The Treble Beckons

There are striking similarities between this season and the 1998-99 Treble season-The premiership going down to the wire, Man Utd qualifying for the FA Cup Final and Man Utd facing Italian oppositions in the UCL Quarter Finals and Semi Finals. The big question is-Will Man Utd be able to win The Treble? After all the hard work throughout this season, its time to achieve the ultimate prize a player can ever dream of.

After Chelsea drew with Newcastle today, it looks like the script has been written for this season. Whenever things looked gloomy for Man Utd someone took points off Chelsea to relieve the pressure. When West Ham beat Man Utd, Chelsea had a chance to move to the top of the table temporarily but Steve Coppell's Reading held them to a draw at the Bridge. When Newcastle drew with United, Aston Villa held Chelsea to a draw to restore Man Utd's 6 points lead. When Arsenal beat Man Utd, Liverpool did the same to Chelsea. Now, Boro drew with United and a day later Newcastle took 2 points off Chelsea. Its been amazing.

Man Utd have 3 points lead over Chelsea with 4 games left. The most important thing is that Man Utd have their destiny in their own hands. They don't have to look at other teams to take points off Chelsea. Chelsea vs Man Utd at Stamford Bridge will be a cracker. It might decide the fate of the championship. But, that is not the only difficult match, Chelsea have to worry about. They face Arsenal at The Emirates and Arsenal might have a big say in deciding the fate of the premiership. Chelsea have tricky home games coming up against Bolton and Everton as well. So, things are looking good for Man Utd. The rivalary between Man Utd and Chelsea is not limited to the EPL only. These two teams have booked a date at The Wembley for the FA Cup Final. Thats not all. There is a strong possibility that these two teams will collide in the Champions League Final as well. In 1999, Man Utd beat Internazionale and Juventus to reach the final where they created history. This time, they take on Italian oppositions as well. After demolishing AS Roma, Man Utd face formidable AC Milan in the Semis. Milan have had a poor season domestically but their form in Europe has been phenomenal. The main worry for Man Utd at this juncture is that too many players have picked up injuries-Rio, Vidic, Silvestre, Saha, Neville. The list grows with each and every game. Interestingly, most of the injured players are defenders. So, Man Utd host AC Milan with a make-shift defense comprising of O'Shea, Brown, Heinze and Evra. It looks almost certain that they will concede an away goal against AC Milan. So, the attackers will have to make sure that they score at least a couple to give themselves a chance of winning this tie. Hopefully, most of these players will be back for the away leg at San Siro. That might make a huge difference to the outcome of this tie.

Man Utd have played brilliantly throughout this season to get into this wonderful position. Its time to turn the hard work into a great result. Its time to create history. Its time to win The Treble.

Results-UCL Quarter Finals

Liverpool 4(3+1)-0(0+0) PSV Eindhoven - Liverpool carried their form from the last tie against Barca and simply brushed PSV apart. The first leg killed the contest in which liverpool won 3-0. It was an away game for liverpool and a 3-0 routing was much more than what Liverpool fans expected. Gerrard, Riise and Crouch scored for the Reds as a depressed Ronald Koeman accepted defeat even before the start of the second leg.
With 3 away goals, Liverpool looked hot favorites to advance to the semis and they didn't disappoint. Crouch scored the winner for Liverpool against a 10 men PSV side. After two scintillating performances, Liverpool are looking all set to claim a berth in the final.

Manchester United 8(1+7)-3(2+1) AS Roma - This was the first meeting between these two teams and it proved to be a memorable tie for United. Things didn't start too well for United as Paul Scholes was sent off after 34 minutes. Taddei scored a goal just before half time to give Roma the upper hand. Wayne Rooney equalized for United in the second half after a great move from Ronaldo and Solskjaer. But, this scoreline lasted for only 6 minutes as substitute Vucinic gave Roma the lead again. Despite, a lot of shots on goal, Roma couldn't find the back of the net again and United were happy to take this result back to Old Trafford.
United needed an early goal at Old Trafford to take the pressure off them and Carrick scored that goal from outside the box. After just 5 minutes, Alan Smith found himself one on one with the keeper after a Giggs through ball dissected the Roma defense. Smith didn't make any mistake and the score was 2-0. Rooney scored off a Giggs cross to take the match out of Roma's reach. Cristiano Ronaldo joined the party as he scored just before and just after half time to make it 5-0. Carrick scored another screamer and the score at the hour mark was 6-0. The game looked all over as De Rossi got a consolation goal for Roma. Patrice Evra registered his name on the score sheet to complete a 7-1 routing. United showed what they are capable of and the fact that they missed 4 key players due to injuries and suspensions makes this victory all the more impressive.

