Champions League Quarterfinals

Its the business stage of the Champions League. There have been quite a few upsets in the earlier rounds with the nine time champions Realmadrid going out. Defending champions AC Milan also failed to progress and also their bitter rivals Inter crashing out. All four English teams have progressed into the last 8 and it clearly shows EPL is the strongest league. Spain have a representative in Barcelona while Roma from Italy, Schalke from Germany and the surprise package Fenerbahce from Turkey.


Previews:

AS Roma vs Manchester United (01.04.2008)




Its going to be an absolute cracker of a game. Manutd are on a roll at the moment and Ronaldo is simply firing on all cylinders, Rooney and Tevez too have regained their scoring form and it all comes at a time for Roma who still have the 7-1 memories, will miss their captain Totti. Even though Roma play at home they will in for a very tough game and United will hope for a good result to take into second leg at Old Trafford.

Match Kick off - 19:45 GMT

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Schalke vs Barcelona (01.04.2008)





Barcelona have hit a poor run and they have been very inconsistent and without Messi they are struggling. Their confidence was shattered with the 3-2 lost in the weekend to Betis and now they face a tough Schalke side. Though Barcelona are considered favourites Schalke can cause an upset if they get a good result in their home. But the return leg at Nou Camp will be very tough to say the least. Barca are under pressure to deliver.


Match Kick Off 19:45 GMT

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Fenerbahce vs Chelsea (02.04.2008)

Fenerbahce have been the real surprise package of the season and have been brilliant under Zico. And they now face a strong Chelsea side who have emerged as the new rival to Manutd in the EPL title race. Chelsea should be the favourites for the match and it will be impossible to see the result going otherwise considering the quality in the Chelsea side. But they will be in for a fight from Zico's men.

Match Kick Off 19:45 GMT

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Arsenal vs Liverpool (02.04.2008)

It is one game which just can go either way. Both teams wouldn't have preferred this tie. This match will surely lack the Champions League atmosphere. Both of them know each other very well and to add to that they will be meeting 3 times in a week with both to meet in the weekend EPL fixture at the Emirates. Arsenal have got back in winning form while Liverpool are flying with Torres. I just don't want to have call on this match, who would????

Match Kick Off 19:45 GMT

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Real Madrid see off Sevilla

It was a commanding performance from the whites to beat the club whom they were facing for the fourth time this season and pressure was on them to get a result as a new title rival in Villarreal had emerged and it was necessary to have a gap between them in the title race. Real had lost to Sevilla in the other 3 meetings this season and the visitors have a great record at the Bernebeu losing just one in the last 19 visits.

There was some selection controversy with Sneijder coming in for Robinho and Gago in for Diarra. The match got off to a good start with both sides going for the goal and both had decent chances, Real with the best ones. The deadlock was broken by Heinze who headed home a free kick by Sneijder. This got the fans roaring and Sevilla committed too many men forward to find the equaliser opening Real for the counter but the dint take the chances they had where they could have easily scored 2 more goals.

Kanoute then got Sevilla back on level smashing home a header from Keita. The response from Real was immediate Raul scored from a Sneijder assist. The Dutchman was in thick of things. The first half ended with the home team dominating.

In the second Sevilla were more determined to get a goal and had contorl of ball for quite a while but it was Real again with the best chances to score Higuain missing some sitters in front of goal. Just when all were thinking the ball would not go in, Guti crossed the ball to Higuain and he finally got his goal. It was an important goal both for the player and the team. Real who had a 2 goal cushion kept the ball well while Sevilla pushed on and Heinze made some good blocks to deny Fabiano. He also missed an easy header at the near post.

But it was a night were the Defending Champions showed plenty of character and the hunger to win. Captain Raul was once again out standing with his overall contribution so were Sneijder and Gago in middle of the park. Heinze had a great game with several blocks and his first goal for the club. Real have a 6 point lead and look a better team now than they were over the last few weeks.

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1:0 Heinze 7'
1:1 Kanoute 37'
2:1 Raúl 38'
3:1 Higuaín 65'

Pato - The prodigy

Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva, better known as Pato is the latest sensation to strike the footballing world. He has adopted his name to Alexandre Pato after the city he was born, Pato Branco. Pato made his debut for his club Internacional at the age of 17 and made a telling effect in the 4-1 win scoring one and setting up the other three.

