International Friendly, England vs Norway - LIVE Commentary:

Hello and welcome to my LIVE commentary of this International Friendly between England and Norway at The Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.
England are prearing for the Euro 2012 Tournament which starts on the 7th of June and will be desperate for the squad to gel together for this warm-up match.

England's next 5 matches:

Norway: TONIGHT

Belgium: 2nd of June

France: 11th of June

Sweden: 15th of June

Ukraine: 19th of June

Let's have a look at the line-ups for tonight's match:

Norway: Jarstein, Hogli, Demidov, Hangeland, Riise, Tettey, Elyounoussi, Henriksen, Pedersen, Braaten, Abdellaoui. 
Subs: Pettersen, Madsen, Ruud, Grindheim, Huseklepp, Jenssen, Berisha.

Decent Norway squad with Tariq Elyounoussi, Markus Herniksen, Brede Hangeland, John Arne Riise and Morten Gamst Pedersen the familiar faces. 
Huseklepp and Valon Berisha on the bench for the hosts.
4-3-2-1 formation for the hosts. 

FACT: This will be Riise's 102nd international cap.


England: Green, Jones, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Milner, Gerrard, Parker, Downing, Young, Carroll. 
Subs: Hart, Kelly, Henderson, Barry, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Defoe, A Johnson.

Almost a second team for The Three Lions. 
Robert Green, Andy Carroll, Phil Jagielka and James Milner all not regular starters.
Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker will play in the defensive hub of midfield, with Downing and Milner on the wings, Young in atacking midfield just sitting behind Carroll. 
4-2-3-1 formation. 


FACT: This is goalkeeper Robert Green's 12th start in an England shirt at international level.

 

Other International matches being played today include:

Spain vs Serbia

Holland vs Bulgaria

Switzerland vs Germany

Portugal vs Republic Of Macedonia


Earlier:

Brazil 3 Denmark 1

Porto forward Hulk scored a brace and an own goal helped Brazil to a comfortable 3-1 win. Out of favour Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner scored a consolation for Denmark in the 71st minute, but it was too late.

Republic Of Ireland 1 Bosnia 0

West Bromwich Albion's striker Shane Long scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute.

19:40: National anthems playing now. 

LIVE COMMENTARY: NORWAY VS ENGLAND

19:45: Let's go, with Norway kicking off here.

England with their navy blue kit, while Norway are wearing bright red with a hint of dark blue. 

1: Early foul, with Stewart Downing falling onto Elyounoussi. Free-kick taken quickly.

2: Electric atmosphere by England fans here, you would not have thought that this is Norway's ground.

3: Good chance for England. Stewart Downing with a great cross into the box for striker Andy Carroll who dives to reach the ball with his head, but his header is just wide!

FACT: Midfielder James Milner has only played 1 minute of football for Manchester City in the last 7 weeks.

6: England looking for a gap in Norway's defence here, not afraid to pass the ball back in order to tire them out.

8: Norway trying to give England pressure, but Lescott clears the ball high away towards Ashley Young who skills three players up before shooting from 12 yards out into the bottom corner of the net. GOAL!

Perfect start: Ashley Young scores for England in the 8th minute to give them a 1-0 lead against Norway.

On-fire: Young has scored in all of his last 4 International matches for England.

 
FACT: Ashley Young is the first English player to score 4 matches in a row for England Internationals since Wayne Rooney in 2009.


11: Norway corner here. Pedersen whips the ball in to the box and it hits the post before being cleared away. Close.


15: Norway corner taken by Elyounoussi.
England clear.


21: England are under-pressure now. John Arne Riise beats defender Phil Jones on the wing to send in a dangerous cross but luckily Jagielka intercepts to clear the ball out.


24: To say that this has not been a very exciting match so far is an understatement.


26: Andy Carroll on the break for England, crosses the ball towards Young inside the 16-yard box but it was too powerful to control and the momentun is gone.


29: England corner whipped into the box by Steven Gerrard but Fulham defender Brede Hangeland clears the ball to safety. It looked dangerous and was a goal-scoring chance.


