Monday, April 25, 2011
Surprising Bolton crushed Arsenal hopes
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Monday, April 25, 2011Sunday, April 17, 2011
Dramatic 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 17, 2011Chelsea closer to Arsenal after 1-3 win over West Bromwich
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 17, 2011Liverpool steal a point at the Emirates Stadium
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 17, 2011Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wenger backs the team's performance this season
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 10, 2011After short win over Wigan, Ancelotti focuses in Champions League
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 10, 2011Captain Gerrard to miss the rest of the season after surgery
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Sunday, April 10, 2011Saturday, April 9, 2011
Malouda rescued a 1-0 win for Chelsea over Wigan
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Saturday, April 09, 2011Friday, February 18, 2011
Arsene Wenger: We can win four titles this season
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Friday, February 18, 2011Arsenal vs. Barcelona: Arshavin lead Gunners' win in Champions League
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Friday, February 18, 2011Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Champions League: Lionel Messi crushed Gunners' dreams
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Barcelona beat Arsenal with a stunning 4-1 score (agg. 6-3) basically because of a player from another planet, even another dimension: Lionel Messi. The game took place at the Camp Nou, where the South American striker took his team stright to the semifinals.
Arsenal netted the opener with Bendtner but the Argentinian genious was the man of the match scoring all four goals of his team.
Barcelona advanced to the semifinal stage of the Champions League, where Inter Milan wait to prove they have enough talent to stop the Messi-mania.
As for Arsenal, the Gunners now have to think in the Premier League, a competition where the leaders are Chelsea and Manchester United.
Tickets for Champions League clash Barcelona-Arsenal cost up to 300 Euros
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Many Arsenal fans who arrived at Barcelona without tickets are desperately looking for some to see the match. The port of Barcelona is the spot for English supporters gathering.
Even though many days before it was announced that the tickets were sold out, the truth is that scalpers are all around the stadium. Prices are between 250 and 300 euros a seat.
There are huge security measures for this game, but scalpers manage to sell as much as they can. And the British fans pay for them, because they have no choice.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Arsenal to face Messi's Barcelona in Champions League
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Friday, March 19, 2010Arsene Wenger expressed his thoughts about this match: "I think my team will not be favourite but for me it will be a 50-50 match. That's how we have to take it. When you get to the quarter-finals of the Champions League you play extremely good clubs and Barcelona has a fantastic team indeed."
In another fascinating leg, Manchester United will face Bayern Munich. And lets mention that Lyon will play French rival Bordeaux and Inter Milan faces CSKA Moscow in the other quarterfinals of the Champions League.
These encounters will take place on March 30 and 31 and April 6 and 7 with Arsenal, Lyon, Bayern, and Inter hosting the first matches.
Ancelotti aims to win Premier League and FA Cup
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Friday, March 19, 2010Indeed, the Blues are only two points off the pace at the top of the Premier and are through to the final four in the prestigious FA Cup. Said that, Ancelotti is convinced that his footballers can win both titles.
The coach said that Chelsea's destiny "is in our own hands. If we win every match, we can do the double. That's our aim."
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Chelsea eliminated from the Champions League by Inter Milan
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Tuesday, March 16, 2010
It was Drogba vs. Eto'o. It was Mourinho against Chelsea. In the end, Inter Milan got a 1 - 0 win over the Blues and kick them out of the Champions League. However, the qualification, achieved by a 3-1 aggregate score after the Italian team had won the first leg, 2-1, was not that satisfying for Jose Mourinho. He was manager of a legendary squad of Chelsea and this was his first time facing his old home.
"Today I was the enemy, and today the enemy won," the Portuguese coach expressed.
Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o netted in the 78th minute to destroy the Blues' 21-game home unbeaten streak in the UEFA Champions League.
Inter booked a place in the next stage. And in Stamford Bridge, we will have to wait for the next season of the Champions League to see Chelsea finally winning the long expected crown of Europe.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Arsenal boss considers impossible to hunt Manchester United
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Wednesday, February 18, 2009We must consider that Arsenal sit in fifth place, 15 points behind the reigning champions, after United victory over Fulham, a victory that takes Sir Alex Ferguson’s side five points clear of second-placed Liverpool.
