The consistently bad referees

Two great matches, with four great teams, and two consistently bad referees.
In the match between Manchester United and Arsenal, it didn't matter that much, because Manchester were truly the best team in their 3-1 victory, but Darren Fletcher's red card was only the major among many mistakes of the Italian referee.

In the Chelsea-Barcelona match the problem was bigger. Not that 1-1 is an unfair result overall (I was hoping and still happy that Barcelona progressed to the next round), but the problem is that any football fan is left with a bad taste when the referee in such a way takes all the headlines. And in spite of the penalties the Norwegian gentleman didn't call, the calls also went against Barcelona, as the red card to Abidal was totally out of place (here one must add that Drogba's and Anelka's diving and acting probably didn't help, although a good referee should manage to see through that). So the frustration of the Chelsea players and in particular the Chelsea fans is understandable: today they were the better team! They simply played excellently, disciplined and tactically great - the mistakes is that they should have scored on the chances they had, and when you don't, you lose.
But what an amazing srike by Michael Essien!
On a final note, I would also like to congratulate Barcelona. I have long admired how they have played this season, and in spite of the fact that Chelsea was the better team, Barcelona showed character today, as they kept fighting and playing even when all the odds seemed against them; I didn't think the Barcelona team would have such character (I thought they were a bunch of pretty boys playing on humour), but they did, and now we can really look forward to the final in Rome of the two best teams overall in this season's Champions League.

Chelsea lost to Manchester United

After being undefeatable for long, Chelsea has now lost twice in a row. Last week in the Champions League against Betis, and now they have suffered their first defeat in the Premier League.

In a well-fought match, Manchester United won 1-0 at Old Trafford, on a goal by the young Darren Fletcher. Manchester United has not been having a very good season so far, but this victory against the defending English champions comes at the right time, and may lead them on the right direction for the rest of the season. However, this is not all: Manchester has many internal problems, and no one victory will be enough to overcome these.

But congratulations to all United fans!