UEFA HAMMERS PELLEGRINI WITH 2-MATCH BAN

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has been given an immediate two-match touchline ban by Uefa for criticising the referee after his side's Champions League match against Barcelona.
Pellegrini said after the 2-0 home loss that Swedish official Jonas Eriksson was "not impartial to both teams".
He was charged with misconduct and will be in the stands for the second leg on 12 March, plus one more match.A further one-game ban is suspended for two years, but Pellegrini can appeal.
"The City manager will be banned for his team's round-of-16 second leg against Barcelona in Spain on 12 March," Uefa said in a statement."This means that Pellegrini may follow the game from the stands only; he may not enter the dressing room, tunnel or technical area before or during the match; and he may not communicate directly or indirectly with his players and/or technical staff during the game."The first leg of the last-16 encounter at Etihad Stadium on 18 February was poised at 0-0 early in the second half when Eriksson sent off City defender Martin Demichelis for a foul on Lionel Messi when the Argentina playmaker was clean through on goal.
Replays suggested the incident was just outside the box, but a penalty was awarded and Messi duly converted. In the final minute Barca added a second through Dani Alves to take a two-goal advantage into the second leg at the Nou Camp.
In his post-match news conference, Pellegrini, 60, said: "From the beginning I felt the referee was not impartial to both teams."I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in charge of such an important match, especially a referee who has made an important mistake against Barcelona in a previous match."[It's] more important football in Europe than Sweden. A big game with two important teams, that kind of game needs a referee with more experience."Pellegrini later apologised for the comments.

MATA AND TORRES DROPPED FROM SPAINISH TEAM

Manchester United’s recent £37 million signing Juan Mata and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres were not called up for the Spain Italy friendly match. Also dropped from the team are Alvaro Arbeloa, Fernando Llorente, Carles Puyol and La Roja’s all-time record goalscorer David Villa are among the other big names left out for the match at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in Madrid, which represents Spain’s final friendly before Vicente Del Bosque names his 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil.
The 63-year-old boss told the news conference at which the squad was announced that enough time remained for those omitted to play well enough to make him change his mind.“There are more than two important players who are left out,” Del Bosque said. “But this list is just for Italy. There is time in front of us, three months of competition, and many things could happen that ratify this list or make us bring others.” Arbeloa’s absence was a surprise, with Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta and Atletico Madrid’s Juanfran Torres getting the call at full-back instead. Del Bosque said he wanted to get a closer look at the versatile Azpilicueta in particular.“Of course there are some who are not coming who have done a lot to deserve it,” he continued. “But we believe that Azpilicueta is playing well at Chelsea and we are going to watch him up close. His versatility is useful for us.”Atletico's Brazil-born striker was called up by Spain in November -- only for injury to stop him making his debut for his adopted country -- and he has been given another opportunity to prove he merits a call-up for the summer.“I have not spoken to him [recently] but the federation have called him to make sure he was still thinking the same,” Del Bosque said. “This list is not final for Brazil. It is a unique case because he had never come with us before, and for him being born in Brazil.
But he is a player who comes because of what he has done for his club. We have decided he can help us.” Bayern Munich duo Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez had also been rewarded for their excellent performances this season, Del Bosque said, while maintaining that the latter could provide valuable cover in both midfield and defence.“We cannot consider Thiago a new arrival, he is playing very well for Bayern Munich,” he said. “They are one of best teams in Europe and he is a starter there. Javi Martinez can play in two positions. We can use him as a central midfielder or a centre-half.”Manchester City trio Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas and David Silva and Arsenal's Santi Cazorla have retained their squad places, but recent Manchester United signing Mata has apparently paid the price for indifferent club form this season. Emerging Real Madrid duo Jese Rodriguez and Dani Carvajal were not named, but Atletico midfielder Koke is in again and looks certain to travel to Brazil.  World Cup 2010 winner Puyol is not included despite Gerard Pique being unavailable due to a minor thigh injury.
Del Bosque asserted the meeting with the Azzurri -- a repeat of the Euro 2012 final -- would again provide a stiff test for this side.“They are one of the world’s big national teams,” he said. “They have Juventus as a base, and are playing very strong games, like the first game of Euro 2012, the two from the Confederations Cup, one of them agonising with extra-time when they were just as strong as we were. And the final [of Euro 2012], which was for sure our best game of recent years.” The La Roja squad are due to gather at the national football headquarters at Las Rozas in suburban Madrid on Monday, where a number of adverts will be filmed with the Spanish FA’s commercial partners.
An opening training session is set for Tuesday evening at Atletico’s Calderon ground, where fans will be granted free admission to watch Del Bosque put his side through their paces ahead of the clash with the Italians.
Ahead of the World Cup it has also been confirmed that Spain’s squad for the tournament will meet up on Monday, May 26 -- two days after this season’s Champions League final --- and will play a friendly against Bolivia at Sevilla’s Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan on Friday, May 30.
The holders’ first game at the finals is against beaten 2010 finalists Holland in Salvador de Bahia on Friday, June 13, followed by Chile on June 18 in Rio de Janeiro and a final group game against Australia on June 23 in Curitiba.
Below is the Full squad for the Italy friendly.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas [Real Madrid], Pepe Reina [Napoli], Victor Valdes [Barcelona]

Defenders:
Juanfran Torres [Atletico Madrid], Javi Martinez [Bayern Munich], Sergio Ramos [Real Madrid], Jordi Alba [Barcelona], Cesar Azpilicueta [Chelsea], Raul Albiol [Napoli].

Midfielders:
Xabi Alonso [Real Madrid], Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta & Cesc Fabregas [Barcelona], Koke [Atletico Madrid], Thiago Alcantara [Bayern], Jesus Navas & David Silva [Man City], Santi Cazorla [Arsenal].

Attackers:
Diego Costa [Atletico], Alvaro Negredo [Man City], Pedro Rodriguez [Barca].

AGUERO PASSED FIT FOR THE WEMBLEY FINAL

Argentine International Sergio Aguero has been passed fit to make his Manchester City comeback in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Sunderland, but injured pair Stevan Jovetic and Matija Nastasic will miss out.
Aguero, 25, who is City’s 26-goal top scorer this term, has sat out their last five games after suffering a hamstring injury in the 5-1 win over Tottenham on Jan. 29.
However, the Argentina international will return after a month on the sidelines as manager Manuel Pellegrini considers whether the striker is fit enough to start at Wembley.“It is something I must decide from seeing the way he recovers from the work this week, whether he is 100 percent fit after his injury to play the whole match,” Pellegrini said. “It is very important for the team to have Sergio again with us because he is a very important player.”Nastasic, 20, who has been struggling with a knee injury, and Jovetic, 24, who suffered a hamstring problem in last week’s win over Stoke, have not recovered in time.“Jovetic and Nastasic are both injured,” Pellegrini said. “They cannot be there on Sunday. All the rest of the squad are OK apart from [third-choice goalkeeper] Richard Wright, who has a problem with his knee.”
City are expected to win at Wembley but Pellegrini is guarding against complacency, pointing out that Sunderland have already beaten two tough sides during this season's competition.“Maybe we are the favourites but we cannot forget Sunderland eliminated Chelsea and Manchester United, big teams so I am absolutely sure it will be a tough game,” he said.
Pellegrini could win his first trophy as City manager on Sunday, and the Chilean added: “I will be very happy if we achieve it because it reflects all your work from the year. We have played a very good Capital One Cup because we won all the games, we score 19 or 20 goals and conceded just one.”Sunderland, meanwhile, will be without midfielder Liam Bridcutt at Wembley, with the former Brighton player cup-tied. Lee Cattermole is likely to come into the team and play the holding role in front of Gus Poyet's back four.
Striker Connor Wickham will not be involved, having joined Leeds on loan for the rest of the season on Wednesday, while goalkeeper Keiren Westwood misses out through a shoulder injury. 

