You can read a more detailed summary of the game here, but I had four observations that you might not see anywhere else.
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That 3-1 lead was CSKA's to lose, and make no mistake, they lost it more than United overcame it. Nothing exemplifies this better than one clearance around the 80th minute: the ball fell near 3 CSKA attackers and 3 United defenders at midfield, yet no CSKA player made any pretense of going for the neutral ball. At the time, FSC's commentators lightly mentioned that CSKA refused to go forward for fear of being caught out, and that mentality was exactly what killed them. If you sit back and let an elite team like United take their chances, they will make you pay, as they've demonstrated ad nauseam to the point that "stirring comebacks" have become United's media-hyped habit. As CSKA had demonstrated for the first 75 minutes, the best way to shut United down is to put them on the back foot, and the Russians accomplished that in spades for the majority of the game. But as soon as they abandoned their offense for the last 15 minutes, you could just tell that United would pull it back, and I wasn't particularly flabbergasted when it happened.
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No telling if it swung the game's outcome, but Olégario Benquerença put in a pretty poor officiating performance, for two reasons. First, he seemed to make some calls based on distinct preconceptions of players' styles. Darren Fletcher was the major victim of this policy, as he was booked early in the 2nd half for diving on a clear penalty decision, and later was mystifyingly whistled on a perfect tackle near the touchline. Second, Benquerença's yellow-card bark was never followed up with any real red-card bite. Yevgeny Aldonin abused the practical no-red-card policy as he went unpunished for multiple studs-up knee-high tackles, despite being on a yellow for the game's last 35 minutes. As a result, the game devolved into chippy skirmishes towards its heated conclusion, and when Benquerença finally did send off Deividas Samberas for a relatively benign skirmish with Gabriel Obertan, it was too late to reverse the game's degeneration. Just a very schizophrenic way to officiate a high-profile match.
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Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan are exact foils at this point in their careers. Owen contributed a vital goal, an instinctive finish based on years of striking prowess, but otherwise his movement was totally out of synch with the team. Meanwhile, Obertan dazzled with deceptive runs and complete field vision, but he is still learning how to direct that raw ability into a deadly product. The former contributes on the field via his vast experience in the game, while the latter contributes by progressively harnessing his great promise. The important similarity is that both found a way to contribute, and that the team looks most dangerous when everybody contributes in whatever way possible. Many pundits have noted that this United team is characterized by a
worrying dichotomy of young and old players, but judging by the contributions of Owen and Obertan, such a set-up could arguably be United's best way to beat young Arsenal and aging Chelsea to the title.
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Together with Rubin Kazan's victory over Barcelona last matchday, CSKA's performance cements the Russian Premier League as a viable force on league, club, and individual levels. The League itself is approaching a firework-filled conclusion with Rubin Kazan and Spartak Moscow separated by a single point, a situation that exhibits some parity with traditional powers CSKA and Zenit St. Petersburg. The flagship clubs clearly can succeed in the Champions League, as Rubin and CSKA have earned points at two of the most hallowed grounds in Europe, and both are in control of their European destiny. And as Alan Dzagoev, Milos Krasic, and Igor Akinfeev proved in the CSKA-United game, Andrei Arshavin is far from the last superstar to come through the Russian Premier League. Forget their collective history in the Champions League, the Russian clubs are ready to make waves.
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