Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (Manchester United wins 6-5 on penalties)
SUMMARY:
Manchester United and Chelsea played out a thrilling Champions League Final tie in Moscow overnight with the Red Devils emerging victorious to secure their third European cup with a 6-5 win on penalties after extra-time.
United dominated the first half and deservedly went ahead through Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliant header - his 42nd goal of the campaign - in the 26th minute. They continued to press and Carlos Tevez had two glorious chances to put the game out of reach for Chelsea but they held on to equalise from a goal out of nothing.
An attempted shot from Michael Essien 25-yards out took two deflections before landing sweetly into the path of Lampard, who duly supplied a left-footed finish from six yards.
Chelsea were back in it and it was the perfect time to equalise just before the break.
The London club came out rejuvenated in the second half and dominated proceedings much like their opponents did in the first half. Drogba saw a shot hit the woodwork as United held on and had chances of their own when late substitute Ryan Giggs saw a shot cleared off the line by John Terry.
Both teams were even in extra-time before drama unfolded. Drogba was shown a straight red for slapping Nemanja Vidic but his sending off came too late for United to make full use of their numerical advantage and penalties ensued.
Decisive misses by John Terry and Nicolas Anelka handed the trophy to United despite Ronaldo missing his second successive penalty but it did not matter as United marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash with their third European crown.
Wed, Apr 30: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 2nd Leg)
Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool (Chelsea wins 4-3 agg)
SUMMARY:
It was a case of third-time lucky for Chelsea as Roman Abramovich's multi-million dollar squad finally ended their Liverpool jinx in Europe by reaching the final of the Champion's League for the first time in the history of the club.
On a rainy night in the capital, Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners - and 4-3 on aggregate - over Liverpool courtesy of a brace from Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard penalty while Liverpool ended their barren run of goals at Stamford Bridge through Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel.
The match ran into extra-time between the closely-matched sides after Drogba opened the scoring with a thunderous drive in the first half before Fernando Torres hauled the five-times European champions level with a slotted finish in the 64th minute.
With neither side willing to give in, extra-time loomed and Michael Essien thought he had scored the winner for the hosts with a 20-yard effort that was correctly ruled offside. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the Blues continued to attack and were awarded a penalty just moments later when Reds defender Sami Hyypia brought down Michael Ballack just a fraction inside the box.
Up stepped Lampard - who returned to the side after the death of his mother last week - to send Pepe Reina the wrong way to spark emotional celebrations.
A 2-1 scoreline was never going to be safe against a never-say-die Liverpool team and the home side knew that the visitors only had to equalise to go through on the away goal rule so Drogba made sure of victory in the 105th minute after good work from ex-Liverpool striker Nicolas Anelka.
There was more drama though as Ryan Babel conjured a goal out of nothing in the second half of extra time with a rasping 35-yard shot that caught Petr Cech off guard, It was, however, a mere consolation for the Reds as Chelsea held onto win the match and book a place in the showpiece final in Moscow on May 21.
Tue, Apr 22: UEFA Champions League (Semi-Final 1st Leg)
Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea
SUMMARY
Liverpool were on the brink of securing a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield overnight before disaster struck in the fourth minute of extra-time when a John Arne Riise own goal gave the visitors a vital away goal in the 1st leg of the first semi-final.
So dominant were Liverpool's display throughout the match that the mighty Reds could have scored at least four goals without reply on a night when several players were on brilliant form.
Unfortunately, Chelsea keeper Petr Cech chose last night to reaffirm his position as arguably the best goalkeeper in the world with a string of impressive saves to deny both Steven Gerrard and Fernando on countless occasions throughout the match.
The hosts took the lead in the 43rd minute through Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt who had robbed Frank Lampard of the ball before forcing it past the inspirational Cech. Buoyed by the breakthrough, the Reds went all out thereafter for the killer blow but time and time again, Cech was able to thwart the efforts of the home side.
With the match ticking away and Chelsea clearly bereft of ideas, the Blues fans amongst the crowd at Anfield were anxiously waiting for the final whistle before the sucker punch was delivered.
Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou curled a hopeful cross into the box from wide on the left which was headed in by Liverpool sub John Arne Riise and the Kop were stunned.
The vital away goal means that the London club are now in pole position to reach the Champions League final for the first time on May 21 with the return leg of the semi-final to be played at Stamford Bridge next week.
