..::Football IV::..

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Zidane: Ronaldo keeps doing amazing things for Real Madrid


Zinedine Zidane said he is running out of words to describe Cristiano Ronaldo after the Real Madrid star's record-breaking double inspired a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 goals for the same club in Europe's elite club competition in Wednesday's come-from-behind opening-leg win against PSG at the Santiago Bernabeu.The five-time Ballon d'Or winner reached the milestone with a penalty on the stroke of half-time, cancelling out Adrien Rabiot's 33rd-minute opener in the last-16 fixture.

Ronaldo improved his tally to 101 goals after he put Madrid 2-1 ahead with seven minutes remaining before Marcelo added a third for the European holders.

Speaking to reporters, head coach Zidane said: "It's difficult to say the same thing about Ronaldo every day. He keeps doing amazing things."Spearheaded by Neymar, PSG controlled proceedings for periods and it appeared only a matter of time before the French giants added to their away goal.

However, Zidane's substitutions turned the game in Madrid's favour as Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez made immediate impacts off the bench.
Despite Madrid's two-goal advantage, Zidane insisted he is taking nothing for granted ahead of the return fixture on March 6.

"We played a good game all the way through," Zidane said. "We pressed high and continued to play our game even when they went ahead. It was a deserved win.We got a great win tonight. But we know there's still another match to go – it will be a very tough game.

"We saw last year that when you play away anything can happen (in the Champions League semi-finals Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 at home, and then lost 2-1 away)."The fans were key today. They didn't let up at any point, even at 1-0 down they kept on cheering us on.

"With Isco in the team we wanted to dominate midfield and he did a great job. He was mobile all night, particularly at the beginning of the game. We changed things towards the end because we knew Paris would tire and bringing on Asensio, Bale and Vazquez helped us to take advantage of that."

Zidane, whose Madrid are 17 points adrift of La Liga leaders Barcelona in their faltering title defence, added: "This club has won 12 European Cups and the players know how important it is. We played well, but not only with the ball. We defended so well without the ball with intensity and that’s just as important.

"We're happy with what we did today. They were 90 incredible minutes with intensity and aggression against a great opponent. The Champions League is important for the club and what we want to do is enjoy what we've done and tomorrow we're thinking about the second leg."

 

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'You can never take Madrid for dead' - Ramos thrilled after comeback win over PSG


Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says his side showed they can never be written off after their 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Adrien Rabiot gave the Ligue 1 leaders the advantage in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie before the holders responded with a brilliant comeback.Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty made it 1-1 before the Portugal star and Marcelo scored a goal each in the space of three minutes in the closing stages at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The victory puts Zinedine Zidane's side in a commanding position ahead of the visit to Parc des Princes next month and Ramos was hugely proud of his team's efforts."It was an important victory," he said, as quoted by AS . "These are Champions League days to be remembered and what better way to do it than with this personality and this important win.

"We have a serious team. We've done a great job and the result is fair."We had that effectiveness in front of goal that we've been missing in other games, we joined the lines... congratulations to the team for their work."There's no time for regrets. Despite the goal, we kept looking for the win with a lot of personality. You can never take Madrid for dead."

Madrid will now be favourites to progress but PSG have a daunting home record this term, having won every single match in the capital in 2017-18.They also famously overturned a 3-1 deficit to Madrid in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1993, winning the second leg on home soil 4-1 to go through.

And Ramos is under no illusion that the tie should be considered over already."We have to stay respectful. We've taken a very important step but the tie is open," he said.Madrid visit PSG for the second leg on March 6.

 

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'It's not fair to compare Salah to Messi' - Liverpool legend Gerrard


Steven Gerrard came away impressed with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah after his “moment of magic” against Porto, but doesn’t think it’s quite fair to compare him to Lionel Messi.Liverpool ran rampant in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie, with hat-trick hero Sadio Mane leading the way in their 5-0 win.Roberto Firmino and Salah also got into the act, with the Egyptian winger’s goal arguably the highlight of the contest.

After a James Milner shot hit the post, Salah pounced on the rebound, chipped it over Porto goalkeeper Jose Sa, headed it to himself past a diving Diego Reyes and then put it into the empty net to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead.

