Football Fanatics

Paying Post:Delighting bloggers

2009-02-01T19:36:00.005+05:30

Hi everyone, I got to know about PayingPost from one of my friends who has a blog. He was simply raving about Payingpost. And after listening to all he had to say about paying post, I thought this was the best thing that could have happened for bloggers. Blog advertising has started to reach new levels. In the recent times blogs are becoming more and more popular and its become advertisers most preferred method of reaching out to people. The more number of visitors you have, the better it is for you as the advertisers tend to look into these details before they go and offer an advertisement in a blog. If you were wondering to become one of those who writes quality reviews and where to do that, you have found the perfect spot in Payingpost. And one of the main advantages of payingpost is the usability of its site. It's so clean and neat that all can easily find what to do and their new layout has only made things better for all the bloggers. It does not stop there, Payingpost also offers something called direct program which allows us to contact the advertisers directly, discuss the price and reach of the review. This will help in establishing a good working relationship between advertisers and bloggers. All we need to do here is to write some quality posts and get paid. So what are you waiting for? just go into Payingpost and start having some real fun.

Manchester United - Sunderland goals

2008-12-07T16:14:00.003+05:30

Nemanja Vidic proved to be the unlikely hero, on a day when managerless Sunderland looked set to take points of United. His stoppage time goal ensured United kept pace with the top two. Ronaldo got a blow in his hips and had to be taken off, midway in the second half which saw United having more than 85% possession.

Manchester United [1 - 0] Sunderland
Goals
90' [1 - 0] N. Vidic > Rapidshare / Mediafire

Highlights
MotD Highlights
MEDIAFIRE
RAPIDSHARE

Manchester United goals - November 2008

2008-12-07T15:39:00.003+05:30

English Premier League
30th November 2008

Manchester City [0 - 1] Manchester United
Goals
42' [0 - 1] W. Rooney > Rooney 0-1 / Rapidshare

Extras
Ronaldo redcard (Rapidshare)

Highlights
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

UEFA Champions League - Group Stage
25tt November 2008

Group E
Villarreal [0 - 0] Manchester Utd.
Extras

Ronaldo hits crossbar
Capdevila redcard

Highlights
4Shared /Mediafire

Official Extended Highlights

English Premier League
15th November 2008

Manchester United [5 - 0] Stoke City
Goals
04' [1 - 0] C. Ronaldo > 1-0 C. Ronaldo
45' [2 - 0] M. Carrick > 2-0 M. Carrick
49' [3 - 0] D. Berbatov > 3-0 D. Berbatov
84' [4 - 0] D. Welbeck > 4-0 D. Welbeck
89' [5 - 0] C. Ronaldo > 5-0 C. Ronaldo

All Goals

Highlights
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

League Cup (Carling Cup)
11st November 2008

Manchester Utd. [1 - 0] QPR
Goal
76' [1 - 0] C.A. Tevez (pen.) > Rapidshare

Extras
SSN match report (or SendSpace or MediaFire)
Rafael Skills + Park hits the bar

English Premier League
8th November 2008

Arsenal [2 - 1] Manchester United
Goals
22' [1 - 0] S. Nasri > Nasri 1-0
48' [2 - 0] S. Nasri > Nasri 2-0
90' [2 - 1] R.d. Silva > Rafael 2-1

MotD Highlights
Part 1: RAPIDSHARE / MEDIAFIRE
Part 2: RAPIDSHARE / MEDIAFIRE

UEFA Champions League
5th November 2008

Celtic [1 - 1] Manchester United
Goals
13' [1 - 0] S. McDonald > Rapidshare
84' [1 - 1] R. Giggs > Rapidshare

Goals in 1 Clip

English Premier League
1st November 2008

Manchester United [4 - 3] Hull City
Goals
03' [1 - 0] C. Ronaldo > Ronaldo 1-0
23' [1 - 1] D. Cousin > Cousin 1-1
29' [2 - 1] M. Carrick > Carrick 2-1
44' [3 - 1] C. Ronaldo > Ronaldo 3-1
57' [4 - 1] N. Vidic > Vidic 4-1
69' [4 - 2] B. Mendy > Mendy 4-2
82' [4 - 3] Geovanni (pen.) > Geovanni 4-3

Extras
Berbatov skill

Highlights
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

Ronaldo scores a century

2008-11-16T09:13:00.004+05:30

Cristiano Ronaldo hit the 100th goal of his glittering career at Manchester United as a "five star" United thrashed Stoke City and returned to winning ways in the Premier League. The silver lining for the Champions was the sublime strike of the 17 year old academy graduate Danny Welback. United were without Ferdinand and Rooney but their replacements were too hot for Stoke City whose goalie Sorensen had a miserable day.

Manchester United [5 - 0] Stoke City

Goals

04' [1 - 0] C. Ronaldo > 1-0 C. Ronaldo
45' [2 - 0] M. Carrick > 2-0 M. Carrick
49' [3 - 0] D. Berbatov > 3-0 D. Berbatov
84' [4 - 0] D. Welbeck > 4-0 D. Welbeck
89' [5 - 0] C. Ronaldo > 5-0 C. Ronaldo

All Goals

Highlights

1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

Manchester United goals October - 08

2008-11-15T16:25:00.004+05:30

Blackburn Rovers [0 - 2] Manchester United
Goals
31' [0 - 1] W. Brown > Mediafire / Rapidshare
64' [0 - 2] W. Rooney > Mediafire / Rapidshare

Manchester United [4 - 0] West Bromwich Albion
Goals
56' [1 - 0] W. Rooney > filestaker
69' [2 - 0] C. Ronaldo > filestaker
71' [3 - 0] D. Berbatov > filestaker
90' [4 - 0] Nani > filestaker

Champions League - Group E
Manchester United [3 - 0] Celtic
30' [1 - 0] D. Berbatov > Berbatov 1-0 / Rapidshare
51' [2 - 0] D. Berbatov > Berbatov 2-0 / Rapidshare
77' [3 - 0] W. Rooney > Rooney 3-0 / Rapidshare

Everton [1 - 1] Manchester United
Goals
22' [0 - 1] D. Fletcher > rapidshare / mediafire
63' [1 - 1] M. Fellaini > rapidshare / mediafire

Manchester United [2 - 0] West Ham United
Goals
14' [1 - 0] C. Ronaldo > Ronaldo 1-0
30' [2 - 0] C. Ronaldo > Ronaldo 2-0

Superman Is Back

2008-11-14T06:31:00.002+05:30

Superman will not be heading down the same dark road to success as his comic book counterpart Batman. That is the message from Superman star Brandon Routh, who will soon be suiting up to play the iconic Man of Steel for the second time. And Routh insists that his Superman sequel will not be borrowing anything from the success of Christian Bales's Dark Knight blockbuster.

Arsenal vs Man utd!!

2008-11-08T20:37:00.003+05:30

The match between Arsenal and Man Utd was a treat to watch. The match was so entertaining that I was glued to my sofa witnessing each and every moment of the match.

Both teams started with an attacking mind set and Arsenal were rightly rewarded with a goal scored by French international midfielder Nasri. Before this game I have not watched much of his play but this guy really has what it takes to become a great footballer. The first half ended with Arsenal leading 1-0.

Second half too started with a bang and again Arsenal doubled their advantage thanks to Nasri. From then on Manchester Utd wanted to get back into the match so they started playing more aggressively pressing for a goal. They had to wait till the 90th minuted to score their first goal scored by full back Rafael who replaced Gary Neville.

Arsenal managed to win the match eventually and deservedly so.

Offside

2008-10-24T20:39:00.002+05:30

This post is intended for all those who doesnt know what an offside is in football. An offside as flagged when the attacking team member is ahead of the defence line of the opponent team. This offside rule is applicable only when the play is in the attacking half of the particular team. It is the linesmans job to call for offside and the referee in the pitch is not allowed to give offside decisions. It is a very common tactic for all the teams defence department to enforce offside trap to their opponents. Plenty of team coordination and communication is required as if even a single member of the squad fails to connect the offside trap, the team will be in real big trouble.

Party time

2008-10-24T07:47:00.001+05:30

The recent form Indian cricket team is astonishing to see. It is good to see many playing their role perfectly in the ongoing series against Australia. Debutantes like Amit Mishra performed beyond expectation. Reverse swing is something which Indians done perfectly during the matches. Bowling with a scrambled seam worked for Indians while taking new ball, which made the ball, rough quickly and made reverse swing possible.

Milan Derby

2008-10-08T13:23:00.002+05:30

There are several intense and very fierce rivalry battles which are called as derby matches that happens across Europe. Some of the most intense and passion filled matches include the Merseyside derby, Manchester derby, Milan derby, Madrid derby, and many more.

Eventhough all matches have the same level of intensity and its almost impossible to predict a winner in these sort of match, I personally feel Milan derby is the pick of the lot. This is mainly because both of these teams are championship contenders unlike the other derbys in which one is a strong team and the other will be an average team.

The most recent Milan derby ended in favour of AC Milan with Ronaldinho scoring the solitary goal that made the difference.

More about the derby matches will be written in my next post.

Cheers

tactics or ability?

2008-09-28T14:41:00.002+05:30

In today's football, whats more important? tactics or the ability of a player? If you look at english premier league its very obvious that games depend more on tactics than ability of a single player. Thats why we dont see the ronaldinhos, kakas, messis in English Premier League. If you see the other two leagues, Spanish and Italian, you will have some creativity in the moves and thats mainly beacause of ability of players like zlatan, kaka, del piero, messi and so on in their respective leagues.

Have your say. :)

Manchester United goals - August 2008

2008-09-10T19:41:00.000+05:30

UEFA Super Cup
Manchester United [1 - 2] Zenit St. Petersburg

44' [0 - 1] P. Pogrebnyak > 0-1 P. Pogrepnyak
59' [0 - 2] Danny > 0-2 Danny
73' [1 - 2] N. Vidic > 1-2 N. Vidic

EPL

Portsmouth [0 - 1] Manchester United

32' [0 - 1] D. Fletcher > mediafire / rapidshare.com

Match Highlights

Manchester United [1 - 1] Newcastle United

22' [0 - 1] O. Martins > 0-1 Martins
24' [1 - 1] D. Fletcher > 1-1 Fletcher

Match Highlights

English Community Shield Season 2008/09

Manchester United [0 - 0] Portsmouth

Penalty shoot-out : [3 - 1]

Penalty Shootout - mediafire / rapidshare
Trophy Presentations - mediafire / rapidshare

Friendly (Pre-Season) Season 2008/09
Peterborough United [0 - 2] Manchester United
38' [0 - 1] R. Martin (o.g.) > 1-0 R. Martin (OG)
68' [0 - 2] D. Gibson > 2-0 D. Gibson

Friendly (Pre-Season) Season 2008/09
Manchester United [1 - 0] Espanyol

82' [1 - 0] F. Campbell > zShare

Highlights

1st half / 2nd half

Sensational Torres

2008-09-10T19:30:00.000+05:30

Fernando José Torres is the latest darling of the Red part of Mersyside. The young Spanish star has been a revelation since signing from Athletico Madrid for a fee of around £25 million in a deal which saw Luis Garcia moving to Spain. Nicknamed "El nino"(The Kid) Torres joined Athletico at the age of 11 and he broke into the Athletico team in 2001 when the team was actually in the Spanish Segunda (Second Division). Though he did not have a great scoring season with only 6 goals from 36 games Athletico got promotion and Torres made his La Liga debut in 2002-03 season scoring 13 goals and in the very next season he was made the captain of the club becoming the youngest captain of Athletico Madrid and scored 19 and he made it to the Spanish national squad and has cemented his place till now with some commanding displays. And at the end of the 2006-07 season he moved to the Premier League. Torres had also cut his weekly wages of £ 103,000 in Spain to £ 90,000 in Liverpool.

