Chelsea’s FA Cup celebrations get violent

CHELSEA players avoided a bloodbath by minutes when they celebrated booking their place in the FA Cup Final. Stars including Frank Lampard, 30, John Terry, 28, and Joe Cole, 27, left a West End club just moments before a gruesome fight broke out.

One woman was left covered in blood after being hit on the head with a wine bottle. The Blues heroes had been celebrating their 2-1 win over London rivals Arsenal at the trendy Movida nightclub.

Goalscorer Didier Drogba, 31, mid-fielder Michael Essien, 26, and striker Salomon Kalou, 23, joined the English players as they partied until just after 4am.

One witness told the Daily Star last night: “Just after 4am, when the club closes, the players came out and went off in cars.

Alex Ferguson showed arrogance and contempt for the FA Cup

Some men, through their deeds, are untouchable in the press. Winston Churchill achieved it after the Second World War. Bill Clinton seemed to don a Teflon skin in his near impeachment of the 1990s.

And now, it seems, Alex Ferguson has joined this elite group.

It is still early days following the Manchester United elimination from the FA Cup, but articles criticising the pugnacious Scot are few and far between. However, his conduct in the week preceding the match, and his example set during it, surely has to come under scrutiny.

Two weeks ago, Ferguson questioned Rafa Benitez's logic in bringing up Manchester United in a prematch meeting with the press before the European tie with Chelsea. He commented, "He's got a European tie (against Chelsea) and he's talking about Alex Ferguson. Fantastic! I didn't know I was that important!"

He is quick to offer opinion on the actions of others, but it seems he is not so keen on taking his own advice.

Not a week later, he returned the favour by criticising Benitez ahead of Man Utd's cup semi-final against Everton. Fergie refuted a comment made by Benitez two years ago that the Toffees weren't a big club, then called the Reds boss "beyond the pale" in his somewhat ambiguous hand gestures during Liverpool's 4-0 drubbing of Blackburn. An impressive tirade from the master of mind games and a lofty position to take, having alleged that the Liverpool gaffer is arrogant and, to quote the Scot, a man that showed contempt to a fellow manager.

Step forward to Sunday's semi-final in the FA Cup.

A competition steeped in history, but struggling to maintain its former glory. Played at the home of football, Wembley Stadium. Travelled to by thousands of Manchester United fans, each paying in the region of £100 for tickets and travel, before taking into account match day costs at the ground. Playing against a team that Ferguson himself argued was a big club.

Yet, his team selection showed the same arrogance and dismissiveness he accused his bitter rival of during the week. By only selecting two members of the first team, Ferguson showed a complete and utter lack of respect not only to Everton Football Club, but to the FA Cup, the world's oldest footballing competition and a symbol of our nation's game.

Not only that, but it was a slap in the face to his own supporters who had paid a significant sum and travelled many miles to see their best side fight for a place in the showpiece final of English football. What they got was an insipid performance from a youth team that barely warranted the 0-0 scoreline and defamed the occasion.

We all know the arguments that he has to rest players for other competitions. This, however, is not a game that one should rest players for. A semi-final in the Champions League wouldn't and won't get the same treatment, of that you can be sure.

This is not the first time he has tarnished the name of this great competition, either, having famously withdrawn Man Utd from the 1999-2000 cup to play in the World Club Championship, a move that attracted criticism at the time but has since faded into history.

Liverpool's Spirit Shines Through In Chelsea Epic

When the dust has settled on this extraordinary Champions League tie, and when Liverpool fans overcome the despairs of seeing their side gift Chelsea goals, Reds fans must celebrate how valiantly their side fought in the second leg to push Chelsea all the way. The fact that they came so close to achieving one of the most remarkable comebacks of all time, on not one but two occasions, should be what supporters remember most, and not the mistakes that led to Chelsea’s resurgence at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool showed why they are feared so much in Europe with a display brimming with determination and passion for the red shirt. On another night they would have been the ones preparing to book flights to Spain for a mouth-watering semi-final with Barcelona.

