Messi Double Brings Barcelona Closer to Wembley Final

Messi scored a magnificent double at the Bernabeu

Clasicos are always quite a lot of fun. While often there isn't too much football played due to scuffles, pre-match press room mind games, and the ridiculous amount of red cards often handed out, the football which is played is often brilliant. It was Lionel Messi again, scoring two goals the second more beautiful than the first. While Mourinho might be trying to steal the spotlight with conspiracy rants, it's impossible to take away from Messi's magical second goal which helps secure Barcelona's spot in the Champions League final.

It's best to start at the beginning with this match, as there was plenty of action. Mourinho organized his Real Madrid side to stifle the match in the best way possible. A tight midfield trio of Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and Pepe was prepared to shut anything down which Xavi and his teammates tried to create. While their job was to shut down midfield passing, they were also set up to stop Lionel Messi. Mourinho also chose to play Ronaldo as a lone striker, and while the greased up Portuguese player moaned, Adebayor replaced Ozil at halftime to give Ronaldo something to work with.

But in the first half Barcelona didn't fall in Mourinho's tactical trap. Guardiola must have predicted a defensive display from Real (I know, what a surprise), and therefore ordered his players to practice passing. The blaugrana kept the ball, passing around the Real Madrid bunker in little triangles and other geometrical patterns. 

The match wasn't all passing around. Because Real Madrid were constantly chasing the ball, there were plenty of late tackles and interventions which broke up the match and helped tension rise in the Santiago Bernabeu. At halftime a scuffle on the field almost finished in a fight, and referee Wolfgang Stark awarded a red card to Barcelona's substitute keeper Pinto. The first of the match.

In the second half Real Madrid now had the big frame of Adebayor to hit long balls to, whenever they got possession. But the match took a forseeable turn in the 61st minute when Pepe came flying in, studs up onto Dani Alves's leg. The Brazilian was spun around before he hit the ground, crumpled in pain holding his leg. The referee produced an immediate red card, leaving Real Madrid yet again with only ten men to play the match with. Mourinho's sarcastic clapping earned him an expulsion along with a free seat in the stands. From there he (not-so) secretly slipped notes with information through people to his assistant coach, who made the necessary tactical adjustments so that they wouldn't be completely humiliated.

Tricky Jose...

Fifteen minutes after Pepe saw red, Messi made his permanent mark on the match. Substitute Afellay received the ball out wide on the right wing, and a low cross to Messi was tapped in through Iker Casillas's legs. While the goal didn't exude the usual brilliance which Messi's goals do, it was still a breathtaking moment, and it makes you wonder, did he mean to nutmeg Casillas? 

About ten minutes later the Bernabeu witnessed brilliance in its purest form. Messi took the ball from Xavi, running alone at the line of four Real Madrid defenders. He runs by the midfield duo of Xabi Alonso and Lassana Diarra, skips past a defender, then another, around a third, keeps going all alone until he's right in front of Casillas and then deftly slots it into the bottom corner. Words truly cannot describe the sheer magnificence of this goal.

Messi dancing past the Real Madrid backline before scoring the second goal of the match

It was over. Not just the match, but the tie seems finished as well. While Real Madrid will put up a fight at the Camp Nou, this decisive 2-0 victory seems to have shown that for this season at least, Barcelona are the best in Spain. Thanks to Messi, Barcelona have defeated their rivals yet again, and are now much closer to the Champions League final at Wembley.

Best Images of Real Madrid's Copa Del Rey Win Over Barcelona

Now that Real Madrid has defeated Barcelona parity has been restored to Spain, and maybe all of Europe. Their last game against the Catalans finished 1-1, and Mourinho's team took that draw (which virtually won La Liga for Barcelona) as a victory. But now Real can actually celebrate an El Clasico victory and a trophy.

The Copa del Rey final went into extra time, with Cristiano Ronaldo heading the dramatic winner. The Portuguese superstar's goal allowed Jose Mourinho to claim his first trophy as Real Madrid manager, ending Real's three year drought without trophies. Now Real have to face Barcelona two more times in the Champions League semifinal, and things are looking a lot different then they had just days ago. Maybe we'll see Real Madrid progress past Barcelona to the final of the Champions League? Or will Guardiola get a reaction from his players? It's very tough to call.

