Portsmouth 0 - 1 Chelsea Highlights
Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faint title hopes alive with a late winner to secure a 1-0 victory against Portsmouth at a rain-soaked Fratton Park.
The Ivory Coast international pounced to convert a low cross from Jose Bosingwa to hand interim coach Guus Hiddink his fourth straight win as Chelsea boss.
Scoring Summary
Didier Drogba (79)
Manchester United vs Tottenham Highlights
Watch all the Man United vs Tottenham highlights online from their carling cup final match.
Man United - Tottenham
Carling Cup Highlights
Sunday 1st March 2009
Tottenham will look for carling cup glory again against Manchester United today. Tottenham won the trophy last year but Manchester United are huge favourites to lift it this afternoon.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United’s dream of an unprecedented Quadruple could begin or end with their trip to Wembley Stadium to contest the 2008-2009 Carling Cup. Standing in their way will be the defending Carling Cup champions Tottenham Hotspur.
Unlike in previous years, Manchester United have consistently fielded strong (albeit younger) teams in this competition, and as such, there will be many established first-team players who could end up getting shut out of the lineup for the Final. Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he will give preference to the players who helped get United into the Final, and he’s already indicated that midfielder Darron Gibson will start. Additionally, anything short of a starting role for Carlos Tevez, the joint leading scorer in the competition with Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko, will surely result in a massive uproar that could distract the club and seal Tevez’s departure in the summer.
You wouldn’t expect Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic, or Rio Ferdinand to miss out, which only diminishes the number of spots available to the rest of the team. Additionally, Ferguson has tipped Gary Neville to lead the club out of the tunnel, which can’t make Rafael (who has started every single Carling Cup match thus far) happy. Record-breaking goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar, who hasn’t started a single Carling Cup match, could also lose out to Ben Foster, while Dimitar Berbatov could find himself on the bench against his old club. Clearly, with a club as deep and as talented as United, it’s inevitable that a lot of excellent players will have to miss out. However, the players at Manchester United know that the goal is not to win one, two, or even three trophies. The goal will be to win four. And that will, no doubt, keep the team focused no matter who makes the squad for this match.
Harry Redknapp, however, could have the opposite problem as he’s hoping to find enough quality to give United a good run for their money. Defender Ledley King is still a question mark as a result of nagging knee and hamstring injuries. Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe remains a long-term absence due to injury, new acquisitions Robbie Keane, Wilton Palacios, Carlo Cudicini, and Pascal Chimbonda are all cup-tied, and Frazier Campbell is ineligible to play per the terms of his loan agreement from Manchester United. As such, Redknapp will have no choice but to play out-of-favor Darren Bent up front with Pavlyuchenko while praying that no one gets hurt against Hull City on Monday.
Tottenham has a UEFA Cup tie in midweek against Shakhtar Donetsk, but have all but conceded defeat to the Ukraine side that earned a 2-0 victory against Spurs last week. Harry Redknapp showed his intentions by resting Luka Modric, Jonathan Woodgate, Wilson Palacios, Aaron Lennon and Carlo Cudicini for that loss, and it’s very likely that he’ll do the same thing for the return trip to Donetsk. For Redknapp, the priorities are retaining the Carling Cup and avoiding relegation. It’s a far cry, indeed, from Sir Alex Ferguson’s lofty ambitions.
So, Tottenham will be a massive underdog going into this match. Do they have a chance at winning? Of course they do. Anything can happen in a cup final, and if it goes to a shoot-out, they have one of the best shot-stoppers available in Heurelho Gomes. Also, remember that Tottenham was a big underdog against Chelsea in last season’s Carling Cup Final, and we all remember how that one turned out. Plus, Harry Redknapp knows a little something about winning at Wembley, having won the F.A. Cup with Portsmouth last season (and eliminating Manchester United along the way, at Old Trafford no less).
Additionally, Tottenham played Manchester United tough when they met in the Premier League earlier in the season. They were also leading United, at Old Trafford, during their fourth-round F.A. Cup tie before United stormed back behind two quick goals from Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov. If Spurs play the way they’re capable of playing, then it could be a long night for Manchester United.
Of course, Manchester United are heavily favored for a reason. They’ve romped to the top of the Premiership on the strength of 14 consecutive clean sheets in the league, a run that was finally stopped by Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. They’re playing their best football of the year and just got important starters Rooney and Patrice Evra back from injury. They’ll have a tough match in midweek against Inter Milan, but should be focused and ready to contest the Carling Cup.
Will Manchester United’s dream of a Quadruple come crashing down? Or will they dispatch Harry’s boys with the same kind of ruthless efficiency that they’ve displayed with their league rivals? In any event, it should be a great match.
