Manchester United, the Champions of England!

Champions: Manchester United (87 points)
2nd Place: Chelsea (85 points)
Champions League Places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
UEFA Cup Places: Everton, Portsmouth/Cardiff City (Winners of FA Cup), Tottenham Spurs
Carling Cup Winners: Tottenham Spurs
Relegated: Reading, Birmingham City, Derby County
Top Goal Scorers : Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 31 goals in 34 matches); Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, 24 goals in 36 matches); Fernando Torres (Liverpool, 24 goals in 33 matches)
Best Offensive Team: Manchester United (80 goals in 38 matches)
Best Defensive Team: Manchester United (22 goals in 38 matches)

Ten and counting….

Manchester United snatched their 17th English title and the 10th in last 16 Premiership campaigns under Sir Alex Ferguson on the weekend. In one of the most thrilling Premiership seasons, Manchester United displayed their array of the young and the old in their 2-0 victory against Wigan. 23-year old Cristiano Ronaldo playing his 5th season in England scored the opening goal from the penalty spot thus increasing his tally for the season to an incredible 41 goals, while the coup de grace was delivered by veteran 34-year old Ryan Giggs who was playing in his 758th game for Manchester United equaling the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for maximum games played in the Manchester United jersey. Chelsea failed on the final hurdle ending their game to Bolton Wanderers at 1-1 and are also worried about John Terry’s availability for the Champions League final after his clash with Cech left him being taken off the field on a stretcher. And even though, Chelsea have a chance to turn this season into a special one if they manage to get the upper hand on Manchester United in Moscow, as far as the English Premiership is concerned few will disagree that the best team has clinched the title.
With 80 goals scored and 22 goals conceded, Manchester United have been sensational on all areas of the pitch consistently through the season. And even though they had one of their worst beginnings to the 16th Premiership season (2 points in 3 games), a run of eight successive wins after that and another run of six successive victories as they reached towards the end, coupled with Arsenal’s dismal run at the finish line pushed them closer towards the top. Chelsea stood firmly between them and the title of Champions, however, and a 2-1 victory for the Blues at Stamford Bridge tied the two teams on points with just two matches remaining. But there is no better team around Europe that knows how to get the job done than Alex Ferguson’s team and that is what they did in their final two matches of the season thus claiming back-to-back titles. The up-front trio of Ronaldo (31 goals), Tevez (14 goals) and Rooney (12 goals) have been nothing short of breathtaking most of the times, but the part played by center-back Rio Fedinand, Vidic, Evra and Hargreaves to keep the opponents at bay is of no less value. A team effort it truly has been and another feather on their illustrious cap they truly deserve….
A look at the manner in which the Big Four of the Premiership fought for the Premiership title.

On the final day there was another winner, one from London, the team of Fulham who completed an unbelievable comeback and will be playing Premiership football next season for the 9th consecutive year. Roy Hodgson indeed carried out a remarkable turnaround since joining the club in December 2007 when they were deeply rooted in the relegation zone. But three consecutive victories at the end of the campaign has pulled them out of the mire and ensured a great escape. Reading who finished eight last season are back into the Championship after only two years in the Premiership. And they will be joined by Birmingham City and Derby County who conceded 89 goals and managed just 11 points to earn the status of the worst team to have ever played in the Premiership. Everton clinched the UEFA Cup spot with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

In the end there are tears of joy for some, tears of sorrow for others, ecstasy for some, while pain for others, as yet another Premiership season concludes in style! Well done, Manchester United, the worthy champions of England!

