Di Matteo forced into juggling act in Chelsea fixture circus

 

Victory would have seen Chelsea rise to fourth position in the league, taking a huge step towards qualification for next season's Champions League. However, the result meant that the west Londoners remain in sixth position, two points behind the vital cut-off spot for Europe's premier club competition.

With the team still competing on three fronts, the pressure on Chelsea is increasing by the week. It will need to be a fine balancing act if Di Matteo is to mastermind his side to success in the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as a top-four finish.

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'Why always me?' Mancini ponders ...

 

Roberto Mancini was left asking: 'Why always me?' on Sunday, as his Manchester City side lost 1-0 at Arsenal to leave them eight points behind Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title.

A late Mikel Arteta goal sealed the three points for the Gunners, but it was the antics of Mario Balotelli that really grabbed the headlines after the Italian was sent off for two bookable offences, and was his usual petulant self throughout the game.

Having just dealt with the Carlos Tevez saga, Mancini must be wondering why he has to keep babysitting his players while fighting Sir Alex Ferguson for the Premier League crown.
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Conte snatches Scudetto shield from Allegri's grasp

 

After AC Milan suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina on Saturday, Juventus took the initiative in the race for the Scudetto by reclaiming top spot with a 2-0 win over Palermo in the early evening fixture.

With just seven games left to play, the unbeaten Bianconeri now lead the sprint for the Serie A title, and coach Antonio Conte will be hoping his side can hold on to their advantage and see off Massimiliano Allegri's reigning champions.

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Cisse at the double as Pardew hits the jackpot

 

This time last year, Newcastle United were struggling for goals in the wake of Andy Carroll's £35 million departure to Liverpool, but 2011-12 has been a different story. It was Demba Ba who won all the plaudits in the first part of the season, but January changed all that, as a certain Senegalese striker named Papiss Cisse arrived at St James' Park from Freiburg for a significantly lesser fee than was received for the much-derided England striker.

And Cisse hasn't looked back since, scoring the winner on his debut against Aston Villa. While Ba has struggled to replicate his early form following the Africa Cup of Nations, his countryman has continued to rake in the goals. His most recent double against Swansea meant he has now scored more than once a game - nine in eight matches - delighting manager Alan Pardew and leaving Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger to ponder what could have been ...
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Lost for ideas!

 

It has been a season to forget for Alexandre Pato. The AC Milan striker has scored just four times in nine starts this season, but for a moment it appeared his campaign had turned a corner after reportedly declining a big-money transfer to French giants Paris Saint-Germain, in what was hailed as a refreshing display of commitment to the Rossoneri cause.

However, a recurring muscle problem has thrown a spanner in the works and on Thursday, AC Milan announced Pato will miss the rest of the season following yet another knock, sustained during his brief cameo against Barcelona in the Champions League. Club doctor Jean-Pierre Meersseman admitted the forward's injuries have baffled him and his staff, but they now have a few more months to devise a new treatment!

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Beat Barcelona, then we'll talk ...

 

When Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea went their separate ways, the Blues were on the brink of Champions League elimination. European domination has long been the dream of ambitious owner Roman Abramovich, who has dispensed with a host of coaches, including the Portuguese, for failing to deliver his most-coveted prize.

However, under the stewardship of Roberto Di Matteo, the Blues have had an upturn in fortunes, and edged ever closer to the Champions League final with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Benfica in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night. However, the Italian will have to win a few more games yet if he wants a permanent stay ...

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One for the history books!

 

Barcelona's 3-1 win over AC Milan on Tuesday night put the Catalans into the record books again as they became the first team to reach five straight Champions League semi-finals, while also equalling the mark set by the great Real Madrid side of the late 1950s, who did, however, win the European Cup five years in a row. Barca boss Pep Guardiola, who had claimed before the match that his team would "need a ladder" to stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will now be desperate for his side to become the first team to retain the trophy in the Champions League era, and lift the title for the third time in four years.

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Ferguson's side sprint for the finish

 

Momentum swung the way of Sir Alex Ferguson as his Manchester United side earned a 2-0 win over a relegation-embroiled Blackburn Rovers, moving them a step closer to his 13th Premier League title.

They left it late, but after Antonio Valencia broke the deadlock in the 81st minute, Ashley Young added a second in a performance which Ferguson stated 'typfied the history' of Manchester United. The Red Devils stretched their lead at the summit of the league to five points as their arch-rivals Manchester City slipped up at home to Sunderland.

Since losing their first game of the calendar year to Newcastle United, Ferguson has led the reigning Premier League champions to 31 points from a possible 33, putting them in the lead of the race for the title.

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Liverpool trip up after comedy of errors

 

It was a day to forget for Kenny Dalglish and his Liverpool side as they went down 2-0 to Champions League-chasing Newcastle at St. James' Park on Sunday.

In a comedy of errors that encapsulated the Mersysiders' entire campaign, Andy Carroll was booked early on for diving when he had already rounded Magpies keeper Tim Krul. Pepe Reina was then sent off late on for a headbutt on James Perch, which resulted in left-back Jose Enrique pulling on the gloves.

Dour Scot Dalglish was left exasperated at the final whistle, as his side look to have let Champions League football - much like Carroll - slip from under them for another year.
 
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Mancini left tearing his hair out as City, Balotelli & Aguero self-destruct

 

Eight points clear at the top of the Premier League at one point earlier in the season, Manchester City now find themselves two points adrift of Manchester United after Saturday's 3-3 draw with Sunderland, having played a game more than their city rivals.

Sergio Aguero reportedly ruled himself out of action for two weeks by slipping down the steps of the team coach, while Mario Balotelli and Aleksandar Kolarov had to be pulled apart by team-mates after squaring up over a free-kick during the Sunderland epic. Anything and everything seems to be going wrong for City at the moment. It's no wonder, then, that manager Roberto Mancini is currently tearing his hair out, while United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson laps it all up. 

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