Ronaldo missed penalty as Man Utd draw with Barca into the Champions League's first leg SF

Barcelona: Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty as his side drew 0-0 with a dominant Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. The Portugal international sent his spot kick high and wide after Barca centre-back Gabriel Milito handled the ball in the area with just over a minute on the clock. Barca, the only non-English side in the semis, have been poor in the league but gave a far more impressive performance against an out-of-sorts United and will feel short-changed by a result that leaves the tie delicately balanced before next week’s return at Old Trafford. United seemed to have got off to a dream start when Milito conceded a penalty in the second minute, handling the ball after Ronaldo had beaten him to a header in the area. But the normally super cool Portuguese completely missed the target, sending the ball past Victor Valdes’s left post after he tried to chip it into the top corner. The crowd exploded with delight at the winger’s error, while United seemed to be in shock at their team mate’s miss. Barca took advantage of the confusion in the United ranks to put the visitors under heavy pressure with Deco driving forward from midfield and providing some good service for Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o. United barely got a sniff off the ball as Deco and Yaya Toure bossed the midfield and when they did get possession they looked nervous and surrendered the ball almost immediately. Barcelona continued to dominate the middle of the park but did not seriously challenge Van der Sar until the United goalkeeper tipped a long-range shot from right back Gianluca Zambrotta over the bar.

Barca draw again in spanish league

Madrid: Barcelona’s chances of winning the Spanish title looked doomed after a 0-0 draw in the local derby with Espanyol. Despite dominating the game for long periods, the Spanish giants failed to find the net in their Nou Camp stadium thanks to a combination of poor finishing and solid defending from Espanyol. Barca have drawn their last three league games. Real Madrid now have an eight-point advantage over Barca at the top of the table and a game in hand. The 30-time Spanish champions could have this season’s league title wrapped up by the time Barca visit the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the latest edition of ‘El Clasico’ on May 7. Barcelona had a purple patch in the middle of the first half but Xavi Hernandez, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto’O couldn’t convert good opportunities. Even the introduction of the often-inspirational Lionel Messi at half time failed to break the deadlock. Barca pressed hard for almost the entire second half but were unable to break down a resilient Espanyol.

Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A soccer round up

Madrid: Marco Ruben scored with two headers and rallied Recreativo Huelva to a 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona. The Argentine forward looped the equaliser over approaching goalkeeper Victor Valdes inside the far post in the 71st minute. Samuel Eto’o accounted for both of Barcelona’s goals, outjumping his marker in the second minute to deflect Giovani dos Santos’ short cross and spraying a bouncing ball from long range into the top corner in the 46th. Barcelona failed to subdue the 17th-place Recreativo and can fall further behind La Liga leader Real Madrid. Madrid, which plays no 19 Murcia, has 66 points, six more than Barcelona. Villarreal, which plays 9th-ranked Almeria, has 59. Recreativo has 37 to be four clear of relegation. Earlier on Saturday, Mohammed Tchite scored in the 83rd to give Racing Santander a 2-1 win over Valencia.

Juve beat 10-man AC Milan in thriller

Rome: Juventus dealt a potentially fatal blow to 10-man AC Milan’s Champions League hopes with a 3-2 win in blockbuster match in Turin. Goals from Alessandro del Piero, David Trezeguet and Hassan Salihamidzich gave the hosts the edge over the reigning European champions, who counted two Filippo Inzaghi goals while Daniele Bonera was dismissed in the second half. Juve thus closed the gap on second-placed AS Roma to seven points.

Manchester United and FC Barcelona storm into the Champions League Semis

Manchester United 1(Carlos Tevez 70) AS Roma 0

Manchester: Manchester United kept alive their dream of a Champions League and Premier League double when they beat AS Roma 1-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to become the third English side to qualify for the semi-finals. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal after 70 minutes when he dived in low to head home an Owen Hargreaves cross and secure United’s 11th straight home win in European competition. That put the English champions and league leaders 3-0 up on aggregate, a result that secured a place in the last four and maintained their belief they can win the European Cup for the third time in Moscow in May after the triumphs of 1968 and 1999. Roma, trailing 2-0 from the first leg, had a chance to get back in the tie with a 30th minute penalty for a foul by Wes Brown on Mancini but Daniele de Rossi blasted over the bar. United, into the last four for the second successive season and for the fifth time in the Champions League, will now face Barcelona at the end of the month.

