Gareth Bale hopes for Champions League glory after Bayern crushed

Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid to dismantle Bayern Munich in their own stadium, taking his club to a first Champions League final since 2002, and said that momentous nights such as these were the reason why he moved from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record £86m last summer.
Real won 4-0 at the Allianz Arena to advance 5-0 on aggregate and they will face either Chelsea or Atlético Madrid in the final in Lisbon. Carlo Ancelotti, the Real manager, said he would be happy to face Chelsea, who sacked him in 2011 while José Mourinho, the Stamford Bridge manager, would surely like to face Real, from where he departed last summer.
It was the sheer force of Real's first-half performance against the defending champions that took the breath away, with Sergio Ramos heading two

Terry, Eto'o and Hazard give Chelsea injury boost ahead of Atlético tie

Chelsea will have John Terry, Samuel Eto'o and Eden Hazard fit and available for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday, with Petr Cech having also made a surprise appearance at training at Cobham on Tuesday morning.
The goalkeeper strode out into the Surrey drizzle with his team-mates just a week after dislocating his right shoulder during the goalless draw at Vicente Calderón in the first leg. The injury is still expected to rule Cech out for the remainder of the season – there remains the possibility he will undergo surgery – and he appeared to be

Tottenham approach revealed by Frank de Boer

The Ajax coach Frank de Boer has confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur have approached the Amsterdam club to test his interest in coaching the club.

In an interview with the national broadcaster NOS on Tuesday, De Boer said he had been informed of Tottenham's call by the Ajax football director, Marc Overmars.

De Boer added that until the season ends next week, he is concerned only with Ajax, who clinched a fourth consecutive Eredivisie title

Manchester United's new manager will make final decision on transfers

Manchester United will give their new permanent manager the final decision on transfers, which means the club could face another traumatic summer in the market if their first choice, Louis van Gaal, is given the role.
The 62-year-old is hopeful that a deal to make him David Moyes' successor will be sealed this week, with the Holland coach keen to do so before starting his World Cup preparations on 7 May.
United are intent on avoiding a repeat of last year when Moyes and Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, oversaw a disastrous window during which the pursuit of Cesc Fábregas, Leighton Baines, Ander Herrera and Fábio Coentrão ended in failure. Marouane Fellaini arrived from Everton on the closing day for £27.5m, £3.5m more than his buyout clause.
United are aiming for an overhaul of the squad. Yet even
 if Van Gaal was appointed in the next few days it would leave him almost no time to finalise targets before starting his World Cup buildup. As with most managers, his preference is to meet a player in person.

Chelsea critics are just jealous of José Mourinho, says André Schürrle

André Schürrle has claimed "everybody" at Chelsea believes they can win a Champions League and Premier League double, this season and critics of José Mourinho's tactics are simply jealous of his success.
Chelsea are two points behind the league leaders, Liverpool, following Sunday's 2-0 win at Anfield and take a goalless draw into the Champions League semi-final second leg against Atlético Madrid at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho, true to form, rubbished Chelsea's Premier League title prospects in the aftermath of their Liverpool victory but Schürrle suggested an opposing view is held inside the club's Cobham training ground. The Germany international also

Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey hits wonder goal as Aston Villa wobble

Swansea's Premier League place is safe for another year after achieving back-to-back wins for the first time since December 2012 but Villa remain embroiled in the relegation battle to the dismay of their supporters, who derided the fifth defeat in the last six games with choruses of "We want Lambert out" and demanded to know what was going on.
Paul Lambert has seen his team take just one point from those last six matches. For the moment a cushion of four points separates them from the bottom three, but they do need to win their last home game, against Hull next Saturday. After that

Manchester United give Ryan Giggs fine start with Norwich demolition

"The Story Continues" was the banner headline on Manchester United's match-day programme alongside a picture of Ryan Giggs, the club attempting to put some positive spin on a week of turmoil.
The worry for United supporters is how long the story will continue, with Sir Alex Ferguson giving his backing to Giggs even as rumours spread through Manchester that Louis van Gaal is now the chosen one and that a deal with the Holland coach may already have been agreed. At least this was a positive chapter, with Giggs receiving a tremendous ovation from the crowd as he made the touchline walk in club suit and tie. There was even a chant of "Attack, attack, attack" from the Stretford End as the game kicked off as if in anticipation of the

Arsène Wenger: I have given Arsenal my word I will sign new contract

Arsène Wenger has promised Arsenal he will sign a new deal to stay on as manager beyond this season, he revealed on Friday.
The Frenchman's contract runs out in the summer and an extension has remained unsigned as Arsenal's Premier League title challenge has unravelled in recent months, leading to suggestions Wenger might be ready to leave after 18 seasons in charge.
However, the 64-year-old now looks certain to

Manchester United refuse to deny reports of deal for Louis van Gaal

Manchester United have refused to deny a report that Louis van Gaal will be the club's next permanent manager.
According to De Telegraaf, a leading Dutch newspaper, a deal has been agreed in principle with the Holland coach for him to take over United once the national side are eliminated from the World Cup.

