Premier League result

The Super Sunday game between Aston Villa and Liverpool has ended in a 2-1 win to the away side Liverpool.

Aston Villa missed the chance to pull out of the Premier League relegation zone as Liverpool came from behind to stay in the hunt for a European place.

Paul Lambert's side took the lead when Gabriel Agbonlahor's lay-off found Christian Benteke, who powered home.
Liverpool equalised shortly after the restart when Jordan Henderson dinked the ball past the reach of Brad Guzan.
And Steven Gerrard scored the winner from the spot after Nathan Baker brought down Luis Suarez in the area.

Breaking News

There is some Breaking News. Sunderland have sacked their manager Martin O'Neill and according to Sky Sports News Paolo Di Canio is on his way to the Sunderland training ground to have talks about the manager's job.

Premier League results

These are the results of the Premier League on Saturday: Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd.

Manchester United took another stride towards a 20th league title with a comfortable victory at Sunderland.

United's first-half winner came when Robin van Persie fired in a shot from the left which flew into the net off the knee of Titus Bramble.
Sunderland never looked like breaching a United defence that has not conceded a Premier League goal in 627 minutes.
Van Persie was denied in stoppage time by Simon Mignolet as injury-hit Sunderland finished deflated.

Arsenal 4-1 Reading. 

Arsenal maintained their push for a top-four finish with a comfortable victory that sent Reading bottom of the Premier League on goal difference.

Gervinho opened the scoring with a close-range finish from Santi Cazorla's cross-come-shot as Arsenal dominated.

Cazorla curled in after half-time before Olivier Giroud drilled a third.

Reading reduced the deficit through Hal Robson-Kanu's header, but Mikel Arteta secured the points with a penalty after a foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Arsenal had many more chances to increase their advantage, but the result was never in doubt.

Man City 4-0 Newcastle. 

Manchester City outclassed Newcastle United to strengthen their grip on second place in the Premier League and ensure Manchester United did not increase their already commanding lead at the top.

United had briefly extended their advantage to 18 points by beating Sunderland earlier in the day but City responded with a convincing performance and victory that showed that, although they might have failed in the defence of their title , they are not about to throw it away. Newcastle, who remain in danger at the other end of the table, defended with determination early on but Carlos Tevez and David Silva scored in quick succession before the break and, after it, Vincent Kompany and a James Perch own goal completed a one-sided victory.

Southampton 2-1 Chelsea.

Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League suffered a setback as Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert scored to earn struggling Southampton victory.

Rodriguez opened the scoring with a composed 23rd-minute finish after good work by Lambert and Steven Davis. 
John Terry marked his first league start since 2 February by heading a 33rd-minute equaliser from a corner.
But Lambert's 25-yard free-kick earned the Saints victory as Chelsea suffered a third straight away league defeat.
Southampton climbed to 13th in the table after establishing a four-point safety cushion from the relegation places, with Mauricio Pochettino's side recording back-to-back league wins for the first time since November.

Swansea 1-2 Tottenham.

Tottenham moved up to third in the Premier League after an impressive win over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

After two successive league defeats, Spurs went ahead when Jan Vertonghen played a neat one-two with Gareth Bale and slotted home from close range.
Vertonghen then found Bale who fired a 20-yard shot into the top corner.

Tottenham 'showed winning mentality'

Nathan Dyer headed against the bar, and as the home side applied more pressure after the break Michu headed in off the post, but Spurs held on for a key win.
A lacklustre defeat in a seemingly routine home fixture against mid-table Fulham two weeks ago led some critics to speculate on whether Spurs might suffer the kind of malaise that resulted in only one win from nine at a similar stage last term, a sequence that, combined with Chelsea's Champions League success, cost them a place in Europe's elite club competition.

West Ham 3-1 West Brom.

Andy Carroll scored twice to ease West Ham's fears of dropping into the Championship with a win over West Brom.

The striker's thumping header gave the home side the lead, before Hammers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was forced into action with smart saves.
Gary O'Neil's sweet strike doubled the advantage with Carroll's superb volley giving the hosts a third goal.
Baggies' Graham Dorrans scored a late penalty and Youssouf Mulumbu was sent off for kicking the ball at O'Neil.
West Ham's comfortable victory means they are now on 36 points, six clear of the bottom three, with eight games of the season remaining.

Wigan 1-0 Norwich. 

Arouna Kone's late winner moved Wigan out of the Premier League's bottom three and left Norwich only four points above the relegation zone.

The Ivorian was played in by Jordi Gomez before launching a fierce low drive that beat the dive of Canaries goalkeeper Lee Camp.

Everton 1-0 Stoke.

Kevin Mirallas's stunning solo goal maintained Everton's hopes of European qualification, while pushing Stoke closer to the drop zone.

A laboured contest at Goodison Park was lifted when the winger countered from inside his own half before slotting calmly past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Prior to that, Stoke's Jonathan Walters had hit the crossbar from close-range.

pRWMI

Premier League news

It's all over at the Stadium Of Light 1-0 the final score to the away team Man Utd. Titus Bramble put the ball into the back of his own net to give Utd the win.

Premier League news

It's half time in the early kick off game betwwen Sunderland and Man Utd and it's 1-0 to the away side Utd with an Own Goal from Sunderland's Titus Bramble. It's still a very even game, Sunderland are always getting forward with the ball..

La Liga News

Why Messi will struggle to surpass Batistuta's Argentina record.

Both stars are from Sante Fe with 78 caps apiece, but Batigol's strike rate for his country is far superior to the forward who has swept all else before him.

Some 800km from Buenos Aires, the Argentine national junior team were left kicking their heels after a friendly was cancelled. Desperate to make the most of their travels, the coaches arranged a game with a local boys' team in nearby Reconquista, Santa Fe.

“He didn’t look like a footballer. He was a big lad and when he shot the ball it could go anywhere,” former Newell’s Old Boys youth team coach Jorge Griffa told Sky Sports when asked about the boy who scored both goals in a 2-1 win for the locals that day. “He didn’t know how to head the ball properly and he didn’t have the physique of a footballer.” But Griffa was convinced that Gabriel Batistuta could one day be a special player.

Batistuta was not so sure, and was very concerned about leaving his studies for a career as precarious as that of a professional footballer. He rejected two offers to join Newell’s, but eventually agreed as long as he was given sufficient support to continue his education.

