At the Old Trafford, the age old proverb that morning predicts the day did not hold good. Carlo Ancelotti gambled by starting with Torres and Anelka and keeping Drogba on the bench. Chelsea started positively and looked as if they were the favourites to overturn their first leg deficit, but continuous misses by Torres, Anelka, Lampard and Malouda helped Man U stay on in the game. As is their style of play, Man U kept the pressure on Chelsea on the break and were rewarded in the 43rd minute when Chelsea failed to clear a free-kick and Rooney picked up the loose ball, only to pass it to Ryan Giggs, who burst into the box and sent a low cross for Javier Hernandez to pump into the roof of the net.

Ancelotti sent in Drogba for Torres in the second half but Chelsea seemed to have lost the game when Ramires was sent off for a second booking after 70 mins. Still Drogba brought Chelsea back in the reckoning with the equalizer on 77 mins, only for Park Ji- Sung to give back Man Utd the advantage a minute later. Manchester Utd now face either Schalke or Inter for a place in the finals at Wembley.

Barcelona became the first team to win at the Donbass Arena in an European fixture when Lionel Messi scored just before interval after an exchange with Dani Alves. Shakhtar started the game well and knowing they needed to score atleast 4 times for an upset victory, attacked from the word go but as had been the case in the first leg, lack of finishing in front of the goal cost them and all their attacks fizzled out. Barcelona now await the winners of Tottenham and Real Madrid clash with the possibility of another El Classico in the semis looking distinctly possible.

REAL MADRID OF SPAIN AND SCHALKE 04 OF GERMANY REACHED IN THE SEMI FINAL

As expected, Real Madrid and Schalke reached the semi finals of the Uefa Champions League with victories in their return leg fixture. Real ended the dream run of Tottenham Hotspur by beating them 1-0 at White Hart Lane while Schalke beat Inter 2-1 at home.

Real Madrid set up a mouth watering semi final clash with FC Barcelona by ensuring Tottenham didn’t get anywhere near turning around their 4 goal deficit from first leg. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 50th minute through a long ranger, which was spilled by Heurelho Gomes into his own net to seal the matter for the Spanish club. Tottenham never looked like breaking the Madrid defense expect for a few chances towards the end and a couple of Gareth Bale’s trademark runs and the Madrid defense maintained a clean sheet for the 8th match running at the European level.

FC Schalke 04 reached the semi finals of the Champions League for the first time by scoring a resounding 7-3 aggregate win. After beating Inter at San Siro a week earlier, Schalke ensured that the Italian outfit do not pull out another stunning comeback as they did against Munich in the previous rounds by putting up a clinical display. European superstar Raul Gonzalez scored before the interval and although Thiago Motta equalized for Inter just after the breather, there were never in with a chance to score atleast 4 goals.

Although Leonardo had insisted that such a comeback was possible, Inter needed all of their shots to be on goal and that did not happen. They ceaselessly attacked to no avail and left gaps in their defense, which helped the German club to cap a wonderful night by scoring the winner at the 81st minute through Howedes. Schalke now meet Man Utd in the semi-finals.

East Bengal and Mohun bagan boasted their strongest lineups with a classic clash between Tolgay and Barreto to be witnessed by the faithfuls.Statistics wise East Bengal looked the team to beat on paper but the clashes between these two teams is always very difficult to predict. Kickoff was finally announced by the whistle of the referee and in the first minute East Bengal made their point as they earned a corner taken by the former Mariner Mehtab but it was easily cleared by the Mohun Bagan defence.

But Mohun Bagan also replied to calm their early nerves as Chidi attacked in the left passing to Ashim Biswas but his left foot shot went wide .The moment of magic came in 6 mins when the game got its first goal as East Bengal struck courtesy a nice solo effort from the Australian in form Tolgay who beat Anwar with his sulky skill finding the net with his left foot shot and it was his 13th goal in the I league. East Bengal with a rush of confidence started to attack down the flanks with their full backs bombing to exploit the Mohun Bagan defence as they looked for a second.

But Mohun Bagan was waiting to play the catch up game as they depended solely on the counter attack defending deep. Mohun Bagan got their reward in 21mins when they earned a free kick which was hopelessly shot wide by their star striker Chidi blowing a glorious chance. East Bengal almost doubled their lead when a header by Baljit hit the Mohun Bagan post and went out.

The men in red and gold were dominating all over the pitch proving their hunger in winning the I league for the first time and the desperation of Mohun Bagan to get back into the contest was clearly felt when both Snehasish and Muritala Ali entered the fray sending Barretto and Kingshuk to early showers. After the introduction of the two players Mohun Bagan rejuvenated themselves up and earned a corner towards the end of the first half in 37mins when a Snehasish shot was well replied with a good save from Jayanta and in 40mins another substitute of Mohun Bagan Muritala hit a devastating right footer only to be kept off the track again by the East Bengal keeper . Thus the first half ended with the vuvuzelas of the Bangals making the loudest noise as the Mariner faithfuls wanted their team to make amends in the second half.

