..::Football III::..

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Klopp warns Real Madrid: Dortmund not finished yet

Jurgen Klopp insists that Borussia Dortmund's Champions League tie with Real Madrid is "not over yet".

Last season's runners-up look all but certain to bow out at the quarter-final stage this time around, after suffering a crushing 3-0 first-leg defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

However, while Klopp concedes that Dortmund are staring elimination in the face ahead of Tuesday's return clash at Signal Iduna Park, he says his men will fight right until the end.

"Last year, we 'went out' in the final," the BVB boss told reporters at his pre-game press conference. "This year it looks like the quarter-finals. But it is not over yet.

"Real Madrid are one of the favourites to win the Champions League but we want to defend better and use our chances better than in Madrid.

"I do believe my team showed 'cojones' in the first leg. We made mistakes in defence but we gave them a game.

"We are specialists for the second half and this is the second half of the quarter-final. We want to win it."

 

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UEFA Chmapions League Quarter-Finals 2nd Leg Fixtures 2014.04.08

UEFA Chmapions League Quarter-Finals 2nd Leg Fixtures 2014.04.08

AGG

(1-3)

Chelsea Vs PSG

AGG

(0-3)

Dortmund Vs Real Madrid

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Genoa 1-2 AC Milan: Honda drives visitors to victory

AC Milan breathed life into their unlikely Europa League hopes with a 2-1 win at Genoa on Monday, their third success in a row.

Goals in each half from loanee Adel Taarabt and Keisuke Honda saw Milan claim a hard-fought win and close within five points of rivals Inter, who currently sit in fifth place.


They suffered a nervy finish though, with Genoa defender Marco Motta's excellent 20-yard strike coming with 17 minutes to play.And Genoa were inches away from claiming an equaliser, with Philippe Mexes denying Motta a second goal.The France defender got back to nod Motta's header off the line and away to safety as Milan's good run continued.

They remain 11th in the table but after a dreadful start to the season, the fact they can still reach Europe will encourage coach Clarence Seedorf.Milan, who dropped top scorer Mario Balotelli to the bench, started brighter, with Taarabt's cross just evading the onrushing Kaka in the ninth minute.Two successive wins looked to have restored Milan's confidence, and although they did not have a shot on goal until the 20th minute, their first effort was successful.

Taarabt was responsible, charging forward and beating three men at pace before unleashing a vicious 20-yard drive that hit the bottom-left corner and gave Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin no chance.Stefano Sturaro showed quick feet to find space just outside the box, but could only fire wide as Genoa pressed for an equaliser, with Andrea Bertolacci next to go close.

Bertolacci hit a fierce left-footed drive from 25 yards that went agonisingly wide and the same player saw another long-range shot deflect out for a corner as the hosts ramped up the pressure.Genoa continued to press after the interval, as Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati kept out Ioannis Fetfatzidis before Giovanni Marchese headed over the bar.

Milan's second goal came against the run of play, as Honda scored for the first time in the league for the Italian giants.Taarabt's ball played Honda through and he cleverly dinked over Perin, only to see Giuseppe Sculli tracking back and closing in on the ball.

Sculli should have kept the ball out but could only help it over the line with a despairing effort, giving the Rossoneri much-needed breathing space.Genoa – who have posted seven of their 10 league wins this season at home – gave themselves hope when Motta hooked in a brilliant finish from distance following a corner.

And Genoa could have drawn level just one minute later, when Sturaro drew a fine reaction save from Abbiati before Mexes kept out Motta.But despite Genoa's late pressure, Milan's desperate defence helped them continue their winning run – and their faint European hopes.

 

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Tottenham 5-1 Sunderland: Eriksen & Adebayor pile more misery on Poyet's strugglers

Tottenham piled more misery on relegation-threatened Sunderland by coming from a goal down to win 5-1 at White Hart Lane.

Spurs head coach Tim Sherwood was faced with yet more questions about his future in the build-up to Monday's game after it came to light that he will be sacked at the end of the season.

The 45-year-old insisted it was "business as usual" ahead of the clash with bottom-of-the-table Sunderland, and his players responded with another fightback to secure a victory that moved them above Manchester United into sixth place in the Premier League table.

The London club came back from 2-0 down to beat Southampton in their last home game, and gave away a soft opener at White Hart Lane when Vlad Chiriches, returning after just over two months out through injury, gave the ball away and Lee Cattermole scored his first Sunderland goal.