I snooped around on the internet for the most memorable photos of Real's Copa Del Rey victory which ended an 18 year drought for the particular trophy.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the disappointment and celebrations at the end of the match:

Adebayor seems happy to have left Manchester for Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the hero of the match celebrates with the cup.

Iker Casillas kissing the Copa del Rey trophy.

Real disappointment for Barcelona. (Sorry about the pun)

Pique looks slightly disappointed as the Real Madrid staff and players celebrate.

A formal handshake between the two coaches...

right before Mourinho is thrown into the air by his joyous players.

Real Madrid and Barcelona Draw In Foreshadowing Clasico

Guardiola awkwardly watches Sergio Busquets and Mourinho
nuzzle noses in a memorable moment of the match

After my makeshift preview of El Clasico, things turned out exactly as I didn't think they would. While I was expecting an exciting battle between two sides wanting to crush each other, it turned out to be a fairly tiring affair to watch, especially the first half. The game eventually finished 1-1, with two goals scored from the penalty spot.

While Barcelona are a wonderfully inventive machine, it seemed as if Real Madrid had gotten themselves stuck inside the cogs of Barca's very technical system. Real started as a nuisance to Barcelona, nothing more nothing less. While Barcelona did their best to keep possession, Real defended deep and scrappily, stopping the game often for petty free kicks and other useless happenings.

Jose Mourinho's mastermind idea of putting Pepe into the midfield worked out perfectly, as the Portuguese-Brazilian was merciless in his aim to kill everything blaugrana. Alongside Khedira and Xabi Alonso, a three man wall was formed in front of Madrid defence, giving Barcelona a very tough job to do. While Messi's brilliance was shown in spurts, forcing Casillas to a good save as his defence panic, the Argentine was unable to stamp his authority on the first half.

Casillas got a hand to but was unable to save Messi's penalty

Yet Real Madrid were also fairly dangerous when they wanted to. Their cautious play was only effective going forward from set pieces, where they came very close to scoring with headers flashed wide. But Barcelona were dangerous as well, with David Villa brought down by Casillas in the box, risking a penalty for the Catalans. Simply stated, I've seen penalties given for less. But the first half drew to a close, Mourinho's mind churned through tactical systems and inequalities while Guardiola's speakers blasted out inspirational Coldplay in the dressing room.

The second half was sparked to life a few minutes in, when Raul Albiol's snake-grapple-takedown on David Villa resulted in his direct expulsion and a penalty for Barca. With laser pens flashing into Messi's concentrating eyes, the Argentine coolly trotted his run-up and put the spot kick into the back of the net. It was a disappointing start of the second half for Real, and things didn't look to get much better as Barcelona began to express themselves artistically in dominant possession.

Pepe wildly celebrating Ronaldo's equalizer

Jose Mourinho decided that it was all or nothing, and he substituted Benzema with Ozil and Di Maria with Adebayor. The pair of substitutes provided a necessary hunger which revived their teammates into a frantic push in the final ten minutes of the match. All this newfound Real pressure culminated when Marcelo earned a penalty as Dani Alves brought him down. Not to be bested by the short Argentine, Ronaldo smashed the penalty into the top corner in the 82nd minute.

The final minutes were the exciting frenzy I had been longing for. Real Madrid were fearless in their pushing, and Barcelona weren't really taking advantage of all the width of the field as their opponents were a man down. The match finished 1-1, with two slightly disappointed sides with some positives to take from the foreshadowing of the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-finals.

El Clasico And Its Many Battles

El Clasico seems like an eternal fixture. No matter how much change we see in a season, it's this match which captures the attention of just about every soccer fan around the world. Admittedly, El Clasico has been slightly one-sided these past few seasons, with Barcelona having won the past five encounters. Yet maybe this match will see a change for Real, with Jose Mourinho surely preparing his players not to suffer another 5-0 defeat like they did previously this season.