Reacting to the story on Saturday morning, United said:

'Your fight is our strength' a fitting legacy to Tito Vilanova at Barcelona

On the eve of Tito Vilanova's first season in charge of Barcelona, he stood in the middle of the Camp Nou pitch with a microphone in hand. Tradition dictates that the new campaign is welcomed with the Gamper Trophy and the manager always has a message to deliver. This time, in August 2012, it carried a special emotive power. "I'm so happy that you're here with us," Vilanova turned to tell the French defender Eric Abidal. "Your fight is our strength."
Abidal had undergone a liver transplant in April of that year after suffering cancer and Vilanova knew something of what the Frenchman was going through: in November 2011 he had been diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland in the throat while assistant manager to Pep Guardiola. The following May it was formally announced that he had fully overcome the illness and he looked forward to a future as the manager of the club. His club. Abidal was

Sevilla's Stéphane Mbia sets up win over Valencia with backheeled goal

Stéphane Mbia and Carlos Bacca were on target for Sevilla as they took a big step towards reaching the Europa League final with a 2-0 victory over Valencia.
After a frantic start to the game Mbia backheeled Ivan Rakitic's free-kick over the Valencia goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita, to put the Andalusian side in front on the half-hour mark.
Bacca added another four minutes later when he used his pace to get clear before finishing clinically.
Valencia came close to reducing the arrears when an Edu Vargas shot curled just wide of the post midway through the second half and then in the final moments he also the same player the crossbar, but they now have it all to do in the second leg at the Mestalla.
Sevilla's victory continued a run of good form which has seen them win nine of their last 10 La Liga games.

Lima gives Benfica narrow lead after Juventus's Carlos Tevez ends drought

A brilliantly-worked Lima goal gave last year's runners-up Benfica a 2-1 win at home to Juventus in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Ezequiel Garay headed the recently-crowned Portuguese champions in front early on and were resolute in defence for 73 minutes until Carlos Tevez waltzed through the defence to score a fine equaliser.
The Argentinian ended a European goal-drought stretching back to April 2009 to give the visitors a priceless away goal, but the smiles were wiped off Juventus faces with a flash of Lima's right boot late on.
The forward arrived late in the penalty area to drill the ball into the top corner and put the hosts ahead in the tie . Benfica still needed a brilliant save by goalkeeper Artur from Claudio Marchisio to take a slender but valuable lead to Turin for next Thursday's second leg.

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Michel Platini: 'No clubs to be excluded from Europe for breaching FFP rules'

No clubs will be kicked out of European competition next season for breaking financial fair play rules, UEFA president Michel Platini said in an interview on Thursday.
Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) policy, designed to stop clubs spending more than they earn, comes into effect next season with a maximum penalty of exclusion from European competition for those failing to comply.
"In effect, the first decisions will be announced at the

Chelsea's Ramires accepts four-game ban and will miss title run-in

Ramires has accepted a four-game ban after being charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following an off-the-ball incident that was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.
The incident occurred during Chelsea's Premier League fixture against Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 19 April. The ban includes three matches for this offence plus an additional game for his sending off at Villa Park last month.
The suspension means the midfielder will miss the

Luis Suárez says Liverpool have surprised even themselves with title run

Luis Suárez has admitted Liverpool are punching above their weight to be competing for the title against big-spending clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City and acknowledged that this season has surpassed all of his expectations.
After a season that began with him serving a 10-match ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic and having a transfer request rejected, the Uruguayan goes into Sunday's crucial meeting with Chelsea at Anfield as the favourite to win the Professional Footballers' Association player of the

Manchester United set sights on Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani

Manchester United intend to plough ahead with their transfer business during the potentially long process of waiting for a new manager to start – almost three months in Louis van Gaal's case – and their extensive inquiries include exploring the possibility of whether Paris Saint-Germain might sell Edinson Cavani.
United confidently expect to close a deal of around £30m for Luke Shaw, offering the teenage Southampton full-back a lucrative financial package that could be

Wilmots: Januzaj's chosen Belgium

Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has chosen to play international football for Belgium, according to coach Marc Wilmots.

The 19-year-old's breakthrough into the Old Trafford first team at the start of this season started the debate over which country he would go on to represent.

