The Games Have Begun.

The games have truly begun! The first leg of the quarter finals, for Chelsea, Fenerbahce, Arsenal, and Liverpool, were nothing compared to what was witnessed in the second leg. The games were more intense and everyone was trying their best to fight for the ball.

There was one saying that I got from my coach in college. "Kung kaylangang magpakamatay para sa bola, gawin niyo!" This means that we should do whatever is needed to get the ball, provided that we don't play dirty.
This was really seen in how the players showed their hunger for the ball and the win. Even though Fenerbahce Istanbul and Arsenal FC lost in this game, they still showed top-quality football. It's just that they had a problem with goal conversion.

Chelsea FC vs Fenerbahce Istanbul

The match was started off by Chelsea's Michael Ballack when he converted a great header from a well placed free-kick by Frank Lampard. This started off Chelsea's momentum. As seen in the game, the first half was almost completely dominated by the Blues. After the 33rd minute, the shots on target was 4 for Chelsea and 0 for Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce's goal keeper was constantly bombarded by attempts from Drogba, J. Cole, who by the way almost goaled using an outside foot shot. There were also some attempts from Kalou, who was a regular threat with his dribbles and passes. On the Yellow Canary's side, there were also a few decent attempts from Alex and Lugano, although they weren't on target. I'm sure if they were on target, the ball would have passed through Chelsea keeper Cudicini. Speaking of Cudicini, he went out of the game because of a right hamstring injury, with Hilario, replacing him. Frank Lampard sealed the deal on the 87th minute by scoring a goal. The final result is 2-0, which sends Chelsea FC to their 4th UCL Semi-finals in 5 seasons.

Arsenal FC vs Liverpool FC

This was one for the books!
Abou Diaby opened the game with a goal that gave the Gunners an early lead. This gave Arsenal a much needed encouragement in their match against the club giant Liverpool FC. But then, Sami Hyypiä made the equalizer and put Liverpool back in the game. No one was able to stop the magnificent header. By this time everyone was in it for the win. 69 minutes into the game, Fernando Torres, who was playing in top form almost all season, converted and the Reds took on the League. The Gunners' Emmanuel Adebayor wouldn't stand for this and gave them leveled ground to play on. This was certainly anyone's game! Then suddenly, Kolo Toure was penalized for a foul which gave Steven Gerrard the chance to score the penalty. And score he did! This gave the Reds the edge to win the game. Babel ended the game by putting the cherry on top of a magnificent game.

All the teams faught and "died" for the ball. Each team showed that they deserved the semi-finals spotby bringing out their fiercest game. This night surely was a great one. We can expect better performances in the next matches.


-16

UEFA QUARTER FINALS 2ND GAME FIXTURES

Here are the fixtures for the second game of three of the quarter finals of the UCL.
I hope that the matches will be better than what were shown last time!


-UEFA
Quarter-finals 2nd leg
8 Apr
Chelsea 20:45 Fenerbahçe
Liverpool 20:45 Arsenal
9 Apr
Barcelona 20:45 Schalke
Man. United 20:45 Roma


-16

"Anything can happen in the game. A goal can be made in a millisecond.": Liverpool v Arsenal, Chelsea v Fenerbahce

Stage of disbelief

I was very shocked at the results of the second set of matches in UCL's Quarter Final Leg. For me, the results were surprising because I didn't think that Liverpool and Chelsea will even submit goals at this stage. Well, I guess what my coach said when I was playing for my college was true: "Anything can happen in the game. A goal can be made in a millisecond."

CHELSEA FC v FENERBAHCE ISTANBUL

SUKRU SARACOGLU STADIUM, ISTANBUL - I am really disappointed at the Blues because it's a fact that all of the goals made in this game were made by Fenerbahce. Even with their line-up of famous star players, they were still beaten by a team that consisted of a few star players. They weren't in top shape during the whole game, something that I didn't expect to get from teams in this late stage of the UCL. It seems that the blog entry that I was going to make about Fenerbahce will push through. I was going to put an entry if they won this game.



It's sad to know that Chelsea did not play their best but there are still other games in which they can make comebacks. It's just the first game of the quarter finals.

The first lead was received by Chelsea from Yellow Canaries' Deivid de Souza, who made an own goal. He later gave the game an upset by scoring the last goal for the game from 30-yards which netted the turkish team the win. Minutes later, Kazim Kazim made the equalizer for his team by beating the blue defenders' offside trap and scoring agains Carlos Cudini.