Snooping around on the Spanish sport websites, there's quite a rift regarding bias in case you didn't know. In the end, there are Real Madrid newspapers, and then Barcelona newspapers, and reading only one newspaper can provide you with quite the skewed view of what should be, in Guardiola's words, "the match to decide La Liga". And while AS talks about the possibility of La Liga becoming winnable for Real Madrid if they win El Clasico, El Mundo Deportivo simply states, "Messi, Better than CR7". Truly unbiased reporting, isn't it?

Yet when I visited MARCA, a relatively Madrid biased newspaper, I found probably the best summation of El Clasico I could hope for. The strip at the top of the website shows four key battles which will inevitably decide the match. The technicians (Jose Mourinho vs. Josep Guardiola), the stars (Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo), the brains (Xabi Alonso vs. Xavi Hernandez) and the goal (Iker Casillas vs. Victor Valdes). What better way to sum this match up I'm not sure, but if I were to add something to the equation, I'd throw in the fullbacks, Marcelo vs. Dani Alves. While Dani Alves has always been a fearless machine of a fullback, providing a new way to unlock sides for Barcelona, Marcelo has grown to be one of Real Madrid's best players this season, especially going forward.

The two stars, Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (right)

While I often try and delve into a well thought out prediction, I think I might refrain this time around. There are simply too many game-changing factors. While in other big match-ups we see two or three star players which can change the game in a moment of brilliance, Barcelona and Real Madrid are simply too filled too the brim with sheer quality. Whether it be a Mourinho tactical masterclass, a Guardiola inspirational performance, a curled goal by Messi, or a blasted free kick by Ronaldo, there's too much to consider when trying to decide a winner.

So to make things easier for you (and me) I advise you not to worry about the result until the match is over. If anyone asks a prediction, simply state, "An enjoyable 0-0, with a goal or six thrown in". Because ultimately, I'll be watching El Clasico for entertainment, and I highly suggest that you do too.

Real Madrid Humbled In 5-0 Clasico Defeat to Barcelona

David Villa scored a double assisted twice by Messi

Going into El Clasico both Barcelona and Real Madrid looked dangerous and confident as they swept through La Liga with few difficulties. To say the truth, Real Madrid was the team which was full of momentum going into El Clasico, especially considering that they'd won their last seven matches and hadn't lost in La Liga yet before they travelled to the Camp Nou. But Barcelona changed all that, while Jose Mourinho was focusing on getting the media's attention by making comments about the referees, Josep Guardiola was teaching his side how to dismantle a seemingly powerful Real Madrid side.

What happened on Monday night was a lesson for everyone taught by Barcelona and their silky passing. Although the first few minutes were slightly frenetic with both sides getting to grips with each other and the phenomenal crowd, Barcelona eased into their rhythmic passing quickly. After showing us all how to maintain possession, Barca then began to verticalize up the field with astounding velocity, sending Mourinho's defence into all sorts of disarray, and after just ten minutes, they had scored. It was a quick look from Iniesta who picked out Xavi in front of Casillas, a lucky bounce, a backheel flick, and the Spanish midfielder had popped the ball over Iker Casillas and into the back of the net.

Unhappy Mourinho scoffing as Guardiola cheers.

Wild celebration ensued from the Barcelona players, staff, and fans which surrounded Jose Mourinho and his disappointed men. Real Madrid kicked off a goal down, just ten minutes into the match as Barcelona continued with relentless pressure. It didn't take long for Barca to pierce through Real Madrid again, and this time it was Pedro who scored finishing off a pass from David Villa. What happened eight minutes ago after the first goal repeated itself; wild celebration from the Blaugrana, Jose Mourinho looking at his team like a girlfriend he's ready to dump, and Iker Casillas yelling at his teammates in a humiliated fury.

