Big mistake not to match up Barcelona line up and have 1, 4, 6. Hernandez was totally isolated and could not perform and thus the MU midfield was overrun with Barca always having an extra man and thus the majority of posssession. They did it two years ago and the lesson should have been learned. The final outcome might have been the same because Barca are the better passing team but M.U. would have had far greater possession and could have threatened through the pace of Roonet, Park and Valencia. As it was they looked a spent force shortly after half time.
surely fergie knew Valencia and park were never going to see the wings being puled infield to help out as it were. Fletcher Park carrick rooney and nani should have been accross the middle with Berba up front It seems everyone in hte world of football knew the physically weak Hernandez would not and coulde not cope with the pressing and battling for the ball. Rooney should have been coming as deep as needed to help, even tracking Messi all the way back at the cost of being forward ot score but no. It is not a glamorous part of being a forward but needs doing. Some pressing some standing off no cohesion no leader no idea what to change and no staff to change it with. It would been a near miracle if united won last night and it really showed up how simple it was for ubited to get to the final in the first place as tey easily outplayed hte teams bar marseille who were asleep defensively but ok going forward. it is good that the limitations have been exposed though as now reality has set in, I think real would shred yer team too
whatever side SAF put out he was in a no win situation, had he played 451 with no Hernandez, you would all be sayig SAF got his tctics wrong! We played with that team against Chelsea and Schalke so i dont see why we should have played a different side! Barcelona are just a great side, and im glad we had a go, yes we could have played negatively like Mourhino has been known to do, but thats not how we play weve always been an attacking side
The object of the game is to win and if sometimes strategy has to change to accomplish that then so be it. Don't get me wrong, MU are a very good side and their attacking philosophy will prevail against most sides. The difference is that Barca are a great side and their superiority should have been acknowledged by SAF and a game plan put in place to negate, as far as possible, the undoubted qualities of Barca. From the kick off MU kicked the ball long to Valencia, the ball went out for a Barca throw and the initiative was lost. Instead the midfield should have been packed and possession of the ball retained for as long as possible and no sustained attacking should have been attempted until much later in the game. Frustrating Barca as much as possible by retaining possession and conserving energy for later in the game would have been, in my opinion, MU best stratergy and maximised their chances of winning.
Same old same old. Utd have no money. Yeah I've been dazzled just like millions of other Utd fans at the top quality signings Liverpool have been making to ensure they win the CL. No wait a minute. You didn't qualify even for the Europa league!!! Oh well, you might as well offer Joe Cole a new contract after all Gerrard said he's a good as Messi!
Man utd used to have a front line of Tevez and Rooney, still think his forwards were never hard working? Besides, since when did Liverpool invent defending from the front?
That would never work mate. Trying to play Barca at their own game was what we did in 2009 and it failed then too. Barca hold possession better than any team in the world, and will always hold it longer than their opponents. Our approach was based on bypassing the midfield as much as possible, which succeeded in the first half and meant we ended the half on level terms. But Barca adapted well to it in the second half, just like they would have adapted to a packed midfield or a purely defensive approach or anything else we tried. They were simply too good.