All the top five sides will have 13 clashes left to play after tonight, with Arsenal still to visit United, giving them a small chance of reducing the points difference. However, Wenger sees United as being in such amazing form that even an Arsenal victory at Old Trafford would not halt Ferguson’s men on their way to a third successive Premier League title.
In any case, Wenger’s side visit Old Trafford on the penultimate weekend of the season, when a victory might come too late to make any difference. Wenger cannot see United also losing four other games to give Arsenal a chance of the title.
The manager expressed: “We promised ourselves to give everything until the very last day of the season. At the moment Man United look untouchable, they beat Fulham tonight. United’s results are really consistent. They victory 1-0, and in despite of that, you always think during the match they will drop a point tonight, or drop maybe more than two points, and in despite of that, no, they always manage to find, somewhere, the resources to victory the game.
“That means if they victory their game in hand they are 15 points in front of us. That means they need to lose five games for us to catch up. Let’s say they lose one against us, that leaves four. They still need to lose four other games, which they haven’t done yet this season. and in despite of that, we promised ourselves. We are very consistent. We are on a very strong run. We just missed the goals recently we know we are capable of scoring.”
It’s amazing to notice that Wenger saw his side cruise into the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday night, defeating Cardiff City in their replay 4-0, and they now have a relatively straightforward path through to the semi-finals. They next play Burnley, at the Emirates, and if they victory that they will play either Sheffield United or Hull City in the quarter-finals, again at the Emirates.
However, Wenger has downplayed the importance of the Cup, insisting that it is more important to finish in the top four of the Premier League, thus qualifying for the Champions League preliminary stages.
Wenger, whose last trophy was the FA Cup in 2005, responded, when asked about the Cup being his best chance of silverware: “I believe our basic target is to get in the Champions League. Therefore the championship remains our priority.”
The Gunners’ hopes of overhauling Chelsea or Aston Villa to finish fourth were lifted with the return to first-team action of Eduardo on Monday night. Their Croatia international forward played his first encounter for Arsenal since breaking his left leg and dislocating his ankle against Birmingham City 51 weeks ago.
Eduardo scored twice, with a header and a penalty, and looked lively throughout his 67 minutes on the pitch, before he was taken off as a precautionary measure, due to a tight hamstring.
Wenger expressed Eduardo, 26 next week, had shown that, “mentally, he is as strong as a mountain” in coming back from such a serious injury.
We must consider that the Brazil-born Eduardo wants to carry on where he left off last season, when his goals looked like they might take Arsenal to the league title. Now he has his eyes on European and FA Cup success.
He expressed: “We have three months until the end of the championship. I am here to help Arsenal to be on top of the Premier League or in the first three. Now we are in the FA Cup, I want to get to the final and in the Champions League we want to go far. I feel I can play again like before.”
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Felipe Scolari: we must win over Bordeaux to continue in the Champions League
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Chelsea Portuguese boss Luis Felipe Scolari underlined the importance of beating Bordeaux on Wednesday to seal their seventh straight appearance in the Champions League knockout stages with a game to spare.
The charismatic Brazilian proffesor knows last season's beaten finalists came unstuck in their last away game at italian AS Roma when they were thumped 3-1 and is not taking the French outsiders lightly.
"We really need to qualify either tomorrow or against Cluj and reach the second round," he told a press conference here Tuesday.
"As we know, we had a chance against Roma and now we have a second chance. Myself and the players cannot wait for more chances and tomorrow (Wednesday) is the day."
The 60-year-old played down the defeat in Italy and says the group is still wide open with just a one point lead on Roma and Bordeaux with Cluj still in the hunt three points adrift.
"The clash against Roma was a time when they were in crisis and it was a game that if they lost they were out of the competition. They played better than us 100 per cent.
"Look, what I know about French Bordeaux is that they have very good players and the result in the first match was not a normal result.
"I know they are in fifth or sixth in France and they didn't start the competition very well but they have played well since and we respect this team and more. They have six points and we have only seven so there is no difference."
In fact, the Girondins have been hit by the late withdrawal of first choice goalkeeper Ulrich Rame who failed to recover from a hamstring injury which means the gloves will be handed to 25-year-old Matthieu Valverde.
