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| Wednesday, 15 February 2012 19:04 |
Zenit edge Benfica in RussiaZenit 3-2 Benfica The poor playing surface and freezing temperatures did not prevent a tremendous match from being played out at the Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg this afternoon. Maxi Pereira gave the Eagles an early lead, but man-of-the-match Shirokov equalised before the break. Zenit substitute Semak put the hosts ahead on 71 minutes but Oscar Cardozo seemed to have earned Benfica a precious draw with a late equaliser. However, just one minute later Shirokov restored Zenit's lead to set up a fascinating 2nd leg at the Estadio da Luz on 6 March. Without the injured Javi Garcia, Jorge Jesus chose Matic to play alongside Witsel in midfield, while Pablo Aimar and Nolito started on the bench, with Bruno Cesar and Rodrigo making the starting XI. For both Benfica and Zenit, getting to this stage of the Champions League is a rarity. Perhaps it was the realisation that an exit at this phase would not be considered a disaster, allied to the fact that both sides feel they have a real opportunity at making progress, which combined to result in an entertaining match played at full tilt with little sign of the cagey approach that is so prevalent on big European nights. The bobbly pitch, which started in poor condition and got worse throughout the night, did not prevent both sides attempting to string together passing movements. Shiropov especially impressed with his accurate use of the ball, while for Benfica Maxi Pereira was pushing forward effectively. Alves takes out RodrigoOn 17 minutes the only Portuguese player on the pitch – Bruno Alves – was lucky to avoid a sending off as a reckless scything tackle went right through the back of Rodrigo, forcing the young Benfica forward off on a stretcher and eventually out of the game. The referee deemed it a yellow card offence only and Alves can count himself lucky.
Benfica’s players were furious, but curiously, as Rodrigo was off the field receiving treatment, the visitors took the lead. Cardozo’s free kick from 25 yards was too hot for Zhevnov to hold, and the unmarked Maxi Pereira pounced on the rebound to put Benfica ahead. Zenit came roaring back from the setback. Kerzhakov almost equalised immediately, but Artur kept out his shot, before a neat exchange on the edge of the box released Shirokov, who blasted over the bar when well placed. The hosts were pushing hard and the equaliser duly came in the 27th minute when that man Shirokov expertly volleyed a driven cross low into the corner of the net. Aimar was now on for Rodrigo, and although the Russians held the upper hand, some flashes of skill and speed from Gaitan kept the Zenit back line on their toes. Long-range efforts from Aimar, Cardozo and Witsel showed Benfica were not content to defend, although the Portuguese defence were scrambling just before half time as another in a series of dangerous crosses seemed certain to lead to a goal, but no Russian could apply the finishing touch. Gaitan goes for gloryThe first half of the second forty-five minutes brought surprisingly few problems for Benfica as the game went into something of a lull. Indeed, had Gaitan chosen to square the ball to Cardozo instead of shooting for goal from a tight angle close to the hour mark the Eagles may have retaken the lead. Jorge Jesus on the touchline and Cardozo himself let the Argentine know what they felt about his option.
Inevitably, Zenit turned up the pressure as the clock started to tick down, and the introductions of Semak and Bystrov injected forward momentum to the local attack. On 71 minutes Zenit took the lead with a wonderfully constructed and executed goal. A move down the right flank saw the ball rapidly transported into the box via a series of first-time passes, including a clever back-heel by Kerzhakov to set up the crossing opportunity. Bystrov’s centre was turned past Artur, again with the subtlest of back-heels in midair by Semak. The goal lifted Zenit and as Benfica started to wobble Kerzhakov fired into the side-netting when well placed and Bystrov then wasted a very presentable chance. Cardozo pouncesAs we moved into the final five minutes it appeared Benfica had weathered the storm, and Jorge Jesus’ men were soon dancing with delight as from a rare breakaway the ever-opportunistic Cardozo took advantage of a poor piece of goalkeeping from Zhevnov to make it 2-2 from close range in the 87th minute.
