Official Champions League Final Thread.

[PITTM]

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I thought the goal was obviously off his arm.

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yeah, i was baffled when people were talking about how it was a header...not close.

[ThaSaltCracka]

it really is quite gay the final was decided on a bs goal. The other two were legit.

[JaredL]

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Also, lol @ the soccernet caption for this photo:

"ON THE 'ED SON
Milan's Pippo Inzaghi claimed this goal wasn't a fluke. So scoring with your eyes closed while the ball hits your arm is a well practiced art... apparently."

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I think whether or not it was a fluke depends not on him but Pirlo. It seemed pretty clear to me that he was not kicking it so that it would take a deflection off of Inzaghi. You sometimes see that but no way does he hit it at that angle with that much pace if he wants him to deflect it in.

It reminded me of a hockey goal. Especially in the playoffs a lot of goals are scored in hockey when some random defenseman takes a hopeless shot that bounces of some guy that knows nothing about it but deflects it in. I think that's what happened here. The shot was poor by Pirlo and going wide and took a lucky bounce.

I think it was a handball because he directed it with his arm. It's debatable because his arm is in a somewhat natural position but it looked like he moved it. Not sure where the ref was but it was probably very tough to see from most any position and his body was blocking the AR.

[JaredL]

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it really is quite gay the final was decided on a bs goal. The other two were legit.

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Unfortunately I think that there is no solution to this type of thing. Liverpool IMO played much better in the first half. They created all the chances and were beaten by a fluke goal on a set piece. The problem as I see it is that set pieces dominate the game at this level. It's usually not because of stuff like this but that teams have gotten very good at converting them either directly or running some sort of play as Liverpool did against Chelsea.

There are a number of teams that have a lot of trouble creating or converting chances in the run of play and too much rely on getting free kicks vaguely near the goal. Not surprisingly these teams tend to be boring. Finals can be especially bad because both teams play conservatively making set pieces all the more important because chances are so few. Also that the match can't end in a draw hurts I think. If you play solidly and make no mistakes then the worst outcome for you is penalties. You may get lucky at the other end creating the odd chance or scoring off a set piece so your odds of winning are good. I think this type of mindset is bad for the game in general but not bad strategy if you're actually in it.