In 2000, when Alexandre was 10 years old, x-rays from a broken bone revealed that he had a tumor in his arm. The doctors realized that the tumor would become cancerous in two months if not removed. Alexandre's family could not afford the surgery to remove the tumor, but the doctor, Paulo Roberto Mussi, was a family friend, and operated for free. This event was particularly significant because it occurred in a very crucial year when Alexandre was working towards a professional career with Internacional.

Pato made the football world take a note of him when he scored in the FIFA club world cup semifinals against Al-Ahly Cairo and helping them to a 2-1 win. Internacional won that edition beating Barcelona 1-0 in the finals. With this goal, Pato took Pelé's record as youngest scorer in the history of official FIFA competitions (17 years and 102 days, against Pelé's 17 years and 239 in the 1958 FIFA World Cup against Wales).

Pato from then on was scouted by many European giants like AC Milan, Benfica,Juventus, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal. And it was the current European Champions who got his signature for a fee of around €22 million. It was a dream come true for the youngster. Due to Italian football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until January 3, 2008. Yet he was allowed to play in friendlies and scored in his non- competitive debut against Dynamo kiev in a 2-2 draw. And in January 4, 2008 his transfer became official.

Pato scored his first Milan goal in his Serie A debut against Napoli in a 5–2 victory at the San Siro. He has been a revelation since then and has scored 7 goals till now. He made his Brazil debut on March 26, 2008 and scored minutes after coming on as a second half substitute. And people have started comparing him with Pelé but Pato has said he is happy with the comparisons and that he just wants to concentrate to help his team earn 4th place for a spot in next season's champions league. At 18 he has a cool head and being at a club like AC Milan with players like Kaka, Pirlo around him he can only get better.

Gunners show character

With already conceding the top spot to Manchester United and even losing the second place to Chelsea the pressure was on Arsenal to get a win and put on the teams ahead of them in the title race. And they were up against a physical Bolton team at the Reebok, a place were they have not won for 6 years.

Arsenal started brightly but it was Mathew Taylor who hit the back of the net for his first goal since his arrival from Portsmouth. And just when Arsenal were pushing for an equaliser Diaby dived in studs-up on Steinsson's ankle and referee Chris Foy had no hesitation in showing a red card and still an hour was left to play. Even with 10 men they fought and while the first half was coming to an end Taylor shot was deflected in off Gallas and they found themselves 2-0 down going into the break.

In the second half Bolton were trying for a third and had some decent chances and Wenger bought in Walcott and Adebayor to try and ignite some fire in the team and just when things were looking good for Bolton they conceded from a corner, poor defending resulting in the goal for Gallas in the 63rd minute.

After that it was Arsenal all the way they played the kind of football they used to and Bolton were down in confidence. Six minutes later the Gunners were level when Van Persie converted from the penalty spot after Cahill brought down Hleb. Arsenal after that were going for the winner and Van persie had a couple of misses.

And with seconds to go Arsenal snatched victory when Hleb's cross from the left was helped on by Fabregas and took two deflections, the last off Samuel to give the Gunners' hope in the title race. Wenger would have been a proud man to see his young team show this fighting spirit. Finally a win for Gunners after going 5 matches without one.

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Manchester United March on....

It can be said without a doubt that March has been the month were Manchester United's march towards retaining the title has been evident. The Red Devils took on Aston villa at Old Trafford on Saturday. Villa had not won at the Theatre of Dreams for 25 years and United had a wonderful against Villa over the last few seasons and it looked set to continue.

Ronaldo's shot was saved brilliantly by Carson and Villa on the other had decent possession and created chances. It was an open game, something United like. Villa, unlike other teams who come to OT and put 10 men behind the ball and try to contain United, were aggressive and wanted to play open football and it was Ronaldo again who opened the floodgates audaciously flicking the ball into the net for his 35th goal of the season after a corner was not properly dealt with. It was Ronaldo again in the act but this time as the provider, a wonderful ball from the right was neatly headed in by Tevez. United were on a charge and went into the break 2-0 up.

