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.

countdown

soo its the day before the long awaited champions league quarter finals all the teams have been mentally preparing as well as its fans millions around the world will be watching to see which giant will make its mark in the first leg to well position themselfs for advancement. all bets point to inter milan to defend their crown but the struggling azzuri will have to overcome the worlds best if it intends to do so. messi and barcelona are hungry to regain its crown and they are willing to go toe to toe with the competition to insure success but ronaldo and real madrid will not go down easy after having lost 5 0 to barcelona and inevitably falling out of contention in the primera liga the champions league has become a must win..but the match thats got all european fans itching is the chelsea man utd game... chelsea having dropped points in 5 straight games they beat manchester united during the league to end its run of bad form...this rival match will be a must see for all

for all recap action from the first leg this week check out onexhance.yolasite.com

3 28

everyone loves the champions league but no one likes to wait two weeks for the action. good thing that this weekend was international weekend. most big european teams took a break from league play to allow the battle of nations to take place. over the weekend we saw two big matches take place on espn. Argentina and Messi took on Donovan and the USA at the new meadowlands stadium it was an action packed game which saw 18 year old phenom Juan Agudelo score the eaqualizing goal to salvage a draw for the usa. the match ended 1 1. Sunday we saw the Scots take on the samba boys of Brazil. the two giants played at Wembley stadium of the 9 encounters Brazil is still unbeaten Neymar seen as one of the "next big things" scored two goals to ensure brazil of a 2 0 win. Next week the champions league continues check out OneXhance.yolasite.com to see all the new action.

wrap up cl

the week of champions league futbol has gone by quicker than we wanted to but finally the moments we have been counting down since day 1 who would be in the final 8 competeing for the quarter finals. chelsea's 0-0 tie against Kobenhaven saw Chelsea advance through a 2-0 aggregate from the first leg and Real Madrids 3-0 thumping of Lyon was enough to see Madrid through also. The quarter final looks action filled and oozing with class these 8 teams will fight tooth and nail to become europes greatest team. more information can be found at One Xhance

go to Onexhance.yolasite.com for more information about the champions league

round 16 second leg

and finally to yesterday where a great day of soccer was witnessed by millions, the first game was Manchester United vs. Marseille these two teams tied 0 0 in the first encounter two weeks ago but yesterday when push came to shove the Red devils took Marseille by storm with a 2 1 win as Javier "chicarito" Hernandez the mexican sensation picked up a brace to insure Manchester succes, but the game that everyone around the world couldnt wait to see, last years champions league final contestants, Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich two weeks ago the two giants met in the San Siro in Italy as both teams fought long and hard it would be the flying Dutchman (Arjen Robben) who would deliver the final blow in the game with a wonder strike from outside the box that Julio Ceaser couldnt hold on to and spilled it to Mario Gomez who made no mistake and gave Bayern the 1 0 win. yesterday we saw the two go at it in a heated blow for blow match, the game had non stop intensity and excitement what seemed to be a sure Bayern Munich win slipped away in the 88th minute when goran Pandev the masadonian who was relatively quiet all game came in out of nowhere and topshelfed the ball to garentee not only the 3 2 win over bayern but a spot in the quarter finals for the defending champions. today we will witness the round of 16 wrap up as lyon of france meet Real madrid in the second leg and Chelsea play Kobenhaven.

champions round of 16

last thursday we saw the champions league take a turn in history, AC Milan and Tottenham saw the second leg of Round 16, Tottenham were the victors in the first encounter a late goal by Peter Crouch insured Tottenham an advantage going into this second leg, the match ended 0-0 and through aggregate Crouch's goal in the first leg was enough to send Tottenham into the Quarter finals and AC Milan home. Another game that didnt fail to shock the public was Shalke and Valencia the two teams played to a 1 1 draw in the first leg but with both teams fired up and ready to rumble the second leg was a great performance by both teams but it was Shalkes 3 1 win over Valencia which secured them a spot in the quarterfinals as well

second leg week one

i know i was a little late delivering the news, but with that said last week was the second leg for the round 16. on Tuesday we saw Barcelona and arsenal meet head to head at the blaugrana in Spain, arsenal with the 2 1 aggregate advantage over Barcelona stepped into Spain with one thing in mind; winning. all didn't go as planned as Barcelona took the game to arsenal and win at home 3 1 taking the aggregate advantage of 4 3 and advancing to the quarterfinal. miles away Shakhatar and Roma played their second leg, Roma already having lost the first encounter 3 2 suffered a second straight defeat 3 0 and made an embarrassing exit from the sweet 16. allowing Shakhatar to advance to the quarterfinal.

One Xhance

Check out the new website:

OneXhance.yolasite.com

champions

yesterday was the champions league round of 16. teams fought hard and long to keep themselves in contention for the one trophy dreamed by all professionals playing in Europe. Chelsea beat danish side Copenhagen 2-0 with two splendid goals by Nicolas anelka. Chelsea's form of recent has dipped in the Barclay's premier league but a 2-0 win in the champions league might be exactly what Chelsea needed to lift spirits and put some fight back into the side battling its way to the top of the table from 5th place. on another note, wonder substitute Karim benzema scored against old team Lyon in France yesterday to put Madrid 1-0 up but a late goal from gomis ensured Lyon would stand a fighting chance in the return leg in Madrid. this after noon we will see Manchester united play Olympic Marseille and defending champions inter Milan take on 2010 runners up bayern Munich, a fun filled day of soccer ....cant wait to see what happens!!