..::Football IV::..

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'Barcelona were going out, now they are favourites' - Allegri in warning to Juventus stars

Massimiliano Allegri has warned his players to treat Porto with respect, citing Barcelona's dramatic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain as evidence not to take victory for granted.

Barca recorded the greatest comeback in Champions League history last week, recovering from a four-goal first-leg deficit at Camp Nou to win the return match 6-1.

Juventus are 2-0 in front going into Tuesday's last-16 second leg in Turin, but Allegri is feeling far from secure.

"It will not be easy," Allegri, who will make a late decision on defender Giorgio Chiellini's involvement after he was named in the squad, said at his pre-match media conference."Everybody thought that Barcelona were already out and now they are favourites. It's normal, things can change really quickly in football, we just need to be there among the best eight and then try to give our very best.

"There are a lot of risks, because first and foremost it’s a game of football and a game of football can never be discounted.

"Let's not forget what Porto did in their Champions League play-off away to Roma this season [a 3-0 win] – they were starting that match at a disadvantage. This will be a tough test."

He added: "They are a team who know how to play these kind of games and they know very well how to take advantage of their chances.

"So we need to reduce it to one game, without thinking about the 2-0 lead, but by thinking and doing the things which will bring us to another home win."
Allegri is not interested in sending a message to Juve's rivals to win the competition and simply wants to get the job done.He continued: "Qualification is the only thing that counts on Tuesday, we don't have to send any signals to our rivals, we just need to qualify and play a good game. Fireworks are used in the final – they don't matter here.

"We have an important objective to achieve, we want to reach the quarter-finals. The spirit is certainly good but we have to be aware that we need another great performance in order to qualify.

"But we do need to believe we are capable of winning the Champions league. It is a magical competition."

 

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Monaco can beat Manchester City in Champions League – Houllier

Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier believes that Monaco should hold out hope of beating Manchester City in the Champions League.

The principality side trail 5-3 after a remarkable first leg, in which they held a 3-2 advantage at one juncture. Naivety in the closing stages cost the Ligue 1 leaders, however, but the Frenchman believes that their scoring power has the potential to worry their Premier League opponents.“If Monaco score a goal, their opponents will start to worry,” he told L’Equipe.

“Offensively, they have many different threats between Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Radamel Falcao, a fox in the box, and Thomas Lemar.“They can still progress, even if this remains a very important match for City.”

The former France coach, who is now an advisor to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, believes that only inexperience prevented Monaco from obtaining an even better result in the first leg.

“It was a crazy match, when one goal followed another,” he reflected. “I think, in any case, Monaco are not a team with the experience or the maturity to allow them to manage a result. And that is what brings them their strength and flair. It’s why they can still qualify.”

Monaco lead Ligue 1 by three points over Paris Saint-Germain, and boast a significantly better goal difference than the defending champions.

 

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Costa: Fucking amazing Hazard would think about Madrid or Barca move

Chelsea forward Diego Costa has hailed team-mate Eden Hazard and admitted that the Belgian would consider moving to Real Madrid or Barcelona.Hazard has been linked with a move to La Liga, having returned to form with the Blues this season.

The 26-year-old netted just four Premier League goals last season as Chelsea missed out on European qualification, but has been reinvigorated under Antonio Conte, chipping in with 11 league goals as the Blues lead the race for the league title.

Speculation has surrounded a Madrid move for both goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Hazard, and team-mate Costa is not surprised by the links."Fuck! If Real Madrid signing Hazard and Thibaut... poor Chelsea! Hazard is fucking amazing, he's a top, top player," Costa told Onda Cero.

"Barcelona or Real Madrid are going to watch him at any time. Hazard is happy here but when a team like these knocks at the door you have to think about it. He's a world-class player."

Costa has also been in excellent form for Chelsea and has 17 Premier League goals this season, just two behind top scorers Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku.
Chelsea are currently 10 points clear of second-placed Tottenham with 11 games remaining.

 

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Courtois rubbishes Real Madrid rumours

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has dismissed claims that he could move in the summer to Real Madrid.

Keylor Navas is having a tough time in goal at the Bernabeu currently, having been at fault for the strike that Real Betis scored at the weekend. As such, speculation is mounting that the European champions could make a change in that area, with Belgium international Courtois one of the players cited in connection with Zinedine Zidane’s men.

