European Football 2009/2010 Season

Lyon 0 - 3 Bayern Munich (agg 0 - 4)

Well did this turn out to be a damp squib - not that Bayern are complaining I bet.
It all went wrong for Lyon after 30 minutes when Olic turned in a cross to make it 1-0 to Bayern on the night & meaning Lyon had to score 3 goals to progress. After an hour they had Cris sent off when he was booked for a dubious foul but had the reaction of applauding the referee to immediately get a second & his marching orders. In truth that could not be called a turning point though as Bayern were well in charge already. Olic then went onto be the hero of the night by netting twice more to send Bayern through to the final.
Lyon were poor in the first leg in Munich but if anything they were even worse last night. Dreadful defending, misplaced passes & when they managed to get in front of goal missing from yards out with no one to beat.
It seems the semi-final was a leg to far for them. I imagine that the 2 contesting tonight would have been much happier contesting a final against Lyon than they will be against Munich. They seem to be able to score goals without being particularly attacking and don't easily give up on a match - as they showed at Old Trafford. They will, however, certainly be the under dogs to win the Cup.

Barcelona 1 - 0 Inter Milan (agg 2 - 3)

So probably the best club manager in the world puts it over on probably the best collection of individual players in the world - well certainly the best player in the world.
Defensively Jose has probably always been one of the most astute coaches around and so it proved again in Spain last night. Even though Milan had a man sent off after 60 minutes Barcelona just could not capitalise, or maybe that should be were not allowed to. Pique eventually scored after 84 minutes to set up attack after attack but, even though Bojan had a very late strike ruled out it was not to be for Barcelona.
Jose was delighted at the win, especially as he had previously spent some time at Barcelona under Bobby Robson & the Spanish press have been dismissing him this week as 'The Translator'. Well he translated this into a win for his side.
Not really the final that many European fans will have wanted though, Milan against Munich. I guess FIFA will be delighted that no British team has reached the final but might find Jose a little outspoken for their wishes as well!!

So not a good second leg for either of the home sides in the European Cup. I can only hope that the fates deal the two home English sides a better hand tonight. Both are in good positions to continue to the final if they can reproduce their best. Good luck Fulham & Pool!!!

Liverpool 2 - 1 Atletico Madrid (agg 2 - 2)
Liverpool exit Europe by that cruelest of margins - the away goal rule.
Aquilani scored for Pool to make it all square over the two legs and sent the game into extra time. Benayoun then put Liverpool ahead until Manchester United favourite Forlan crushed Pool & its' fans by scoring 102 minutes into the game.
So Liverpool's only chance of winning anything comes to an end. Even more important is that it looks like their chances of playing in Europe next season are now very slim as well. Even before this game there were new rumors that Benitez would be exiting in the summer to join Juve. The owners are as popular with the fans as are their neighbours United's. Unfortunately they appear to be reluctant to go without claiming what most consider is a way over the top payment for the club. The prospects of only having domestic football to generate an income from will not exactly encourage new owners either. Torres is rightly seen as one of the best forwards playing the game at the moment. For all that he is more than a little prone to injuries a successful world cup for him & Spain will undoubtedly see someone with a large wallet knocking on his door early autumn. Gerrard is a box to box player who can tackle, score goals, make a pass and offers 100% commitment. There are not too many of those playing either. He is now starting to get on in years & winning anything at more at Pool is starting to look a long odds prospect!!

Fulham 2 - 1 Hamburg (agg 2 - 1)
Well just what extra can be said about Fulham in Europe this year?? Great 0-0 from the first game put them in a good position & then, after 20 minutes the wheels come off with the worst possible start as Humburg score, meaning Fulham must score at least 2 to go through. In a further blow top striker Zamora had to come off after a scoreless hour for Fulham - he had been a doubtful starter anyway. But, despite all these setbacks Fulham did what they have done best this year, rolled up their sleeves & tried to battle through it. Then with 20 minutes to go Davies netted for them. Up until then Hamburg can looked calm & very much in control of the Fulham onslaught. the goal very much unsettled them though. Gera netted the second & sent the Fulham fans into delirium and a final against Madrid.

The semi finals said much about the 2 English sides left in the Europa.
Fulham have had a 'we can win' attitude for a long time now in this contest & while the ball may have bounced their way on occasions it has been a real team effort & commitment that has won them through. Roy Hodgson should be very near picking up the Manager of the Year for their performances.
Pool should have cruised through to the final. All the opposition in this competition should have been beneath them. When they played well that showed, but there were too many mediocre performances from them this year in all competitions. Not sure where they go from here. I think the Benitez experiment is finally coming to an end as the team obviously need some new blood & a new man might be best placed to do that!!