SOCCER - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
2008/09
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Chelsea (2) @ (2) Juventus - In a hard fought game, Chelsea did just enought to reach the Quarter Finals. Juventus opened the scoring with Iaquinta but Essien scored the all-important away goal on the stroke of half-time. Juventus pushed hard to score the 2 goals they needed to advance, but when Chiellini was sent off things looked bleak. A Del Piero penalty with 15 minutes left gave them a chance but Drogba scored with 7 minutes left to end the fightback (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Pleat, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Real Madrid (0) @ (4) Liverpool - Liverpool reached the Quarter Final by completely dominating Real Madrid and handed them their worst ever Champions League defeat. In a devastating opening 30 minutes Liverpool overan Real, with Torres and Gerrard (with a Penalty) each scoring. The Reds started the 2nd half with another goal from Gerrard and completed the rout with a last minute goal from Dossena. Real featured Raul, Ajen Robben and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who had a big game (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Beglin, PAL)
Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - Liverpool (4) @ (4) Chelsea - In a fantastic game of football, Chelsea finally saw off the Liverpool challenge and advanced to the Semi-Final. Liverpool were down 3-1 from the 1st leg but 1st half goals from Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso (A penalty) put them within 1 goal of the semi. But in the 2nd half, Chelsea regained control with goals from Didier Drogba, Alex and Frank Lampard and left Liverpool needing 3 goals to advance. The pendulum of momentum then swung back to the Reds who scored 2 goals in 2 minutes from Lucas and Dirk Kuyt. But Chelsea finally ended the game when Frank Lampard scored his 2nd with 3 minutes remaining. Disc 2 also includes ITV hi-lites show with Barcelona @ Bayern Munich (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Beglin, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Chelsea (0) @ (0) Barcelona - Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink used a great tactical plan to deny a free-scoring Barcelona team any chance of building a 1st leg advantage. Chelsea were very strong defensively and became the first team to stop Barcelona scoring at home in the 2008/09 season. Chelsea had a couple of chances of their own for an away goal but striker Didier Drogba was denied by good goalkeeping from Victor Valdes. Chelsea also featured Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien. Barcelona also featured Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andries Iniesta (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Pleat, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Barcelona (1) @ (1) Chelsea - In a game of high drama, 10 man Barcelona scored an injury time equaliser to reach the Final on the away goals rule. Chelsea got the perfect start to the game with Michael Essien scoring with a sensational volley but the Blues couln't find the killer 2nd goal. Chelsea weren't helped by the referee who turned down 4 penalty appeals, of which 2 were clear cut. Chelsea stilled looked likely to progress as Barcelona looked unlikely to score but in the 93rd minute Andries Iniesta unleashed a shot from the edge of the penalty area that flew into the net and gave Barcelona the precious away goal. Chelsea had no time to reply and Barcelona escaped with the win and a place in the Final. After the final whistle, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba verbally assaulted the referee and swore into the TV cameras to vent his frustration (10, 1 Disc, SKY - Hawthorne/Gray, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Manchester United (3) @ (1) Arsenal - United progressed to their 2nd Final in a row with a devastating game of football. 2 goals in the first 11 minutes ended the game as Ji-Sung Park and Cristiano Ronaldo, with a scorching free-kick, put Arsenal needing 4 goals to win the game. United added a 3rd goal in the 2nd half on a fantastic length of the field breakaway, started and finished by Ronaldo. Arsenal claimed a consolation penalty goal from Robin Van Persie after Darren Fletcher was ruled to have pulled down Fabregas in the box. Fletcher was incorrectly sent off and faced missing the Final (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Beglin, PAL)
Final - Barcelona (2) v (0) Manchester United - Barcelona clinched their 2nd title in 3 years with a comfortable win against the English Champions. Goals in each half from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi did the damage. Barcelona controlled the game with a dominating performance in midfield from Andries Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez that kept the ball and also denied the United strikers any supply. Barcelona were led by 1st year coach Pep Guardiola and also featured Thierry Henry, Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique. Manchester United featured Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand (10, 3 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Pleat, PAL)