And when second half resumed nothing seemed to change with United looking to increase the lead and Rooney was put through on goal and he missed a chance which he would score 9 times out of ten. Villa had an immediate chance through Maloney and his shot across the goal was agonisingly close. It was also a chance which should have been taken and it would have injected life into the game. Rooney finally scored his first league goal at OT in 5 months rounding up Carson after Ronaldo had put him through with a wonderful flick.

United then replaced Carrick, Evra and Ferdinand with Anderson, O'shea and Hargreaves. There was more action to come as Ronaldo once again provided Rooney a assist which the number 10 promptly dispatched to get his second of the night. And he also goal disallowed for offside. Manutd were totally in command and played with lot of energy till the final whistle. The message from united to the chasing pack is clear "Catch us if u can".

Sir Alex would be a very happy man with both his marksmen back among the goals at the right time of the season.

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1-0 Ronaldo

2-0 Tevez

3-0 Rooney

4-0 Rooney

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Highlights

Barca lose as Villarreal move to 2nd spot

One man's downfall is another one' gain. Barcelona slipping up against Betis meant that Villarreal are now in the second spot in the La Liga. Barcelona met Real Betis at the Vicente Calderon stadium as Betis have a 2 match stadium ban for fan violence and Barcelona would have fancied their chances against Betis as they were on a neutral venue. They needed to start well and did just that, totally dominating the first half with more than 70% possession and also scoring twice through Bojan and Eto'o in consecutive minutes. A third goal would have totally killed the game off but they were unable to find that and went into the break with a comfortable cushion.

After the break Barca were comfortable and it needed something special to break Barca down. The introduction of Rafael Sobis and David Odonkor did just that. Odonkor's ran through the right and lifted the ball to Edu who headed it in. And after 10 minutes a penalty from Edu was saved but Barca were unable to hold on to their lead and Juanito put Betis level and it Edu again for Betis in the 78th minute who got the winner. Barcelona would be cursing themselves for not letting a 2-0 lead but also the chance to close the gap on Realmadrid to just 1 point.

And Barcelona slipping up against Betis meant the Yellow submarines had the chance to move into second place and they were up against a formidable Athletico Madrid side. Villarreal turned on the style and scored twice in the first half through Cazorla and Nihat. And it continued in the second half with Nihat getting his second and sealing the win.

At the end of the day Frank Rijkaard would be pondering what went wrong and Manuel Pellegrini would be thinking to challenge Realmadrid all the way to the title.

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Barcelona - Betis - Goals

Jose to Italy?

According to reports from a Portuguese Media "The Special One" has flown to Milan on Friday evening to meet up with the Inter president Morrati and discuss a move. His possible move to Inter appears on the cards as the current boss Mancini had said after Liverpool defeat in the UCL that he would quit at the end of the season only to refute it saying he wont do so.

Inter have lost their plot in the Serie A and only have a 4 point lead over Roma . They had the chance to go 6 points clear after Roma drew 1-1 on Saturday but Inter could muster only a 1-1 draw against Lazio. Jose would find Inter to his liking as its a huge club without any doubt but they also have some stars who Jose prefers to work with rather than ordinary players. He could be the right man for Inter and his stifling technique might just work with a club like Inter. And Jose had already said that he would be taking over as the boss of a major team in Europe and he wanted to destroy Chelsea in Champions League but he said the club would always remain in his hearts. So is he heading to Italy????????

And Jose has refused all the speculation about him meeting with Inter president saying “It’s not true that I have been in Milan, in fact I did not meet president Moratti and I don’t even want to” . And it looks like the stories around Jose will go on until he finally takes over a club.

The Merseyside Derby

Many would argue that the Manchester or Glasgow derby to be the most fiercest in UK but according to the great Matt Le Tissier the Merseyside derby is the biggest. He says so because of the passion that comes with these games and the timing of this clash will prove he was right.