Tues, Apr 8: UEFA Champions League (Quarter-Final 2nd Leg)
Liverpool 4 - 2 Arsenal (Liverpool through on 5 - 3 Agg)
Chelsea 2 - 0 Fenerbahce (Chelsea through on 3 - 2 Agg)
SUMMARY:
Liverpool and Chelsea have been reunited in the Champions League semi-final for the third time in four years courtesy of wins over Arsenal and Fenerbahce overnight.
Liverpool went into the return leg with a slender away goal advantage but it was Arsenal who started the brighter of the two sides and it came as no surprise when they went in front in the 13th minute through an Abou Diaby strike.
The Kop was silenced but not for long as defender Sami Hyypia restored parity on the half hour mark with a trademark headed goal and the home side began to dominate with new found confidence.
The Reds then took the lead in the second half when goal machine Fernando Torres gratefully latched onto Peter Crouch's flick on to fire a shot into the top corner. But with just seven minutes left, Arsenal stunned the hosts with an equaliser through Emmanuel Adebayor to make it 2-2 and it was advantage Gunners on the away goals rule.
A minute later, Liverpool were awarded a penalty when substitute Ryan Babel was adjudged to have been brought down by Toure. Up stepped captain marvel Steven Gerrard to fire the spot kick into the top corner to restore the home side's lead.
But the action was not over yet. Arsenal surged forward in search of the equaliser that would send them through to the next round but were caught out by a Ryan Babel breakaway goal which sealed a 4-2 victory on another famous European night at Anfield.
In the other quarter-final clash of the evening, goals from midfielders Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard gave Chelsea a 2-0 win at home over Turkish side Fenerbahce to book a place in the semi-final for the fourth time in five years.
Wed, Apr 2: UEFA Champions League (Quarter-Final 1st Leg)
Arsenal 1 - 1 Liverpool
Fenerbahce 2 - 1 Chelsea
SUMMARY:
Last season's Champions League finalists Liverpool hold a slender away goal advantage heading into next week's return leg at Anfield after a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the quarter-final first leg overnight.
The home side took the lead through Emmanuel Adebayor's header only for the visitors to equalise just three minutes later after a moment of genius from captain marvel Steven Gerrard. Bursting his way past three Arsenal defenders, the England midfielder then crossed for Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt to bundle the ball home for a crucial away goal.
Both sides had opportunities to take the lead thereafter including a strong penalty claim for the Gunners after Alex Hleb appeared to have his shirt tugged by Kuyt as he made his way inside the box only for referee Pieter Vink to wave play on.
Arsenal and Liverpool face off again on Saturday in a Premier League clash before meeting for the return leg at Anfield next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Turkish giants Fenerbahce at the Sukru Saracoglu in the second Champions League quarter-final match last night.
The London club took the lead in the 13th minute courtesy of an own goal by Deivid but the home side kept at it and were rewarded for their efforts when substitute Colin Kazim-Richards equalised on the 64th minute.
Own goal villain Deivid then made amends for his earlier error by scoring the winner in the 80th minute with a spectacular 35-yard shot that gave Cudicini no chance.
Chelsea will need to go all out for a win at home in the return leg to reach their fourth semi-final in five years.
Schalke 04 1 - 0 FC Porto
Liverpool 2 - 0 Inter Milan
Roma 2 - 1 Real Madrid
Olympiacos 0 - 0 Chelsea
SUMMARY:
Rafa Benitez's Liverpool has a knack for playing their best football in Europe and it was the same case overnight as the Mighty Reds came back from an embarrassing 2-0 loss against Barnsley to beat Italian giants Inter Milan 2-0 at Anfield.
The most ardent of Liverpool fans would have been worried by the prospect of facing the form side in Europe in the middle of a horrendous form slump, but Benitez's men had other ideas as Inter collapsed spectacularly in the last five minutes.
Dutchman Dirk Kuyt made it two goals in two games with his 85th minute opener, a deflected right-foot shot before talismanic captain Steven Gerrard took possession on the far right corner of the box and fired the second home off the far post in injury time.
While life was made easier for the Reds after the sending off of Marco Materazzi for two bookable offences on the half hour mark, the Italians defended bravely for almost an hour until the home side did enough to finally make a breakthrough.
There is still plenty to play for in the second leg of this intriguing tie.
Elsewhere, Roma were fourth time lucky as they beat Spanish giants Real Madrid 2-1 at home at the fourth attempt. Spanish striker Raul opened the scoring the visitors in the 8th minute, but Roma equalised through Pizarro in the 24th minute before Mancini sealed the game with a 58th minute winner.