SUPER EAGLES TEAM LIST FOR MEXICO FRIENDLY

This is the 23- man team list released by Super Eagles coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi for the Nigeria Mexico friendly match coming up on March 5, 2014 in United States.

Goalkeepers:
Vincent Enyeama (Lille FC, France);
Austin Ejide (HapoelBe’er Sheva, Israel)

Defenders:
Elderson Echiejile (Monaco FC, France); Efe Ambrose (Celtic FC, Scotland);
Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor, Turkey);
Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves);
Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough FC, England);
Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod FC, Israel);
Joseph Yobo (Norwich City, England);
Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars)

Midfielders:
John Mikel Obi (Chelsea FC, England);
Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio, Italy);
Ramon Azeez (Almeria FC, Spain);
Shehu Abdullahi (Kano Pillars);
Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers)

Forwards:
Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia);
Shola Ameobi (Newcastle United, England);
Victor Moses (Liverpool FC, England);
Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce FC, Turkey);
Obinna Nsofor (Chievo Verona, Italy);
Bright Dike (Toronto FC, Canada),
Imoh Ezekiel (Standard Liege, Belgium); Michel Uchebo (Cercle Brugge, Belgium).

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE FIXTURES

Friday, 28 February 2014

Spanish Primera División
8:30 PM - Athletic Bilbao vs Granada

German Bundesliga
8:30 PM - Hertha Berlin vs SC Freiburg

French Ligue 1
8:30 PM - Evian Thonon Gaillard vs Nantes

Saturday, 1 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
4:00 PM - Everton vs West Ham United
4:00 PM - Fulham vs Chelsea
4:00 PM - Hull City vs Newcastle United
4:00 PM - Stoke City vs Arsenal
6:30 PM - Southampton vs Liverpool

Spanish Primera División
4:00 PM - Malaga vs Real Valladolid
6:00 PM - Levante vs Osasuna
8:00 PM - Getafe vs Espanyol
10:00 PM - Elche vs Celta Vigo

Italian Serie A
8:45 PM - AS Roma vs Internazionale

German Bundesliga
3:30 PM - Bayer Leverkusen vs Mainz
3:30 PM - Borussia Dortmund vs Nurnberg
3:30 PM - FC Augsburg vs Hannover 96
3:30 PM - TSV Eintracht Braunschweig vs Borussia Monchengladbach
3:30 PM - Werder Bremen vs Hamburg SV
6:30 PM - Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04

French Ligue 1
5:00 PM - St Etienne vs AS Monaco
8:00 PM - Lorient vs Bastia
8:00 PM - Nice vs Toulouse
8:00 PM - Sochaux vs Bordeaux
8:00 PM - Stade de Reims vs Valenciennes
8:00 PM - Stade Rennes vs Guingam

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Capital One Cup
3:00 PM - Manchester City vs Sunderland

Barclays Premier League
5:30 PM - Aston Villa vs Norwich City
5:30 PM - Swansea City vs Crystal Palace
5:30 PM - Tottenham Hotspur vs Cardiff City

Spanish Primera División
12:00 PM - Villarreal vs Real Betis
5:00 PM - Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
7:00 PM - Sevilla FC vs Real Sociedad
9:00 PM - Barcelona vs Almeria
9:00 PM - Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia

Italian Serie A
12:30 PM - Cagliari vs Udinese
3:00 PM - Atalanta vs Chievo Verona
3:00 PM - Genoa vs Catania
3:00 PM - Hellas Verona vs Bologna
3:00 PM - Sassuolo vs Parma
3:00 PM - Torino vs Sampdoria
6:30 PM - Livorno vs Napoli
8:45 PM - AC Milan vs Juventus
8:45 PM - Fiorentina vs Lazio

German Bundesliga
3:30 PM - TSG Hoffenheim vs VfL Wolfsburg
5:30 PM - Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart

French Ligue 1
2:00 PM - AC Ajaccio vs Lille
5:00 PM - Lyon vs Montpellier
9:00 PM - Paris Saint-Germain vs Marseille

CAF CONFEDERATIONS CUP FIXTURES

CAF CONFEDERATIONS CUP FIXTURES

28 February 2014

2:00pm Ferroviario Da Beira v Zesco United 
2:00pm Gamtel v Difaa Hassani El Jadidi 
2:30pm FC Konzo v Bayelsa United 
3:00pm Red Lions v CS Constantinois 

1 March 2014

2:00pm AS Kigali v Al Ahly Shandy 
2:00pm How Mine v St. Michel United 
2:30pm C.A.R.A v ES Sahel 
2:30pm CS Don Bosco v Djoliba AC 
2:30pm Union Douala v Warri Wolves 
7:15pm SuperSport United v AFC Leopards 

2 March 2014

2:00pm AS Douanes Lomé v Wadi Delga 
2:00pm C.O. Bamako v ASEC Mimosas 
2:00pm Ebusua Dwarfs v Atletico Petroleos 
2:00pm Medeama v MAS Fes 
2:30pm Desportivo da Huila v C.A.B 
2:30pm FC MK v Ismaily

 *All dates and times are Nigerian Time or West African Time (WAT)

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

28 February 2014

2:00pm AC Leopards (Congo) v 1 de Augusto (Angola) 
2:00pm Astres de Douala (Cameroon) v TP Mazembe (DRC) 
2:00pm Berekum Chelsea (Ghana) v Ahly Benghazi (Libya) 
2:00pm BYC (Liberia) v Sewe Sport (Ivory Coast) 
2:00pm Dedebit (Ethiopia) v CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) 
2:00pm Dynamos (Zimbabwe) v AS Vita (DRC) 
2:00pm Enyimba (Nigeria) v AS Real de Bamako (Mali) 
2:00pm ES Setif (Algeria) v ASFA Y. (Burkina Faso) 
2:00pm Flambeau de l’Est (Burundi) v Coton Sport (Cameroon) 
2:00pm Gor Mahia (Kenya) v Esperance (Tunisia) 
2:00pm Horoya (Guinea) v Raja Casablanca (Morocco) 15:00 Nkana (Zambia) v Kampala C.C (Uganda) 
2:00pm Stade Malien (Mali) v Al-Hilal (Sudan) 
2:00pm Young Africans (Tanzania) v Al Ahly (Egypt) 
3:00pm Zamalek (Egypt) v Kabuscorp (Angola) 

1 March 2014

6:00pm Kaizer Chiefs v Liga Muculmana (Mozambique)

 *All dates and times are Nigerian time or West African Time (WAT).