The celebrations were soon cut short, however, as Maxi Pereira, who had had a blinding match up until then, made a hash of an attempt to clear a cross. The ball fell straight at Shirokov’s feet, who calmly rounded Artur and fired into the net to give Zenit a narrow victory. Benfica lose for only the second time this season (in 35 matches), but with two away goals in the bank the Eagles will feel they have every chance of turning around the tie in Lisbon in three weeks’ time. But they will have to do it without Pablo Aimar, who was issued with the softest of yellow cards by the referee late in the second half, and possibly without Rodrigo, whose injury will be assessed back in Lisbon. Benfica: Artur, Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Garay, Emerson, Matic, Witsel, Bruno Cesar (Nolito, 76), Gaitan (Miguel Vitor, 90), Rodrigo (Aimar, 30), Cardozo Goals: [0-1] Maxi, 20 [1-1] Shirokov, 27 [2-1] Semak, 71 [2-2] Cardozo, 87 [3-2] Shirokov, 88 by Tom Kundert |
If Capdevilla were to star vs Zenit, I would like him to play in the next couple of matches. I know Emerson has been prone to mistakes, but his glaring one in this one didn't cost us.
I worry about Capdevilla's pace vs the bigger teams.
I went around the possibilities of the 2nd leg.
I thought the following;
----------- Artur------------
Maxi-Luisao-Garay-Emerson
-------Javi------Axel----------
-Nico-----Cesar-----Nolito-
--------Cardozo----------
The biggest problem with it is that it leaves us extremely exposed to the counter.
I actually would go with the following.
-------------Artur-------------
-Maxi-Luisao-Garay-Emerson-
-------Javi-------Matic-------
-Axel------Bruno------Nico-
--------Cardozo---------
People have forgotten that Axel was originally a wide player. He actually still is for Belgium.
This should give us plenty of firepower with enough coverage at the back.
Let me add that I too love Nolito, but he needs to come in for Nico in the second half or as a spark plug if needed.
Anyways we will agree to disagree.. on Alves as it was from behind and the studs were up even in the air.. it is red.
Just saying but I don't want to make excuses for the loss.. same as the decision to go with the pitch.. it was made.. you have to play.. losers make excuses.. winners.. just win and get praised for the conditions they won on.
Hey we all still think it will get done in the second round anyways..
Now if Emerson was to come down with a mysterious injury.. I would be much more comfortable.. as he forces garay to make a lot of mistakes.. to cover him.. it is gotten to the point he is even forcing Maxi to make mistakes.. covering for him.
JJ says he has been in 3 car accidents this year.. makes sense with some of his shaken strategies... lol maybe Emerson should ride with him too... maybe we can get lucky and fix both problems at once...
KIDDING... don't wish that stuff on anyone..
Anyways like Andre said we all mostly agree... and I thought the pitch was bad also but.. it is done..
Now we have work to do, even though the reality of the matter, needing to beat a Russian team (never the best travellers, particularly to the Iberian Peninsula) at home by any score, even 1-0 or 2-1, to qualify...ain't bad. And I'd probably have taken this situation before that first match happened.
Zenit are not going to keep another clean sheet in Portugal, like they did in Porto, I'm pretty sure of that, they are not that good! We will score, meaning they will have to also. If we can score fairly early, they will likely be screwed as they will then have to come forward...giving the likes of Nolito space to do further damage.
I also agree with NJ that this match shouldn't have gone ahead at that venue, at all. If Zenit don't have a ground fit to host a Champions League match in winter, then the match should have been moved to Moscow's Luzhniki. This situation has happened in the past, and Luzhniki is sort of like a de facto home ground for all Russian clubs playing in Europe. This is not sour grapes, it's fact...anyone who saw footage of the match could clearly see it was not up to champs league standards in the slightest. Anyway hopefully this'll all be sorted out properly in a few weeks time at Da Luz!!!
I've NEVER liked Alves or his anctics
I won't waste my breath defending NJ, I love it here. Some get it, some don't.
As for the card, not it wasn't a red. This wasn't a sliding studs up tackle from behind. Both players were in the air and Alves clipped him. It made it worse due to Rodrigo landing very awkwardly. Yellow? Yes. Red? No.
Keep in mind that I've liked Alves or his antics. Overblown talent, which if you look at his career has never really been thought of that highly of.
As for the game, it should have never been allowed to be played. It's embarrassing that UEFA allowed this match go on in such deplorable conditions. I get letting them play in frigid weather, but the field condition was outright dangerous. It's shameful that UEFA let such a prestigious tourney, and huge money maker, be brought down to this level. The game should have been moved or postponed.
Very lucky that a player did not get injured due to the turf.
