. Xavi's corner is cleared at the near post by Ronaldo.
- 47' Messi's cross towards Eto'o is headed clear by Ferdinand, who then has to clear a cross from the Barca left.
46' The second half begins. No changes to the starting line-ups at half-time.- 45+1' Abidal's shot from the left is blocked by Hargreaves. And the half-time whistle goes! 1-0 to United at the break. They are 45 minutes from Moscow.
- 45' Ferguson will be concerned by quite how much space Barca are finding when they come forward. The visitors are ending the half strongly. There will be one minute of injury time.
- 44' Scholes concedes a free-kick on the Barca right, 30 yards from goal. Xavi bends in a cross that Milito just can't re-direct goalwards!
- 43' Messi looks for a give-and-go with Eto'o on the right-hand corner of the area but Ferdinand comes across to break things up.
- 42' Eto'o looks for Messi bursting into the United box from the Barca right but his pass is intercepted and then nervously hacked clear by Brown.
- 41' Chance for United! Park whips in a lovely cross from the left and Nani gets across Abidal and sends a glancing header just wide of the back post!
- 40' Messi cuts in from the Barca right before being firmly tackled by Evra.
- 39' Van der Sar is attended to by the United physio and play continues.
- 37' Messi's cross from the left is spilled by van der Sar and Evra just gets to the loose ball ahead of Eto'o! Van der Sar looks like he needs treatment, and with Barca declining to put the ball out of play referee Herbert Fandel brings play to a halt.
- 36' Barca inches away! Messi's lay-off towards Eto'o reaches Deco after Carrick slips and Deco lashes a low shot just wide of the left-hand upright!
- 35' Messi, ever-dangerous, weaves around two challenges before finding Abidal on the left, but his low cross is straight at Nani.
- 34' Better from Barca! Iniesta's pass from the left is laid off by Eto'o to Deco and he curls the ball just over the crossbar from the edge of the area!
- 33' Barca seeing a bit more of the ball again now. Zambrotta looks to get in behind Evra down the Barca right but the Frenchman clears the ball against him for a United throw-in.
- 32' Valdes's long clearance bounces through to Hargreaves and he slips the ball back to van der Sar, who clears downfield.
- 31' Nani's corner is powerfully punched clear by Valdes. Van der Sar races from his line to clear ahead of Messi at the other end.
- 30' Half an hour gone and United will be delighted with how things have gone so far. Puyol returns to the action after receiving treatment on the sidelines. Tevez wins a corner on the United left with a scurrying run along the byline.
- 29' Valdes flaps at Tevez's cross from the right, Ronaldo heads the ball back across goal and Puyol heads clear before clashing heads with team-mate Milito!
- 28' Eto'o's low centre from the Barca left is cleared by Brown.
- 27' Auxiliary right-back Hargreaves skips past two challenges on the United right before running the ball out of play.
- 26' Deco curls a pass behind Zambrotta and out of play for a throw-in to United on the left.
- 25' Van der Sar saves bravely at the feet of Zambrotta as he charges into the area from the Barca right.
- 24' Nani's corner from the left finds Ronaldo but he can't take it under control and instead lays it back to Scholes. Scholes finds Carrick on the right and his cross is headed wide by Brown, who had Ronaldo running in right behind him!
- 23' Ronaldo's cross from the left is diverted behind for a corner by Zambrotta.
- 22' Puyol and Valdes get in a bit of a tangle inside their own penalty area and the Barca skipper is lucky to win a free-kick after being nicked by Tevez.
- 21' United go close! Ronaldo lays the ball back to Park from the left-hand side and the Korean sidefoots a low shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post!
- 20' With Evra out of position there's space for Messi to run into, and he beats Scholes and Brown on the right before coming inside and curling in a low shot towards the far post that van der Sar has to push away!
- 19' Evra's cross from the left runs under Park's foot and Milito clears.
- 18' Suddenly United are on the front foot and the crowd are buzzing. It was a classic Scholes strike, and only his second goal of the season.
- 17' Nani's low cross is spilled by Valdes but Deco manages to get the ball away!
- 16' Ronaldo is chopped down by Milito wide on the United right, earning a free-kick.
- 15' Valdes sprints from his area to clear as Ronaldo chases down a long ball.
14' GOAL! 1-0 United! From nowhere, Scholes picks up a loose pass from Gianluca Zambrotta and cracks an unstoppable shot into the top-right corner from 25 yards! What a goal from Scholes! Valdes had no chance!- 13' Brown hoofs an aimless ball down the left flank that bounces through to Victor Valdes in the Barca goal.
- 12' Abidal's pass towards Puyol is badly overhit and the ball runs out for a United throw on the far side.
- 11' Eto'o lines up a shot from outside the United area, Brown blocks. Frank Rijkaard's men are looking a lot more assured at this stage. Abidal plays a high ball forward that only just clears van der Sar's crossbar and lands on the roof of the net!