Cristiano Ronaldo pushing Guardiola on the sideline

If there was ever to be a period of time where Real Madrid seemed less lifeless than a rotting corpse it was now. The team slowly eased out of their shell and began to get a few minutes of possession, but they were still relatively disheartened and lacking in ideas. When Cristiano Ronaldo decided to push Guardiola for not giving the ball to him after it went out for a throw, the Camp Nou hailed whistles and boos at the Portuguese winger for the rest of the match. Real Madrid's feeble attempt to have a reaction to Barcelona's supremacy in the first half was halted then and there, with the home crowd galvanizing their team in hope of more humiliation for the arch-rivals.

And more humiliation came, just ten minutes into the second half it was David Villa who scored the third, finishing well after being served by a delightful pass from Lionel Messi. And so we saw Iker Casillas yet again scream with fury at his defence which couldn't cope with a well-oiled Barcelona side. Just three minutes later, Casillas's wrath was unleashed yet again when David Villa slipped through the Real defence, to receive another pass from Messi and poke it through Casillas's legs.

Puyol falling after Ramos's push

4-0 for Barcelona and Mourinho looks as angry as anyone had seen him in a long time. Real Madrid was pulverized by now: Ronaldo completely ineffective, Di Maria completely isolated, and the defence disorganized and sloppy, which is unusual for a team coached by Jose Mourinho. The final minutes of the match, and Josep Guardiola decides to rub a few youngsters into Real Madrid's face. Bojan and Jeffren came on, and the couple combined for Jeffren to score a tap-in, a reminder for Real Madrid that Barcelona are constantly creating talented and skillful youth.

But the match ended on a sour note, it was Sergio Ramos who caused plenty of discomfort in the final moments after hacking at Messi's legs needlessly, and almost causing a fight. The Spanish fullback was obviously frustrated with his team's situation and he lost his head when he pushed Puyol to the ground, and then shoved Xavi in the face. He was promptly sent off by Iturralde Gonzalez, and the final whistle sounded as soon as play resumed.

Sergio Ramos being given a direct red card

An epic, exciting, and historical Clasico which will remain in all of the Barca's players memories. Right now Josep Guardiola hasn't lost a Clasico, and Mourinho has lost his first, so you could say that while Jose is getting used to the Blaugrana's Spanish domination, Josep is as happy as ever with his team's performance. This win raises Barcelona above Real Madrid, giving Barca a two point lead above the rivals. Will La Liga end this way? Will Mourinho concoct a revenge plan to win the next Clasico, and win La Liga? And is there a possibility for a drop in form from Real Madrid? Share your comments below!

Manchester United And Inter Milan Thrive With Goals Aplenty

This weekend might be slightly overshadowed with El Clasico coming up, but Manchester United and Inter Milan made sure to hit the headlines with goalfests in their league matches. Manchester United go top of the table with this win, especially after Chelsea only managed to draw 1-1 away against Newcastle, and Inter Milan rise up to fifth in the Serie A after their 5-2 win over Parma. Here's a look at both teams, how they're doing, and how they'll do in the future.

Manchester United

I've always said that Manchester United would be good this year, and I predicted that they'd win the title. Sir Alex Ferguson has an excellent mix of young and energetic players along with expert veterans to guide the team during tough times. And while some say that the team is missing a creative presence in the center of midfield, even if it's needed, Sir Alex Ferguson can splash some cash in the January transfer market to strengthen the team.

The 7-1 victory over Blackburn was easy for Manchester United, with Berbatov being assisted by the Blackburn defence's incompetence. And while Berbatov scored five, some will notice that Wayne Rooney scored zero, but you have to put things into perspective with the England international. Rooney assisted two goals, was part of some excellent build-up play, and instead of taking a crack at goal many times, he decided to be selfless and pass the ball for teammates. Just like Berbatov scored five, if this match was replayed Rooney could've scored just as many.

So what's next for Manchester United? They'll be travelling to West Ham on Tuesday for the Carling Cup and Blackpool next week in the Premier League for a couple of "easy" games, and after that they'll host Arsenal at Old Trafford, and then travel to Stamford Bridge to play against Chelsea. They also have a midweek game with Valencia at home squashed in there, but as long as Ferguson's side manages not to lose, they'll qualify for the knockout rounds in first place. So can Manchester United win the Premier League this year? It's a big question which I think has the answer, yes, but share your thoughts below by commenting!