Fit-again striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been a shining light under Sherwood and his 12th goal since the Englishman took over in December drew his side level, before Harry Kane marked his first Premier League start for the club with a goal to put the hosts in front.

The impressive Christian Eriksen set up the first two goals and then added a stylish effort of his own, before Adebayor's second of the game and an injury-time strike from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson added gloss to the scoreline and pushed Sunderland closer to the Championship.

Sherwood said ahead of the game that he did not expect talk of his future to affect his players and they certainly looked up for the battle in the opening stages.

Tottenham were knocking the ball around with confidence, but they were almost behind 13 minutes in when stand-in Sunderland skipper Wes Brown headed the recalled Adam Johnson's inviting free kick just wide.

The home side failed to heed the warning, though, and they gifted the visitors the lead three minutes later.

Chiriches appeared to panic when Hugo Lloris passed the ball out to him and the defender's stray pass was picked up by Cattermole, who caught the France goalkeeper out with a measured right-foot finish from around 30 yards out.

But Spurs were level when Eriksen's dangerous cross struck Adebayor six yards out and bounced in via the striker's hip and forearm.

It was the visitors who had a spring in their step early in the second half, with Johnson pulling the strings, but Tottenham were in front when Kane repaid the faith put in him by Sherwood just before the hour, turning in another fine Eriksen cross from six yards out.

Eriksen then capped a fine individual performance in the 78th minute as he let fly with a left-foot strike that deflected off Phil Bardsley and flew into the far corner of the net 12 minutes from time.

Kane and Adebayor then combined to add a fourth goal with five minutes remaining, with the Togo international on hand to turn the ball in after his young strike partner had been denied by Vito Mannone.

And Sigurdsson took advantage of some poor Sunderland defending to finish off the scoring from close range in time added on to heap more misery on Poyet's troubled side.

The Black Cats are seven points from safety and would not climb out of the relegation zone even if they win their two games in hand.

 

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Eriksen Patta!

 

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Rodriguez ruled out of World Cup

paw wademe season eke elatama play kala

 

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Full Time

AGG

(2-3)

Dortmund 2 Vs 0 Real Madrid

Dortmund Goal(s)

Reus 24',37'
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Full Time

AGG

(3-3)

Chelsea 2 Vs 0 PSG

Chelsea Goal(s)

Schurrle 32',Demba Ba 87'
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Chelsea lagen niyama comeback 1kak

Congratzzzz for Chelsea & Real Madrid!

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[charitha chandi]

Buhahahahhaha......!!!

 

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Chelsea 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain (Agg 3-3): Ba the hero as Blues edge through

Substitute Demba Ba scored late on to send Chelsea into the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain.

Jose Mourinho's men came into Tuesday's home leg of the quarter-final tie trailing 3-1, and an early injury to Eden Hazard looked set to make their task even tougher.However, the Belgian's replacement - Andre Schurrle - gave the home fans hope by finding the net 14 minutes after coming off the bench.

PSG looked a shadow of the side that cruised to victory against an off-colour Chelsea at theParc des Princes last week, and were walking a tightrope as Schurrle and Oscar both found the woodwork in quick succession after the break.
However, Ba - a 66th-minute replacement for Frank Lampard - sent Stamford Bridge into raptures and Jose Mourinho sprinting down the touchline with a winner three minutes from time, as the Londoners progressed on away goals.The result means Mourinho has now been successful in each of his nine European quarter-final ties.

PSG were forced to make do without talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who limped out of the first leg with a hamstring problem, while Chelsea fans will have been delighted to see a striker at all - Samuel Eto'o back in the starting XI after Mourinho's decision to start without a recognised frontman backfired in Paris.Mourinho probably should have been the one sweating over his side's future in the competition, but it was opposite number Laurent Blanc who emerged for the first half chewing on a toothpick in an apparent bid to calm any pre-match nerves.

His anxiety appeared misplaced, however, as the visitors made an accomplished start to the clash, preventing their hosts from taking control.And Chelsea's prospects appeared to suffer a huge blow in the 18th minute when reported PSG transfer target Hazard limped from the field to be replaced by Schurrle.

Lampard was first to really test Salvatore Sirigu in the PSG goal after 28 minutes - his free-kick deflecting off the wall and forcing the Italian into a one-handed diving save.But Chelsea were ahead four minutes later, when David Luiz nodded a long throw onto the boot of substitute Schurrle, who made no mistake in slotting past Sirigu from the centre of the penalty area.

