Wow. Benzema scores against his former club less than a minute after being introduced. Real Madrid had hit the woodwork early in the second half from a Ronaldo freekick and Ramos header and were controlling possession without threatening too much in general play. Lyon were decent enough in the first half but have gone out of the game pretty much since half time.
we are winning 1-0 in lyon
Ah lovely 
Quality second goal by Anelka tonight.
Crap set piece concession by Real Madrid to keep that tie alive.
Only just realised the Champions League is back tonight. What have i missed over the last 8 days. Gibson gets a start with Carrick in the centre of midfield. 
4-5-1 with Fletcher joining those two in midfield and Rooney and Nani out wide? Either way, another chance for Gibson to step up.
But Ferguson will say its 4-3-3. :lol: Gibson can show tonight that hes not only just about shooting from 20+ yards.
Heinze remembers United with fond memories “I don’t have many regrets from my career as a footballer, but that episode with Sir Alex Ferguson has to be one of them. I’m impulsive and strong-willed and this has got me into trouble at times, which was the case when I left United. I regret it because it meant leaving a great club and their supporters. I was aware of the rivalry with Liverpool, I knew the risk of going from Manchester to Liverpool and what it means. I hope it doesn’t tarnish the way their fans see me and they will remember the three years I had in the team.”
Gibson doesn’t actually look to get on the ball nearly enough. He’s playing more advanced than Fletcher and Carrick but he’s being marked by one of their holding players and is just watching the game going on around him for the most part rather than buzzing around to try to find some space to receive possession.
He’s certainly not moving around as much as Fletcher.
Here’s the passes they’ve received in first 42 mins:
[ATTACH]437.IPB[/ATTACH]
Pretty turgid stuff tonight.
Watching Inter Bayern here. Excellent start to the second half. Bayern with all the pressure but Cambiasso just missed a sitter for Inter.
Bayern are a lovely team to watch. Robben, Ribery and of course the superb Bastian Schweinsteiger - who is giving the biggest master class in midfield play since Nigel De Jong versus Bolton a couple of weeks back.
Farmer, going to withdraw your comment on Gomez yet?
Utter, utter shite being talked on RTE.
‘We were told before the game that this Lucho Martinez was meant to be a player.’
:lol:
It was true at the time Rocko.
Paul Scholes has been the only proper English midfielder for the last 15 years.
To your eyes maybe. I never doubted the Swabian.
:lol: Pretty much every United away game in Europe is like that. They must be pretty horrible for a neutral to watch. I think United should have enough to beat them at home. Biggest positive of the night was Smalling playing well again. I’ve been very impressed with him so far.
The same guys who spent most of last season laughing at Thomas Muller.
Amid all the shite talk, I’d agree with that in terms of a proper passing midfielder.
Some graphics on Gibson’s contributions tonight (and Kaboré’s graphics for comparative purposes):
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[ATTACH]439.IPB[/ATTACH]