He has a point, Liverpool and Everton face off at a time were both teams are going head to head for the final Champions League spot. The toffee's are 2 points behind Liverpool coming into this match and 7 games left to play. Anfield will be a tough place for any team but Derby's are totally a different from other games and players always tend to lift their performances. Everton have suffered a huge blow with their influential middle man Tim Cahill out for rest of the season. The onus will now be on Yakubu who after struggling to score goals at the start of the season, has been scoring for fun. Liverpool have Mascherano suspended but that should not hurt them as they have Lucas Leiva.

Here not just three points are at stake but an important 4th spot in the table that will get a UCL qualification spot. Both teams will want to have a go at each other but considering their respective positions they might settle for a draw but with Torres and Gerrard on fire Liverpool will fancy their chances not just in this match but also for rest of their league season as they have a strong squad to cope with player loses while Everton will suffer to find replacements for injured players.

In the last 22 games between the sides there have been a total of 16 red cards which, is the most seen in any given Premier League Fixture and even in the last derby at Goodison Park Tony Hibbert & Phil Neville were sent off. So one can expect a feisty fixture with cards and goals......

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EPL - Weekend preview

BOLTON - ARSENAL



Arsenal have got themselves to blame for the position they find themselves in. They have thrown away a 5 point lead in their last five games drawing four, losing one and find themselves 6 points behind the leaders Manchester United and now they travel to the North West of London to face relegation threatened Bolton side. And its a place were the Gunners have not won in the last six years and things wont be easier this time either with Bolton's physical approach totally opposite to Arsenal's football with substance. With captain Gallas reportedly losing faith of his players the pressure is heaping on Arsenal to get a win and stay in touch with the leaders and hope for a run in to the title.

Match Kick Off - 15.00 GMT 20.30 IST

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MANCHESTER UNITED - ASTON VILLA






Manchester United have a comfortable 5 point lead over the near rivals Chelsea and they just cannot afford to take the foot off the pedal as they host Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Manutd have hit a great run of form after the FA cup exit to Portsmouth and have gone to the top of BPL. Aston villa who were chasing UEFA cup spot have gone off the boil and even lost to Sunderland last week at villa park and things cant get tougher as they visit OT. With Ronaldo firing on all cylinders and United having a good record against Villa they are expected to win this one.

Match Kick Off - 17.15 GMT 22.45 IST

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CHELSEA - MIDDLESBROUGH





Chelsea have brought themselves into the title race after a win over Arsenal in the Grand Slam Sunday. Chelsea now have the Boro team visiting them at the Bridge. the visitors have already taken 5 points out of Arsenal this season and have a knack of raising their game in big matches. But Chelsea with their impressive 78 games unbeaten at home are expected to win against Boro to keep the pressure on Manchester United .

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Will he stay or leave?????

This hasn't been Ronaldinho's season. He has started just 13 league games so far and overall he has made only 25 appearances for Barcelona. He has put on weight he has not been sharp not scoring the way he does, not making to Brazil national team and that sums up Ronnie thus far. And this slump in form can also be associated to the arrival of Henry and loss of Riijkard's confidence in him. Henry is currently playing in Ronaldinho's position - Left wing forward, something that Henry clearly does not prefer and his creativity has not been on show neither his free kicks.

And Ronaldinho was so down in confidence that he declared that he would shave his head if he did not start the El Classico against Realmadrid at the Nou Camp, a match which he eventually started. But they lost that one too and he was consigned to bench after that and Barca were getting results without him. And now Ronaldinho has come to a state where he feels its time to leave the club and his brother cum agent Roberto Assis has admitted that he may leave in the summer, a move that would be good for both the team and the player.

But a problem lies there also. Ronnie has a buy out clause of €125 million to his contract which expires in June 2010, a fee that is too expensive for any club. But his brother has said they will use the ARTICLE 17 of FIFA which states "A player may buy out the remaining part of his contract if he is into 3rd of his contract". And that could mean he can be bought for €16 million. Realmadrid and Chelsea are looking at him and even Spurs boss Juande Ramos has expressed his wish to sign Ronnie. So its going to a be a merry go round summer for him deciding which club to go. We do not know if he is saying "Bye Bye" to Barca as in the picture above.....