Vilanova returns to Barcelona.

The Blaugrana announced on Monday that their recovering coach was set to depart America and he has now arrived in Catalunya to resume his work.

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has returned home after spending the past two months in New York recovering from surgery on parotid gland cancer.

The 44-year-old went under the knife on December 20, and then underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for six weeks.

Vilanova left for New York for further treatment in January, and has now returned home again after two months in the USA.

Pep Guardiola's former assistant took charge of Barcelona in the summer of 2012 after his mentor decided to leave the club and take a one-year sabbatical, and guided the Blaugrana to their best-ever Liga start before being struck by health issues late in 2012.

Vilanova was replaced by Jordi Roura during his absence, with the latter now returning to his role as assistant coach once more.

Serie A News

Ongoing racism irks Balotelli.

Mario Balotelli says he is angered by the slow progress being made in ridding football of racism.

Balotelli has repeatedly been the subject of racial abuse since making the switch to Serie A giants AC Milan from Manchester City in January.
The Italian international's former club Inter have twice been fined after fans sang racist chants about Balotelli, first in a match against Chievo and then during the Milan derby.

Savic points Jovetic toward Manchester.

Montenegro defender Stefan Savic believes Stevan Jovetic, his team-mate for club and country, should join Manchester City.

Roberto Mancini's side secured a first option deal on Jovetic in Matija Nastasic's transfer from Fiorentina
and former City defender Savic thinks his compatriot is good enough to make a move to one of Europe's top clubs, urging him to choose City. "Jovetic can play for one of the top clubs," Savic said. "I hope he does because he is one of my closest friends.
"I would recommend City to him. I think City's a rising team, one of the best clubs in Europe. They will win trophies and be in the Champions League every year.

Bundesliga News

Levekusen on target for Champions League.

Munich - Their topsy-turvy 2013 results have seen Bayer 04 Leverkusen relinquish second place, but the Rhineland outfit still have everything to play for down the back straight.
Six points clear of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, coaching duo Sami Hyypiä and Sascha Lewandowski's men are well on course to securing a place in next season's UEFA Champions League.

Time for a reality check.

Munich - While few of us openly admit to enjoying stereotypes, behind closed doors there are not many things football lovers the world over take greater pleasure in than a spot of opposition bashing.
Aside from providing a common bond for like-minded fans, light-hearted banter is also part of what makes the game so unique, not to say popular.

Changing syntax

In the past, the image of German football has tended to be virtually indistinguishable from the typical characteristics so often associated with the country itself: functional, mechanical, humourless and robotic are just a few of the terms most onlookers can roll off the tongue without a second thought.

Ligue 1 News

Beckham raring to get back in action.

After a five-day tour of China as a football ambassador, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder David Beckham has admitted he can't wait to return to Ligue 1 action.

The global Beckham brand took the opportunity of the international break to embark on a five-day tour of China in an ambassadorial role to promote football and children's education.
Back to business
"Honestly, I loved this trip to China, the warm welcome I received and the cities I visited," he said as he headed back to the French capital. "But I can't wait to put my suit aside and pull the football boots on again."
After making his full Ligue 1 debut in PSG's thrilling 2-2 draw in Saint-Etienne in Week 29, Beckham will be hoping to hit the ground running upon his return to France and make the squad for the capital club's Week 30 clash with Montpellier on Friday, where Carlo Ancelotti's men will have a chance to widen their five-point lead over Lyon and take another step towards clinching the Ligue 1 title.

Rémi still en Garde for the title.

Despite trailing leaders Paris Saint-Germain by five points,Lyon coach Rémi Garde continues to believe in his side's chances of taking out an eighth Ligue 1 title.

OL's recent run of two draws and a heavy 4-1 defeat have seen the seven-time French champions fall five points behind PSG after being neck-and-neck with the title favourites for several weeks, but Garde refuses to concede that the ultra-rich capital club are shoe-ins for the Lige 1 title this season.

 

FA Trophy news

Today in Wembley, Conference Premier side Grimsby take on Wrexham also in the Conference Premier League. They will battle it out for the FA Carlsberg Trophy in front of around 40,000 fans altogether.

Breaking News

There is some breaking news. Northern Ireland's World Cup Qualifier match against Russia has been postponed again, due to heavy snow and ice on the pitch. It was scheduled for 3 pm today however the snow has been continuously falling down on Windsor Park in Belfast.

World Cup Qualifier results

Last night were some World Cup Qualifier matches. Some were hammerings while others had surprisingly no score. So here are some of the results: Sweden 0-0 Republic of Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland kept their World Cup qualification hopes very much on track as they earned a merited draw against Sweden in Friday's qualifier.

With James McCarthy and James McClean excelling, Robbie Keane and Shane Long missed early chances in Stockholm.
As the Swedes improved, Irish keeper David Forde made fine saves to deny Tobias Hysen and Andreas Granqvist.
The Republic picked up the pace midway through the second half before Forde denied Rasmus Elm late on.
The result drops the Irish to fourth in Group C on goal difference following Austria's win over Faroe Islands.
However, they remain just a point behind second-placed Sweden with Austria to come at home on Tuesday.

San Marino 0-8 England.

England completed the formalities of outclassing the minnows of San Marino to record their biggest win since October 1987.

Roy Hodgson's side repeated the eight-goal Wembley victory against Turkey in a predictable mis-match when faced with the country ranked lowest in the world standings in 207th place.
England can take credit for a job ruthlessly done and will be pleased to have suffered no injuries or any serious alarms before they head to Podgorica for Tuesday's more testing World Cup qualifier against group leaders Montenegro, who are two points clear of England having beaten Moldova.
Alessandro Della Valle's early own goal set England on their way and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jermain Defoe, Ashley Young and Frank Lampard added more before the interval.

Scotland 1-2 Wales. 

Wales produced a repeat of their Cardiff comeback to deny Gordon Strachan a winning start to his competitive Scotland managerial career.