His first match for Liverpool in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa and his first goal came at Anfield when they faced Chelsea since then he has been on a scoring spree netting 27 goals till date and 20 of them in League becoming the first man since Robbie Fowler last scored 20 in a season. He has been in total control in Europe with 4 goals so far in Champions League, a competition he dreamt playing in. He was instrumental in the team's win over Inter Milan at the San siro scoring a wonderful goal and sending the Reds into quarters. With Liverpool out the race for EPL title Torres will be totally focused on Champions League and will be hoping to have a good run, something his boss Rafa Benitez is a master at. At 24 this star has made the world take a note of him and sure there is going to be more from the "El Nino"

Euro2008 finals

2008-09-05T11:02:00.000+05:30

Spain played some good attacking football and walked away as the deserving winners of Euro2008 and thus ending their 44 year title drought. Torres was the hero as his cool finish handed Spain the victory. Germany never really threatened but for a spell of 10 min past the hour mark.

Germany [0 - 1] Spain
33' [0 - 1] F. Torres : Link1 / Link2

Match Highlights
Part1 ,
Part2 .

Entire Euro2008 Compilation

Robinho: Real Madrid to Manchester City

2008-09-03T08:48:00.000+05:30

Just writing those words makes you want to go back and check your facts, Robinho to Manchester City? Is that right? Was it all just a bad dream??? Does Robinho know what the hell he's let himself in for? Does Robinho even know where Manchester is?

Er, apparently not. After signing for Manchester City for a British record transfer fee of 32.5million pounds the Brazilian told reporters he was happy to be at City because he knew they were a "very big club."

But, even though Robinho might not know what he has let himself in for, one can safely say that after being taken over by one of the richest companies in the world, it is top ten finishing Manchester City who pulled off the biggest and most shocking transfer cop of them all.

Robinho had been Big Phil Scolari's number one transfer target all season, and even though Chelsea desperately put in a last ditch attempt to lure the playmaker to Stamford Bridge, it was Manchester City who beat them in the end, and its not often you can say that!

But it doesn't stop there, apparently City's manager Mark Hughes has been told he can bid 80million pounds each for some of the worlds biggest stars including; Messi, Kaka, Torres and Fabregas, with a renewed bid of 60 million for Berbatov - yes the world has gone mad!

Andrei Shevchenko – From a “living legend” to no one (“Who is he?”)!

2008-08-30T20:28:00.012+05:30

Few years back when I asked a dummy if he knows Shevchenko he told me he’s the greatest striker ever. Most strikers in football are either a “fox in the box” kind of players or physically strong or good in aerial attacks but Shevchenko was one of the very few complete strikers who had all those ability instilled in him at that time. Recently I asked the same question to another dummy and his response was like “Who the hell is he?” That itself tells a story!

Shevchenko joined A.C. Milan in 1999 for a then-record transfer fee of $25 million. He made his Serie A debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2-2 draw with Lecce. He became the first foreign player to win the Serie A scoring title in his debut season, finishing with 24 goals in 32 matches. Scoring goals is never an easy task in Serie A and in spite of that he managed to capture everyone’s attention by his goal scoring ability.

He scored the then match deciding penalty that gave AC Milan their sixth champions league trophy, the icing on the cake was when Shevchenko was named the 2004 European Player of the Year, becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the award.

This was all achieved mainly due to the support given to him by AC Milan, the coach, teammates, technical staffs, management, and not forgetting the fans. He was adored by many Milan fans all over the world, including me.

The first thing that strikes ones mind upon coming across his name is the term “living legend”. He was deemed the next big thing after the great Marco Van Basten by the AC Milan faithfuls. He was the living legend in AC Milan Team along with the greats such as Paolo Maldini, Kaka, and Alessando Nesta.

When he was being treated like almost the prince of Milan, he had other ideas. He decided to leave Milan and join Chelsea mainly due to the fact that Chelsea offered more money and more than him, his wife was attracted more to it. The reason for him to leave was that, in Italy his children were not assured proper education whereas in England his children will be given better education. It seemed to be more like an excuse than a proper reason.

One of the fan actually pleaded shevchenko(shown in the picture) while he was in the stands asking him to be with Milan but it seemed to have gone to deaf ears as his move was confirmed.
He was never the same from the first game he played for Chelsea. He was unable to convert his chances to goals and something was clearly wrong. Initially it was thought the reason behind it was mainly due to the change in style from the Italian league to English league, but he was never able to adapt even after mid season. He was put in reserves and his carrier was taking a stinging blow at that point.

On 23 August 2008 it was announced that Shevchenko had re-joined AC Milan on a transfer deal from Chelsea. But whether or not will he be the same Shevchenko will only be answered after the season begins and as it progresses.

Arvind

History of football

2008-08-30T12:06:00.001+05:30

Football is the word given to a number of similar team sports, all of which involve (to varying degrees) kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports world-wide is association football, also known as "soccer" and most commonly just "football". The English language word "football" is also applied to gridiron football (which includes games like American football and Canadian football), Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby football (rugby league and rugby union), and related games. Each of these codes (specific sets of rules, or the games defined by them) is referred to as "football".

These games involve:

* two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players. ("Six-man" and "eight-man" football are also played in less-populated parts of the United States).
* a clearly defined area in which to play the game;
* scoring goals and/or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either into a goal area, or over a line;
* the goal and/or line being defended by the opposing team;
* players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by kicking, carrying and/or hand passing the ball; and
* goals and/or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts.

In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of players offside, and players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts. Other features common to several football codes include: points being mostly scored by players carrying the ball across the goal line and; players receiving a free kick after they take a mark/make a fair catch.

Peoples from around the world have played games which involved kicking and/or carrying a ball, since ancient times. However, most of the modern codes of football have their origins in England.

Sports and Concert Tickets

2008-08-06T17:30:00.000+05:30

Sports and Concert Tickets - find information on college and pro sports, concert tours and where to buy tickets.

Interested in getting tickets to games, wanna watch games Lives is always exiting and really cool work. So Just come visit the site just by clicking the link get tickets and watch them live.

Interested in Concert, Tours all in one go.
Tours are always exiting disappointed that you could not get tickets to your holiday destination in mind, now no worries just a click to above link will do the magic. Shall get the ticket for sure.

And above all you get information about all good colleges too.

Euro2008 Goals - All matches

2008-07-10T23:16:00.003+05:30

Euro2008 produced some great football and great goals. So get the goals of all matches played in Euro2008 and also some special videos like Best Goals and a compilation for Spain, the Champions.

Click here for the goals

Link1 -> Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 ,
(or)
Link2 -> Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 .

Top 10 Goals -> Link
Best Goals Of Euro 2008 (30 Goals) -> Link
Best Moments of Euro 2008 -> Linkl
Spain - Euro 2008 Champions -> Link

Ronaldo's season 2006-07

2008-07-10T13:22:00.003+05:30

Cristiano Ronaldo made the Footballing world take a look at him in the 2006-07 season with his performance for Manchester United. What even more special is that Ronaldo did all the things even when he was jeered by all for his incident with Rooney in 2006 World cup. Re live the magical moments of Ronaldo during the 2006-07 season.

Click here for the goals

Oxford , Oxford , Sevilla , Fulham , Reading , Bolton , Portsmouth , Everton , Reading , Man City , Aston Villa , Aston Villa , Wigan , Wigan , Reading , Man City (P) , Aston Villa , Watford (P) , Totteham (P) , Fulham , Middlesbrough (P) , Europe11 , Middlesbrough (P) , Roma , Roma , Watford , Milan , Man City (P) .

The Ronaldo Saga

2008-07-09T23:02:00.005+05:30

Cristiano Ronaldo
- a name that has been coming daily on the front pages. All the talk has been about his possible move to Realmadrid. And this talk started from the day Ronaldo told a Spanish Television that he was sure of his future at United and he dreamt of a move to Realmadrid. Incidentally this was just a few days before the "Champions League Finals". So was he planning to leave United for sometime now, the answer has to be "YES". Who would talk like this just before a huge "Final" that too being the crucial player of the team. Ronaldo might give reasons to leave Manutd as "He has won everything possible with Manchester" but had United lost the Champions League final, the reason would have been that he wants to win Champions League so he wants to move.

But his preferred destination, Realmadrid have failed to cross the group stages for the past 4 years. Initially it was rumoured that his agent Jorge Mendes was the man behind Ronaldo's ambition to move as he would get a handsome amount from the huge transfer fee. But those were quashed when it was revealed that Mendes wanted Ronaldo to remain at Manchester United. Some reports say the reason behind is the failure of United to offer a new improved contract than his current £120,000 a week deal. While few reports say Ronaldo had made up his mind in December that United were going to win everything and he had asked his agent to work on a move to Spanish capital. But his desire may be also due to the fact that his mother is an ardent Realmadrid fan.

And as the Euro was approaching there were all sorts of talk about Ronaldo. And his mom told that his son would stay at United this season. But Ronaldo kept quiet. And after a not so successful Euro he made his intentions clear that he wants a move. But United were never going to sell him. It was reported that United along with Nike were going to offer Ronaldo £200,000 a week deal. Nike too wanted him to stay as his move to Real would mean Adidas will be the sponsor. The sponsorship battle went to the extent that Barcelona, who are sponsored by Nike were asked by the sportswear giant to bid for Ronaldo.

Realmadrid actually need a player in his position. Though that might in the minds of Schuster, the board member's thoughts would have been on the fan follow Ronaldo had developed. It was estimated that Realmadrid would make about £500 million if Ronaldo comes. But now after his surgery all directions point towards "Ronaldo's stay at Old Trafford". But god only knows what is coming!!!!!!!!

The "RIISE" And Fall Of A Warrior

2008-07-02T18:17:00.005+05:30

RIISE STRIPPED OF HIS LIVERPOOL JERSEY !!

I never imagined this to take place. John Arne Riise arrived from Monaco as an unknown product and became an instant hero among the Kopites. But those golden days are no more.For a guy who wanted Anfield to be his home till the end of his career has been kicked out cos of a single goal.The mistake was that he netted the goal in the wrong side of the ground.He became a ZERO from being a HERO in just a split second of MADNESS. He must have rued the decision he had made to clear the ball with his head instead of his legs.

One poor season and he has now been sold to Roma for £4,000,000. A man who was considered by the KOP to be a man with a golden left foot, is now in ITALY hoping that he is treated better there.

But this again lays the emphasis on BENITEZ's man management abilities. After all who can forget the way he manhandled STEVEN GERRARD, forcing Steve G to give a transfer request. If a single poor season and a solitary own goal means a player will be sold, it doesnt give the right signal to the present players. If this happens to an veteran then see the plight of the club, whose Co-owner has blasted its CEO calling him a "Total disaster". But I still feel Liverpool havent got the squad to challenge for the Premier League and that would mean wait for the Liverpool fans to celebrate title number "18" would go on atleast for a year.

Deco in - Lampard out??

2008-07-01T01:49:00.012+05:30

With the European Championship getting over, we can expect a flurry of activities in the transfer market.Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Portuguese star Deco from Barcelona for an estimated 10million euros (£7.9m) on a two year deal. This is the first signing for the new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari who reunites with his Portugal ward. Deco's move was on expected lines after he had announced that he will leave Barcelona and Scolari's appointment as manager would have made his move easier. Now the question is whether Chelsea have got Deco in place of Frank Lampard, who is expected to move to Inter Milan to join his former boss Jose Mourinho. Lampard's move was always on the cards but Deco's signing might be an indication that Franky Lampard is surely gonna leave England for Italy as Chelsea can't be having three good players for the same position, Ballack the other. And it looks like the official announcement is the only thing pending in the transfer. So its going to be a happy reunion in both the cases- Deco with Scolari & Lampard with Jose.

My Lot

2008-07-01T01:04:00.001+05:30

myLot User Profile

WixGames - Galaxy of Flash Games

2008-06-30T20:04:00.002+05:30

Hi, we all love games either watching or playing. And in spite of the advent of the various virtual gaming, the attraction towards Flash Games still remains. Here is a online game site for all ages "WIXGAME". Here there are over 3000 games available and the categories ranging from Action, Skill, Kids, Sports, Racing, 3D, Casino etc... And there are even games which allow multiple players to play. And if you want to know which game is played the most, you can find it under the "Top Ranked" category. And you can also get to know about the new games under "Newest". Coming to my favorite category Sports, I had many games to choose like Cricket, Football, Basketball etc...And the important thing here is there are nearly 20 options in Football alone. It applies to all the games. You cannot enjoy the game if its too easy or too tough, so keeping that in my mind the creator has come up with challenging games. But you can choose your difficulty. And the site loads very quickly which will be liked by all. Kids will simply love this site. This Site is also perfect for all the working people who are looking for a quick game during spare time or lunch break!!!So what are you waiting for? Get started and enjoy gaming on WIXGAME. Please rate the game before you leave as it helps for further improvement.

