Video highlights will follow.

Of the three goals United scored tonight, my favorite is the third where Park and Rooney combined brilliantly to set up Ronaldo to complete a move that he had started with a deft back heel. It reminded me of a very similar goal that Rooney and Ronaldo scored a couple of seasons ago against Bolton. It remains one of the best goals of the end-to-end quick counter-attack variety that I’ve seen.

The quality of this video is poor. I couldn’t find a better one.

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The result puts Barcelona seven points ahead of Real. With just four games left in the Liga, Barca have well and truly wrapped up the league. Given the substantial goal advantage they possess (+72 for Barca against +38 for Real), a win and two draws will guarantee glory for Guardiola’s men. And so they will turn their attention to Wednesday night’s Champions League semifinal second leg at Stamford Bridge.

While I like Barcelona better than Chelsea (who I don’t like), I would consider the home side favorites to progress. Chelsea, having worked their socks off to bring home a creditable 0-0 draw away at the Nou Camp, will offer more of the same but will be a bit more adventurous and try to exploit Barcelona’s defensive fragility – an aspect of their game that Guardiola must work on. Barcelona are without their overrated first choice central defensive pairing (Puyol and Marquez), and Drogba might relish taking on young Pique.

I thought Chelsea would rest many of their big names and field a less potent line-up today. But I was surprised by Hiddink’s decision to play Chelsea’s first team against Fulham. Barca could not have afforded the same luxury as defeat would have meant that Real would be breathing down their necks.

Talking of resting players, Arsenal sent out a virtual B-team against Pompey, and still ran out 3-1 winners. To be fair, United rested Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin van der Sar and their entire starting midfield from midweek, but that is about as much tinkering that Sir Alex Ferguson could afford.

I predict that the 2009 Champions League final would be a repeat of 2008′s, with Chelsea challenging United in Rome for the crown. Chelsea to win at home against Barcelona, and United to pick up an away win at the Emirates.

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The fireworks do not end there.

Liverpool have drawn Real Madrid. Given Pool’s formidable record in the Champions League under Rafael Benitez, and Real’s dismal performances in the same period, I would put my money on the English team. Can Ramos work juanders?

There are two other Anglo-Italian clashes. Arsenal v/s Roma; and Chelsea v/s Juventus. It seems like a million years since AS Roma drew a team other than United. In any case, I don’t see them progressing past the Gunners. The Chelsea-Juve tie should be a fascinating contest. The team from Turin have been absent from Europe’s top club competition for some years, while Chelsea have made it to (or past) the semis in 3 of the past 4 seasons. Tough one, but I think Chelsea might prevail.

Barcelona take on Lyon. Barca under Guardiola are seem the best team in Europe at the moment, so they should make light work of the French champions. I expect Villareal, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid to reach the quarterfinals, edging out Panathinaikos, Sporting and Porto in their respective ties.

What are your picks? Who do you think will progress?

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Redknapp’s arrival though has turned fortunes around at White Hart Lane. And today’s win over league leaders Liverpool makes it 7 points out of a possible 9 under the new manager. Belief is key to victory, and Spurs seem to be finding their feet.

The loss for Liverpool is good news for Manchester United, who are within 5 points of the top two, and with a game in hand. United though made it tough for themselves allowing Hull City to come back within striking distance after leading the visitors 4-1. While the Red Devils did win the points, the manner in which they won it raises doubts if they are up to the task of making it a hat-trick of Premier League crowns.

And Chelsea’s form is cause for concern at Old Trafford. The Blues romped home 5-0 against Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Poor is an inadequate adjective to describe the Wearsiders; abysmal sounds just about appropriate for a side that has stuttered in their aims to break into the top half of the Premiership. This could be another long season for Sunderland, as the relegation battle looms large.

Arsenal, who could only manage a draw in their midweek derby against Tottenham (4-4, after leading 4-2 with just two minutes to go), continued their poor streak with a loss to Stoke. Given Chelsea’s form, Liverpool’s ability to win games and Man United’s resurgence, it seems doubtful if the Gunners will be able to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership.

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In cricket, so often we see a shot played when the ball races to the fence, and no one needs to move – not the batsmen, nor the fielders. Often we hear commentators say, “Ah, a stand and deliver shot! No one moved.”