- 10' Xavi tries to flick a long ball into Eto'o's path but his touch is a bit heavy and the ball runs through to van der Sar.
- 9' A spell of possession for the visitors. Cue continental-style whistling from the home fans.
- 8' Nani's cross from the right is cut out by Abidal.
- 7' An awful kick from Edwin van der Sar allows Eto'o to drift into the United box from the right before laying the ball across goal, but Ferdinand manages to clear.
- 6' Nani blocks Eric Abidal's attempted clearance on the near touchline and it goes out for a throw. United are attacking from left to right in the first period.
- 5' An edgy start for the home side. No real rhythm to the game yet.
- 4' The home fans are in fine voice already, despite the nervousness in the air. Tevez runs into trouble on the edge of the Barca box before going down, but the ref's not interested, and Messi breaks away down the Barca right and then loses possession.
- 3' Tevez wins a free-kick after being fouled inside the centre circle.
- 2' Messi's free-kick is headed away and cleared downfield, before Tevez is penalised for jumping in on Puyol.
- 1' United kick off but Barca are quickly on the attack and Scholes brings Messi down right on the left-hand edge of the United area! Free-kick to Barca. So nearly a penalty.
19:45 Here we go! The handshakes, team photos and formalities are out of the way. Now for the football.- 19:42 The teams are in the tunnel, United in red shirts, white shorts and white socks, Barca in their all-turquoise away strip. Ronaldo is bouncing around, looking as pain-stakingly groomed as ever.
- 19:40 Rio Ferdinand will captain United tonight with Ryan Giggs on the bench. He lost his cool against Chelsea at the weekend and will have to be at his very best against Barcelona's stellar attacking talents this evening.
- 19:35 What a big night this could be for young Danny Welbeck. With Rooney out and Louis Saha perennially sidelined, the Manchester-born forward has been drafted into the squad and is one unforeseen injury away from going toe-to-toe with Messi, Deco, Eto'o and the rest.
- 19:30 Both clubs, despite their stature, have won this tournament just twice, placing them joint-sixth in the all-time European Cup standings alongside Juventus, Internazionale, Benfica, Porto and Nottingham Forest. For all the success he's achieved at United, Ferguson will reflect on his career with a touch of disappointment if he is not able to add to the European Cup he won in Barcelona nine years ago.
- 19:25 Precedents, should they interest you, do not favour the home side. Of the four Champions League semi-finals United have reached under Ferguson, they have progressed just once, against Juventus in 1999. In 1997 and 2002 they went out to German opposition (Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen), while last season they were sent packing after being outclassed 3-0 by eventual winners Milan at the San Siro.
- 19:20 United go into this game on the back of that bruising 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon that breathed new life into a seemingly straightforward title run-in for the reigning Premier League champions. Barca, meanwhile, rested several star players as they went down 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna. With hated rivals Real Madrid all but assured of a second successive La Liga title, this competition represents their only hope of silverware.
- 19:15 BARCELONA TEAM NEWS: The visitors make one change to the side that started in the first leg, with captain Carles Puyol returning from suspension in place of Rafael Marquez at centre-half. Yaya Toure overcomes an ankle knock to start in midfield.
- 19:10 MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS: Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney are both ruled out with the injuries they sustained in the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, so Wes Brown deputises for Vidic at centre-half and Owen Hargreaves starts at right-back. Ronaldo partners Carlos Tevez up front, with Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Nani in midfield.
- 19:00 Good evening and thank-you for your company as we prepare for the mouth-watering second leg of this Champions League semi-final between Manchester United and Barcelona. Nil-nil is the aggregate score after the first leg at Camp Nou, where an early missed penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo was the precursor to a cagey stalemate that makes Sir Alex Ferguson's men slight favourites to progress. Kick-off at Old Trafford is at 19:45 BST.
