Rosenhof: Story » wasnt the best player on the pitch for Milan but on this

Arsenal reached the FA Cup final by ending second-tier Wigans impressive title defence in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium, making up for the disappointment of dropping out of the Premier Leagues top four earlier Saturday. After needing an 82nd-minute goal by Per Mertesacker to force extra time at 1-1, Arsenal won the shootout 4-2 to keep alive its chances of capturing a first piece of major silverware since 2005. "We have been struggling in recent weeks but you have to deal with that," said Arsenal midfielder Kim Kallstrom, who scored the second of Arsenals four straight successful penalties. "Hopefully, its a great boost of confidence for the rest of the season." Hull plays Sheffield United in the second semifinal on Sunday. When Jordi Gomez put Wigan ahead from the penalty spot in the 63rd, it threatened to be a disastrous day for Arsenal, which was replaced in fourth spot in the league by Everton thanks to its 1-0 win at bottom-placed Sunderland. While Sunderland looks doomed -- seven points from safety with six games left -- the race to avoid the other two relegation spots heated up after huge wins for Fulham and Cardiff, who stayed in the bottom three but closed the gap to their rivals. Third-bottom Fulham beat fourth-bottom Norwich 1-0 and next-to-last Cardiff surprisingly won 1-0 at Southampton, while Aston Villa is only four points from the bottom three after losing 1-0 at Crystal Palace thanks to in-form Jason Puncheons goal. Just eight points separates the nine teams above Sunderland. Sixth-place Tottenham came from 3-0 down after 31 minutes to draw 3-3 at West Bromwich Albion thanks to Christian Eriksens injury-time equalizer, although two dropped points dents the visitors already faint hopes of Champions League football next season. Newcastles slump accelerated with a 1-0 home loss to Stoke in the days other game. It was an emotionally charged day in English football, with every league and cup match starting seven minutes later than originally scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush in the stands during an FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest. That fateful match was abandoned after six minutes, and there was a minutes silence around the countrys football grounds before kickoffs on Saturday. At Wembley, 96 seats remained empty near the halfway line for the Wigan-Arsenal match, with just a Liverpool scarf draped over each of them. Wigan -- looking to become the first team in 34 years to win the FA Cup while playing in the second tier -- again rose to the big occasion, like it did in beating Manchester City in last years final and again in this seasons quarterfinals. Another shock was on when Gomez converted from the spot after Mertesacker brought down Callum McManaman. Only then did Arsenal start to look energized and the Germany defender redeemed himself by heading in the equalizer just as Arsenal fans were starting to despair. Wigan was always up against it in the shootout after Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison had the teams first two attempts saved by Lukasz Fabianski. And Mikel Arteta, Kallstrom, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla made no mistake to give Arsenal the chance to win an 11th FA Cup. Arsenals other task in the final month of the season is overhauling Everton in the league, with the Merseyside club continuing its fine run of results to climb two points above Wengers side. Evertons display at Sunderland wasnt as fulsome as in the 3-0 win over Arsenal last weekend, but the team passed up a string of good chances -- two of which fell to Steven Naismith -- before Sunderland defender Wes Brown unwittingly turned Gerard Deulofeus cross past goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Tottenham is now six points behind Everton, having played a game more, but showed great spirit in a stirring comeback at The Hawthorns, completed when Eriksen drove a rising shot into the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The recovery looked unlikely after goals by Matej Vydra and Chris Brunt inside four minutes and a third by Stephane Sessegnon put West Brom 3-0 ahead with barely a half hour gone. Jonas Olssons own goal reduced the deficit in the 34th and Harry Kanes 70th-minute header gave Tottenham further hope, before Eriksens late goal left the team three points ahead of Manchester United in the chase for a Europa League berth. Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020 .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. https://www.nhljerseys2020.com/ . -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir. NHL Jerseys China . Minutes after the previously winless Colts got their first win, 27-13 over Tennessee, team vice chairman Bill Polian said the four-time league MVP will not play this season though he has begun throwing to teammates at the team complex. Fake NHL Jerseys 2020 . Next years tournament is also within sight for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has never played in a World Cup, but Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined for the playoffs with Portugal after a night when the qualifying picture in the nine groups became much clearer.They say a trip to play Celtic is a vital part of your footballing education. And, of course, when I say they, I mean some of the greatest to ever play the game. Barcelonas Xavi: "The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtics stadium for our visit was the most impressive Ive ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best." If the opinion of Xavi is not enough, how about someone equally as brilliant and smart. Someone like Paolo