Spain - Italy

It was a fairly even match between two European heavyweights, with Spain having the upper hand before the break but the Italians were stronger in the second half and it was Valencia star David Villa who broke the ice in the 78th min with a well taken volley, guiding Spain home.

Final Score

Spain 1 - 0 Italy

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1-0 David Villa

Brazil - Sweden

Brazil came out on top in a game that saw both the team's coaches try out several inexperienced players and 6 changes were made by both teams and it was the starlet Pato who netted the only goal of the game in the 72nd min.

Final Score

Brazil 1 - 0 Sweden

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1-0 Pato

Greece - Portugal Friendly

Portugal minus Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani were beaten 2-1

Final Score

Greece 2-1 Portugal

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1-0 Giorgos Karagounis
2-0 Giorgos Karagounis
2-1 Nuno Gomes

Capello Tastes First Defeat

A 32nd minute Franck Ribery penalty condemned Capello to defeat in his second game in charge of England in Paris. It was a forgettable night for the first time captain and the centurion David Beckham as they lost to a more organised French side. As expected Beckham started the match and thereby becoming only the 5th English player achieve 100 caps for his country. Capello opted for 4-5-1 formation with Rooney as the lone man upfront and the midfield containing Beckham, Gerrard, Barry, Hargreaves and Joe Cole. But England lacked penetration and never created any clear cut chances. And even after going a goal behind they did not do a lot. Rooney is not the ideal man upfront as his natural position is dropping off a little and coming behind a target man. France on the other hand were organised and not given a hard time by their English counterparts.

In the second half Capello made 6 changes with Rooney, Gerrard, Terry and Joe Cole making way for Owen, Crouch, Downing and Lescott at half time switching to 4-4-2 while Beckham and Brown made way for Bentley and Johnson. France also made a few changes with Anelka and Trezeguet making way for Cisse and Govou but the pattern of the match never changed and both the goalkeepers were not really tested. France in spite of the absence of Henry, Benzema , Viera looked solid and the match ended with the Ribery penalty being the deciding factor and Capello said in the post match interview he was satisfied with his team saying that he saw a lot of improvement. Its time to move on for the Lions..............

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1-0 Ribery

Cristiano "Rocket" Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is a name that everyone loves at Old Trafford. This 23 yr old is having the footballing world at this feet. Signed as a largely unknown youngster in 2003 for a fee of £12.24 m he was given the legendary "Number 7" by Sir Alex when Ronaldo asked for Number 28. And Ronaldo's capture was dramatic. Manutd team which had gone to Portugal for a pre season tour was impressed with him and they signed him the night before Sporting Lisbon were to play United and it seems Ronaldo was convinced by join United by the then Manutd players and they returned to Manchester along with Ronaldo. When he had signed for Manutd he had played just 25 games for his parent club Sporting. Ronaldo's life at OT started steadily and he was beginning to make an impact at the club and that's when the world cup 2006 came.


His on filed bust with Rooney in the quarterfinals resulted in Rooney being sent off and England lost the game in penalties, Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty. And all expected Ronny to leave England and Sir Alex feared the most as his youthful side was in danger of losing a gem. But he was convinced to stay at United and after that a new dimension of Ronaldo's play was unleashed.
He started to be cruel in front of goal and notched up 23 goals in the 2006-07 season ending as the joint top scorer with Rooney. All the critics and crowd taunts were answered on the pitch by Ronaldo who seemed to get better with the crowd against him and that resulted in Manutd regaining the EPL title after 2003 and they also reached semi finals of the Champions League and lost in the FA cup finals. Overall it was a successful season for the Red Devils and Ronaldo won all sorts of awards - 14 in total and he was runner up to Kaka in the European Player of the year and 3rd in World player of the year.


And by the start of 2007-08 season many predicted that Ronaldo would not match his performance of the previous season. And doubts were raised as United struggled for goals at the start of the season and Ronaldo sent off against Portsmouth. But his 1st goal of the season against his old club Sporting in the Champions League set things rolling. Since then he simply has been irresistible scoring nearly in every match and he unleashed his new weapon "Ronaldo Rocket" - the unstoppable free kick, something none of the pundits have been able to find how he does that. He surpassed George Best's record of 32 goals for a winger and is currently on 34, a figure that is simply beyond the imagination for a winger. With Ronaldo laying to rest the transfer speculation after signing a new 6 year deal worth £44 million Manutd fans can expect more fireworks from this wizard in the coming years..........

