Suspension plea rejected by UEFA

UEFA is sticking with their rules that the six suspended players of Bayern Munich and Chelsea will not play in the Champions League final despite appeals from some players and union.

Nigerian International John Obi Mikel who plays for Chelsea is one of those who think that the yellow should be cancelled. Speaking in a report he said: "Yes, the yellow cards should be cancelled going into a final and UEFA should look into that.

FIFPro had also made an appeal to UEFA to allow players with yellow to play in the finals. Suggesting that players who commit serious offence should be awarded a red card insisting that it is unfair for a player to miss so a big match due to yellow card cumulated.

CL: Bayern beat Madrid on pentaly to qualify for final

Bayerm Munich defeated Madrid 3-1 on penalty to qualify for the Champions League final.

The game went into extra time after the match ended 2-1 (3-3 aggregate) in favour of Real Madird. The match was later decided on penalties as both team failed to score in the thirty minutes extra time.

Madrid opened score from the spot just six minutes into the game after Ronaldo converted a penalty.

Cristiano Ronaldo got a brace eight minutes later to make it two for the home side, making it his 10th goal in the Champions league this season.

Ten-man Chelsea sends Barca out of CL

Chelsea drew 2-2 with Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Tuesday to move to the finals of the Champions League on a 3-2 aggregate.

Sergio Busquets put Barca ahead in the 35th minute of the game with Barca having control of the match. Two minutes later Chelsea captain John Terry was sent off for an un sportsmanship behavior.  

It seemed as if it was over for Chelsea when Andres Iniesta scored the second goal for Barcelona in the 43rd minute but Chelsea got back in the game with a nice finish from Ramires in first half stoppage time.

Ronaldo's boot stolen before CL match

Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Mesut Ozil were reported to have their kits stolen before the first leg of the Champions League semi final.

According to reports, six pairs of boots and some shirts were stolen from Real Madrid’s dressing room. Three of which were owned by Ronaldo and the others for Ozil and Benzema.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho speaking in his post match press conference said;

"The stealing of Cristiano’s shoes is a shame, it’s impossible something like that could happen at the Bernabeu.”

Reports also have it that Real Madrid has lodged a complaint to UEFA concerning the incident.

Bayern defeated Madrid 2-1 in the game and Ronaldo's performance was not impressive. This leaves some people asking if his performance was affected by the incident.

CL: Chelsea beat Barca to keep hope alive

Chelsea defeated Barcelona 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi final on Wednesday at the Stamford Bridge to keep their hope alive to qualify for the finals.

Drogba scored the only goal of the match in the added time of the first half through a cross from Ramires.

Though Barcelona had more of the possession throughout the game, Chelsea was able to stop them from scoring an away goal.

Interim boss Roberto Di Matteo played more of defensive, playing only Didier Drogba up front and it paid off for him.

Barcelona had great chances to score in the game but was unable to convert any of them. The second leg of the match will be played on April 24 at the Camp Nou.

CL: Gomez give Bayern win against Madrid

Bayern Munich defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions league semi final played on Tuesday.

The 89th minute goal from the top scorer in the German Bundesliga, Mario Gomez, sealed the victory for the home side. Bayern was a goal up in the first half through a strike from Ribery in the 17th minute but Mesut Ozil equalized for Madrid just eight minutes into the second half.

Though Real Madrid has one away goal, Bayern is now at an advantage as they require only a draw when they meet in the second leg to move to the finals.

The second leg of the game will be played in Spain on April 25 at the Bernabeu.

Barca wears black against Chelsea

The current European Champions will be in their all black kit when they face Chelsea at the Bridge in the first leg semi finals of the Champions League.

Due to similarities between the two clubs jersey, reports say that Barca sought advice from Uefa in order to avoid colour clash.

The club was told by the European football governing body that their black kit will be good enough to differentiate both teams.

The last time both teams met in 2008/2009, Barca was on their yellow jersey.
The first leg of the semi finals between Chelsea and Barcelona will be played on April 18.

EPL: Norwich dent Spurs CL ambition

Tottenham’s hope of finishing among the top four in the league this season suffered another blow as they lost at home against Norwich City.

Anthony Pilkington put the visitors ahead thirteen minutes into the game but Defoe’s 33rd minute goal kept the game level at half time. Tottenham had some scoring opportunities in the second half including a shot by Bale that hit the woodwork but a powerful shot from Elliott Bennett in the 66th minute gave Norwich the victory.

Barca gets boost ahead of CL clash with Chelsea

The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Nou Camp has been brought forward to 21st April.

The match was brought a day forward by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, this gives Barca extra 24 hours to recover before they play against Chelsea in the second leg of Champions League final. The first leg of the match will be played on April 18.

Chelsea had their request to rearrange their FA Cup semi final match against Tottenham turned down by the English FA. Chelsea will play Tottenham on Sunday before they play Barcelona in the first leg Champions league tie.

