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Man. Utd. 2.5 : Wayne Rooney is losing his race to be fit for Manchester United's final home match of the Premier League campaign, against West Ham United. The England forward had hoped to recover from a hip injury in time for Saturday's match at Old Trafford, but he was unable to train Thursday and will play no part unless he shows a dramatic improvement. Rooney was also forced to miss the midweek UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona because of the injury he aggravated in the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last weekend.
Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has also raised concerns at Old Trafford by confessing that he is feeling "completely wrecked", having played the last stint of matches despite having a persistent groin injury. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson also has a worry over midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who has been carrying knee and hamstring problems in recent weeks, but defender Nemanja Vidic, who missed Tuesday's match over Barcelona with a face injury, is expected to be declared fit to play against West Ham United.
Chelsea 1.5 : Frank Lampard scored a penalty in extra time Wednesday and Didier Drogba later added his second goal of the night to send Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League final with a 3-2 win over Liverpool in the second leg of the semifinals. In the first European Cup final between two English clubs, Chelsea will face Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final in Moscow on May 21.
Amid speculation about his job security, manager Avram Grant has done what Jose Mourinho never managed to accomplish with Chelsea. Mourinho twice lost to Liverpool in the semifinals. Grant's team and United are also neck-and-neck in the Premier League. After Chelsea's 2-1 win over their rivals last weekend, both sides have 81 points, but United lead on goal difference with two games remaining.
Barcelona 30.4 : Frank Rijkaard sees no reason to quit Barcelona even though a 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Tuesday means a second straight season without a title of any kind. "I have no intention of leaving," the Dutch coach said after the defeat to United eliminated Barcelona from the UEFA European Champions League. However, Rijkaard's future at the Catalan club is in doubt after another season of failure and there is the likelihood that the squad may break up, with Ronaldinho almost certain to transfer, maybe for the Italian league.
Man. Utd. 29.4 : Manchester United reached the UEFA Champions League final on Tuesday, beating Barcelona 1-0 behind Paul Scholes' spectacular goal. The 25-meter strike in the 14th minute was the only goal between the two sides in two legs. They will face either Chelsea or Liverpool in the title match in Moscow on May 21, the first all-English final in European Champion Clubs' Cup history.
Manchester United clinched the final for the first time since winning the UEFA Champions League nine years ago. Tuesday's victory also puts manager Sir Alex Ferguson's team into the title match for the third time, and gives Scholes another chances at one, having been suspended when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final.
Man. Utd. 29.4 : Manchester United reached the UEFA Champions League final on Tuesday, beating Barcelona 1-0 behind Paul Scholes' spectacular goal. The 25-meter strike in the 14th minute was the only goal between the two sides in two legs. They will face either Chelsea or Liverpool in the title match in Moscow on May 21, the first all-English final in European Champion Clubs' Cup history.
Manchester United clinched the final for the first time since winning the UEFA Champions League nine years ago. Tuesday's victory also puts manager Sir Alex Ferguson's team into the title match for the third time, and gives Scholes another chances at one, having been suspended when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final.
Man. Utd. 28.4 : Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the English Premier Leagues Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association for the second season in a row. The Manchester United winger retained the title by scoring an impressive 38 goals this season in all competitions. Ronaldo, 23, beat five other players on the PFA shortlist, Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James. Fabregas, 20, picked up the Young Player of the Year award.
Chelsea 25.4 : Frank Lampard may miss Chelsea's UEFA Champions League semi-final return leg against Liverpool and this Sunday's crucial Premier League match against Manchester United as he mourns the loss of his mother, who died on Thursday from pneumonia. The England midfielder took part in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Tuesday, but admitted to feeling distracted due to his family circumstances.
Liverpool 24.4 : Fabio Aurelio may miss the rest of the season after he was ruled out for three weeks with a torn abductor muscle. The Brazilian defender was carried from the field in the second half of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semi-final match against Chelsea following a challenge by Joe Cole. Aside from the return leg against Chelsea, Aurelio, 28, will miss Premier League games against Birmingham, Manchester City and Tottenham.
