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UCL Rewind: Neymar saves Barcelona from first leg defeat, Man Utd head to Munich on even terms

Neymar of Barcelona reacts

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Barcelona were on their way to a disappointing first leg defeat at home to Atletico Madrid, but Neymar donned the hero’s cape and came to the rescue.

Neymar saved Barcelona from going into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals series with Atletico Madrid down a goal, scoring a second-half equalizer to give his side a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

Diego had opened the scoring for Atletico in stunning fashion in the 56th minute and it looked for a bit like it might be enough. Barcelona, however, found the pressure-relieving tying goal 15 minutes later when Neymar finished off a pass from Andres Iniesta.

The two Spanish clubs, who have tied the last four times they’ve played, will meet again in Madrid on April 9.

In the other semifinal match, Manchester United let a one-goal lead slip away in a 1-1 draw with German giants Bayern Munich. Nemanja Vidic put the Red Devils ahead in the 58th minute, but Bastian Schweinsteiger brought the proceedings back to level terms with a goal eight minutes later.

Schweinsteiger will not be able to make a similar impact in the second leg in Germany on April 9. The veteran midfielder was sent off with a second yellow card in the waning moments of the match for a foul on Wayne Rooney.

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What do you think of these results? Who do you see winning these tied series? Which of these teams has the best chance of winning the whole thing?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Tangentially related but Barca is being hit with a lengthy transfer ban based on a finding they improperly signed underage players.

    Reply
    • Derrick, a few questions for you, as I’m think also thinking of switching to Uverse.
      -Do you have Uverse TV & internet?
      -If so, how much do you pay each month (including taxes, etc.)?
      -Does your package include regional sports (I need TWC Sports Net for Galaxy games)?

      Thanks in advance, mate!

      Reply
  2. Thinking about ATT uverse to watch the next 4 months of soccer. (Looks like U200 +HD covers everything but beIn sports). Any reco’s on this move?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • I have the U200 + HD and added the Sports package, which gets you all of the local Fox Sports (FS Midwest, FS Bay Area, etc.) as well as bein. I think it was only $7-10 more per month…much less than going up to the U300 or U400. For Bein Sport and the other stations, I thought it was completely worth it as a soccer fan.

      Reply
    • And just a note about the absence of BeIN: You can pay $10/month for DishWorld, which carries BeIN and a couple other sports networks. DishWorld is a streaming app that works on the Roku and probably several other media. Worth looking into. I’ve been thinking about switching from TWC to Uverse myself.

      Reply
    • I have Uverse U200. You have to have that level or greater to have any sports channels whatsoever (Even regular ESPN). I’m actually thinking about dropping it soon because after 1 year my monthly rate has gone up to $141 (without internet it would be around $90 for just the tv service) and my bill seems to increase about $5 every other month.

      Reply
  3. “Schweinsteiger will not be able to make a similar impact in the second leg in Germany on April 9. The veteran midfielder was sent off with a second yellow card in the waning moments of the match for a foul on Wayne Rooney.”

    The commentators were correct in that he was booked for a foul and some heavily exaggerated acting by Wayne Rooney.

    Reply
    • I think it was a second yellow either way, but Rooney should’ve or at least could’ve been booked for his embellishment as well

      Reply
      • I think his first yellow was soft too but…. that’s how the ref was calling that game. It was a weirdly clean game besides that red card.(compared to say a classico)

    • I don’t know. He made a couple great saves, but the majority of chances Bayern had a Man U player threw his body in the line of shot, blocking it. It was a total team effort on the defensive end.

      Reply

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