Last Day will decide in Italy and France…

One match remains…and just like in the Premiership, the champion of Italy will be crowned on the final day and not sooner! Needing just one win of their last three matches, Inter Milan have managed to lose and draw their last two games and will travel to relegation-threatened Parma in search of that elusive victory that will crown them the Italian champions for the third year in a row. On their heels are Roma who have grabbed the maximum 6 points from their last two games and trail Inter Milan by just a point before their final match too against relegation-battlers Catania. Inter will be kicking themselves to not have clinched the title this weekend as they twice took the lead against Siena only to see scores being leveled each time and had Materazzi’s penalty saved 13 minutes from time, the final result thus being 2-2. It will be do-or-die time for Inter Milan and Roma next weekend as they battle for the Championship crown. But the losers will have another opportunity to gain revenge as the Coppa Italia final will be contested between these two rivals again. The neutrals might prefer both the clubs taking home a trophy each in the same fashion as last season when Inter Milan edged Roma for the League title but Roma defeated Inter in the finals to lift the Italian Cup.
There is also a lot more to play for on the final day in the Serie A as Inter’s neighbours AC Milan are struggling to find a Champions League berth after their defeat against Napoli. Milan are now trailing Fiorentina by two points for the fourth position in the League table. Wonder how Milan will be able to attract big names that are being linked to them in recent weeks if they fail to qualify for Champions League next season! And that is why Flamini’s reasons for quitting Arsenal, ‘due to the pain of missing out on the Premiership title’, come as a surprise with Milan nowhere close to winning anything themselves this season. Maybe footballers should be more honest in saying that they received better contracts from the other team. On the relegation front, Livorno became the first team to be going down to Serie B. Catania, Parma and Empoli will battle it out on the last day to avoid joining Livorno.

Another major European League battle will be decided on the last day of the season. Lyon and Bordeuax both won their respective matches to keep the Ligue One battle on. Lyon, in search of a historic 7th successive League title, won against Nancy 1-0, the solitary goal was an own goal from Nancy’s defender Andre Luiz. Lyon have been jittery as they inch closer towards the finish line with 9 points from a maximum of 18 while Bordueax have notched up 15 points in the same number of games. Lyon will travel to Auxerre on the last day who have ensured their safety. Bordueax face a trip to RC Lens who are fighting to avoid the relegation drop and will need to get better results than Toulouse and PSG to ensure safety. PSG, just a point above safety, face an unthinkable nightmare of falling into the second division after a spell of more than two and a half decades in top-flight football. A lot at stake on the last day in France….

In Scotland, Rangers and Celtic are both keeping up the pressure on each other. Celtic currently have a 4-point lead over Rangers but while Celtic have only one game remaining, Rangers have still three more to play in the league. In Bundesliga, Bayern Munich have already been crowned champions but their latest victory against MSV Duisburg relegated the latter to second-tier of German football. Hansa Rostock will be joining Duisburg after their 1-2 defeat to Leverkusen. Either of Nurnberg or Arminia Bielefeld will be relegated on the last day.

And finally…the axe fell down on Frank Rijkaard, the current Barcelona manger, after his side’s 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid during mid-week. A second season in a row without a trophy seems to be uncalled for in a gigantic club like Barcelona and his previous exploits of two successive league titles and Champions League glory have quickly been forgotten. Josep Guardiola who spent 11 years as a Barcelona player and has even captained the Catalan giants will take over reigns from Rijkaard next season onwards.

The Final Frontier…

Match No. 38! And yet the Premier League trophy remains unhanded, still un-kissed, its final destination unknown. The debate refuses to cease on whether the trophy will be staying at Old Trafford or making its way to Stamford Bridge. The colour that will sweep England is still questioned, will it be Red or will it Blue! On Sunday, on the final day, the Champion will be known…

But in the 16-year old history of the Premiership this isn’t the first time that English football had to wait with bated breath until the final game to crown its Champion. Travel back in time to the third Premiership battle, the season 1994-95. Manchester United were hunting for their third successive title while Blackburn Rovers wished to move a rank up from last season’s runners-up finish. With an 8-point lead and six games only remaining, Blackburn looked certain to accomplish this feat. But it wasn’t going to be that simple! Manchester United clawed their way back and before the last match of the 42-game season ManU trailed Blackburn by just two points.
On the final day, Kenny Dalglish took his Rovers team to his former club Liverpool while Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United traveled to Upton Park to face Harry Redknapp’s West Ham. It was Alan Shearer who opened the scoring for Blackburn but Liverpool were back on level terms with a goal from John Barnes. And then a late goal from Jamie Redknapp gave Liverpool a 2-1 win and left the destiny of the Premiership title at Upton Park. Liverpool had done Manchester United a favor and a victory for the Red Devils would have pushed them above Blackburn. In their battle against West Ham, the opening goal by Michael Hughes for the Hammers had been cancelled by Brian McClair for ManU. Successive attacks by Alex Ferguson’s men were then heroically kept at bay by West Ham’s keeper Ludek Miklosko to end the match in a 1-1 draw sparking wild celebrations amongst the Rovers fan as they dramatically clinched their first title since 1914!