If Jose Reina hadn’t spilled Didier Drogba’s flick into his own net shortly after half-time, swinging the momentum into Chelsea’s favour in the process, then it might have been Liverpool fans jumping up and down at the final whistle.

Roman Abramovich: Blind date

Since Chelsea can’t seem to settle on a man to take over as the club’s manager for next season, Roman Abramovich came up with the novel idea of having a “Blind Date” style game show deep in the bowels of Stamford Bridge to finally decide who will be given the job. Abramovich and Peter Kenyon sat on one side of a partition, while the three candidates were on the other. The following is a transcript of the show, which was filmed before a live studio audience of intimidating bodyguards.

Pink Jacket: Hello and welcome to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea Manager Blind Date. Mr. Abramovich will ask our three candidates a series of questions and based off their answers, he will choose which one he would like to lead Chelsea for at least the first few months of next season. So, without further ado, let’s get started. Mr. Abramovich?

Kenyon: (Abramovich whispers in his ear) Candidate #1, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Candidate #1: Eh…what is going on here? I don’t know where I am.

Kenyon: (Abramovich whispers) Ok. Candidate #2, same question.

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Football Lookalike XI

Some people literally spend their entire lives staring thoughtfully at pictures of Phil Neville or Wayne Rooney, pondering which particular screen monster they should lump them alongside this time. It’s a great way of becoming a popular face in football circles - a finely judged facial observation about Michael Ballack can diffuse fights in pubs, start chit chat that eventually leads to sex with hairdressers, or simply make your mates laugh until they vomit Becks Vier all over the pavement. With that in mind, we thought we’d compile our own well-observed team of football lookalikes… sick bags ready, people.

Centre Midfield, Frank Lampard

Never anything less than well turned out, Lampsie totters around a football pitch like a poodle walking into an exclusive dogs-only drinks party.

Centre Forward, Carlos Tevez

Up front, Tevez just nudges out his team mate Wayne Rooney, thanks to his startling resemblance to the handsome young actor who plays Ugly Betty in the sitcom Ugly Betty.

PFA Player Of The Year Shortlist Disgrace: No Lampard? No Alonso?

The nominees for this season's PFA award were announced today and, much to my surprise, there is only one non-Manchester United player on the list: Steven Gerrard.

No doubt about it, he has had a great season and is deservedly there, but his fellow nominees leave a lot to be desired, to be honest.

I mean, who compiles these lists?

CL: Liverpool 4 - 4 Chelsea (5 - 7 Agg)

Chelsea and Liverpool delivered a match last night that will be long remembered for its goals, comedy goalkeeping, tension and high drama. Chelsea made it through to the Champions League semi-finals, but Liverpool can be proud of their rousing and brave performance on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster that saw them come very close to overturning a 3-1 deficit from the first leg.

CL : Liverpool v Chelsea Team news

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is expected to return to the side following a groin injury.

Javier Mascherano will also be back from suspension as the Anfield men look to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Manager Rafael Benitez must decide whether to retain Daniel Agger in central defence, ahead of Martin Skrtel, after his goalscoring performance against Blackburn on Saturday.

Chelsea captain John Terry is suspended for the Champions League quarter-final return leg against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Terry misses out after collecting a yellow card for his challenge on Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina at Anfield.

Right-back Jose Bosingwa is expected to be sidelined because of hamstring trouble while Alex will replace Terry alongside Ricardo Carvalho in the centre of the defence.

Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are absent with knee ligament injuries.
Teams:

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Skrtel, Aurelio, Dossena, Kuyt, Lucas, Mascherano, Gerrard, Alonso, Torres, Babel, Benayoun, Riera, Cavalieri, N'Gog.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Mancienne, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Obi, Kalou, Essien, Malouda, Di Santo, Anelka, Quaresma, Stoch, Drogba

Arsenal boss Wenger: Liverpool Could Do the Impossible Comeback

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is convinced Liverpool are still in their Champions League tie with Chelsea.

Wenger said no-one should write off Liverpool, even though they were defeated 3-1 at Anfield by Chelsea.

Wenger said: "Arsenal v Villarreal and Manchester United v Porto are still to be decided. Barcelona looks to be through completely and Chelsea are in a strong position.