Valencia 2(1+1)-3(1+2) Chelsea - Chelsea looked the favorites as they had most of their key players fully fit. But Valencia showed a lot of character at Stamford Bridge. They went ahead thanks to a David Silva screamer but Chelsea equalized through Drogba. Though Chelsea created a lot of chances but they couldn't score more and Valencia had the away goal advantage as they traveled back to Mestalla for the return leg.
Chelsea were in the hornet's nest as Morientes gave Valencia the lead at Mestalla. Shevchenko showed his worth in Europe as he equalized for Chelsea. The game looked all set to go into extra time but Michael Essien scored the winner for Chelsea in the 90th minute. It was heart break for Valencia but they were themselves responsible for this defeat as they didn't attack Chelsea much and gave them the chance to use their possession effectively.


Bayern Munich 2(2+0)-4(2+2) AC Milan - The match between these two Europeon giants turned out to be a close one. After a couple of miraculous saves by Michael Rensing, AC Milan moved 1 up thanks to a looping header from Andrea Pirlo. A lapse in defense gave Bayern the crucial equalizer through Van Buyten. Kaka converted a penalty to restore Milan's lead but just when the referee was about to blow, Van Buyten again equalized for Bayern.
With 2 away goals, Bayern had the upper hand as the second leg started at Allianz Arena, Munich. But this advantage lasted only for half an hour as Clarence Seedorf scored from just outside the box. Milan doubled their lead thanks to Phillipo Inzaghi. Bayern, who were missing certain key players played badly all night and paid the ultimate price for this sloppy performance.

So, the semi finals lineup is
Manchester United vs AC Milan
Chelsea vs Liverpool

Buildup to the UCL Quarter Finals

The Quarter Finals of the UEFA Champions League are just a couple of days away. I am happy that India are out of the Cricket World Cup because that will keep the cricket fans away from the TV room. The draw for the quarter finals is very interesting. All the English teams have avoided each other and there is a possibility of an all English final. Here is a look at the 4 matches that will take place in this round-

PSV Eindhoven vs Liverpool - Liverpool have the easiest draw for this round but they can't take anything for granted. PSV have shown Arsenal the door and they would love to repeat their performance. After defeating Barcelona, Liverpool's confidence is sky high and the fans are expecting a win here. These two teams met in the group phase and at that time Liverpool came out on top. Liverpool should stick to the basics and they will get the desired result.

AS Roma vs Manchester United - Surprisingly, it is the first meeting of these two sides and it is expected to be a cracking match. Roma have been in hot form in cup competitions this season. They are in the domestic cup final and they beat AC Milan on their way. Roma have adopted well to a striker less system with midfielders and wingers doing the damage. Manchester United are in great form as well but they have been troubled by injuries. United will miss the services of skipper Neville and Vidic. This is the time for fringe players to come in and show their worth. United should pack the midfield in Rome and hit them hard in the second leg at Old Trafford. United are the favorites and if they keep Totti and co silent, they are in with a chance.

Chelsea vs Valencia - The aftermath of that brawl in Mestalla saw several key players of the Valencia side suspended and Chelsea would like to capitalize on that. Valencia will miss Morientes due to injury. El Moro scored a brace for Monaco 3 years ago to kick Chelsea out of the Champions League, so his absence gives Chelsea the psychological advantage. Due to all these incidents, Chelsea look hot favorites to win this tie. Chelsea have a full strength squad with most of the key players back after recovering from injuries. David Villa is still there to test Chelsea's defenders and Joaquin and Vicente have a chance to prove that they are the best wingers in the world. Chelsea's hopes rest on in form Drogba. Valencia will play for a draw at Stamford Bridge and take advantage of playing the home leg second.

AC Milan vs Bayern Munich - AC Milan are the side that kicked Bayern out of the competition last time and revenge is on the cards when the two giants collide again. Bayern haven't enjoyed games against Italian oppositions in the last 4-5 years but they got the better of Inter in the group phase. This game is going to tight and away goals might come into picture. Bayern will miss Kahn and Van Bommel due to suspension.