Real, with a precious away goal, will fancy their chances when the return leg takes place at the Bernabeu.
Schalke 04 played admirably in their first appearance in the knockout phase of the Champions League, beating FC Porto 1-0 while English Premier League side Chelsea were held to a bore draw by Greek side Olympiacos.
Here is a video clip of Daniel Agger's goal which cancelled out Joe Cole's winner from the 1st leg of the Champion's League semi-final clash between Liverpool and Chelsea.
The goal was brought about after Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was fouled by Joe Cole outside the penalty box.
Gerrard fooled the Chelsea defence by appearing to run up for a crack at the near post only to roll the ball into the path of the unmarked Daniel Agger for the defender to prod the ball home.
The might Reds went onto win 4 - 1 on penalties to book a place in the final of the Champion's League for the second time in three years.
I wonder what Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be doing now on the night May 23rd?
Yes, you heard it right, Liverpool is going to the Champions League final once again! The tickets to Athens have just been booked and it's going to be the Reds! No Blues!
This is perhaps the most important match of the season so far as i have mentioned and the result couldn't have gone any better! Somehow it felt like we have just won the trophy! Guess it's probably because everyone's been wary about our chances in getting through this time after down one goal deficit in aggregate.
The match started well, and Rafa surprised everyone again (well, at least i am!) with his starting lineup, with Zenden starting his 3rd consecutive match on the left wing. Alonso is dropped to allow Gerrard playing at the middle alongside Mascherano, and Pennant on right wing. The solid Finnan returned to his right back position, and that's the only change in the defensive line from the first leg's team. Crouch upfront with Kuyt, to all Liverpudlians' delight.
Once again, the victorious Reds!
Liverpool went on initiative from the start, and at one point around 20 minutes the possession reads Liverpool 71% to Chelsea's 29%. Pushing for that one goal to put us back into equation is important and at 22nd minute we got what we wanted! Agger's strike from Gerrard's free kick stunned Chelsea's defense and the ball in the net send the crowd into frenzy. From then on, we should be pushing for more, but Chelsea fight back. The latter part of the first half saw Chelsea bombarding their way to get the advantage goal, but we held on.
Second half was pretty much an evenly fought game, although Chelsea put more pressure on us. But we were the ones that came closest when Crouch's header somehow put away to safety by Cech and Kuyt's header hit the crossbar! Pennant also could have scored from Terry's clearance mistake, but was too slow to hit the ball. And Chelsea were always dangerous with their free kicks, but we persevere and both teams enter extra time. The only real chance in extra time was when Kuyt's free inside the penalty box but could only hit it straight at Cech and being parried away.
So here it is, we are in another intense penalty shootout.
To be honest, i was a bit shocked when i saw Zenden came on as the first penalty taker. But i guess it all makes a bit sense that maybe Rafa had always been preparing him for this kind of moment. He was the utility player, and calm head is so important in taking penalties. He didn't fail Rafa. The rest of the story is on the video above, and Reina has proven his heroics last year at FA Cup final wasn't pure luck. We are in for another Champions League final!
Overall, the team played well. Zenden was a bit non-existent, he should be taken out if not for him having a better defensive ability compared to Gonzalez, and also the experience in big matches. Pennant was decent and his cross to Crouch was superb. I think it's quite surprising when he is taken out instead of Zenden at that moment. Gerrard put an inspirational display where he drives around and some good passings. Kuyt was very hardworking, and Mascherano was magnificient! I am very impressed by his defensive display, no nonsense and less complains. I am certain we will see him very often next season.
Defensively, all four backs were tough and solid. Agger's goal pretty much cancelled out his first leg's mistake in allowing Drogba's cross to Joe Cole which resulted the goal. And today he is in no mood to be dragged around by Drogba as easily as the first leg. Credit to Chelsea for keep pushing until the end, but we don't really appreciate how players such as Mikel Obi and Drogba keep going down easily. Essien did an excellent job playing out of position. Mourinho is again controversial with his comments that Chelsea were the best team and the only ones who wants to win. That is not true considering we have more shot on goals, although they did push very hard through the end of the match.
I am in no mood to be pissed by his comments, whatever they said, we are in the final. We are in for another memorable Champions League final, and that is all that matters. Good luck to them in the Premier League race and fighting for the prestigious FA Cup. It's a good day, great day where everything is about the colour red. Excellent job everyone, well done!
Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole ended his recent injury nightmare with the only goal of the match in a 1 - 0 victory over Liverpool in the semi-final of the UEFA Champion's League over-night.
The talented midfielder scored the decisive goal from a cross in the 29th minute after good work from defender Ricardo Carvalho and striker Didier Drogba.
The high-light of the game came after the match when Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, or 'Moaninho', complained on television about the referee failing to award a penalty for a hand-ball by Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa.
He said: “I do not understand why we do not have penalties when it is clear. It’s not fair. I hope, after the second leg, we are not crying again and thinking about a big decision.”
What he failed to note was that the hand-ball incident - and a purely accidental one at that - occurred OUTSIDE the penalty-box and by a fair distance.
Perhaps there really is a separate set of rules for Chelsea if that was to be deemed a penalty or Mourinho should simply get his eyes checked out.
Luckily, the referee was a much wiser man and waved the penalty claims away.
The 2nd leg of semi-final two will take place on May 1st with Chelsea holding a slender advantage. However, with Liverpool playing at home with the vocal Anfield faithful in full song, anything can happen.
Just in case you were wondering, there is no typo in the title of my post.
That is the amazing score-line by which the Red Devils emerged victorious from their clash against Roma at Old Trafford in a pulsating night of European football.
In one of Manchester United's most devastating performances in Europe, the Red Devils completely and utterly destroyed Italian club Roma to advance through to the last four of Europe's elite club competition.
By half-time, the Red Devils were already 4 - 0 up with goals from Michael Carrick, Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
All four goals were top notch and everything had fallen into place for Manchester United.
One would have predicted the second half to be less exciting than the first with United to defend their 4-nil cushion, but Ronaldo carried on the rampage with his 2nd goal and United's fifth of the evening just five minutes after the restart.
5 - 0.
If the score-line was getting a little ridiculous, the ease with which United carved up Roma's defence was ludicrous and soon Carrick had his second goal of the night with an arrowed shot into the top right corner.
6 - 0.
Roma pulled one back nine minutes later, but it was hardly worth celebrating as evident from the muted response from their shell-shocked fans.
Second half substitute Patrice Evra completed the rout with United's 7th goal in the 81st minute.
Chelsea's Ghana midfielder Michael Essien scored a sensational late winner to earn his side a berth in the Champion's League semi-final over-night.
With the match seemingly headed for extra-time, Essien rammed home an acutely angled shot in injury time to dump Spanish side Valencia out of the competition.
Valencia's Fernando Morientes had given his side the lead with a goal just past the half-hour and the reigning English champions were in trouble knowing that they had fallen 2-1 behind on aggregate.
Mourinho knew he had to make changes and sent on the talented Joe Cole in place of the ineffective Diarra during half-time and the move paid dividends.
Cole's direct running and trickery caused chaos in the Valencia box and up stepped striker Andriy Shevchenko to bundle in the equaliser - the Blues were back.
Chelsea continued to press and should have scored from a Ballack free-kick had it not been for the brilliance of opposition goalkeeper Canizares' fantastic save but Essien finally managed the vital breakthrough with his angle drive in stoppage time.
Wayne Rooney's first Champion's League goal in 30 months was not enough to save Manchester United from defeat against Roma in a match marred by off-field violence.
Manchester United fans and Italian police clashed during the half-time break with several United fans captured on TV bleeding from head wounds.
Things did not go too well on the pitch either for the Red Devils after going down to Roma 2 - 1 although Rooney's away goal means not all is lost with the return leg at Old Trafford next week.
Former England midfielder Paul Scholes will be watching next week's game from the stands after getting himself sent-off for reckless tackles which earned him two yellow cards and an automatic red for his efforts.
Meanwhile, Valencia showed their class against Chelsea with a 1 - 1 draw and a precious away goal at Stamford bridge.
David Silva's 30th minute goal was superb and Chelsea had to call on their Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba to save their blushes with a lobbed header in the 2nd half.
Although the prospect of three English clubs in the semi-finals of the Champion's League appear premature at this stage, anything can still happen when the return leg of the quarter-finals resume next week.
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:
Chelsea progressed through to the quarter finals of the Champion's League with a 2-1 win over Porto. The Blues dominated possession for large spells but fell behind to a 15th minute goal and it took Arjen Robben until the second half to equalise for Chelsea.
Germany captain Michael Ballack sealed the win with a 79th minute winner.
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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