ADEBAYOR'S BRACE QUALIFIES TOTTENHAM TO NEXT ROUND OF EUROPA LEAGUE

Tottenham came from behind to beat 10-man Dnipro and advance to the last 16 as Emmanuel Adebayor stuck twice to see off the spirited Ukrainians 3-1 on the night.
Having lost 1-0 in Dnipropetrovsk last week, Tim Sherwood's side were further up against it when Roman Zozulya headed the visitors in front shortly after the break before rallying to win 3-2 on aggregate.
The tie swung back in their favour in 13 second-half minutes as Christian Eriksen levelled on the night before Zozulya received a red card for a headbutt on Jan Vertonghen, who seemed to go down easily.
Spurs soon made light work of turning around the tie as Adebayor struck twice in four minutes to set up a tie with Benfica, who eased into the next round as they completed a 4-0 aggregate win over 10-man PAOK Salonika.
Nicolas Gaitan, Rodrigo Lima and Lazar Markovic struck in the last 20 minutes after the dismissal of former Benfica player Konstantinos Katsouranis allowed the Portuguese side to take control.
Swansea's Europa League adventure came to an end in Italy as they lost 3-1 to Napoli in their last-32 second-leg tie.The Swans, playing in their first ever knockout round in European competition, turned in an impressive display but just fell short at the Stadio San Paolo.Lorenzo Insigne put the hosts ahead in the 16th minute before
Jonathan De Guzman equalised on the half-hour mark. Gonzalo Higuain came to the rescue in the 78th minute to put Napoli back in front.
The Swans came agonisingly close to making it 2-2 with two minutes remaining but Napoli goalkeeper Jose Reina produced a fantastic one-handed save to repel Dwight Tiendalli's header.
And Gokhan Inler put the tie beyond any doubt when he scored his team's third seconds from time to set up a last-16 clash with Porto. Nabil Ghilas struck a dramatic 86th-minute equaliser to send Porto through to the next round on away goals following a thrilling 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Porto, having thrown away a two-goal lead to draw the first leg 2-2, looked on their way out after falling 2-0 down in Germany to goals from Stefan Aigner and Alexander Meier.
The visitors fought back and managed to get on equal terms thanks to two Eliaquim Mangala headers, levelling the tie up at 4-4, but their good work looked to be for nothing as they conceded another goal to Meier with 14 minutes to go.
However, with time running out the Portuguese giants managed to fashion a late chance and substitute Ghilas was able to turn it home. Juninho Quixada's 89th-minute goal ensured Ludogorets Razgrad's remarkable Europa League campaign continued with a stunning 4-3 aggregate win over Lazio to reach the last 16.
Last week's first ever meeting between the clubs saw Stoycho Stoev's Bulgarians claim a famous 1-0 victory thanks to Roman Bezjak's goal.
A thrilling second leg swung to and fro, Lazio first to take the upper hand as Keita Balde, inside 18 seconds, and Brayan Perea put them ahead. The hosts hit back through Bezjak and Hristo Zlatinski but Miroslav Klose looked to have seen Lazio through until Juninho Quixada's late intervention.
Ludogorets will meet Valencia who safely progressed despite being held to a goalless draw at home in their second leg clash with Dynamo Kiev.
Los Che could not find the breakthrough at the Mestalla but nevertheless went through 2-0 on aggregate thanks to the two late goals scored through Eduardo Vargas and Sofiane Feghouli in the first leg.
Juventus earned some Turkish redemption as they won 2-0 at Trabzonspor to coast into the last 16.
Antonio Conte's side were plunged into the second-tier competition after Galatasaray dumped them out of the Champions League with a dramatic 1-0 group-stage win in December.
That match was played over two days following terrible weather in Istanbul, but first-half goals from Arturo Vidal and Dani Osvaldo ensured a far more comfortable night this time around.
Juventus therefore wrapped up the tie 4-0 and booked a meeting with Serie A rivals Fiorentina in the next round after they completed a routine 4-2 aggregate win over Esbjerg.
The Viola led 3-1 from the first leg and dominated the first half back at the Stadio Artemio Franchi before Josip Ilicic's free-kick early in the second extended their lead.
The Danes levelled on the night through substitute Mikkel Vestergaard's late goal but still crashed out. A smash-and-grab double salvo saw Viktoria Plzen book their place in the next round with a 2-1 defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ukrainians Shakhtar -- the 2009 UEFA Cup winners -- held a slender advantage going into the second leg having scored an away goal in the Czech Republic last week.
But goals from Daniel Kolar and Milan Petrzela -- scored within a four-minute period and from Plzen's only shots on target -- left Shakhtar chasing the game and Luiz Adriano's late effort was not enough to prevent a 3-2 aggregate loss.
After winning 2-1 on the night, Dusan Uhrin Jr's men will next face Lyon after Alexandre Lacazette's 80th-minute winner ensured they advanced to the last 16 after a battling 1-0 aggregate win over 10-man Chornomorets.
Lacazette hammered into the top corner after a superb run to score the first goal of the tie in nearly 170 minutes of action.
The French giants were given the upper hand when Chornomorets defender Evgeniy Zubeyko was dismissed four minutes before the goal, and the visitors can perhaps count themselves unlucky after playing their part in an intriguing encounter. Salzburg waltzed into the last 16 with an unexpectedly comfortable 6-1 aggregate success against Dutch champions Ajax.
The Austrians had broken the back of the tie with a 3-0 win in Amsterdam last week and completed the job 3-1 on home turf.
All the goals arrived after half-time with a Mike van der Hoorn own goal followed by strikes from Sadio Mane and Jonathan Soriano.Salzburg would have opened the scoring earlier but for Jasper Cillessen in the Ajax goal. His performance was about all the Dutch side had to savour, although Davy Klaassen did manage the most consolatory of goals on 82 minutes.
Salzburg will meet Basel in the next round after they advanced with a convincing 3-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Avivat St Jakob-Park.
The Swiss side, who dropped into Europe's second-tier competition after exiting the Champions League before Christmas, were never in any danger of relinquishing the slight advantage they gleaned from a goalless first leg, as a Valentin Stocker goal and Marco Streller's brace saw them through.
Maccabi rarely threatened in the course of a lacklustre 90 minutes, although the Israelis at least have the comfort of knowing Basel cannot cause them any further hurt this season having already lost to the Swiss champions in the third qualifying round of the Champions League back in August.
Sevilla set up a mouthwatering showdown with arch-rivals Real Betis in the last 16 after seeing off the challenge of Maribor with a 2-1 win.
Goals from Jose Antonio Reyes and Kevin Gameiro either side of half-time set Sevilla on their way to a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Maribor pulled a goal back through Dare Vrsic in stoppage time to briefly set the nerves jangling at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, but they could not find an equaliser to leave Sevilla with a derby date next month.
Nono and Ruben Castro were both on the mark as Real Betisbooked their spot in the last 16 after an impressive 2-0 victory in Rubin Kazan.
The Spanish side appeared to be the underdogs after a 1-1 draw at the Benito Villamarin last week, but they largely dominated on Thursday and put one foot in the next round when Nono scored on the stroke of half-time.
Ruben Castro then doubled their advantage on the night in the 64th minute, with Betis comfortably holding on to seal a 3-1 aggregate success.
Anzhi Makhachkala continued their unlikely Europa League run by inflicting a 2-0 defeat on Genk in their second leg in Belgium.
A Katuku Tshimanga own goal and Oleksandr Aliyev's strike saw Anzhi enjoy an unexpectedly comfortable passage to the last 16, where they will face AZ Alkmaar, who progressed after a 1-1 home draw with Czech side Liberec.
Nick Viergever's goal in the first leg last week ultimately proved crucial as the Dutch outfit came through on aggregate. The defender opened the scoring in the return meeting, before Yevhen Budnik equalised but Liberec were unable to claim another decisive away goal despite late pressure.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE RESULTS