Born in Brussels, Januzaj is also able to play for Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Turkey, while he was strongly linked with selection for England after

Benzema gives Real a lead

Real Madrid took a step towards their first Champions League final in 12 years by beating Bayern Munich 1-0 at the Bernabeu thanks to a first-half goal by Karim Benzema.
Carlo Ancelotti's side must still survive another 90 minutes against the European champions, but head to the semi-final second leg in Munich with the added advantage of not conceding an away goal.
The visitors dominated possession but were unable to

Cristiano Ronaldo to have late fitness test on Wednesday before Bayern tie

Cristiano Ronaldo will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday morning to decide if he can take part in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu.
The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said he was "confident" that the competition's top scorer would be available but insisted that they will not take any risks with his fitness. Gareth Bale is doubtful after having suffered with a bout of flu.
Ronaldo has missed the last four games, including the final of the Copa del Rey, through injury. The Portuguese had suffered a knee injury and then had hamstring problems. The club had been cautious about his prognosis, saying little publicly, and Ronaldo had also

Sir Alex Ferguson will help to choose David Moyes's successor

Sir Alex Ferguson will be asked to take a prominent role in deciding Manchester United's next manager despite an acknowledgement within the club that he was responsible for choosing the wrong man last time.
United are deliberating between Louis van Gaal and Carlo Ancelotti to replace David Moyes after the former Everton manager was sacked in a 7.40am meeting with the club's chief executive, Ed Woodward. Diego Simeone, the Atlético Madrid coach, is also being considered but United are leaning towards a more experienced candidate and their initial discussions, involving Ferguson, have concluded that the job has come too early for Ryan Giggs, even if he exceeds expectations in his four games as interim manager.
Laurent Blanc has also been ruled out, despite Ferguson's close ties with the Paris Saint-Germain coach, and it has been made clear that the

Mourinho threatens to play weakened Chelsea team against Liverpool

José Mourinho is threatening to rest virtually his entire Chelsea team and potentially hand Liverpool the Premier League title after revealing he will seek permission from Roman Abramovich to pick a deliberately weakened side in protest at being made to play the game on Sunday.
Mourinho's plan is likely to infuriate the Premier League and also has serious ramifications for Manchester City, who are relying on Chelsea to beat

David Moyes sacked by Manchester United and replaced by Ryan Giggs

David Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United after just 10 months in charge and replaced by Ryan Giggs. The club are believed to be interested in putting Giggs in charge temporarily until the end of the season.
Giggs, 40, has been combining playing with studying for his Pro-Licence, learning at the feet of the manager for the majority of his career at United, Sir Alex Fergsuon.
United released a

Chelsea beware: Diego Costa is Atlético Madrid's warrior

Diego Costa hit the post against Getafe. Painfully so. There were six minutes remaining and it was 1-0 to Atlético Madrid when Adrián laid the ball across the face of goal from the right; it was escaping the striker but he was not going to let it go, so he flew at it, launching himself. The ball hit the back of the net and Costa hit the post. Hard. The goal secured a vital victory that kept Atlético top of the table, but Costa was down. The full-back Filipe Luís approached him and immediately signalled to the bench. As he turned away he looked to

Tottenham's Younès Kaboul seals win to leave Fulham in relegation zone

Nowhere in the survival manual is there the provision for unmarked opponents on set-pieces two or three yards from goal. As Fulham passed up another shot at salvation, they could reflect upon not one, but two glaring defensive oversights.
You need not look very far to see why Fulham are living in fear. Seventy-seven goals conceded tells a grisly tale and the devil here was in the detail. From two whipped Christian Eriksen free-kicks, Fulham singularly failed to pick up first Paulinho and later

Everton make light of Manchester United on David Moyes' return

This dismal Manchester United display will not quite go down as the poorest of a terrible season, which says it all about David Moyes's first term in charge.
A 2-0 Champions League defeat at Olympiakos may end with that dubious honour, though there are still four matches remaining and nothing would surprise.
Yet if the United board want a barometer of whether this group of players are performing for Moyes, then folding in such insipid fashion on the Scot's return to

Chelsea VS Sunderland

Chelsea's title challenge has petered out with a snarl after José Mourinho suffered his first Premier League home defeat over his two spells at the club and made his frustrations clear post-match at the performance of the referee, Mike Dean.
Sunderland inflicted the Portuguese's first league loss at Stamford Bridge in his 78 matches courtesy of a controversial penalty, flagged for by the assistant referee eight minutes from time, with the spot-kick converted by Fabio Borini, a former Chelsea player on loan on Wearside from Liverpool. The Italian's parent club can move five points clear at the