31: Nice passing by Norway, moving into England's half to give them problems.


33: England on the counter with James Milner sprinting down the wing after a great through ball by Ashley Young before shaping to shoot towards goal... COMFORTABLE SAVE! By the goalkeeper!
Nice idea by Milner and it was a good shot but was at the keeper's far side.


35: Norway corner, deep into the 6-yard box and striker Andy Carroll wacks the ball away. 
It was dangerous, as they was a player behind him and the ball was moving quickly.


36: Striker Mohammed Abdellaoue ends a good one-touch move on the edge of the box by shooting towards goal, but it is just wide of the England goal.

38: Steven Gerrard lunges in to a tackle with Tom Hogli, who goes flying and injures his foot.. Free-kick and Hogli will be substituted.

40:
Norway SUB:
Tom Hogli OFF 
Espen Rudd ON

FACT: There are 6 substitutions allowed for both sides tonight.

42: Nice patient build-up play by Norway with quick passes to try and frustrate England.
They just need the end product and take some chances at goal.
Goalkeeper Robert Green could fall under the pressure if they target him, which they have not done very well so far.

43: Another Norway corner comes of nothing as England clear again.

45: The fourth official has signalled on the electronic board that there will be only 1 minute of stoppage time to be added on. 


45+1: The referee has blown the half-time whistle here in Oslo.
England lead thanks to a 9th minute goal by winger Ashley Young.

So far so good from the new England manager Roy Hodgson in his first competitive international match.
Positive start from both sides, but neither team has killed the game off yet.

20:45:

England SUB:
 
Gareth Barry ON
Steven Gerrard OFF

He takes the captain's armband off Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.


FACT: This is Gareth Barry's 8th manager whilst playing for England, and has now got 52 caps.
 
45:
Ashley Young and Andy Carroll start the second half for England. 


46: Free-kick to England after Ashley Young is pushed down to the ground by a Norway defender.


47: Full-back Leighton Baines whips the free-kick low towards the corner of the goal... SAVED!! and held by the goalkeeper!
Close by Everton defender Baines who knows how to score a free-kick.

48: Defender Phil Jones runs 30 yards with a counter attacking break before launching a shot towards goal..... it takes a small deflection before HITTING THE BAR!!
Close to 2-0 to England. Jones saw a gap in the midfield and ran inside.


50: Nice passing play by Norway before Morten Gamst Pedersen takes a shot from 22 yards out, but the shot is wide of the goal and it is a goal kick.


51: Full-back John Arne Riise sees a gap between him and goal so takes a shot from 24 yards out, but it is too low and Robert Green catches the ball and holds it.


55: Norway giving England trouble since the start of the second half here and I just wish they started the match like this.


56: 
England SUB:

Theo Walcott ON
Scott Parker OFF


Walcott moves to the wing while Milner slips into defensive midfield, where Parker was.

58: Braaten unleashes a dangerous shot from outside the box, but the England defence block the ball away.

59: Cameras show that midfielder Scott Parker has a bandage around his ankle injury that he suffered last month. Hopefully it is not too bad.



61: Nice passing YET again by Norway, before a cross goes across the wing to Riise who weaves past Walcott before unleashing a stinging shot at the near post but goalkeeper Robert Green parries the ball out for a corner.


62: Norway corner comes of nothing. England goal-kick.


62: Norway SUB:


Christian Grindheim ON
Morten Gamst Pedersen OFF


Good match from Blackburn winger Pedersen. Provided danger throughout.


64: England keep losing the ball and are failing to string 5 passes together in 1 move. If this was Spain or France it would be 3 or 4-1 by now.
Edgy second half for The Three Lions.

68: Norway cross into the box for midfielder Grinhiem who skies the ball over the bar. 


70: Long throw-in by John Arne Riise into the box, cleared away by defender Lescott towards Rudd who shoots with the outside of his foot but a deflection gives Norway a corner.


71: Counter attack by England with Downing and Young gelling together to give Norway trouble inside the final third.
A corner is punched away by the goalkeeper.