Scotland started poorly but led through Grant Hanley's first-half header.
Wales' Gareth Bale had to be taken off, but Aaron Ramsey equalised from the spot as Robert Snodgrass was sent off.
And with the Scots reeling, Hal Robson-Kanu rose unchallenged to head home the winning goal for Wales, who had Ramsey sent off in injury time.
The victory lifts Wales up to third place in Group A but the Scots find themselves adrift at the bottom with no wins and just two points from five games.
The match ended in a similar fashion to Wales' 2-1 win in Cardiff back in October, as Chris Coleman's side came from behind to strike two late goals after Scotland needlessly conceded a penalty.

World Cup Qualifier Result

Earlier on today Portugal took on Israel in the Middle East which ended in a 3-3 draw. Centre Back Bruno Alves put the Potuguese in front in the 2nd minute. Shortly after the Israels equalised. It was just before half time that Eden Ben Basat put the home team in front for the first time, also in the 70th minute Celtic defender Rami Gershon put his side 3-1 up. Portugal left it late when they scored 2 goals to end the match in a draw.

World Cup Qualifiers

Tonight there will be 25 European World Cup qualifiers. I will give you some of the fixtures.

The Republic of Ireland will travel to Stockholm to take on Scandanavian giants Sweeden. England travel to Italy to take on San Marino, Meanwhile Northern Ireland host Russia. Also, bitter rivals Scotland and Wales battle it out at Hampden Park.

International Matches

Tonight there will be two International Friendly matches including Italy vs Brazil and Ecuador vs El Salvador. I also i have the provisional teams for the Italy vs Brazil match and here they are.
Italy: Formation, 4-3-3. Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon. Defence: Ignazio Abate. Davide Astori. Andrea Barzagli. Davide Santon. Midfield: Daniel De Rossi. Andrea Pirlo. Ricardo Montolivo. Attack: Antonio Candreva. Mario Balotelli. Stephane El Shaarawy.

Brazil: Formation, 4-3-3. Goalkeeper: Julio Cesar. Defence: Dani Alves. David Luiz. Dante. Adriano. Midfield: Junior Paulinho. Ramirez. Ronaldinho. Attack: Neymar Jr. Luis Fabiano. Oscar.

La Liga news

Arsenal would be 'ideal' for Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez has struggled for form and fitness since arriving at Camp Nou in July 2011, and is rumoured to be one of Arsene Wenger's top summer targets as he looks to bolster his attacking options.

The Chilean has struggled for form and fitness since arriving at Camp Nou , and Fabrizio Larini believes his style would suit the Gunners down to the ground

Arsenal would be an "ideal" destination for unsettled Barcelona attacker Alexis Sanchez, according to former Udinese sporting director Fabrizio Larini.

 

Villas-Boas can replace Mourinho at Real Madrid, says Mata.

The midfielder played under the current Tottenham boss during his brief spell with Chelsea, and thinks he has the ability to take over from his fellow countryman at the Bernabeu

Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata has backed Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas to replace Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. Mourinho’s future at the Bernabeu has come under intense speculation this season after a below-par Liga performance saw them all but relinquish the title before the winter break.
In light of this and the yet more mangerial upheaval at Chelsea, the 50-year-old has been linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge, and Mata believes Mourinho’s fellow countryman Villas-Boas would be an ideal candidate to fill the Bernabeu hotseat after coming into his own at White Hart Lane.

 

 

Serie A news

Bayern unhappy to face juve, says Buffon.

 

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes Bayern Munich will not be pleased to have been paired with the Serie A champions.



The experienced shot-stopper admits Bayern have a better record than Juve in the Champions League, but says Juve are a force to be reckoned with in the quarter-final tie.



"We should approach the Champions League in the same way we’ve done up until now, hoping to gain the plaudits for a pro-active style of play, whilst also looking to gain the respect of our opponents. By and large we’ve achieved this objective," Buffon told the club's website.



Cavani can go for 70m euros.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis says striker Edinson Cavani will only leave if a club matches his 70 million euros buy-out clause.

It was previously thought that the Uruguay international had a release fee much less than the figure quoted by the Naples club, but it now seems only an extraordinary bid will be enough to prize him away.

"We included a very high buy-out clause in his contract because we want him to stay at Napoli," De Laurentiis told reporters.

Bundesliga results

Borussia Dortmund 5-1 SC Freiburg. A stunning display of football from Dortmund coming from 1-0 down to comeback with a 5-1 victory. Jonathan Schmid put the visitors in front but the German Giants would'nt let that get to them and they came back in style scoring 3 goals in 5 minutes. Robert Lewandowski got the equaliser then Nuri Sahin got a second, shortly after that Lewandowski got his second. In the second half Sahin then got his second before youngster Leonardo Bittencourt got another in.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Bayern Munich. A very close game with both sides struggling especially Munich following their 2-0 defeat at home by Arsenal in the Champions League but they ploughed on.  The record title-holders had gone in front after a landmark 134th Bundesliga goal from Mario Gomez, but a spirited Bayer side equalised 14 minutes from time through captain Simon Rolfes’ close-range strike, only for Philipp Wollscheid’s late own goal to sink the collective heart of the home faithful.

Ligue 1 results

I have decided to give you some of the results of the Ligue 1 which were on last night: St. Etienne 2-2 PSG.  It was one of the most entertaining matches of the Ligue 1 season but PSG's Javier Pastore opened the scoring in the 9th minute. Shortly after Ibrahimovic added from the penalty spot. Surely enough though the home side pulled 1 back with an own goal from PSG defender Alex. Then in the 72nd minute Francois Clerc found the equaliser.

AS Nancy 1-0 OGC Nice. It was a very close game all round with both teams getting agonisingly close to the first goal but it was found first from Nancy's Djamel Bakar an stayed that way for the remainder of the match.

Premier League news

Here are the results of more Premier league action that took place on the 17th March / St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. Sunderland 1-1 Norwich City.

Ten-man Norwich City earned a deserved point at fellow Premier League strugglers Sunderland in a controversial game.

City led when Wes Hoolahan nodded in from a yard after Kei Kamara's header.
But the lacklustre hosts were gifted a way back into the game when Canaries goalkeeper Mark Bunn handled outside his box and was sent off on 30 minutes.
Craig Gardner soon levelled from the penalty spot after another disputed handball but Norwich held on with ease.

Tottenham 0-1 Fulham.

Dimitar Berbatov returned to haunt his old club as he grabbed Fulham's winner to dent Tottenham's hopes of a top-four league finish.

