Scholes beat Barca to finish into Moscow Final

An eye-catching goal from Paul Scholes in early first half gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday to set up an all-English Champions League final against either Liverpool or Chelsea in Moscow next month.

On a night of excitement at Old Trafford in which Barcelona played terrific attacking football, it was hardly more decent that Scholes scored the goal that secured his club their place in the showdown at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21.

Barcelona's best chance without doubt came from Messi who united his way past Scholes and Brown after 20 minutes and forced Edwin van der Sar into a diving clearance before Deco had two good chances to score in three minutes sending his first over the bar and his second narrowly wide.

Scholes was suspended for United's epic victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 final, and Ferguson had already said he would play in the final if they qualified. He accordingly responded with a brilliant swing over shot that went high and wide of goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 14th minute of the semi-final, second leg to give United a 1-0 aggregate victory.

Chelsea thrashes United to keep title dreams alive

Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to pull level at the top of the Premier League and maintain their hopes of grabbing the title from United's clutch. Germany captain Michael Ballack scored both Chelsea's goals, the first with a first-half header and the winner from the penalty shoot four minutes from time after Michael Carrick had handled the ball.

Wayne Rooney equalized for the visitors when his 56th-minute shot went in off the post after a careless back pass from Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho.

With two matches to play both teams have 81 points, although United remain top because of a better goal difference.

Barca With 100 per cent effort dominating Manu ended draw

The Porlugal winger have been unusually wasted when missed a penalty after only three minutes at the Nou Camp and the chance of giving the side a precious away goal. United were rarely seen as an attacking force. Ronaldo with 38 goals to his credit was seen frustrated when Gabriel Milito handled nicely inside the penalty area in the second minute of the game.

Barcelona were spraying the ball around well. Barca were ordering the tempo at this stage and Eto'o flustered in a shot after 34 minutes but sent his effort into the side-netting. Eto was in little nervous play as he was getting many of the chances to give a clean win for a home. As of Messi seems to be in his 100% fitness with a great control on his ball but was not quite able to create a chances for his goal. He was little upset when he was substituted as a game was left to be secured.

United were finding it difficult to set up any attacks as of Barca were dominating the game all full time finding a lot of chances but ended with draw giving a hope for a great flow in away encountering second leg at Old Trafford next Tuesday in 29th April with much more confidence.

Sania down to 32 in WTA rankings

Sania Mirza's absence from the WTA circuit due to a wrist injury has seen the Indian ace slip a couple of rungs to 32 in the latest rankings issued on Monday. The 20-year-old, who underwent a wrist injury in the US and is aiming to make a comeback for the French Open next month, has 917 points.

The Indian ace has, however, remained static in the doubles list, holding on to the 19th spot with 1830 points.

Chelsea kept their title hopes Alive

Chelsea kept their title hopes alive when they beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park on Thursday with a first-half goal from Michael Essien.The victory lifted Chelsea, who has three matches to play, on to 78 points, two behind leaders Manchester United who have a game in hand. Manchester United visit Chelsea on April 26.

The only goal of a harsh match came with Chelsea's first shot on target. Shaun Wright-Phillips's reverse pass into the box was deflected into Essien's path and the Ghanaian midfielder chaste the ball down before lifting it over goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Although they stretched their winning league run to 18 matches, Chelsea will fail in their title bid if United win their next two matches at Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea.

Sharapova survived her first clay court title

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova survived a second straight three-set marathon at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in her proffer for her first clay court title. Sharapova was pushed by 10th-seeded Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine to win 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-2 in a nearly three-hour quarter-final.

In semifinals, Sharapova will face three-time champion Lindsay Davenport, who defeated No. 8 Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-4, 7-6 (3). Sharapova and Davenport last met at the Australian Open, where Sharapova won 6-1, 6-3 in the second round on the way to her third Grand Slam title.

As this is Sharapova's first trip to Amelia Island, Davenport has through it to the final in her last three appearances.

The first Russian to win the Miami Crown

Monday, April 7, 2008

Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko crushed Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday in the final of the 3.77 million-dollar Miami ATP Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open hardcourt event. Davydenko won 590,000 dollars and his 12th career ATP title, his first since capturing the crown at Moscow last October. Davydenko's best Miami result in six prior appearances was reaching the fourth round two years ago.