Euro2008 Group Stage goals

2008-06-28T16:11:00.003+05:30

The Group Stages of the Euro2008 produced some fine football. Get the goals of all the matches in Group stages.

Group A Goals
Link1 / Link2

Group B Goals
Link1 Link2

Group C Goals
Link1 Link2

Group D Goals
Link1 Link2

PayPerPost - Blogger's delight

2008-06-28T15:28:00.009+05:30

Hi everyone I got to know about PayPerPost from one of my friends who has a blog. He was simply raving about PayPerPost and even showed me the cheque that he got from PayPerPost. That excited me and I wanted to cash in on this great opportunity so I applied even I found out that it gives you an excellent opportunity to earn while you blog (i.e) you can keep blogging on
the topics you like and get paid. Sounds interesting!!!!!! Exactly it is interesting. You need to apply for PayPerPost and for that your blog needs to certains days old and there should be certain number of visitors for your blog to qualiy. Once you are approved, you can have fun. Moreover PayPerPost offers you referral programs which pay you for every blogger you refer. You can place widgets on your blog, get referrals through and earn. Another way is to display sign up forms in your page so that those who are willing can join directly from there. And you can have banners on your page for the advertisers to know that you are willing to write about their product.I was very happy when my blog got approved and I'm planning to keep the money I earn from PayPerPost to buy an ipod. I'm also hoping to make new friends from PayPerPost. And another huge advantage is that you can have more than one blog in your account so more opportunities. So what are you waiting for. Get started with PayPerPost and earn. Inform your friends about this exciting opportunity. Happy blogging. Happy earning. blog ads

Euro2008 Semifinal2 goals

2008-06-27T14:07:00.003+05:30

Spain did it again against Russia, beat them by a three goal margin. Spain could not open the scoring in the first half but three second half goals sent them into the title round where they will face the pre tournament favourites Germany.

Russia [0 - 3] Spain
50' [0 - 1] X. Hernandez : Link
73' [0 - 2] D. Guiza : Link
83' [0 - 3] D.J. Silva : Link

Highlights

1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

Celebrations

Spanish Celebrations

Euro2008 Semifinal1 goals

2008-06-26T13:08:00.003+05:30

Germany managed to edge Turkey in the final minute, thanks to a Lahm goal and march into the finals of the Euro2008. Turkey who had just 13 players available for this match played some great football, they had the lead twice before letting them off. Germany now await either Spain or Russia.

Germany [3 - 2] Turkey
22' [0 - 1] U. Boral : Link1 /Link2
26' [1 - 1] B. Schweinsteiger : Link1 /Link2
79' [2 - 1] M. Klose : Link1 /Link2
86' [2 - 2] S. Senturk : Link1 /Link2
90' [3 - 2] P. Lahm : Link1 /Link2

Euro2008 Quarterfinal4 goals

2008-06-24T17:32:00.003+05:30

Spain ended their June 22 jinx as they beat the world champions Italy 4-2 on penalties. The game looked set for penalties as Italy were never looking to play attacking football and it was down to the best goalkeepers in the world to take their side to the last 4 and it was Iker Casillas who did it for Spain as he saved two kicks and taking Spain to the semifinals.

Spain [0 - 0] Italy

Penalty shoot-out : [4 - 2]

Link1 / Link2

Highlights
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights

Spanish Celebrations

Euro2008 Quarterfinal3 goals

2008-06-24T17:20:00.003+05:30

Andrei Arshavin was the star as the Dutch were taken apart by an organised Russia team. The Dutch were never in control of the match as the Russians continued to outplay them and took the lead. Nistelrooy's goal could only take the match into extra time but the result was never in any doubt as the Russians scored twice in extra time to march into the semifinals.

Netherlands [1 - 3] Russia
56' [0 - 1] R. Pavlyuchenko : Link1 / Link2
86' [1 - 1] R.v. Nistelrooy : Link1 / Link2
112' [1 - 2] D. Torbinski : Link1 / Link2
116' [1 - 3] A. Arshavin : Link1 / Link2

Euro2008 Quarterfinal2 goals

2008-06-21T08:31:00.002+05:30

Recber Rustu turned from villain to hero as his blunder gave Croatia the lead with only minutes remaining in the second extra time but the Turks equalised in the dying seconds to push the game in penalties and it was time for Recber Rustu to turn the hero as he saved the spot kick from Mladen Petric to send the Turks into the Semifinals.

Croatia [1 - 1] Turkey

119' [1 - 0] I. Klasnic : Link / Link2
120' [1 - 1] S. Senturk : Link / Link2

Penalty shoot-out : [1 - 3]

Penalties : Link1 / Link2

Euro2008 Quarterfinal1 goals

2008-06-20T11:28:00.003+05:30

Bastian Schweinsteiger returned to the team after suspension and played a fabulous match to send the pre tournament favourites into the semifinals. He scored the first and setup the other two goals as the German out powered the Portugese. Joachim Loew, who was given an one match touchline ban saw his team play effective football and come up triumph in the knock out stage. This defeat ends Scolari's reigns as Portugal manager as he moves to Stamford Bridge. Now the focus of the field totally will be on Ronaldo as he is set to announce his future.

Portugal [2 - 3] Germany
22' [0 - 1] B. Schweinsteiger : Link
26' [0 - 2] M. Klose : Link
40' [1 - 2] N. Gomes : Link
61' [1 - 3] M. Ballack : Link
87' [2 - 3] H. Postiga : Link

Highlights

1st Half Highlight
2nd Half Highlights

German Players Celebrations

Euro2008 Match Day 12 goals

2008-06-19T08:08:00.003+05:30

Russia claimed the sole remaining spot in the quarterfinals as they dispatched Sweden 2-0 and set up a match up against Red Hot Netherlands for a spot in Semifinals. The defending champions Greece ended their campaign without a point as they lost to a largely weakened Spain team who rested many of their key players.

Russia [2 - 0] Sweden

24' [1 - 0] R. Pavlyuchenko : Link

50' [2 - 0] A. Arshavin : Link

Highlights

1st Half Highlights ,

2nd Half Highlights

Russian Players Celebrations

Greece [1 - 2] Spain

42' [1 - 0] A. Charisteas : Link

61' [1 - 1] R.D.l. Red : Link

88' [1 - 2] D. Guiza : Link

Euro2008 Match Day 11 goals

2008-06-18T07:40:00.003+05:30

Italy survived the group of death and marched into the last 16. France had a forgettable match as they conceded a penalty, got a player sent off , their star man Ribery getting injured also his replacement Nasri getting injured. Meanwhile the Dutch continued their merry way dispatching Romania to help Italy go through.

France [0 - 2] Italy

25' [0 - 1] A. Pirlo (pen.) : Link1 / Link2 / Link3
62' [0 - 2] D.D. Rossi : Link1 / Link2 / Link3

Highlights
1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights .

Italian Player's Celebration

Holland [2 - 0] Romania
54' [1 - 0] K.J. Huntelaar : Link1 / Link2
87' [2 - 0] R.v. Persie : Link1 / Link2

Euro2008 Match Day 10 goals

2008-06-17T08:47:00.003+05:30

Michael Ballack sent Germany into the last 16 with his stunning free kick and it was the only goal of the match which saw both German and Austrian coaches sent off. Croatia won their match against Poland to make sure they finish at top of the group.

Austria [0 - 1] Germany

49' [0 - 1] M. Ballack : Link1 / Link2

Extras

46' Both Coaches sent off

Highlights

1st Half Highlights ,

2nd Half Highlights .

Poland [0 - 1] Croatia

52' [0 - 1] I. Klasnic : Link1 / Link2

Highlights

Euro2008 Match Day 8 goals

2008-06-16T19:05:00.004+05:30

Day 8 saw another upset as last edition's semifinalists Czech Republic were beaten by a spirited Turkey side to book a place in the last 16. Czech were leading 2-0 while losing their way in the final 15 minutes and losing in the dying seconds to a superb goal by Nihat. Switzerland got a consolation win as they beat the second string Portugal by a couple of goals.

Turkey [3 - 2] Czech Republic

34' [0 - 1] J. Koller : Link1/ Link2
62' [0 - 2] J. Plasil : Link1 / Link2
75' [1 - 2] A. Turan : Link1 / Link2
87' [2 - 2] N. Kahveci : Link1 / Link2
89' [3 - 2] N. Kahveci : Link1 / Link2

Highlights
1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights

Switzerland [2 - 0] Portugal

71' [1 - 0] H. Yakin : Link1 / Link2
83' [2 - 0] H. Yakin (pen.) : Link1 / Link2

Highlights
1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights

Euro2008 Match Day 7 goals

2008-06-15T21:34:00.004+05:30

David Villa once again was the star for Spain as he scored a dramatic injury time winner against Sweden to take Spain into the last 16. Russia on the other hand brought themselves back into the tournament with a win over defending champions Greece.

Sweden [1 - 2] Spain
15' [0 - 1] F. Torres : Link1 / Link2
34' [1 - 1] Z. Ibrahimovic : Link1 / Link2
90' [1 - 2] D. Villa : Link1 / Link2

Highlights
1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights

Greece [0 - 1] Russia
33' [0 - 1] K. Zyrianov > Link1 / Link2

Goal Disallowed for Greece

Highlights
1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights

Euro2008 Match Day 6 goals

2008-06-13T08:25:00.003+05:30

Croatia got the first upset of the Euro2008 when they beat tournament favourites Germany with a commanding show. And the night for the Germans were made even worse when Schweinsteiger was sent off in the injury time. It was a deserving win for the Croatians and even the German coach Joachim Low felt his team deserved the result.

Croatia [2 - 1] Germany

24' [1 - 0] D. Srna : Link

62' [2 - 0] I. Olic : Link

79' [2 - 1] L. Podolski : Link

Schweinsteiger Red Card

Highlights

First Half , Second Half

Austria [1 - 1] Poland

30' [0 - 1] R. Guerreiro : Link

90' [1 - 1] I. Vastic (pen) : Link

Highlights

First Half , Second Half

Scolari turns BLUE

2008-06-12T21:52:00.002+05:30

Luiz Felipe Scolari on Wednesday was announced as the next manager for Chelsea and the news comes within days of Scolari saying that he would talk about the issue after the ongoing Euro championship. Chelsea fans were jubilant on the announcement and they have reasons to be happy as the Big Phil is known for his shrewd man management skills and has the ability to deal with Big names in Chelsea. While the fans of the Blues were happy, Portuguese fans and media are upset with the news. The most important factor has been the timing of the announcement as they all feel it would shake up the morale of the team which has been doing well in the Euro. And the team cancelled the training and press meet on Thursday to avoid unnecessary attention on the coach.

Scolari has all the credentials to be a hit at Stamford Bridge but the Premiership will be a stern test to him. One of the key Chelsea players Ricardo Carvalho, who was talking about his desire to play under Jose at Inter said he was shocked on hearing the news and added that he will take the club forward and that he was looking forward to playing under his current national team coach at club level. Most of the football experts have said that Chelsea have made the right call and only time will tell if the Big Phil can deliver in England.

Euro2008 Match Day 5 goals

2008-06-12T08:40:00.002+05:30

Portugal continued their good run as they beat the Czech Republic 3-1 and stormed into the quarterfinal stage. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the tournament with a strike in the 61st minute. And the Turks broke the Swiss hearts as they came from a goal behind and edge the co-hosts in injury time.

Czech Republic [1 - 3] Portugal

08' [0 - 1] Deco : Link1 / Link2
17' [1 - 1] L. Sionko : Link1 / Link2
63' [1 - 2] C. Ronaldo : Link1 / Link2
90' [1 - 3] R. Quaresma : Link1 / Link2

Highlights

1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights .

Switzerland [1 - 2] Turkey

32' [1 - 0] H. Yakin : Link
57' [1 - 1] S. Sentork : Link
90' [1 - 2] A. Turan : Link

Highlights

1st Half Highlights ,
2nd Half Highlights .