Gareth Bale had an early Spurs header cleared off the line by defender Sascha Riether but the home side looked jaded.
Berbatov struck when he slotted in a low Riether cross before team-mate Brede Hangeland headed just wide.

Spurs' Jermain Defoe had a close-range shot brilliantly saved by Mark Schwarzer late on as Fulham held on.

Berbatov did not celebrate his winner against his former employers, although Tottenham's rivals for a top four spot, Arsenal and Everton, who both won on Saturday and have a game in hand, will be overjoyed.
Spurs now lead north London neighbours Arsenal by just four points and are six ahead of the Toffees in the chase for a Champions League spot for next season..

Chelsea 2-0 West Ham.

Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea who moved into third place with a win over West Ham.

The Blues dominated the match at Stamford Bridge and took the lead in the first half when Lampard nodded in Eden Hazard's through ball.
Hazard added a second after the break when he cut in from the right and arrowed a strike past the reach of Hammers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Chelsea should have won by more, but Demba Ba wasted several chances.

Momentum is with Blues - Benitez

Ba found himself in a one-on-one with Jaaskelainen. Luckily for the former Newcastle striker, Chelsea's midfielders bailed him out with outstanding individual performances.
The veteran of that pack, Lampard, will steal the headlines, but it was Hazard who was the star performer.

Wigan 2-1 Newcastle.

Arouna Kone's last-minute goal gave Wigan a vital victory in a game marred by a horror tackle by Callum McManaman on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara.

Jean Beausejour put the Latics in front when a McManaman cross was not cleared.
McManaman was not punished for a high lunge on Haidara and Magpies assistant John Carver was sent off after trying to confront the forward at half-time.

Davide Santon levelled but Kone won it from a corner which Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa appeared to handle.

The win leaves Wigan three points adrift of safety, with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Aston Villa.
But Newcastle will feel aggrieved, firstly by how McManaman escaped a card for his dangerous challenge and also over Figueroa's handball to flick on the cross that led to Kone's scrambled winner.



 

Premier League results

These are the results of the Premier League that were on today, some were shockers and others were fought hard for their clubs victory. The early kick off today was a tough battle between Everton and Man.City. In the end Everton came out on top with just 10 men with a 2-0 win on David Moyes' 11 year anniversary in charge of the club.
The hosts had a Kevin Mirallas goal disallowed before Leon Osman smashed home a superb 30-yard curling effort.
City could not respond despite Steven Pienaar's dismissal following a booking for a studs-up tackle on the hour.
The visitors had a strong penalty claim turned down late on but Everton sealed the win through Nikica Jelavic's shot.
Substitute Jelavic's superb breakaway injury-time effort rounded off a perfect afternoon and fully deserved win for the home side and manager Moyes following a difficult week.

Aston Villa 3-2 QPR. 
Ex-Villa loanee Jermaine Jenas opened the scoring as he slid in a rebound.
Gabriel Agbonlahor headed the hosts level in first-half added time, seconds after QPR had hit the post, before Andreas Weimann put Villa in front.
 QPR manager Harry Redknapp targets up to five wins to stay up
Andros Townsend's deflected effort levelled the game, but Christian Benteke then slotted a vital winner.

Southampton 3-1 Liverpool. 
 The hosts stormed ahead when Jay Rodriguez nodded down for Morgan Schneiderlin to steer in a shot.
Rickie Lambert's deflected free-kick added Saints' second before Philippe Coutinho slotted in for the visitors.

Pochettino proud of Southampton

But Rodriguez completed a home win when he side-footed in after his initial shot was saved by Brad Jones.
At a rain-lashed St Mary's, the final whistle was the signal for Southampton to revel in only a second win in eight games as they moved seven points above the relegation zone.

Stoke 0-0 West Brom. 
The Potters have won just one Premier League game since the new year and lacked attacking inspiration against the eighth-placed visitors.
They could have snatched victory in injury-time but substitute Kenwyne Jones prodded straight at Ben Foster.

"Right at the end Stoke could have won it through Kenwyne Jones. Is it a point gained for Stoke? I guess it is as they limp towards the safety line. But it's not the victory they craved and another blank for them. I'm sure West Brom will view it as a good point."

Romelu Lukaku headed Albion's best chance over the bar in the second half.

Stoke entered 2013 on the back of a 10-match unbeaten run which left them just four points adrift of the top six.

  Swansea 0-2 Arsenal.
Monreal scored his first Arsenal goal when he struck a low shot through a crowded penalty area into the bottom corner.
Substitute Gervinho sealed the victory in stoppage time with a sharp finish.

Arsenal ready for the fight - Wenger

 Michu had Swansea's best chance, as his team suffered their third home defeat of the season.
Manager Arsene Wenger had described the game at the Liberty Stadium as a must win  in Arsenal's quest to finish in the top four.
But his side were rarely in danger, with Swansea not fully testing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who was making his first league start in more than two years.
Arsenal nearly had the perfect start when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's curled effort rattled the crossbar after he had cut inside Angel Rangel.

The late game today was between Man Utd and Reading which ended in a  1-0 to Utd.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side took full advantage of Manchester City's defeat at Everton to open up a 15-point gap at the top of the table with only nine games remaining.
But it was a far from convincing performance from a much-changed United side, which failed to overwhelm Reading, who were led by caretaker boss Eamonn Dolan.

Rooney goal rush

• Wayne Rooney has scored seven goals in eight games at Old Trafford in 2013
• Rooney has been involved in 21 goals in 21 Premier League appearances this season (scoring 12, assisting nine)

Rooney's first half-strike deflected in after a surging Rio Ferdinand run, while Ashley Young also curled a shot inches wide.

Reading almost equalised through Hal Robson-Kanu's shot and had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Nemanja Vidic pushed Adrian Mariappa after the interval.

Uefa Champions League news.

These are the results of the Champions league this week:
 Barcelona 4-0 AC Milan.

Barcelona made Champions League history by knocking out AC Milan to reach the quarter-finals.

First-half goals from Lionel Messi plus David Villa and Jordi Alba's second-half strikes made Barca the first side to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit without help from an away goal.