73:
England SUB:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ON
Jordan Henderson ON
Ashley Young OFF
Gareth Barry OFF

Barry is coming off because of a groin injury, so Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson takes his place.


FACT: This is Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's senior debut in international football tonight.

74:
Norway SUB:

Erik Huseklepp ON
Daniel Braaten OFF

80: England move into the Norway half, but Walcott is dispossesed and the ball is cleared away. 


84: 
Norway SUB:


Valon Berisha ON
Marcus Henriksen OFF


85:
England SUB:


Stewart Downing OFF
Adam Johnson ON


Manchester City winger Adam Johnson comes on for Downing, so he will slip into the winger role.


87: Norway dangerously pressing with Riise and Berisha combining together to creat trouble for England.
A corner was punched away by goalkeeper Green as defender Brede Hangeland was behind him and he has been deadly this season with his headers. Still 1-0 to England.


88:
England SUB:
 
Martin Kelly ON
Phil Jones OFF


Jones has had a decent match tonight, and has been controlling the defence and moved into midfield at times and was a threat to Norway's defence. 
He comes off for Liverpool full-back Martin Kelly who makes his senior debut with a few minutes to go.


90:
Striker Abdellaoue takes a shot from 30 yards out, but it is wide of the goal frame and does not worry Robert Green.


There will be four minutes to play of stoppage time.


90+1:
 
Norway SUB:


Jensen ON
Alexander Tettey OFF

90+4:

That's it from Oslo! England prevail with a slender 1-0 win over Norway thanks to Manchester United winger Ashley Young's 9th minute strike.

The hosts pressed throughout the match, but failed to test goalkeeper Robert Green enough to break through and at least score a goal.

There were some notable players on show for Norway including Fulham duo Riise and Hangeland.

Even though England did not have their fully strenghtened side, they looked weak at times, and always kept giving the ball away. This could be a worry for the Euros when some of their players are fatigued or have minor injuries and have to be replaced.

My Man Of The Match:

Manchester United winger Ashley Young

Was electric and showed great skill to score the opener in the 9th minute. Was a threat throughout the match and could be a star for England in the upcoming Euros.

Thank you for reading my blog post.
I appreciate all the support from everyone, including my followers.
If you have not already, do not forget to follow me for LIVE updates for every blog post when I post it.
Do not be afraid to comment at the end of each blog post about your opinions, question or news. 

I will speak to you all on Saturday, in another of my LIVE Commentaries when England face Belgium in their last International friendly before the Euro 2012 competiton starts on June the 8th.


P.S:


Please check out my TW Blog (which has just recently re-opened) at:

http://epltransferwindowlive.blogspot.co.uk/


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Manager of the Season Nominees, EPL News and Views:

Hello, and welcome to my EPL Blog. I hope you enjoy this blog post!

Manager of the Season Nominees:


A: Roberto Martinez (Wigan)

Martinez: Saved Wigan from relegation this season again, and now linked with the Liverpool job.

15th place is not necessarily the best position that any manager would like to finish, but considering the fact that they were in the relegation zone for so long throughout the season, and they had a tough last 6 matches it is a miracle that they are not in the Championship. 
7 points away from the drop, after having to face Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Fulham in their last 9 is a great achievement. 
Players like Victor Moses and Alcaraz were able to shine, and Martinez had a 'never say die' atuttide towards the fixtures and the position the club were in. He never looking under pressure and after saving Wigan from relegation for the second time in 2 years, clubs like Liverpool are now interested in giving him their managerial job.


B: Roy Hodgson (West Brom, now England)

Well done: Hodgson had a great season in charge of WBA, and as a result has been appointed as the new England manager.

No-one expected West Brom to finish in 10th place this season, and they have their manager Roy Hodgson to thank for their top 10 place. 
Peter Odemwingie was their spearhead in attack, and 13 wins and 8 draws in this league is never bad.
Hodgson was one of the only English managers in the EPL, and his performances for The Baggies caught the attention of England after Fabio Capello resigned from the managerial post.
The rest was history, and now he is currently training with his 23-man squad ahead of the Euros starting in 2 weeks.


