By Michael Sinnerton

After eleven minutes this second leg had less life in it than Heather Mills'. As good as Manchester United were, it's very difficult to get excited about watching an 80 minute procession, luckily the third goal was pure class and Robin Van Persie may have even given Dimitar Berbatov and co. a few tips on penalties should United face that eventuality in Rome.

This game turned out to be less of a contest and more of a chance for Cristiano Ronaldo to lay down the gauntlet to Leo Messi. The current world player of the year and the heir in waiting could be on a collision course for a Champions League final showdown. Any football fans whose loyalties don't lie with Chelsea, or perhaps Real Madrid/Espanyol, must root on Barcelona tonight, not only so that attacking football is the winner but also so that we get a chance to see Europe's top two teams go head-to-head. There is no doubt in my mind that Barcelona are the best team in Europe this season, regardless of tonight's result, but Manchester United have arguably the best squad and showdown between the two would help rejuvenate this great competition in an era when English dominance threatens to take some of the shine of club football's greatest prize.

Back to the events of last night, given that Manchester United had already sealed their path by the time Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra were removed, surely Darren Fletcher should just have given Fabregas the chance to score. Given that the tie was won, any rash challenges were ill advised and whilst Fletcher may have got a touch on the ball, the challenge was still a rash one. Despite touching the ball he did bring Fabregas down from behind, had the Spaniard been able to stay on his feet he may well still have scored since Fletcher's touch was so minimal. I think it's a penalty. Furthermore, any talk of Fletcher's will to win must be tempered by the logic that the game already won.

One man who may have had mixed feelings about the sending off is Paul Scholes, having been in a similar position he must have felt for his friend and colleague but Fletcher's red card makes Scholes' place in the starting XI in Rome almost inevitable, strange how things work out. Fletcher must hope now hope his time comes again.

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As a footnote, hopefully this game has put all talk of Manuel Almunia playing for England to bed, forget his nationality he simply doesn't have the ability. What next? Trying to get El Hadji Diouf a passport or desperately searching for possible English relatives of Mido?

By Michael Sinnerton 

Is Joey Barton the most ridiculous player in the country? A player who has more talent than half of his Premier League contemporaries but who seems to have less than half the brain of your average village idiot. Since baring his backside stupidly, although somewhat amusingly in 2006, Barton waited until May 2007 before next making the news with an attack on Ousmane Dabo, which led to the Frenchmen making a police complaint.

Six months later Barton beat up a teenager in Liverpool city centre and was sentenced to six months in prison, unfortunately serving only 74 days of his sentence. Three months after his release he was cleared after of any wrongdoing after scrapping with Gabby Agbonlahor. A subsequent injury has kept Barton out of the news for more than six months but scything down Xabi Alonso on Sunday seems to have led to a row with Alan Shearer and the subsequent suspension which looks likely to end his Newcastle career.

The confusing thing about Barton is that it takes a huge amount of effort and determination to become a professional footballer. Even the most naturally talented, Dimitar Berbatov for example, have to completely commit at an early age. Taking that as read it seems crazy that Barton is almost throwing his career away. Perhaps Sam Allardyce will take a gamble on Barton again but seeing how badly the move has backfired on Newcastle he's more likely to consider it once burnt, twice shy. With any luck the Championship will gain some exposure from Barton's antics next season.

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Of course, Barton's point about a perceived lack of tactics under Alan Shearer is not without cause. All reports have Barton starting the game brightly but Shearer's decision to replace Peter Lovenkrands with Jonas Gutierrez saw Barton shifted out to the right wing. He became peripheral and presumably pretty frustrated and so the challenge itself was stupid he may well feel that Shearer's tactical decisions played a large part.

Either way Shearer has been in charge a month at St James' and has picked up two points in five games, whilst the fixture list has been tough there has been no noticeable impact since his appointment which is unusual for any manager be it Guus Hiddink or Paul Hart. It almost goes without saying that Newcastle v Middlesbrough has almost become a relegation play-off with Championship football for both a real possibility.