Manchester United season reviews : 1992-2007

2008-06-11T18:05:00.005+05:30

Manchester United set the footballing world on fire with their stylish football during the 90's and they continue their tradition of winning trophies with the EPL and Champions League titles added into the trophy cabinet this season. Enjoy the magical moments.

Click here for the videos

Season Review 1992-93 , Season Review 1993-94 ,

Season Review 1994-95 , Season Review 1995-96 ,

Season Review 1996-97 , Season Review 1998-99 ,

Season Review 2002-03 , Season Review 2003-04 ,

Season Review 2004-05 , Season Review 2005-06 ,

Season Review 2006-07

Manutd Classics - Champions League - Premier League

2008-06-11T09:09:00.003+05:30

Here are some the classic matches in the history of Manchester United. Relive the magical those magical moments including the best Champions League nights and much more.

Click here for the videos

Manutd Premier League Classics ,
Manutd Champions League Classics ,
Top comebacks in Premiership ,
Top European nights under Sir Alex

Euro2008 - Match day 4 goals

2008-06-11T08:13:00.003+05:30

The day belonged to David Villa who scored a hatrick and lead Spain to a commanding win over Russia while Ibrahimovic inspired Sweden to a 2-0 win over defending champions Greece.

Spain [4 - 1] Russia

20' [1 - 0] D. Villa : View - Download
44' [2 - 0] D. Villa : View - Download
75' [3 - 0] D. Villa : View - Download
86' [3 - 1] R. Pavlyuchenko : View - Download
90' [4 - 1] C. Fabregas : View - Download

Greece [0 - 2] Sweden

67' [0 - 1] Z. Ibrahimovic : Download
72' [0 - 2] P. Hansson : Download

Ronaldo's Seaon 2007-2008

2008-05-27T11:22:00.003+05:30

It would be an understatement if one said 2007-2008 season belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo. The dazzler from Portugal simply ruled the football world with his skill and most of all goals. He destroyed defences and ended the season with the tags "English Champion" and "European Champion". And apart from that he won several awards in England and is all set to be named the European and World Player of the year. He scored an astonishing 42 goals this season and also 3 more while playing for Portugal. So relive those magical moments of "Rocket" Ronaldo.

Stats:
Premier League - 31 goals
Champions League - 8 goals
FA cup - 3 goals
Euro qualifying - 3 goals

Click here for the goals:
Part1 , Part2 , Part3 , Part4 .
All in one - Link

Avram gets the sack

2008-05-27T10:49:00.003+05:30

Chelsea on Saturday announced that they are parting company with their first team coach Avram Grant. This announcement was on the expected lines after Chelsea lost in the finals of Champions League and ending the season without any trophy. Avram Grant came in as an stop gap replacement for Jose Mourinho, who was sacked by Roman Abrahimovic after a poor start to the season. Grant's first match in charge was against Manchester United at Old Trafford and Chelsea lost that 2-0. And after that Chelsea went on a winning spree in both league and Champions League. Under Grant, Chelsea played more attractive football and scored lots of goals, something that they did not do under Jose. But in spite of the results going his way Grant was under severe pressure from the media that the players did not like him and he commanded no respect but Grant denied them all.

Chelsea, who were 10 points behind the leaders Arsenal at one point kept their focus and reduced the gap at the top of the table. They also reached the finals of the Carling cup. But Grant's tactical mistakes like the team selection and substitution cost them the match which they lost 1-2 in extra time against Tottenham. After this match Grant was under severe pressure. All these can be attributed to the fact that none seemed to like him because Chelsea were doing alright on the field and there were no reasons to complain. Chelsea crashed out of the FA cup against Barnsley. Now they had the league and Champions League to focus. Chelsea emerged as the sole competitor to Manutd after Arsenal lost to United at Old Trafford. Chelsea beat United at the bridge and pushed the title race all the way to the last week. The mood in Chelsea was optimistic as they were in with a chance of winning both the league and UCL. But United won against Wigan to retain the title. And in the finals of Champions League, Chelsea lost 6-5 on penalties. After this result his sacking was expected but the fact is he preserved the long unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge, reached the finals of the Champions League and missed the league title by a whisker. Grant's first and last match were against Manchester United, both of which Chelsea lost.

His style had more flow but his failure to land trophies(especially Champions League) might have been the reason for his sacking. Chelsea are now on the look out for a new manager who can win trophies and more players are expected to follow Grant out of Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United win the Russian battle

2008-05-22T08:40:00.005+05:30

When Manchester United took on Chelsea in the finals of the Champions League it was a Russian battle in more than one way, they were playing in Moscow and the owner of their opposite team, Roman Abrahimovic was an Russian and apart from supporters of both the teams, the neutrals were bound to be supporting Chelsea. Before the match all the talk was about the pitch but the managers of both teams made it clear that they are not going to give it as an excuse if they end up losing. It was the first ever All English final in Champions League and first for Chelsea. United were making their third appearance in the finals and were hoping to maintain their 100% record in finals.

It was not going to be a typical Champions League match as both the teams know each other very well and all expected a cagey affair, similar to the one in the last years FA cup finals. United started with Ronaldo on the left and Hargreaves on right while Malouda started for Chelsea whose starting 11 had never started together once this season. First 15min were evenly balanced and after that United took control of the midfield and Ronaldo gave Essien, who was at Left Back a torrid time. Scholes had a cut in his face when he fouled Makelele. Both of them were booked in that incident. Scholes came back after few minutes and was involved in the build up to the goal. A neat give and go with Brown let to the defender crossing the ball and Ronaldo rose up to head the ball past an unmoved Cech. United could have sealed the game had Tevez taken his chances but Cech made some brilliant saves and kept Chelsea in it. And towards the end of the first half Chelsea had some luck when Makelele's shot had several deflections and it fell to Lampard who dispatched it. Van Der Sar was never comfortable with the pitch and he slipped on that occasion too.

Buoyed by that goal Chelsea started the second half very well and started dominating midfield. The first half scenario was reversed, United were defending now while Chelsea pressed forward. Ferdinand had a cramp but was back on soon. Chelsea had lot of corners but were unable to score. Drogba who was not in the game for long time had a shot that hit the post. Time was running out and Gigss replaced Scholes to become the leading appearance maker for United getting past Sir Bobby Charlton's record. And with teams all square extra time was needed.

In the first half of ET there were no concrete chances for any of them but for Lampard's shot that hit the post. Drogba saw the Red card for a slap on Vidic when Chelsea players nee. Chelsea were a man down and only 5 min were left. United were unable to force anything in that time . Penalties were needed to decide the winner. Ronaldo missed his kick when the scores were 2-2 and Terry had the chance to win it on 4-4 but he slipped and shot wide. In the sudden death United were leading 6-5 and Anelka came on. His shot was saved by Van Der Sar and United were crowned the kings of Europe. A fitting reward for the only unbeaten team this season in Champions League. It would have been poetic for Roman to see his team win in his home country against one the teams which created the football interest in him but United deserved their crown and Ronaldo lead the Red Army in the finals. He was the leading scorer with 8 goals and it goes without saying he will be the "World player of the year" and "European Player of the year".

Click here for the action:

1-0 Ronaldo ,

1-1 Lampard,

Extra Time1 , Extra Time2 ,

Penalties/Celebrations - Link1 , Link2 , Link3

Trophy Presentation - Link

Player's Celebration - Link

Extras:

Drogba - Hits the bar

Lampard - Hits the bar

Gigss - Great save Terry

Torrents:

First Half

Second Half

Ronaldo Specials:

Link1 , Link2 , Link3 , Link4 , Link5 , Link6 , Link7 , Link8 , Link9

Manchester United Player Awards 2008

2008-05-21T06:51:00.002+05:30

Manchester United had the players award function at Old Trafford. Ronaldo scooped most of the awards including Player's player of the season and Goal of season for his sublime freekick against Portsmouth at Old Trafford. Check out the videos of this glittering function.

Click here for the videos

Part1 , Part2 , Part3 , Part4 , Part5 , Part6 , Part7 , Part8 , Part9 , Part10

Real Madrid sign off in style

2008-05-19T12:49:00.003+05:30

Real Madrid signed off an successful season in style as they beat relegated Levante 5-2. The match was in doubt as Levante players were threatening a strike as they had not been paid for few months and that amount is told be in the region of €13m. And Levante who had already been relegated ran the risk going down to third division if they didn't play at the Bernabeu. But the Champions had said the trophy presentation would take place irrespective of the match status. But Levante players finally said they will play at the Bernabeu.

Real started with Codina in goal, the highly rated B team keeper and Rudd started upfront with Robinho and Raul. Real had lots of possession and Levante who did not practice throughout the week were not sharp. And Robinho had some chances but Reina saved. And Real broke the deadlock when Rudd headed the ball from Ramos. And within minutes Ramos scored a header from an assist by Guti. Levante yet kept trying and Codina made some decent saves to deny them. And before the break Rudd got his second when he tapped home a miscued shot by Robinho.

In the second half Levante played better football and passed the ball well. They never looked liked a team that had been relegated. They fought bravely and were rewarded for that when Geijo slammed the ball past Codina. Real responded immediately when Sneijder curled a freekick past Reina for the 4th goal. But Levante still kept fighting and Geijo scored again with a great finish. Levante had done what many teams couldn't do, score twice at the Bernabeu. Geijo was on a hatrick. Ramos got his second when he headed home a Sneijder corner.

The Bernabeu was rocking as the final whistle approached. And when the whistle was blown Real Madrid had made history. Their points this season is the most by a team in La Liga since the 20 team format was introduced. And Real with 84 goals in the league edged past Manchester United who scored 80 as the leading scorers in European Leagues this season. And Raul was handed over the 31st La Liga title and the party continued at the Bernabeu.

Click here for the goals

1-0 Rudd
2-0 Ramos
3-0 Rudd
3-1 Geijo
4-1 Senijder
4-2 Geijo
5-2 Ramos

Trophy Presentation & Celebration

AC Milan end up in UEFA cup

2008-05-19T12:12:00.004+05:30

This has been a disappointing season for AC Milan. They were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 and after that all they had left to play was a 4th place in the league that will make sure they would appear in the Champions League next season. But they did not even manage a 4th place finish and that means they will have to play UEFA cup next season. Things were under control for Milan after the 36th week when they edged past Fiorentina to take the fourth place. But their 3-1 loss to Napoli combined with Fiorentina's win over Parma meant that Milan were pushed back to the 5th place going into the last weekend. And also they were 2 points below Fiorentina which meant even if they win their last match, Champions League action could not be guaranteed. And both the teams fighting for the 4th spot won yesterday and it meant Milan will play in UEFA cup next season.

It would be a bitter pill to swallow for Milan who have won the Champions League 7 times, next only to Real Madrid. And with the influx of players like Pato and latest signing Flamini they would have hoped to put a better show in Champions League next season. Kaká, prior to this weekend said that it would not be a disaster for the club if they were in UEFA cup next season. It is all down to their teams poor domestic form and they did not have the best of starts this season and they even dropped out of the top 10 but they managed to comeback and were fighting for the 4th spot. It must be remembered that even last year Milan(started on -8 points in the league) failed to finish in top 4 but they won the Champions League which gave them a direct entry to this season's edition. Milan's primary focus has been the Champions League and they have been criticized at times for that. Some say Milan are the Liverpool of Italy and vice versa, these teams do well in Europe but not that well in the league. But teams get what they deserve, Milan showed no consistency in neither Champions League nor Serie A so its apt that they are in UEFA cup next year. But one can hope they will comeback strong as Bayern Munich. Whatever may be the case AC Milan will be missed in UCL next season.

Click here for the goals

AC Milan - Udinese Final score : 4-1

0-1 Mesto
1-1 Pato
2-1 Inzaghi
3-1 Cafu
4-1 Seedorf
Penalty Miss - Kaka

Ibrahimovic lands Inter The Scudetto

2008-05-19T11:38:00.003+05:30

Zlatan Ibrahimovic got a brace and helped Inter secure their title. Inter had been pushed all the way till the last day of the Serie A but they had destiny in their own hands, if they win the match they win the title. With Roma leading in the other match against Catania, all the pressure was on Inter Milan to score a goal and they did it through Ibrahimovic who scored two goals in the space of 20 minutes. That dashed the hopes of a miracle for AS Roma who conceeded a late equaliser in Sicily.

