2010/2011 UEFA Champions League

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

[Baddar]

Great result, but my god I hate watching Peter Crouch play football.

The guy is 9ft fucking tall, yet still climbs all over defenders giving away needless free-kicks. I can see Spurs' final CL moment this season coming from a long ball towards him, and then he decides to fuck about with the defenders again, costing them their last opportunity.

I don't see him play week in, week out, but the guy just annoys the shit out of me.

[Dan]

Glad Spurs are through, but they're certainly lucky the Milan strikeforce didn't bother to bring their scoring boots, otherwise it would of been a hell of a lot different. Robinho should of had two, piss poor from him tonight. Seedorf and Sandro were both the outstanding players on the night. Great result for them either way.

Italian teams just aren't very good any more are they

Yeah, they're all shit. Shocking Inter Milan, current holders of the Champions League, those Italian teams juat aren't any good anymore.

Oh come on, without Jose that Inter team wouldn't have done anything.

[Colly]

As proven by their woeful first half of this season. Italian football really isn't in a great state at the moment. You could argue the Premier League is similar in terms of Chelsea creeping back into the top 4 despite not being that strong, but we still have 3 teams in the Champions League. The league leaders in Serie A have just gone out, and the current champions are in real danger of going out next week.

Good on Spurs, but by not winning they broke my accumulator.

[stokeriño]

And so Spurs now have to play the 2nd leg of a Champions League Quarter Final 4 days before they face Manchester City in the league, which itself is 3 days before they face Arsenal in the league as well?

Yes please.

[Plubby]

[Lineker]

Best 0-0.... ever!!

[Plubby]

OF ALL TIME!

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I'm still in the running for the 100 pints down the local bar. Only 3 of us (out of 40 entrants) picked Barca, Spurs, Schalke and Shahktar. Apparently I should get at least 26 pints even if one of my other four picks loses (which is good as I went for lyon over Real Madrid).

[Jimmy]

I was rooting for Spurs throughout the match, but I was sure Milan were going to score. After seeing Tottenham defend so badly against Wolves, I didn't really fancy there chances at keeping a clean sheet. That said, hats off to Spurs for an excellent result. Sando was outstanding, and Galas + Dawson were pretty good, too. Crouch gives away so many needless fouls. Players just have to back into him, if he even so much as slightly climbs on them, a foul's given. Really hope Spurs get a good draw and I'd love to see them go further in the competition; honestly would love to see them in the final.

[MDK]

And so Spurs now have to play the 2nd leg of a Champions League Quarter Final 4 days before they face Manchester City in the league, which itself is 3 days before they face Arsenal in the league as well?

Yes please.

Aww, bless.

[lanky316]

And so Spurs now have to play the 2nd leg of a Champions League Quarter Final 4 days before they face Manchester City in the league, which itself is 3 days before they face Arsenal in the league as well?

Yes please.

Well we had to do similar last year with Chelsea and Arsenal in a couple of days to qualify in the first place following a tough FA Cup tie so still hoping we can come through it okay. Good thing the tin pot FA Cup won't be in the way this season

[Lineker]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hit back at Uefa after he was charged with improper conduct following his side's Champions League exit in Barcelona.

Wenger was angry when Robin van Persie was sent off in the Gunners' 3-1 defeat in Tuesday's second leg of the last-16 tie, which they lost 4-3 on aggregate.

But Wenger denied aiming "inappropriate language" at referee Massimo Busacca.

He said: "It would be good for Uefa to show humility, to apologise, not charge people who have done nothing wrong."

An unrepentant Wenger continued: "I deny completely any charge.

"We are out of the Champions League, we have lost one of our big ambitions, we have been punished with a lot of damages and on top of that, we have to say sorry to Uefa.

"When you have a football game of that stature, you cannot come out with decisions like that and show a lot of arrogance on top of that.

"We can all understand that we can make wrong decisions, but after that it becomes dictatorship. Its not any more common sense."

Wenger confronted Busacca at full time on Tuesday along with Gunners midfielder Samir Nasri, who has also been charged by Uefa.

The disciplinary hearing will be heard by Europe's football governing body on 17 March.

