All Spanish Semi Final

With ten minutes on the clock, David Villa – who ended an eleven-game scoreless streak against CA Osasuna at the weekend – came close to finding the net again after stealing in from the right to send a shot flying just past Casillas's far post from the edge of the area. Josep Guardiola's side fashioned another opening through the middle with half-time approaching, Messi squeezing past the combined challenge of Xabi Alonso and Raúl Albiol before slipping a low pass through for Xavi whose shot was parried by Casillas. As the teams went off for the break, Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper José Pinto was sent off following an incident involving a number of players from both sides. Mourinho introduced Emmanuel Adebayor at the restart and immediately Madrid's attack looked more muscular, Ronaldo going close from an Alonso free-kick before firing over from a set piece of his own. Madrid's momentum was checked in the 61st minute when Pepe was shown a red card for a high challenge on Daniel Alves, Mourinho being sent to the stands for his own protests. Barcelona quickly regained the upper hand, Villa bringing the best out of Casillas after cutting in from the left. Messi then took over, although his first goal owed much to Afellay, the substitute exploiting a Marcelo slip to advance into the penalty area and provide a cross that was steered in at the near post for Messi's tenth goal in this season's competition. The Argentinian needed little help for his 11th three minutes from time, collecting a pass from Sergio Busquets just inside the Madrid half and racing past four defenders before slotting past the exposed Casillas. In addition to Pepe, Madrid will also be without Sergio Ramos – booked early in the second half – in Barcelona next week. The Catalan club, meanwhile, are within touching distance of another final, possibly a repeat of the 2009 showpiece against Manchester United FC.

Manchester vs. Schalke

United, appearing in their 12th semi-final, completely dominated a Schalke side new to this stage of the competition and got the victory their superiority deserved through strikes from Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney. The winning margin would have been greater but for the brilliance of home goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who made a string of fine saves before United finally broke through with two goals in three minutes midway through the second half, leaving Schalke with a mountain to climb in next Wednesday's return.
United were looking dangerous every time they went forward. In the 14th minute Javier Hernández was put clear by Park Ji-Sung but failed to beat Neuer, and the Mexican then lashed a shot wide of the far post after getting clear on the right. For United beating the inspired Neuer was proving easier said than done. After throwing out a hand to thwart Giggs's downward header, the Germany goalkeeper stood tall to foil him again after Rooney had sent the Welshman running through on goal on the stroke of half-time.
Schalke showed only briefly as an attacking force and United eventually got their goals. The breakthrough arrived after 67 minutes when Rooney ran infield from the left and, holding off Peer Kluge, slipped a pass through to Giggs who put the ball through Neuer's legs to become the oldest player to score in the competition. Two minutes later it was two as Rooney collected a threaded pass from Hernández and slipped a first-time finish low to Neuer's right.

new ground

we had a great day at school people from the organization New Ground came in and our class was able to use some of our social media skills to help promote New Ground and get it noticed. Everyone in the class conrtributed to a different part of the experience. New ground is a great non profit oraganization. New Ground is a unique agency committed to educating and empowering families and Veterans who are caught in the vicious cycle of homelessness. We recognize that the key to resolving homelessness is not only to help those who are homeless now, but also to prevent it in the future. Our goal is to break the cycle of homelessness and empower families and Veterans to function independently, for generations to come. this was a great way to put our skills to use on something productive in a positive way.