In football, one hardly comes across such moments. The game is always in a state of flux that it takes more than just brilliance to produce a goal that obviates the need for anyone other than the striker to move. Ronaldinho produced such a goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge three seasons ago – a goal of such magical quality that it should have counted as two.

Earlier today, Owen Hargreaves hit such a free kick against Arsenal at Old Trafford to put United 2-1 up, and on their way to the title (hopefully). The free kick, which you can watch here, was such that it seemed that the setting was frozen for a second, so Hargreaves could measure his ball over the Gunners’ wall and into the back of Lehmann’s net, at which instant it was unfrozen. A moment to savor (and freeze in history), and one that might mean the difference between United and Chelsea in the race to the finish.

(Fair play to Arsenal, but United look like champions.)

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Liverpool fans would have you believe that this was the reason Manchester United beat them. But few would have any doubts which the better side on the day was, if only by a few notches when it was eleven against eleven. United look good to take the title.

Arsenal face off against Chelsea shortly. The Gunners are on 67 points; Chelsea, the hosts, have 65. To a United fan, the acceptable outcome would be if Arsenal fail to win. The best result would be a draw would put Arsenal 5 points behind United, with Chelsea being 7 adrift and almost out of the race. If Chelsea win, they would pip Arsenal into second spot, still 5 points behind United. However, of the two, the Gunners have the tougher run-in (three games against Liverpool in a week; United away the week after). Chelsea have an easier Champions League tie, and some games against the relegation battlers too. So if I could pick a result, I would a draw.

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The pick of the draw though is the Arsenal-Liverpool tie. That should be enthralling! The Gunners, who have done so well this season in the Premier League with their young squad, knocked holders AC Milan out of the competition in the previous round. Liverpool’s all-but-dead season relies on winning the Champions League. I am torn between picking which of these would come good – Benitez’s tactical nous, or Wenger’s philosophy of flowing football. The return leg is at Anfield; so if I had to pick a winner, I would say Liverpool. (Come to think of it, had the Milanese teams knocked out their English opponents, this tie would have been the Milan derby.)

Chelsea, I had written, might get an easy tie. Fenerbahce, good luck to them, is as easy as it gets. So there is the mouthwatering prospect of an all-English semifinal tie. It could be a Liverpool-Chelsea semifinal, which is now almost a routine annual affair. Or a London derby involving the Gunners.

Barcelona have drawn Schalke, and should be pleased. If the ties turn out as I think, we could have a situation similar to last year, with Barcelona replacing Milan in the semis. I’m already looking forward to the Barca-United clash!

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Portsmouth can now be called odds on favorites to win the FA Cup, what with Boro also bowing out today.

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While English football, in general, is moving from one crisis to another (the national side’s poor form, a growing dearth of quality footballing talent, foreign ownership of clubs, an increasing percentage of foreign players), English clubs, and the Big Four in particular, seem to be doing rather well. The past three Champions League finals have featured an English club – Liverpool in 2005 and 2007, and Arsenal in 2006. Except for 2006, every Champions League quarterfinal fixture list has featured at least two English clubs; three clubs reached the semifinals last year.

Assuming Liverpool go through, the other clubs in the running are Barcelona, Schalke, Fenerbahce and Roma, who knocked out a Real Madrid team that I had expected would go farther. With due respect to all the clubs mentioned above, I think only Barcelona are in the same league as the Big Four. So if none of the English clubs were drawn against each other, we can expect a second season in which three English clubs make it to the last four.

Having seen how the ties have come out in the past, I have my own doubts if they are not doctored. Chelsea faced Barcelona in three successive seasons, and Liverpool in the semis twice in three years. My guess is Arsenal would draw Barca, as the Gunners have some grudge left over since the two met in the final two years ago. And United would draw Liverpool, so the Battle of the Reds would spill over to Europe. That gives Chelsea a relatively easy tie, and would also ensure that at least two English teams make it to the semis.

Of course, anything can happen. A dream tie would be to pit Manchester United against Barcelona. Or Liverpool against Barcelona, another grudge tie from the past. Or Roma against Man U once more in the quarters, that would prove beyond all doubt that the draw is definitely doctored.

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