One story you may have missed this week is the Serie A breakaway. In a move that has echoes of the formation of the Premier League 19 of the 20 Serie A clubs have voted to move away and form their own governing body.

The strangest thing about this breakaway to me is that Lecce, 2nd from bottom have voted against the proposal yet Reggina, Bologna and Torino (the other teams at threat from relegation) are in favour. Whether the breakaway would include these teams or promoted ones i don't know but its surprising that all the 'relegation teams' weren't in the same mind.

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Off to Spain, unfortunately not to see 'El Classico' here's to weekend wins for Reading, Liverpool and Manchester United

By Michael Sinnerton

Now I realise it's PFA Players' Player of the Year not PFA Bloggers' Player of the Year but its hard not to laugh when someone who has been chosen by his manager to start just a third of his sides league games wins. More influential players in Manchester United's (presumed) title triumph are Rio Ferdinand (24 starts), Nemanja Vidic (29 starts), Darren Fletcher (22 starts),  Wayne Rooney (22 starts) and Cristiano Ronaldo (28 starts).

I don't want to vilify Ryan Giggs (12 starts), and someone of his stature will obviously not look out of place in the record books in 15 or 20 years time, but that's not the point of this award. I think Giggs' place in football history is more than assured already and rightly so. If football wants to have a system where all the best players have been honoured at some point it should look no further than Wisden's Cricketers of the Year. Five players are chosen each year, and you cannot be chosen more than once, the list therefore reads like a who's who of international and, in some cases, domestic cricket. I don't think that's neccesary though, particularly not for one of the most decorated footballers ever to grace our game.

Nemanja Vidic, one bad performance against perhaps the best striker in the world aside, has had a phenomenal season. Almost single-handedly holding the United back four together when it went through that record-breaking run without conceding. Whilst Evra and Ferdinand missed much of the run through injury, Vidic was outstanding, marshalling Jonny Evans superbly. United's defence is the reason they will win the league this year and that rather than a handful of good performances by a veteran should be rewarded.

I struggle to remember Giggs' last real contribution of note, I doubt it has been in the last two months ("the business end of the season").

Congratulations to Ashley Young for picking up the Young Player of the Year, I probably would have gone with Stephen Ireland who has been excellent in a mediocre Manchester City side. Young has tailed off somewhat form wise but is still one of the best wide men in the division.....in fact he has as many assists and five more league goals than......Ryan Giggs.

By Michael Sinnerton

As Carlos Tevez finally admitted his antipathy towards being used sparingly by Manchester United this season, a host of Europe's biggest clubs began to dust off their purse strings. Tevez was particularly concerned at his admission for key matches, with Berbatov and Rooney often preferred as a front two, or Rooney, Ronaldo and Park as a front three.

 "There are many players and they all need to play but I have not played important matches," said Tevez. "As a player I can't permit myself to play one game, but not another. And also, the World Cup is coming up. I see it very difficult to stay with Manchester United. That's the reality.  You can score three or four goals and not play in the next game. It gets to your head. I need to play."

It is yet to be seen whether this is an early joust by Tevez in contract negotiations with United or a genuine come-get-me plea. As a Liverpool fan I can't think of many available players I'd rather we'd sign although David Villa as always springs to mind. Whilst £20 - 30million is a lot to pay, especially for Liverpool, what you are getting for your money is a world-class forward who has already acclimatised to the pace of the Premier League. In Benitez' favoured 4-2-3-1 formation Tevez could play any of the front four positions well, and would certainly be a decent foil for Fernando Torres were 4-4-2 the preferred formation. At 25 Tevez, signing a four or five year contract would also still have a good resale value to Italy or Spain. In fact, he would probably maintain good value whether or not he was a success at Anfield.