Just a year later, the drama went down to the final day once again. Alex Ferguson was hoping to reverse the misery of the previous season, and battling it along with him was Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United. Manchester United were trailing Newcastle by 12 points by January but another splendid fight from ManU, similar to the one they had given Blackburn the previous year, reduced the gap between the top two. On the final day, unlike last year, Manchester United now led Newcastle United by two points.
Manchester United traveled to Middlesbrough to take on former player Bryan Robson’s team in their last match while Newcastle played hosts to Tottenham Spurs. There was not much drama as last year as Manchester United comfortably defeated Middlesbrough 3-0 with goals from David May, ex-Newcastle player Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs. Newcastle did not give themselves any outside chance as well by finishing their final match of the season at 1-1. The title was back at Old Trafford!

Three seasons later, it was back to a nail-biting finale for the Premiership. Not surprisingly, Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were in the middle of the action trying to keep out Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal from winning back-to-back titles. With four games remaining, both Manchester United and Arsenal were tied on 69 points. But ManU dropped two points when their next match ended in a 1-1 draw against Leeds and gave Arsenal a two-point lead. But Leeds were responsible again for creating turbulence in the title race when they won the penultimate match of the season against Arsenal 1-0. The balance was tilted in Manchester United’s favor with a narrow lead of one point. On the final day, Manchester United hosted who else but Arsenal’s greatest rivals Tottenham Spurs managed by Arsenal’s former manager George Graham while Arsenal took on Aston Villa. The drama began with Spurs taking the lead in the first-half against ManU and a possibility of scales tilting in Arsenal’s favor rising. But just before half-time David Beckham equalized for Manchester while minutes into the second-half Andy Cole scored the second goal giving Manchester United a 2-1 lead. At Highbury, Arsenal took the lead with Kanu’s goal in the second-half. The Arsenal faithful prayed for a Spurs goal but the Gods did not oblige and even though both ManU and Arsenal won their respective matches it was Feguson’s Manchester United that succeeded in yet another final day drama!

And Alex Ferguson will have to do it all over again but this time a new adversary stands against him in the form of Chelsea’s Avram Grant. An adversary who will meet him again in Moscow for the Champions League final.

It is the closest title race for the Premiership crown ever and going by history it will be a hell of a night on Sunday! Choose your colours…

The Big Four!

Kevin Keegan after his side’s defeat to Chelsea in a candid interview mentioned the domination of the Big Four in the Premiership, viz. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. He said that at best Newcastle can try to win the other league that is going on within the Premier League, i.e., the fight to finish fifth and earn a spot in the UEFA Cup competition. How true are these words by Keegan? Will the Premiership title remain a contest between these four teams year after year? Or do the others have a shot at it? The answers can be explored by looking at the changes that have occurred at the top over the history of the Premiership.

The Premiership began in the year 1992 taking the place of the old football League Division One. The first year saw Manchester United bagging their first Premiership title comfortably. For the next few years, the main title contenders used to be Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Blackburn won the title in 1994-95 season and Newcastle under Keegan came agonizingly close in the next year only to squander a 10-point lead to ManU. The 1996-97 title was also grabbed by Manchester United and Newcastle finished runners-up for a second time. Blackburn Rovers had started slipping by then after the sale of Alan Shearer to Newcastle and they finished 13th in the 1996-97 season. In the first five years of the Premiership, 8 different teams had finished in the top four but the Champions League slots at that time were limited to two for English clubs.

The 1997-98 season saw the emergence of Arsenal under Arsene Wenger and the rise of one of the current ‘Big Four’. They won the title that year and interestingly, the top four in the table were Arsenal, ManU, Liverpool and Chelsea! But it was also the emergence of Leeds United who finished fifth that caught the eye, for next season they moved a berth higher and became one of the title aspirants. In this season, the top three English clubs were given the chance to play in the Champions League.
Liverpool under Houllier started growing in strength from the next season onwards. They were title contenders for most part of the season along with Leeds but the real tussle continued between Manchester United and Arsenal. Newcastle under Bryan Robson then started to challenge for the title in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons and qualified for the Champions League in both these seasons. Yet the title was distributed between Arsenal and Manchester United only. The second five-year period in the Premiership thus saw 6 different teams finishing in the top four. Manchester United and Arsenal finished in the top four in each of the seasons in that period while Liverpool was in the top four in all but one season.