The 24-year-old previously played with Atletico Madrid in La Liga, but is not thinking about a move back to Spain.Speaking to Onda Cero , he said: “No, I’m not planning on moving. I’m enjoying the success here and I am focused.”

Courtois was speaking after Antonio Conte’s men defeated Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, booking a London derby with Tottenham in the semi-finals next month.

 

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Man City target Kimmich won't be sold by Bayern - Rummenigge

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out the prospect of selling Joshua Kimmich to Manchester City.

The 22-year-old was a regular under Pep Guardiola at the Allianz Arena last season but has found his opportunities in the first team far more limited since Carlo Ancelotti took charge.

Kimmich was an unused substitute for last weekend's 3-0 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt, prompting the versatile full-back to admit his frustrations are building.

Speculation has mounted that Guardiola could look to bring him to the Etihad Stadium for next season, with the City boss eager to bolster his options in defence, but Rummenigge insists that Kimmich has already been earmarked as a successor to retiring captain Philipp Lahm.

"We have big plans for him in the future," he told Sky Sport. "He will be, quite literally, our successor to Philipp Lahm."From next season, he'll get more and more minutes. That's Carlo Ancelotti's plan, at least."

Kimmich, who also operates as a midfielder, has made 30 appearances this season, scoring seven goals.

 

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Leicester vice-chairman addresses rumours of player input in Ranieri sacking

Leicester City vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has strongly refuted claims suggesting input from senior players influenced the club’s decision to part with Claudio Ranieri.The Foxes opted to part with their Italian coach in February, just nine months after he guided them to a remarkable Premier League title triumph.

An inability to build on that success cost Ranieri his job, with Leicester sinking to the opposite end of the table and into a relegation battle.

A tough call was made to go in another direction, with Craig Shakespeare having been handed the reins on a short-term basis in an effort to steady the ship.

Srivaddhanaprabha insists that the decision to relieve Ranieri of his duties was taken at board level, with there no opinions sought from the playing staff before wielding the axe.

He told reporters in his native Thailand: "Not a chance. The news that some players come in and ask the owner to fire the manager - impossible.

“If you run the business you should understand that, if employees or a director come and ask if you will fire that manager - if I'm that kind of owner - that's lame.They talk about this because they just don't have anything else to pick on us.”

Pressed further on the thinking behind parting with Ranieri, Srivaddhanaprabha added: "We want to ensure that we're 100 per cent staying (in the Premier League), but his new method (changing tactics) to improve the team was not working.“Players don't understand how to play and need time to adjust. The results were not what this town and also the world were expecting.

"I spoke since last year that Leicester could be in relegation battle this season because this is football, always uncertain. But certainly I made this team to be 'a team' and try to make it the best. We knew that some change will shock the players and lead them to fight more."In my view, the manager has to rely on his results. Some were champions last year, then ended up sixth and got fired.”

Leicester also had to deal with the exit of N’Golo Kante to Chelsea last summer, with Srivaddhanaprabha aware that changes in personnel disrupted a settled squad.He added: "We lost our important player from last season, obviously Kante. We have to admit that he's hard to replace. We tried, but it's very challenging to do.

"The other things is, our players are still human beings. They won the unexpected championship, which cooled their passion, their determination.


“Newcomers also had to adapt to old players as well. We used to play the same 14-15 players through the relegation battle to winning the league. This season we added a lot of players for Champions League and it turns out that the harmony declined.”

 

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Ranieri sacking was 'worth it' after improvement in form, insists Leicester official

Claudio Ranieri's sacking has been justified by Leicester City's improved form under his successor Craig Shakespeare, according to the club's vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.

Ranieri was dismissed less than nine months after leading Leicester to their incredible Premier League title success, with the team in danger of suffering relegation.

Shakespeare took charge on a temporary basis and oversaw 3-1 Premier League wins at home to Liverpool and Hull City, earning the right to lead the club to the end of the season, and Srivaddhanaprabha defended the decision to replace the Italian.

"It hurt," he said. "We didn't want this. But we see the club as the first priority. It's here for 133 years, so we try our best to keep it going. I don't think this will drag the club down. "Claudio understands. He's also sad, but he said that he also understands that football will always come down to the results. We decided to make the club better.

