One of the FA cup semi final games took place today and it was a great matchup. Manchester City faced Manchester United at Wembley today. In the opening few minutes Dimitar Berbatov missed a few opportunities. City also had a few chances, but the first half ended 0-0. After United had a mix up in the defense, they gave the ball away to Yaya Toure who struck first blood. Down by one, United won a free kick. Nani stepped up, and hit the crossbar. Paul Scholes was sent of after committing a very dirty foul on Zabaleta. The game ended 1-0 in favor of city. It’s clear that United missed Wayne Rooney who enjoyed a Red Bull on the bench. He probably got it from his younger brother John who plays for the New York Red Bulls. At least United are involved with this tournament called the champions league, something City hasn't been involved in. City haven’t had a chance to dust off their trophy case over the past 30 year, but now they can.
As for El Clasico, the famous clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona, this also took place today. It started off with great opportunities, Ronaldo with a great freekick and Messi with a few chances as well. There was a debate on whether Cassillas really took out Villa, but the first ended 0-0. The second half started with another great free kick which hit the post, courtesy of Ronaldo. It looks like his new personalized Nike Superfly III's are not too bad.
Only minutes later, Albiol brought down Villa and Barcelona wins the penalty. Albiol was sent off. Who else but Messi would step up and score the goal, putting Barca in the lead. In the 80th minute, Marcelo was taken down in the box and this time Real won the penalty. It is obvious this one was going to Ronaldo. He put it passed Valdes to tie it up. Barcelona picked up the pace with constant attacks, but couldn't score a second. Regardless of being a tie, this was a very exciting Clasico. The teams still have three more chances this month to beat each other. Besides El Clasico, only three other games took place for La Liga. Malaga scored three while shutting out Mallorca. Getafe took on Sevilla, only scoring one, ending 1-0. Valencia Also scored three and shut out Almeria.
As for the Premier League, United’s game against Newcastle was postponed today due to the FA Cup. Now, they will face on Tuesday. Stoke City v Wolves, and Fulham v Bolton were also postponed because Stoke and Bolton face off tomorrow for the second semi final game for the FA. The winner of that game will face Manchester City in the final. As for the games that did take place, Everton beat Blackburn 2-0 and West Ham fell to Aston Villa, 1-2. Chelsea conceded the first goal against West Brom, but came back with three to finish 3-1. Birmingham City upset Sunderland 2-0 and Wigan took the win over Blackpool, 3-1.
The Semi Finals for the Champions League have been decided and we will get to witness two extra, “el Clasicos” this season with Real Madrid and Barcelona being paired up for the semi finals. Barcelona and Real also meet up in the Copa Del Rey final on Wednesday, meaning there will be, in total, five El Clasicos this season. Barcelona beat Real 5 – 0 during their first la liga match up and 1-1 earlier today. This is definitely one of the best UEFA semi finals the world could have asked for. Barcelona beat Shaktar Donetsk in the quarter final and Real beat Tottenham. Will the composer of Messi and Iniesta produce the plays for Villa to finish? Or will Di Maria, Ronaldo and Ozil dance their way through Barcelona's defense and to the Champions League final in Wembley Stadium, London, England?
The other semi final matchup is between Manchester United and Schalke 04. United was knocked out by another German club, Bayern Munich last season. This season, United beat Chelsea in the quarters and Schake surprisingly beat defending champions, Inter Milan in the quarters. Even though United lost to Manchester City today, they will definitely put a strong fight. United have had a great run in the UEFA the past few years, where as Schalke haven’t been included for a while now. Will Giggs or Raul provide the experience to play in Wembley? Thanks For Reading. -JoeyB
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