Orlando I understand your thoughts on defensive set up and play, but JJ does believe that his team should have beaten Zenit in both games. Sometimes it's healthy for a squad to see the confidence a manager has in his squad.
"I was happy with the result.. a 3-2 loss away is good.. not great but good."
I was dissecting the game.. because I heard so many people off the right track.. they were blaming the poor chickens for having their heads cut off.
I watched the highlights straight away on tv.. and was shocked how many times the opposite fullback ended up being a Centre Back.
For the casual observer all they see is Maxi screwing the ball.. my question is why was he there? A lot of things have to go wrong for the opposite back to be the only CB.
As soon as I see that I know many things had to go wrong for that to occur.
So I rewound the highlights and sure enough it is all there to see.. my dad agreed that JJ had selected a poor squad.. but like everyone else on here.. he was blaming the goats as was everyone else around me.. WTF?
If you didn't notice i was being positive.. the problem can be easily fixed with one of JJ's recent line-ups.. it is not rocket science everyone is throwing blame around and JJ is responsible.
JJ is not stupid.. although sometimes it does seem like it.. he makes Godinho Lopes look smart from time to time... it was a major fail.. like skateboarding and trying to jump a to storey building... he landed square in the face..
Like all punks riding their luck I do not feel sorry for him.. although I do enjoy the footage of them crashing in fail.. and think.. what great parents they had to create a skateboarding, ski jumping, X games tool like this who plays video games all day.
Anyways we have a great team.. and even JJ can't screw up our depth at home.. one Saviola goal at home.. is bound to happen.. from the genius. So I am not scared.. of any of the players..
That is positive..
Andre you agree with your mouth.. yet like a girl you say no..
I love my man even though he treats me badly, abuses me, and he makes you feel worthless..
even though you have great tits, and tight mid-section.. and a back end that others drool over.
Now Andre I am not calling you a hot girl.. the comparison is with Benfica.. but you are in denial my friend.. the defence with the head cut off is JJ's responsibility.. yet you don't want to jinx any result by agreeing.. that is silly.
There is a time to cheer.. and there is a time to analyze.. so as to not make the same mistake twice..
The definition of insanity is having the same things occur and thinking that the outcome will change with the same things occurring.
JJ has been pretty consistent in Europe in a retarded way.
Deal with it my friend.. the results will not change..Big Game.. Genius Plan..
I repeat, we must throw caution to the wind at Da Luz and attack them like crazy. Rodrigo's injury is not so bad apparently, and he will likely be back within a couple of weeks. Nolito will start this time, we must go 4-4-2 at home, with Axel and Javi playing deep to stop Zenit counters. We will score at least 1, probably more, and I believe that will be good enough to advance.
I repeat, I doubt Zenit are good enough to avoid defeat in 4 straight matches against the best 2 teams in Portugal. Our first meaningful defeat of the season had to come at some point didn't it, and a narrow 3-2 defeat in Arctic conditions is by no means a disaster. Now that it's out of the way, lets keep positive and keep the momentum going...so much to play for this season!!!
Checking the starting line-up the look of stark horror came over my face.
Mental Question: You are going to some frigid country, without a real pitch to play on, against a team who is used to playing in these conditions and you go in there with a game-plan of all out offence?
I guess a smooth playing field would lead a Manager to attempt this with an offensive squad.. the only problem is any retard in July could tell you that playing in Russia in February is not going to lead to conditions conducive to your high flowing passing offence.
Then another question strikes me...
Which one of Cardozo, Rodrigo, Gaitan, or Cesar has ever played any defence?
If you add Maxi & Emerson who were both moving forward on the overlap.. who was defending with 6 attackers constantly?
4-2-4 was a brain cramp and tells us that JJ really hasn't learned much as it comes to BIG GAME shitting the bed with bad tactics, formations, and player selection.
Arguably your best player even though he has been benched for most of the season.. actually defends.. Nolito was left on the bench with your most experienced veteran Aimar to start?
I got most of this by looking at the starting line-up alone.
Then I sat down and dissected extended footage of the match.
With Rodrigo going down with an injury Aimar coming in still means you have way too many guys "away" that don't defend.
Let me clear up some confusion.. I know fresh NJ Swamp Water goes down well in a twitching seizure sort of way.. but the rules state clearly..