And that goal left Reds great and current under-18 manager Gerrard impressed, who also thought Porto were simply overwhelmed by the Premier League side’s attack.“Liverpool have had too much aggression for Porto. They look like they can score every time they go forward,’ Gerrard said on BT Sport . “And we’ve seen a moment of magic from Mo Salah.“It’s not fair to the kid, though, to compare him to Messi.”

Wednesday's win was a long time coming for Liverpool, who had not been in the knockout rounds of the Champions League since the 2008-09 season, when Gerrard was a starring member of the Reds cast.

Salah’s goal was his 30th in all competitions this season, as he became the first Liverpool player to achieve that feat since Luis Suarez in the 2013-14 season.Only Harry Kane has more goals in the top five European leagues this season than Salah.

It was also Salah's fifth straight game in all competitions with a goal, with the second leg set to take place at Anfield on 6 March.

 

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PSG vs REM 1-3 All goals & Highlights English Commentary (14/02/2018) HD/1080P

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FC PORTO vs LIVERPOOL - All Goals & Highlights HD - 14 Feb 2018 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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Borussia Dortmund 3 Atalanta 2: Batshuayi late show snatches victory

Michy Batshuayi's sensational start to life at Borussia Dortmund continued apace at Signal Iduna Park on Thursday as another double sealed a 3-2 Europa League victory over Atalanta.

Belgium striker Batshuayi has made an immediate impact since joining Dortmund and continued his goalscoring run with a pair of second-half strikes to secure a slender advantage.

Atalanta topped a group including French contenders Lyon and Everton, and threatened another surprise as Josip Ilicic scored twice in quick succession to turn the game around after Andre Schurrle had put Dortmund ahead with just his second goal of the season.However, Batshuayi sealed a double of his own to put Dortmund on top and preserve Stoger's unbeaten home record with Dortmund.

The Chelsea loanee produced a pair of unerring finishes to take his tally to five goals in just three games, proving an able replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and perhaps showing Antonio Conte what he has missed out on.

Dortmund will need the Belgian on fine form again in a week's time, although this stirring comeback and Atalanta's recent defeats to Napoli and Juventus on home turf will give the Bundesliga side confidence of making the next round.

With the 'Yellow Wall' in fine voice, Dortmund made a positive start and Marco Reus went close to an early nerve-settler, but pulled his low shot wide, having been released by the impressive Schurrle.Atalanta were just as threatening at the other end and a brisk counter-attack opened up a chance for Bryan Cristante, though his effort was blocked by Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mattia Caldara failed to convert the resulting corner at the back post.

Having survived that scare, Dortmund began to take control, only for the finishing of Schurrle and Batshuayi to let them down.Both would later make amends, with the Germany winger doing so on the half-hour, reacting quickly to slide home the opener after an initial heavy touch controlling Lukasz Piszczek's pass.

Atalanta seemed to react to coach Gian Piero Gasperini's instructions after the break and the Italians were ahead within 10 minutes of the restart.Ilicic grabbed both goals to silence Signal Iduna Park, the first a curling effort after taking down Leonardo Spinazzola's cross, while his second was a simple tap-in after Roman Burki failed to hold Cristante's effort.

Their lead only lasted nine minutes, as Batshuayi was allowed to advance upfield and pick his spot, Etrit Berisha left grasping at a fine long-range effort.And there was one final twist as Batshuayi secured a first-leg victory with a stoppage-time winner, pouncing on Mario Gotze's pass after a terrible clearance from Rafael Toloi.

 

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Ostersunds 0 Arsenal 3: Ozil crowns Arctic stroll for Wenger's men

Arsenal avoided any undue alarms as they cruised to a 3-0 Europa League win over Swedish minnows Ostersunds.Arsene Wenger's men emerged in sub-zero temperatures at the Jamtkraft Arena and there was little prospect of the contest warming up after defensive errors from the hosts gifted a 13th-minute opener to Nacho Monreal.

Sotirios Papagiannopoulos' own goal compounded matters for Ostersunds and their English coach Graham Potter and, although their performance improved, Mesut Ozil marked his first appearance in the Europa League this season with a third in the 58th minute.