UEFA Europa League
FK Rubin Kazan 0-2 Real Betis
Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 FC Porto
FC Basel 3-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Ludogorets Razgrad 3-3 Lazio
Napoli 3-1 Swansea City
Sevilla FC 2-1 NK Maribor
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Viktoria Plzen
SV Salzburg 3-1 Ajax Amsterdam
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Liberec
Benfica 3-0 PAOK Salonika
Fiorentina 1-1 Esbjerg
Lyon 1-0 Chornomorets
Racing Genk 0-2 Anzhi Makhachkala
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Trabzonspor 0-2 Juventus
Valencia 0-0 Dynamo KievCop

NIGERIA UNVEILS 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP JERSEY

Nigeria's World Cup jersey was unveiled on Thursday in Abuja ahead of their friendly against Mexico on March 5.
The trio of Ejike Uzoenyi, Shehu Abdullahi and Chigozie Agbim were the models for the unveiling of the new kit designed by Adidas which took place at the Sunday Dankaro House, Abuja National Stadium.
The new home jersey is a mix of lemon green and white stripes while the away jersey is white with green stripes and numbered with red.The goalkeeper's jersey is yellow with purple stripes.
The Super Eagles will wear it next week Wednesday when they play against Mexico in a friendly match in Atlanta, USA.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are drawn in World Cup Group F with Argentina, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina

REAL MADRID SET TO DASH THE TITLE ASPIRATION OF ATLETICO MADRID

Real Madrid can bury Atletico's hopes of winning La Liga with a third straight victory against their city neighbours on Sunday that would leave the capital's second club trailing by six points.
Atletico stunned their bitter local rivals 2-1 at Real's own Bernabeu stadium in last season's King's Cup final and followed up with a 1-0 success at the same venue in La Liga at the end of September.
However, Real have greatly improved as the season has progressed and they dumped holders Atletico out of this term's Cup 5-0 on aggregate in their two-legged semifinal this month.
Unbeaten in 27 matches in all competitions, Real are in ominous form before Sunday's trip across town to Atletico's Calderon stadium and will be buoyed by their 6-1 success at German side Schalke 04 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
They took over from Barcelona, who host promoted Almeria on Sunday, at the top of La Liga last weekend when both Barca and Atletico suffered surprise defeats.Real have 63 points with 13 games left, with Barca, chasing a fifth title in six years, and Atletico on 60.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, who took over from Jose Mourinho at the end of last term, has eliminated the defensive lapses that cost his team earlier in the season.
With Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale in a three-pronged attack, the Italian has one of the most lethal forward lines in football and each scored twice in Wednesday's romp in Gelsenkirchen."We have a lot of potential up front," midfielder Xabi Alonso, whose composure and passing ability help Real control their opponents, told reporters after the Schalke game."We create a lot of chances and it's good news that the three forwards are fired up," added the Spain international."Sunday's game is very important for us and it is going to be very tough."We are confident but we know that each match is a different story. If we don't go out with the same focus as today any team is capable of giving us a scare."
Atletico, who are also through to the last 16 of the Champions League, are mounting a genuine challenge for the La Liga title for the first time since they won a league and Cup double in 1996.
Diego Simeone, a former Argentina midfielder, was part of that team and has transformed the club since he took over as coach at the end of 2011, leading them to a Europa League triumph in 2012 and the Cup success last season.
However, last weekend's shock 3-0 reverse at Osasuna, when Simeone left a number of key players out of his starting line-up, suggested they may not have a deep enough squad to cope with a gruelling calendar.
Fullback Juanfran said the team are keen to put last week's stumble behind them and reignite their title challenge."We are keen to prepare the match well and if we beat Madrid things will be different," he said on Atletico's website (www.clubatleticodemadrid.com).
"We are playing at our stadium, where we are unbeaten (in La Liga this season) and I am convinced we will play a good match and win," he added.

ANELKA TO SERVE 5-MATCH BAN FOR ANTI-SEMITIC GESTURE

West Bromwich Albion forward Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches and fined £80 000 for making an alleged anti-Semitic gesture in a match in December, the Football Association said on Thursday.
The Frenchman, who made a "quenelle" salute after scoring in a 3-3 draw against West Ham United on December 28, has also been ordered to complete a compulsory education course."An Independent Regulatory Commission has found an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3 against Nicolas Anelka proven and has issued a five-match suspension and a fine of £80 000, pending appeal," the FA said in a statement.
The punishment is suspended until the outcome of any appeal or until the player informs the FA of his decision not to appeal.
The FA found Anelka guilty of making a gesture that "was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper."They also found it to be an "aggravated breach" in that it included "a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief."The FA added in their statement, however, that they "did not find that Nicolas Anelka is an Anti-Semite or that he intended to express or promote Anti-Semitism by his use of the quenelle."Anelka had denied he was anti-Semitic or racist and claimed the gesture, which has been described as an inverted Nazi salute, was a tribute to his French comedian friend Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala who invented it.
Premier League West Brom are yet to comment on the punishment but the gesture has already had repercussions for the club.
Zoopla, a property market search engine co-owned by Jewish businessman Alex Chesterman, has said it would not renew its three million pounds West Brom shirt sponsorship deal after this season because of Anelka's actions.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

UEFA Europa League
6:00 PM - FK Rubin Kazan vs Real Betis
7:00 PM - Eintracht Frankfurt vs FC Porto
7:00 PM - FC Basel vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
7:00 PM - Ludogorets Razgrad vs Lazio
7:00 PM - Napoli vs Swansea City
7:00 PM - Sevilla FC vs NK Maribor
7:00 PM - Shakhtar Donetsk vs Viktoria Plzen
7:00 PM - SV Salzburg vs Ajax Amsterdam
9:05 PM - AZ Alkmaar vs Liberec
9:05 PM - Benfica vs PAOK Salonika
9:05 PM - Fiorentina vs Esbjerg
9:05 PM - Lyon vs Chornomorets
9:05 PM - Racing Genk vs Anzhi Makhachkala
9:05 PM - Tottenham Hotspur vs Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
9:05 PM - Trabzonspor vs Juventus
9:05 PM - Valencia vs Dynamo Kiev