Rodgers uses Hillsborough campaigner to help inspire Liverpool at Norwich

Brendan Rodgers has revealed that the long-time Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall inspired Liverpool to a 3-2 victory over Norwich, one which puts them five points clear at the top of the Premier League and, with three games to play, on course for a first league title in 24 years.
Liverpool had to show late resilience to overcome Neil Adams' side as Norwich responded to going 2-0 down inside 11 minutes with a

Lukas Podolski double eases Arsenal past Hull in FA Cup final rehearsal

Arsenal maintained control of their Champions League destiny with a clinical victory over Hull City.
Lukas Podolski scored either side of half-time after Aaron Ramsey got his 16th goal of the season to keep Arsène Wenger's men in the top four ahead of Everton. Hull were by no means outclassed but were guilty of failing to take their chances early in the contest.
Steve Bruce will pray his side are sharper in front of goal when the teams meet again in the FA Cup final on 17 May.
Arsenal weathered an early flurry from Hull and a

Gareth Bale goal: I don't think I've seen anything like it, says Xabi Alonso

Carlo Ancelotti hailed Gareth Bale after the Welshman's late goal sunk Barcelona and gave Real Madrid the Copa del Rey for the 19th time in their history.
The Welshman galloped towards goal with five minutes remaining and had to swerve off the pitch to beat the Barcelona defender Marc Bartra before sliding the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto to secure a 2-1 win.
The goal came after Bartra had pulled Barcelona back into the game with a powerful header, which cancelled out Ángel di María's first-half opener. It was Bale's first match-winning goal since joining Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur last summer for a world-record fee.
"It was his most important goal, it was the most defining moment of the game," the manager Ancelotti said in the post-match press conference.
Xabi Alonso added: "The goal was incredible, I don't think I've seen anything like it. It looked like the ball was going out and he was under pressure, he ran off the pitch to keep it in, it was just amazing.
"Now we have the taste of victory. It was a really exciting game, with both sides playing at their best."

Diego Costa will be fit to face Chelsea in Champions League semi-final

Diego Costa will be fit to play against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday 22 April.
The 25-year-old forward, tipped to join Chelsea in the summer, collided with a post when scoring Atlético's second goal in the 2-0 win at Getafe on Sunday. He left the field on a stretcher but Atlético have played down concerns that his shin injury was serious.
"Luckily, Diego Costa only has a wound after

Liverpool dare to dream as tearful Gerrard hails win over Manchester City

Emotional Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admitted Sunday's 3-2 victory over title rivals Manchester City was the longest 90 minutes of his career.

The 33-year-old midfielder has experienced the full range of feelings during his lengthy career at Anfield but, having seen his side's 2-0 lead pegged back in the second half, there was still time for a nervy finish.

Goals from Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel had put the hosts ahead inside 26 minutes, only for a rejuvenated David Silva to score one and

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UEFA Champions League Semi Final Draw

The semi-final pairings are determined by an open draw in which no teams are seeded and clubs from the same national association can be drawn against each other. The side drawn first will play the first leg at home.

Semi-finalists

Real Madrid CF (ESP) vs FC Bayern München (GER)

Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) vs Chelsea FC (ENG)

Seven more Football League players arrested over alleged spot-fixing

Seven more players from Football League clubs based in the north-west of England have been arrested in connection with alleged spot-fixing and another six rearrested over the claims.
The 13 footballers, aged between 18 and 30, are being interviewed at police stations across the country after they were held as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and money laundering, the National Crime Agency said. In December the

Aaron Ramsey ready for Arsenal's Wigan semi and could play at Everton

Aaron Ramsey is on course to return for Arsenal in their FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic a week on Saturday after coming back into full training, and Arsène Wenger is even hopeful that the midfielder could be available for Sunday's vital Premier League fixture at Everton.
Ramsey has not played since the Boxing Day

Tottenham's Daniel Levy eyeing up summer move for Romelu Lukaku

Tottenham Hotspur have inquired about signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea this summer.
Lukaku's agent, Christophe Henrotay, has said that he has spoken to the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, about the possibility of his client moving to White Hart Lane, although Everton, with whom the Belgium striker is currently on a season-long loan, appear to be at the front of the queue for his signature.
Lukaku has thrived under Roberto Martínez at Goodison Park, scoring 12 goals in 24 Premier League appearances to help Everton's Champions League challenge, and the club would take a bold step towards a top-four finish if they could

Christian Benteke ruled out of World Cup after rupturing achilles

Aston Villa's Christian Benteke has been ruled out for the rest of the season, including this summer's World Cup, after suffering a ruptured achilles.
The Belgium striker suffered the injury during training on Thursday.
The club confirmed in a statement on Thursday evening that Benteke would undergo surgery would "be out for a minimum of