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.