CHELSEA HELD BY GALATARSARAY

Chelsea may well be frustrated not to leave Turkey victorious but Fernando Torres' away goal in Galatasaray's cauldron of noise gives Jose Mourinho's men a 1-1 draw and a decent chance of reaching the Champions League quarterfinals.
Having seen Manchester United follow Arsenal and Manchester City in losing their last-16 first-leg ties 2-0, the west Londoners refused to wilt under the intense pressure brought by the raucous Turk Telecom Arena crowd.
Chelsea had looked on course for victory after Torres netted in a dominant first-half display, only for Roberto Mancini's side to produce a much improved performance after the break as poor defending allowed Aurelien Chedjou to strike home.
This was a match of many a sub-plot, varying from Chelsea favourite Didier Drogba facing his former club for the first time to former Manchester City boss Mancini coming up against Mourinho, the man who succeeded him at the Inter Milan helm.
However, the build-up focused on trouble in Istanbul as anti-government protests followed a night in which Chelsea confirmed their fans were involved in two incidents, with police warning the 1,300 travelling contingent that it was "not safe" for them to use the Metro to and from ground.
It was far from the ideal preparation -- nor was the leaking of private comments from Mourinho on Samuel Eto'o and his strikers - although those that made the trip could have few complaints about the manner in which Chelsea started.
Mourinho named an attack-minded line-up and was rewarded after just nine minutes when fine play down the left ended with Fernando Torres sweeping home Cesar Azpilicueta's measured cross.
It was the first goal by an English side in Europe since Dec. 12 and one Burak Yilmaz thought he had cancelled out as half-time approached, only for his strike from a quickly-taken throw-in to be disallowed as there were two balls on the pitch.
The other was under John Terry's arm and the Chelsea captain was booked for his part in the bizarre incident, which saw him booed off the pitch at half-time by the irate home support.
Galatasaray's fanatical support would soon be thanking Terry, though.
Minutes after Selcuk Inan hit the post, the Blues centre-back let Aurelien Chedjou out of his sights as he fired the hosts level to see the tie level when the teams resume battle in three weeks.

REAL MADRID DISMANTLES SCHALKE

Real Madrid virtually secured their place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday night with a stunning 6-1 demolition of Schalke.
The nine-time European champions had only won once before in 25 trips to Germany but victory was secured at the Veltins-Arena as Real's most potent attacking weapons came to the fore.
Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored twice as an insatiable Madrid left Schalke requiring a miracle at the Bernabeu in three weeks time despite Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring the goal of the night in time added-on.
Schalke won a corner in the first minute and nearly took the lead but captain Benedikt Howedes' header from distance drifted wide of Iker Casillas' right-hand post.
But Real were seeing more of the ball and soon had the lead thanks to that potent attacking trio in the 13th minute. Bale cut in on the right and found Ronaldo whose backheel took a deflection which found Benzema on the penalty spot and he made no mistake with a crisp finish.
They would not have it all their own way initially, though, and Schalke were almost level within two minutes.
Jefferson Farfan got down the right and his cross found Julian Draxler six yards out but Casillas was on hand to make a stunning reflex save.
Schalke were playing their part but it was 2-0 in the 21st minute thanks to the quick feet of Bale. Benzema robbed Felipe Santana of possession and when the Welshman gathered the ball up he danced forward, beating two men before unleashing a quick shot which went in off the near post.
Real were building pressure and Ronaldo was clearly keen to get in on the goalscoring act as he brought down an Angel Di Maria pass and surged forward but his shot from the edge of the area came back off the post and safely into the arms of Ralf Fahrmann.
The visitors were now looking a threat every time they came forward and Ronaldo looked certain to score as he latched onto Di Maria's through-ball but Fahrmann did well to save with his feet.
Schalke were under fire as the break approached as first Benzema fired wide from Marcelo's cross and Fahrmann made another close-range save from Ronaldo but they made it to the interval without sustaining further damage.
The home side desperately needed to find something in the second half and Kevin-Prince Boateng forced Casillas into a save from long range in the 47th minute with Max Meyer horribly miscuing his effort on the follow-up.
But it was 3-0 in the 52nd as Ronaldo got the goal he had been so close to before the break. Bale played the ball across to the Portuguese on the left and he dazzled Joel Matip with two step-overs before firing low past a helpless Fahrmann.
Five minutes later it was four as Ronaldo and Benzema exchanged passes, with the former Manchester United man releasing his team-mate in the box to fire across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.
Real looked to be taking their foot off the gas after the goal and allowed Schalke to have possession but it was not long before Bale had his second of the night in the 67th minute.
Sergio Ramos gathered a loose ball in midfield and freed Bale on the right with the former Tottenham man doing well to keep onside and calmly lift the ball over Fahrmann.
Ronaldo was not to be outdone and had his brace in the 88th minute as substitute Isco and Benzema combined to release him and he calmly slotted past the keeper.
There was still time for former Real striker Huntelaar to net a stunning consolation when he volleyed home from the edge of the area after Christian Fuchs' cross to see Casillas beaten for the first time in 10 appearances, but it is likely to be of little consequence.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

UEFA Champions League
Galatasaray 1-1 Chelsea
Schalke 04 1-6 Real Madrid

RONALDO SET TO CRUSH SCHALKE 04

Real Madrid welcome back Cristiano Ronaldo for Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg clash against Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.
The FIFA Ballon d'Or winner, who scored a competition-record nine goals in the group stage, returns after serving a three-match suspension in La Liga for his sending-off against Athletic Bilbao earlier this month.
Ronaldo's availability is a further boost in confidence for the Spanish giants, who travel to the Veltins Arena in hugely impressive form.
The nine-time European champions are unbeaten in 27 games in all competitions, of which they have won 23.
Carlo Ancelotti's men have also kept 13 clean sheets in their last 15 games, helping them through to the final of the Copa del Rey and to open up a three-point lead over Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of the Primera Division standings."We are where we want to be," Real captain Iker Casillas said to www.marca.com. "We are alive in three competitions and we are fighting to win them all."We know it's going to be difficult to win a treble but we will try."The team is playing well and we are going through a good spell."We are giving away few goals while we are solid in attack."Casillas knows his team must keep their feet firmly on the ground though, warning Schalke pose a serious threat to their dreams of winning a record 10th European Cup title this season."We are looking forward to Wednesday's match," the Spain goalkeeper said. "Every player would want to play such an important game."Schalke are incredibly strong physically and they are consolidating a top four spot in the Bundesliga."I consider them a dangerous rival."We will have to try to limit the advances of (former Real Madrid striker) Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who could make life difficult for our defenders."Huntelaar, who played for Madrid six years ago, insists his side are underdogs for the tie but will be hoping they can get a good result on Wednesday night to take to the Bernabeu for the return leg on March 18."Madrid are favourites," Huntelaar said to www.marca.com. "But we are playing the first leg at home and we will make them work very hard.
"Our fans are really excited about this game, which will be a spectacular one."This is the first time we face Madrid and we will try everything to beat them and continue in the competition."
Jens Keller's side are unbeaten in the Bundesliga since December 7 and last Friday's goalless draw against Mainz was the first time in 2014 that the club have failed to record a win.
That run has left them fourth in the standings, one point adrift of third-placed Borussia Dortmund and two adrift of Bayer Leverkusen in second.

