Cruel Loss For Chelsea in Champions League semi
May 7, 2009
Chelsea took on Barcelona for a spot in the Champions League final against Manchester United. The match played at Chelsea’s home ground followed a scoreless draw in Barcelona.
Chelsea looked to have done enough to earn themselves a rematch against Man Utd, that was until the third minute of injury time. Essien had given Chelsea a 1-0 lead after 9 minutes. Chelsea also had the advantage of an extra man after Abidal was sent off in the 66th minute after bringing down Nicolas Anelka just outside the box.
As I was watching the final moments of the game I was thinking it is not over. Just a single goal was needed by Barcelona to take them through on the away goal rule.
That is what happened. Deep into injury time Barcelona pushed forward. The goal hero for Chelsea, Essien, had a chance to clear the ball to safety but mishit the ball. It went to Messi who squared the ball to Iniesta who hit the ball first time from just outside the box. His strike was perfect and it hit the back of the net high to the left of a diving Cech.
Heartbreak for Chelsea and complete joy for Barcelona. It was still not over and Chelsea pushed forward yet again. A corner was won by the home team. From the corner Ballack took a shot that struck the upper arm of a Barcelona defender. The ref waved it off. Ballack protested the call in such a way that he was given a yellow card.
The no call was the third one I remember seeing not to go Chelsea’s way. Earlier in the match there was a very clear handball by Pique that both the ref and assistant missed.
That’s football. Never over until it is over. Man United after their stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal would go into the final in Rome as favourites but you always have to expect the unexpected in the final as it is a one off match and can go either way.
What did you think of Ronaldo’s goal?
April 16, 2009
Just a quick post about Manchester United’s Ronaldo and that fantastic goal he scored in the Champions League match against Porto. It took his side through to the semifinals as Manchester won the match 1-0.
In case you missed it he took the shot from about 35 metres out and hit it with such power and precision it gave the keeper no chance.
If you did see it, is it the best goal this season?
Chelsea Deny Liverpool Dramatic Win
April 15, 2009
As Chelsea and Liverpool went into halftime of their Champions League quarterfinal second leg match, Liverpool had some hope of pulling off an amazing upset. The score was 2-0 in favour of the visiting Liverpool team. Liverpool were aiming for a 3-0 win to overcome the 3-1 home loss in the first leg.
Aurelio had put Liverpool up 1-0 after sneaking a long range free kick inside the right post as Petr Cech expected a cross. It was an embarrassing misjudgment for the Chelsea keeper. It was just a sign of things to come.
Liverpool went 2-0 up after Xabi Alonso blasted a penalty shot into the back of the net. This came after the Spanish referee ruled that game one two goal hero for Chelsea Branislav Ivanovic had interfered with Alonso in the penalty area.
Chelsea were looking shell-shocked and it took a Guus Hiddink halftime talk to turnaround his teams fortunes. Also a wise substitution would play a key role. Salomon Kalou made way for Nicolas Anelka.
It was Anelka who setup a goal for Didier Drogba. A run by Anelka into the right corner saw him cross the ball a metre from the goal line. The faintest of touches from Drogba threw off Pepe Reina. The Liverpool keeper had the misfortune of seeing the ball deflect off him and into the goal. Chelsea were now ahead on aggregate 4-3 after 52 minutes.
Next came a thunderbolt of a shot from a free kick. The man who launched the ball into the back of the net was Alex. His shot from long range gave Reina no hope of making the save. It was further agony for Liverpool supporters.
The team could have easily given up hope as the score was now 2-2 and 5-3 to Chelsea on aggregate. Soon after a Lampard goal made it 3-2. To give up is not something Liverpool know how to do. They fought back with quick fire goals to Lucas in the 81st minute and Kuyt in the 82nd minute.
The tie was now there for the taking by Liverpool. It was 6-5 on aggregate to Chelsea. Another Liverpool goal would give them a famous victory due to the away goals rule. Unfortunately it was not to be as Lampard sealed the result with a goal that struck the left post and then the right before deciding to go in. Match over.
That was the end of a superb game. It was thrilling right down to the last minute. If you want to be harsh you could blame Reina for his slipup with the Drogba goal but that would be unfair.
Credit to Chelsea for fighting off a strong challenge by Liverpool. I now hope that they can use the extra rest that they will now receive prior to EPL games to mount a run at the title. It is about time they won the EPL.