We must mention that Bordeaux are coming off back to back victories over Romanian newcomers CFR Cluj which has lifted them back into contention for a spot in the final 16 but have never beaten English opposition at home in European play.
They were beaten by powerful Manchester United 2-1 in the 1999-2000 Champions League group phase and also lost 1-0 to Liverpool in the 2006-07 pool stage as well.
Their only point at home in European action came way back in the first round of the 1997-98 UEFA Cup first round when they battled Aston Villa to a 1-1 stalemate.
Scolari also made it clear his squad are not thinking about Sunday's showdown with Arsenal in a top of the table Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge and says qualification is crucial and not especially winning the group.
"Myself and the players will not think about Arsenal FC until after the game tomorrow. If we start thinking about Arsenal, we might lose tomorrow.
"In fact, if we have the second leg in the Champions League at home in the next round that it's great but there are two things.
"In the past teams have won the second leg away from home and other times the home team has won but there is not a big difference. The most important thing is to qualify."
In-form French forward Nicolas Anelka hopes to carry his hot touch in the Premier League onto the European stage where he has been misfiring so far in the competition.
"I may be need a bit of luck but the important thing is that we get the win and that the team pick up the three points or at least a draw," said the French forward.
"I know that the match tomorrow will be a lot different from the first match at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea won 4-0) and we are expecting a very tough encounter."
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Premier League Fixture - 2008/2009 Season
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Thursday, November 20, 2008Saturday, 22 November 2008
Aston Villa vs. Man Utd, 17:30
Chelsea vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Fulham, 15:00
Man City vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Bolton, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Hull, 15:00
Stoke vs. West Brom, 15:00
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Sunderland vs. West Ham, 16:00
Tottenham vs. Blackburn, 13:30
Monday, 24 November 2008
Wigan vs. Everton, 20:00
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Aston Villa vs. Fulham, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Stoke vs. Hull, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Bolton, 15:00
Wigan vs. West Brom, 15:00
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Chelsea vs. Arsenal, 16:00
Man City vs. Man Utd, 13:30
Portsmouth vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Everton, 15:00
Monday, 1 December 2008
Liverpool vs. West Ham, 20:00
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Arsenal vs. Wigan, 15:00
Blackburn vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Bolton vs. Chelsea, 15:00
Fulham vs. Man City, 12:45
Hull vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Sunderland, 17:30
Newcastle vs. Stoke, 15:00
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Everton vs. Aston Villa, 16:00
West Brom vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Monday, 8 December 2008
West Ham vs. Tottenham, 20:00
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Aston Villa vs. Bolton, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Hull, 15:00
Man City vs. Everton, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal, 12:45
Stoke vs. Fulham, 15:00
Sunderland vs. West Brom, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Man Utd, 17:30
Wigan vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Chelsea vs. West Ham, 16:00
Portsmouth vs. Newcastle, 13:30
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Blackburn vs. Stoke, 15:00
Bolton vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Fulham vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Hull vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Man Utd OFF Wigan, 15:00
West Ham vs. Aston Villa, 17:30
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Arsenal vs. Liverpool, 16:00
Newcastle vs. Tottenham, 15:00
West Brom vs. Man City, 13:30
Monday, 22 December 2008
Everton vs. Chelsea, 20:00
Friday, 26 December 2008
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal, 17:15
Chelsea vs. West Brom, 13:00
Liverpool vs. Bolton, 15:00
Man City vs. Hull, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Everton, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. West Ham, 13:00
Stoke vs. Man Utd, 12:45
Sunderland vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Fulham, 13:00
Wigan vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Arsenal vs. Portsmouth, 14:00
Blackburn vs. Man City, 16:15
Bolton vs. Wigan, 14:00
Everton vs. Sunderland, 14:00
Fulham vs. Chelsea, 14:00
Newcastle vs. Liverpool, 12:00
West Brom vs. Tottenham, 14:00
West Ham vs. Stoke, 14:00
Monday, 29 December 2008
Man Utd vs. Middlesbrough, 20:00
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Hull vs. Aston Villa, 20:00
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Arsenal vs. Bolton, 15:00
Aston Villa vs. West Brom, 12:45
Everton vs. Hull, 15:00
Fulham vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Newcastle vs. West Ham, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Man City, 15:00