Click here for the goals

0-1 Ibrahimovic

0-2 Ibrahimovic

Celebration

Manchester United goals 2007-08

2008-05-17T18:17:00.002+05:30

Manchester United have scored more than 100 goals this season and their free scoring combined with compact defending have helped them retain the EPL title and now they are chasing their 3rd Champions League crown in Moscow. Ronaldo was the chief of the Red Devils army which destroyed defences wherever they went. So re live those magical moments

Click here for the goals

Goals in 2007

Goals in 2008

Torres show 2007-08

2008-05-17T12:31:00.003+05:30

This season clearly belonged to two stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres. But a special mention should go to Torres who set the footballing world on fire by slamming 33 goals in debut season in England, a place where the strikers arriving from La Liga and Serie A have found the going very tough. But the "El Nino" did not have any problems settling in and scored goals at will. He showed tremendous pace and strength to hold off players and his finishing was exquisite. Though most of his goals came at Anfield there is no doubt that he will be a better player next season and will score everywhere. He had shouldered the responsibility of a huge price that was paid for him and no one has questioned the amount Rafa paid to land him. Liverpool fans would be hoping that Torres would help them to launch a serious fight for the EPL title next season.

Click here for his goals:

Link1

Link2 - a

Link2 - b

Goals

Tevez Transfer Saga

2008-05-16T17:45:00.002+05:30

CARLOS TEVEZ, the little bull from Argentina had been all over the news pages during the summer transfer window(June 07-Aug 07) regarding his transfer. And finally he has reached his preferred destination- MANCHESTER UNITED.

It all started way back at the beginning of the last season(2006-07) when Tevez and Javier Mascherano made a shock move to England and it was West Ham who got their signatures. Manutd who were supposed to be in the hunt for him didn't get him in spite of TEVEZ saying that he was a "MANUTD" fan. Though the Hammers got two bright talents they were struggling in the league and Tevez was not starting or even playing matches. It was clear that there was some problem with the then manager of West ham, ALAN PARDEW. And both the player's and club's positions were worsening as weeks passed by.

West Ham got a new owner Eggert Magnusson and they sacked Alan Pardew as the team was languishing at the bottom half of the table and Alan Curbhisley took over as the manager of West Ham and his first match was against MANUTD at Upton park and Tevez didn't play that match which West ham won 1-0.

And in the January transfer window Liverpool got Mascherano, another troubled player at West Ham. And with Pardew gone Tevez finally started playing matches for Westham and was scoring goals but it seemed too late as West Ham were destined towards relegation but Tevez pushed them all the way till the last weekend against MANUTD at Old Trafford and won they match 1-0, Tevez scoring the lone goal which kept West Ham in the premiership. As the games went on, West ham were found guilty of illegally signing Tevez and they were let off with a fine of £5.5m without any points deduction as they pleaded guilty. And even after the season was over Sheffield United, the team that got relegated filled a case against Westham being let off without points deduction, but they couldn't win the case so West Ham stayed in premiership thanks to late goals from TEVEZ.

As the summer transfer window opened it was clear that Manutd wanted to sign him. But the actual problem was lying in the fact that Tevez was owned by a company MSI which was headed by Kia Joorabchian and also Westham so there were confusions regarding the third party ownership of the player and Westham wanted compensation for letting Tevez free and even FIFA said it would help Tevez join MANUTD. Finally after a long delay MSI payed Westham a compensation of £2m and Tevez was free to join MANUTD.

Yet there were some delays as FA wanted to examine all the aspects of the transfer and this meant Tevez, who had been without match practice after the Copa America had to wait a little longer before joining United and start playing football with United.Yet he was practicing with the United squad and impressed everyone out there.

And Tevez was officially registered as a MANCHESTER UNITED player on 10th August marking an end to one of the longest saga's in football history. He made his ManUtd debut on 15th August against Porstmouth at Fratton Park. Tevez is set to be signed permanently as his current deal is a loan deal and with Ferguson saying that a fee is in place to complete the transfer Tevez can look forward to playing with the Reds for a long time.

Top goals in Champions League 2007-08

2008-05-15T12:28:00.003+05:30

Champions League 2007-08 season has reached its final stage with the top teams in England set to battle it out for the honours. And this season has produced some magical goals in Champions League so check them out.

Click here for the best goals

Link 1

Link 2

Zenit truimph in Manchester

2008-05-15T12:17:00.002+05:30

Zenit St Petersburg won the Uefa Cup in Manchester with a 2-0 victory over Rangers. It was a stylish performance from the Russian side who kept up their favourites tag going into the final.
The Scotland side fought hard but second-half strikes from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zurianov sealed the match in the favour of Zenit. Rangers once were not adventurous and always looked to play on the break. And this loss means Rangers wait for an European title continues for 36 years.

Click here for the goals

1-0 Denisov

2-0 Zurianov

Zenit Celebrations

Its Number 10 for Fergie!!!!!

2008-05-11T22:32:00.006+05:30

Manchester United won their record 10th Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson and have brought an end to an enthralling season of top flight football in England. United have been the most entertaining team in the league by scoring the most number of goals and conceding the least - all it takes to win the title. And they have emerged the deserving winners.

The title was to be decided on the last day of the Barclays Premier League and all the 20 teams kicked off at the same time. Due to some delay of Chelsea players coming out they started few minutes late than United. At the JJB, United were facing a tough task as Wigan were matching them and the Champions struggled to create any concrete openings. And Wigan had a shout of penalty turned down when Ferdinand handled a shot inside the box. And in the pouring rain on a relaid pitch Rooney was brought down inside the box and United were given a penalty which Ronaldo dispatched for his 41st goal of the season. Scholes, who had already been yellow carded was in a midst of attention when he fouled Palacios and the whole of the stadium wanted him off, but he got away.

In the second half United were determined to get the insurance goal which would make them more comfortable. And they had several chances but Kirkland was there to deny whenever United threatened. Time was ticking by and Chelsea had got a goal at Stamford Bridge through Shevchenko. That made sure that United needed another goal as a single goal was never going to be enough in any match. And it was the substitute Ryan Giggs, who was making a record equaling 758th appearance for United who scored from a through ball by Rooney. United were nearly there and there was no way they were going to throw this lead away. They saw off some late flourish from Wigan and sealed the title and their day was even made better with the news that Chelsea could only manage a draw at Stamford Bridge.

And this meant Manchester United were crowned CHAMPIONS not on the basis of goal difference but by the virtue of their 2 point lead over Chelsea. It was back to back titles for the Red Devils and more importantly its a young team that has won with the guidance of some seniors and this will help the new comers like Tevez, Anderson and Nani as they have won a title in the very first year at the club. With the champions league clash happening within ten days United might have the confidence going to Moscow and will be hoping to maintain their perfect record in Champions League finals.

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0-1 Ronaldo (pen)
0-2 Giggs
Celebrations video - Watch
Presentation - Download
Celebrations - download
Pictures of Title Celebrations
Sir Alex Interview

Special videos
Part1
Part2
Part3

Highlights
First Half
Second half

Torrent
Full Match
First Half
Second Half

Guardiola in Rijkaard out

2008-05-09T09:55:00.004+05:30

Frank Rijkaard has been sacked as the coach of Barcelona after serving 6 years at the Nou Camp. But he will continue as the manager till the end of this season and he will be replaced by Guardiola, former Barcelona player and the present coach of the 'C' team. The sacking of Rijkaard was on expected lines as Barca have ended with empty hands for 2 years in a row after winning La Liga and Champions League in 2006.

Their form in league this season has been nothing but inconsistent. Its true that Real Madrid ran away with the title but Barcelona have had their chances in the league, something that they did not take. The lead which was once 9 points during mid season was cut down to just 2, but Barca once again kept dropping points and Real Madrid who had a tough start to 2008, picked up their pace and made real daylight between their rivals.

Barcelona have had lots of internal(players) problems with Ronaldinho playing no where near his potential and the players kept saying they would leave if they don't win anything this season. Henry who was brought in and expected to star for the Catalans was played out of position all through and has never really kicked off in La Liga. Barca lost both the El Classico's this season after a time of 24 years. And to make matters worse they were made to form the Guard of Honour at the Bernebeu as the Whites had wrapped up the title at Osasuna. And in the pitch they were humiliated by the Champions(Campeones).

Messi was the only star this season and even he was injured for most of the time. And when he dint play Barca totally lost their way. And to add insult to injury they have also failed to capture second place in the table and will have to play the qualifying rounds in Champions League next season. Now the trimming job is taking place at the Nou Camp with Rijkaard being the first to go out. Its expected that Ronaldinho will follow soon and be off to AC Milan. Henry is linked with a move back to England. Deco and Eto'o also are set to leave. So its a sorry state at the Catalan club who will look for better things next season.

The Kings of Spain

2008-05-05T10:56:00.003+05:30

Real Madrid are the undisputed kings of Spanish football. They have won their 31st La Liga title and this has been a deserved one. Not only they won with some style but also they showed tremendous character yesterday going a man down and then a goal down before staging a remarkable comeback to seal the title. No one can argue Real's dominance this season because they were at the top the table from Week 1. The era of Galacticos is over and what we are seeing now is a new generation of young players together some experienced ones and future looks good. Schuster promised stylish football and he has delivered that with results. The title was necessary for him to give him confidence for his career as Real Madrid manager. With Real back in Madrid with the title, the El Classico would not mean a great deal considering the table but the players will want to prove that they are better than the Catalans. Beware Barca

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1. Players Celebrations

2. Celebrations in Madrid
3. Cibeles Celebrations

The Super Sub delivers number "31"

2008-05-05T10:32:00.004+05:30

Real Madrid have been crowned the Champions(Campeones) of Spain for the 31st time and this is their second league title in 2 years. All the talk on Sunday was about Real having the possibility of winning the league and Schuster had taken his entire squad to Osasuna with only Guti left out in Madrid.

The match got off to a silent start with not much happening in front of the goal in the first half. Both teams were trying hard to get the goal, for different reasons. The ball was in midfield and lots of Yellow cards were being dished out to both team's players. Portillo had some headers off the mark while Diarra's long range effort was the closest Real came.

Just seconds into the next half Cannavaro was given his second yellow and he had to go. Real had to play with 10 men for more than 40 minutes. But the changes were not being made for time as Real showed more desire now. And Torres came on for Saviola, with the back four stabilised Real became adventurous and started attacking. Osasuna were threatening but the Champions were not under such pressure. Raul was replaced by Higuain.

And just when one thought the match would end out in a scoreless draw, Heinze handled the ball inside the box and Osasuna were given a penalty which Punal dispatched. It was a crucial goal for them as it would save them from relegation. Baptista came on for Sneijder. With only 3 minutes remaining Robben brought Real back into the game with a neat header and immediately
after the "Super Sub" Gonzalo Higuain smashed the ball from just inside the box to give the Whites their 31st Title.

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1-0 Punal(pen)
1-1 Robben
1-2 Higuain
Cannavaro Red card
Sneijder - Hits the bar

Highlights

First Half
Second Half

Ronaldo puts United a step away from title

2008-05-03T22:28:00.003+05:30

Cristiano Ronaldo was in a belligerent mood against the Hammers who were hammered 4-1 at the Theatre of Dreams. He helped himself to a couple of goals and took his season tally to a staggering 40 goals of which 30 have been in Premier League. This record speaks volumes of this star who still has 2 games left in this season and when he adds goals to his tally that will help United add some Silverware to their Cabinet.

Manchester United took on West Ham at Old Trafford knowing that they had to win to put pressure on Chelsea. They were up against a team who had beaten them in their last 3 meetings and when they met earlier this season at Upton, Ronaldo scored early and then missed a penalty in the second half and the Hammers went on to win 2-1. So the Red Devils had to get past the ghost of past memories and it was done with some style by the Champions. With Rooney and Vidic watching from the players box, Ronaldo cut inside from the right wing and smashed the ball which went in off a slight deflection. United were in control and it was Ronaldo again who just converted a ball from Hargreaves with his thighs. That was number 40 for the Dazzler from Madeira. And then it was time for former West Ham boy to get into the party, Tevez smashed a scorcher from nearly 30 yards. United were in dreamland with the score at 3-0 but they came back to earth when Ashton's scissor kick changed the score.