A run to the last-32 featuring wins over the likes of Galatasaray and Hertha Berlin has seen Ostersunds' produce a modern footballing fairytale in the Europa League this season.They will need something altogether more fantastical to turn the tie around at Emirates Stadium next week – even more so after Tom Pettersson had a stoppage-time penalty saved, Hector Bellerin having needlessly hauled down substitute Tesfaldet Tekie.

Ostersunds goalkeeper Aly Keita put his side in trouble with a poor pass out in the 12th minute, only spared when Papagiannopoulos bravely blocked from Ozil, and his poor handling allowed Monreal to follow up Alex Iwobi's shot and open the scoring moments later.


The entirely avoidable nature of the goals conceded by a seemingly overawed Ostersunds will have irritated Potter and Papagiannopoulos was powerless to avoid a 24th-minute own-goal after Pettersson gave away possession inside his own box for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to drill into the goalmouth.Some similarly slack work in the defensive half from Arsenal prompted the hosts' first opening, with David Ospina acrobatically pushing over Alhaji Gero's shot from the edge of the area.

Ostersunds had grown into the contest as half-time approached and striker Saman Ghoddos drove at a backpedalling Arsenal backline to fire narrowly wide.Potter sent on Tekie and Jamie Hopcutt in place of captain Brwa Nouri and Gero, a move that further encouraged his team's resurgence in the contest.

Shkodran Mustafi turned anxiously to the referee before the hour when Tekie went down in the area under pressure from the Germany international. Play was allowed to continue and Arsenal glided down the other end to make it three.

Ozil exchanged passes pleasingly with Mkhitaryan but Keita was culpable once again, getting his hands to a shot that squirmed over the line.Much of the remaining action resembled an extended training drill as far as the Premier League side were concerned, with prospects of defeat to a club who have been in existence for a shorter time than Wenger has been Arsenal manager all but extinguished by the time Pettersson rounded out a dismal individual outing by stroking his penalty into Ospina's arms.

 

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Ludogorets 0 AC Milan 3: Unbeaten 2018 continues into Europe

AC Milan's unbeaten start to 2018 carried into the Europa League as Patrick Cutrone, Ricardo Rodriguez and Fabio Borini fired them to a 3-0 victory at Ludogorets on Thursday.

Gennaro Gattuso's men had won four and drawn two of their six matches in all competitions ahead of their trip to Bulgaria, and Cutrone's 13th goal of the season set them on the road to a comfortable win.Rodriguez added a penalty before Borini struck in stoppage time to give the Serie A side an enviable cushion heading into the second leg of the last-32 tie.


Cutrone's headed opener came at the end of a first half in which both sides struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, but Milan had one foot in the next round when Cosmin Moti was deemed to have pushed the striker in the box.
Rodriguez stepped up to fire home Milan's second and it is difficult to see a way back for Ludogorets after Borini came off the bench to make it 3-0.


Franck Kessie sent a low drive wide of the right-hand post after three minutes but Milan were left breathing a sigh of relief when Jody Lukoki curled a free-kick just off target from a narrow angle, with Ignazio Abate having clumsily brought down Virgil Misidjan on the edge of the box.

Milan's patient passing produced few opportunities until Cutrone had an effort deflected wide from close range after the visitors worked the ball into a dangerous area.When Ludogorets pressed it was invariably on the counter-attack and Jakub Swierczok should have done better than to completely miss the ball when Lucas Sasha whipped in a fantastic left-wing cross that was begging to be headed home.

Suso fired a free-kick just over from the right side of the box and Giacomo Bonaventura squandered another opportunity as the half appeared destined to end goalless and without either side having registered a shot on target.

However, on the stroke of half-time, a well-worked corner routine saw Cutrone beat goalkeeper Renan with a glancing header from a Hakan Calhanoglu delivery.

That opening goal demanded a more attacking approach from the home side and Marcelinho drew a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma before Svetoslav Dyakov rattled the crossbar with a shot from outside the box.The offside flag scuppered Sasha's appeals for a penalty after he went down under a heavy challenge from Abate, and Ludogorets were on the receiving end of a spot-kick call when Moti shoved Cutrone at the other end, with Rodriguez dispatching the ball into the bottom-left corner.