C: Alan Pardew (Newcastle)

Inspirational: Alan Pardew has given Newcastle a place in Europe and their highest finish in the EPL since 2004.

What a season it has been for everyone at Newcastle.
5th place, and a spot in Europe for the first time in 10 years next season sealed.
Great performances and effort from all the players including Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Hatem Ben Arfa, Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini.
Not to mention their in-form £10million striker Papiss Cisse.
Alan Pardew is the unsung hero, and helped to gel this team together.

They will thank Liverpool for that £35million in the summer from striker Andy Carroll, and hopefully now with a higher transfer budget they can become a top club in the next few years to come.



D: David Moyes (Everton)

Solid season: David Moyes pushed Everton to 7th place this season.

7th place is never a bad place to come in the EPL, especially when you are ahead of your fierce rivals, and in this case for Everton it is Liverpool who they leapfrogged.
They played well in the domestic cups also, getting to the semi-finals of the FA Cup before getting narrowly beaten 2-1 by Liverpool.



Winner of the 'Signing of the Season' poll will be revealed soon...

EPL News:

Fulham forward Clint Dempsey has hinted at a move from Fulham after admitting he is desperate to play in the Champions League.

Off to Arsenal? Fulham forward Clint Dempsey wants a move to a CL club and Arsenal are interested in him.

Dempsey said: "I am grateful for everything Fulham have done for me.
"Some of the best memories I have in soccer have been there, but the fact remains that I want to play in the Champions League. I want to play at the highest level possible.
"I am always going to want to play in Champions League. It is something I have never done. I would like to test myself at that level.

Liverpool will reportedly have to pay Wigan £3million if they want Roberto Martinez as their new manager.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has told Martinez to think very carefully about joining Liverpool as he will have no control over the transfers. 

Fulham have made a £3.5million bid for Huddersfield's in-form striker Jordan Rhodes, but they have rejected it, and called it a 'laughable' bid.


West Brom's hunt for a new manager continues as Birmingham boss Chris Hughton and Claudio Ranieri have both been shortlisted as their favourites.


PSG are interested in Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, and he says that he would not mind moving there as he is interested in their 'French Revolution', and wants to play in the Champions League next season, something that they can offer him.


Brazilian club Gremio have announced the signing of full-back Fabio Aurelio after the player was released by Liverpool today.

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has admitted he lost faith in himself last season, and is gutted that he did not start the Champions League Final last Saturday.
This is motivation to do better and become Chelsea's spearhead in attack after the departure of Didier Drogba.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I truly appreciate all the support from daily views and my followers. If you like what you are reading, then do not forget to follow me. You can also leave a comment at the end of my blog post, as long as it is not spam and is relevant to the EPL, or any questions/opinions on football etc. 


I will speak to all of you tomorrow in the England vs Norway LIVE Commentary blog post. 

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Champions League Final - Chelsea vs Bayern Munich: LIVE Commentary:

Hello and welcome to my LIVE coverage of the CL final between London club Chelsea and German giants Bayern Munich in this epic showdown. 
This match will be played at Bayern's home stadium, The Allianz Arena.

Who will win the coveted CL trophy tonight? Can Chelsea win their first CL today and stop Bayern from their 5th trophy?

Beautiful sight: The CL final will be played here tonight in Bayern's stadium, The Allianz Arena.

Welcome in: Either Chelsea or Bayern will lift the trophy tonight, and it has the potential to be a historic night.

Let's see how the two teams got to the final starting with Bayern:

Group Stages: 1st in their group with 13 points out of 18.


Round of 16:
Basel 1 Bayern Munich 7 (Aggregate score)


Quarter-Final:
Marseille 0 Bayern Munich 4 (Aggregate score)


Semi-Final:
Real Madrid 3 Bayern Munich 3(pen)

Chelsea:

Group Stages: 1st in their group with 11 points out of 18.