The second half started with the prayers of the Ghotis coming true as Surkumar finally equalized for Mohun Bagan finding the net against his former employers and suddenly the magic of the Kolkata Derby sprung into life with that goal . Mohun Bagan got their fair share of confidence with that goal and got a corner in 48 mins but the corner was forced wide by the East Bengal defence. But the aura of the beautiful game always presents some twists and turns as again East Bengal got the lead n 52 mins when Baljit capitalized on a pass from Tolgay with a clinical left foot finish.

The goal was followed with a few rough incidents as Mehtab was booked for a foul on Surkumar . Mohun bagan got a glorious chance when a mistake from the East Bengal goalkeeper looked costly as he misjudged a long throw from Mohonraj but saved it in the second attempt. The first change for East Bengal came in 60mins when Rahim Nabi was introduced substituting Ravinder. The frustration of Mohun Bagan was felt as they started to commit bad tackles and as a result their players Rakesh Masih and Dipak Mondal going under the caution.

The East Bengal defence looked solid with their iron man Okpara assisted by Gurwinder were looking hard to melt on a match full of emotions . Gourango Dutta was the last throw of the dice by Mohun Bagan who came on to replace Ashim Biswas and somehow find the goal that would level this contest. In the last 15 mins Mohun Bagan looked the more ruthless of the two as East Bengal got lucky in 75mins when a well crafted pass by Muritala was missed by Chidi from six yards out and in 80 mins Rakesh Masih’s six yard shot was again met with a strong fist from Jayanta who was impressive throughout the match.

This was the last bit of serious attack posed by Mohun Bagan as East Bengal finished the rest of the remaining minutes holding on to the lead and earnng the valuable here points which took them above Churchill brothers in the league table back to second. After the match the East Bengal fans were in seventh heaven as they celebrated the victory of their beloved team by burning crackers, shouting slogans totally engulfed with a feeling of joy earning the bragging rights over their fierce rivals.

This victory was a milestone for East Bengal as this was their 150th win in the National Football League currently known by the name of I league and this was the game of destiny as the opponents against whom East Bengal earned their win was a Cinderella story written by god himself maybe . Thus East Bengal are still in the driving seat to win the I league this year and end the domination of the Goa waves which have swept away the Indian football scenario in recent years but for Mohun Bagan they really need to move on quickly from this result to help their sinking boat sail with its full pride in the ocean again.

LIVE PLAY BY PLAY MATCH UPDATES

East Bengal   2 - 1   Mohun Bagan

KEB: Tolgey 5', Bajlit 52'

MMB:Surkumar 47'

MOM: Mehtab Hossain ( KEB)

KEB : Jayanta, Naoba, Okpara, Gurwinder, Soumik, Vasum( Sanju), Ravinder( Nabi), Mehtab, Penn, Tolgey, Baljit( sushil).

MMB: Sangram, Surkumar, Anwar, Deepak, Kingshuk( Snehasish), Mohonraj, Rakesh, Jayanta, Ashim( Gouranga), Barreto( Muritala), Chidi.

FT: Match end. East Bengal win 2 - 1. Mehtab Hossain got Man of the Match award. East Bengal beat their arch rival Mohun Bagan and secured their record 150th win in National football League ( I-League).
92': Few seconds left. 150th Match of East Bengal in National League( I-League). Remarkable win?
91': Sanju's corner cleared.
90': Sanju missed a sure chance. From left, Tolgey low crossed towards upcoming Sanju but Anwar cleared via corner.
90': Referee added 3 minutes more as injury time.
88': Few minutes left to end of the match. Mehtab Hossain excellent played today.
87': Tolgey attacked and Deepak blocked.
85': Beautiful effort of Jayanta Sen from 25 yards shot but it went out.
82': East Bengal is leading 2-1.
80': Beautiful save of Jayanta. Rakesh Masih's 6 yard shot from Mohonraj's throw in from left side of East Bengal box well saved by a corner .
79': Sanju to tolgey in right side but Tolgey was stopped by mohonraj.

78': PLAYER CHANGE : East Bengal. Baljit Saini out and Sushil Singh came in.
76': Nabi well defended Snehasish in right side. Throw in for Bagan.
75': Great Escape of East Bengal. 6 yard shot missed by chidi. Muritala well passed him in box.
74': Mehtab dismissed Muritala's attack.
73': East Bengal got corner. Mehtab shot went to Sangram's hand.
72': PLAYER CHANGE : East Bengal. Vasum out and Sanju Prodhan in.
70': Still East Bengal is leading 2-1.
68': Chidi's header from Mohonraj's throw in went to goal but Referee said it was foul throw in of Mohonraj.
67': PLAYER CHANGE: Mohun Bagan. Asim Biswas out and Gouranga Dutta came in.
66': Nice playing by Okpara in East Bengal defence assisting by Gurwinder.
64': Bad foul of Masih of Bagan side. Penn was advancing but Masih stopped him. Yellow card to Rakesh Masih.