Match Highlights
Real Madrid vs Liverpool Champions League
Real Madrid are in perfect shape to deal a blow to compatriot Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side in the Champions League on Wednesday, coach Juande Ramos said.
Ramos was halfway through his disappointing spell at Tottenham Hotspur the last time he took on the Liverpool boss on the final day of the 2007-08 Premier League season when Spurs lost 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
Now, Benitez brings his side to the Bernabeu for the last-16, first leg to face a Real side on a run of nine Primera Liga wins in a row while Liverpool's domestic title challenge faded further on Sunday with another disappointing draw.
Match Highlights
Chelsea vs Juventus Champions League
Nicolas Anelka has scored 21 goals for Chelsea this season but it is the form of fellow striker Didier Drogba which could have the bigger influence on their Champions League campaign.
The Premier League side take on Juventus in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday and the Ivorian striker who has missed large chunks of the campaign through injury looks set to play a vital role.
Internazionale 0 - 0 Manchester United Champions League
Sir Alex Ferguson will have to do something he has managed just once in 13 meetings and defeat Jose Mourinho after a masterful Manchester United display went unrewarded after a goalless draw in the San Siro.
Fergie disappointed not to score
Despite a succession of clear chances, including one in the last seconds that Cristiano Ronaldo cannoned into Julio Cesar's chest, a vital away goal would not come.
So while Sir Alex Ferguson's men will be confident of getting a goal in the second leg at Old Trafford, they remain vulnerable to Mourinho's guile.
It was expected a meeting between the undisputed kings of Italy and England would be a keenly-fought affair with little give on either side.
In fact the first half turned out to be a landslide in every respect but the scoreboard.
The sheer speed of United's movement caught Inter napping almost as much as Ferguson's decision to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench.
Their swift snappy passing, allied to movement off the ball gave Inter a problem they struggled to solve. Indeed, they would not have managed it without an outstanding individual performance from Julio Cesar.
Brazilian goalkeepers may have been derided down the years but no-one was complaining among a noisy and increasingly agitated home contingent as Cesar made a string of saves to keep United at bay.
Ryan Giggs was denied at one point but the main victim was Ronaldo, who took aim with a series of free-kicks and found the Brazilian in the way every time, sometimes theatrically but always effectively.
Ronaldo did beat him once with a point-blank header but it flashed wide.
The world player of the year was a conclusive winner of his head-to-head duel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic though.
Mourinho rates the Swede as number one on the planet right now but there was precious little evidence to back up such a lofty claim as United's defence, reinforced by John O'Shea and Jonny Evans - who both overcame fitness concerns to start - kept him at bay, with Adriano virtually non-existent.
The major worry, especially with a coach as wily as Mourinho in the opposing dug-out, must be United's failure to score.
It was not as though they lacked the opportunity. Lone striker Dimitar Berbatov surged clear in the box at one point, only to look up and see no-one in support as he prepared to cross.
Inter's frustrations were summed up just before the break when Cesar's deputy, Francesco Toldo, was booked for protesting on the touchline at another decision that had gone against his team.
Ferguson must have sensed Inter would finally flex their muscles after the break, and so it proved.
Adriano had already flashed one shot wide when he crashed to the turf under Ferdinand's challenge as Javier Zanetti crossed.
The Brazilian screamed for a penalty but TV replays suggested Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo was right to say no.
But Inter tails were up and Stankovic was narrowly wide with another shot before attempting to release Ibrahimovic, who had strayed narrowly offside when otherwise he would have been clear.
United were not quite clinging on as their opponents had been earlier. However, they were being tested and it took them some time to regain their earlier composure.
Their goal threat had become sporadic with Zanetti's far-post clearance to prevent Giggs reaching Ronaldo's low cross the summit of United's danger until the veteran Welshman was allowed to gallop into the Inter box, where his shot was blocked by Ivan Cordoba and Carrick fired the rebound over.
After seeing Cordoba fail to make the most of a Mario Balotelli corner, Ferguson gave Rooney seven minutes to make a difference, and was no doubt not meaning for Rooney to pick up a booking for a foul on Stankovic.
However, it was a peripheral moment, with Ronaldo taking centre stage one last time to unleash another 20-yard thunderbolt. Cesar remained defiant and saved with his chest.
Arsenal 1 - 0 AS Roma Champions League Highlights
Arsenal gave themselves a slender 1-0 advantage to take to Rome after a first-half penalty from Robin van Persie in their Champions League clash at Emirates Stadium.
Scoring summary
Robin Van Persie (pen 37)
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