Round of 16:
Napoli 4 Chelsea 5

Quarter-Final:
Benfica 1 Chelsea 3


Semi-Final:
Barcelona 2 Chelsea 3



Analysis:


This is a much awaited CL final between these two teams and for Chelsea interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, he can get into owner Roman Abromovich's good books with a trophy win tonight. 
Chelsea are shortlisting a few managers including Fabio Capello for their next permanent manger so it will be a big test for Di Matteo to see whther he can handle all of the pressure on his shoulders.
Striker Didier Drogba will be the danger man for The Blues and he is deadly in-front of goal.

Bayern on the other hand will be desperate to win the CL after getting to the final in 2010 before losing 2-0 to Inter Milan. They will have the home advantage today, and will look to bounce back from their German Cup Final 5-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund last week. 
They will be the major favourites going into the match, and they will know that the longer that Chelsea fail to score, the more chance they will prevail.
Winger Arjen Robben has said that he has 'no regrets' leaving Chelsea 5 years ago, and that they should not expect he to be nice tonight.


Let's see how the teams will line-up tonight:

Bayern:
Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Tymoschuk, Contento, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben, Muller, Ribery, Gomez. 
Subs: Butt, Van Buyten, Petersen, Olic, Rafinha, Usami, Pranjic.

Strong German side on show tonight but defender Holger Basdstuber is suspended so Tymoschuk replaces him in the centre of defence.

Chelsea:

Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Kalou, Mikel, Lampard, Bertrand, Mata, Drogba. Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Romeu, Torres, Malouda, Ferreira, Sturridge.

Chelsea are without captain John Terry, winger Ramires, centre-back Branislav Ivanovic and midfielder Raul Meireles, who are all supended.

Winger Ryan Bertrand starts his first CL match in his career, in the final in Munich tonight! 

Strikers Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge both start from the bench tonight.

That's what it is all about: The Champions League trophy is unveiled inside the stadium beside the pitch.

0: The match has started here in Munich!

2: Midfielder Basten Schweinstieger has been given a yellow card for a deliberate handball.

5: Schweinstieger with a shot from 20 yards out, but defender Gary Cahill blocks the ball for a corner.

17: Bayern dominating all the possession, so far but Chelsea are looking rock solid at the back though. Still goal-less at the moment.

19: Striker Mario Gomez has a chance to score for Bayern, but cuts the ball back towards full-back Bosingwa who clears the ball away for a corner.  

32: There is a stoppage in play, as Bayern winger Frank Ribery recieves treatment from the physio after a late challenge on him by Bosingwa. 

33: Gary Cahill goes on a good run for Chelsea moving towards the 16 yard box before being tripped by defender Jerome Boateng from 20 yards out.

He brought the foul, smart move. 

34: Winger Juan Mata takes the free-kick and it curls a few yards over the bar! Still 0-0 and the quality of set pieces so far in this match have been poor.

37: Chelsea look dangerous with striker Didier Drogba on the ball running down the wing. A clever flick onto midfielder Salomon Kalou who takes a stinging shot towards goal, but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saves the ball at his near post. 

45: There will be one minute of stoppage time to be added on here at The Allianz Arena. 

45+1: The referee blows the whistle to signal the end of the first half. Goal-less. 
Gomez and Ribery have had a lot of shooting chances in the last five minutes of the half, but they were not good enough to score and break the deadlock.

20:45:

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half. 

51: What a shot from Chelsea striker Didier Drogba! 30+ yards out, but it was narrowly wide even though 'keeper Neuer had it covered.

54: Ribery takes a shot from close range which deflects off a Chelsea defender at the far post which beats Cech to score for Bayern.... but the referee blows the whislte for offside! Still 0-0 though.

60: Chelsea's defence is being tested by the pace and danger of Arjen Robben. They are desperate to not let him get close to goal though to trouble Petr Cech.

63: Bayern Munich are dominating possession and not giving Chelsea a chance here, this is worse than Barca last month.
The only problem is that they cannot finish their chances and always miss or get blocked.

68: The Chelsea bus is firmly parked now again. 
Bayern trying to find a gap in the defence, but the blue shirts are not giving them any space.

71: Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole proves once again why he is one of the best if not the best defenders in the world by blocking Bayern striker Tim Kroos from scoring with a massive deflection.

