Lehmann proves his worth

The Gunners match with Villarreal finished goalless and was the seventh clean sheet Lehmann had kept in this year's tournament, proving that the Germany keeper is hitting form just at the right time.

France midfielder Ludovic Giuly was impressive for Barcelona and it was his goal that eventually saw the Catalans book a ticket for the Champions League final in Paris. He may yet feature in Raymond Domenech's plans for Germany.

Another player in the French coach's mind after this week's action will surely be Djibril Cissé who, having suffered a fairly miserable season, seems to be getting his act together just at the right time.

The Liverpool striker bagged a brace in the Reds' midweek game against West Ham, forcing his name into Domenech's consciousness.

There was also an encouraging performance from Australia striker Mark Viduka over the last week, as the burly goalscorer helped Middlesbrough to the final of the UEFA Cup with a goal and impressive overall display.

With the season winding down, disappointment is rife as teams miss out on their objectives after a long hard slog over the last nine months.

Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko suffered with a poor performance as AC Milan crashed out of the Champions League against Barcelona, as did his domestic team-mates Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino of Italy.

Pirlo in particular was rather ineffective, and Marcello Lippi will be hoping for much better from his midfielder if he is to take him to Germany.

Bad news filtered into the Australia camp, as both Tim Cahill and Mark Swcharzer succumbed to injuries, throwing their participation in the summer into doubt.

But it was perhaps Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme who suffered the most over the last seven days, as the midfielder missed a penalty that could have seen Villarreal through to the final of the Champions League. Jose Pekerman will now hope his star player can recover from the dent to his confidence in time for the finals.

The race to succeed Sven Göran Eriksson as England manager is threatening to disrupt more than one national side in the run-up to this summer's finals.

Already Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has felt the pressure of the infamous English press, after having been chosen as the FA's preferred candidate to succeed the Swede after the World Cup.

But 'Big Phil' sensationally pulled out of the running on Friday, citing the intrusions into his private life as the main reason for withdrawing his candidacy.

The affair can't have been good for Portugal as Scolari attempts to get his side ready for Germany, and yet again England's preparations appear to have been damaged from within.

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