Milan's second took any remaining wind out of Ludogorets' sails and Borini fired in the third from the centre of the box in the closing stages to strike a seemingly fatal blow to any Bulgarian dreams of progression.

 

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Arsenal and Spurs target Malcom confirms he will leave Bordeaux in the summer


Arsenal and Tottenham target Malcom has confirmed he will leave Bordeaux in the summer.

The Brazilian winger has caught the eye with the Ligue 1 side this term, leading to interest from some of the Premier League's biggest sides. Malcom admitted that he wished to depart the club in the winter, and has now told Brazilian outlet UOL that he will indeed be on his way in the summer.

"I already said that I would have liked to leave this winter to meet new challenges," Malcom said. "But I must also remember that Bordeaux helped me a lot," said the 20-year-old, who joined Bordeaux in 2016 from Brazilian side Corinthians.

"I gave my word to Bordeaux that I will continue [with the club] to be able to have more time to choose my future club. "These next three or four months will make a big difference. Yes, Bordeaux promised me that I will have a good release in June.

"I will choose my next club and Bordeaux will let me go."Malcom has scored eight goals and added six assists in Ligue 1 play this season. Arsenal made enquiries for the winger in January but pulled out of a deal after being unwilling to pay the French club's £44 million asking price.

 

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Defeat to Chelsea could be a turning point for Barcelona, warns Pique


Gerard Pique has told Barcelona to be wary of the threats posed by Chelsea ahead of next week's last-16 Champions League tie.

Barcelona travel to the Premier League champions for the first leg of their clash on Tuesday, the Catalan giants having seen their comfortable cushion atop La Liga cut to seven points after back-to-back draws.Chelsea and Barca have a rich shared history in the Champions League, having faced each other 12 times in the tournament since 2000, most recently in the 2011-12 semi-finals.

There have been four Chelsea wins to three for Barca during that time and although the Blues have made a poor attempt at defending their league title, Pique believes Antonio Conte's men should not be underestimated.

"Expectations are maximum," Pique said on Thursday. "We go out as favourites, with a chance to win."I know the atmosphere is positive, very favourable, everything looks good, but I think we have to be more prudent.

"We have to learn from experience, what has happened in recent years, and know that one bad day could see you knocked out of the Champions League."A bad result against Chelsea could turn the good season we are having into one that's not so good.

"We know we are in a good position in the league and the Copa del Rey and we go to London in the Champions League looking to win, get through and progress in the competition."

 

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Serie A title no longer a Napoli fantasy, it's their year - Bianchi


Napoli's current crop of stars can emulate the club's heroes of 1987 and 1990 by winning the Serie A title this season, according to Ottavio Bianchi – the man who coached the Partenopei to their first Scudetto.

After six years in Juventus' shadow in the Italian top flight, Napoli have emerged as serious title contenders this season under Sarri's guidance.With 14 games to play they sit one point clear of Juve and look set for a head-to-head battle to become champions in the coming months.

For Napoli it would be only the third league title success in their history, the previous two having been delivered by a Diego Maradona-inspired squad.Bianchi guided them to their maiden crown in 1986-87, before Alberto Bigon repeated the feat three seasons later.And Bianchi believes Sarri's Napoli have what it takes to end their barren run.

"This could be the year, thanks to the great numbers Sarri's team are putting up," he told Corriere dello Sport."He's very good and it's a pleasure to see his team in action, they play from memory. When one has the ball and the others move, it's all another song.

"This year they're playing to win the Scudetto and when you get that consistency the Scudetto is no longer a fantasy."The Europa League doesn't count right now compared to the league, if a player gets injured there's no time to recover because you're playing every three days."Juventus are the only team used to winning though, they're the only one who are of a European level, they're used to winning and have a competitive team."

 

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'Pogba needs to do better' - Man Utd legend Keane delivers blunt response to position debate


Paul Pogba “needs to do better” at Manchester United, according to Roy Keane, as the debate surrounding the midfielder's best position rages on.