David Beckham scores 100

David Beckham is set to become only the 5th England player to play 100 games for his country when he sets foot at the Stade de France . This has been confirmed by England boss Fabio Capello. And Beckham today gave his first press conference as England player after stepping down as the captain after the world cup debacle in 2006 and he was really pleased. He also rubbished comments that his 100th cap should have been at Wembley saying he was happy as long as he reaches that landmark and also said he wanted to get that out of his way and look forward to playing with the national setup in the years to come.

Beckham has endured some torrid times after stepping down as captain of England. He was left out constantly of his then club Realmadrid, incidentally by the current England coach Fabio Capello who even went to the extent of saying Beckham would never play for Realmadrid after he had signed with LA Galaxy. But a fighter he is, Beckham made Capello pick him and gave performances that transformed the clubs fortunes and also helped Capello keep his job till the end of the season. After that he played week in and week out and few injuries hampered him but he went on to lift the La Liga title, his first with Realmadrid. And Realmadrid were even prompted to re-sign him and started looking into the clauses in Beckham's contract with LA Galaxy. But the ship had sailed, Real had lost a Gem and a total team player in David Beckham and their search for a Right Winger still goes on.

After his move to the less competitive MLS many had written off his International career but Becks regained his place in Steve Mclaren's team. After England's failure to qualify for Euro'08 Capello was appointed the new England boss, someone who knew Beckham very well. David did not figure in Capello's first match as he was not match fit and the Boss said Beckham would play if he is fit showing the faith he has in this great player.

Now its all up to Beckham to fire on his 100th match and help England win.......

Les Blues Lions Clash

The Les Blues and the Three Lions clash for a friendly on 26th March at Paris. It will be a test for Fabio Capello and his wards as they are playing away from home for the first time under Capello. Rio Ferdinand has been named the captain for this match and star players Rooney and Lampard have been declared fit to play in this match. All the pre-match focus has been on David Beckham getting his 100th cap for England and after he had made the final 23 man squad its certain that he will start. And to spice up the game France coach Raymond Domenech has said England are playing Italian style of football and that is good for his team. France are likely to leave out the struggling Henry and start with Anelka as the lone man upfront. England are likely to have David James in the goal. It remains to be seem who will play alongside Rooney or will he be the lone man upfront. A cracker in store.................

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La Liga Up For Grabs

REALMADRID - BARCELONA - VILLARREAL

Anyone of the above three teams may be walking away with the La Liga title this May . Villareal suddenly have emerged as the surprise contenders for the title after closing the gap on leaders Real to just 6 points with 9 rounds still to go. Barcelona earlier on Sunday took on Valladolid at the Nou Camp and made short work of them and beat them quite comfortably 4-1. And this had cut the gap on Realmadrid who kicked off later at the Bernebeu to just 4 points. And Realmadrid set out to extend the gap against a Valencia side who looked pumped up after their victory over Barcelona in the midweek Copa Del Rey semifinals.

Real were without Rudd Van Nistelrooy but Sergio Ramos returned from a 2 match suspension. Valencia were positive right from the start unlike other teams to come to Bernebeu and try to pressurise Real. Valencia took the lead through David villa and Raul equalised within 91seconds and in the second half Real kept pressing and got the lead back through Raul and it was TimoHildebrand with his stunning saves kept Valencia in the match and Villa equalised from the spot and as Real pressed for the winner Arizmendi scored in the 88th min to shock Real much to the delight for the Catalan fans.