Davydenko became the first Russian to win the Miami crown as he outmuscled two foes in a row he had never beaten. He got rid of Andy Roddick in the semi-finals despite having lost all five prior matches with the sixth-seeded American.

Davydenko broke Nadal early but the Spaniard bust back at love when the Russian meshed up a forehand to level the first set at 2-2. Nadal held but Davydenko won six of the next seven games to grab control of the match.

Nadal admit defeated another break in the fifth game of the second set when Davydenko blasted a winner past him for a 4-1 lead. Davydenko held at love for a 5-1 edge and, after Nadal held serve, closed out the match on his second championship point opportunity with a forehand winner after 82 minutes.

Massa silences his critics with his win at Bahrain GP

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Brazilian Felipe Massa grabbed success in Manama on Sunday for his second successive victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix and answered his mounting bank of critics as his Ferrari team celebrated an easy one-two win with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second.

The 26-year-old Latin American, who was unsuccessful to score a point after an error-strewn performance in both opening races, came home as a comfortable winner ahead of his team-mate defending drivers world champion Finn Kimi Rakkkonen. This was enough for the BMW-Sauber team to lead the constructors' championship for the first time.

Massa clearly loves the 5.412 kms desert track in Sakhir as he repeated last year's triumph, dominating the 57-lap race after blasting off the grid to take the lead from BMW's Robert Kubica, the first Polish driver to start a grand prix from pole. He finishing track time is 1:31:06.970 with 2 Pit Stops.

It was Massa's sixth career win, whose future at Ferrari is by now the question of theory.

United were tested harsh by Middlesbrough equilizer

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Manchester United were pushed all the way by Middlesbrough in a lively 2-2 Premier League draw at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday as a final point rescued by Wayne Rooney's late equalizer.United looked to be coasting thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's early opener - the innovative winger's 37th goal of an quite amazing season.

Middlesbrough's 12 million pounds ($24 million) club witness signing Afonso Alves finally came good to break his duck with cool finishes either side of half-time to intimidate table-topping United with a extraordinary defeat. The well-deserved draw was enough to drive United three points clear at the top of the table as they close in on their 10th Premier League crown.

Alves, who had failed to score in his first eight Boro appearances, brought an end to such a superfluous statistic 10 minutes before half-time to drag the hosts level. Gary O'Neil's probing ball forward was flicked on by Jeremie Aliadiere, and even with the attentions of Michael Carrick, Alves lifted the ball over the advancing Edwin van der Sar from the edge of the area as United conceded in the Premier League for the first time in eight-and-a-quarter hours.

In a nonstop ending, Rooney and Boro substitute Tuncay Sanli went close, but a late winner for either side would have been hideously inequitable as both had played their division in a excellent way.

The Spaniard progressed to the Sony Ericsson Open final

Saturday, April 5, 2008

World number two Rafael Nadal will face fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the Sony Ericsson Open final after semi-final victories on Friday.

The Spaniard, who spooled off the last 12 points of the match, thrash Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-2 in bracing conditions. Nadal holds a 2-0 record against Davydenko in their career meetings, while Davydenko beat Andy Roddick of the United States by the same score line.

Roddick and Davydenko produced a high eminence in first set, but the Russian was the only player able to maintain the intensity in the second. Roddick took a 2-1 advantage with a service break in the second set, but admitted defeat in the next game when he dropped serve. Roddick looked an obscurity of the player who beat world number one Roger Federer on Thursday and gave Davydenko his first victory in their six career matches.

Davydenko bust again, on his fourth opportunity, with a forehand crosscourt in the sixth game and sealed victory in the eighth when a Roddick forehand dropped into the net.

Roddick brings down world number one Roger Federer

Friday, April 4, 2008

Andy Roddick upset world number one Roger Federer 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open quarter-final on Thursday. It was only Roddick's second win in 17 career meetings against the Swiss.

Despite not forcing a break point until the eighth game of the third set, it was enough for Roddick, who lost to love when Federer deserted a forehand into the net. The immense striking American enclosed victory on his third match point with a blistering winning service.