Even if they lost, Chelsea still made a few notable attempts, one by Lampard and another by Drogba. Just shows that they didn't give up.

"Normally it's a good result to lose 2-1 away from home, but because we played the better football, we are disappointed," Chelsea manager Avram Grant said. - Canadian Press

Great work Fenerbahce, keep it up. Chelsea, you should do better in the next game.

ARSENAL FC v LIVERPOOL FC

EMIRATES STADIUM - The first game of Arsenal and Liverpool was one that gave disappointments to both teams. They wanted to win the first out of three but instead of a win-lose situation, they ended up with a draw. Arsenal made the first move when Gunner striker Adebayor headed a magnificent cross from fellow Gunner Robin van Persie. Liverpool wasn't going to stand for that so after a few minutes, they responded with a goal from Kuyt from captain Steven Gerrard's own cross. Overall, I think that Arsenal did very well even t

hough they failed to score again. There was also a controversial non-penalty call that could've given Liverpool the edge for their next match-up.

Well, the advance to Semi Finals is anyone's game right now. Who knows? Maybe Chelsea FC will take this as a wake up call and bring on their A game in the last two games. Maybe Fenerbahce Istanbul will continue to ride on their momentum and throw away Chelsea's chance to advance. Maybe Liverpool FC will show what they had in the past games - pin-point long-range screamers, excellent plays and passes. Maybe Arsenal FC will use this disappointment to increase their determination to succeed in this endeavor.

Maybe. Maybe not. We won't know until they play again.

-16

UEFA Fixtures to look forward to!

Quarter Finals 1st Leg
April 1

AS Roma vs Manchester United


Schalke vs Barcelona

April 2

Arsenal vs Liverpool


Fenerbahce vs Chelsea


Stay tuned!

- 16

HOT FIXTURES last March 23, 08

Last, March 23, 08, the biggest clubs in the English Premiere League clashed heads. The fixtures were Manchester United vs Livepool FC and Arsenal FC vs Chelsea FC. From the moment the fixtures were announced, I heard a lot of commotion here in the Philippines since these were the most favorite clubs in the Barclays League. My personal bets were ManU and Chelsea.

I) MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL FC
Manchester United, a club consisting of hard-working talented players suchg as Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest scorer this season, Wayne Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, etc, was a favorite for me. Among the clubs in the English Premiere League, this club was the most appealling. This year, one of the big wins of ManU was against Arsenal FC, where they beat them, through the efforts of Nani, and the others, even when C. Ronaldo wasn't playing. Even though I knew that whenever Ronaldo or Rooney received the ball, something sweet was going to happen. No doubt, they are one of the best teams in this league. These fueled my liking for Manchester United.

Even though there were these factors, we still can't disregard the fact that Liverpool FC also had amazing players such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerard, Crouch, Kuyt, and Carragher. Gerard, a crowd favorite, is known for his stunning long-shots and pin-point passes. This, in combination with Torres, or the other strikers, can be quite deadly.

Every time these two clubs faced each other, even since 1983, they showed great sportsmanship and creativity that only the top clubs could show. Their games were very fast-paced in terms of scoring opportunities, plays, and possession skills. It's no wonder people flock to the stadiums just to see them play.

This particular match didn't go well for the Reds, with a final score of 3-0, favoring ManU. Everyone expected a better game from them. Manchester United showed that they deserved the win through showing fierce determination and skill. Liverpool needs to step up and not let things like this happen again.

II) CHELSEA FC vs ARSENAL FC

This was a match that made fans think about certain things about their clubs. For one thing, even though Chelsea FC had a roster full of superstars, would they be able to keep it together and not try to step over each other in search for the spotlight? Or would Arsenal, a team full uf you players, be able to stop the Blues' no-lose streak at Stamford Bridge? Those were some of the questions that came to my mind when i was setting a bet with my brother.
My personal bet was Chelsea FC. Not only did they have amazing strikers at the top, they also had a wide array of top-class performers in the mid and in the bottom third. Lampard, Terry, and the others were a serious threat to the Gunners. I was also very confident in Terry's ability to hold the team together, as well as his defensive line. I was confident that Didier Drogba would convert whenever he was served top-quality settings. So the outcome of the match, 2-1, in favor of Chelsea, was of no surprise to me.

Even though these were the turn outs, the teams still showed the viewers what English Football is all about.

-16