But all that changed when English referee Howard Webb awarded a controversial free-kick two minutes into stoppage-time.
Then, City forward Mario Balotelli was not cautioned by referee Howard Webb for appearing to kick out at Scott Parker.
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After consultation with his assistant, referee Howard Webb pointed to the spot and Adebayor sent Brad Friedel the wrong way.
Having had two penalty appeals turned down earlier, Villa finally got their wish when Howard Webb judged Lescott's high kick to have impeded Petrov.
Scott Sinclair had a half-hearted shout for a penalty waved away by referee Howard Webb as the Eagles started to gain a foothold in the game.
Just before the break, Birmingham looked to have won a penalty when Bent was felled by Richard Stearman, but referee Howard Webb ruled out a spot kick.
And shortly after, the Argentine, who was not having one of his better days, was shown a straight red by referee Howard Webb for elbowing the Swedish striker.
That was the cue for a spell of concerted Villa pressure but it was Chelsea's turn to show resilience at the back, admittedly assisted by referee Howard Webb.
The Dutch forward linked to a mocked-up picture of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt after Liverpool lost 1-0 at Old Trafford in the FA Cup.
Referee Howard Webb, who will be England's representative at the World Cup, was well placed to see the incident but only deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card.
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Liverpool's captain - and indeed the rest of Anfield - was infuriated when referee Howard Webb ignored what looked highly presentable penalty claims as he fell under challenge from William Gallas.
English referee Howard Webb called for five minutes of stoppage time, and Borussia Dortmund hung on to set up the possibility of the first all-German final in soccer's top club competition.
The home supporters then thought they should have had a penalty when Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross tangled with Julien Faubert in the box, but referee Howard Webb decided the English defender had timed his tackle well.
Iniesta drilled his right-foot strike across goal - but the Dutch were incensed after referee Howard Webb had failed to award their side a corner moments earlier when a free-kick took a sizeable deflection off Cesc Fabregas.
Liverpool were furious when United were handed the opportunity to draw level swiftly as referee Howard Webb awarded a penalty as the outstanding Antonio Valencia was hauled back by Javier Mascherano as the pair raced into the area.
Kuyt scored the first effort only to be ordered to re-take by referee Howard Webb, but the Dutchman held his nerve to send Gomes the wrong way and keep Liverpool in the race for the fourth Champions League place.
The second came 18 minutes into the second half when Kightly whipped in a cross from the right and Wilson's arm made contact with the ball but neither referee Howard Webb or his assistant saw the misdemeanour and awarded Wolves a corner.
Of course, the likes of Howard Webb and Martin Atkinson probably won't appeal to potential backers in the same way as star players, like Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney, since Manchester United's global fan base is counted in the hundreds of millions.
Tuncay and Afonso Alves were causing plenty of problems on the counter at the other end, but it was Everton creating the better chances and Boro were fortunate when Yakubu went down under Turnbull's challenge, only for referee Howard Webb to wave away the penalty appeals.
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