Barca v AC Milan at a glance

• No side had ever come back from a two-goal first-leg defeat without the benefit of an away goal before Barcelona's result
• AC Milan's 4-0 defeat equalled their heaviest ever loss in the competition
• Barcelona are now undefeated in 20 home games in the Champions League

Messi scored on five minutes, adding a second just before the break after Milan's M'Baye Niang had hit a post.

Villa then put Barca ahead before Alba sealed the win in injury time.
"We will remember this for years to come," said Barca sporting director and former Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.
"Messi's two goals put us in a strong position, Villa's was very important and Alba gave everyone exactly what they wanted with the fourth."


Schalke 2-3 Galatasaray. 

Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a thrilling 3-2 victory in Germany.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Roman Neustadter prodded Schalke into an early lead from a corner.
But Galatasaray hit back with two goals in five minutes - a 25-yard strike from ex-Schalke midfielder Hamit Altintop and a cool finish from Burak Yilmaz.
Michel Bastos levelled in the second half to give Schalke hope before Umut Bulut's late winner on the break.
The result means Galatasaray have reached the last eight for the first time in 12 years and are the first Turkish side to do so in five years.


Bayern Munich 0-2 Arsenal. 

Olivier Giroud converted Theo Walcott's cross in the third minute as the Gunners quickly reduced the 3-1 deficit from the first leg.
Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski denied Bayern's Arjen Robben after the break.

 Arsene Wenger has 'many regrets' after Arsenal Champions League exit

Laurent Koscielny's 86th-minute header left Arsene Wenger's team one goal from a dramatic aggregate win, but their German opponents held on.
The Gunners deserve credit for a spirited performance, yet the damage was done three weeks earlier when they were ruthlessly dismantled by the Germans.
On a snowy evening in Munich, Arsene Wenger's side produced one of their most impressive European performances for some time.

Malaga 2-0 Porto.  Roque Santa Cruz scored with his first touch to send Malaga into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the Spanish side moved level on aggregate when Isco curled in the opener from the edge of the box just before half-time.
Porto's Steven Defour picked up a second yellow in the 50th minute for a cynical foul on winger Joaquin.
Then substitute Santa Cruz, on loan from Manchester City, powered in a 78th minute header from Isco's corner.
While the Paraguayan showed the killer instinct that convinced City to pay £18m for him in 2009, it was team-mate Isco, who was the star of the show.

La Liga news

Still no goals in open play.

Sombre and subdued, Lionel Messi bowed his head and made a bee-line for the tunnel at San Siro having turned in an unusually poor performance. But Barcelona's 2-0 Champions League last-16 first leg defeat to AC Milan did not mark Messi's first failure in Italy, and in fact the Argentine is still to score a goal from normal play against any side from the bel paese.

MESSI v THE WORLD The Argentine's CL stats by country
Country Germany England Ukraine Greece Russia Scotland Denmark Belarus Switzerland Czech Rep Spain France Portugal Italy	Starts 7 18 5 3 4 6 2 1 1 2 2 4 4 9	Sub 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0	Goals* 12 7 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 0	Pens 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3
* Excluding penalties

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner has earned accolades galore and smashed a whole host of records, yet in the 790 minutes he has played against Italian teams in European competition, Messi has yet to notch a goal from anywhere other than the penalty spot. While Barca actually have a winning record in the nine matches in which he has participated, triumphing four times, the star attraction himself has not been so fortunate personally.

 Barcelona want Jackson Martinez, claims agent.

The Catalans are just one of a number of teams keeping tabs on the striker, including an "important" Madrid club, following his fine displays this season.

 Jackson Martinez's Italian representative, Giovanni Fiore, has claimed Barcelona are interested in signing the Porto striker.

The Colombia international has been in fine form since joining Porto from Jaguares at the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and his good performances have not gone unnoticed elsewhere.

"I can confirm that there's a strong interest from Barcelona. They are not the only Spanish team keeping tabs on him, though. There's an important team from Madrid as well," Fiore told the media.

"Additionally, there is serious interest from a big Italian team, and a few other clubs have enquired about his availability, too.

"Porto might study any offers they get, but we're talking about big bids here given the player's importance to the club."

The 26-year-old attacker's contract with Porto is due to expire in 2016.

Serie A news

Allegri braced for Camp Nou siege.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes his team must produce their best Champions League performance yet to get past Barcelona.

Milan go to Camp Nou leading 2-0 on aggregate courtesy of goals from Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari during the first leg in Italy.

But despite their advantage in the round of-16 tie, Allegri is well aware of the danger La Liga leaders Barca will pose in front of their own fans 

De Ceglie heading for Juventus exit.

 

Paolo De Ceglie could be on his way out of Juventus in the summer transfer window as he is deemed surplus to requirements at the club.

The 26-year-old has been struggling to secure regular first-team action this season, making only 12 Serie A appearances so far.The January arrival of Federico Peluso has pushed him even further back in the pecking order.

 

Bundesliga news

Europe, beware of wounded Dortmund.

The fact that three more points went begging was more of an after-thought in light of their defeat against their fierce local rivlas, anyone who has lost out to a sibling for the last slice of cake or the chance to sit in the front seat will understand the simmering sense of injustice and inner fury the Dortmund camp is now experiencing.

Ribery out of Arsenal return.

 

 

Munich - FC Bayern Munich will be without the services of star winger Franck Ribery for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Arsenal on Wednesday.
The French international strained ankle ligaments in Saturday's 3-2 victory against Fortuna Düsseldorf and will therefore miss the Allianz Arena spectacle along with suspended duo Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng. It remains to be seen how long Ribery will be missing for.

Ligue 1 news

Ten Million hits for Ligue 1's official Youtube channel.

Launched at the beginning of the season, Ligue1officiel - the Ligue 1's official French-language YouTube channel - has broken the ten-million hits mark, while Ligue1official - in English - already counts over 6.5 million.

In just eight months, Ligue 1's YouTube channel has collected no fewer than 150,000 subscribers who don't want to miss out on any of the latest Ligue 1 news and action.
This exceptional channel provides users with official video - absolutely free and in high-definition - of all the weekend's action as of midnight on Sundays: match highlights, all the goals, post-match reactions and much more, including best goals, top foreign players, strikes from distance and other customised playlists.

The Ligue 1 has seen over 700 goals.

Week 28 saw Ligue 1 clubs continue to bang home the goals, taking the league's season total to 700; Bordeaux broke their losing streak; and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more than one goal in a game for the seventh time this season.