72: FACT: Chelsea have blocked 11 shots in this match so far, which is the most in one match in the CL this season. 

74: Young startlet Ryan Bertrand is being taken off the pitch and will be replaced by Florent Malouda for Chelsea to add some attacking options.

Warm applause for the youngster who has a bright future. 

77: FACT: Bayern Munich are one of the three clubs in the CL this season to have won all of their home matches. Chelsea and Real Madrid are the other two teams. 

81: Bayern go on the counter attacker with Thomas Muller on the run with the ball. Full-back Ashley Cole slices his legs onto the floor and gets a silly yellow card for it. 
It was a smart move though as Chelsea were close to conceding, to take one for the team. 

83: GOAL!!!!!

This was coming, as Bayern were pressing throughout the match.
Striker Thomas Muller scores a downward header from a rebound after his shot was saved by goalkeeper Petr Cech just outside the 6 yard box.

About time and all: Thomas Muller breaks the deadlock with a header for Bayern in the 83rd minute after pressure.

Pure relief: Muller celebrates his 11th goal this season to put Bayern ahead against Chelsea tonight.

84: Chelsea SUB:

Fernando Torres ON

Salomon Kalou OFF

Roberto Di Matteo has five minutes plus stoppage time to salvage extra time here. Can he do it?

87: Bayern SUB:

Daniel Van Buyten ON

Thomas Muller OFF 

88: Chelsea about to take their first corner of the night.

Winger Juan Mata takes it and whips it into the box for striker Didier Drogba who powerfully heads the ball twoards goal.... GOAL!!!!!!!

He rose above defender before heading past Neuer.

1-1, what a time to score an equaliser! Chelsea have hope!

Rise to the occasion: Drgoba heads the ball from a corner to beat Manuel Neuer and score in the 88th minute to make it 1-1.

Never give up: Chelsea team-mates celebrate Drogba's goal in the 88th minute to give them hope of winning the CL.

90: The fourth official signals three minutes of stoppage time to be added on here. 
90+1: End-to-end action here, with both teams thinking that they can win the tie in stoppage time.
90+4: Winger Juan Mata is tripped from 25 yards out. Chelsea free-kick, and the last action until extra time unless Drogba can weave some more action here. 
90+5: He steps up to take the shot, after 1 minute of problems inside the box but his shot is well wide and goes into the stands. 

Full-time whistle here, and we are going into extra time.

Bayern Munich 1 Chelsea 1 


Extra-time:
30 minutes left for both teams to end the tie with a goal or two, or it will go down to penalties.

93:
PENALTY 
Bayern Munich have been awarded a penalty after striker Drogba clips Bayern winger Ribery's leg inside the box, and he goes down to ground.

95:
Ribery is off the field recieving treatment for a bad cramp after the tackle, while former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben steps up to take the penalty. 


He steps up to shoot, and takes a low drive towards the right hand side of goal, but Petr Cech saves the weak shot with his hands before it goes between his foot.

Game changer: Petr Cech saves Robben's penalty to keep his team in the match in extra time.

Still 1-1 and Chelsea still have hope.


Shades of Barca vs Chelsea in April when Messi hit the bar after Drogba fouled Fabregas inside the box and Chelsea ended up winning the tie to get into the final.

It looks like it will be Chelsea's night now, they have had so much luck throughout the match and the CL season. Destiny. 

97: Winger Frank Ribery cannot continue playing, and will be replaced by striker Ivica Olic.


102: There are a lot of tired legs out there now, including the Chelsea defence with Cahill and Luiz both just coming back from injury.

105: There will be only 1 minute of added time here.
No real threat from either team since the penalty save, with both teams in shock.

105+1: The referee blows the whistle for the end of the first half of extra time.

22:00:
 
105: The last 15 minutes of CL football this season left here. Who will win this epic showdown? Chelsea or Bayern?

108: AGAIN?!?!
Olic misses a shot from the far post of the goal from a cross. 
He failed to control the shot, and just lashed at the ball which was a wasted chance. Should have been 2-1.