"But it is still to be decided because Liverpool can respond and be strong away from home.

"Everywhere you play at the moment you have to be completely 100%. If you are just a little bit off your best you get punished."

Alonso: Liverpool can bridge the gap against Chelsea

Xabi Alonso insists Liverpool can overcome their 3-1 Champions League deficit against Chelsea tomorrow night but will have to find the right balance between attack and defence if they are to triumph at Stamford Bridge. Alonso said:

"There is hope," but "We know it is going to be a very difficult task to score three goals, but as long as we have a little chance then we are going to try and fight for it and go there and try to do our best.

"I think that it will be the closest to perfect if we can go there, score three goals and beat them. We will need to have a very attacking mentality because we need to score a lot of goals. By the same way we can't go desperate all-out attack because if you do that you will have more chances to concede.

Tony Barrett: John Terry’s logic is a no brainer

LOGIC John Terry style.

Step one: Go into the first leg of a European tie knowing that a booking would rule you out of the second leg.

Step two: Launch yourself head first at Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina, hurtling through the air at speed before connecting with the Spaniard’s ribs after he has already collected the ball.

Step three: Receive one of the season’s more obvious yellow cards from a referee who realises football has moved on from the days when keepers were treated like rugby league tackle bags.

Step four: Rail at the injustice of it all, mouth off at international team mate Steven Gerrard who rightly dismisses such claims of unfairness with a mouthful of Scouse invective.

Step five: Chelsea record a notable 3-1 win which puts them within touching distance of the semi-final, making Terry’s suspension as timely as it is possible to get at this stage of the competition.

Step six: Dismiss step five, give a post-match interview in which you blame Liverpool’s players for getting you booked despite replays proving that your head undoubtedly made contact with Reina’s chest in a particularly reckless challenge which brought back memories of He-Man's cartoon mate Ram Man.

Step seven: Claim the injustice is as bad as the one which befell Xabi Alonso four years ago when an Eidur Gudjohnsen dive brought the midfielder a booking which ruled him out of one of the most glorious nights in Liverpool’s history.

With brain power like this it is little surprise that Terry was once fined two weeks wages by Chelsea for drunkenly taunting grieving American tourists in the aftermath of September 11.

He may be a good centre half but Socrates he ain’t.

John Aldridge: If any team can come back Liverpool can

ONE thing we have learned from watching Liverpool in Europe over the years is you can never write them off.

But I’m sure every Liverpool fan will admit Rafa Benitez’s side are faced with a massive mountain to climb if they are to continue their run in this season’s Champions League.

Chelsea are now odds on favourites to go through and it would take something really special from Liverpool – probably on a par with the magnificent comeback in Istanbul – for them to get through to the semi-finals.

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Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea

According to The Sun, the Italian has told Chelsea he is ready to take over from Guus Hiddink in the summer. A contract worth around £5.8m a year has been discussed, and should be signed and sealed in June. His daughter Katya has been spending time at Chelsea HQ working on her PhD, which compares the media and marketing relations between Chelsea and Milan. Ancelotti, who has already said “I won’t manage Milan forever”, has quipped that she was “getting his office ready” while in England.

Pictures: Liverpool 1 - 3 Chelsea

Chelsea favourites but Liverpool not out yet

Chelsea may be overwhelming favourites to reach the Champions League semi-finals after their stunning 3-1 win at Liverpool on Wednesday, but no-one from either side is conceding the tie is over yet.

Chelsea recovered after a Fernando Torres goal had put Liverpool ahead in the sixth minute, stunning the five-times European champions with two headers from Branislav Ivanovic and a hammer-blow third from Didier Drogba.

The result even amazed Chelsea's temporary coach Guus Hiddink, who won the tactical battle with Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez, a master tactician himself, especially in Europe.

Liverpool v Chelsea key battles

JOHN TERRY v FERNANDO TORRES



England's best defender against the best striker in the world, if you take Steven Gerrard's assessment. The tie could depend on this showdown - Terry's power and positional excellence against Torres' pace, guile and strength. The Spaniard has shown he can handle the physical side of the game in England, and Terry will certainly test him in that aspect.