MANCINI LAUGHS OFF MOURINHO AHEAD OF TONIGHT'S UCL MATCH

Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini laughed off Jose Mourinho's suggestion that Chelsea are not ready to win competitions like the Champions League.
Having earlier this month become the first side to win at Manchester City this season, the Portuguese insisted his side were not serious contenders for the Barclays Premier League title.
Mourinho called his side a ''little horse'' in comparison to fellow title challengers Arsenal and City, whose manager Manuel Pellegrini quickly hit back at such talk.
The man he succeeded at the Etihad Stadium echoed those thoughts on Tuesday, with Mancini, now manager of Galatasaray, insisting Chelsea's class and experience makes his team huge underdogs for the last-16 clash.''It's a young team, like ours,'' the Italian said with a smile. ''We are young.''I think that Chelsea are on top of the Premier League because they are a top team.''They have really good players - these players who can change the game at any moment.''They have fantastic players who are used to playing games like this. I think they have an 80 per cent chance of going through.''
Mancini believes a positive result is required on Wednesday if the Turkish champions are to stand any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.
Galatasaray's attack is expected to be their biggest strength in the last-16 tie, with two men Mourinho knows well key to that.
Wesley Sneijder won the Champions League under the Portuguese at Inter Milan, while the match will be Didier Drogba's first against Chelsea since ending his time with the club as a European champion.''Didier was an important man, an important player for Chelsea,'' Mancini said.''Wesley won under Mourinho a Champions League.
''They have a good relationship with him, but tomorrow, for 90 minutes, I think they will be enemies.''Ninety minutes, afterwards, they can go and have a dinner together. But for 90 minutes they should not play 100 per cent, but more. We need Didier and Wesley to play very, very well tomorrow.''Mourinho was left to insist his relationship with striker Samuel Eto'o has been unaffected by footage showing him questioning the Chelsea striker's age.
Preparations for Wednesday night's match have been somewhat overshadowed by French television station Canal Plus broadcasting video of the Portuguese making inflammatory comments to a businessman at a recent sponsor's event.
The recording, aired on Monday, shows Mourinho commenting on Chelsea's lack of depth up front and questioning the age of Cameroon forward Eto'o.
Not knowing he was being filmed, the Blues manager was recorded saying: ''The problem with Chelsea is I lack a striker. He (Eto'o) is 32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?''Mourinho was apoplectic about the remarks being broadcast, telling journalists they ''should be embarrassed'' by what has happened.''I'm not defending what I'm saying, I'm attacking something that is, I think, fundamental in your professional area,'' he said.''That person showed exactly what he is, or what he doesn't know about the job.''From my perspective, the comment is obviously not a good one, and obviously not something I would do in a serious way, something I would not do an official way in an interview.''First of all, because I don't make fun. Secondly, because if there are managers in the world who really defend their players, I'm obviously one of them.''And third because Samuel Eto'o is Samuel Eto'o. He's four times a Champions League winner: people think three times, but one in Real Madrid, two in Barcelona and one with Inter.''It was with him that I had the best ever season of my career. He's one of the few players who is working with me at a second different club, and a manager never does that if he doesn't like the player or the person.''He has no reason to be upset because also, he told a few years ago, that Mourinho is the only manager in the world who I would never play for, and after one year he was playing with me at Inter and now here.''There is no story, there is no story. I repeat: it was a funny conversation between me and somebody who doesn't belong to the football world.''We were laughing as everybody was saying. I really think it's a disgrace that someone is taping and recording a private conversation when, obviously, we don't know.''That was the second question Mourinho had fielded on the subject and he snapped when a third was asked about whether the relationship with his strikers have been damaged by the remarks.''If you want to speak about the game, I'm ready,'' he said.''If you want to keep speaking about some non-ethical journalist, I've had enough.''

OLYMPIAKOS STUNS MAN UNITED

A Greek tragedy unfolded for David Moyes in Athens as Arsenal loanee Joel Campbell scored a stunning goal to leave Manchester United on the brink of an early Champions League exit.
Campbell has not kicked a ball for the Gunners since signing in 2011, but he showed superb quality to score the second goal in a relatively straightforward 2-0 victory for Olympiakos.
Alejandro Dominguez's clever backheel put the Greeks ahead in the first half and from then on in Moyes' team rarely looked like being able to get back into the first leg of this last-16 tie.
Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic had talked up United's chances of winning the Champions League in the build-up to the match, but it was easy to see why Moyes' side were 25-1 shots to land the trophy going into this match in the port suburb of the Greek capital.
Rooney worked tirelessly, as he always does, and Vidic put in a solid performance at the back. But United's midfield, as it has done for much of this season, looked awfullypedestrian for the majority of the match, which was played out amid a booming atmosphere inside the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Olympiakos, who are bidding to make the last eight for only the second time, made a mockery of the away side's billing as favourites. And without the cup-tied Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj, who was overlooked, United looked toothless in attack.
With United 11 points adrift of the top four in the Premier League, winning the Champions League may be the best way to get back into the competition next year,but they will have to win by three clear goals in the second leg on March 19 to make it through to the quarterfinals after this latest sub-par performance.
Olympiakos fans in all four corners of the stadium made their message clear to United from the warm-up: they were not welcome. The jeering started when the players came out for their pre-match drills and it did not stop for the rest of the night.
Despite the hostile noise being belted out from the stands, United's early showing did not indicate they would buckle under pressure as Olympiakos coach Michel suggested they would on Monday. That was all to change.
Patrice Evra went into the book in the second minute, when he handled Campbell's cross. But just when United started to settle into a rhythm, Olympiakos opened them up.
Chris Smalling slipped and the ball made its way to Dominguez, who ran through on goal. Only a superb sliding tackle from Vidic stopped Olympiakos taking the lead.
What followed was a tepid 20-minute period of play. United always took the safe option on the attack. Olympiakos pushed forward, meaning Rooney spent as much time in his own half as the opposition's.
The only time United entered the home box, Van Persie was out-muscled by Kostas Manolas -- a defender Moyes almost signed at Everton. Tom Cleverley and Giannis Maniatis both had weak shots at either end of the pitch, but the overall quality of the game was poor.
The home crowd remained almost deafeningly loud, however, and the decibel level rose again as Hernan Perez cut in from the left flank and fired a powerful drivewhich a relieved David de Gea watched hit the side-netting. The energetic Dominguez blotted his copy book by play acting while trying to win a penalty, but he soon redeemed himself in the eyes of the noisy home supporters when he cleverly put Olympiakos ahead.
Maniatis took advantage of Evra's weak clearance, driving at the United defence before unleashing a low shot which Dominguez diverted past De Gea with a clever backheel.
United hung on until half-time, but nine minutes after the break their troubles worsened as Olympiakos doubled their lead.
The finish -- this time struck by Campbell -- was another top-class effort. The Arsenal winger, who has spent time on loan at Real Betis and Lorient, just about kept his balance after nutmegging Michael Carrick and he then curled a stunning shot around Rio Ferdinand and the sprawling De Gea from 20 yards.
The man on the loud hailer behind the home goal bellowed and the home fans demanded their team go in for the kill. Michael Olaitan nearly obliged, firing a 20-yard shot just wide of a flat-footed De Gea. Campbell received a standing ovation when he came off moments later.
Moyes brought on Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck but they could not make the difference. United barely threatened thereafter.
Van Persie slammed a shot into the crowd from inside the box, but that was about it.
Olympiakos wanted the win more so they were not going to yield as easily as the away side had done earlier.

