FOOTBALL CLUB WORLD

Arsenal could not defeat Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium and got a useless 1-1 draw. Robin van Persie scored the opener for the Gunners and Dirk Kuyt netted the equalizer in the very last second of the game.

As dramatic as it sounds, Wenger's men were victorius until minut 101, but a penalty shoot converted by Kuyt crashed Arsenal's hopes. The real winner of this game was Manchester United, absolute leader of the Premier League.

We must mention that Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher left the pitch unconscious after recieving a hard hit in the head. Fortunately, doctors say his condition is stable.

Arsenal dominated the actions more than 90 minutes and Robin Van Persie scored the opener for the locals two minutes before the end. But the crowd at the Emirates Stadium did not expect Liverpool's equalizer in the last minute.

Referee Andre Marriner pointed at the penalty spot in the last moments of the match, only two minutes after the Gunners' opener, and veteran Dirk Kuyt blasted the equalizer for Liverpool.

Captain Carragher was hit in the head, which forced him to leave the game, but remains stable under medical supervision.

Liverpool remains in the 6th position of the Premier League table with 49 points.

Liverpool FC confirmed that their captain Steven Gerrard underwent surgery on his groin, and the recovery time will not be short.

This medical procedure will keep Gerrard from playing for the rest of the Premier League season 2010/2011.

Kenny Dalglish, manager of the club, said that the talented footballer is not having a regular recovery. "Doctors don't know definitively what the problem is... we must wait to get result of some more test. But we know that Gerrard won't be involved again this season" said Dalglish.

Liverpool Football Club

Liverpool FC

Liverpool wallpaper

Liverpool team

Chelsea talented footballer Franky Lampard was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Xabi Alonso on the hour mark during the Blues' 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday.

The defeat was a massive blow in terms of the Premier League title race, but Lampard was handed a boost yesterday at the time the FA overturned his sending off, thus sparing him a three-match ban.

Lampard slid in on Alonso and the Spaniard was sent flying, but it was clear even without the aid of video replays that England star Lampard had got a large chunk of the ball.

Now able to look ahead to ahead to the weekend visit of Hull City, Lampard spoke to the Press Association of the red card, which was dished out by referee Mike Riley. "It's great that I can move on, but a shame that we lost the game because of it," he bemoaned.

"I presumed it would be rescinded anyway so I was quite confident about that.

"It was obviously a mistake, we all make mistakes. soccer players make mistakes just as much as anyone - and the referee did."

Under-fire Riley will not be in action this weekend, it has been revealed, after sustaining an undisclosed injury during the Liverpool win.

He and his assistants have also come under fire over Jose Bosingwa's kicking antics, but the full-back cannot be punished retroactively as the linesman saw the incident at the time.

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.

Due to their excellent game, Arsenal FC can celebrate Christmas at the top of the standings with a victory over north London rival Tottenham on Saturday (7:45 a.m. ET).

Indeed, the Gunners only have a one-point lead over Manchester United, which hosts Everton on Sunday (6 a.m. ET). But it beat Spurs 3-1 at White Hart Lane in the league in September and hasn't lost to them in eight years.

Last season, the two teams played four times - Arsenal won one of their Premier League games with the other a draw, and the Gunners eliminated Spurs after a two-legged semifinal in the League Cup.

Actually, that semifinal game will be repeated this season after both clubs won their quarter-finals this week while ending their games with 10 men.

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos said the 2-0 win over Manchester City on Tuesday was the best display he'd seen since taking charge on Oct. 29, particularly after it lost Didier Zakora, with a red card after 21 minutes.

"I think it's a positive result and sets us up for the rest of the season," Ramos said. "We had to work extra hard after being down to 10 men to make up for having that inferior number."

We must consider that Tottenham last beat Arsenal in November 1999 when it won 2-1 in the league.

Both teams also won tough Premier League matches last weekend - Spurs ended Portsmouth's unbeaten home record and 11-match undefeated streak with a 1-0 win and Arsenal downed Chelsea by the same margin.

Saturday's encounters mark a busy period for the Premier League, with clubs playing three games within eight days by the end of 2007.

On saturday, we will see these games: Aston Villa versus Manchester City; Fulham versus Wigan; Middlesbrough versus West Ham; Liverpool versus Portsmouth; Bolton versus Birmingham; and Reading versus Sunderland.

And on Sunday, we will enjoy Chelsea game at Blackburn and Newcastle clash with Derby.

It's good to say that Arsenal leads the standings with 40 points, followed by Manchester United with 39, Chelsea with 34, Manchester City with 33 and Liverpool, Everton and Portsmouth with 30.