Maldini... "Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it," he said. The great thing about Maldini and Xavi is that they are all-time greats, not only for the way they played on the field but also for the way they carried themselves off it. They speak, you listen. They remain two of the smartest players I have ever watched and listened to. Throughout their long careers at the top of the game, they certainly never referred to themselves as one of the games best players. And then there is Mario Balotelli and the comments he made to the Scottish Sun newspaper this week: "I have heard all about the fans and the atmosphere they create - and my message to them is bring it on! "If fans want to try and make a stadium hostile for me - or boo me because I am one of the best players in the world - then I hope they do." One of the best players in the world, eh? Okay. The Italian touched down in Glasgow this week having played a total of 27 Champions League games in his career. For his three teams, Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan, he was important enough to only have started just 11 of those, coming on 16 times as a substitute. He had scored just seven Champions League goals in 1,276 minutes played, averaging a goal every 182 minutes. For Inter, he was nothing more than an after-thought on their way to glory in 2010 while at City, he started just two of 12 matches, spread over two frustrating campaigns for both club and player. The third chapter in his Champions League career is back at the San Siro. For now. The thing with Mario is, you just never quite know what he is going to do next, and that includes choosing where to play. On Saturday, in a league game against Genoa, Balotelli missed a penalty in a frustrating 1-1 draw that sent the Italian giants down to 13th in Serie A. After the match he took to twitter to thicken the plot. This is the end. :-) - Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) November 24, 2013 Before the Genoa match, he had told the Italian press I am happy at Milan and I am happy to be here. Balotelli certainly played happy, despite making it eight straight games without a goal, and was a menace throughout the match and arguably Milans best performer. That didnt stop Milan fans from voicing their complaints after the game towards Balotelli and his teammates. It is hard to blame them. Their performances, just like their league position, have not been good enough. Yet, with the transfer window closed until January, this is not a club Balotelli can run away from. At Inter and Manchester City, Balotelli wass surrounded by a plethora of outstanding players who could easily demand a starting spot ahead of the Italian, who could happily move aside and away from having to perform on the field.dddddddddddd At Milan, things are very different. An out-of-form Balotelli, smiling or sulking, remains the clubs best option up front. There will be no sitting on the bench for Mario. And so with that presents the self-proclaimed one of the best players in the world an opportunity, a run of games to help carry Milan back towards the top three in Serie A and into the last 16 of the Champions League. "Great atmosphere always brings the best out of me," he had said in the run-up to the game and so it proved. The game was effectively over as a contest just after half-time, with Milans both goals coming from corners that Celtic failed to deal with, killing the usual atmosphere Celtic Park is famed for. Much will be made of Kakas easy header inside the box to open the scoring but it was Balotellis run from a deep position that led to a free kick that won the corner and placed Milan into scoring territory. It was to be that kind of day for Balotelli, a day where he would have to bide his time, show patience and a mature side to his game when waiting to receive the ball. It is these kind of games that people have wondered about the 23-year-old. He is built very much like a striker who can play up top on his own, but his overall attitude and tendency to drift out of games is one of the reasons he hasnt started as many Champions League games as he should have. At Celtic, he had an appetite to come deep to receive the ball, start quick counter-attacks with his midfielders and drift wide to provide key outlets and pull the central defenders into areas they dont want to go. Balotelli would get rewarded for his hard work when he scored his eighth career Champions League goal in the second half, coming deep, before timing a run superbly, sprinting into space to receive a great ball from Riccardo Montolivo and finishing it off at the near post. He also used his supreme strength to brush aside the defender, let the ball run, and not even touch it until he kicked it into the net. He wasnt the best player on the pitch for Milan but on this night, he didnt need to be. The fantastic Kaka, playing behind Balotelli, was, as the Brazilian rolled back the years with a sensational performance that included powerful runs from distance, incisive passes and an ease at finding space. Kaka, unfortunately, wont be given such space by many teams in Italy and so the responsibility of carrying Milan back towards respectability falls at the feet of Balotelli. In Glasgow, perhaps without even knowing or caring, he passed another test of his footballing education and finally showed signs that he does have an ability to lead the line for a team in Europes elite club competition. He is far from one of the worlds best players but if he wants to get anywhere near to the level once shown by Maldini, and still shown by Xavi, the European Champions League gives him the stage to perform. We know how much he likes a stage, now it is up to him to ensure what he does on it. Why Always Me? The truth is it hasnt been about you enough, Mario. ' ' '