Key statistic for Week 28:
700: Week 28 saw Ligue 1's goal tally for the season hit the 700 mark and it was Evian's Saber Khlifa who claimed the strike as his side ran out 5-1 winners over Sochaux on Saturday night. With a total of 28 goals across the weekend's action, Ligue 1 clubs scored more than 20 goals in a round for the 14^th consecutive week, the longest such run in Ligue 1 since 1996-97 (at least 20 goals scored from Week 11 to Week 24).

Premier League & FA Cup news

 Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham.

 A late penalty winner kept Liverpool's faint hopes of gatecrashing the top four alive as they beat Tottenham.

The Reds went ahead when Luis Suarez stabbed in after a slick move.
Spurs hit back through a Jan Vertonghen header and the Belgian then fired the visitors in front with a 15-yard shot.
Rodgers: "We showed great character" But a poor Kyle Walker backpass allowed Stewart Downing to drive in a Reds leveller before Steven Gerrard netted the winner with a spot-kick after Benoit Assou-Ekotto fouled Suarez.
Spurs were authors of their own downfall as two late defensive mistakes contributed to their first defeat in 13 league games.
The White Hart Lane club stay third but this result will give the teams below them - including north London rivals Arsenal - hope that Andre Villas-Boas's side can be caught, especially given the way they faded towards the end of last season.

FA Cup: Man Utd 2-2 Chelsea.

Chelsea earned a fully deserved FA Cup quarter-final replay with an outstanding second-half comeback against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

United looked on course to get some consolation for their midweek Champions League exit against Real Madrid as early goals from Javier Hernandez and the recalled Wayne Rooney put them in complete control.
A place in the semi-final looked a formality as Chelsea struggled to make any impression - only for the second half to see a complete transformation in fortunes.

 Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez once again felt the full fury of his own supporters when he replaced Frank Lampard and Victor Moses with Eden Hazard and Jon Obi Mikel not long after the restart.

The taunts were silenced by Hazard's superb strike just before the hour and another fine finish from Ramires soon after as Chelsea were revived in the most dramatic fashion.
And, as an enthralling tie reached its conclusion, Chelsea looked far more likely to secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals and it took a save with his feet from United keeper David de Gea from Juan Mata a minute from time to deprive Benitez's side of victory.

Premier League news

Today Stoke travelled to the Sports Direct Arena to lose 2-1. Papiss Demba Cisse scored a stoppage-time winner as Newcastle came from behind for the third consecutive Premier League game to deservedly beat Stoke.

After a lacklustre first half and against the run of play, Chieck Tiote clattered Jonathan Walters in the box and he converted the spot kick.
But some poor Stoke defending allowed Newcastle to hit straight back through Yohan Cabaye's well-placed free-kick.
Cisse then secured the points with a close-range finish at the death.

The FA Cup news

Also today in the FA Cup Barnsley travelled to Manchester to face Man City which ended in a 5-0 win to the home side.

Carlos Tevez hit a superb hat-trick as Manchester City outclassed Barnsley to march into the FA Cup semi-finals.

The Argentine striker, who was arrested on suspicion of motoring offences on Thursday, did not allow his off-field problems to distract him as he helped City brush aside their struggling Championship opponents.
Tevez scored three goals and made two more in a one-sided contest where the gulf in class between the Premier League champions and the team at the bottom of the Championship was always apparent.
City's title defence remains on the rocks, but the 2011 Cup winners will return to Wembley next month full of confidence after strolling into the last four of a competition that provides their only realistic chance of silverware this season.Aleksander Kolarov and midfield maestro David Silva also scored.

Premier League final scores

These are the final scores of the Premier League. Norwich 0-0 Sothampton. It was the same the whole way through the game with shot after shot going wide. However there was huge controversey in the final minute when Norwich were awarded a penalty but keeper Artur Boruc saved it.

QPR 3-1 Sunderland. A stirring QPR performance helped their Premier League survival hopes, while heightening a beaten Sunderland's own relegation fears.
The Black Cats took the lead when striker Steven Fletcher turned in a low Adam Johnson cross.
But Loic Remy pounced on a fortunate deflection to deservedly equalise by angling in a shot past Simon Mignolet.
Andros Townsend scored with a 22-yard strike before Jermaine Jenas arrowed in a late shot to secure QPR's win.

Reading 1-2 Aston Villa.  Aston Villa breathed new life into their Premier League

Aston Villa breathed new life into their Premier League survival hopes, coming from behind at Reading to snatch only their second league win of 2013.

Aston Villa breathed new life into their Premier League survival hopes, coming from behind at Reading to snatch only their second league win of 2013.

Gabriel Agbonlahor's thunderous volley just before half-time lifts Paul Lambert's side out of the relegation zone, with nine league games remaining.

Reading had snatched the lead after 31 minutes when Villa defender Nathan Baker turned beyond his own goalkeeper.

Christian Benteke hit back immediately, before Agbonlahor won it for Villa.

West Brom 2-1 Swansea. Romelu Lukaku continued his good form as West Brom beat Swansea to overtake their opponents and move into seventh in the Premier League.

Luke Moore earned Swansea an early lead with a well-taken header but Lukaku, 19, poked in at the near post.The Belgian then missed a penalty, but the Baggies moved in front when Pablo Hernandez's goal-line clearance went in off Jonathan De Guzman.
The game finished controversially as Roland Lamah had a late goal ruled out.

Around The Grounds

These are the half-time scores in the Premier League today. Norwich 0-0 Southampton. its a very tight game so far with two yellow cards and a substitution but anything can happen in the second half.

QPR 1-1 Sunderland. It's all to play for but the hame team seem to look like the professional side. Sunderland opened the scoring through Steven Fletcher who buried the ball in the back of the net. Not long after Loic Remy equalised for the home team.

Reading 1-2 Aston Villa. This game is so levelled out. It's so hard to call a winner but in the 32nd Nathan Baker put the ball in his own net from 12 yards out. But immediately Christian Benteke equalised. It was in the 45th minute that Gabriel Agbonlahor converted from a cross.

West Brom 1-1 Swansea. Everything in this game is 50/50 but Swansea took the lead in the 33rd minute with Luke Moore getting on the scoresheet. Then 7 minutes late Romelu Lukaku equalised easily.