Then came the moment of madness, Nani reacted to some comments from Lucas Neil and reacted by head butting him. The referee after consulting with the linesman sent him off. United were a man down with a half still to go. In the second half United were keeping the ball well and when Carrick's shot was deflected in, the match was done. Ronaldo was replaced to a thunderous applause. United then saw off the match comfortably by keeping the ball well and even had some chances to score. At the end it was job well done by the team who took a lap of honour as it was their last game of this season at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo was the star of the day and his joy was doubled when Betfred boss "Fred Done" said he will donate £50,000 to charity to celebrate Ronaldo's 30 goals.

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1-0 Ronaldo

2-0 Ronaldo

3-0 Tevez

3-1 Ashton

4-1 Carrick

Nani Red card

Highlights

First Half

Second Half

Its a Manutd Chelsea final

2008-05-01T10:00:00.004+05:30

Didier Drogba fired Chelsea into their maiden Champions League finals as they saw off the challenge from Liverpool in extra time. It was a tense encounter which saw Chelsea coming out on top. The pre-match talk had been dominated by Rafa who said Drogba was a diver and striker returning the complement saying he had great regard for Rafa till he said those words.

And on the pitch Chelsea started brightly with Reina called into action early. Torres had a good chance but it was saved by Cech. Chelsea were trying to impose themselves into the game with some neat football. Liverpool suffered a blow when Skrtel had to be replaced by Hyppia. And after that Drogba had a great chance were his shot across the post was inches wide. And Chelsea got their goal when Reina saved a Kalou shot and the rebound was smashed in by Drogba who celebrated it by diving right across the Liverpool bench. It was a controversial goal as Kalou was offside when he got the ball.

In the second half Chelsea were sitting back and allowed Liverpool to make all the play. It was not a good tactic against a team that had players like Torres and Gerrard. And Liverpool didn't disappoint them, Torres finished off a ball from Bennayoun and the away goal of Chelsea had been cancelled out. Chelsea then were searching for some spark to get things going and Essien had a good chance but he hit the side net. And as the teams pressed for the winner time ran out and the match went to extra time.

Chelsea were bright in ET1 and Essien scored after the ball from a corner was cleared but it was ruled offside, another dubious call as the strike was made from outside the box and the Chelsea players in offside position had no intentions of playing the ball. And right away Ballack was fouled in the box to give Chelsea a penalty which Lampard dispatched. While the Blues were celebrating Torres was subbed for Babel. And Drogba sealed the match with another cool finish and it was 3-1 at the end of ET1 and in the closing stages of the second Babel scored who make the scoreline look better.

Its going to a fight between Manchester United and Chelsea in both Premier League and Champions League!!!!!!

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1-0 Drogba
1-1 Torres
2-1 Lampard(pen)
3-1 Drogba
3-2 Babel
Essien - Disallowed goal

Scholes screamer sends United into the Finals

2008-04-30T23:02:00.003+05:30

It was a night to remember for the Red Devils fans as Manchester United beat Barcelona 1-0 courtesy a scorcher from Scholesy and entered the Champions League finals for the third time in history. And this feat fittingly comes in the 50th anniversary of Munich Disaster and it will be more poetic if United go on and convert their third final also into a European Cup win. The crowd was roaring throughout the match and their joy lasted even after the match and even few fans invading the pitch to show their joy. United now await a Premier League opposition in an "All English" finals.

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1-0 Scholes

Highlights
First Half
Second Half

Real edge closer to the title

2008-04-29T14:00:00.003+05:30

Real Madrid edged closer to title with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilboa at the Bernebeu. Saviola, Robben and Higuain scored for the Whites and Casillas saved a penalty. Real are now 10 points clear of second placed Villareal and lead Barcelona by 14 points.

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1-0 Saviola

2-0 Robben

3-0 Higuain

Penalty Save - Casillas

United pay the penalty

2008-04-26T23:10:00.003+05:30

Manchester United lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to hot up the title race which seems to go till the last day. United started without Ronaldo, Scholes and Evra while Chelsea did not have Lampard. Vidic suffered a blow and had to be subbed. Chelsea were better throughout the first half and Ballack headed them into the lead just at the stroke of halftime. In the second half Chelsea took the gas off the pedal and Rooney fired United back into the game latching on to a mistake from Cavarhlo and shot past Cech. Ronaldo came on for Rooney. Chelsea were pressing for a goal and the got a controversial penalty which Ballack dispatched. United also tried after that with Cole and Shevchenko clearing from the goal line to deny United.

Chelsea now are on level with United and the race is surely to go till the very end.

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1-0 Ballack

1-1 Rooney

2-1 Ballack(pen)

United earn a draw at Nou Camp

2008-04-24T11:01:00.003+05:30

Manchester United took on Barcelona at the Nou Camp and were hoping for a display that would put them in drivers seat to qualify for the finals. But it was not the typical attacking style from United but they sat back and defended with purpose and warded off the attacking threats of Barca to earn a 0-0 draw. Things could have been better had Ronaldo converted the penalty he got in the 3rd minute.

United had Brown at central defence due to Vidic's injury while Rooney was partnering Tevez upfront. Barca had Messi back in their side and were looking to put up a good show that could erase their La Liga failure this season. And they received a setback when United were given a penalty in the 3rd min. Ronaldo earned it and he hit that one wide much to the delight of Catalan fans. After that it was all Barca with their passing being precise and they had plenty of possession. United were starved for the ball but when they got it, they gave it away far too easily something you don't associated with United. Messi, Deco, Eto'o were queuing up in front of goal but their threat was only upto the 18 yard box and keeper was not called into action. United looked to play on the counter and Ronaldo was playing as the most further player up the field. He was denied another penalty when he was fouled by Marquez in the box. That would have been given as a foul had it been anywhere on the pitch other than the penalty box. Barca were pressing hard and the defenders held fort for United.

Second half also had the similar pattern of play and early on into the second half Eto'o capitalising on some poor defending by Brown stormed into the box and was chased by Ferdinand who tripped him but Eto'o was true to himself and dint go to ground as he thought he had a chance and he pulled the ball for Iniesta but then the defenders had closed down the danger. It was a critical moment as had Eto'o gone down it was surely going to be a penalty. And Barca pressed and had some shots on target while Carrick hit the side netting from close range. Messi was replaced by the young Bojan at the hour mark.

Barca were unable to create any clear cut chances and the United defenders closed down the spaces very well. Barca had nearly 67% possession throughout the match. Evra was very good throughout and there was a shout for penalty for his foul on Iniesta but it wasn't given. Time was running out and Henry came on for Barca while Nani and Giggs came on for Rooney and Tevez. Henry had a couple of shots on goal that worked Van Der Sar but the deadlock was not broken and the match ended in a stalemate.

It would have been a totally different game had Ronaldo scored the penalty but nevertheless it was a result that made Sir Alex happy and Manutd would be confident going into the second leg at Old Trafford knowing that a win would take them to Moscow.

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Ronaldo - Missed penalty

Short highlights

Full highlights

First Half

Second Half

Advantage Chelsea as Liverpool mess it up

2008-04-23T09:46:00.005+05:30

Liverpool let it go from their grasp and now face an uphill task at Stamford bridge. The Reds must score away to stand any chance of progressing to the finals. It was looking like another successful day in the office for Rafa in Champions League till the last few seconds.

The Blues took on the Reds at Anfield and had Lampard back in their lineup. Ferreira started in the right back position while Drogba was leading the attack which had Malouda and Cole on the wings. Liverpool started with a more settled team and Carragher partnered Skrtel in the central defence. Chelsea started off brightly in the opening few minutes and had more intensity in their play. Liverpool took time to settle and were under pressure from Chelsea. Liverpool then found their rhythm and started to move the ball better, Cole had an half chance while Kuyt could not control Alonso's ball to the box which was cleared. There were not many openings on either ends.

Gerrard was involved in a slick play with Torres and put the Spanish star through on goal but Cech saved the shot well. It was the first real chance of the game. Kuyt was lively and showed more desire and his hard work was rewarded when he dispossessed Lampard and he got into the box and shot past Cech to give Liverpool the lead just at the stroke of half time. It was a mistake from Lampard that cost Chelsea the goal and they needed to come out attacking in the second half.

In the second half Chelsea were more urgent but Liverpool were controlling the game with the lead on their side and Ferreira was having a horrible time against Babel whose runs were creating all sorts of problems for the Chelsea defence. Chelsea had a reprieve when Ballack appeared to have handled the ball in the box. And on 60minutes Aurelio was injured and replaced by Risse. Chelsea were pressing for the elusive away goal while Liverpool looked for the second that would give them a huge advantage going into the second leg. Lampard had a chance but Carragher's timely intervention denied him. Kalou and Anelka came on for Chelsea while Benayoun replaced Babel. Time was running out for Chelsea and in the injury time Cech again stopped a shot from Torres. And in the final minute Kalou crossed the ball into the box and Risse who was under pressure from Anelka headed the ball into his own net trying to clear it, the whole of Anfield went quiet but for the travelling fans.

Chelsea take a huge advantage going into the second leg. And Liverpool will feel unlucky as they played a good match. Rafa has a task on his hands considering the matches between these teams don't produce lots of goals. Advantage Chelsea.......

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1-0 Kuyt

1-1 Risse(Own Goal)

Torres one on one

First half Highlights

Second half Highlights

Title favourites

2008-04-22T18:26:00.005+05:30

Manchester United and Real Madrid took a step closer towards retaining their titles. Tevez scored a crucial late equaliser at Ewood park to keep the champions 3 points adrift of Chelsea prior to their clash at Stamford Bridge this weekend. Real Madrid continued their march beating Europe chasing Racing Santander. Captain Raul scored his 17th league goal of the season while Higuain sealed the win in stoppage time. Realmadrid now lead second placed Villarreal by 10 points and Barcelona are in third spot 11 points behind The Whites. Real have one hand on the trophy and could win the title the coming week.

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BLACKBURN ROVERS - MANCHESTER UNITED

1-0 Santa Cruz

1-1 Tevez

Highlights

RACING SANTANDER - REAL MADRID

0-1 Raul

0-2 Higuain

Manchester United march towards the title as the Gunners challenge ends

2008-04-14T13:21:00.004+05:30

Manchester United took a giant leap towards retaining their title with a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Arsenal at the Theatre of Dreams. Manchester United knew it was a match that they couldn't afford to slip up while it was a must win game for Arsenal and even a draw would damage their lone title chance of the season. United brought back Ronaldo, Rooney and Scholes to the starting line up while Park was given a place in the 11 for his good show over the last few matches. Rio partnered Pique in the central defence with Brown and Evra as fullbacks. Arsenal had Song in the central defence and Gilberto on for injured Flamini. And Lehman replaced the Almunia.

Arsenal started the match strongly and put United on the back foot. Adebayor had some very good chances to give them the lead but the strikers poor run of late continued as he kept missing the chances he got. United's passing was left a lot to be desired with none of them able to pass the ball that well they had been doing all season. Arsenal were winning the second balls and threatened but Van Der Sar was there to deny them. Rooney had a one on one with Lehman but his shot was saved by Lehman. Hleb was running the show for the gunners with his pace troubling both Pique and Ferdinand. Ronaldo was involved a lot in the first half which clearly belonged to Arsenal.

In the second half Arsenal started as they did in the first half and they got the deserved lead when Van Persie crossed the ball from the left and Adebayor was there to head it in. Ferdinand was there but he left it to keeper who in turn thought the ball would be cleared. There was a doubt over the goal as it appeared the ball had brushed Adebayor's hand on it way. It would have interesting to see Sir Alex's reaction had United not won. And Arsenal pushed on and nearly got their second when Ferdinand's attempt to clear the ball nearly went in but Van Der Sar came to the rescue. And United hit back immediately when the got a penalty for a handball by Gallas. Ronaldo dispatched the penalty which was taken twice to bring United back into the game.

Tevez and Anderson came on for Scholes and Park and United were looking for their second and Arsenal were under pressure after losing their lead. Evra made forays into the box and Rooney had his shot saved. And on 72 minutes United won a free kick in a dangerous area for a foul on Evra. And it was lined up by Hargreaves and Ronaldo. As everyone was Ronaldo to take it Hargreaves stepped up and curled an Inch Perfect free kick into the back of the net. The keeper could only stand and watch as the kick was unstoppable.