With the France international facing criticism after struggling to adjust to tactical tweaks by Jose Mourinho, various high-profile figures with links to the Red Devils have given their take on how to get the best out of an £89 million asset.Keane, as an iconic midfielder of the past, is better placed than most to provide an opinion on how to operate in that area of the field.

The outspoken Irishman has, however, offered a typically blunt response when quizzed on the Pogba poser, expressing the opinion that a player considered to be among the best in the world should be able to deliver in whatever role is asked of him.

"If you are going to play in midfield, you should be able to play in a two or a three," Keane told ITV."The guy needs to do better himself and focus on what football is really about."Unfortunately for United, it is not just the midfield engine room which is posing problems at present.

Questions are also being asked of their defensive unit, with Keane suggesting that long-standing issues have not been addressed, with players being played out of position in order to plug gaps.

He added: "They haven't sorted out the defensive problems they have had over the last few years and that will continue."The two centre-halves need to do better. I've always thought with Ashley Young in your back four, you are going to struggle."

United have wobbled of late, suffering two defeats in their last three outings, and need to turn things around heading into a crucial run of games which will see them face Huddersfield, Sevilla and Chelsea across FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League competition.

Keane said on those challenges: "I don't care about the last few league games. Sevilla will give them a game but United should win."They will turn up for these couple of big games and I think they'll go through."

 

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Kroos: Zidane has won more than enough for Madrid


Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos defended Zinedine Zidane, pointing to the club's trophy haul under the coach.

Zidane has come under fire after Madrid's struggles in La Liga this season, with his side sitting 17 points behind leaders and rivals Barcelona.A 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie is sure to ease the pressure on the Frenchman.

But Kroos dismissed any criticism of Zidane, who has led Madrid to eight trophies since taking the helm at the start of 2016."In a team like Real Madrid, arguments always arise when things are not going well," Kroos said, via Marca ."Zidane has won eight titles in two years, that's more than enough."

A double from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Madrid to their first-leg win over PSG, putting them on track for the quarter-finals.Kroos talked up the importance of the Champions League, a competition the La Liga giants have won the past two seasons."We have gone through a difficult phase, but in recent weeks we have raised our level and I am confident that we will be very successful going forward," he said.

"This victory is very important because the Champions League is the only competition we can win right now."Although I didn't feel all of the pressure was on us because we won the last two. We are Real Madrid, so it's always there."Madrid travel to Paris on March 6 for the second leg of their last-16 tie and face four league matches in the meantime.

 

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'He had a positive game' - Wenger delighted with latest Mkhitaryan outing


Arsene Wenger singled out Arsenal new boy Henrikh Mkhitaryan for praise after the playmaker made another key contribution in the side's Europa League victory on Thursday.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan impressed with a busy midfield display as the Armenia international helped take down Ostersunds in the round of 32 clash.The former Manchester United star continues to settle into life at Arsenal after moving from Old Trafford in a swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez switch to Old Trafford.

"He has worked very hard, I think it was a positive performance," Wenger said of Mkhitaryan, who provided the assist for Ozil's goal."He adapts slowly to the team. He had a positive game."The manager picked a strong side for the first leg, and does not expect to make wholesale changes when Arsenal welcome Ostersunds to London for the return fixture.

Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil and a Sotirios Papagiannopoulos own goal ensured the Gunners took a comfortable lead from their trip to Sweden, although goalkeeper David Ospina had to save a late penalty from Tom Pettersson.

With Arsenal eight points outside the Champions League qualification places in the Premier League, the Europa League may be their best route to qualifying for the continent's elite club competition – the winners going straight into the group stage.And although Arsenal have an EFL Cup final appearance at Wembley against Manchester City to prepare for on February 25, three days after Ostersunds head to the Emirates Stadium, Wenger is not considering major rotation to his squad.

"I don't think I will rest [players], I will try to win the game again," said Wenger, who named a strong starting line-up despite being without unavailable strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette."Maybe rotate, play the players who didn't play and rest one or two who played."I think we adapted quite well to the [artificial] pitch. They were maybe a bit cautious at the start and we took advantage of it and took control of the game once we opened the scoring.

