Last-gasp Barcelona edge through to final

A stunning last-gasp strike from Andres Iniesta put 10-man Barcelona in the Champions League final on the away goals rule, giving the Catalan giants a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on a night of high drama at Stamford Bridge. With the clock showing two minutes gone out of an extra four minutes at the end of the game, Spanish international Iniesta fired in a sublime shot from the edge of the area to break Chelsea’s hearts and take Pep Guardiola’s side through to a dream final against holders Manchester United in Rome on May 27. Following last week’s cagey goalless draw at the Nou Camp, all the talk before the match was whether Barca’s stunning attacking prowess could pierce Chelsea’s solid defense.

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Rooney and Carrick put United three clear

Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick scored in each half as Manchester United beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Old Trafford to go three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the English Premier League table, with a game in hand. With midfielder Paul Scholes becoming only the fourth United player to reach 600 appearances for the club, the defending champions moved closer to an 18th league title — and their third in succession — with a dominant if unspectacular performance against a Portsmouth side still battling to avoid relegation. United took the lead in the ninth minute when Brazilian midfielder Anderson sent Ryan Giggs flying down the left flank with a brilliant reverse pass — and the Welsh veteran calmly rolled his cross along the six-yard box, where Rooney was waiting to tap home.

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Abramovich spending $342 a minute on Chelsea

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is spending more than £240 ($340) per minute on his London football club, Chelsea FC, fresh figures have revealed. Abramovich, who took over the Stamford Bridge club in 2003, has since poured £710 million ($1.03 billion) into rejuvenating the team — an amount that equates to the incredible $342 per minute

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