Tue, Apr 29: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 2nd Leg)
Man Utd 1-0 Barcelona
SUMMARY:
English Premier League leaders Manchester United will play in the Champions League final for the first time since 1999 after knocking out Spanish giants Barcelona with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford last night.
Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes, who missed the famous 99' final victory over Bayern Munich through suspension, scored a rocket of a goal in the 14th minute to win the tie 1-0 on aggregate for the Red Devils.
A strong defensive display from the United back-line thwarted wave after wave of offensive play by the Catalan giants with Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (in place of the injured Vidic) marshalling the equivalent of a brick wall.
United have reached the final 50 years after the Munich air disaster and will face either Liverpool or Chelsea - the game will be played tonight - in Moscow on May 21.
Wed, Apr 23: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 1st Leg)
Barcelona 0-0 Man Utd
SUMMARY
Manchester United wasted a glorious opportunity to take a 1-0 lead - and a crucial away goal - into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona as a missed penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in the third minute meant the score finished nil-all at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo's admirers will probably point to those hideous red boots he was wearing as the cause for the fluffed penalty kick but his detractors will say the player that has terrorised Premier League defences all season failed to show up in a big game yet again.
Perhaps Ronaldo's performance last night ended the debate as to who is the world's best player once and for all. Barcelona's Lionel Messi, the other major contender for the prized accolade, returned from five weeks out with injury to spark his team into life and terrify the United defence with every touch of the ball.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, failed to inspire his teammates or showcase his famous skills on the biggest stage yet again. Perhaps he was still ruing his miscued spot kick? Nevertheless, the best players gets over those sorts of disappointments quickly.
All in all, the Red Devils will be relieved to be leaving Spain with a goalless draw when the result could have been so different had Barca converted the many chances they had created.
Wed, Apr 9: UEFA Champions League (Quarter-Final 2nd Leg)
Man Utd 1-0 Roma
Barcelona 1-0 Schalke 04
SUMMARY:
Manchester United and Barcelona pulled off 1-0 home wins over Roma and Schalke 04 respectively in the Champions League overnight to setup a mouthwatering semi-final clash in a fortnight's time.
United's 2-0 cushion from the first leg prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to drop the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes to the bench (in anticipation of the EPL clash with Arsenal this weekend) but still managed a narrow 1-0 win over the Italian side.
The home side was let off the hook in the first half when Daniele De Rossi skied a penalty in the first half and were made to pay the price when Owen Hargreaves crossed for Argentina striker Carlos Tevez to score a diving header in the 70th minute to seal a 1-0 win on the night and 3-0 on aggregate.
Barcelona shrugged off their recent woes in La Liga with a hard fought 1-0 win (2-0 agg) over German side Schalke 04 at the Camp Nou.
Despite missing the likes of the injured Ronaldinho and Messi, Barcelona just had too much class for Schalke as Yaya Toure scored the winner with a scuffed shot late in the 1st half to send the Catalan giants through to the semi-final in a competition they last won in 2006.
The first leg of the semi-final clash between Manchester United and Barcelona will take place at the Nou Camp on April 23.
Tue, Apr 1: UEFA Champions League (Quarter-Final 1st Leg)
Schalke 04 0 - 1 Barcelona
Roma 0 - 2 Man Utd
SUMMARY:
Barcelona earned a vital 1-0 away win in their quarter-final 1st leg clash against Germany's Schalke in Gelsenkirchen overnight to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Frank Rijkaard.
On the back of a run of poor form in La Liga, Barcelona were too classy for the home side in the 1st half and were duly rewarded with an early goal in the 12th minute from Bojan Krkic after good work from France striker Thierry Henry. Schalke retaliated in the second half but it was a case of too little too late as the visitors held on for the win and a precious away goal ahead of next week's second leg at the Camp Nou.
Meanwhile, English giants Manchester United are in firm control of their quarter-final tie against Roma with a convincing 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico.
Portugese winger Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with his 36th goal of an amazing season - a powerful header - before the break to give his side the lead. In the second half, it was the other half of United's dynamic duo, Wayne Rooney, who gave his side a two-goal cushion with a simple tap in to put Sir Alex Ferguson's men firmly in the driving seat for the return leg at Old Trafford.