The 2002-03 season was once again contested between Arsenal and ManU with Alex Ferguson’s team clinching the top honors. The next season brought Roman Abramovich to Chelsea and thus began the rise of the last of the Big Four. They finished runners-up to Arsenal in 2003-04 but with the arrival of Jose Mourinho Chelsea won the next two league titles. The domination of the Big Four had begun. Or had it? In 2004-05, it was not Liverpool but their local rivals Everton who clinched the final Champions League spot. Liverpool though won the Champions League to qualify for the competition in the next season. Everton’s run in the European competition was short-lived as they were knocked out in the qualifying stage thus not making it to the group stages.
The last three seasons have seen the Big Four continue fighting for the league honors and no one apart from them has broken into the top four. But is the gap widening between these four teams and the rest of the League? It appears so but that may not be the case. While Everton broke into the top four in 2005, Tottenham almost edged out Arsenal in 2006 only to be denied by a defeat in the final game.

There is a massive gap financially between the top four and the rest of the league, no doubt about that. But this gap does not necessarily have to show on the pitch. The likes of Everton under Moyes and Spurs under Jol have given the Big Four a run for their money. And another case could be the FA Cup finals this season that will not be contested for the first time by any team of the Big Four since 1990-91 final between Spurs and Nottingham Forest. The key towards managing to grab the kind of money the top clubs earn is to qualify for Champions League. A spot in the UEFA Cup does not even come close to the big bucks a sustained run in the Champions League can bring. The winners of last year’s Champions League earned around 39 million euros in prize money compared to 7 million euros for the UEFA Cup winners. And to grab that spot in the top European competition, a team needs an ambitious manager who has a stable team built around a nucleus of players and a fair amount of luck so that there are no long-term injuries. Everton look the most likely team to break into the Big Four and it would be great if the likes of Keegan would not end their team’s chances even before the campaign kicks off.

The Premiership history tells us that there have been changes at the top, and with time and patience other clubs have managed to rise to the top levels and challenge for the title while the old ones have fallen down hard. Usually it has been change in personnel either in the squad or the management that has led to inconsistencies. So the emergence of the Big Four does not imply a complete domination of the Premiership but just needs a rallying call for the others to forego their attack on the fifth spot and instead penetrate into the top!

Real Madrid, take a bow!

Barcelona won their fixture against Valencia 6-0 to finally show their class. Villarreal won 2-0 against Getafe to stay close to the league leaders. But it was Real Madrid who stole the show! This giant of a club went to Osasuna knowing that a victory would guarantee them the Spanish title. But it was a drab affair in the first-half that ended goalless and led to conspiracy theorists speaking about Madrid wanting to postpone the title win for the next match against Barcelona. Well, this is how the second half-unfolded….
46’ : Fabio Cannovaro sent-off! Within seconds of restart, the experienced Real Madrid made a reckless and unnecessary challenge to earn his second booking of the night and leave Madrid with only ten men on the field.
65’ : Raul is replaced with Gonzalo Higuain, the star for Madrid in the last couple of matches.
83’ : Osasuna lead 1-0! Heinze is deemed correctly by the referee to have used his hand while clearing the ball in the penalty area. Francisco Punal steps up to take the penalty kick and coolly slots it straight through the middle to give Osasuna the lead and leaving many guessing the importance of the upcoming fixture between Madrid and Barca.
88’ : Madrid equalize! Real Madrid proved why they are worthy contenders for the crown of Champions. With only 9 players on the pitch (one player was on the sidelines getting treatment), a lovely free-kick from the side of the penalty area was headed into the side netting by the Dutchman Arjen Robben.
89’ : 2-1 to Madrid as super-sub delivers! With glory beckoning, Higuan smashed the winning goal from the right-side of the penalty area to allow the Madrid fans to uncork the champagne. It is Higuain’s third goal in as many matches, all coming from the bench.
And with the final whistle, the Madrid players and supporters were driven to ecstasy after clinching their 31st Spanish title and back-to-back titles. An important one for Bernd Schuster as well in his debut season at Madrid!
It has been a season of master class displays from the Spanish giants which has included 25 wins from 35 matches so far. It required a better head-to-head record last season to edge the title from Barcelona, but it has been a comfortable ride this season with the title already in the bag with 3 games still remaining. Madrid have been in the pole position since the second game of the season and no team has been able to give them a serious threat. An 8-match winning streak in the middle of the campaign helped them consolidate their lead and despite a hiccup after that which saw 5 defeats in the next 8 games, Madrid’s superiority has never been in doubt. 17 league goals from Raul, their talisman and 12 goals from the currently injured Van Nistelrooy along with solid performances from the defenders such as Cannavaro, Heinze and Ramos and a world-class keeper in Casillas makes Madrid the best team both offensively and defensively in Spain. Kudos to Real Madrid!!