FC Barcelona 1(Yaya Toure 43) Schalke04 0

Barcelona: Barcelona set up a mouth-watering Champions League semifinal against Manchester United with a nervy 1-0 win over Schalke 04 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. Barca, 1-0 up from the first leg of the quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen, were put under severe pressure in the opening half hour but the Schalke storm blew itself out just before halftime and the Catalans were gifted a goal after a series of mishaps in the German defence. Midfielder Yaya Toure scuffed the ball in from close range in the 43rd minute after a Bojan Krkic cross from the right had ballooned off the foot of a defender and was then headed off the line. Now Barca have 2-0 aggregate over Schalke04.

Real Madrid forced to draw by Mallorca in Spanish Primera La Liga

Madrid: Ten-man Real Madrid continue to give their title rivals hope after dropping two points in an action-packed 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca. Wesley Sneijder put Real ahead shortly before half-time but Sergio Ramos was sent off for two bookings midway through the second half and seven minutes later Mallorca made the extra man count with substitute Borja Valero curling in a brilliant equaliser on Saturday. Real are now seven points ahead of Villarreal at the top of the Spanish first division but Manuel Pellegrini’s team can shave that lead to four points with victory over Sevilla on Sunday. Barcelona are eight points behind Real and have a tricky home match against Getafe. Real were relieved to pick up a point as Mallorca should have won the match late on but Daniel Guiza hit the crossbar with the goal at his mercy to let the champions off the hook.

Man Utd and Barca comes through their first leg of QF

AS ROMA 0 MAN UNITED 2 (Cristiano Ronaldo 39, Wayne Rooney 66)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a clinical 2-0 win at AS Roma on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Portugal forward Ronaldo soared inside the area six minutes before the break to head home a Paul Scholes cross after Rooney had skipped away from Philippe Mexes. Rooney then poked home the second goal himself in the 66th minute after a header from South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park sparked a goalmouth scramble. “It’s a very good performance,” Ronaldo said. “Everyone knows it’s a tough game. Roma played very well, but we created a few chances. I think we deserved this win.” Roma had nothing to show for some fluid football and have a massive task in next Wednesday’s return at Old Trafford, where they lost 7-1 at the same stage of the competition last season. The English champions made a shaky start at the Stadio Olimpico and their Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was lucky to get away with a risky early clearance. Roma defender Christian Panucci then headed just over the bar in the 12th. United tried to fashion a response but Brazilian midfielder Anderson hoofed their first effort well off target and Ronaldo drilled a long-distance freekick wide. The hosts continued to look dangerous and Montengro striker Mirko Vucinic hit a powerful strike over the bar but it was Ronaldo who gave United the lead to stun the home fans. Roma tried to respond and Vucinic squandered a superb chance to equalise with only Van der Sar to beat soon after the goal. A determined Roma, who were without injured captain Francesco Totti, made a bright start to the second half. Fullback Max Tonetto come close with a powerful effort and almost surprised Van der Sar with a cross-come-shot, while Panucci blasted over from short range. Van der Sar produced a superb reflex save from a Vucinic header in the 62nd and United looked to be struggling before Rooney claimed his fourth goal in five games against Roma. Ronaldo hit the post with a shot from outside the area and midfielder Michael Carrick nearly made it 3-0. Rooney then struck the ball wide from a good position and Ronaldo volleyed just over as the home side began to lose heart.

TEAMS:

AS Roma: 32-Doni; 77-Marco Cassetti, 5-Philippe Mexes, 2-Christian Panucci, 22-Max Tonetto (3-Cicinho 69); 11-Rodrigo Taddei (14-Ludovic Giuly 59), 16-Daniele De Rossi, 8-Alberto Aquilani (18-Mauro Esposito 76), 7 David Pizarro, 30 Mancini, 9-Mirko Vucinic.

Manchester United: 1-Edwin van der Sar; 6-Wes Brown, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 15-Nemanja Vidic (22-John O'Shea 33), 3-Patrice Evra, 16 Michael Carrick, 18-Paul Scholes, 8-Anderson (4-Owen Hargreaves 56); 7-Cristiano Ronaldo, 10-Wayne Rooney (32-Carlos Tevez 84), 13-Park Ji-Sung.