On current form, Manchester United are one of the favourites to win the competition they last won in 1999. If they manage to do so, it will be a special cup triumph for the club in the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was both honest and realistic after his side's 3-2 defeat at home to Barcelona. "We were playing against one of the best teams in the world, and when we had the ball, we were not keeping it," he said.
"At any level the team that passes the ball well usually wins, but we were up against the best squad in the world. We needed nine or 10 players at their best and that didn't happen. But it was a great experience for the players even though the result was disappointing."
Asked about Celtic's chances of reversing the result at the Camp Nou, Strachan said with a wry smile, "I wouldn't put my house on it, it took me 35 years to get it. But we will go over there and give it a go."
Two goals by Messi and one from Thierry Henry were enough to beat Celtic who had twice taken the lead.
It was a brave effort by the Scottish club, but Barcelona showed why they are one of the favourites for the tournament.
Strachan will do what he can to produce a miracle for Celtic, but he may well need his famed sense of humour for the second leg.
Liverpool 0-1 Barcelona (Agg:2-2 Liverpool goes through on away goals rule)
Chelsea 2-1 Porto (Agg:3-2)
Lyon 0-2 Roma (Agg:0-2)
Valencia 0-0 Inter (Agg:2-2 Valencia progresses on the away goals rule)
SUMMARY:
The Mighty Reds are through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champion's League after knocking out reigning European champions Barcelona at Anfield early this morning (AEST).
Liverpool proved too good for Barcelona over the two matches and the Spanish side's famed attacking quartet of Ronaldinho, Deco, Messi and E'too simply could not breakdown a resilient Liverpool defence marshalled by the brilliant Jamie Carragher.
Barcelona knew they had their work cut out for the 2nd leg when Liverpool visited the Nou camp and left with a win and two vital away goals a fortnight ago.
However, it was Liverpool who dominated for much of the game and had plenty of chances to settle the tie in the first half when both John Arn Riise and Momo Sissoko rattled the cross bar.
In a last roll of the dice for Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, the Dutchman sent on Gudjohnsen in place of Thuram for the last 20 minutes and the move immediately paid dividends.
With Barca now effectively playing in a 4-2-4 formation, the Liverpool defence momentarily collapsed under the onslaught and allowed substitute Gudjohnsen to score in the 75th minute.
Liverpool were pinned back in their own half defending desperately but held onto progress through to the quarter finals by virtue of the away goals rule in what Jamie Carragher hailed as one of Liverpool's greatest European results.
The second batch of Champion's League first round knock-out matches took place overnight with the highly anticipated clash between the two most recent Champion's League winning teams Liverpool and Barcelona taking centre stage.
After a traumatic week for Liverpool when reports of a training ground bust-up between bad-boy Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise made the headlines, the two players settled their differences on the pitch by scoring a goal apiece to down Barcelona 2-1 away from home.
Liverpool made a confident start but found themselves a goal down in the 14th minute when Barcelona's Portguese midfielder Deco headed in the first goal for the home side.
Shell-shocked but refusing to buckle under the sustained pressure of Barcelona's fabulous attacking game, the Reds found an equaliser through "golf-club swinging" bad-boy Craig Bellamy when the Welshman powered in a header which keeper Victor Valdes was unable to keep hold of.
Proving that he can make assists as well as score goals, Bellamy went on to play a loose ball across goal for the unmarked Riise to blast right-footed into the roof of the net in the 74th minute to give the mighty Reds a commanding lead ahead of the return fixture in a fortnight's time.
This morale boosting victory ensured that Liverpool's class of 07' became the only side to win at the Nou camp since the 1975-76 Liverpool team, which downed Barca 1-0 in the UEFA Cup semi-finals before going on to win the final.
Elsewhere, Andriy Shevchenko added to his wonderful goal scoring record in Europe by scoring Chelsea's only goal of the match in a one-all draw with Portguese side Porto.
The result, in Chelsea's favour by virtue of the away goals rule, was soured by the news of an ankle ligament injury sustained by England captain John Terry who will now be out for a few weeks.
The two other Champion's League matches also resulted in a draw: the match between Roma and Lyon remained scoreless after 90 minutes and the Inter Milan - Valencia ended at two goals a piece.
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