Inter Milan

Inter Milan have been recovering from a spell of poor form, and a 5-2 victory against Parma is probably the best way to announce that you're on the way up. Rafa Benitez has been heavily criticized in Italy because of his defensive style which scored few goals in the past, but this weekend everything seemed to click for the Spaniard.

While the 5-2 win is interesting in itself, the more interesting thing is that Inter Milan had to play without a proper striker, and while Goran Pandev could be a supporting forward, he's certainly not a target man like Diego Milito, or a striker like Samuel Eto'o. But this way of playing seemed to free up Sneijder, Stankovic, and Biabiany, and all three players were excellent in this match, especially Stankovic who scored a hat-trick.

But Parma were dangerous to Inter, and they went ahead first with the former Inter player Hernan Crespo scoring aganist his former side. Inter would then go on to score three goals to make it 3-1, and then have Crespo score again to make it 3-2 at halftime. But in the second half substitute Thiago Motta scored along with Stankovic who finished off his hat-trick to make the final score 5-2, and earn Rafa Benitez three important points.

This win helps raise Inter up to 5th in the Serie A table, and they're seven points behind first placed AC Milan. But Inter have some tough matches coming up: next week they travel to face 2nd placed Lazio, and then they have a midweek Champions League match in Germany against Werder Bremen before they have to travel to Fiorentina next weekend. And if that wasn't hard enough, the week after they have to host 4th placed Napoli at the San Siro.

If Rafa Benitez can get his team to win all of these matches, he'll be a king, but if his team begins to crumble yet again, he could be facing unemployment soon. While I don't think he'll manage to win all of the matches, I think he'll be able to make it through this tough run with some positive results, and from there he'll be able to focus on regaining the top spot of the Serie A. What are your thoughts on how Inter will do? Share your comments below!

Matches to Watch This Weekend: El Clasico

Pique and Marcelo fighting for the ball in last season's Clasico

What bigger match is there right now than El Clasico? While the Milan derby was interesting, El Clasico is where the best of the best face each other. While it's not technically "this weekend" (El Clasico is taking place on Monday this season), it's still going to be probably the biggest club match of this season. But it's not all about La Liga this weekend, there's a massive match in the English Premier League between the Champions League qualified Tottenham Hotspur, and a resurgent Liverpool. In Serie A, Ibrahimovic and his magic will strike fear into a Sampdoria team which relies on Giampaolo Pazzini to score goals. So here are three matches that I recommend you watch over the weekend!

The unstoppable Lionel Messi

Barcelona - Real Madrid

Who isn't interested in seeing the two best footballers of our generation, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, go head to head, supported by their magnificently talented teammates? El Clasico is probably the biggest club match which will take place in a long time, and it looks like one of the most even match-ups too. With Jose Mourinho and his tricky ways on one side, and Josep Guardiola's beautiful football on the other, it's almost impossible to predict the result. Although it's not my prediction, the Spanish prime minister, Luis Rodriguez Zapatero predicts a 4-2 win for Barcelona. Make sure to tune in to this match on Monday!

Tottenham Hotspur - Liverpool

Tottenham have been playing wonderfully this season, and having just qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, the team will be looking to defeat Liverpool at home this weekend. Liverpool on the other hand have been blowing hot and cold, the team hasa played fantastically at home, but whenever they travel away, it's a different story. So at first it seems like a Tottenham win, but the team could be tired after having just played in the Champions League, and Roy Hodgson's well drilled Liverpool team will be able to take advantage of this. While I predict a tight 2-1 win for Tottenham, I think that Liverpool will cause problems for Spurs, but not enough to end their fantastic form which has been a constant this season.

