Poor Darren Fletcher

So, Man Utd are through to a second successive Champions League final. But poor Darren Fletcher will not be there after a refereeing error saw him receive a red card for what was an excellent tackle on Cesc Fabregas.

How the referee did not see the deviation of the ball after Fletcher’s intervention only he will know.

But what is perhaps more criminal than the inept refereeing is UEFA’s lack of an appeal process. No matter how horrendous the error, no referee can have his decision changed (other than in a case of mistaken identity). This reeks of arrogance – a refusal to admit that their officials are fallible.

After an excellent tackle that should have prevented a goalscoring opportunity turned into a red card and a converted penalty, Darren Fletcher will beg to differ.

He now misses the biggest game of his life, totally and entirely unjustly. The referee, and UEFA, should be ashamed.

What. A. Game.

That’s why we watch football. Sometimes you have to sit through the relative tedium of Wigan v Sunderland, and sometimes even the Champions League throws up duds; but then every so often you get a game like last night’s, a pulsating, thrilling, heart-stopping tie full of action, drama and intrigue. And that makes it all worthwhile…

Who’d a Thought it…

Chelsea produced a fantastic performance last night to overwhelm Liverpool and take a 3-1 lead back to Stamford Bridge. They will be huge favourites to progress – but still not as strong as Barcelona, who played magnificently on their way to a vintage 4-0 win over Bayern Munich (who themselves set a CL record in the last round)…

Are United Cracking Up?

Manchester United drew 2-2 with Porto last night, bringing the total number of goals they’ve conceded to 10 in 4 matches. That’s as many as they conceded in their previous 23 games. A staggering statistic, and one that may indicate serious problems at the heart of the United backline – and a wider malaise…

More CL Results

The final round of Champions League fixtures saw weakened Man Utd and Arsenal teams draw and lose respectively, while Celtic finished on a high, beating Villareal. The same links as yesterday then – the BBC for a full results round up, and 101 Great Goals for the highlights.

Champions League Results

Chelsea in the end went through comfortably as Bordeaux lost to Roma, and Liverpool’s impressive 3-1 win in Holland cemented top spot in the group. The BBC have a lovely little round up of last nights action, with all the results and scorers and who finished where in Groups A – D. You can watch [...]

Champions League – Wednesday

Dull games all round last night. Here is the BBC’s round up of all the action: Wednesday’s Champions League review GROUP A Chelsea drew in Bordeaux and know that a win over lowly Cluj at Stamford Bridge in the final round of games will secure qualification. However, a draw will be enough for the Blues [...]

Champions League Results

Man Utd huffed and puffed to a stalemate with Villareal at the Madrigal – the fourth consecutive Champions League 0-0 between the two clubs. With both sides needing just a draw – bar freak results – to qualify, this was never going to be one for the purists. Utd had the best of it, with [...]

Champions League Part Two

Alessandro Del Piero is winding back the clock in the Champions League this season – he notched a brace last night as Juventus secured their progress with a 2-0 win against Real Madrid…. Click here for all the goals from last night And the results: Wednesday, 05 November 2008 AaB Aalborg 2-2 (HT 0-1) Villarreal [...]

Champions League Fallout

English sides showed their vulnerability last night, as Chelsea lost 3-1 in Rome and Liverpool only nicked a 1-1 home draw with Atletico Madrid via a dodgy penalty decision – see Gerrard crumpling to the ground here. Inter Milan and Barcelona were both held to draws, 3-3 and 1-1 respectively; the latter ending Barcelona’s 11 [...]