Stoke vs. Liverpool, 17:30
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Man Utd vs. Chelsea, 16:00
Wigan vs. Tottenham, 13:30
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Blackburn vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Bolton vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Stoke, 15:00
Hull vs. Arsenal, 17:30
Man City vs. Wigan, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
West Brom vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Tottenham vs. Portsmouth, 16:00
West Ham vs. Fulham, 13:30
Monday, 19 January 2009
Liverpool vs. Everton, 20:00
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Portsmouth vs. Aston Villa, 20:00
Sunderland vs. Fulham, 19:45
Tottenham vs. Stoke, 20:00
West Brom vs. Man Utd, 19:45
Wigan vs. Liverpool, 19:45
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Blackburn vs. Bolton, 20:00
Chelsea vs. Middlesbrough, 19:45
Everton vs. Arsenal, 20:00
Man City vs. Newcastle, 19:45
West Ham vs. Hull, 20:00
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Arsenal vs. West Ham, 15:00
Aston Villa vs. Wigan, 15:00
Bolton vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Fulham vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Hull vs. West Brom, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Stoke vs. Man City, 12:45
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Liverpool vs. Chelsea, 16:00
Newcastle vs. Sunderland, 13:30
Monday, 2 February 2009
Man Utd vs. Everton, 20:00
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Blackburn vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Hull, 15:00
Everton vs. Bolton, 15:00
Man City vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Stoke, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Arsenal, 15:00
West Brom vs. Newcastle, 15:00
West Ham vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Wigan vs. Fulham, 15:00
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Arsenal vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, 15:00
Bolton vs. West Ham, 15:00
Fulham vs. West Brom, 15:00
Hull vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Man City, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Wigan, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Everton, 15:00
Stoke vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Arsenal vs. Fulham, 15:00
Aston Villa vs. Stoke, 15:00
Bolton vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Wigan, 15:00
Everton vs. West Brom, 15:00
Hull vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Tottenham, 15:00
West Ham vs. Man City, 15:00
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Portsmouth vs. Chelsea, 19:45
Stoke vs. Bolton, 19:45
Tottenham vs. Middlesbrough, 20:00
West Brom vs. Arsenal, 19:45
Wigan vs. West Ham, 19:45
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Blackburn vs. Everton, 20:00
Fulham vs. Hull, 20:00
Liverpool vs. Sunderland, 20:00
Man City vs. Aston Villa, 19:45
Newcastle vs. Man Utd, 19:45
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Arsenal vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Aston Villa vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Bolton vs. Fulham, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Man City, 15:00
Everton vs. Stoke, 15:00
Hull vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Wigan, 15:00
West Ham vs. West Brom, 15:00
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Blackburn vs. West Ham, 15:00
Fulham vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Man City vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Everton, 15:00
Stoke vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Chelsea, 15:00
West Brom vs. Bolton, 15:00
Wigan vs. Hull, 15:00
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Arsenal vs. Man City, 15:00
Blackburn vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Bolton vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Fulham vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Hull vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Chelsea, 15:00
West Brom vs. Stoke, 15:00
West Ham vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Everton vs. Wigan, 15:00
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Aston Villa vs. Everton, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Bolton, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Man City vs. Fulham, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Hull, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. West Brom, 15:00
Stoke vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Tottenham vs. West Ham, 15:00
Wigan vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Aston Villa vs. West Ham, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Everton, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Man City vs. West Brom, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Fulham, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Bolton, 15:00
Stoke vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Hull, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Wigan vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Blackburn vs. Wigan, 15:00
Bolton vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Everton vs. Man City, 15:00
Fulham vs. Stoke, 15:00
Hull vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
West Brom vs. Sunderland, 15:00
West Ham vs. Chelsea, 15:00