Chelsea Take the Upper Hand Over Liverpool
April 10, 2009
Liverpool and Chelsea met once again in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League. This time it was in the quarter final stage of the biggest club soccer competition in the world. On this occasion the match was played on Liverpool’s home turf.
Last year Chelsea overcame Liverpool at the semi final stage so they would have gone into this leg full of confidence although playing at Anfield has not been a happy hunting ground for Chelsea. In their previous four Champions League matches at Anfield only a John Arne Riise own goal found the back of the Liverpool net.
Liverpool got off to a great start with a goal in the sixth minute. It was that man Fernando Torres who opened the scoring. Dirk Kuyt started the move that lead to the goal with a back heal out to the right wing, Alvaro Arbeloa crossed and Torres did the rest.
Chelsea were given a chance to level the scores a short time later as Didier Drogba broke clear and just had Pepe Reina to beat. Drogba was only able to shoot into the Liverpool keeper.
Chelsea finally leveled the match after 39 minutes. The goal scorer was most unexpected. Chelsea’s Serbian fullback Ivanovic scored his first goal for the club with a header. The goal came off a Malouda corner kick when Ivanovic met the ball in traffic to beat Reina.
Just to show his first goal was no fluke Ivanovic popped up again in the 62nd minute to again head home a corner, this time from the boot of Lampard. It only got worse for Liverpool, this was no magical Anfield night. In the 67th minute a perfect cross from the left by Malouda found Drogba wo from close range poked the ball past Reina.
So that is how it ended. 3-1 to Chelsea. That was the worst defeat at home in a Champions League match since a 3-1 to FC Barcelona in November 2001. Liverpool now faces a huge task in the second leg. They know they need to score three unanswered goals at Chelsea’s home ground.
In the other match Barcelona were way too good for Bayern Munich taking the match 4-0. The German team had gone into the match after suffering a 5-0 loss in the German league so it came as no surprise to see them humbled by Barcelona. Messi scored a double and Eto’o and Henry also scored. All goals came in the first half.
The two matches played the night before ended in draws. Manchester United had a late goal scored against them to see the match end 2-2 against Porto at Old Trafford. Arsenal managed to get a valuable away goal as their match against Villarreal ended at 1-1.
The second leg matches will be played on 14-15 April. Based on the first leg results you would say Chelsea and Barcelona are almost assured of advancing to the semifinals, while the other matches are wide open.
Plenty of Goals In Champions League
March 11, 2009
It was raining goals in the second leg of the first knockout stage in the UEFA Champions League. Four matches produced 19 goals.
Liverpool showed no mercy to Spanish giants, Real Madrid as they hosted the second leg at Anfield. The final score was 4-0 (5-0 on aggregate). Fernando Torres had given Liverpool a great start after he found the back of the net at the 16 minute mark.
A Steven Gerrard penalty took the score to 2-0 after 28 minutes and the contest was a good as over. Liverpool had other ideas as they knocked in two more goals. Gerrard got a second just after the break and then Andrea Dossena completed the rout with an 88th minute goal. The win moved Liverpool into the quarter finals for the third year in a row.
If you thought Liverpool went alright then how about Bayern Munich? They slaughtered Sporting Lisbon 7-1 and set a new record for an aggregate win in the Champions League. The had 12 goals to one over the two legs.
Chelsea has also made their third straight quarter final as they went to Juve and got a 2-2 result taking the tie 3-2 on aggregate. Didier Drogba scored in the 83rd to send Chelsea through to the next stage.
In the last match of the night Villarreal advanced following a 2-1 (3-2 aggr.) win over Panathinaikos from Greece.
UEFA Champions League last 16 draw
December 21, 2008
The Champions league draw took place the other day. As it turned out the Champions League has turned into an Italy-England contest. Three of the four teams from England will take on Italian opponents in the home and away legs of the last 16. The first leg matches will take place on 24 February, 2009.
The draw is shown below with the home teams for the first leg shown first.
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Olympic Lyonnais v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United
Who are your picks to advance to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League?
Matchday 4 Champions League results
November 6, 2008
Matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions league has been completed. The biggest result was perhaps the 3-1 defeat of Chelsea by Roma. Also Juventus defeating Real Madrid in Spain by 2 goals to nil was a good result for the Italian team. The win sees Juve join Barcelona in the knockout stage.
Liverpool and Atletico could have joined them if either of them won the match between the pair, instead they drew one all and now must wait another game to seal a spot in the next stage.
Del Piero was impressive for Juve scoring two great goals to help his team win at the Madrid home ground for the first time since 1962.