| Man. Utd. Fenerb. Chelsea Sevilla Barcelona Schalke Inter Lyon Milan Arsenal Olympia. Liverpool Sporting Benfica Roma Porto Besiktas Celtic Werder Rosenb. Real M. Lazio PSV Marseille Rangers Stuttgart Shakhtar Valencia Slavia CSKA Steaua Dinamo K. |  |
| Man. Utd. Barcelona Fenerb. Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal Sevilla Roma Milan Real M. Celtic Inter Porto Schalke Werder Besiktas Olympia. Lyon PSV Benfica Sporting Lazio Rangers Slavia Marseille Shakhtar Stuttgart Rosenb. CSKA Valencia Steaua Dinamo K. |  |
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| Man. Utd. Barcelona Chelsea Liverpool Roma Schalke Arsenal Lyon Olympia. Inter Sevilla Milan Valencia Rosenb. Porto Benfica Marseille Rangers Sporting Shakhtar PSV Fenerb. Real M. Lazio Slavia CSKA Steaua Dinamo K. Besiktas Stuttgart Werder Celtic |  |
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| Man. Utd. Barcelona Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal Fenerb. Roma Sevilla Inter Milan Schalke Olympia. Porto Lyon Real M. Celtic PSV Marseille Rosenb. Benfica Sporting Rangers Shakhtar Werder Besiktas Lazio Slavia Valencia Stuttgart Steaua CSKA Dinamo K. |  |
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| # | team | points | g.dif. | win-draw-loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | ||||
| 1 | Porto | 11 | 1 | 3-2-1 (6) |
| 2 | Liverpool | 10 | 13 | 3-1-2 (6) |
| 3 | Marseille | 7 | -3 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | Besiktas | 6 | -11 | 2-0-4 (6) |
| Group B | ||||
| 1 | Chelsea | 12 | 7 | 3-3-0 (6) |
| 2 | Schalke | 8 | 1 | 2-2-2 (6) |
| 3 | Rosenb. | 7 | -4 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | Valencia | 5 | -4 | 1-2-3 (6) |
| Group C | ||||
| 1 | Real M. | 11 | 4 | 3-2-1 (6) |
| 2 | Olympia. | 11 | 4 | 3-2-1 (6) |
| 3 | Werder | 6 | -5 | 2-0-4 (6) |
| 4 | Lazio | 5 | -3 | 1-2-3 (6) |
| Group D | ||||
| 1 | Milan | 13 | 7 | 4-1-1 (6) |
| 2 | Celtic | 9 | -1 | 3-0-3 (6) |
| 3 | Benfica | 7 | -1 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | Shakhtar | 6 | -5 | 2-0-4 (6) |
| Group E | ||||
| 1 | Barcelona | 14 | 9 | 4-2-0 (6) |
| 2 | Lyon | 10 | 1 | 3-1-2 (6) |
| 3 | Rangers | 7 | -2 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | Stuttgart | 3 | -8 | 1-0-5 (6) |
| Group F | ||||
| 1 | Man. Utd. | 16 | 9 | 5-1-0 (6) |
| 2 | Roma | 11 | 5 | 3-2-1 (6) |
| 3 | Sporting | 7 | 1 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | Dinamo K. | 0 | -15 | 0-0-6 (6) |
| Group G | ||||
| 1 | Inter | 15 | 8 | 5-0-1 (6) |
| 2 | Fenerb. | 11 | 2 | 3-2-1 (6) |
| 3 | PSV | 7 | -3 | 2-1-3 (6) |
| 4 | CSKA | 1 | -7 | 0-1-5 (6) |
| Group H | ||||
| 1 | Sevilla | 15 | 7 | 5-0-1 (6) |
| 2 | Arsenal | 13 | 10 | 4-1-1 (6) |
| 3 | Slavia | 5 | -11 | 1-2-3 (6) |
| 4 | Steaua | 1 | -6 | 0-1-5 (6) |
last results
| 30.4 | Chelsea - Liverpool | 3 : 2 |
| 29.4 | Man. Utd. - Barcelona | 1 : 0 |
| 23.4 | Barcelona - Man. Utd. | 0 : 0 |
| 22.4 | Liverpool - Chelsea | 1 : 1 |
| 9.4 | Barcelona - Schalke | 1 : 0 |
| 9.4 | Man. Utd. - Roma | 1 : 0 |
| 8.4 | Liverpool - Arsenal | 4 : 2 |
| 8.4 | Chelsea - Fenerb. | 2 : 0 |
| 2.4 | Fenerb. - Chelsea | 2 : 1 |
| 2.4 | Arsenal - Liverpool | 1 : 1 |
| 1.4 | Schalke - Barcelona | 0 : 1 |
| 1.4 | Roma - Man. Utd. | 0 : 2 |
| 11.3 | Inter - Liverpool | 0 : 1 |
| 5.3 | Porto - Schalke | 2 : 4 |
| 5.3 | Real M. - Roma | 1 : 2 |
| 5.3 | Chelsea - Olympia. | 3 : 0 |
home win - draw - away win (1-x-2)
Champions League : 52% - 20% - 27%
League format : Soccer / Football : UEFA Champions League 2007/2008
The UEFA Champions League, originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is probably the greatest international club competition in the world. The league has undergone a number of changes since the old knock-out tournament was upgraded with group stages in 1993. The current format was introduced in the 2003/04 season. Under this format, after three qualifying rounds for clubs who do not qualify for direct entry, 32 teams play one group stage. There are eight groups of four clubs, each team playing each other home and away for a total of six games in the group.
The top two teams from each group progress to the knock-out stage, the eight third-placed teams move into a secondary competition, the UEFA Cup, while the eight fourth-placed teams are eliminated. The matches in the knock-out stages are played over two legs. The teams are paired up and play each other at home and away, with the club scoring the greater aggregate of goals going on to the next round. The winners of the two semi-finals play the Champions League Final, which is a single match on a venue decided by UEFA.
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