The German - ineffective as Chelsea's most advanced player in the first leg - went down in the box under the challenge of Marco Verratti during the hosts' next attack, but the referee ignored home claims for a penalty.The men from the French capital posed little threat after going behind, and could have been two down when Schurrle rifled an effort against the crossbar, before an Oscar free-kick suffered the same fate soon after.

It did not appear to be Chelsea's day, but, after Edinson Cavani had wasted a golden opportunity to put the result beyond doubt, Ba became an unlikely hero.
The Senegal striker, who has often been out of favour this season, got the final touch on Cesar Azpilicueta's deflected delivery to divert the ball past Sirigu to spark joyous scenes at the Bridge.

 

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Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Real Madrid: Hosts crash out despite Reus double

Real Madrid staved off a thrilling Borussia Dortmund comeback to progress to the Champions League semi-finals despite a 2-0 defeat.

With a 3-0 first-leg advantage, Madrid were rocking at half-time as Marco Reus' double reduced the aggregate score to 3-2 in a fervent atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.Both goals came after Angel Di Maria had seen a penalty saved by Roman Weidenfeller, the Argentinian losing his footing on the wet surface as he went to strike the ball.

Two efforts from Reus - capitalising on mistakes from the visitors each time - gave Jurgen Klopp's side hope of a memorable fightback but they could not force the third goal that would have sent the tie into extra-time as Real gained a measure of revenge for last year's semi-final loss to Dortmund.Carlo Ancelotti left Cristiano Ronaldo, struggling with a minor knee injury, on the bench for the duration of the game and Madrid just about managed in his absence, holding off a determined Dortmund in the final stages to book their place in the last four.

The visitors wasted a golden opportunity to practically wrap up the tie in the 17th minute, Weidenfeller diving to his left to keep out Di Maria's spot-kick after Lukasz Piszczek was adjudged to have handled Fabio Coentrao's cross.Dortmund ought to have got themselves the early goal their fans craved two minutes later, Henrikh Mkhitaryan side-footing wide from 10 yards after being teed up by Reus.

However, Reus rendered that miss irrelevant in the 24th minute, taking advantage of Pepe's weak back-header to round Iker Casillas and slot the ball into the net.
Dortmund were rampant, Casillas tipping a Mats Hummels header over the bar from Reus' curling free-kick, before the Germany playmaker doubled his tally in the 37th minute as once again Madrid contributed to their own downfall.Asier Illarramendi surrendered possession, allowing Reus to feed Robert Lewandowski, and as his shot was tipped onto the post by Casillas, the 24-year-old was on hand to smash in the rebound.

Real made a bright start to the second half, Gareth Bale testing Weidenfeller with a stinging effort in the 49th minute, before a last-ditch challenge from Hummels denied Karim Benzema as the Frenchman prepared to shoot into an empty net on the hour mark.

Despite their improved showing, Madrid were lucky to stay ahead in the tie in the 65th minute when Mkhitaryan struck the outside of the post after rounding Casillas following more excellent work by Reus.The Armenian again went close three minutes later, this time seeing his strike saved by the Spanish goalkeeper as Dortmund continued to press, Casillas also denying Kevin Grosskreutz in the 71st minute.

Despite a frantic finale, Dortmund were unable to carve out one more clear opportunity as the final whistle allowed the visitors to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

 

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Casillas ge savings tika patta​

 

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Referee was very poor, says Dortmund chief

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has criticised referee Damir Skomina for his performance in the German side's 2-0 win over Real Madrid.

The Schwarzgelben took a two goal lead through Marco Reus' brace as they looked to claw their way back into the tie following Madrid's 3-0 first-leg win. However, the German side couldn't find the crucial third goal which would send the tie into extra-time and crashed out of the competition.

Despite their elimination, Watzke was full of praise for the Bundesliga giants but criticised the referee for a substandard performance in the important match.

"My team did great," Watzke said after the game. "It was a fantastic experience. Nevertheless we all are a bit disappointed. We had fantastic chances in the second half, mainly Henrikh [Mkhitaryan]. I trusted in the team.

"The only one who wasn't on the level was the referee. For example, I saw a clear assault by [Sergio] Ramos against [Robert] Lewandowski.

"He made a lot of wrong decisions. I don't want to say he disadvantaged us but the performance was simply bad.