Twelve-times Grand Slam winner Federer has yet to reach a final this year. Roddick will play world number four Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-finals after the Russian's absolute 6-2, 6-1 win over Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

Liverpool and Arsenal ends to 1-1 draw

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Arsenal and Liverpool drew 1-1 in an end-to-end Champions League quarter-final first leg match at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor initiated Arsenal in facade after 23 minutes when he rose unchallenged to power the ball past keeper Pepe Reina from close range.

Arsenal's happiness did not last for long, as Liverpool equalised in the 26th minute when captain Steven Gerrard gushed past three defenders wide on the left and crossed for Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt to slide home.Gerrard, who had an impressive game, provided a swift response with the cross for Kuyt who took a drop in between Philippe Senderos and Gael Clichy to equalise.

The match developed into an absorbing clash for midfield superiority with both teams looking to drive forward although Arsenal created the better chances. Walcott went close with a searing 54th minute shot that went wide and two minutes later Arsenal appeared to have legitimate claims for a penalty denied when Kuyt seemed to pull back Aleksandr Hleb's left shoulder inside the box.

The game had all the power, speed and high pace play typical of the Premier League and while Arsenal created the better chances, Liverpool guarded fabulously. Their only slip was to leave Adebayor free to score his 24th goal of the season and his second in successive games in the Champions League.
Wednesday's match was the first of three between the teams inside seven days as they face each other again in the Premier League at the Emirates on Saturday before the return leg at Anfield next Tuesday.

Nadal in his tremendous form

Thursday, April 3, 2008

World number two Rafael Nadal ruled to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over James Blake on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open. Nadal defeated his American rival for the first time in his career at the Pacific Life Open quarter-finals two weeks ago and replicated the act on Wednesday.

Blake made far too many oversights during the one hour, 55 minute contest, producing 31 effortless errors compared with just 13 for second seed Nadal. The American also proffered Nadal 19 opportunities to break his serve, the triple French Open champion successfully doing so four times in total.

Nadal will play 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals after the Czech's 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russia's Igor Andreev.

Stylish United sweeps away Roma to assure berth in the Champions League semi-finals.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Goal scorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney notched up a 2-0 victory at Roma on Tuesday night to completely give surety Manchester United's entry in the Champions League semi-finals. Ronaldo played down his goal simply saying his 36th of the season was 'a good header' and preferred to comment on the team's overall performance.

For the first 15 minutes of the second period, Roma, who were missing talisman Francesco Totti, never looked capable of challenging the Red Devils. Even so, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti refused to accept the tie. United enjoyed a lot playing first period as Roma sat back, apparently plan on not giving anything away.

On 12 minutes, though, the visitors opened up the Roma defense but after Park Ji-Sung took the ball down on his chest he was crowded out. Christian Panucci headed just over the bar from a David Pizarro corner and Mirko Vucinic also shot over as he was falling backwards after Rio Ferdinand had slipped. United then suffered a blow as Nemanja Vidic was stretchered off with a leg injury, to be replaced by John O'Shea.

Chances were few and far between but on 39 minutes United produced a move of magnificent quality, controling the ball around the edge of the Roma box and moving it from left to right before Paul Scholes crossed for Ronaldo to come blistering in like a guide to out jump Marco Cassetti and thump home a header. Just three minutes later Roma had their best chance of the opening stanza after a mistake from Ferdinand but Vucinic dragged his shot from the left just beyond the far upright. Four minutes later, United scored a considerable second as Park headed a profound cross from Wes Brown back across goal and Rooney swabbed up the loose ball after goalkeeper Doni and Panucci slow down each other.

United showed they could still dominate the Italians following last season's 8-3 aggregate triumph at the same stage of the competition with a stylish and clinical display.

World Champions First and Second seed breeze into Miami quarter-finals

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

World number one Roger Federer rolled over unseeded Jose Acasuso 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in a fourth-round match at the $3.8 million ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament on Tuesday. The top seeded Swiss star has not given so seriously this deep into a season without winning a championship since 2000 - the last year he failed to win a title. The 26-year-old reached the fourth round here last year, but was stopped by Guillermo Canas.

Second seed Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the 2005 final, also reached the quarter-finals on Tuesday by beating 15th-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4. The Spaniard owns a commanding 8-0 lead in the all-time series against Mathieu, who retired from their match at the Australian Open in January.

Like Federer, Nadal has yet to win on tour this season.