The match between Inter and Anorthosis Famagusta produced the most goals. It was 3-3. A late goal by Julio Cruz saved Inter from embarrassment.
The full list of results are below.
A CFR Cluj 1-2 Bordeaux
A Roma 3-1 Chelsea
B Anorthosis 3-3 Internazionale
B Bremen 0-3 Panathinaikos
C Sporting 1-0 Shakhtar
C Barcelona 1-1 Basel
D Liverpool 1-1 Atlético
D Marseille 3-0 PSV
E AaB 2-2 Villarreal
E Celtic 1-1 Man. United
F Fiorentina 1-1 Bayern
F Lyon 2-0 Steaua
G Arsenal 0-0 Fenerbahçe
G Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Porto
H BATE 0-2 Zenit
H Real Madrid 0-2 Juventus
Matchday 5 takes place on 25-26 November. The group stage wraps up on 9-10 December with matchday 6 fixtures.
Liverpool let points slip at Atletico
October 23, 2008
In match day three Champions League action Liverpool FC traveled to Spain to take on joint group D leaders Club Atletico de Madrid. Up until the 83rd minute of the match they were looking good to go top of the group with a valuable away win after Robbie Keane had given them the lead in the 14th minute.
Keane’s goal was setup with a through ball from Steven Gerrard that helped Keane slip past the last line of defence. It was touch and go if he was on-side. In the end play continued and he slotted home past Leo Franco.
The referee assistants were to play a big role in this match as first Liverpool then Atletico had goals ruled out for offside. Both decisions were questionable. Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun was first to feel the disappointment of seeing the flag go up as he put the ball into the back of the net. Not long after Seitaridis for Atletico was also denied by an offside call.
As it looked likely that Liverpool would take full points a Jamie Carragher error allowed Diego Forlan to take possession before passing to Simao who then beat Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina. More chances came for both sides as Reina tipped away a Miguel strike and Ryan Babel headed wide of the post.
Rafael Benitez said after the match that he felt Liverpool lost two points rather than gaining one which is normally a good result when playing away.
The draw leaves the two sides on top with seven points, four clear of PSV who defeated Marseille 2-0 at home.
In other matchday three action Barcelona stayed the only team to win three from three as they thumped Basel 5-0. Chelsea won at home over Roma with a 1-0 score after a John Terry goal in the 77th minute.
Matchday four is scheduled for November 4-5. The group stage will be completed on 10 December. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.
Champions League Gerrard rocket brings up goal 100 for Liverpool
October 2, 2008
Steven Gerrard has brought up his 100th goal for Liverpool in style. He struck a rocket of a shot in the 76th minute from a free kick. This came in the UEFA Champions League match against visiting PSV Eindhoven.
Liverpool got off to a brilliant start when Dirk Kuyt scored after 4 minutes. The goal came after a good shot by Fernando Torres was blocked by the diving keeper. Kuyt grabbed the long rebound to shoot home.
The next Liverpool goal cam at the 34th minute mark. Torres made a good run down the right wing before sending in a cross for Robbie Keane to nicely deflect into the left side of the goal. Finally the €25m signing had scored for his new team following the transfer from Tottenham Hotspur FC in the summer. Like Peter Crouch several years ago this may open the floodgates for Keane.
PSV did not manage to get a single shot on target until the 78th minute. The result was a goal. It came after a good cross was whipped in at an angle from the right to Danny Koevermans. His one touch sent the ball past Reina into the back of the net. At the time his team were already down by three goals so the match was as good as over.
Liverpool deserved their win as they controlled the ball well and had many more scoring opportunities. Not long befre Gerrard scored his great goal Torres was gifted a good opportunity. A PSV back pass was the perfect through ball for the Spanish international. He advanced to the goal with just the keeper to beat however the tight angle made it difficult. From a similar spot in the Euro finals he scored however this time he shot wide.
Liverpool now have two wins from as many starts compared to last season when they had just one point from two matches. In the other match in group D Atletico joined Liverpool at the top of the group with a 2-1 win over Marseille.
CFR 1907 Cluj managed to hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw in group A.
Barcelona were lucky to come away from their match with a win after an injury time goal by Messi shattered Shakhtar as they lost 2-1. Shakhtar lead one nil from the 45th minute until two later Barcelona goals changed that. Messi scored in the 87th minute and the fourth minute of extra time.
UEFA Champions League matchday three will be played on 21-22 October.