"If we had kept him on and got relegated, to think back that we should have done something different back then - that's no use. We decided - and got six points - I think that's worth it."

Srivaddhanaprabha explained Ranieri's questionable tactical decisions were among the reasons why he was dismissed by the club, which was 5000-1 to win the Premier League title.

"We want to ensure that we're 100 per cent staying up, but his new method of changing tactics to improve the team was not working," the vice-chairman said.

"Players don't understand how to play and need time to adjust. The results were not what this town and also the world were expecting."I spoke since last year that Leicester could be in relegation battle this season because this is football, it is always uncertain.

"We knew that some change will shock the players and lead them fight more. In my view, the manager has to rely on their results."

 

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Manchester United charged by FA for 'failing to control their players'

Manchester United have been charged with "failing to control their players" by the Football Association (FA) following Monday's FA Cup quarter-final tie.

Jose Mourinho's men lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, with N'Golo Kante's long-range strike proving decisive following Ander Herrera's sending off for two bookable offences.

United's players appeared to crowd referee Michael Oliver as he dismissed Herrera, the Spaniard picking up his second yellow after fouling Eden Hazard."Manchester United have been charged for failing to control their players," reads an FA statement.

"It follows an incident in the 35th minute of the Emirates FA Cup quarter final tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday [Monday 13 March 2017]."The club have until 6pm on Friday 17 March 2017 to respond to the charge."

Marcos Rojo, meanwhile, has not been punished for an alleged stamp on Hazard.
Replays of the incident showed that Rojo brought his foot down into Hazard's chest but the incident was witnessed by referee Oliver, and no retrospective action can subsequently be taken.

 

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El Nino returns - Torres available for Atletico following head injury

Fernando Torres is in line to feature for Atletico Madrid for the first time since suffering a sickening head injury.

Diego Simeone's side face Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Vicente Calderon, holding a 4-2 advantage from the opening fixture in Germany.

Torres has been out of action since sustaining the injury against Deportivo La Coruna earlier this month, when he appeared to be knocked out prior to hitting the turf following a clash of heads with Alex Bergantinos.

A CT scan came back all clear before Torres was discharged from hospital the following day, and he has been included in Atletico's squad to face Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Along with Torres, defender Stefan Savic has also been cleared to play after suffering a broken nose against Granada on Saturday.

 

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Sportfreunde Lotte 0 Borussia Dortmund 3: Tuchel's side set up Bayern semi

Borussia Dortmund set up a DFB-Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich but were made to work for a 3-0 victory over Sportfreunde Lotte at Osnatel Arena.

Dortmund were without star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to an adductor injury, though goals from Christian Pulisic, Andre Schurrle and Marcel Schmelzer saw them come out on top of the rearranged and relocated quarter-final clash.

Third-tier Lotte were forced to host the match in Osnabruck after heavy snowfall damaged the pitch at their Frimo Stadion, yet they looked at home in the neutral venue and mounted an impressive start before getting to half-time level.

But Dortmund allayed fears they would follow Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen and be the third Bundesliga scalp for Lotte when Ousmane Dembele - the replacement for the injured Aubameyang - raced away and teed up Pulisic for his third goal in four appearances.

A neat move resulted in Schurrle volleying home a second for Thomas Tuchel's side and Schmelzer added some gloss with an excellent free-kick, getting them back to winning ways after a 2-1 defeat away at fellow Champions League chasers Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Dortmund are now one match away from a return to the Olympiastadion, but they will have to overcome reigning champions Bayern, who beat them in last season's final, at the Allianz Arena if they are to lift the trophy for a fourth time.A pair of Matthias Ginter errors led to Hertha's goals at the weekend and the centre-back almost came unstuck again inside two minutes.

Ginter was unable to deal with a long pass into the box under pressure from Bernd Rosinger, but recovered in time to make a clearance after the striker took the loose ball away from Roman Burki.

Lotte's strong start continued unchecked and when Tim Wendel raced onto Jaroslaw Lindner's hopeful pass in the 11th minute, only a strong save from Burki kept the scores level.