The FA Cup news

The 6th round games of the FA Cup are today and already we have a semi-finalist. The early game was between Everton and Wigan which ended in a 3-0 victory to the away side Wigan. Maynor Figueroa, Callum McManaman and Jordi Gomez scored in quick succession to set up a victory that Roberto Martinez's unpredictable Wigan side thoroughly deserved.

Uefa Champions League results

The Uefa Champions League has reached the last of the Knockout Stages for some teams. These are the results from the 5th and 6th of March: Man Utd 1-2 Real Madrid. A very close game all-round but a lot of controversey at the start when Utd winger Nani was sent off for a studs up challenge. It was the start of the second half when the opening goal was scored, a scramble for the ball led to Sergio Ramos to put it in his own net. Not so long after Luka Modric scored after coming on as a sub, then three minutes later Ronaldo scored against his own club. The final score was 1-2 Real Madrid and on aggregate the scores were (2-3).

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk. Two goals in six first-half minutes put Jurgen Klopp's side in command, with Felipe Santana heading the first and Mario Gotze tucking in the second.
Shakhtar offered little resistance, although substitute Douglas Costa went close early in the second half.
Jakub Blaszczykowski sealed victory after an error by keeper Andriy Pyatov. It was (5-2) on aggregate.

These are the scores from the 6th of March: PSG 1-1 Valencia.
The visitors needed at least two goals to progress, and Jonas's powerful finish gave them hope.
But Ezequiel Lavezzi equalised, firing home at the second attempt, and Valencia could not find a second. David Beckham was an unused substitute for the French side,
Paris St-Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti has taken four different clubs into the Champions League quarter-finals (Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, PSG). Jose Mourinho is the only other coach to do so.

The former England captain has started one game and come off the bench twice since joining Carlo Ancelotti's side. 

Juventus 2-0 Celtic. 

Early Celtic promise from Joe Ledley's rising shot was tempered when Alessandro Matri followed up on Fabio Quagliarella's shot to score.
Gary Hooper almost turned in an away goal from Georgios Samaras' centre.
And Efe Ambrose wasted a header for the visitors before Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal combined to set up Quagliarella for a simple finish.
Trailing by three goals from the first leg in Glasgow and without skipper Scott Brown, any faint hopes of a remarkable Celtic comeback ended on 24 minutes when Matri finished off from close-range.
Manager Neil Lennon will be frustrated that his side could not fashion a goal and by defensive lapses on a rain-lashed evening in Turin.
However, on reflection, Celtic can only assess their European campaign positively.

Bundesliga news

Badstuber suffers setback

FC Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber has suffered a setback on the road to recovery from cruciate ligament injury.

The 23-year-old was stretchered off during his side's 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of December, but has had to undergo a further operation to remove scar tissue on the troublesome right knee.

The centre-back will follow a specialised ten-day recovery program before continuing his rehabilitation plan as normal. It is not yet known whether Badstuber will be able to make a comeback before the end of the season.

Leverkusen snatch late win

Bayer 04 Leverkusen left it late to turn the tables on VfB Stuttgart and clinch all three points with a 2-1 victory in a dramatic BayArena encounter.

Vedad Ibisevic put the guests in front from the penalty spot early on, but two goals in the last 10 minutes, the first a penalty from Stefan Kießling and the second from Lars Bender, denied Stuttgart at the death.

 

La Liga news.

Vidic "could see" Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford.

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic believes Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo could return to the club one day.

The Portuguese scored 118 goals in 292 appearances for the Red Devils and won numerous honours before sealing a record-breaking £80 million move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

And, ahead of Ronaldo's first return to Old Trafford since his 2009 departure, Vidic has underlined the 28-year-old's affection for his former club.

“It would be a big ask for many reasons, but I would love to see Cristiano here. I could see it,” the 31-year-old told MUTV.

“He is a United supporter. Even though he left he still follows United and still misses the club and the environment here.

Serie A news

Champions League Preview: Juventus vs Celtic

Juventus will take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League last 16-clash with Celtic on Wednesday.

The Scottish giants were on the end of a football lesson at Celtic Park with late Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic strikes leaving Celtic needing a miracle to turn the tie around.

El Shaarawy's agent reveals rival interest.

Stephan El Shaarawy's agent Roberto La Florio claims both Inter Milan and Barcelona were interested in signing his client.

The Italy international, 20, caught the interest of several big clubs with his performances on loan from Genoa at Padova in 2010/11, and joined Milan at the end of that season.

The player's agent has claimed his client could well have ended up at one of Europe's other heavyweight clubs had Milan not moved so quickly.

Ligue1 news

Ochoa shining brightly in Corsica.

A superstar back in Mexico, Guillermo Ochoa raised more than a few eyebrows by signing for newly promoted AC Ajaccio 18 months ago. The goalkeeper has excelled in Corsica, but could this season be his last?

Back then, there was talk of interest from Paris Saint-Germain - and even Barcelona - but instead the former Club America goalkeeper surprised everyone by jetting in to Corsica, where he's been excelling in goal for tiny Ajaccio.
"People didn't understand why I came to Ajaccio," he explained to French media Sport. "But now, back home, lots of people are talking about my performances. All the Ajaccio games are shown live in Mexico. It's great that people are watching Ligue 1 on TV every weekend."

La Liga news

Very good news for Real Madrid fans as there star keeper Iker Casillas is back from injury and is named in the provisional sqaud that will face Man Utd.

More Premier League Football

On Monday night the 4th of March Aston Villa welcome reigning champions Man.City to Villa Park on Monday Night Football. Also expectations are high for City as they are 15 points behind mega rivals Utd.

Premier League Results

These are the results of the Premier League over the weekend: Man Utd 4-0 Norwich. An all round great performance from Utd with the Japenese midfielder Shinji Kagawa hitting the target three times for a hat-trick. The only other goal from Utd came from Wayne Rooney.

Chelsea 1-0 West Brom. West Brom put it up to Chelsea yesterday but Chelsea's class football meant they had to score and they did just that on the 28th minute, Demba Ba getting one in the back of the net.

Everton 3-1 Reading. Everton were the in-control team the whole way through the match getting three goals from Marouane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas. The only Reading goal came from Hal Robson-Kanu on the 84th minute.