"At 2-0 at half-time I think that it was important for us not to concede a goal and win the second half. In the second half there was maybe room to score one or two more but we were in control and once we went 3-0 up we did not push on, and we won in a comfortable way."

Ospina, named captain for the game, ensured the Gunners maintained a three-goal advantage for next week's return game by denying Pettersson from 12 yards after Hector Bellerin brought down substitute Tesfaldet Tekie."For me it was important not to tarnish our performance tonight," Wenger said of Petr Cech's deputy keeping a clean sheet. "We were a bit too easy in that situation [conceding the penalty] and it would have left a bitter taste.

"The risk at the start was that I didn't know how tough the pitch would be for our players. We have no game on the weekend [Arsenal having been knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round] so that was an easier decision."The only risk was injury, overall I am happy there was no problem. The pitch was quite good."

 

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Copenhagen 1 Atletico Madrid 4: Griezmann stars as LaLiga side take control

Antoine Griezmann was in inspirational form as Atletico Madrid took firm control of their last-32 Europa League tie against Copenhagen with a 4-1 first-leg away win on Thursday.

Griezmann was involved in three of the four goals as Atleti came from behind to lead before the half-time interval at a snowy Parken Stadium, where Diego Simeone's side twice added to the scoreline after the break to improve an already solid position ahead of next week's return game in Madrid.

Atletico had kept three consecutive clean sheets but they fell behind in the 15th minute, Viktor Fischer flicking in Peter Ankersen's effort to beat Miguel Angel Moya.Copenhagen's lead lasted just five minutes, though, Griezmann providing a fine cross from the right wing for Saul Niguez to glance home the leveller for the 2010 and 2012 winners.

Kevin Gameiro gave Atleti the lead before the interval, finishing from close-range after Lucas Hernandez and Griezmann combined beautifully in the left channel, with the latter member of that French trio adding Atleti's third after being played through by Yannick Carrasco.

Atletico, who entered the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Roma and Chelsea, had won 2-0 on their previous visit to Copenhagen in 2007 and they saw out another comfortable victory against the overwhelmed Danish champions, with substitute Vitolo adding a late fourth.


Goalkeeper Robin Olsen blocked Griezmann's shot in the second minute and Saul fired over the crossbar in a positive start for a strong Atletico side.Griezmann then dinked a first-time effort wide after Thomas Partey's pressure forced a defensive error, Olsen denying the France striker again when he ran through on goal.And all those early misses proved temporarily costly as the hosts took a shock lead in the 15th minute.

A left-wing cross from Nicolai Boilesen was missed by a series of Atleti defenders and when Ankersen fired the ball goalwards, Fischer reacted first to flick it in from close range.

Atletico were not behind for long, though, with Saul getting enough on a cute header to beat Olsen after Griezmann was given far too much space on the right following a short corner.

Griezmann was heavily involved again as Atleti took the lead after 36 minutes, providing a lovely flicked pass through the legs of Jan Gregus to complete a one-two with Lucas, who crossed low for Gameiro to slot home.

Gameiro sent a sighter narrowly over the crossbar following the resumption as Atletico, who were winless in five European away matches, sought to wrap the game up.Substitute Carrasco narrowly missed the target with a pair of efforts shortly after his introduction, but Griezmann struck with 20 minutes to go to ensure Atletico have a foot in the last-16.



A fine reverse pass from Carrasco sent Griezmann scampering through on goal and, while Olsen came off his line to narrow the angle, Griezmann tucked away the finish to virtually guarantee his side's progression.Copenhagen had defended badly throughout and when Ankersen gave up possession on the edge of his own box, Vitolo's 77th-minute strike squirmed away from Olsen to wrap up victory for Atleti.

Andrija Pavlovic headed against the post in the closing stages, but Copenhagen have it all to do when they visit the Spanish capital in a week's time.

 

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Chelsea 4 Hull City 0: Giroud scores and Willian stars as Blues reach last eight

A Willian-inspired Chelsea cruised into the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to a 4-0 hammering of Hull City at Stamford Bridge, as Olivier Giroud got his first goal for the club.