Raphael Guerreiro and Gonzalo Castro fired efforts from outside the box narrowly wide as Dortmund began to assert themselves as the superior force, but Lotte made it through to half-time unscathed.Dortmund had a pair of chances within four minutes of the restart, Lotte goalkeeper Benedikt Fernandez denying Shinji Kagawa from a tight angle before Ginter's goal-bound header was diverted behind by Matthias Rahn.

The breakthrough came in the 57th minute. Dembele launched a rapid break by sprinting from inside his own half before playing in Pulisic, who calmly slotted the ball between the legs of Fernandez.

Dortmund doubled their lead nine minutes later when Guerreiro nodded Kagawa's deep cross down for Schurrle to smash into the back of the net with a first-time finish.Lotte's confidence was visibly sapped and Dortmund made it three with seven minutes remaining.

Schmelzer's sweetly struck free-kick from 25-yards out proved too much for Fernandez to deal with, the goalkeeper getting his hands to the ball but failing to keep it out of the net.

Tuchel handed Swedish teenage sensation Alexander Isak his Dortmund debut in the closing stages, and their attention will now turn to a Bundesliga clash with Ingolstadt on Friday.

 

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Real Madrid icon Casillas takes European record off Milan legend Maldini

Iker Casillas made history on Tuesday when he took to the field in Porto’s Champions League clash with Juventus.That outing is the World Cup-winning goalkeeper’s 175th appearance in European competition, edging him ahead of legendary Milan defender Paolo Maldini on that particular roll of honour.

The vast majority of those outings came during Casillas’ time on the books of Real Madrid, with 16 years spent in the first-team fold at Santiago Bernabeu.He has also taken in regular continental outings since linking up with Porto in 2015 and now holds an impressive record outright.

During his days in Madrid, Casillas tasted three Champions League triumphs - with their La Decima success of 2014 proving to be his last.
He also secured two UEFA Super Cup titles as part of an enviable collection of silverware secured in the Spanish capital.

There is work to be done in his latest European outing, though, with Porto heading into the second leg of their last-16 showdown with Juve trailing 2-0 on aggregate.

 

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Congratulations Casillas!

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Juventus 1 Porto 0 (3-0 agg): Dybala strike dumps out 10-man Porto

Juventus reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for only the second time in four years after a 1-0 win over 10-man Porto gave them a 3-0 aggregate victory.

The Italian champions' 2-0 win in Portugal three weeks earlier ensured they went into the second leg in a comfortable position, and there was to be no miraculous fightback from Porto when Maxi Pereira was sent-off for deliberate handball after 40 minutes.

His indiscretion allowed Paulo Dybala to score from the penalty spot and Juventus went on to keep their sixth clean sheet in eight Champions League matches, extending an unbeaten run of home games that reaches back to August 2015.

Beaten finalists in 2015, Juventus have failed to win Europe's top competition since 1996 but Massimiliano Allegri's side are clinical in attack and imperious in defence, conceding just twice in the tournament this season.

Porto, who had scored 12 goals without reply in their three games between the two legs against Juventus, left Turin having had their game plan ruined not only by Pereira's moment of madness but by an impenetrable defensive unit marshalled by Leonardo Bonucci and Medhi Benatia.

Allegri called for his side to approach the match professionally despite their lead and they did just that, with Alex Sandro bursting down the left wing and crossing for Dybala to shoot over the crossbar in the third minute.

Porto grew in confidence the more that Danilo Pereira saw of the ball, and the 25-year-old charged through midfield before squaring to Soares whose shot went straight into the arms of Gianluigi Buffon.

Iker Casillas had his first save to make after 23 minutes when Juan Cuadrado's whipped cross was thundered towards goal by Mario Mandzukic's downward header, but the veteran Spanish goalkeeper was ideally placed to catch it.

Just as Porto looked to have held out until half-time, Juventus piled forward and Maxi Pereira dived to block Gonzalo Higuain's shot with his arm, leaving the referee with no choice but to send him off and award a penalty, which Dybala calmly slotted into the bottom right corner of the net.

Casillas, making his 175th appearance in European competitions to claim Paolo Maldini's record, was called into action straight after half-time to save Danilo's backwards header that was on its way inside the foot of the post before the 35-year-old dived down to stop it.