The yellow submarines went about their business on Sunday winning 2-1 and now its all to play for and as all the big leagues in Europe La Liga is wide open and exiciting finish is on the cards

Grand Slam Sunday Videos

MANCHESTER UNITED Vs LIVERPOOL


Final Score Manutd 3-0 Liverpool
Goals - Click to download
1-0 WesBrown
2-0 Ronaldo
3-0 Nani

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CHELSEA Vs ARSENAL

Final Score Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal

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Highlights

Manutd Chelsea Rivalry Re-ignited

At the end of GRAND SLAM SUNDAY the winners were Manutd and Chelsea. The Red devils have established a 5 point lead but they have got a new title rival in Chelsea who will play United at Stamford bridge which many think would be the key match and Arsenal, who look to have gone off the boil taking only 4 out of the possible 15 points in the last 5 games can have a say in the title race as they face United at Old Trafford. For Sir Alex Ferguson it will be battles renewed with chelsea again but the charismatic Jose Mourinho is no more there at the Bridge but it will be against Avram Grant whose first game in charge of Chelsea was against United at Old Trafford.

With only 7 games left in the English Premier League things have got very exciting and all the pundits have said its a two horse race but one can never say anything till the last game is played.

Serie A Wide Open

INTER MILAN 1 - 2 JUVENTUS

Juventus have become the first team to beat Inter at San Siro in Serie A this season. And this throws the Italian Serie A wide open with the second placed AS Roma only 4 points behind and still 8 rounds left. The form of Inter has been up and down ever since their 1st leg Champions league loss to Liverpool at Anfield and they ended up losing in the second leg too and crashing out of Europe's premier club competition. The announcement of Mancini to step down as coach at the end of the season has unsettled the club and with Roma hot on their heels putting in good performances very week Inter fear ending second best in the league.

* As far as the neutrals are concerned the interest in Serie A will increase a considerable amount as Inter looked untouchable in the early part of the season and appeared to run away with the Scudetto.

SERIE - A IS STILL UP FOR GRABS........

Barcelona - Valladolid

* Barcelona nowadays don't seem to prefer Ronaldinho and they get results playing without him

but inconsistency has been their problem and they have suffered when Messi is injured and

though Realmadrid continue to keep dropping points Barcelona don't seem to take advantage of

that.

*Valladolid are fighting relegation and only goal difference separates them from Recreativo

Huelva who are in 18th so they will fight for their lives and they are a surprise package who can

hold teams and they did it against Barcelona in their home but at Nou Camp it will be tough

Barcelona are expected to win this comfortably

MATCH KICK OFF 16.00 GMT 21.30 IST

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Realmadrid - Valencia

*Things are getting tougher for Realmadrid but still they have a commanding 7 point lead over Barcelona in the la liga table. They have not been able to reproduce the form they showed in 2007 and this year they have won 8 games and lost the same number of games which is not good. And they face two testing weeks with games against valencia and sevilla coming up.

* Valencia on the other hand have had a horrible season and their only hope is the copa del rey for which they would fancy their chances against getafe. They will be full of confidence ahead of the clash against Real due the victory over Barcelona in the midweek and they will be hoping to avenge the 5-1 mauling they got from Real at the Mestalla earlier in the season.

*Realmadrid need to get back on winning ways and they have Robben back from injury and Sergio Ramos from suspension but Rudd van nistelrooy has had a surgery and is out for the season. So Schuster has to decide on the striking options while valencia have nothing to lose and will have a go.

*An interesting match on the cards

Match Kick Off - 18.00 GMT 23.30 IST

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MANCHESTER UNITED F.C vs LIVERPOOL F.C
(70 Points - Pos . 1st) (59 Points - Pos. 4th)

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CHELSEA F.C vs ARSENAL F.C
(65 Points - Pos. 3rd) (67 Points - Pos. 2nd)
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Grand Slam Sunday

Things cant get bigger than this in the English Premier League with the top 3 teams separated by just 5 points and the "Big Four" facing each other the same day.

Manchester United vs Liverpool - K.O 13.30 GMT 19.00 IST

Chelsea vs Arsenal - K.O 16.00 GMT 21.30 IST

With Manutd leading Arsenal by 3 points and only 8 games to go they certainly hold the advantage but with Chelsea playing both United and Arsenal at home they too can be dangerous. Liverpool are not challenging for the title but their impressive form off late means they too can have their say on who is going to lift the title.

So today will be a massive day in this season and all the title challengers will be hoping for a win which would automatically mean their Rivals slipping up.