Tevez's work-rate mean to me, he can fill a similar role to Dirk Kuyt, yet his technical ability is closer to Torres meaning he could fill in for Kuyt, Gerrard or Torres in times of injury, suspension or fatigue. Given Liverpool's league form, without a natural replacement for Torres this season, a second world-class striker could make all the difference.

 Another positive about Tevez is the apparent lack of ego, not that I'd want Tevez to spend much of his time on the bench, but the fact that he has been willing to play that role without much complaint until now makes the prospect of Tevez in a Liverpool shirt even more appealing.

United fans probably wouldn't much like it either.

By Michael Sinnerton 

Fans of anyone other than the big four should have been heartened this weekend by goings on all round Europe. Not only did Lyon lose 1-0 at Bordeaux meaning they may not win the league for the first time in eight years, but Wolfsburg won again to keep themselves ahead of Bayern Munich. A year for the outsider perhaps, Everton fans rejoice, AZ's championship win in Holland all but confirmed that.

AZ's title victory was the first for a club outside the big 3 (PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord) since 1981 (AZ again) who's victory was acheived on a much smaller budget than the others and despite finishing the previous season in 11th and with a manger who only agreed to stay on after a desperate squad pleaded with him

Louis Van Gaal now has four domestic dutch titles, a Champions League, a UEFA cup, a few La Liga titles and a few other bits and bobs lying around the place, giving him 12 titles the same as a certain dutch flavour of the month, Guus Hiddink. According to Dutch experts, Van Gaal has slightly sacrificed his high-pressing  total-football attitude this season with AZ instead morphing into a slick counter-attacking unit.

Maybe Wolfsburg and Bordeaux can do likewise upset the odds. Long live hope. Long live the underdog.

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As a footnote, I thought it was very strange for Alex Ferguson to attack Benitez for calling an Everton a small club. Ferguson then proceeded to treat them exactly like one by picking a reserve team for an FA Cup Semi-Final. Can you imagine him picking that team had they been playing one of the 'big' four?

Does Manchester United's weak cup surrender have any echoes of Arsenal's collapse last year after exiting both cups meekly (or embarrassingly) or will United come again after their first major set back of the season?

by Joel Abraham

Arsenal's season is over. They won't beat Man United over two legs. The FA Cup was their most realistic chance at a first trophy in four years, but after yesterday's poor performance, it's back to the drawing board.

Arshavin's omission made no sense. Wenger attempted to pack the midfield to stifle Essien, Ballack and Lampard. Chelsea's two goals came from Lampard being given too much time and space on the ball to pick out Malouda and Drogba respectively.

Walcott's goal was lucky. A deflected shot that Cech should've kept out. Arsenal got what they deserved. For all their possession, they created very few chances. Fabregas had a bad game by his standards, Diaby repeatedly gave the ball away, and Adebayor was completely isolated. The side were crying out for the creative, incisive passing of Arshavin, yet his introduction was far too late. 

The makeshift defence coped well for the most part, but Eboue should have stopped Malouda, Silvestre was emphatically beaten for power and pace by Drogba, and Fabianski should've done better with both goals. Kieran Gibbs again looked impressive, setting up the goal, but his double header against Ronaldo will show us if he's really up to scratch.

A familiar sight for Arsenal fans

The game was painfully similar to the Carling Cup final of 2007, with Walcott giving Arsenal an early lead and a late Drogba charge killing off the game. Will Arsenal ever learn to cope with this man? Every season he has single handedly beaten Arsenal: Community Shield 2005, Stamford Bridge 05/06, Carling Cup Final 06/07, Stamford Bridge 07/08, and now we have another game to add to his tally.

Would Almunia and Gallas have fared any better? Take a look at how they dealt with Chelsea's long balls during the league match at Stamford Bridge last season, and the answer is no. Didier Drogba knows he is too good for the Arsenal defence to cope with, and he is many, many times better than any of Arsenal's strikers. 

In short, it seems that Arsenal haven't learned their lesson. After three seasons of constant torment from the big Ivorian, they still can't deal with him. And in that time, Arsenal have failed to win any trophies. Coincidence? Unless they can defend against the world's best, then Arsenal will not win anything.

Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo await.

By Michael Sinnerton

Sir Alex Ferguson has used today's press conference to attack Rafa Benitez for his actions against Blackburn, this is the same man who said only last week:

"But the interesting thing as far as Rafa Benitez is concerned is that he's got a European tie [against Chelsea] and he's talking about Alex Ferguson. Fantastic – I didn't know I was that important."

Perhaps Benitez will respond with a snide remark about his own importance given Ferguson's decision to talk about him on the eve of a cup semi-final.

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Man City's display against Hamburg yesterday has confirmed my suspicions that Elano should start whenever possible. The talented Brazilian who made such an impression on the Premiership over 12 months ago has great feet, good vision and stunning set-piece delivery. Play him off the main striker or on the right wing in a 4-2-3-1, job done.

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A friend of mine recently suggested that Arshavin was a better player than Ronaldo due to having more natural ability. He cited Ronaldo's tricks as the sign of a manufactured player, whilst Arshavin tends to beat people with body movement, turn of pace and speed. Whilst disagreeing with the initial prognosis due to Ronaldo's goal-scoring record if nothing else, it does highlight the point that three of the world's best dribblers, Messi, Iniesta and Arshavin rarely use tricks to beat a player. As a result, in my opinion they look more natural dribblers and are more fun to watch as the game flows slightly better. It makes you wonder if time spent teaching kids step-overs could be better invested.

By Michael Sinnerton 

So 3 of last year's semi-finalists have made it back to the hallowed ground but whilst England and Barcelona continue to dominate in Europe you'd be hard pressed to deny any of the four semi-finalists their place.

Four teams who have got this far playing attractive, attacking football. Barcelona have been the best side in Europe this season, scoring the most goals and boasting the world's best player. Arsenal's footballing prowess, in aesthetic terms, is well known and having come through the ‘battle of the beautiful game' against Villarreal now face the European Champions. Games between United and Arsenal are always fiercely competitive but in recent seasons have tended to be the most exciting of the games between the big four.

With Chelsea reaching the semis through an avalanche of goals, their clash with Barcelona looks appetising and with a potential repeat of last year's final (Chelsea v United) or the 2006 final (Arsenal v Barca) on the cards.

Scores to settle all round then, I'm hoping for an Arsenal  v Barcelona final but even being a Liverpool fan it's hard to begrudge any of the four their opportunity. Let's hope the semi-finals can match the quarters for entertainment.

By Michael Sinnerton 

Wow. Those of us who thought that Chelsea v Liverpool (Part 5) would be "two tight affairs" and "not one for the purists" may need to be a bit more imaginative with future predictions. Although at least Barca came through as predicted, with a home win being followed by an away draw.

The wonderful 4-4 at Stamford Bridge meant that the tie everyone feared may well turn out to be the tie of the round (Porto v United pending). Guus Hiddink succeeded where Luis Felipe Scolari failed in really getting the best out of Gary Megson and Rafa Benitez. Perhaps Abramovich finally has the exciting attacking football he so desires, combined with a winning team and a manager he trusts and likes.

Too bad it's only for six months. Whisper it quietly but Chelsea fans, and maybe even players, have forgotten him.  Unless Roman can somehow persuade Russia's powers that be that Hiddink can job share successfully, whoever comes in next season may have shoes even bigger than Jose's to fill.

Chelsea's current surge has surely come too late for the Premier League and Barcelona must be favourites in Europe but Arsenal fans must be slightly fearful that a more than makeshift back-line will struggle to deal with Dr. Ogba and ‘Lamps' on this form. Hiddink's impact is such that ending the season trophyless would now be considered a failure. FA Cup winners' medals may not be what the Chelsea players wanted at the start of the season but I think that's how they will end it. Whether the veteran Hiddink can get the better of the young maestro Guardiola may well be another epic contest to savour but for now bring on Wednesday's quarter finals.