FRANK LAMPARD v STEVEN GERRARD




Just who is England's best midfielder? At least Fabio Capello has discovered the key to the pair both playing in England's midfield and they will be hell-bent on proving who is top dog in this tie. Gerrard's recent form, leadership, drive and goalscoring gives him the edge but Lampard links better with midfield colleagues and can be equally destructive in the box.

NICOLAS ANELKA v MARTIN SKRTEL




Anelka admitted recently that he played his best football in a short loan spell at Anfield, and there are many there who would still value him in the Liverpool squad. He has pace and a clever attacking brain, which will test the no-nonsense Skrtel to the limits. The young Slovakian has done supremely well in the Premier League but occasionally is found out by genuine class - and Anelka has that.


Telegraph

David Pleat: Chelsea must stop Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are outstanding individuals who play with a telepathic understanding, unselfishly working in tandem and each seizing on the other's considerable qualities. Against Torres, who will often receive the ball with his back to goal, you need a strong marker. Whoever is designated to combat the Spaniard must ensure he does not get too tight or allow the forward to come off, turn and face up in possession of the ball.

In this role Torres rarely takes the centre-back to the touchlines but he will attempt to draw his marker towards midfield if he is not receiving a decent supply-line up front. John Terry has played against him many times and will not get sucked deep or too wide. But what you must watch out for is Torres's brilliant movement in the box – start, stop, start – as he turns half chances into goal attempts.

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Liverpool v Chlesea: The history

Liverpool against Chelsea has become something of a regular fixture in the Champions League's latter stages in recent seasons. With the first league of this season's quarter-final to be played tomorrow, we look at some of their memorable past meetings.

03/05/05, semi-final, second leg: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0

Having played out a dull goalless draw in London a fortnight earlier, Liverpool took an early lead in controversial fashion in the fourth minute. Luis Garcia's faint touch seemed to have gone over the line before being cleared and was given but subsequent replays showed it may not have done. Liverpool shut up shop to progress to the final, where they dramatically beat AC Milan on penalties, leaving Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho fuming and claiming "the best team lost".

25/04/07, semi-final, first leg: Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0

Joe Cole's 29th-minute goal gave the Blues a slender lead as Chelsea kept an important clean sheet at home.

May 1 2007, semi-final, second leg: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (Liverpool won 4-1 on penalties)

Daniel Agger scored with a crisp finish to bring Liverpool back on level terms, which was how it stayed until the end of extra-time. Arjen Robben and Geremi both missed penalties for Chelsea, leaving Dirk Kuyt to clinch a place in the final against AC Milan, although this time the Italians came out on top.

April 22 2008, semi-final, first leg: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1

Kuyt scored just before half-time to edge the Reds in front but John Arne Riise inexplicably headed into his own net in injury-time to hand Chelsea a vital away goal.

April 30 2008, semi-final, second leg: Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2

With the tie finely poised at 1-1, Chelsea ran out 4-3 aggregate winners after extra-time thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba and a penalty from Frank Lampard, who had been in doubt to play following the death of his mother earlier in the week. Efforts from Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel, three minutes before the end of extra-time, proved insufficient. Chelsea lost their first Champions League final to Manchester United on penalties.

Grant: Mourinho too arrogant to lead Chelsea to Liverpool victory

Avram Grant took another swipe at Jose Mourinho as he recalled how he led Chelsea to a Champions League victory over Liverpool last season.

"Tactically, Rafa Benitez is very good and that was something Mourinho did not quite appreciate," said Grant, who still hopes to return to the Barclays Premier League.

"He simply thought he was better than Benitez, and because he thought he was better he lost.

"One of Liverpool's great strengths is the way Benitez organises them as a team. They work for each other. But we applied some very simple ideas.

"You have to dominate them. That's the first thing. But we also focused on key areas and, more important, key individuals.

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Michael Ballack abused by German team mate

Poor old Michael Ballack. Not only was his sovereignty as Germany captain questioned by happy slapper Lukas Podolski, but his personal space has also been invaded by Crouch-alike defender Per Mertesacker.

unprofessionalfoul.com