© EuroFootball.com
On Monday, there were two repeated FA Cup quarterfinal matches, in which "Man Utd" defeated "Middlesbrough" at home, while "Chelsea" beat "Tottenham" away.
Statistics:
1 – 0 77‘ [1 – 0] Cristiano Ronaldo (from the penalty spot)
90+2‘ James Morrison ("Middlesbrough") sent off
1 – 2 55‘ [0 – 1] Andriy Shevchenko 61‘ [0 – 2] Shaun Wright-Phillips 79‘ [1 – 2] Robbie Keane (from the penalty spot)
In Manchester, as expected, the match began with attacks from the hosts. At first, a header from Nemanja Vidic was saved by Mark Schwarzer, and soon Cristiano Ronaldo's shot flew just past the post. In the 16th minute, "Boro" had a good chance. The ball ricocheted to Mark Viduka after a deflection, but the Australian's shot flew well wide of the post. Towards the end of the first half, Rio Ferdinand headed dangerously, and Mark Schwarzer neutralized Wayne Rooney's attempt to break through towards the goal.
At the start of the second half, "Middlesbrough" had two chances, but Yakubu's header flew over the crossbar, and Stewart Downing missed the target when faced with practically empty goals.
Later, "Man Utd" took control again. In the 60th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post, and in the 70th minute, W. Rooney broke away towards M. Schwarzer, but missed.
Finally, in the 76th minute, a goal was scored. Jonathan Woodgate fouled C. Ronaldo in the penalty area, and the Portuguese himself converted the penalty – 1-0.
During stoppage time, "Middlesbrough" player James Morrison received a red card for a rough tackle on C. Ronaldo. After this incident, there was a confrontation between the two teams, which was eventually settled.
At "White Hart Lane" stadium, the first half of the match between "Tottenham" and "Chelsea" was relatively quiet, with the latter having a slight advantage. "Chelsea" attempted two long-range shots. First, Didier Drogba passed the ball to Michael Ballack, whose shot narrowly missed the post. Later, Shaun Wright-Phillips struck powerfully over the crossbar from distance.
At the start of the second half, the "Blues" scored two goals. In the 55th minute, Andriy Shevchenko scored a wonderful goal. The Ukrainian broke through on the right side, deceived Steed Malbranque, and from a sharp angle, placed the ball into the far top corner of the goal. Shortly after, the second goal was scored. After a long pass, D. Drogba chipped the ball to the left for Sh. Wright-Phillips, who struck powerfully into the far corner of the goal – 0-2.
"Tottenham" did not give up, but only managed to reduce the deficit. After a foul by Ricardo Carvalho in the penalty area against Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane converted the penalty into a goal – 1-2.
Semifinal pairings:
"Watford" – "Man Utd"
"Blackburn" – "Chelsea"
