There were a rash of schoolboy errors in yesterday's two Champions League matches that gave us two goats and perfect nominations for "Bozo of the Week."Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski may be on suicide watch right now and certainly if his team do not go through to the Elite 8 of the Champions League in two weeks. Given the oppor
tunity to start last night's first round of 16 game at FC Porto as first-team keeper Manuel Almunia was out with injury - Fanbianski was abysmal and largley to blame for both goals.The first goal occurred in the first half when Porto's Varela was streaking up the right flank. Fabianski tried to cheat off his near post, but Varela's cross was put on goal and when back-tracking to collect the ball Fabianski spilled the ball into his own net on the easiest of chances. The second half was just as bad as Arsenal defender put Fabianski under a little pressure with a bad back-pass, but without reason Fabianski picked up the ball giving Porto an indirect kick in the box. With the Arsenal defense in disbelief, Porto took the quick free kick and Falcao made the Gunner defense pay slotting the ball home. Two huge blunders.
In Munich, it was not any of the players making key mistakes but instead the man
entrusted to officiate the game, head referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. The Norwegian, who has come under heavy criticism on several occasions including most recently in last season's Champions League semifinals in which Chelsea were unlucky to secure several PKs against Barcelona in London, made more than a few head-scratching decisions.
entrusted to officiate the game, head referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. The Norwegian, who has come under heavy criticism on several occasions including most recently in last season's Champions League semifinals in which Chelsea were unlucky to secure several PKs against Barcelona in London, made more than a few head-scratching decisions.Near the end of the first half, Bayern's Franc Ribery was blocked off in the box and knocked down but Mario Gomez finished the play scoring the goal. Instead Ovrebo called the goal back and gave the PK, and luckily for Bayern, Arjen Robben stepped up and knocked home his sixth goal in six games.
The second half was even more controversial starting with the harsh red card handed out to Fiorentina's Massimo Gobbi for "elbowing" Robben. Although Fifa has placed an emphasis on handing out cards to high elbows this year, it appeared as if Gobbi did not make contact with Robben's head and only blocked off the Dutchman, something that at most should have been a yellow card. Just moments later, Bayern sub Miroslav Klose made a rash challenge going in with a two-footed tackle, which easily could have levelled the playing field with a second red card of the game. Instead Klose was allowed to stay given only a yellow. Two minutes before the end of the game, Klose added insult to injury, scoring the game-winner on a header when he was clearly two-yards off-sides on Olic's pass.
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