63': Nabi's shot went direct to Bagan keeper Sangram's hand.
62': Yellow card to Deepak Mondol of Mohun Bagan and Tolgey of East Bengal.
60': PLAYER CHANGE: East Bengal. Rahim Nabi came in and Ravinder Singh went out.
58': Chance missed for Bagan. Mistake of KEB keeper Jayanta, Long throw- in of Mohonraj in KEB box, Jayanta missed the flight but Ashim was unable to take the shot timely, Jayanta saved it in his 2nd attempt.
57': Gurwinder fouled advancing Muritala in right side of KEB box. But ball crossed the side line.
55': Now the scoreline is 2-1 for East Bengal.
53': Yellow card to Mehtab. fouled Surkumar.
53': Penn to Tolgey in right side and Baljit scored from Tolgey's pass.
52': GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL..Baljit scored through Tolgey pass from right side. Nice left footer of Baljit.
51': Bagan is now playing long ball. Penn fot the ball in right side.
50': Mohun Bagan is playing well now.
48': Again attack of Bagan. Got corner from Snehasish's attack. But no impact in Snehasish's kick.
48': Now the score line is 1 - 1.
47':GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL...Surkumar Singh scored. His shot entered after deflecting.
47': No player change in 2nd half till time. Bagan is attacking.
46': 2nd half starts.
HT: It's half time now in the match. East Bengal is leading 1-0.
45'+2': Offside of Muritala of Mohun Bagan in left side.
45': Referee added 2 minutes more as injury time.
45': Muritala fouled Okpara.
43': Jayanta shot cleared. Counter attacked by East Bengal. Baljit to Penn to Vasum in right but missed pass by Vasum.
42': Free kick for Bagan side. Mehtab fouled Snehasish out side KEB box.
41': East Bengal is leading 1-0.
40': Jayanta well saved Muritala's right footer from top of the box.
39': Surkumar of Bagan, wrong pass from Chidi in right went out over the bar.
37': Bagan got corner from right sided attack of Surkumar. Snehasish took the shot. But KEB keeper Jayanta well saved.
36': PLAYER CHANGE: Mohun Bagan. Muritala came in and Barreto out.

35': Counter attack of East Bengal, Naova from right side passed to Penn but Penn was blocked by Deepak.
33': Good chance came to Mohun Bagan. Chidi's left footer from top of the box went out for an inch over the bar. 31': Surkumar's right footer from Free kick went wide.
30': Yellow card to Okpara of KEB who fouled Chidi just outside the box who wanted to enter. Free kick for Bagan.
29': PLAYER CHANGE: Mohun Bagan : Snehasish came in and Kingshuk out.
28': Snehasish is warming up in side lne. Bagan may change their player.
26': 4th corner of East Bengal went to Sangram's hand.
25': Nice attack of KEB. Tolgey to Penn in left side of Bagan box but Deepak came timely and cleared Penn's final cross towards Tolgey by a coenr.
23': Bad luck of East Bengal. Baljit's header of Ravinder's kick hits the bar post and out. Great escape of Bagan from 2nd goal.
22': East Bengal got corner from tolgey attack in right side. Corner kick taken by Ravinder. 3rd corner of KEB.
21': Surkumar's free kick went weid. corner for Bagan. No damage done in corner.
20': Free kick for Bagan side in top of the East Bengal box. Chidi wanted to enter in KEB box but Ravinder fouled him. Free kick in danger area.
18': Still East Bengal is leading 1-0.
16': Mehtab's corner cleared by Bagan defence.
15': Free kick for East Bengal. Mohonraj fouled Tolgey, Ravinder shot well saved by Sangram. corner for East Bengal.
14': Soumik Dey's left sided cross went to Ravinder in Bagan box but he failed to capitalized the cross.
12': Chidi was in offside position from right sided attack of Bagan.
12': Vasum fouled Kingshuk.
11': Again attacked East Bengal. Ball went to Sangram's hand.
9': Mohonraj throwin cleared by KEB defence.
8': Mohonraj attacked from left but Gurwinder bloced hin in left. throw-in for Bagan side.
6': East Bengal is leading 1- 0. 13th Goal of Tolgey in I-League.
5': Nice skill of Tolgey in right side of Bagan box, beat Anwar with his nice touch and scored through his left footer.

5': GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL...Tolgey scored for East bengal.
4': Miss passed by Ravinder crossed side line. Throw in for Bagan.
3': Penn of KEB towards Tolgey but it was too long for him, ball went to Sangram'ss hand.
2': Chidi to Ashim in left side of KEB box, but his left footer from top of the box went wide.
1': Bagan attacked through Chidi but he failed.
1': East Bengal attacked first . Got corner in right side. Mehtab Kick cleared.
1': Match stars. The Kolkata Derby of I-League 2nd leg. 113 times face to face in YBK. Out of last 112 times, East Bengal won 43 times, Mohun bagan won 32 times and 37 times match drawn.