Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1 (agg. 3-1) 2nd leg Champions League quarter final 12th April 2011

Champions League quarter final 12th April 2011 - Man Utd 2 Chelsea 1 Manchester United go through 3-1 on aggregate

Manchester United and Chelsea battled out this gripping quarter final Champions League match at Old Trafford with the home team enjoying a one goal cushion after beating the Blues at the 'Bridge. After an intriguing 43 minutes, Mexican goal poacher Javier Hernández turned in the opener from short range. Hernández in my opinion is a good bet for the Young Player of the Year and arguably the Player of the Year as for both accolades there is no blatant potential winner.

Wayne Rooney has peaked his form just at the right time for the Red Devils. Drifting deep gelling play all over the pitch, showing bullish strength on the ball and showing excellent vision in general. A class act.

I thought that Chelsea looked overall second best. In the second half Frank Lampard missed a half chance and Drogba had a great free kick stopped by Van der Saar. The visitors were stopped in their tracks in the 69th minute when Ramires was sent off.

Then all madness kicked. Drogba scored a sweet goal equalising in the 76th minute and then immediately from the next wave of Man Utd Park Ji-Sung scored with his left foot.

The home team then retained the ball excellently, displaying their European pedigree in the last 20 minutes.

Premier League news 09/04/2011

Premier League football review 9th April 2011

The sun is out, football fans across the land will be getting their bellies out at football matches this afternoon at 3pm. However, the football fixtures to some degree will be overshadowed to some degree by heinous amounts of sports betting on this year’s Grand National (also at 3pm) where the 40 horses will be battling it out on the toughest horse race of the year. Good luck everyone who is having a punt! Of course, don’t forget the US Masters golf and the Grand Prix too. I've found myself reverting back to a teenage hobby of checking out grid iron which is another fun one - American football betting makes you realise that a little knowledge isn't necessarily a bad thing when speculating to accumulate!

So back on to football, it is Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers that host the first match of the day with visitors Everton looking to push themselves into Europe League contention. For the home team, Adlene Guedioura is back after a long term injury however Molineaux favourite Stephen Hunt is out with a hernia injury making things tough for Mick McCarthy. For David Moyes, he is hoping to get back key men Cahill (Everton’s top scorer with 9 goals) and Rodwell.

West Ham United have a tricky away tie at the Reebok and time is running out for the Hammers as they languish in 18th position. Despite showing good form in the controversial game against Man Utd where they went 2 up they have lost their last 7 games and need to get something against Bolton Wanderers. Avram Grant has a full squad to pick from which is a lift for West Ham but Bolton are a tough nut to crack at their place. Recent England debutant Scott Parker has been nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Players' Player of the Year award which has to give the Hammers a confidence boost – they would hope to keep hold of Parker who has been a class act all season.

At the top of the Prem, Chelsea and Manchester United are both at home playing Wigan and Fulham respectively. You would expect these teams that meet on Wednesday in the Champions League to both win but I predict that Wigan will give Chelsea a good game as they are fighting for survival with a real threat of relegation.

Tottenham Hotspur are at home to Stoke and will be licking their wounds after a 4-0 battering against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Spurs are favourites as Stoke have had a bad run of form, losing their last 6 matches.

Premier League fixtures 09/04/2011

Wolverhampton v Everton, 12:45pm - Molineaux

Blackburn v Birmingham, 15:00 - Ewood Park

Bolton v West Ham, 15:00 - Reebook

Chelsea v Wigan, 15:00 - The Bridge

Man Utd v Fulham, 15:00 - Old Trafford

Sunderland v West Brom, 15:00 - The stadium of Light

Tottenham v Stoke, 15:00 - White Hart Lane

Champions League quarter final - Real Madrid vs Tottenham

What a season for the Spurs as they have romantically knocked out Inter and AC Milan only to find themselves this evening at the glorious Bernabeu to play Real Madrid (and yes I am a Tottenham fan).

2 great managers, Joes Mourinho and Harry Redknapp will battle it out with their attacking football styles. We know the special one well but with Real they are suited better to extravagant attack than Chelsea were. Christiano Ronaldo isn't 100% but will start and his presence will frighten the visiting Spurs backline, no doubt they will show him how much they've missed him in the Prem with a kick or two in the first 5 mins.

For Spurs, they have demonstrated a marked improvement in discipline in away games. Having Sandros in these games has proved invaluable - he has looked more comfortable in the Champions League than in the Premiership. Peter Crouch has also been pivotal to the Tottenham success in Europe, allowing them to play the Christmas tree formation and actually look strong in defence as well as their traditional explosive counter attack.

For the mighty Spurs, Van der Vaart (signing of the season - fact) is key. It has to be said that Ronaldo will be key to the home team's chances but lets be honest - Real Madrid are favourites, especially in this home tie.

I will put it down so that I can never forget it, I will take a 2-1 loss tonight...hopefully nothing really bad happens. Either way, Redknapp has over achieved at Tottenham and it is no wonder people like Mourinho are now tipping him for the England job.