Sampdoria  - AC Milan

Sampdoria have been without their star forward Antonio Cassano for some time now, and it looks like the team is beginning to adjust. Last weekend it was Giampaolo Pazzini who took Cassano's place scoring a hat-trick to help his side defeat Lecce 3-2, away from home. But Sampdoria are still relatively shaky, and an in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic could tear their defence to shreds. AC Milan qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League in the midweek, and the week before they defeated Fiorentina, both games had fantastic goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The big Swede seems unstoppable right now, so I certainly expect AC Milan to score, we'll just have to see how many. I expect a 3-1 win for AC Milan, with Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho sharing the goals.

I hope you've enjoyed this little weekend preview, and in case you don't know, Soccer Wrap Up now has a Youtube channel! The videos will mostly be about soccer cleats, whether it be looking at ones which I already have, or previewing cleats which are coming out in the future. Here's a video of ours below, previewing Adidas's 2011 cleats. Enjoy!

Eto'o goes Zidane on Chievo Player

From this weekend's action, there were many things to take in. While Tottenham's 3-2 comeback away against Arsenal was epic and surprising, what was even more surprising to me was Eto'o's Zidane-esque head-butt against Chievo defender Cesar.

What surprised me first is that Cesar is Slovenian, and what surprised me secondly was the fact that Eto'o lost his cool and decided to head-butt him. Eto'o's always been a fantastic player, while at Barcelona he was a little arrogant, I never thought that the Camerun had this side to him. And some will certainly point out that this headbutt is a metaphor for the tension and general unhappiness in the Inter team.

Why the unhappiness? Well, Inter lost the match 2-1 to Chievo, and this loss is just one from a bad streak which is endangering Benitez's job. It's Inter's second loss in a row, and out of a possible twelve points, the side has only taken two. The injury list is expansive: Diego Milito, Maicon, Samuel, Thiago Motta, Chivu, Julio Cesar, Mariga, and Coutinho. And all of them are key players, or players which would've been replacements for the key players.

So what do we have to learn from Eto'o's head-butt? That while the team is devastated by injuries, playing badly, and getting terrible results, losing your cool and head-butting an opponent will only make the situation worse. Mainly because after the FIGC reviews the incident, the forward will most likely receive at least a two game ban, hindering Benitez further.

So with the coach's job hanging by a thread, players either injured or losing their cool, what's the president, Massimo Moratti thinking? For sure Benitez will get until the midweek Champions League match against Twente, but what if the Spaniard were to lose again to the Dutch side? Share your comments regarding the situation below!

Here's the head-butt below:



That's something I'd expect someone like Gattuso, Joey Barton, or Ibrahimovic to do. And regarding Ibrahimovic, the big Swede scored a fantastic goal over the weekend. A ball crossed into the box, with his back to goal Zibra juggles, and then bicycle kicks it into the back of the net. His fantastic goal was the only one of AC Milan's 1-0 win over Fiorentina.

I've decided to post the goal below, mainly cause it's something that only Zibra could do:


Something else which caught my eye was Mallorca's 2-1 win away against Sevilla. For any side, travelling away to Sevilla is no easy task, and when Mallorca went a goal up, the travelling fans went wild. But it was not to be, and in the 88th minute, a wonderful ping-pong passing move was finished by Luis Fabiano, giving the home support an epic equalizer to relish. Rarely do you see such fantastic last-minute equalizers, and what's even more fantastic is when a team manages to score a last-minute winner. Mallorca did just that, with Webo nodding in a free kick, and earning his side three important points, away from home against Sevilla.

In La Liga we also saw Real Madrid spank Athletic Bilbao 5-1, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick. But what I find interesting from the match is that the man who scored Bilbao's goal was Fernando Llorente. And Llorente has been closely tracked by Mourinho and Real Madrid as a possible January transfer target. Maybe now after seeing the boy score against them, they'll decide to invest in him, and get rid of Benzema who isn't playing his best right now. We'll just have to wait and see in January.

Another hat-trick in La Liga was scored by Lionel Messi in Barcelona's 8-0 win over Almeria. Yes, you read that right, Barca won 8-0 away from home! But these matches are nothing compared to what's coming next weekend, El Clasico will take place in the Camp Nou. Sadly the match is taking place on a Monday, and I (like many others) most likely won't be able to see it.

