Manchester United beat Chelsea, enter Champions League semis
By Biswajeet Panda
oi-Biswajeet Panda
London, April 13: Manchester United beat English Premier League rival Chelsea 2-1 to proceed to the Champions League semifinals for the fourth time in five years. As a result of the loss Chelsea are out of contention for a last four berth in the Champions League 2011.
For Manchester United Javier Hernandez, drew the first blood to give them a 1-0 lead in the first half of the match. He secured a Ryan Giggs cross towards the end of the first half and converted in to a goal to put United ahead of Chelsea.
Chelsea's hopes to stage a comeback were further dashed when Ramires was sent off in the 70th minute. He earned the yellow card after a second foul on Nani. Didier Drogba struck a goal in the 77th minute to equalise with Manchester United, but Park Ji-sung shot back immediately to give United the lead once again.
For Chelsea, the season is bound to end on a disappointing note as they are almost certain to end without any title this year. The results will only add to the criticism of Fernando Torres, who was signed in Jan 2011 for a record 50 million pounds. So far, he hasn't been able to score a single goal for Chelsea.
Chelsea dominated the first half with nimble footwork but were simply not good enough for Manchester United whose counter-attack effectively turned the tables on Chelsea. Ryan Giggs, once again impressed United as he was almost present everywhere and set the stage for the two goals scored by his side.