The crowd was roaring and so were the players and United looked more organised after the second goal with their passing back to its best and Anderson was doing a fine job in covering the whole pitch. Evra had the measure of Walcott and he was not allowed any space. Bendtner came on and had a few good chances but it was Van Der Sar again who held fort. And in the final minutes United brought in Giggs for Hargreaves. United kept the ball very well in the last few minutes to deny any attacks by Arsenal and closed out the match.

Overall it was a good football match and United were much better in the second half while Arsenal would rue the chances missed in to first. The Red Devils are in a commanding position with a six point lead over Chelsea who play later today. And with only 4 games to go Manchester United look the favourites to retain their crown.

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0-1 Adebayor

1-1 Ronaldo(pen)

2-1 Hargreaves

Highlights

Real move closer to the title as Villareal slip up

2008-04-14T11:34:00.003+05:30

Realmadrid inched closer towards retaining the La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Murcia at the Bernebeu. Realmadrid were relaxed after seeing Barca fall further off the pace drawing 2-2 against Recreativo. So all the needed was a win to put real daylight between them and the chasing pack. Realmadrid rested Cannavaro with Pepe coming back to the starting line up and Robinho replaced Higuain while Torres came in for the suspended Sergio Ramos.

Murcia coach Clemente had earlier said that he would be parking a bus in front of the goal and just try to prevent Real from scoring. And Realmadrid started the match with lots of possession but there was no zip in their play. They lacked ideas and could not create any concrete chances. And Real suffered a setback when Torres was sent off for a tackle from behind. The decision to send the player was a dubious one as there was not enough in it to deserve a straight red card.Schuster did not change the strategy even when they were playing with 10 men. Though they were a player more Murcia still were not willing to go forward and Real kept looking for the elusive goal. Murcia had a great chance from a counter attack where they were 3 players against 2 Real defenders but Sneijder ran back 60 yards to make a great tackle and clear the danger. First half ended with the crowd clearly not happy with the referee who was showering cards.

The second half also had similar pattern of play with Murcia sitting back and defending while Real pressed forward and there were some chances for Robinho but he missed them. And after 58 minutes Murcia made a change while Real were taking a throw and Robben made a throw into the box and the ball was not properly cleared and Sneijder latched on to it and curled into the top corner to give Real the lead. The player who was substituted was the one marking Sneijder and before his replacement could get hold of him Sneijder smashed the ball into the net. Real then brought on Salgado for Robinho to stabilize their back four and Real then held on to their lead to secure a vital win. And their night was made sweeter as Villareal lost 1-0 to Almeria.

Realmadrid now have a commanding 9 point lead over Barcelona and with only six games remaining in the league they look the odds on favourites to win the Title.

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1-0 Sneijder

Redcard Torres

Advantage Real as Barca draw

2008-04-13T13:36:00.003+05:30

Barcelona took on Recreativo knowing that only a win would help them keep their title hopes alive and close the gap on leaders Realmadrid to 4 points. Barca were on a high as they had qualified for the Champions League semifinals. Recreativo is by no means an easy place to go as the home team has the habit of playing well against the top teams.

Barcelona welcomed back the influential Messi and they were hoping for a turn around in their La Liga fortunes. They got off to a dream start as Barca, from defending got the ball rolling forward and Eto'o headed them into lead after just 62 seconds on the clock. But the home side was level in a controversial fashion, Ruben headed the ball in which was collected by Valdes and the assistant referee adjudged that it had crossed the line. But the ball did not cross the line completely so it had to go down as a poor decision.

Eto'o then scored a scorcher in the second half to give the lead back to Barca while Messi came on as a substitute and looked lively. The hosts were fighting and they got their equaliser through Ruben who headed in his second goal of the game to earn a point. Barca once again failed to put any pressure on Realmadrid. They also would rue the fact that they couldn't win as they are chased by Villareal and may find themselves trailing the Yellow Submarines at the end of Sunday.

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0-1 Eto'o

1-1 Ruben

1-2 Eto'o

2-2 Ruben

Super Sunday

2008-04-11T13:29:00.007+05:30

Manchester United take on Arsenal at the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday knowing that a victory over their bitter rivals would put them a step closer to retaining the Premier League crown. Arsenal on the other hand have only the league title to fight for after crashing out of the Champions League earlier this week. The Red Devils were safely through to the semifinals of the Champions League after seeing off Roma at OT.

Coming into this match few injury concerns hamper both the sides, Arsenal sufferring more on the injury front. They already have Equardo out for at least an year, Rosicky has been ruled out for the season, Flamini and Sagna have joined the latest injury Bandwagon for the gunners who have seen their title hopes shaken up due to these injuries. Manchester United have their first choice central defensive pair struggling. Vidic is out of the game but Ferdinand is expected to start after completing the full game against Roma. And the good news for the Champions is that their captain Gary Neville is back after a 13 month lay off. Silvestre is also back and thus it increases the options in defence for Sir Alex. And it should be noted that "It was the defence that suffered the most due to injuries at the very same stage of the last season and United didn't have that many options then". And Sir Alex will be happy with the fact that he has lots of options now.

And the problem with the Gunners is that they were playing attractive football and were getting results in the earlier stages of this season, but once the players were injured those who came to replace them were not as good as them and they failed to get results which has been the reason for their slide. Their starting eleven is strong but their squad is not strong enough to cope with the lost players and couldn't get results with the alternative teams put out. Their striker Equardo's injury hit them badly. It was playing on every Arsenal players minds for quite sometime and they dropped points, losing the pole position.

Manchester United have a strong squad and they got results irrespective of the team put out. Its true that the team was rotated but none complained as results were coming unlike Rafa who got the stick for rotating players. That was because the players were not able to rise up to the challenge. United kept Ronaldo and Scholes under the wraps in the match against Roma and Rooney played only in the last 15min, so everyone is fresh for Sunday. It promises to be an cracker...........

Barcelona - Manchester United Classic awaits us in Semifinals

2008-04-10T10:55:00.005+05:30

Manchester United went into the second leg match against Roma with the Sunday's match against Arsenal on the back of their mind so Ronaldo, Rooney and Scholes were kept on the bench. Park, Tevez and Hargreaves took their places. United knew Roma had to do something to go through and the Italians were playing three upfront which opened up space in the wings for the Reds to go forward. Ferdinand started at CB with Pique partnering him. Silvestre was making his first appearance since injuring his ankle in the match against Everton earlier in the season.

Roma tried to get off the blocks as soon as possible and they had the first shot and after few minutes United were all over Roma, Hargreaves was simply uncatchable. He made all sorts of runs and none of the Rome defenders were able to pick him and he had two clear shots on goal, Doni had to be there to keep his team in the tie and Brown had a header going just above. So United had three genuine chances in the first 18minutes. Hargreaves was simply in sublime form after being given the license to go forward his crosses from the right were Pin perfect but what lacked was the finishing touch on it. Park, Tevez and Hargreaves were working really well with Carrick operating as holding player and Anderson in front of him. And just when one thought United would control the game, Brown gave away a penalty. Mancini was brought down inside the box, the replays showed the ball had been won clearly but Mancini's delayed dive earned him the spot kick. De Rossi stepped in and blasted it over, much to the relief of OT. Justice had been done as it was never a penalty. Roma started to dominate after that till the end of first half. United had a scare as Ferdinand was struggling with injury.

In the second half Rio started the match, much to the relief of Manutd fans. He needed three stitches to get him going and he never showed any sign of discomfort in the second half. Roma hit the field up and running in the second half and had some good chances. Juan had a header saved by Van Der Sar and Sliverstre came in blocked a shot by Taddei. United were threatening with Hargreaves again but the goal that could seal the tie never came. Cassetti was injured and had to be substituted with Tonetto. And just when all thought it could be one of those days for United were the ball just wouldn't go in, Hargreaves once again drove forward and crossed a ball that asked to be headed in. Tevez did just that bending low to head it across Doni to seal a place in Semifinals for the Reds.

And with 15minutes left to play O'shea and Rooney came on for Carrick and Giggs. And a thunderous reception awaited the club captain Gary Neville who was making his 99th appearance in Champions League. He had missed 63 Manutd matches in the 13 months he was injured. Every touch of his was cheered by the crowd, who clearly have missed him. United won 1-0 set up a dream clash with Barcelona, who beat Schalke 2-0 on aggregate. Neville and Scholes are set to make their 100th Champions League game at the Nou Camp. Its fitting for Scholes that he would be making his century at the very place he had missed the final 9 years ago due to suspension. A classic awaits us in the semifinals.

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1-0 - Tevez

Missed Penalty - De Rossi

Highlights

First Half

Second Half

Its Chelsea Liverpool again

2008-04-09T17:05:00.011+05:30

CHELSEA - FENERBAHCE
The outcome of games played on Tuesday saw Chelsea pitted against Liverpool once again in the semifinals of the Champions League. Chelsea had a task on their hands as they took on Fenerbahce at Stamford Bridge as they had lost 2-1 in the first leg at Turkey, but they were never going to to let that happen again and they had also the home crowd behind them and they took an early lead through Ballack and Lampard made sure they go into the semis by getting the second but not before the Turks had given them some scare in front of goal.

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1-0 Ballack

2-0 Lampard

LIVERPOOL - ARSENAL
And the match of the day was at Anfield, third and final match of the trilogy between Arsenal and Liverpool. Both the earlier matches had ended in draws and Liverpool knew they could advance with a scoreless draw while Arsenal knew they had to score to stand any chance of advancing. Arsenal started off brilliantly and went ahead through Abu Diaby in the 13 minute but Hypia equalised for the Reds from a corner.

And in the second half it was the irrepressible Torres again for Liverpool who scored in the 69th minute and then it was those two frantic minutes, Walcott sprinted past the Liverpool players and burst into the box and set up Adebayor's equaliser and just when the dance movements of the Togo star had ended Liverpool had a controversial penalty for a foul by Toure on Babel. Gerrard slammed it in to give the lead back to Liverpool. And Babel put the finishing touches on the game by scoring the fourth.

Rafa would relish another Champions League match against Premier League opposition as he had already seen off one team. And it would be the second time the teams will be meeting in the Semifinals in as many years and who would bet against the Spaniard from taking his team to Moscow!!!!!!!!!!

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0-1 Diaby

1-1 Hypia

2-1 Torres

2-2 Adebayor

3-2 Gerrard(pen)

4-2 Babel

Boro hold United

2008-04-07T20:11:00.005+05:30

Manchester United took on Middlesbrough a the Riverside knowing that Chelsea had already crept up the points table with a win at Eastlands and were just 2 points behind them. United don't have a particularly impressive record against Boro but their record at Riverside was good comparing to Old Trafford. United who had one eye on the champions league match against Roma on Wednesday started with a strong team. The notable change was O'shea coming into defence in place of injured Vidic.

Manchester United started the game well with the attacking front working well while Boro also wanted to attack. And it was United who took the lead first, Carrick neatly controlling the ball delivered from a corner and sliding it to Ronaldo who hit the back of the net for his 37th goal of the season. And after that United were firing on all cylinders but Boro kept attacking and Van Der Sar had to make some good saves. While on the other end Rooney was flagged offside when he was clear on goal, a wrong call by the assistant referee.And Ronaldo had a clear penalty shout which was turned down. The ball was blocked by the Boro player and it was a clear penalty which wasn't given. And the home teams persistence was rewarded when the United defence failed to deal with a aerial ball and it fell to the Middlesbrough record signing Afonso Alves who finished it superbly with his left foot for his first ever goal for the club. United were shaken by this and the home team started to pile up the pressure and the goalie was called into action often and the half time came at the right moment for United.

In the second half the match was even more thrilling with both going for goals. Boro to be fair, had the measure of United in the early parts of the second half and Van Der Sar had to be there to avert the danger. Giggs had a poor game and was not involved in any concrete moves. Ronaldo did quite well in getting past the defenders but his shooting lacked composure. And on 56 minutes Boro took the lead. Boateng skied the ball and Brown's clearance hit an opponent and it fell to Alves, who curled the ball for his brace. Boro were all over the Champions and Tevez was replaced by Park.With the snow falling heavily, the visitors were searching for the equaliser and Alves had a chance to get his hat rick but Ferdinand's timely interception denied him. And United suffered another blow when Ferdinand was injured and he was replaced by Pique and Hargreaves came in for O'Shea. Alves had a chance when Van Der Sar slipped when trying to clear a back pass but the veteran managed to kick the ball away even when he was lying on the ground, that could have been a gift to the Brazilian. Alves was subbed to a thunderous applause from the record crowd, he deserved his goals as they all showed his quality.

