"What's your prediction?" I can see a Man Utd 0-1 or 1-2 happening. More so if the yellow counts have clocked up (I think the commentators said a couple other than Schweinsteiger will also not be starting the game tonight) .
I can see Utd going 1-0 up into the break, then Bayern to come out all guns blazing in the 2nd half, with the match finishing to Bayern 3-1 (4-2 agg).
Guardiola's rather strange insistence on playing Javi Martinez at centre-half when he was already on a yellow saw him pick up another and get suspended, too. Shaqiri got injured at the weekend and I think they've got one or two other concerns, but I still expect Barca Munich to progress, though I probably won't watch it. They've gone from being an impressive, if rather dishonest, attacking outfit to being a Bavarian clone of the manager's former side, happy to pass the ball endlessly in an attempt to bore their opponents to death. There's no doubting the ability and effectiveness of teams like Bayern and Barca, but there are massive doubts about how entertaining they are for large chunks of every game. I've little or no interest in watching superb players simply knacker out the team that they're up against.
Incredible to think that Guardiola has made a team less attractive to watch. Completely agree though.
"There's no doubting the ability and effectiveness of teams like Bayern and Barca, but there are massive doubts about how entertaining they are for large chunks of every game." Hence the Barca-fication of Munich line running in the German football press. Adding the Barca pressing/possession game to the Munich of the last two seasons is too scary to contemplate. But removing their pace and physicality just makes them new Barca. And given twas the pace/physicality that emphatically demolished the possession/pressing game last season, it should be a no-brainer for Pep as to what the core trait of his club sides should now be.
If Bayern play like they did at OT, Utd have a reasonable chance. All that possession is pointless if you play at a snail's pace and allow defenders to sit in and close you down - which Utd did effectively in the first leg. Utd's problems defensively (like Spurs) have been when the defence has been stretched and nippy players (Aguero, Suarez etc) have been allowed to find time and space in the channels. If Welbeck puts on RvP's boots then he might convert those chances on the counter he'll get by waltzing past Boateng. Kagawa could be useful too in making their central defenders uneasy. There might only be two or three chances in the game - but that's enough to win the game if they're taken.
Like their game against the Goons. But Man Utd have the away goal too. Thought 0-1 or 1-2 might be on. The Barca old and new ain't having the best of it (bar the possession stats) tonight, are they.
The worst thing was scoring such an adrenalin boosting goal first. Utd stopped doing the closing down and tracking back. Second best to a one dimensional Bayern for 17/180 crucial minutes only. Chelsea weren't overawed by big spending PSG, Utd, City and Arsenal all looked the equals of super team Bayern at times, Real Madrid are no world beaters without Ronaldo, Barcelona get beaten by the poor relations of the Spanish league......is English football that bad DL?
Yeah, scoring first with ages to go was probably fatal. But old Barca yet again learning that while possession is 9 tenths of the law, putting the ball in the net is 100% of the score.