Second leg Wrap up 2

on april 13th we witnessed leg 2 of the quarter final wrap up. we saw Tottenham vs Real Madrid. in the previous leg Real took the game 4-0 and were home, now tottenham were at its ends attempting to fight a goliath score line just to get through. the game started even and stayed even through out the match until one blast from Cristiano Ronaldo was too hot to handle for tottenhams goalie Gomez. the ball seemed to slip out of his hands and roll in, sadly this was the only goal of the match but with the aggregate 4-0 in reals favor that only goal indicated that real was going through to the semi finals for the first time in quite a while. over in Italy we saw Shalke and Inter milan battle it out the game was very even similar to the first leg but the aggregate only proved to be fuel for inter as they pushed on trying to get back into the competition and defend their crown. it simply was not the day for them though, because german side Shalke had other plans. shalke came into this game as the underdog but at the end of the day the 2-1 scoreline saw them leave italy as top dog and headed to the semifinal of the Champions League. so in the semi finals Shalke will take on Manchester united and a couple miles away we have an all Spanish Semi Final with Barcelona taking on Real Madrid.

Second leg Wrap up

two weeks ago on 4/12 we witnessed Manchester united take on Chelsea. Manchester united went in to the second leg with a 1-0 advantage over the blues but the boys from Stamford bridge knew they would have to fight tooth and nail to go through to the semi final of the competition. Long time faithful ji sung park from south Korea and Javier Hernandez the little Mexican gave united birth into the semifinal. didier drogba scored a consolation goal but it was simply not enough for the blues to take the reds. over in Ukraine we Shakhatar home facing Barcelona. Barcelona took the previous encounter 5-1 and shakhatar has been unbeaten at home for 2 years and if there was ever a team to end that run of form it would have to be Barcelona. they went into Ukraine with their minds made up about the semifinals and how they wanted to be in it and took the game straight to shakhatar, Barcelona was only able to squeeze in one goal but it was just enough to take them through to the semifinal.

first leg wrap up

today we saw the final day of the first leg, Manchester Utd. took on premier league rivals Chelsea. the two giants met at Stamford Bridge, chelsea was home in the first leg and failed to keep their unbeaten streak alive. Manchester United took the lead through none other than Wayne Rooney. Cheslea fought hard and long to attain an equalizing goal but the blues never saw it the first game ended with manchester up one goal to the good and chelsea will have their work cut out for them in the second leg return match at old trafford. over in spain we saw powerhouse Barcelona play Shakhatar and Barcelona completely dominated the play. Watching Barcelona play is like watching profesionals play children they make it look so easy every pass shot and cross is just filled with class, the game ended and Barcelona march to the second leg with a 5 2 victory over its opponent. there is no telling what will happen in the second leg return matches for a lot of teams have a lot to prove and will have to get it everything they have and more if they want to continue on the road to wembley. for information on champions league play visit my website at Onexhance.yolasite.com

4 5 11

so finally the day we’ve been waiting for its been two weeks since the world last saw some action and the first leg of the quarter finals in champions league play certainly did not upset. Today was the first leg of champions league play which saw Real Madrid take on north London club Tottenham. 15 minutes into the game Tottenham's lone striker peter crouch saw red for two careless slide tackles, this left Tottenham shocked and in shambles. Real Madrid not only went up a goal but up a man in just the first 20 min of play. Real Madrid insured security for the club when they finished the game 4 0 at home to Tottenham, they had a few good chances but playing real Madrid with a full squad was hard already, with a man down nearly impossible. some positives for Real Madrid saw Kaka come in off the bench for a $200 million connection assist to Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka has been hurt all season and in 15 minutes of play the Brazilian superstar sent a scintillating cross with his left foot for Cristiano Ronaldo who punished the ball and Tottenham to score the 4th and final goal of the game. We also witnessed defending champions Inter Milan play underdog of the entire quarter final Shalke. The match started off with a wonder strike by Stankovic of Inter Milan from half field with in the first few minutes of the game. Nobody would have guessed what was going to happen next. The match was a constant fight back and forth Shalke gave Inter the game they never expected, the two teams were tied at 2 2 at halftime, but after the break it was all Shalke from there. Inter was reduced to 10 men after they had one of the players sent off. Shalke went on to create one of the biggest champions league upsets in a very long time. The match ended with Shalke 5 goals and Inter Milan 2 goals, no telling what will happen during this journey now. For more information on the champions league visit Onexhance.yolasite.com.