Although Antonio Conte's men have been underwhelming of late, losing three of their previous five games in all competitions, there never looked to be any danger of a shock on Friday, with two-goal Willian and Giroud catching the eye in a ruthless display.

The match was not even two minutes old when Willian scored his sumptuous opener and, although it took a while for Chelsea to break Hull down again, the visitors caved in once the second went in.Pedro was the man to increase their advantage with a tidy finish, before Willian doubled his tally soon after and Giroud got off the mark for the club following his January arrival from Arsenal to open up a four-goal lead by half-time.


A miserable outing got worse for Hull just after the break when Willy Caballero saved David Meyler's penalty, though Chelsea took a relaxed approach to increasing their lead, noticeably easing off after the interval.

But the comfortable scoreline allowed Conte to withdraw key men ahead of Tuesday's visit of Barcelona in the Champions League, as the Blues head into that contest in confident mood, having booked passage to the last eight of the FA Cup.

Although they were without the likes of N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard, who were rested, Chelsea's start gave every indication that Hull were in for a long night, as Willian opened the scoring in just the second minute.

Kevin Stewart squandered possession to Giroud and he found Willian, who evaded the former Liverpool man and curled an unstoppable left-footed effort into the top-left corner from 25 yards.Poor finishing let Chelsea down a couple of times thereafter, but they were not to be kept out for long.Pedro raced on to Cesc Fabregas' brilliant pass over defence in the 27th minute and coolly swept past David Marshall to make it 2-0.

And a third goal soon followed – Willian finding the bottom-right corner via the post from just outside the area after good work by Giroud again.Giroud then got in on the act himself just prior to the break, stabbing in from close range after a strong run up the left flank by debutant Emerson Palmieri.

Hull had a great chance to at least get themselves on the scoresheet early in the second half, with Fabregas tripping Harry Wilson in the area, but Caballero produced a fine save to keep Meyler's powerful spot-kick out.Nevertheless, it could certainly be argued that Hull improved after the break, with Caballero again called into action to deny Jackson Irvine just before the hour.Adama Diomande then troubled Caballero 22 minutes from the end, getting past Ethan Ampadu and testing the goalkeeper from a tight angle.

The wonderful Willian almost completed his hat-trick late on when hitting the post from 30 yards, but Chelsea eased to victory regardless, leaving Championship strugglers Hull to focus on preventing back-to-back relegations.

 

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Leicester City 1 Sheffield United 0: Vardy header secures quarter-final spot


Leicester City booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2012 thanks to a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Friday.

Jamie Vardy scored the only goal of the game at the King Power Stadium, as his looping header over goalkeeper Jamal Blackman in the 66th minute settled a hard-fought tie.Riyad Mahrez provided the assist on his first start for the Premier League side since January 20, the winger's deep cross setting up his unmarked team-mate at the back post.




Yet the hosts needed a moment of excellence from Kasper Schmiechel to deny Sheffield United an equaliser, the goalkeeper stretching low to his left to keep out a first-time effort from George Baldock that looked destined to find the corner of the goal.Instead, Vardy's clever finish proved enough to send Claude Puel's team through to the last eight of the competition.


The England international had wasted a glorious chance to put the hosts ahead in the closing stages of the first half, shooting straight at the advancing Blackman after being put through on goal by the ebullient Mahrez.Blackman also kept out a long-range drive from Onyinye Ndidi, while at the other end a familiar face prevented the Championship side from going ahead before the break.

Harry Maguire - who came through the ranks at Bramall Lane before moving to Hull City in 2014 - produced a brilliant block to divert Enda Stevens' goal-bound effort over the top of the net.

 

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Pedro: Facing Barcelona and 'best in the world' Messi is special for me


Pedro is looking forward to Chelsea's Tuesday night Champions League match against Barcelona, where he will face "the best player in the world" in his former team-mate Lionel Messi.Chelsea prepared for the last-16 match by coasting to a 4-0 victory against Hull City in the FA Cup on Friday night, with Pedro getting the second goal.

He was subsequently substituted at half-time with a number of key players like Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante not even in the matchday squad. Pedro says that facing Barcelona on the back of two wins will help Chelsea's confidence.