Southampton 1-2 QPR. It was a very close game all the way through but in the start QPR took the lead against the run of play when Loic Remy finished clinically from Junior Hoilett's lofted pass. Then on the stroke of half-time Gaston Ramirez pulled one back for struggling Southampton. It was late in the game when Park Ji-Sung gave a low cross for Jay Bothroyd to finish.

Stoke 0-1 West Ham. Again this one was very close but substitute Jack Collison fired passed home keeper Asmir Begovic from a lovely assist from Ricardo Vaz Te just on half-time.

Sunderland 2-2 Fulham. It was a very composed start from Fulham and the hard work paid off early on in the game when Fulham were awarded a penalty. Dimitar Berbatov stepped up and finished. Then Sascha Reither added a second from a counter attatck. Craig Gardner pulled one back from the spot after Philippe Senderos tugged Danny Graham's shirt. And Stephane Sessegnon equalised moments after Black Cats keeper Simon Mignolet denied Berbatov.

Swansea 1-0 Newcastle. It was a terrific start from both teams also putting each other to the test but it was very late on in the game when Luke Moore produced a cool finish to put them in 8th position.

Wigan 0-4 Liverpool. Believe it or not possession wise they were 50-50 but that didn't stop Luis Suarez. The in form Uruguay striker produced a top class performance by getting a hat-trick. The only other goal from Liverpool came from Stewart Downing in just the 2nd minute.

Sunday's game was the North London Derby. Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal. It was a very tight game the whole way through but a shocking performance from the Arsenal defence led Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon to both score in the space of two minutes. In the second half Arsenal came out with a bit of dignity by scoring a goal from a free-kick which led Per Mertesacker to head in the back of the Spurs goal.

Scottish Cup news

It's half time at St. Mirren Park. Celtic are winning 2-1 goals from Joe Ledley and Anthony Stokes for them with Esmael Goncalves scoring the only goal for the home team.

Scottish Cup news

Another goal has been scored in St. Mirren Park. It's a corner kick that led to Anthony Stokes to get the header, He was completely unmarked at the back post.

Scottish Cup news.

Today in the Scottish Cup Celtic take on St. Mirren in St. Mirren Park. The score now is 1-1. Joe Ledley with a header in the 4th minute and just now an absolutely terrible mistake from Emilio Izzaguire led to a header from Esmael Goncalves.

Ryan Giggs signs a one year extension at Utd

The 39-year-old winger's deal will tie him to the Old Trafford club until June 2014 and complete his 23rd season as a first-team player.
Former Wales skipper Giggs made his United debut on 2 March 1991 and has scored 168 goals in 931 appearances.

Giggs's Manchester United appearances

• Premier League: 612 (inc 100 as substitute)
• Division One (pre-1992):40 (inc 7 as sub)
• FA Cup: 73 (inc 11 as sub)
• League Cup: 39 (inc 6 as sub)
• European Cup/Champions League: 143 (inc 22 as sub)
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1
• Uefa Cup: 5
• Other matches (Charity/Community Shield, European Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup): 18 (inc 15 as sub)

*does not include friendlies

"I am feeling good, enjoying my football more than ever and, most importantly, I feel I am making a contribution to the team," said Giggs.

"This is an exciting team to be part of, with great team spirit, and we are again pushing for trophies as we head towards the business end of the season."

Viewer's Notice

Just a notice for everyone who is viewing my blog, that I will be doing some live commentary on Super Sunday matches in the Premier League maybe starting around mid-August or so.

Serie A news

Mazzarri: Pirlo not the only threat for Juve.

Walter Mazzarri has warned that Napoli cannot afford to solely focus on Andrea Pirlo in Friday night's Serie A match against Juventus.

The influential midfielder has developed into Juve's undisputed star player since joining the club from AC Milan in the summer of 2011.

But Mazzarri feels Pirlo is not the Serie A leaders' only threat, and feels the Bianconeri have numerous great players.

"Stopping Pirlo isn’t the problem, because Juventus aren't just about Pirlo," Mazzarri said.

Bundesliga news

Robben fires Bayern past Dortmund.

Munich - FC Bayern Munich exacted revenge for two years of Borussia Dortmund dominance as Arjen Robben's superb curling strike earned them a 1-0 win in Wednesday's DFB Cup quarter-final at the Allianz Arena.

It was a deserved victory for the record title-holders, who were the dominant side throughout and arguably should have won by a greater margin against the holders.

With a sell-out crowd right behind them, Bayern established an early control on proceedings, with Robben drawing a sharp save out of Roman Weidenfeller early on.

Time and space were a luxury afforded to neither side, but with the battle for possession swinging in their favour, the hosts ought to have taken the lead when Philipp Lahm’s deflected cross was palmed into the path of Toni Kroos, but the Bayern midfielder failed to tuck in at the far post with the goal at his mercy.

Ligue 1 news

Montpellier have to battle through Belhanda ban.

Younes Belhanda scored the only goal as Montpellier won 1-0 away to Evian-Thonon-Gaillard last weekend and is his side's leading scorer with eight Ligue 1 goals and ten in all competitions. However, the Moroccan, voted Ligue 1's young player of last season, serves a one-match ban against Rennes, and joins fellow creator Rémy Cabella, who has a thigh injury, on the sidelines. His absence is a big blow to René Girard's side, but the Montpellier coach believes they can cope without the duo.

La Liga News

Casillas resumes training.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has received some encouraging news from the treatment table as Iker Casillas is one step closer to making his comeback having resumed ball training.

The experienced goalkeeper fractured a bone in his left hand on January 23 during the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Valencia, and has since been out of action.

Nevertheless, Casillas is on his way back as Madrid have announced the 31-year-old has made the next step in his recovery process.

Villas-Boas tells Bale to focus on the North London Derby insted of Real Madrid.

 

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has called on Gareth Bale to shun a move to Spain and continue his playing career in England.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger stated earlier on Friday that the Welsh winger should stay in the Premier League amid interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid, and the Portuguese coach is in full agreement with the Frenchman ahead of Sunday's north London derby.

BALE V WILSHERE Who will be crowned derby King?
WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP ON SUNDAY?

"He's extremely respectful," said Villas-Boas. "We have the best league in the world, in my opinion. The best clubs are continuing to attract the best players.