115: Chelsea's bus is not giving up. 
Gomez and co are camped inside the Chelsea half, but The Blues look to 'play for penalties'. 


120: Full-time in extra time, and the scores are tied 1-1 still.
This means it will be a penalty shootout.

22:20:
Penalty time:


Defender Phillip Lahm scores the first pen to make it 1-0 to Bayern.

Winger Juan Mata has his penalty saved by Manuel Neuer. Stil 1-0 to Bayern.

Striker Mario Gomez scores his penalty to give Bayern a 2-0 lead.

Defender David Luiz scored his penalty to give Chelsea hope. 2-1 on pens now. 

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cooly slots the ball past Cech. 3-1 to Bayern. 

Midfielder Frank Lampard almost always scores his penalties, and scores a trademark goal here. 3-2.

Ivica Olic has his penalty saved by goalkeeper Petr Cech. 3-2 to Bayern and Chelsea have to capatalize now or they will lose. 

Full-back Ashley Cole scores for Chelsea. They have equalised.

Schweinsteiger hits the post for Bayern. 3-3.

Drogba scores for Chelsea. 4-3 to Chelsea, and they have won!!!

CHELSEA WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

We are the champions: The Chelsea squad go wild after beating Bayern on penalties in Munich.

Signing of the Season, EPL News, England's Euro 2012 Squad Review:

Hello and welcome to the aftermath of Sunday's epic last EPL match of the season.

Manchester City have been crowned as the new champions of England.

Tottenham and Arsenal both took the Champions League spots along with 2nd placed Manchester United who failed to retain their title.

Newcastle are in line for a Europa League place next season after an amazing season along with Liverpool who won the Carling Cup and as a result move into the qualifying rounds.

Bolton Wanderers, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers were all relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, with Reading, Southampton and West Ham/Blackpool moving up to the EPL. 

Chelsea have to face German giants Bayern Munich in the CL Final this Saturday and beat them.

My first 'End of Season poll' for all of you is this:


Who has been the signing of the season?


A: Nikica Jelavic 

Super signing: Jelavic has been a massive impact for Everton since moving in January.

He has been electric since his £5million move from Rangers in the January transfer window.
He has scored 11 goals in 14 matches and has virtually given Everton 7th place in the table, higher than rivals Liverpool.
For £5million, he is a bargain.


B: Demba Ba

What an impact: Newcastle striker Demba Ba scored 15 goals in the EPL before Christmas.

This striker has been overlooked as times ever since his International team-mate came on the Newcastle scene. We will talk about him in a minute, but Demba Ba whether you will remember or not was amazing for The Toon Army since arriving on a FREE transfer in the summer.
He scored 15 goals before going to the African Cup of Nations in January and ever since he came back he only scored twice.
He still scored 17 goals this season, which makes him the 7th highest scorer in the EPL despite a confusing second half of the season.


C: Papiss Demba Cisse

Newcastle's No.9: Cisse has scored 13 goals in 14 matches and has been explosive since moving from Freiburg.

£10million in the January transfer window for the Senegal striker.
Newcastle were looking for a Champions League spot, and almost got it with the amazing and intriguing form of Cisse. He settled into England well, scoring 13 goals from 14 matches.
He gave Newcastle 5th spot which means Europa League next season, and linked up with his team-mates well also.
He also scored braces against Swansea, West Brom, Chelsea and Liverpool. 
He has caused some transfer speculation already with reports that Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and PSG are both ready to sign him.


FACT: He is the quickest Newcastle player to score 5 goals since Les Ferdinand.


FACT: He is Newcastle's most prolific goals-to-game scorer of ALL TIME ahead of Hughie Gallacher.


D: Gylfi Sigurdsson

Sign him up! Gylfi Sigurdsson has had a superb loan spell at Swansea and is WANTED all over Europe.

Even though this signing was only a loan period, Sigurdsson was immense for Swansea creating trouble for defences with his rapid pace and giving goalkeepers nightmares with is deadly free-kicks. 
He scored 7 goals in the EPL in his time at Swansea, and Brendan Rogers will be hoping he can obtain Sigurdsson's services on a permament basis beyond this season. 