Soares had a gilt-edged opportunity to reduce the deficit seconds later, shaking off Dani Alves and going one-on-one with Buffon, but he opened his body and side-footed the shot across the face of goal and wide of the far post.

Mandzukic's exquisite back-heel teed up substitute Marko Pjaca for a chance from close range but he dragged his shot wide, and Dybala failed to apply a quality finish on the volley when Alex Sandro floated a wonderful cross into his path.

Porto substitute Diogo Jota had a chance to salvage some pride when he went through on goal in the closing stages, but he over hit his chip and the chance went begging along with Porto's European campaign for another year.

 

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Leicester City 2 Sevilla 0 (3-2 agg): Schmeichel penalty save maintains fantastic Foxes revival under Shakespeare

Leicester City's remarkable renaissance under Craig Shakespeare continued as Kasper Schmeichel's late penalty save preserved a 2-0 win over 10-man Sevilla and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Schmeichel had kept the Foxes alive with a string of saves in the first leg, including from a Joaquin Correa spot-kick, and Jamie Vardy's goal in the 2-1 defeat - which proved to be Claudio Ranieri's last game in charge - provided hope coming into Tuesday's meeting at the King Power Stadium, where the momentum from subsequent back-to-back domestic wins was continued here in dramatic fashion.
Wes Morgan's scrappy effort just prior to the half-hour put the Premier League champions ahead via the away-goals rule, before Marc Albrighton's low drive had them 3-2 up on aggregate.

Sevilla, Europa League winners in each of the past three seasons, played the final 15 minutes a man light after Samir Nasri was shown a second yellow card for an altercation with Vardy but the visitors only needed one goal to force extra time.

And, with 10 minutes to go, Schmeichel's foul on Vitolo presented the Spanish side with the perfect opportunity to salvage a lifeline, only for the Dane to redeem himself from Steven N'Zonzi's weak effort, while Sevilla's frustrations were summed up when livewire coach Jorge Sampaoli was sent to the stands late on.

Victory for Leicester makes it three wins out of three under the guidance of Shakespeare - this his first outing since it was formally announced he would lead the team for the remainder of the season following Ranieri's controversial sacking.

Sevilla again fell short in their bid to reach the last eight of this competition for the first time, but the night belonged to Leicester, who join the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the pot for Friday's quarter-final draw.

It was a largely assured display from the home side but they survived a scare as early as the fourth minute when Nasri forced a fine reaction save from Schmeichel at his near post.From there, Leicester grew into the game and moved ahead on the night and in the tie as Morgan bundled home Riyad Mahrez's devilish set-piece.

Gabriel Mercado's mis-hit cross almost provided Sevilla with a swift and fortunate equaliser, but Schmeichel was alert to tip the ball behind as Leicester went into the break with their lead intact.

That advantage was almost wiped out within eight minutes of the restart when Sergio Escudero's dipping, swerving shot from 35 yards crashed off the crossbar with Schmeichel rooted to the spot.

Fortune was seemingly smiling on Leicester, and they took full advantage a minute later as Albrighton gave them the aggregate lead.Mahrez was again involved, his cross headed out by Adil Rami straight to the feet of Albrighton, who controlled and fired low past Sergio Rico from just inside the box.

Mahrez was looking much more like the man who won the PFA Players' Player of the Year last season, more trickery leading to Rico parrying his cross into the path of Vardy, who lashed wide.

Despite Nasri's dismissal for butting heads with Vardy, Sevilla looked to have been handed a way back into the tie by Schmeichel but N'Zonzi's unconvincing kick was easily saved as Leicester held on as their fairytale took another remarkable twist.

 

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Leicester City pattaneHithanne nathi matches play karanawa godak hodata​

 

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'Leicester are the team to avoid' - Buffon doesn't want to face Foxes in Champions League

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has named Leicester City as the only team he wants to avoid in the Champions League quarter-finals after the Premier League champions knocked out Sevilla.

The Foxes ran out 2-0 winners at the King Power Stadium to clinch a 3-2 aggregate victory in their last-16 tie, and their growing reputation around Europe was confirmed by veteran Italian star Buffon.

While Leicester triumphed, Juventus cruised to a 1-0 win over 10-man Porto in Turin, with Paulo Dybala's first-half penalty ensuring a 3-0 aggregate scoreline in favour of the Serie A leaders.