Wenger's main point of contention from the game was the second-half dismissal of Dutchman Van Persie, who was shown a second yellow card by Busacca for shooting at goal a second after the official had blown for offside.

Van Persie insisted he had not heard the whistle because of the noise of the 95,000-plus crowd in the Nou Camp.

The sending off came only three minutes after an own goal from Barcelona's Sergio Busquets made it 1-1 on the night, after Lionel Messi's opener for Barcelona, and put Arsenal 3-2 ahead on aggregate.

"It is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send Robin van Persie off. It was the wrong decision," said Wenger.

"The first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed. People now will only remember the sending off."

Arsenal held out for 16 minutes with 10 men, but ultimately the relentless pressure from the home side told and Xavi's goal levelled the tie overall before a Messi penalty sealed Barcelona's progression to the quarter-finals.

This was reward for a fine performance from the Spanish champions, who dominated the second leg in which Arsenal failed to muster a shot on target.

It is the second game in succession that Wenger has felt compelled to criticise a referee's performance, following his criticism of Anthony Taylor and his officials during the 0-0 home draw with Sunderland in the Premier League last Saturday.

Andrey Arshavin had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside and was later denied a penalty after Titus Bramble appeared to push him to the floor in the match at the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Uefa has charged Roma captain Daniele de Rossi with improper conduct after he appeared to strike Shakhtar Donetsk captain Dario Srna in the face during his side's 3-0 defeat on Tuesday.

English referee Howard Webb missed the incident but showed Srna a yellow card for protesting.

Uefa says its rules state "action may be taken even if the referee did not see gross unsportsmanlike conduct and was therefore unable to take any factual decision."

A disciplinary panel will hear the case next Thursday with De Rossi facing a minimum three-match ban if the panel find him guilty of assault.

Shakhtar won the tie 6-2 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals.

Oh Arsene. This is especially funny as normally you didn't see it!

[Crybaby Bunting]

It's just wonderful to see Arsene dig himself deeper into a hole. Now he'll still be complaining about the referee but now also the fine he got for complaining about the referee.

[Lineker]

The man is just an absolute arrogant cunt.

1) RVP was stupid to get his first yellow card, it was so unecessary, but of course he "didn't see that"

2) If he hadn't of been so cocky and not played his second string (Eboue, Squillaci, Djourou, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, an injured Fabregas, and Bendtner all started) in the final group game vs. Braga, they probably would have comfortably won that match and gone on to win their group and have an easier opponent such as Roma in the round of 16!

3) His side could have really tested Barca as players like RVP and Wilshere are world class; however stubborn old foreskin-face has to do everything HIS way, rather than adjusting his tactics to aerially test Barca's makeshift centre-back partnership of Abidal and Busquets.

Every time he opens his mouth I just want to break the television.

[Colly]

Its the absolute refusal to blame himself or any player for a poor performance that gets to me. Granted you should defend your players, but in the 4-4 collapse at SJP he didn't even consider mentioning Diabys violent conduct, or the fact that had he put a defensive player on the pitch he'd have won, preferring to blame the ref and insisting Joey Barton should be sent off for a tackle.

Meh, him and Ferguson have both been at it this week, about time they both realised they aren't above the rest of our league and Europe, especially when decisions weren't anywhere near as bad as they like to make out.

[Crybaby Bunting]

Arsene Wenger walks into a bar

He didn't see it

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

In the late 90s Arsene Wenger travelled to America to see a punk rock band play. Sadly he missed his connecting flight.

He didn't see Lit.

[lanky316]

Crouch gives away so many needless fouls. Players just have to back into him, if he even so much as slightly climbs on them, a foul's given.

Just noticed this. You do realise that backing in is the foul right? Problem is because he's got such an awkward build he will be done for climbing despite being fouled himself. Of course as he's in the box it won't be given as it's too soft a foul to justify giving the penalty. Crouch is annoying but he can't help that defenders can't cope with him in the air.

[therockbox]

So Nani's gone from being out for the rest of the season, to a couple of months, to a month, to three weeks, to about a week and a half.

The healing power of plasters these days.