DORTMUND WINS AT ST. PETERSBURG

Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski combined to put Borussia Dortmund on the brink of the Champions League quarterfinals with a 4-2 win over Zenit St Petersburg at Stadion Petrovski.
Reus made one for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and scored another as Dortmund took advantage of a poor first-half performance from their hosts to go 2-0 up in the last-16 first leg.
Zenit improved after the break and twice pulled a goal back, through Oleg Shatov and Hulk's penalty, but both times Lewandowski responded, with Reus the provider for the second to cap an impressive display from the Germany midfielder.
With the Russian league still not back from its winter break, Zenit have played no competitive football for two months -- and they were caught cold by a lightning fast start from last year's beaten finalists.
In the fourth minute, Reus stayed strong to muscle his way through the Zenit defence and, when he was finally stopped, Mkhitaryan latched on to the loose ball and fired home.
It got worse for Zenit barely 60 seconds later with Mkhitaryan this time playing a supporting role as his cross found Kevin Grosskreutz, who knocked the ball down for Reus to lash home and make it 2-0.
And the bad news kept on coming for the hosts, with Andrei Arshavin forced off the pitch after 15 minutes with an apparent hamstring problem, replaced by veteran Ukraine international Anatoliy Tymoschuk.
Lewandowski had a shot from a narrow angle saved by Yuri Lodigin as the German side went for a third, while Zenit's best chance of the half came in the form of a Hulk strike from distance which went wide.
It looked like more of the same at the start of the second half when Lewandowski's effort was turned behind for a corner by Lodigin, but the hosts hauled themselves back into the game just before the hour, albeit in inelegant fashion.
A scramble in the Dortmund box saw the ball fall to Jose Rondon. His effort struck the post, but the loose ball ended up at the feet of Shatov, who had a simple task to convert.
It was only temporary respite, though, as Lewandowski restored the two-goal lead for Dortmund, playing a neat exchange with compatriot Lukasz Piszczek and managing to dig the ball out from under his feet to slide it past Lodigin.
Piszczek turned villain in the 69th minute when he was adjudged, somewhat harshly, to have fouled Viktor Faitzulin in the box, and Hulk made no mistake from the spot.
But again Dortmund made an immediate response, as Lewandowski netted from a narrow angle having been played in by Reus.
It was no less than the visitors deserved and Jurgen Klopp's men will be confident of taking another step towards emulating last year's heroics when the tie heads back to Germany next month.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

UEFA Champions League
Zenit St Petersburg 2-4 Borussia Dortmund
Olympiakos 2-0 Manchester United

DORTMUND BATTLE READY FOR ZENIT

With little to play for in the Bundesliga, last season's beaten Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund have set their sights on success in the cups this season.
The Westphalians trail league leaders Bayern Munich by 20 points and are only now concerned with finishing inside the top three to ensure they play in the Champions League again next season.
Beyond that, they head to Russia to face Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday evening bidding for a repeat of their triumphant march to the final last year, a march which was ended by their nemesis Bayern.
"We don't have a chance in the league any more. But why would we write off our chances in the other two competitions before we've been knocked out?" Klopp said on FIFA.com.
Injuries have contributed to Dortmund's woes on the domestic front this season.
Deprived of Ilkay Gundogan due to a persistent back problem, Klopp also saw himself lose his entire back four during the first half of the season.
On Sunday, he also lost Sven Bender for at least two months, leading to Klopp dreaming of getting to the end of the season without any further setbacks.
"My priority for 2014 is to have my team complete the second half of the season in better physical shape," he said. "We've been hardly recognisable due to all our injuries."We're strong when we have everyone fit, and even when we don't have everyone fit we still have the desire."We've proved that and that's why we're in a relatively good position. We want to make the most of it."They did just that last season with an unexpected march to the final."The Champions League final was a magnificent experience," said Klopp. "We proved ourselves Bayern's equals. I don't know how I would have felt if it had ended up going our way."For him to have the chance of experiencing that in May, his side must first get the better of Zenit, who may have reached the knockout stage with only half of the 12 points Dortmund chalked up in the group stage, but who have been preparing for this game for two months now.
The Russian season does not resume after its winter break until next weekend, which is why all of their efforts have been going into Tuesday night's encounter at the Stadion Petrovski."The Zenit management are very ambitious people," said Italian coach Luciano Spalletti."They set high goals and we strive to meet them. "I've told my players that we have a rare opportunity not just to write a chapter in our history, but to put the title on the cover story of Zenit."The Champions League commands a lot of effort and attention. Behind us, we have a big city and a huge number of fans who care about the club."

ROONEY SET TO PURNISH OLYMPIAKOS

English International Wayne Rooney wants to end the pain that has been caused by Manchester United's dreadful season by winning the Champions League for a second time.
Manchester United return to Champions League action on Tuesday when they play the first leg of their last-16 clash against Olympiakos in Greece.
As they are 11 points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, winning the Champions League could end up being the easiest route back into the competition next year.
With Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all expected to feature in the quarter-finals, United are 25-1 shots to win the competition with some bookmakers.
But one of the reasons Rooney signed a new five-and-a-half year deal with United was because he thinks he can win more winner's medals with the club and he thinks this could be United's year."We've certainly got the quality in the team to go really far so hopefully we can do that," the United striker said."We've been excellent in the Champions League this year and hopefully we can take that into the game tomorrow night."Rooney looked destined to leave United last summer, but he has buried the hatchet with manager David Moyes and is sure the Scot is the right man to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
Rooney may have been at United for 10 years now, but his appetite for glory has not diminished."You always want to win it," said Rooney, who was part of the United team that beat Chelsea in the final six years ago."One is never enough, especially at this club."We need to keep trying to get into finals."The feeling you get when you win a trophy is incredible so you don't want to stop at one. If we can go to final it'd be great for us. It would be an opportunity to win another trophy, so hopefully we can do that."I grew up all my life wanting to win trophies. That's the main aim. That's what you'll be judged on when you finish your career."Midfielder Nani is also unavailable because of a hamstring injury, but Rafael and Danny Welbeck are back following their respective head and knee problems.
Olympiakos manager Michel believes United could buckle under pressure when the two sides meet in the white-hot cauldron of the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Athough his side look weak opponents on paper, the 28,000-strong home crowd will do everything they can to make United's well-paid stars uncomfortable.
Michel believes the importance of the game could have a bearing on United's performance."We know there's lots at stake for Manchester United in this match," the Spaniard said."We know Manchester United are not allowed to make any mistakes due to their position in the Premier League and we have to say probably this kind of situation may weigh too much on their players' shoulders."It could be an incentive to them or it could be a burden on their shoulders."People say it'll be a very demanding tie and that's true. They are favourites, but nothing says we can't beat Manchester United."Michel's preparations for Tuesday's game took a hit on Saturday, though, when top scorer Javier Saviola was ruled out with a thigh injury.
Having sold Kostas Mitroglou to Fulham in January, and with fellow striker Marko Scepovic cup-tied, Olympiakos only have one registered frontman who is fully fit in 21-year-old Michael Olaitan.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

