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A Game of Two Halves

© Joe Martin

I know what you're thinking. He's in the Penny Lane with JJ and other interested parties watching Man Utd take on Juve in the first leg of the semis. Well, you're partly right. I am of course watching the game but on this occasion I am not imbibing Brian's best beer. Which only means I'll be as sober as Judge Judy and rendering an alcohol free verdict on the biggest game to hit Old Trafford in thirty years.

To say the atmosphere was electric is not only an understatement, it is simply a compliment to the power of electricity. The city of Manchester and the stadium of Old Trafford somehow combine to create human electricity that only the game of soccer can infuse. You have to be there someday to appreciate the "noise" generated and inexplicably under control at the same time. I'm reminded of Noddy Holder's (Slade in the Seventies) lyrics "Come On, Feel the Noise." Perhaps Noddy was a bigger footie fan than he knew.

So they're off. Juventus came to play. This is the big league. It's now or never. Now aficionados will know that the first few minutes at OT will be hectic to say the least and this was no exception. But as dangerous as Man U are at home, they chose the wrong team and the wrong day to relinquish their natural positions tactically. It seemed to me that Beckham and Giggs played more in the middle and Cole and Yorke played more outside. I can well understand if this indeed was Alex Ferguson's thinking and an attempt to "shake things up." But this often-needed tactic didn't work well and it was not the day for backfires. It was going to be tense. A strapped-up Zinedine Zidane looked incredibly match fit and I had to wonder if he ever had an injury in his life. Combined with Edgar Davids in his usual brilliant form, Juve reminded the world why they are attempting to reach their fourth consecutive final, and why I like them so much in recent years.

It wasn't totally unexpected in the developing circumstances when Conte put Juve one up courtesy of a David's beautiful assist as they say in North America. They maintained their phenomenal work rate and simple teamwork all the way to half time and deservedly entered the tunnel with that away goal cushion.

The second half would be different.

It was no real surprise that Utd were better second half. It was arguably no surprise that Juventus sat back a little protecting their lead. This combination led to a flow of more serious threats on Juve's goal. A more than legitimate penalty claim for handball went ungranted and was followed by a dubious offside call on a Roy Keane long shot that flew into the net. Just when it looked as if Juventus were going home with a bonus, Giggs hammered home a hard-worked for last chance and the road to the final took a different twist. It was a classic game of two halves from two great sides. Roll on second leg.

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