It was a night of celebrations in Munich, Germany as well as a goalless draw for Bayern Munich away to Wolfsburg was enough for them to seal their 21st title with 3 matches still left to play. After finishing fourth last season, Ottmar Hitzfeld on his return has managed to assemble a star-studded team that has caught the eyes of many in Europe. With a resolute defence that has conceded only 18 goals in 31 matches in the league, quality midfielders like Ribery, Van Bommel and Ze Roberto and Luca Toni upfront spearheading the attack (21 league goals), Munich’s domination in the Bundesliga comes as no surprise. They had a strong run-in in the UEFA Cup as well reaching upto the semifinals of the competition which finally ended against Zenit St. Petersburg.

With interests being shown by many clubs in Europe for the Munich players, especially Luca Toni, it is imperative for Bayern to hold onto them as so to continue their domestic dominance and carry it into the European arena as well. They will be without the services of legend Oliver Kahn, though, who is hanging up his gloves after this season. An eighth title for Kahn and he is going out in style! So let the party begin for Bayern Munich are the champions of Germany!!

One win is all they need...

Manchester United are just a win away from reclaiming their title in what has been a spectacular Premiership season. If Chelsea lose at Newcastle on Monday night, Manchester United could be kicking off their final game at Wigan as the Champions. But the story is as much dramatic at the top as it is at the bottom. A win for Bolton Wanderers, their third in the last four games, has pushed them away from the relegation battle and guarantees them yet another season in the top flight. Fulham continue their sensational recovery and their first back-to-back win in the Premiership since year 2006 puts their destiny in their own hands as they are now just a place above the bottom three. With 9 points captured from a maximum 12, Fulham’s 2-0 win over Birmingham pushes them from the 19th spot to 17th in the table. The final day will decide the destiny for the bottom clubs as to which two will be joining Derby in the Championship next season. Last day fixtures are: Birmingham vs Blackburn, Derby vs Reading, Portsmouth vs Fulham.
The Premiership next season will be seeing the navy blue and white of West Bromwich Albion and the red and white of Stoke City. The Baggies (West Brom) clinched the Championship title with a 2-0 victory over QPR. And a goalless draw for Stoke against Leicester City was enough for the second-oldest Football league team to reach to the top tier of English football after a spell of 23 years! An emotional night indeed at the Britannia Stadium as the home supporters celebrated promotion, their rivals Leicester City were relegated to the third tier for the first time in the club’s history. It is a devastating time for the club’s supporters who had been relegated from the Premiership back in 2004 along with Leeds United and now move to League One. Leeds, on the other hand, could be making a return to the Championship as they battle it out with three other teams in the League One playoffs.

Rangers had a tough week in the SPL despite their heroics in Europe. In their 61st game of the season already, Rangers were held by Hibernian to a 0-0 scoreline while Celtic’s victory the previous day leaves Walter Smith fuming over the lack of break his players are getting for important games. Rangers have 7 more games remaining that include two cup finals while Celtic have only two more League fixtures left. Rangers need to utilize every ounce of strength left in them so that a sensational campaign does not end in shatters. The Spaniard Carlos Cuellar, Rangers defender, scooped the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year award to add to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League's Player of the Season award he has already won. No surprises there!