EPL News:

BREAKING NEWS:
 

Liverpool have officially confirmed that they have sacked manager Kenny Daglish after a poor season despite winning the Carling Cup in February and qualifying for the Europa League. They came 8th in the table, behind Merseyside rivals Everton and lost 14 times this season. 

Not good enough: Manager Kenny Daglish has been sacked from Liverpool FC after coming 8th this season.

FACT: This is Liverpool's worst finish in the EPL in 18 years and their lowest points tally since 1953/54 season.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and former Reds boss Rafa Benitez are the favourites to take the job.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has thanked Daglish for all his support and help while he was settling into the club in January last year.

He has hinted at a move away from the club though, as he said that he would love to play in Spain in the La Liga in the future.
He is not gettting any younger, and Atletico Madrid and Valencia could move for him in January.


Manchester United striker Michael Owen has been released from United after being told that he will not be offered a new contract. 
He is now looking for a new club.

Some International players who will play in Euro 2012 in the Summer have modelled off their new home kits.

In season: Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Snejider, Modric and M'Villa all model off their home kits for Euro 2012.

 

Arsenal have shown a sneak peek preview picture of their new German striker Lukas Podolski in a training hall in London.

£11million man: Could this be the super signing to give Arsenal their first trophy in over 7 years?!

Bye bye Koln: Striker Lukas Podolski waves goodbye to a club that he has been at since 1995.

Goal-line technology could be brought in halfway through next season, according to EPL chief executive Richard Scudamore.

FIFA will rule in July whether it will be allowed across the world. 

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been named their Player of the Year.

Player of the Year: Martin Skrtel has been named Liverpool's Best Player. He is reportedly WANTED around Europe.

EUROPE NEWS:

Atletico Madrid have won the Europa League after beating fellow Spainish side Athletic Bilbao 3-0 last Wednesday.

Champions of the Europa League: Atletico Madrid celebrate their win against Bilbao last week.

Former Arsenal and (Real Madrid - loanee) striker Emmanuel Adebayor admits that his future is out of his hands but has re-iterated his desire to stay with North London club Tottenham. 

He has virtually given them a top 4 spot this season, scoring 18 goals for them this season on loan from EPL champions Manchester City. 

He has to take a pay cut if he goes, and I doubt City would take him back and he would play in the starting 11 every week, so he should stay at Spurs.

Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra has admitted that United gifted rivals City the title this season and believes that if they play well next season, they should be able to regain their crown easily. 

The problem was when they were 8 points clear, they got too over confident and City were still believing, and pounced on them on the last day. 

QPR midfielder Joey Barton could face a 12-match ban after using violent conduct on Manchester City strikers Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero on Sunday after being sent off.

Disgrace: Joey Barton is sent off the pitch against Manchester City on Sunday after violent conduct.

 

He would be lucky, he should never play professional football again.

Disgrace to the word 'football' 

Chelsea players have modelled off their 2012-13 home EPL kits:

We want gold: Fernando Torres, Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge pose in their new home kits.

England's Euro 2012 Squad Review:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Robert Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich)

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Man United), James Milner (Man City)

Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Danny Welbeck (Man United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

Stand-by players: Jack Butland (Birmingham), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Man City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

Well, it is a solid team but their are some notable absences including:

Rio Ferdinand
Micah Richards
Ben Foster (ruled himself out from International duty)
Peter Crouch
Daniel Sturridge (who is ONLY a stand-by)
Kyle Walker (through an ankle injury) 
Chris Smalling (through a groin injury)


No offence, but I do not see how on earth Downing got a place in the team, yet Sturridge and Johnson did not get a place. Carroll should be a stand-by player because he only started to perform in the last few weeks of the season, starting with the FA Cup semi-final against fierce rivals Everton.
John Terry and Ashley Cole will provide some much needed experience in the back 4, whilst Gerrard being captain will lift morale levels.
Walcott on the left, Chamberlain on the right is a deadly pair and will be giving defences trouble.
Defoe has some experience which will come in handy, especially for the group stage matches, where Rooney is suspended.




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