Raul wants all Spanish CL final

Raul is hoping that the Champions League final this season will be with his former club Real Madrid and their fellow Spanish club Barcelona.

Despite the exit of his team Schalke from this seasons Europa league by Athletic Bilbao, Raul was proud to see many representatives from La Liga still in Europe.

Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, and Atletico Madrid all from Spain made it through to this seasons Europa League semi final while Madrid and Barca qualified for the semi final of the Champions league. The three times Champions League winner with Madrid speaking to reporters said:

Guardiola: I can only thank Mourinho

Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola has responded to a recent comment made by Mourinho that Barcelona is already through to the final. Rather he believes that any of the four teams can make it to the final.

Guardiola thanked the Real Madrid manager for the faith he has in his team but insisted that any of the four teams can make it to the final.

Speaking during a press conference Guardiola said:

"I can only thank Mourinho for his faith in Barcelona.

"We appreciate that he thinks we can make it to the final. However, all four teams can reach the final.

"Am I tired of these mind games? No they are a part of the job."

Mourinho: end of road for chelsea

Jose Mourinho believes that Chelsea can't make it past the semi final stage of the Champions League when they face Barcelona.

The madrid manager believes that Chelsea has come to the end of the road. Speaking to Telemadrid after his side 5-2 win over APOEL at the Santiago Bernabeu he said:

"For me the big question is knowing who will play against Barca in the final.

"It will be a great semi-final, Bayern against Real Madrid, and the best team will go on to play against Barca."

When asked why he was so certain that Barcelona would be in the final, the Portuguese said:

"Because they are very good".

Barca beat AC Milan 3-1 on Tuesday to advance to the last four. The first leg of the semi final between Chelsea and Barca will be at the Stamford Bridge on the 18th of this month.

Jesus felt Benfica were penalised unjustly

Benfica manger Jorge Jesus felt that his side were penalised unjustly by the Slovenian referee in their 2-1 defeat against Chelsea.

Benfica played most of the match with ten men after their captain Maxi Pereira was shown a second yellow card in the 40th minute. Benfica were eliminated from the Champions league by a 3-1 goal aggregate.

Jorge Jesus speaking after the match said:

“Well, we’ve been the better team in both legs – in Lisbon and in London. I am very proud of my men. We played with ten men for the best part of an hour and we were still the better team. We made Chelsea look ordinary.

“We were penalised by the referee tonight, unfortunately, and unjustly I feel, but that’s football in the end. We come away as losers but I feel my team gave everything and I am very proud of my players tonight.”

Chelsea and Madrid through to semi finals

Chelsea defeated Benfica by 2-1 (3-1 agg), while Madrid beat APOEL by 5-2 (8-2 agg) at the Bernabeu to qualify for the semi final.

Chelsea went a goal up in the first half through a penalty by Frank Lampard in the 21st minute. Benfica who were reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute, put up a good fight in the second half and were rewarded with a goal from Javi Garcia. But Raul Meireles came from the bench to seal the victory for the London side.

In the other quarter final match played today at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid defeated APOEL by 5-2. Ronaldo scored a brace, while the other goals for Madrid came from Kaka, Maria Callejon and Di Maria. Gustavo Manduca and Esteban Solari got the goals for the visitors.

Madrid will now face Bayern munich, while Chelsea will play Barcelona in the semi final.

Barca, Bayern through to semi finals

Barcelona and Bayern Munich are through to the semi final of UEFA Champions league. For the fifth season running, Barcelona is in the finals of the Champions league.

Barcelona qualified after they defeated AC Milan in a thrilling match that ended 3-1. Messi got a brace from the penalty spot for the defending Champions in the first half while Inesta netted in the third in the second half to seal the victory for the home side.  Antonio Nocerino brought back Milan levels in the 32nd minute but goals from Inesta Messi and Inesta gave Barca the victory. 

In the other quarter final match played, Bayern Munich defeated Marseille by 2-0. Ivica Olic scored a brace for Bayern, the first came in the 13th minute and the other in the37th minute. Bayern munich qualified on a 4-0 goal aggregate.

Milan draw Barca while Bayern beat Marseille

Though the match between Milan and Barca ended goalless, there was no dull moment through out the match. There were scoring opportunities missed between the two teams starting from the miss by Robinho less than 5minutes into to match. Barca took control of the greater part of the match and Alexis Sanchez thought he deserved a penalty when he came down following a contact from Milan's goalkeeper Abbiati.
With this result the second leg which will be played in spain is still very open as a win by any of the two sides will see the team moving to the next round.
The match between Marseille and Bayern ended with two goals in favor of Bayern. The first goal came from Mario Gomez at the tail of the first half while Arjen Robben netted in the second. With the two away goals Bayern stand a better chance to progress to the next round.