You tackle from behind.. it equals a red card...PERIOD
You tackle from behind with cleats up and you injure the player.. you not only get a Red Card but you get a subsequent suspension from UEFA.. PERIOD.
Rodrigo going down hard from a hard tackle is absolutely not of any context known to the laws of the game. Sure some Maca Podre & a glass of NJ Swamp Juice will have that effect on people but it is still not acceptable.
But let us not dwell on it.. Ref made his choice.. game went on and it does not excuse the play on the field from the professionals.
First of all many scapegoats were found for those at the end of a play.. who messed up.
Two that come straight to mind Matic & Maxi.. both made errors at the end and got blamed, and they do deserve some blame.
After reviewing the plays.. they were a part of the failure on two goals a piece.
But reviewing all 3 goals and the build up play that led to those mistakes Garay was somewhat at fault for all 3 of the goals.. the same is true for Emerson.. of the defence they were most to blame.
But the fact is most normal people see the goat and they go off on them.. and don't really pay attention to the actual causes.
My dad did the same until I rewound and broke the Zenit goals down for him
(Better to watch the games without the audio because those Portuguese Colour Commentators are Ass Clowns).
GOAL 1: Matic misses his marking in the middle and Shirokov alone scores.
Looks simple but if you watch the play again you see there is a mismatch on the right.. Maxi & Witsel are alone against 3 attackers.. creating the overlap that gets the cross.. the defence on the right shifts to handle the fire.. Luisao is frozen in place in the middle.. Garay does not cover.. and Matic is stuck..
Matic is not sure if he should move to cover in-case they attack the side of the box with the overlap.. or cover the cross man in the middle.. that moment leads to the goal.
Why is there the mismatch and overlap.. because Gatain is nowhere to be found.. surprisingly because of his defensive prowess.. and Emerson did not shift over because he was too high causing Garay not to which resulted in the monkeys in the middle.
Main Blame: Gaitan, Garay, Emerson, & Matic. Matic just ended up the guy with the hot potato.
Goal 2: Garay marks the winger weakly allowing cross that Maxi doesn't cut out and is back heeled in. Main Blame Maxi.
Play develops because both Aimar & Cesar are soft on their men.. Axel pushes up to protect them.. ball humped into corner.. Emerson misreads it and his man ends up on the ball Garay shifts to the far right to cover and gets there slower than his man who beats everyone..
Luisao on panic mode moves to close down distance.. but is left in no mans land.. Maxi shifts to CB to protect the front of net and the Goal goes in.
Main Blame: Weak Marking up front, Emerson, & Garay..
Maxi not so much.
At this point JJ needs to get back in the game so in the 76th minute he brings in arguably the best bench boy in Europe..
Who has scored no goals on the bench.. but is the number one scoring midfielder for Benfica by far.Reward.. splinters.
Nolito attacks and cardozo scores.. nuff said.
At this point as a manager you lock down the game only a few minutes to go.. right.. the obvious is you lock it down.. of course this did not happen and the comedy of errors led to the 3rd goal and the loss.
Goal 3: Maxi flubs a ball Artur misses is rounded and Shirokov scores.. again.
Maxi looks like a great scapegoat.. Artur also since he misses so badly.. but if you look at the play..
Nolito who some say doesn't defend is back causing back pressure.. Matic attacks defensively also creating pressure.. but for some weird reason.. Emerson is charging up field.. the mistake causes Garay who is also way out of position to cover..
Literally 2 Benfica players on one man who is still open even though he is double marked..?
Anyways Luisao sees this atrocity moves to cover Garay's man.. which forces Maxi to cover some distance to be the only CB.. which causes the flub.. and Artur to miss.
Game Over.
Main Blame: Emerson, Garay, Maxi, Artur.
I saw a lot of chickens running around with their heads cut off... I saw a lot of blame from posters to the pitch, Ref, Alves, and all the Scapegoats.. but there is a main reason for the chickens running around with their heads cut off.
Hey if your defence starts with Artur & Luisao you already have one of the greatest pairings in the world.. add Maxi & Witsel.. and only a handful of teams can compete.. throw in some hard workers that make mistakes and you still have a great defence.. one of the best.. but when they are running around like bleeding top chickens.. than there is a problem.. and I haven't really heard anyone blame the person who cut his own chickens head off.
It is not rocket science.. if you throw that many attackers with no defensive qualities whatsoever in you are going to force even the best defence in the world to make mistakes.
