Chelsea Beat Liverpool to Face Man Utd in Champions League Final

April 30, 2008 by CLDsport · Leave a Comment 

Champions League BallChelsea have won a tense affair at Stamford Bridge 3-2 after extra time to reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history and Drogba grabs a brace following Benitez’s attack.

The first half belonged to the Blues who almost controlled the play with slick passing throughout. Makelele and Essien bossed the midfield and Lampard played fantastically Read more

Watch Chelsea v Liverpool Live

April 30, 2008 by CLDsport · 15 Comments 

For live coverage of tonight’s UEFA Champions League Semi-Final between Chelsea and Liverpool either;

  1. Tune into Sky Sports 2
  2. Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live or Online
  3. Download THIS SOFTWARE to watch live on your computer. To see why we recommend this software go to our Watch Live Sport On Your Computer page.

Kick off is at 1945BST (British Summer Time). Read more

Champions League: The First all English Final

April 30, 2008 by CLDsport · Leave a Comment 

The Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on the 21st May will be the venue for the first all English Champions League final in history following Manchester United’s passage to Moscow completed with a fantastic 1-0 win over Barcelona last night. Whether it’s Chelsea or Liverpool that travel to the Russian capital will be decided tonight. But, whatever the outcome the 21st May promises to be a great occasion. Read more

Liverpool v Chelsea: Riise Heads Own Goal in Injury Time

April 22, 2008 by CLDsport · 1 Comment 

The fixture of the night has ended as a 1-1 draw (as predicted by CLDsport earlier!). But, it was very close to being a Liverpool win.

Almost as expected, the opening 15 minutes were a little scrappy with neither side grabbing the initiative. Chelsea looked to be a bit more organised, but were certainly not playing awe inspiring football.

The best chance was presented to Fernando Torres in the 20th minute, Read more

Champions League Preview: Semi-Finals

April 22, 2008 by CLDsport · 6 Comments 

What a week this is set up to be. On Saturday we have Chelsea v Man Utd (AKA The Premiership Title Decider) to look forward to. But first………..

It’s the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals - and what a line-up we have. With 3 of the 4 teams remaining in the competition playing their football in the English Premier League we are expecting a passionate, and hugely competitive spectacle. Let’s hope we are not disappointed. Read more

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool and Chelsea in Semi-Finals

April 8, 2008 by CLDsport · Leave a Comment 

A dramatic night in the UEFA Champions League has reached it’s conclusion - and what a great night of European football it has been.

Of the 4 teams involved in tonight’s fixtures, 3 were English. It’s fantastic to see such great representation of our home league in the latter stages of the tournament.

Firstly, Chelsea had to come from behind against Fenerbahce. The first leg in Turkey saw Chelsea throw away their lead to succumb to a 2-1 defeat. However, they did have that all important away goal which can prove to be so valuable in these fixtures.

Chelsea took an early lead through Michael Ballack after only 4 minutes to draw level on aggregate and the score remained unchanged until late on when Lampard scored in the 87th. This takes Chelsea through to the Semis 3-2 on aggregate.

The game of the night, however, was the tie between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. The game was set up perfectly following a 1-1 draw at Anfield in the first leg. Would Dirk Kuyt’s valuable away goal prove vital?

The first 25 minutes were filled with mesmerising football from Arsenal (not easy to say for a Spurs fan!), and resulted in a fully deserved opener by Diaby in the 13th minute.

As Liverpool started to play themselves back into the game, they worked an equaliser from Sami Hypia. 1-1 at half-time.

The second half did not start as furiously as the first, but was entertaining all the same. But, in the 69th minute the game was revitalised by a moment of magic from Fernando Torres. A fantastic turn on the edge of the box, followed by a finish worthy of many a repla, resulted in Liverpool taking the lead 3-2 on aggregate.

The game remained open and competitive, and you sensed the next goal was going to be the decider.

We had to wait until 6 minutes from the end, and it went to Arsenal. A fantastic run down the right from substitute Theo Walcott, followed by a low pass into the box, left Adebayor with a tap in. The score now 3-3 on aggregate, but Arsenal with 2 away goals were destined for the semi-finals. As Anfield went almost deathly silent, with the exception of the few thousand Arsenal fans, it looked as though Arsenal would go through.

But, 90 seconds later, Toure tugged on Babel’s shirt in the Arsenal penalty area, and the ref immediately pointed to the spot - PENALTY!

Some may say it was a dubious penalty - but replays clearly showed a tug. Gerrard made no mistake from the spot, hammering the ball into the top left hand corner. 4-3 Liverpool!

As Arsenal pushed for the equaliser that would have taken them through on away goals, Liverpool again broke through in injury time. A placed shot from Babel finished Arsenal off, and ensured they would face Chelsea in the semi-finals.

The game as a whole was a fantastic advert for the Premier League. I would love to say that it was a great reflection on English football, but as there were only 4 Englishmen featured all night I can’t!

So, Liverpool v Chelsea in the semis. Any predictions? What are your thoughts on tonight’s fantastic match?

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