AC Milan played their part in the Italian Serie A by defeating rivals Inter Milan 2-1 with goals from Inzaghi and Kaka thus not allowing Inter to claim the title this week. Roma keep up the pressure with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sampdoria. Inter need only one win in the remaining two games to be crowned as champions. Milan’s victory also pushes them a point above Fiorentina for the final Champions League spot.
A dramatic injury-time winner from Ducasse helped Bordeaux to a 2-1 win away to Marseille and reduces Lyon’s lead to only 2 points with 2 games remaining. This one is going down to the wire….

And to wrap up, Jens Lehmann played his final game for Arsenal in their 1-0 victory against Everton. The German shot-stopper who will decide his future after the Euro matches was given a standing ovation by the Arsenal faithful at the Emirates Stadium after the match. He will be best remembered for his sensational performance in Arsenal’s 2006 Champions League campaign when he went for more than 500 minutes without conceding a goal and also became the first player to be sent off in a Champions League final. A job well done by the German international!
Lehmann’s teammate Flamini is reported to have agreed to a four-year deal with Milan. Woah!! http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3519560,00.html

England’s Top 2 are Europe’s Top 2!

2000, Real Madrid v/s Valenica, an all-Spanish final…. 2003, AC Milan v/s Juventus, an all-Italian final…. 2008, Manchester United v/s Chelsea, finally an all-English affair!

Barcelona could have been the only road-block to an all-English final for the first time in the history of the European Cup. But the long-serving servant of ManU, Paul Scholes smashed a splendid goal in the second leg and the only goal over 180 minutes of football to dislodge Barcelona and send them home wondering about the many changes that would definitely take place over the summer after a trophyless season. It was a moment to relish for Scholes to put ManU in their third European final especially since he had missed the dramatic 1999 cup win due to suspension.

And not surprisingly it is Chelsea who once again stand between Manchester United and the trophy. The rivalry between these two teams has been on the rise since Mourinho’s arrival. Last season, United derailed Chelsea’s dreams of winning a hattrick of Premiership titles but Chelsea went on to defeat them in the FA Cup final to salvage some pride. This season too Chelsea have come close to denting United’s title ambitions and they will relish to be the thorn in United’s neck at Moscow as well.
A memorable semi-final clash with Liverpool showed the character of the Blues and their desire to win their first ever European trophy. The last seven clashes between Chelsea and Liverpool prior to the midweek game had resulted in a meager 5 goals. All that was forgotten and the flood gates opened up in a thrilling 3-2 win for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with 3 of these 5 goals being scored in extra time! Chelsea fans’ hearts will go out to Frank Lampard whose mother passed away last week yet he stepped up and scored a crucial goal from the penalty spot in extra time.
And now as action in the Premiership race comes to a boiling finale, the season will still not be over for these two English clubs as Moscow awaits….

In the UEFA Cup semi-final, it was a night of firsts for the Russian Champions Zenit St. Petersburg. They handed German giants Bayern Munich a lesson in football with a 4-0 thrashing at home that ensured their entry into their first ever European Cup final. A splendid night for Dick Advocaat’s team indeed! But striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, one of the goal scorers, will be kicking himself for picking up an unnecessary booking that puts him out of the finals at Manchester.
And the team to meet them in the finals is Advocaat’s former club Rangers from Scotland. One cannot speak highly enough of Walter Smith’s men. They were the epitome of resilience and fortitude against Fiorentina who sent wave after wave of attack but could not break the Rangers’ defence. Carlos Cueller who had a sensational game in defence alongwith Weir had to deal with 29 attempts at goal by Fiorentina compared to 7 for Rangers. And even though Cousin, the Rangers forward got himself stupidly sent off in extra time, Rangers hung onto a goalless draw and took the game to penalties. After Vieri (Fiorentina) skied his penalty over the bar Novo slotted in his kick calmly to put them into their first European final and their third final of this season itself. Rangers’ phenomenal season continues!

So be sure that you have no pending work on these all-important dates….

Wednesday 14th May – Zenit St. Petersburg v/s Rangers (UEFA Cup Finals)
Wednesday 21st May – Manchester United v/s Chelsea (Champions League Finals)