All those Scapegoats and yet JJ is to blame.. and not much of a mention for his absolute failure.. his inability to manage the game sensibly and professionally resulted in a loss.
What was he thinking 4-2-4 with Emerson & Maxi overlapping..that is 6 attackers.. on an away pitch that is frozen and sucks.
Hey it is UEFA's job to check the pitch.. it was approved.. Home advantage should be home advantage I have no issue with the Russians using it to their advantage fairly.
I have an issue with such stupid tactics & player selection.
Beyond anything it is the reason we lost and the defence were exposed so badly.
Hey I have praised JJ in the last 2 out of 3 games...but..
Cesar hasn't been starting of late and Gaitan has had his playing time diminished and never defends.. so let us start them both.. ahead of who is on form.. and let us throw a more offensive line-up on in the CL than I have played against the minnows of the Liga.
Seriously JJ needs his head examined.. personally I don't think he is stupid.. I just think he has a Napolean complex and as a little man he attempts to showcase his brilliance by moving away from the logical and demonstrating his innate strength in creating a paradigm shift.
I can appreciate that since I believe in The Opposite Theory.. but Napolean smashed Europe ..JJ sucks
in Europe because ironically his out of the box Big Game formations, tactics, and player selections lead to failure.
Catastrophic failure, this game was another chapter in his book of : Making Everything Look Difficult TM - The Euro Trash Edition.
We were playing away but any offensive attack had 8 Benfica players attacking high in the box...?
Do the math..
How many guys do we have defending?
How many are running to cover?
How many are out of position?
What kind of tactics are that for a crucial away leg in a frigid part of the world? (Historically not a success ground for moderate climate countries for a reason)
Fact is JJ thought hey Danny is out we are greater than them..
Napolean was not overconfident.. he planned his success.. until he got stretched too far.. if JJ ran the US military.. he would nuke himself.. and all of us in the process.
Anyways I agreed with many of the great posters.. Andre, Mdot..
and Nick is still a D.. that is why we call him Nick the Dick. It ain't because of his long clumsy thumbs.
ignore him.. he goes away for a long time.
As for Benfica.. at the Luz with the right squad.. that starts Nolito.. & Cardozo, play Gaitan at the 10.. even if Rodrigo is out.. we have Oli.. who is a greater passer.. I see Cardozo with 2 goals.. Nolito & Nelson with 1 each.. and a 4-1 victory.. even with Zenit playing a 10-0-0 formation.. with Danny, Messi, & CR in their squad.
I do not fear many teams with the right formation, the right tactics, and the right player selection.
Funny how all us smart Couch Managers were wondering which one striker JJ would start.. and he outsmarted us with 4 forwards.. who all thought they are strikers.
This Benfica is deep and even after JJ nuked us with incompetence.. the players still managed to score two goals.. and make the return leg very attainable.
zenit does not scare me, our team does not scare me... only JJ's brilliance scares me in the return leg.
We have cover for Aimar, Javi, and Rodrigo...
Forca Benfica
nervous. Forca SLB! and time for some other names to step it up in European play........maybe Nolito, Gaitan, N. Oliveira, or even Saviola?........we'll have to wait and see. Forca SLB! Carrega Benfica!!!
As for Bruno Alves, I agree as well, he is a much less-than adequate replacement for our best ever central defender, Ricardo Carvalho. Alves is not bad, but he's like a red card waiting to happen...and together with Pepe, it will be hard to see us not getting a red card at some point in the Euros. Add a dodgy keeper, Patricio, into the equation...and i doubt whether we'll be good enough defensively to win the Euros. Remains to be seen.
Back to Benfica, as good as our season has been I still think our main problem is still the same as it was last season: defence and inability to keep clean sheets. In fact not the defence per se (both Artur and Garay have been excellent), rather the defensive midfield protection of the back four. Whether we've played Javi or Matic there, we still concede goals in most matches. I'm starting to believe that if a club will really pay us 20 million euros for Javi in the summer, it might be good to cash in and use the money to buy a beast of a defensive midfielder...someone like Fernando of Porto, with real physical presence and who properly protects the back four and stops counter attacks. That's the only element missing, in what is an otherwise excellent Benfica team. Forca SLB!!!