I missed almost all the Premier League action, and I'm sorry for leaving it out this week. Next week I'll be sure to write a bit more about the state of English football right now. Please comment below regarding any of the weekend's action!

Barca wins El Clasico and Roma top of Serie A

This weekend has defined the potential champions of La Liga, Serie A, and the Premiership. Barca pull ahead of Real Madrid in El Clasico, Roma overtake Inter Milan to possibly end Inter's scudetto run, and Manchester United drop points at Blackburn giving Chelsea a chance to run even further away with first. Some exciting stuff...

Real Madrid - Barcelona: EL CLASICO


The defining game of the SPL on steroids took place at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend, and although plenty thought that Real could pull off a win (even I did), Barcelona dominated the galactic match. While some may chant Messi's name, or Pedro's (the two goal-scorers), I proudly chant Xavi's name, the Spaniard who for me is the best midfielder currently playing. After setting up Messi with a sublime chip in the 33rd which the Argentinean controlled and coolly slotted home, Xavi proceeded to dominate the match with what could be called a "buttery" display of passing. Pique had little trouble containing Ronaldo, and Real Madrid had trouble creating and finishing the few chances they had. After the interval it was my favorite midfielder that did all the tough work again, Xavi played a wonderfully weighted ball to Pedro who finished past Casillas, crushing any Real hopes of a comeback. Although Barcelona didn't dominate the match to the extent they did at Arsenal in the first half of the first leg, or other matches, the Catalans realized that much wasn't needed to beat a rather disorganized Real Madrid. Barcelona now take first spot in La Liga, three points ahead of Los Blancos, but basically four due to the head to head result being in Barca's favor.

In Italy, Roma are top of the Serie A after taking advantage of Inter Milan's 2-2 draw at Fiorentina, Inter have a tough schedule ahead and will face Fiorentina away again in midweek, then go against Juventus, followed by Barcelona in the following midweek. Roma on the other hand got a 2-1 win over Atlanta mostly thanks to Atlanta's goalkeeper Consigli not being able to hold an average shot by Vucninc. The Roman's doubled soon after with a header from Cassetti, but they risked being scored on twice by Tiribocchi who could only tuck home one goal. AC Milan haven't taken advantage of Inter Milan's slip up yet again, they were only able to draw 2-2 against Catania, who to their merit played a great match, but AC Milan came back from two down in the second half thanks to a double by Boriello. Bologna Lazio was filled with fantastic goals, and the match ended with the grand scoreline of 3-2 for Lazio, this is surely a match to check out the highlights for because some fantastic long range goals were scored by both sides.

In England, while Chelsea advance to the final of the FA Cup after beating Aston Villa 3-0 at a slippery Wembley pitch, Manchester United were only able to draw 0-0 against Blackburn, without Rooney United were lifeless, and the chances were few and wasted. There were two other 0-0's, Liverpool vs Fulham ended with a goalless draw, and so did Wolverhampton vs. Stoke, and a match which could've ended 0-0 for West Ham was saved by Ilan's goal as the Hammers won 1-0 against Sunderland. Manchester City look comfortable in fourth spot after thrashing Birmingham 5-1 as Tottenham lost to Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final 2-0, letting Pompy go on to the final against Chelsea. Another big scoreline affected the relegation zone, Burnley came back from a goal down against Hull City to win 4-1, and the last goal was a peach by Elliott, a wonderful curling free kick which nestled itself into the far corner.

In Spain, Atletico Madrid continue their erratic season after losing 3-0 away against Espanyol, although they aren't performing well in the league, Atletico are doing well in the Europa League and are set to play Liverpool in the semi's. Valencia lost against Mallorca 3-2 as the gap between the two teams is only 5 points now, Mallorca are looking for Champions League football next year, and this result was important for their chances. Sevilla drawn on points with the Islanders after beating Malaga 2-1 thanks to a late goal by Lolo.

What do you think of this week's results? Was Xavi as buttery as I thought he was, and is he the best midfielder in the world for you? Comment below!