Despite the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid being in the last eight, Buffon picked out Leicester as the competition's danger team.
He told Premium Sport: "The only team I'd like to avoid in the draw is Leicester.

"They have got enthusiasm, they know how to hurt the strongest teams. We'd have everything to lose against them."The draw for the quarter-finals takes place on Friday, with the ties to be played in mid-April.

 

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We pulled off the impossible again - captain Morgan hails incredible Leicester

Leicester City captain Wes Morgan believes the club pulled off the impossible again by knocking out Sevilla to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate success.

Morgan put Leicester ahead on the night to level the scores at 2-2 on aggregate before Marc Albrighton smashed home from the edge of the box to secure another famous victory for the Premier League champions.

Kasper Schmeichel saved Steven N'Zonzi's penalty after Samir Nasri was sent off for Sevilla and Morgan said Leicester are continuing to prove their critics wrong.
"Incredible, I can't quite believe it. We didn't expect to get this far and here we are," Morgan told BT Sport.

"It must be [the greatest night in the club's history]. I'm not sure it'll ever happen again but we did it, we proved a lot of people wrong. We pulled off the impossible again."

There was an element of luck about Morgan's goal as Riyad Mahrez's free-kick bounced in off him at the back post but the centre-back has insisted Leicester will not get carried away with their success, having won their third straight game under new manager Craig Shakespeare."I just bundled it in," said Morgan. "I was in the right place at the right time and just happy it went over the line.

"We'll take whoever comes. We'll enjoy this moment, dust ourselves down and we've still got to concentrate on the league."

Albrighton also maintains that Leicester will not be content with a place in the last eight of the Champions League, despite giants such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona awaiting.

"I'm lost for words. What a night," Albrighton told BT Sport. "We thoroughly deserved the victory, we pressed them from the first minute to the last.

"We rode our luck but defended triumphantly and to get two goals against such a good team and keep a clean sheet is fantastic for us."We thoroughly deserve to be there, we've played brilliantly in this campaign. The Champions League run has been fantastic and we want to keep it going as long as possible."

 

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UEFA Champions League Round of 16 2nd Leg Fixtures

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 2nd Leg Fixtures

AGG
(3-5)

Monaco Vs Manchester City

AGG
(4-2)

Atletico Madrid Vs Leverkusen

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Manchester United still without Rooney and Martial

Manchester United will still be without Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney for Thursday's Europa League match against Rostov due to injury, Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

The duo missed United's 1-0 FA Cup defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Monday and will not be fit in time to return for Thursday's encounter at Old Trafford.Zlatan Ibrahimovic — who was suspended for the loss at Stamford Bridge — is the only new face in the matchday squad.

"Martial was injured for the game against Chelsea and could not play," Mourinho said at a news conference.

"If you are still injured for Monday's game, you are still injured on Tuesday morning's training as well, so he is not an option for Thursday."Rooney is still injured as well, some kick in his knee area, so he cannot even come out to the pitch. He stays inside the medical department.

"We will have the same players available as for the game against Chelsea, plus Ibrahimovic."It is a big boost to have Ibra for this game, but we never cry about who we have and who we don't have. He can play now and he cannot play the next game. That is not a problem."


United were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round-of-16 tie, with Aleksandr Bukharov cancelling out Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener.

 

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'Wenger is like Arsenal's Mugabe' - Fan's vicious attack goes viral

The campaign for Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal has reached new levels, after a fan compared him to what Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe has done to the country.

The Frenchman's reign at the Gunners has hit an all-time low, particularly following their 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and subsequent exit at the last-16 stage.

Pressure has been mounting on long-serving Wenger to walk once his contract is up at the end of the season, as Arsenal only have the FA Cup to fight for this term.
And it appears another barren campaign has one particular supporter up in arms, with the unnamed producer of the video referencing Mugabe's 36-year reign over impoverished Zimbabwe.

“I used to live in Zimbabwe and I’ve watched Robert Mugabe ruin the country, and Wenger is doing the same. He’s the Mugabe of Arsenal," he lashed out in a video published online.

Wenger's 21-year spell as Gunners manager is now in serious question despite his success in north London, as he has failed to lead the club to a Premier League trophy since 2004.