I think we can do it in the second leg, in European games getting those higher agg scores always helps if we win 1-0 or 2-1.
As for people cheering on Bruno for making challenges that should have been a red, that’s just plain stupid. Its moves like that which he will get red carded on the national team and cost us games.
I genuinely wish all Portuguese clubs well in European competition and find it rediculous how people can cheer for a Russian club's victory over a Portuguese club that they don't happen to suppourt. The ironic point is that Portuguese euro losses affect our coefficient, meaning that your club may be limited to the Europa League for the next seasons to come!!! But it's alright, we're only at half-time in this tie...let's see how much changes in front of 65,000 on a proper pitch at Da Luz...
It's not an excuse, but UEFA can not let games be played in this surface. The weather is one thing, but when you are putting your career in danger in such a huge tourney it's ridiculous. By the way the announcers were complaining about the surface at Milan, where there was grass.
As for Benfica we didn't look smooth at all. The cold ad surface had something to do with it, but we did miss out on chances. I thought Nico was wasteful yesterday. I also thought that Matic was responsible for the first goal. I didn't think tactics were the issue, we just needed to be tighter.
On Alves, I thought it was yellow. Rodrigo landed awkwardly. Rough and tough, like Alves has always played. I actually think that the yellow was given more due to Luisao getting one earlier.
We were very fortunate in the goals we scored, while two of Zenits goals were world class. Maxi, Maxi, Maxi, use your left foot.
I am concerned about the return match due to Aimar being out. That will hurt us more than Rodrigo possibly missing it as well. Zenit will most likely go with a 4-6-0 formation like they did verse Porto. Not easy to break down.
I have faith that Benfica could and should get it done.
Force Gloriozo!
glad this tie was played in Russia first.
Benfica were outplayed, so the result is just. still upsetting that they gave away the tie with sloppy defence in the dying minutes.
Benfica still have chance to progress..one crucial goal needed at da luz..but i still can't believe that danny's absent wasn't influenced zenit performance a lot
For the second leg,,nolito and vitor should start
JJ can't resist to genuinely go out to win every match, even away from home in polar conditions, and the danger with that approach is ending up losing the match. But the positive with that is 2 away goals tonight. It will be a different match altogether at Da Luz for sure, whatever happens. Any win (apart from 3-2) will take us through, and Benfica just have to go full out attack. Not a bad position to be in at a packed Da Luz.
We can do it for sure, but need a more focused performance than today's one... -15 degrees is a harsh condition to play in, but we still should've seen out the draw after equalising so late in the match. I expect a much different second leg, Benfica has to throw caution to the wind and go for it, just the kind of situation JJ seems to thrive on with his attacking style of play. Hopefully Rodrigo's injury isn't too bad and he will return for the second leg up front with Cardozo. We just have to go for it. Should be a cracker, I'm not gonna miss the second leg that's for sure...
Zenit played well and their first and second goals were outstanding. Our defending was horrendous but we also got lucky with their frango in net. Overall, it wasn't too bad a result and we should be able to rebound on a proper pitch. Forca SLB!
As for Braga, well, that red card changed everything. Before that, it appeared as if everything was going to script: Besiktas were playing tight defense and weren't venturing forward much and Braga were creating most of the chances and generally looked the better team. After the red card, Braga just lost it. Having said that, it is not outside the realm of possibility for them to score twice in Istanbul. I think it's unlikely that they survive, but Braga are not going to quit and I wouldn't bet against them.
Porto's match up with Manchester City is unfortunate. What's even more unfortunate is that the winner plays the winner of SCP vs Legia Warsaw. So if all goes as scripted, Manchester City might knock out two of Portugal's contenders for European honors. This year's version of the Europa League is pretty tough, especially with Manchester City and Man United in the competition.
My prediction is that Benfica will find a way through to the quarterfinals, Porto will play well but lose and Braga will put up a memorable fight but lose as well. Sporting will go through to the round of 16 and lose to Manchester City.
*I sure would love to see one of Porto or Sporting knock out Man City though.*
This match should not have even happened due to the horrible weather and especially the pitch it was horrible, venue should have been completely changed and the fact nothing was done for a champions league match is a joke.
As for Benfica, Zenit deserved the win I thought they were better although it has to be said Alves should have gotten a red for his assault on Rodrigo (with him and Pepe it will be a wonder if we end any of our Euro matches with 11 man)