"We are back in a good form, with confidence before this huge game as you say against Barcelona," Pedro said at Stamford Bridge. "For us it is good to be back in that sort of form. We've had two very good games now. We have to continue like this and prepare for the game against Barcelona in the same way.

"It will be strange for sure at the start but it will be good to see my old team-mates again who I played with for so many years. It will be a special game for me for sure. They are the same every year. They are playing great football in La Liga, they are in the cup final as well."Pedro spent seven years at Barcelona winning 20 major honours including three Champions League titles while scoring 99 goals for the club where he began his professional career.

Lionel Messi lined up alongside Pedro in Barcelona's forward line and the 30-year-old admits that his side will struggle to stop the Argentine star, although he has still never scored against Chelsea.

"He’s always the same," he added. "What can I say of him that I haven't before? He is the best in the world, he always makes the difference and it will be very difficult to stop him."Chelsea used the Hull game as an opportunity to rest players with the struggling Championship side having around 10 players unavailable for the Friday-night fixture.

The Spaniard says the game was great preparation ahead of what will be a tough week, with Manchester United and then Manchester City away following the Champions League game.

"It was a good moment to give rest to a lot of players," Pedro continued. "We've played a lot of games, here you don't rest at Christmas and it was a good moment to refresh a lot of players, not just Hazard, also Azpilicueta, Marcos [Alonso] and the perfect way to prepare.

Pedro added that Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata appears to be fully recovered from a back injury that kept him out for a month."He is completely recovered," Pedro said. "He is desperate to get back in the team and I think he's back at 100 per cent."

 

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Conte sees Chelsea selection headache ahead of Barcelona clash


Chelsea's 4-0 win over Hull City in the FA Cup on Friday has given Antonio Conte selection headaches ahead of Barcelona's Champions League visit.

Conte's side produced an excellent display against the Championship strugglers at Stamford Bridge, Willian stealing the show thanks to a brilliant brace, as Olivier Giroud also impressed with his first goal for the club and a pair of assists.Pedro got the other goal as Chelsea found themselves 4-0 up by half-time, despite the likes of Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante being rested.

The comfortable scoreline gave Conte the chance to bring Giroud, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro off in the second half and now he has "doubts" over who to start against Barcelona after several eye-catching performances from his players."For sure it was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest important players, key players for us," Conte told reporters.

"But at the same time I saw players in good form. To have a lot of doubts before the Barcelona game is important, because I have different options. Now we have three days to decide on them." While Hazard and Kante will be fit to face Ernesto Valverde's men, there were concerns over the injured Marcos Alonso and Tiemoue Bakayoko.“Yes, Alonso will be fit," Conte said when asked about the pair's availability. "I don't think Bakayoko [can play], but Alonso is ready to play.”

The 3-0 win over West Brom at the weekend saw Chelsea put consecutive defeats past them and Friday's victory will have further improved their morale.But Conte has urged his players not to lose focus again, with games against Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City on the horizon.

"I think we lost two bad games, especially against Watford," Conte added. "But we played a good game at the end of a busy period."Now I think again we have confidence, but at the same time, the next two weeks we have to play massive games and we need to be strong."We need to face the games against Barca, United, City and Crystal Palace in the right way."

 

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'I cry often and I cry alone' - Buffon benefits from his emotional side


Legendary Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has revealed he cries often as it "makes him feel human".

The 40-year-old made the confession during filming of 'First Team: Juventus', a three-part documentary from Netflix that follows the fortunes of the famous Italian club on and off the field.Buffon has won the Serie A title eight times in his illustrious career, while he was also a key member of the Italy team that lifted the World Cup in 2006.

But, despite suffering a few disappointments on the field - including losing three Champions League finals - the veteran insists poor results do not reduce him to tears.
"I cry often and I cry alone. Crying helps - it frees you and makes you feel human," he said during the mini-series."I never cry for football. I can be touched but it's not about the defeat itself. It's something more complex and romantic."

Buffon retired from international duty last year following Italy's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, with the Azzurri losing a two-leg play-off against Sweden to miss out on a trip to Russia.