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Team Stats
Manchester United Stats Barcelona 37% Possession 62% 8 Shots 14 2 Shots on target 3 2 Saves 1 5 Corners 4 12 Fouls 18 4 Offsides 1 2 Yellow cards 3 0 Red cards 0 32 Tackles 25 244 Accurate passes 460 69 Bad passes 65 -
Player Stats
- G =
- Goals
- S =
- Shots
- SoT =
- Shot on Target
- F =
- Fouls
- FW =
- Fouls Won
- O =
- Offsides
- A =
- Assists
- AP =
- Accurate Passes
- BP =
- Bad Passes
- T =
- Tackles
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Manchester United G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 1 Edwin Van der Sar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 5 Rio Ferdinand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 2 3 3 Patrice Evra 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 18 16 4 6 Wes Brown 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 16 4 4 7 Cristiano Ronaldo 0 1 0 5 4 1 0 18 7 0 16 Michael Carrick 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 39 9 4 18 Paul Scholes 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 31 7 3 13 Ji-sung Park 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 25 7 6 4 Owen Hargreaves 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 17 0 2 17 Luís Almeida da Cunha 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 20 2 1 32 Carlos Tevez 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 23 6 5 22 John O'Shea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 Danny Welbeck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Ryan Giggs 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 4 0 29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Anderson Oliveira 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 Mikael Silvestre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 Darren Fletcher 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 -
Barcelona G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 1 Víctor Valdés 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 5 Carles Puyol 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 49 2 1 22 Eric Abidal 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 41 14 1 11 Gianluca Zambrotta 0 0 0 5 4 0 0 35 0 7 3 Gabriel Milito 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 73 10 2 24 Gnegneri Yaya Toure 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 55 10 0 20 Anderson Deco 0 4 0 1 3 0 0 53 7 3 6 Xavi Hernández 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 79 9 4 8 Andres Iniesta 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 17 2 0 19 Lionel Messi 0 3 1 0 5 0 0 30 6 4 9 Samuel Eto'o 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 1 14 Thierry Henry 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 7 3 2 27 Bojan Krkic 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 0 13 Jose Manuel Pinto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Lilian Thuram 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Eidur Gudjohnsen 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Sylvinho Mendes Campos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 José Edmílson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Summary
- 90' Puyol's cross from the left is brilliantly cleared by Brown before Ronaldo produces a superb headed clearance to repel another cross from the left! Messi goes down under Fletcher's challenge, but nothing's given! There will be three minutes of injury time!
- 81' Ronaldo gallops infield from the United right before thumping a left-footed effort into the advertising hoardings on the near side of the Barca goal. Van der Sar gathers Henry's dinked cross from the left at the other end.
- 78' Messi darts into the box from the left and wins a corner. Henry gets a header in from Xavi's corner but it's straight at van der Sar!
- 57' Lovely football from United! Tevez and Ronaldo exchange passes on the edge of the Barca box before the Argentine fires in a left-footed effort that Valdes parries!
- 53' Nani attacks Ronaldo's low cross from the left but the ball is just diverted behind for a corner at the near post!
- 41' Chance for United! Park whips in a lovely cross from the left and Nani gets across Abidal and sends a glancing header just wide of the back post!
- 37' Messi's cross from the left is spilled by van der Sar and Evra just gets to the loose ball ahead of Eto'o! Van der Sar looks like he needs treatment, and with Barca declining to put the ball out of play referee Herbert Fandel brings play to a halt.
- 36' Barca inches away! Messi's lay-off towards Eto'o reaches Deco after Carrick slips and Deco lashes a low shot just wide of the left-hand upright!
- 34' Better from Barca! Iniesta's pass from the left is laid off by Eto'o to Deco and he curls the ball just over the crossbar from the edge of the area!
- 29' Valdes flaps at Tevez's cross from the right, Ronaldo heads the ball back across goal and Puyol heads clear before clashing heads with team-mate Milito!
- 21' United go close! Ronaldo lays the ball back to Park from the left-hand side and the Korean sidefoots a low shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post!
- 20' With Evra out of position there's space for Messi to run into, and he beats Scholes and Brown on the right before coming inside and curling in a low shot towards the far post that van der Sar has to push away!
- 17' Nani's low cross is spilled by Valdes but Deco manages to get the ball away!
- 14' GOAL! 1-0 United! From nowhere, Scholes picks up a loose pass from Gianluca Zambrotta and cracks an unstoppable shot into the top-right corner from 25 yards! What a goal from Scholes! Valdes had no chance!
- 7' An awful kick from Edwin van der Sar allows Eto'o to drift into the United box from the right before laying the ball across goal, but Ferdinand manages to clear.
- 1' United kick off but Barca are quickly on the attack and Scholes brings Messi down right on the left-hand edge of the United area! Free-kick to Barca. So nearly a penalty.
Live Team Line-Up
- Referee: Herbert Fandel
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Manchester UnitedManager: Alex Ferguson
Captain: Rio Ferdinand
On the Field
- van der Sar
- Hargreaves
- Ferdinand
- Brown
- Evra
- Park
- Scholes
- Carrick
- Nani
- Tevez
- Ronaldo
Subs
- O'Shea
- Silvestre
90′ - Giggs 76′
- Kuszczak
- Fletcher 76′
- Anderson
- Welbeck
Injured
- Rooney
- Vidic
Suspended
None
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BarcelonaManager: Frank Rijkaard
Captain: Carles Puyol
On the Field
- Valdés
- Zambrotta
- Puyol
- Milito
- Abidal
- Touré
- Deco
- Xavi
- Messi
- Iniesta
- Eto'o
Subs
- Henry 60′
- Thuram
- Gudjohnsen 88′
- Sylvinho
- Pinto
- Edmilson
- Bojan 71′
Injured
- Ronaldinho
Suspended
- Márquez
Man of the match
Carrick - Manchester United
On a night when cool heads were needed, Carrick's key interceptions and intelligent passes proved his was the coolest of the lot.
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