What if….

comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 3 hours, 8 minutes ago
Even though i have no love for Chelsea, that game really incensed me. The ref was so biased but it typified the state of the European game at the time when the big Euro clubs and big names within them were untouchable and they just got all of the decisions.

You couldn't tackle Pep's Barca without it being deemed a foul and you could see he brought that attitude with him to City, there was that "my players need protecting" cry from him early on
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Madrid went out in the first knockout round something like 6 times on the trot. That's because the big "continental clubs" got all the facking decisions. What a pathetic dailymailer gammon view of the world.

I was a big Barca fan but felt embarrassed after that game. That ref...

comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 6 hours ago
We actually started pretty well in that final v Barca too. Until Barca scored we were well on top.

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We really did. I think Park had a decent chance off a rebounded free-kick. When they scored, it was kind of a shock, albeit early on. They outplayed us thereafter but I didn't feel like they were going to score loads. The 3-1 at Wembley was way worse. A horrific watch

They sent off a Barcelona player in Abidal after a dive by Drogba as well. Ref was completely blind that game.

Back in 2004, what if… the referee in that shocking United vs Arsenal game wasn’t corrupt/incompetent and Arsenal’s unbeaten run didn’t end.

Would we have won a consecutive golden PL against a Chelsea side that I feel we were better than? Would Wenger have done a better job? Would Arsenal still be unbeaten today?

comment by Posh Mufc Great Hafi Not Arrogant Just Better (U6578)
posted 33 minutes ago
They sent off a Barcelona player in Abidal after a dive by Drogba as well. Ref was completely blind that game.
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Wasn't a dive, Abidal accidentally clipped his trailing foot causing Drogba's own ankle to trip him up, it just wasn't immediately clear with the available camera angles. Might have been harsh, but it wasn't 100% wrong.

The thing is, refereeing decisions arent cumulative. Each one is a fork in the road. If Chelsea had gotten their first penalty shout, the tie would've followed a different path, just as it would have if Ballack had received his marching orders in the first leg in Barcelona.

What is perfectly established is that when Chelsea got their big break with the sending off, their response was to retreat even further into their shells rather than attack Barcelona in order to kill off the tie.

That's something you rarely hear people reflect upon, but they gave Barça an extra half an hour attacking the Chelsea box when they ought to have taken the game by the scruff.

comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 6 hours ago
We actually started pretty well in that final v Barca too. Until Barca scored we were well on top.

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We did. Then probably the best club side ever got over the initial nerves and absolutely schooled us. It wasn’t a contest after that.

comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 9 hours, 21 minutes ago
Chelsea were a better side, should have won a lot more had we not had avram grant in charge. There's a reason we gave barca so many problems when utd frankly didnt bar one game.
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Nonsense. You don’t finish behind a side 3 seasons in a row if you are better than them.

comment by Baz tard (U19119)
posted 1 hour, 16 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 6 hours ago
We actually started pretty well in that final v Barca too. Until Barca scored we were well on top.

-

We did. Then probably the best club side ever got over the initial nerves and absolutely schooled us. It wasn’t a contest after that.
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Didn' they score in like the 10th minute?

comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 13 hours, 34 minutes ago
comment by Baz tard (U19119)
posted 1 hour, 16 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 6 hours ago
We actually started pretty well in that final v Barca too. Until Barca scored we were well on top.

-

We did. Then probably the best club side ever got over the initial nerves and absolutely schooled us. It wasn’t a contest after that.
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Didn' they score in like the 10th minute?
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Give us those 10 godamn minutes IOAG!