"I'm sure Madrid would have been dead, if we would have scored the third goal."

 

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I wasn't celebrating when I ran down the touchline, claims Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he was not celebrating when he dashed down the touchline following Demba Ba's late strike against Paris Saint-Germain.

The Senegalese striker prodded home late on to send the Blues through to the semi-finals of the Champions League, with Mourinho's men advancing on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw with the Ligue 1 side.

The goal, which made it 2-0 on the night after Andre Schurrle had struck in the first half, prompted Mourinho to charge down the touchline, reminiscent of his wild celebrations at Old Trafford with Porto back in 2004, but the 51-year-old insists he was passing on tactical instructions.

When asked if he ran down the touchline to celebrate Ba's goal, he told ITV Sport: "No, not to celebrate. To tell Fernando [Torres] and Demba the changes we had to do. Because there was still three minutes plus extra-time and playing the way we were playing was too risky. I wanted Demba to play in front of the defenders and I wanted Fernando to defend Maxwell.

"We did enough in the beginning of the second half to score before but we couldn't. After that there was a contradiction of what they are and what they were saying yesterday that they wanted to do. They played counter-attack, closing everything and it was difficult for us to penetrate in the second part of the second half."

Mourinho believed that Chelsea deserved to advance to the last four, insisting that Laurent Blanc's defensive tactics proved to be his undoing. He added: "Demba made a crucial finish for us and I think we deserved it.

"The team that decided to defend was punished and the team that gave everything with the heart deserved to go through to the semis."

 

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Chelsea winger Hazard plays down calf injury

Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has played down the injury which forced him off after just 17 minutes of the Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Belgium international was replaced and walked straight down the tunnel for treatment after struggling with the injury in the opening exchanges, with Andre Schurrle coming on in his place.

But he has told Canal Plus that he went off as a precaution: "I already felt some pain in my calf during the warm-up.

"I didn't want to take a risk."

In his post-match press conference, Jose Mourinho confirmed the calf injury and speculated that Hazard would need a couple of weeks to recover, although the winger had yet to be assessed.

Schurrle scored the Blues' first goal on the night, before Demba Ba's late strike clinched a 2-0 victory and progression to the semi-finals on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.

Hazard has been in scintillating form for the Blues this season, scoring 14 goals in 33 Premier League appearances.

He recently hinted at a possible summer move to Laurent Blanc's PSG side, stating: "If my wife tells me to go to Paris then I'll have to take this into consideration."

 

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Real Madrid lucky to still be in Champions League - Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti admits Real Madrid were lucky to make the Champions League semi-finals after a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

With a 3-0 first-leg advantage, the Blancos looked firm favourites heading into Tuesday's game but Angel Di Maria's saved penalty and a first half brace from Marco Reus set Madrid nerves jangling.They survived more Dortmund pressure in the second period, Henrikh Mkhitaryan striking a post while Iker Casillas was also called upon to make some crucial saves, and their coach confessed that his charges had almost paid for their poor second-leg showing.

"All games at this stage are very difficult," Ancelotti mused to reporters. "We are fortunate to be through to the semi-finals."We're happy to reach the semis, but not happy as we suffered a lot. Especially in the first half. We opened the tie up again.

"We were better in the second half. Football is like that, we gave away gifts, made lots of errors, we had no confidence and we suffered because of it."Casillas made fantastic saves in important moments of the game. His game was very, very good."

Bayern Munich or Manchester United and Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, who play on Wednesday, will join Real Madrid and fellow Tuesday victors Chelsea in the last four of the elite European competition.

 

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Klopp: Dortmund were superior

Jurgen Klopp hailed Borussia Dortmund as "incredible" after their ultimately futile 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisting his side were the better team.

Despite trailing 3-0 from the first-leg in Spain, Dortmund looked destined to pull off a massive comeback as Marco Reus netted twice in the first half after Angel Di Maria's penalty miss.

Dortmund created chances throughout the second period but could not force the third goal as Madrid edged through 3-2 on aggregate.Although his side exited the competition, Klopp was proud of his players for the fight they had shown.

"Neven Subotic said to me after the game, 'I couldn't be prouder of this team'," Klopp told reporters."That's what the Champions League is about. We were superior tonight, but should have scored last week.

"Tonight's game was so good that there is absolutely no-one to blame for not qualifying.
"The atmosphere was awesome. We wanted to prove a point and we did that with our incredible performance."