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Aston Villa vs. Hull, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Fulham, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Newcastle, 15:00
Man City vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Man Utd, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Stoke vs. West Ham, 15:00
Sunderland vs. Everton, 15:00
Tottenham vs. West Brom, 15:00
Wigan vs. Bolton, 15:00
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Arsenal vs. Chelsea, 15:00
Blackburn vs. Portsmouth, 15:00
Bolton vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Everton vs. Tottenham, 15:00
Fulham vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Hull vs. Stoke, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Man City, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
West Brom vs. Wigan, 15:00
West Ham vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Bolton vs. Hull, 15:00
Chelsea vs. Blackburn, 15:00
Everton vs. West Ham, 15:00
Man Utd vs. Arsenal, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Aston Villa, 15:00
Newcastle vs. Fulham, 15:00
Portsmouth vs. Sunderland, 15:00
Stoke vs. Wigan, 15:00
Tottenham vs. Man City, 15:00
West Brom vs. Liverpool, 15:00
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Arsenal vs. Stoke, 16:00
Aston Villa vs. Newcastle, 16:00
Blackburn vs. West Brom, 16:00
Fulham vs. Everton, 16:00
Hull vs. Man Utd, 16:00
Liverpool vs. Tottenham, 16:00
Man City vs. Bolton, 16:00
Sunderland vs. Chelsea, 16:00
West Ham vs. Middlesbrough, 16:00
Wigan vs. Portsmouth, 16:00
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Close to heaven: Chelsea reach the Champions League Final with a 3 - 2 win over Liverpool
0 comments Posted by world's most popular artists at Thursday, May 01, 2008
Historical night for every blue fan, player, board member and supporters around the world. After many years of struggling, Chelsea reached the Champions League Final for the first time in history.
What's more, it will be the first European Cup final between two English clubs, and beating Manchester United to win the title will make it even more special.
Owner Roman Abramovich wasn't at Stamford Bridge to see his expensively assembled team beat Liverpool 3-2 in extra time to advance to the final on May 21, but United manager Alex Ferguson was.
Manchester United and Chelsea are also neck-and-neck in the Premier League. The Blues beat the Red Devils 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to draw level on points with United, which leads on goal difference with two encounters to go.
"An all-English final. I think everyone's looking forward to it," Chelsea leader John Terry said. "They have been very good in the league. Also we matched them the other week and managed to defeat them here. All in all, they're playing very well. I think we're at the top of our game so in three weeks time it's going to be a very tough game."
It's important to notice that even though it's the first time two English teams have made it to the final, there are no English coaches.
The last Englishman to lead a team to a European Cup triumph was Liverpool's Joe Fagan in 1984. That was at a time when English coaches did well in the competition with seven triumphs in eight seasons, including victories from Liverpool's Bob Paisley (three), Nottingham Forest's Brian Clough (two), Aston Villa's Tony Barton and Fagan between 1977 and '84.
Manchester United has had the veteran Ferguson in charge for 22 years, and the Scot has led the Red Devils to nine Premier League triumphs and five FA Cups and is now chasing his second Champions League title to go with the one he won in 1999.
As for Avram Grant, he is the former coach of Israel who has led Chelsea to its first Champions League final after the man he replaced, Jose Mourinho, failed three times. Mourinho moved to Stamford Bridge in June 2004, a month after leading FC Porto to a triumph in the competition.
And although he won two league titles in a row, Chelsea's first in half a century, portuguese Mourinho couldn't capture a European success and the club replaced him in September. Now, the fact that two English teams are playing each other thousands of miles away in Moscow for a major prize is good timing.
Now talking about the semifinal match, we can say it was one of the most exciting games of the year. Didier Drogba scored the first goal that seemed to assure their ticket to the final. But Fernando Torres kept the emotion alive up to the 90th minute.
In the extra time, the referee downed a goal scored by Kalou, but just two minutes later a penalty shot was converted by Frank Lampard. His celebration is now inprinted in the memory of every blue fan.
Drogba appeared again to score the third one, to unleash the emotion of every Chelsea supporter. Babel scored a goal for Liverpool, but that was not enough to save his team.
Now Chelsea will face Manchester United knowing all about Cristiano Ronaldo's dribbling and shooting skills and how to stop him from adding to his 38 league and cup goals this season. It also has to break open the solid defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
Because it played Chelsea on Saturday, Manchester United is aware of the dangers posed by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and the defensive strengths of Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.
Ferguson's team has a 65-41 record against Chelsea with 44 draws. But the last time they met in a final, Chelsea edged Man. United 1-0 in last season's FA Cup at Wembley.