And United got their equaliser on 74th min when Park did brilliantly on the right wing and crossed it to Rooney, who scored. It set up for a thrilling final 15 minutes. Rooney's header was well saved by Schwarzer. The pattern of the play was frantic and exciting to watch and it ended 2-2. On another day it can be considered as points dropped by Manutd but considering the way Boro played and injuries in defence and the fact that they had to come from behind Sir Alex would be happy with the result and in fact he was happy with the point. All credit to Boro who played impressive football and contributed to an exciting football match.

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0-1 Ronaldo

1-1 Alves

2-1 Alves

2-2 Rooney

Chelsea close the gap Arsenal slip up

2008-04-06T11:38:00.006+05:30

Arsenal's challenge for the Premiership seems to be fading after they drew 1-1 against Liverpool at the Emirates in Saturday. It was the second match of their trilogy and a match that Wenger couldn't afford to either lose or draw. While Liverpool had a 5 point cushion over fourth spot challengers Everton so Rafa had the luxury of resting some key players for the Champions League return leg at Anfield. Arsenal on the other hand couldn't rest any of them and they already had several players injured with Van Persie joining the list recently.

Arsenal who missed some early chances found themselves through a Crouch goal before half time. But they came back and scored through Bendtner, who had missed some simple ones in the 54th minute. Torres came on for the final 10 minutes while Arsenal searched for the elusive 2nd goal. Liverpool once again held firm to earn a point. Arsenal may trail Manchester United by 8 points by the end of the Sunday.

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Highlights

Chelsea on the other hand kept up the fight to United with a 2-0 win over Manchester City at the Eastlands. Chelsea who need to overturn a 2-1 setback against Fenerbahce would have breathed easy after they saw Arsenal slipping up. But they needed to win against a City team that had done very well at home but had been falling apart recently. But it no imagination it was an easy game.

Chelsea kept Ballack and Joe Cole on the bench. Chelsea took the lead from a Richard Dunne own goal, similar the own goal Chelsea got against Fenerbahce but this time it was on the right side. And City who also had some chances kept trying and Chelsea got their second through Kalou after 54min and that gave some breathing space for Chelsea who went on to win. Now only they appear to challenge United in the title race.

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Highlights

Realmadrid get a point at Mallorca

2008-04-06T09:08:00.002+05:30

It was by no means an easy match for the defending champs. And Mallorca too was a team they were facing for the fourth time this season. Though Real won at Bernabeu in the league they lost both the ties against Mallorca in the Copa Del Rey. And Mallorca were challenging for a European spot.

Realmadrid started with the same eleven that played against Sevilla, there was no Pepe & Robinho. Real started off well with Robben fluffing a chance to hit the target. Then the match settled down with both teams trying to attack and Casillas made good save after the ball was deflected by Ramos. Real were trying to master the midfield but they were well handled by Mallorca and Ramos was booked by the referee for a Push, something that we don't see often.

And as the first half came to end Robben cut from the right past the defenders and tried to cross it and the ball flicked the goalie and it came to Sneijder who smashed it home to give Realmadrid the lead. And it stayed the same way till the break.

In the second half the loyalties were resumed and Real were a more confident team as they had a goal advantage and they played some solid football. Marcelo was particularly weak in defence but Heinze covered him up well. Mallorca on the other hand kept looking for the equaliser and their job was made easier with the sending off of Sergio Ramos who was booked for the second time for a tackle on Varela. Still 25 min were left on the clock and Schuster brought in Diarra for Higuain but before Madrid could recompose themselves Mallorca equalised through Valero in the 73rd min.

Mallorca looked for the winner but Real held on to take a point away from ONO Estadi. The whites would be satisfied but the result would have been better had it not been for the red card. But considering the opposition and the they have performed miserably during few of their last visits Realmadrid will take this result as they try to retain their Crown.

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0-1 Sneijder

1-1 Valero

Liverpool earn a draw at the Emirates

2008-04-03T19:24:00.003+05:30

It was the first of the 3 clashes between Liverpool and Arsenal in the coming week. And the venue was The Emirates Stadium, London. All the pre-match talk was about Arsenal saying Liverpool fear us and Liverpool hitting back saying they don't fear anyone and Gerrard Torres combination can destroy any defence in the world. Arsenal were not the opponent Rafa would have preferred in the quarters cos he has just won once against Arsenal in their home and both the teams knew each other very well.

After all the lengthy talking from both sides it time for action on the pitch. Benitez played the same team that had started in the Mersyside derby but Mascherano was back in place of Lucas. Arsenal brought back Adebayor into the eleven and the striker had not scored since his goal at the San Siro against Milan. Arsenal started the match well and were quite dominant and they showed shades of the vintage football they played at the start of this season. Van Persie had a chance to open the score from Flamini's ball but he clipped it over the bar. The gunners started to dominate and it looked they may score any time. It happened just that. Arsenal took a sharp and a short corner, Van Persie crossed the ball beautifully into the box and Adebayor rose to head the opener for Arsenal after 23min. Liverpool were caught napping and they left the tallest man on the pitch unmarked, something Rafa wouldn't be happy about.

And just when one thought Arsenal would take control of the match by moving the ball, Flamini's poor clearance fell to Gerrard and he smartly went passed the defence and crossed the ball into the 6 yard box and Dirk Kuyt was there to tap that in. Liverpool had equalised and the Gunners lead had lasted only for 3 minutes. It was again poor defending that resulted in the goal. Arsenal then lost their focus and they were not that menacing in their attack and Liverpool were comfortable.

Walcott can on for Van Persie at half time and Arsenal had lots of the ball and were threatening. Walcott whizzed a shot which nearly went in. Liverpool were not ambitious in the second half and were happy to defend and looked to attack on the break when chances came. And Liverpool had a scare when Eboue's shot was blocked by Skrtel no penalty was given but the Real moment of controversy was when Kuyt pulled back Hleb at the left side, in what looked like a certain penalty but it was turned down by the referee. Everyone at the Emirates was convinced that was a foul but not the man who mattered most.

Bendtner came in and he managed to stop a shot by Fabregas going into the net, though was flagged for offside it would have been interesting had that ball gone in without Bendtner's intervention. Arsenal tried hard till the end but couldn't find another goal that could have given them advantage going into the second leg but Liverpool held on for a draw, a result Benitez would gladly take.

With both these teams slated to meet again this weekend at the same avenue fireworks can be expected but one might just get the feeling both the team might be tired of playing each other when they meet again on Tuesday at Anfield for the second leg. Notwithstanding all the talk being about both the teams know each other well and match lacking Champions League atmosphere Benitez got a good result can holds the advantage going into Anfield. Has Rafa done it again in the Champions League?????????

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1-0 Adebayor

1-1 Kuyt

Fernerbahce give Chelsea "the blues"

2008-04-03T18:19:00.006+05:30

Chelsea were shattered while Fenerbahce were ecstatic after final whistle at Şükrü Saracoğlu. The blues had thrown the match that was firmly in their hands. But they can console themselves with the fact that they have an away goal going into the return leg at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea started the game quite well considering the hostile crowd that was egging their team on. The Turks usually don't start matches very well and they being out classed in the midfield with Ballack and Lampard running the show for Chelsea. And their break through came just past the ten minute mark. Malouda had the ball on the left and he tried to cross for Drogba to score but that task was completed by Deivid, who trying to stop the low cross diverted the ball into his own net to score his first goal of the night. Chelsea had the goal to assert their dominance in the match. And immediately after Essien clipped the bar, so close to a second.

In the beginning of the second half things were no different with Chelsea comfortable on the ball. And after Kazim Richards, the ex-Sheffield United player came on after things started to look better and he put the home side level just past the hour mark when he smashed a left footed shot into the net by a through ball from Marco Aurelio.

The crowd went wild and Chelsea started to look for their second and had a couple of decent chances with Drogba and Ballack. And as the match entered the final ten minutes it was time for the till then Villain Deivid to become a hero. He got the ball from 35 yards and smashed an absolute cracker jack into Cudicini's net. It was his second goal of the night. And it was time for Anleka to make a return to his former club and he was welcomed with jeers. Chelsea couldn't find another goal and it was a great win for the Turks.Chelsea must be cursing themselves for letting the match from their hands.

The tie now moves onto Stamford Bridge where the Blues are unbeaten in 79 games. Fenerbahce have a tough task on their hands but their fighting spirits have been to the fore in their away games and an intriguing tie awaits us.

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0-1 Deivid

1-1 Kazim Richards

2-1 Deivid

A Manchester United Master Class

2008-04-02T19:03:00.004+05:30

Everyone in the Manchester United camp were smiling after the final whistle was blown at the Stadio Olimpico.The English Champions had just orchestrated a fine tactical performance. The result could have been a lot better had it not for Vidic's injury.

Manchester United went to take on Roma for the 6th time in a year(something that doesn't happen often considering the opponent being a European team) in the first leg of the Champions league. It was at the same stage United met Roma for the first time in history at the same avenue. The match was marred by crowd trouble and many United fans stabbed.This time around everything went on well much to the delight of the Rome authorities but where it went wrong was on the pitch for the Serie A aspirants.

Roma started on well against a United side that had Ji Sung Park as a surprise inclusion in place of Gigss with both Tevez and Hargreaves on bench. United were solid at the back and were more organised with Carrick and Scholes running the show in middle of the park. United passed well after they had seen off the early part of game. Rooney predominantly was on the left while Ronaldo played further upfront. Just when Manutd were settling well on the ball and looked confident, Vidic landed awkwardly on his knees twisting it. He was subbed with O'Shea and right after that Rooney held the ball well, made a good turn and passed the ball to Scholes who entered the box and his cross by met by the Flying Ronaldo and United got the lead.

In the second half Roma were more adventurous with Vucinic being the main threat and Van Der Sar was forced into a brilliant save from Vucinic. Roma were threatening a lot and Manutd did not have the ball and gave them away. Guily was introduced and he got into the groove immediately making brilliant runs but the United defence stood firm with captain Rio Ferdinand doing well in the absence of Vidic.

Roma earned a lot of corners but could not use them properly. United got their first corner only after the hour mark. Just when Roma looked more dangerous Brown crossed the ball from right and Park did brilliantly to head the ball back into the danger area. Doni trying to catch the ball spectacularly failed to hold it and it fell to Rooney who just tapped in for his 6th goal in 7 games against Serie A opposition.

United had got themselves into a fine position and Roma were unsettled with gaps opening up Carrick made a foray into the box and his shot going very close to the post. Ronaldo hit the post and Roma were not in the game. Though they tried to attack, it was not a threat for the defence. And United closed out the game comfortably with Tevez coming in for Rooney in the last ten minutes. It can easily be said as one of Manchester United's finest European displays.........

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1-0 Ronaldo

2-0 Rooney

Highlights

Link

Champions League Quarterfinals

2008-03-31T23:44:00.013+05:30

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

Live Streaming Links

1. Link1

2. Link2

3. Link3

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

Live Streaming Links

1. Link1

2. Link2

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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1. Link1

2. Link2

3. Link3

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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1. Link1

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3. Link3

Real Madrid see off Sevilla

2008-03-31T09:57:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-30T21:50:00.003+05:30

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

2008-03-30T15:56:00.003+05:30

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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1. Link

Manchester United March on....

2008-03-30T15:03:00.005+05:30

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

2008-03-30T14:22:00.006+05:30

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?

2008-03-29T22:15:00.003+05:30

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

2008-03-29T18:48:00.003+05:30

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

2008-03-28T22:44:00.012+05:30

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?????

2008-03-28T21:20:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-27T12:22:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-27T12:06:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-27T11:35:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-27T10:19:00.004+05:30

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

2008-03-26T16:34:00.003+05:30

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

2008-03-25T23:45:00.003+05:30

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

2008-03-25T23:23:00.006+05:30

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

2008-03-25T21:51:00.005+05:30

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

2008-03-25T21:17:00.002+05:30

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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