England Dominates Champions League Semis Again
Three Premiership Sides Advance To Champions League Semi-Finals
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals once again will have a very British flair as defending champions Manchester United, 2008 runners-up Chelsea FC and Arsenal represent the English Premiership and are joined by Barcelona in the final four of European football's elite competition. It is the third straight season that three English sides reached the semis.
ManU Knock Off Porto
Champions League title-holders Manchester United faced a big task of getting back to the semi-finals for the 11th time after playing to a 2-2 at home against Porto in the first leg. But Cristiano Ronaldo's spectacular early goal in the return leg gave Alex Ferguson a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Chelsea Win Wild Tie With Liverpool
The 2008 runners-up Chelsea FC advanced to their fifth semi-final appearance in the last six years with a thrilling tie against fellow English side Liverpool. After an exciting 3-1 first leg at Liverpool, Chelsea seemed convinced about getting back to the final four. But fans had one of the best European matches of all time awaiting them as Liverpool scored twice in the first half hour of the return leg in London. But Guus Hiddink's Chelsea roared back with Didier Drogba and Alex knotting the game with goals in a span of six minutes early in the second half. And Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead with 14 minutes to play. But Liverpool came back with two goals within three minutes only to have Lampard strike again the equalizer - and decider - for a 4-4 draw and a 7-5 aggregate victory for Chelsea.
Arsenal Blast Past Villarreal
The third English side in the semi-finals is Arsenal FC, who returned to the final four for the second time in club history after 2006. Arsenal played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Villarreal. And then Arsene Wenger's Gunners blasted past the Spaniards 3-0 in the return leg at home for a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Barcelona Back In Semis
There was bound to be at least one non-English club in the semi-finals as Barcelona were taking on Bayern Munich in the other quarter-final. The 2006 champions Barca eased into their third semis in the past four years with a 5-1 aggregate victory over the Germans. Barcelona blitzed to a 4-0 victory in the home first leg before playing to a 1-1 stalemate in the return leg in Munich.
Semi-Final Showdowns
In the semi-finals, Manchester United will face off against Arsenal while Chelsea battle Barcelona.
ManU: Title Or Nothing
For Manchester United, it's the 11th semi-final appearance. ManU have a strange history of winning all three finals (2008, 1999 and 1968) they have appeared in. Among their seven semi-final losses, three (2007, 1969, 1958) came against AC Milan.
Arsenal: 2006 Runners-Up
Arsenal's only other semi-final appearance came in 2006, when beat Villarreal in last four to reach the final against Barcelona. Despite losing keeper Jens Lehmann after just 18 minutes, Arsenal went ahead through Sol Campbell. But Barca struck twice in five minutes for a 2-1 victory.
Chelsea: Looking Finally For Crown
Chelsea finally reached the final last season after suffering semi-final losses in three of the past four years - 2004 against Monaco 5-3 on aggregate; 2005 versus Liverpool 1-0; and 2007 against Liverpool 1-1, 4-1 on penalties. But Chelsea once again was knocked off by a British club last season, losing in the final against Manchester United 1-1, 6-5 on penalties.
Barcelona: Out For Third Title
Barcelona are back in the semi-finals for the third time in four years. After knocking off Arsenal for the 2006 title, Barca lost to Manchester United in the 2008 semis. Now the Spanish giants are looking to add the 2009 crown to the 2006 and 1992 titles.
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