SCHALKE 04 0 BARCELONA 1 (Bojan Krkic 12)

Barcelona's teenage striker Bojan Krkic gave his side the initiative in their Champions League quarter-final after the Spaniards left Germany with a 1-0 win over Schalke 04 on Tuesday night. Krkic, who will not turn 18 until the end of August, struck as early as the 12th minute with a valuable away goal to put the Spanish giants firmly in the driving seat for next Wednesday's second leg at the Nou Camp stadium. The goal came after a dream pass from Spanish international Xavi Hernandez split open Schalke's defence. Ex-Arsenal striker Thierry Henry seized the chance and fired at Schalke's keeper Manuel Neuer who parried the shot, but Henry snatched the re-bound and slid a pass to teenager Krkic to bury his shot in the top of the net. A curling pass from Germany defender Heiko Westermann put Danish substitute striker Soeren Larsen into a threatening position, but his header went wide with ten minutes to go. And Westermann was incensed when his appeals for a penalty were turned down moments later.

TEAMS:

Schalke 04: 1-Manuel Neuer; 18-Rafinha, 5-Marcelo Bordon, 20-Mladen Krstajic, 2-Heiko Westermann; 14-Gerald Asamoah (9-Soren Larsen 73), 3-Levan Kobiashvili, 8-Fabian Ernst, 24-Christian Pander; 22-Kevin Kuranyi (27-Vicente Sanchez 60), 19-Halil Altintop (11-Peter Lovenkrands 89).

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 11-Gianluca Zambrotta, 5-Carles Puyol, 3-Gabriel Milito, 22-Eric Abidal; 24-Yaya Toure (4-Rafael Marquez 73), 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 27-Bojan Krkic (16-Silvinho 86), 9-Samuel Eto'o (17-Giovani dos Santos 82), 14-Thierry Henry.

Real betis shocked Barca in Spanish La Liga

Barcelona surrendered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Real Betis that dropped them into third place in the Spanish league after Villarreal beat Atletico Madrid 3-0. Betis striker Edu Schmidt scored twice as Barcelona conceded three goals in 15 minutes in the second half. Villarreal improved to 59 points behind two goals from Nihat Kahveci and another by Santiago Cazorla. Real Madrid, who played sixth-ranked Sevilla on Sunday, lead the standings with 62 points, while Barcelona remained on 58. Edu moved around defender Liliam Thuram before unleashing a spinning shot that beat Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes inside the near post for the winner in the 78th minute. Edu, who also had a penalty kick saved by Valdes in the 75th, started Betis’ rally with a header in the 63rd. Juanito Gutierrez chested a throw-in before hitting a low volley past Valdes to equalise in the 76th. “I’m ashamed by this result,” Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said.

FC Barcelona comes closer to Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga

FC Barcelona closed to within four points of Real Madrid in the Spanish league, picking up a 4-1 win over Valladolid while the defending champions lost to Valencia 3-2. Bojan Krkic scored two second-half goals and set up the other two for Barcelona on Sunday. Madrid, which had been trying to maintain its sevenpoint lead at the top of the standings, lost at home when Javier Arizmendi scored in the 89th minute. Arizmendi outran Fabio Cannavaro to a long ball and then got around the Madrid defender before sliding his shot past goalkeeper Iker Casillas inside the far post. “The truth is lately we’re paying for our errors, which aren’t many, but we’re directly paying with goals,’’ Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said. “It’s not always necessary to risk so much to create an opportunity.’’ Madrid still lead the league with 62 points, followed by Barcelona with 58. Villarreal is third with 56 points. David Villa scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, for Valencia, which also reached the Copa del Rey final by beating Barcelona. Villa gave the visitors the lead in the 34th from a Madrid turnover, but Raul Gonzalez headed in an equalizer in the 35th. Raul scored his 15th goal by tipping Jose Maria ‘Guti’ Gutierrez’s short pass at the penalty spot in the 56th and volleying it past Valencia goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. Hildebrand made up for that miss 10 minutes later when he dove to catch Sergio Ramos’ header on the goal line. Cannavaro then pushed David Silva inside the area and Villa took the penalty, catching Casillas going the other way in the 67th. Hildebrand twice stopped shots from substitute Gonzalo Higuain — first from a header, then on the rebound — in the 80th, and Raul Albiol cleared an angled shot from the Argentine forward off the line with three minutes left. The Germany goalkeeper then swiped Raul’s pointblank header over the bar a minute into injury time.