Barça stroll puts rivals in the shade
Monday, May 4, 2009
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FC Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola hailed "one of the happiest nights of my life" after Saturday's 6-2 win away to Real Madrid CF, while the other UEFA Champions League semi-finalists each claimed comfortable victories.
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All four UEFA Champions League semi-finalists can take huge confidence from their Saturday results as they look to book a place in the Rome final, not least FC Barcelona, 6-2 winners away to Real Madrid CF in 'El Clásico'.
Late equaliser
Barça coach Josep Guardiola hailed "one of the happiest nights of my life" after watching his side overwhelm reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. Both Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi scored twice in a victory which put the Catalan side seven points clear of their rivals at Liga summit and demonstrated that home advantage counts for little against Barcelona in full flight. Chelsea FC have been warned, but they too looked in fine fettle as Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka inspired them to a 3-1 win against west London rivals Fulham FC. The result maintained their outside chance of wresting the title from Manchester United FC, 2-0 victors at Middlesbrough FC on Saturday despite making seven changes to the side that had beaten Arsenal FC three days earlier. The Gunners made eight alterations but still earned an impressive 3-0 win away to Portsmouth FC.
| Arsenal FC v Manchester United FC (Tuesday, 0-1 after first leg) |
| Portsmouth FC 0-3 Arsenal FC (Bendtner 13 41pen, Vela 56) Arsène Wenger: "We have a style of play that runs through the whole squad. We showed quality, started well, and though we had a difficult moment at the start of the second half, overall it was a good win. We combined two things today: we gave a breather to some players and we kept our unbeaten run to secure fourth place." |
| Middlesbrough FC 0-2 Manchester United FC (Giggs 25, Park 51) Sir Alex Ferguson: "It's a big step forward with only four games left now. You whittle the games away. Eventually there are none left and hopefully we will be in that position at the top of the league. It was a very good performance, they all worked their socks off and once we got a hold of the ball we always looked a danger." |
| Chelsea FC v FC Barcelona (Wednesday, 0-0 after first leg) |
Chelsea FC 3-1Fulham FC
(Anelka 1, Malouda 10, Drogba 53; Nevland 4)
Guus Hiddink: "We needed the points today, but we are always trying to look ahead as well, especially with such a big game coming up. We wanted to give Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba the chance to play up front together, to increase our options in the future. If we ever need another gear in another game we must be able to adjust, to play differently."