UEFA Champions League
6:00 PM - Zenit St Petersburg vs Borussia Dortmund
8:45 PM - Olympiakos vs Manchester United

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

UEFA Champions League
8:45 PM - Galatasaray vs Chelsea
8:45 PM - Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid

TOP EUROPEAN CLUB FOOTBALL RESULTS

English FA Cup
Hull City 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Charlton Athletic

Spanish Primera División
Espanyol 1-2 Villarreal

Italian Serie A
Parma 2-2 Fiorentina
Napoli 1-1 Genoa

ATLETICO MADRID SLUMP TO OSASUNA

Osasuna pulled off one of the shocks of the Primera Division season as they thrashed title-chasing Atletico Madrid 3-0 in Pamplona.
Atletico were much changed but still expected to cast Javi Gracia's men aside and draw level with city rivals Real Madrid - who they host next weekend - at the top of the table.
Instead they were three down inside a breathless opening half as they were stunned by goals from Alvaro Cejudo, Emiliano Armenteros and Roberto Torres.
All of the goals were preventable and while Atletico improved marginally after the break, a deserving Osasuna had already inflicted too much damage.
Coach Diego Simeone's decision to make five changes from the team that won 1-0 away to AC Milan in the Champions League in midweek therefore appeared to backfire, although he did still include top scorer Diego Costa alongside David Villa up front.
It was in defence, however, that Atletico were most obviously laboured and, after a fourth defeat in their past six games in all competitions, Simeone has work to do ahead of a Madrid derby next weekend that has now taken on even more importance for his side.
Atletico will go into the match three points behind Real, who end the weekend clear at the top after Barcelona also suffered a surprise defeat, 3-1 at Real Socieded on Saturday.
Both Barca and Real had already failed to win at Osasuna this season, despite Gracia's side sitting only just above the relegation places, and Atletico were quickly on course to join them.
Osasuna took just six minutes to forge ahead when Atletico's entire defence was fooled by a training-ground corner routine.
Cejudo was allowed to ghost into the area and volley home at the back-post completely unmarked after the away defence were drawn into marking the dummy runs that provided him with an embarrassing amount of space in behind them.
Atletico may have still been expected to recover, but were 2-0 down on 21 minutes thanks to a cracking Armenteros 25-yard drive that flew in off the post.
There was little Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could do about it although his defence were culpable after Armenteros latched onto a poor clearance before taking two touches and pulling the trigger.
Osasuna's dream opening 45 minutes was then complete just before the break when more ponderous defending allowed Torres to head Abella Damia's left-wing cross in at the near post.
The midfielder did not have to jump to get on the end of the delivery as the static Atletico defenders watched on.
The expected Atletico fightback never materialised after the break with Osasuna goalkeeper Andres hardly tested as he kept a memorable clean sheet.
Substitute Raul Garcia volleyed wide from an acute angle before forcing the goalkeeper to make a brave block at his feet, but otherwise Osasuna ably kept their more fancied rivals at bay to move up to 12th place and seven points clear of the bottom three.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 4-3 Swansea City
Newcastle United 1-0 Aston Villa
Norwich City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Spanish Primera División
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Sevilla FC
Real Betis 0-2 Athletic Bilbao
Valencia 2-1 Granada
Osasuna 3-0 Atletico Madrid

Italian Serie A
Livorno 2-3 Hellas Verona
Chievo Verona 2-0 Catania
Internazionale 1-1 Cagliari
Sampdoria 0-2 AC Milan
Udinese 1-1 Atalanta
Juventus 1-0 Torino
Lazio 3-2 Sassuolo

German Bundesliga
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 Werder Bremen
Hannover 96 0-4 Bayern Munich

French Ligue 1
Toulouse 2-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Nantes 0-3 Stade Rennes
Lille 0-0 Lyon

BAYERN MUNICH CONTINUES DOMINANCE IN BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich continued their dominance of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win at Hannover, opening up a 19-point lead at the summit.Thomas Muller scored twice with Thiago Alcantara and Mario Mandzukic also on target in yet another comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola's men.
Hannover started well and created plenty of chances to score, but Bayern showed a sublime level of efficiency to take maximum points for the 20th time in 22 matches, exceeding 60 goals for the season in the process.
Hannover's third defeat in a row practically ends any lingering hopes they had of qualifying for Europe next season and forces them instead to look over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
It did not look like it would be such a comfortable win for Bayern as Hannover took the game to them.
Artjoms Rudnevs could have given them the lead in the 15th minute when he took the ball around Tom Starke, making his first start of the season in the Bayern goal to give Manuel Neuer a rest, but the Bayern man recovered to block the Latvian's shot.
Ten minutes later, Bayern took the lead with their first real chance of the game, Rafinha finding room down the right and sending in a cross which was met by an unmarked Muller to head in at the near post.
Marcelo then gifted Bayern a second as he got caught in a duel with Mandzukic, forgetting about the play going on around him and allowing Bastian Schweinsteiger to lift a ball over the rest of the Hannover back line to Thiago, who was consequently not in an offside position and able to chest the ball down before beating Ron-Robert Zieler.
Hannover could have reduced the arrears early in the second half when Starke again raced off his line, this time to meet Szabolcs Huszti and again block the shot.Two minutes later, Muller made it 3-0.
David Alaba's cross was helped on its way by a neat backheel from Mandzukic, leaving Muller with only his Germany team-mate to beat.
Mandzukic then got in on the act himself, heading in Rafinha's deep cross from close range with Zieler beaten again.

YOBO'S NORWICH BEATS TOTTENHAM

Joseph Yobo's club Norwich City took Tottenham Hotspurs to the cleaners at the Carrow Road. Robert Snodgrass' cool finish earned Norwich City manager Chris Hughton yet another stay of execution at Carrow Road as Norwich tip-toed past Tottenham 1-0 in the Barclays Premier League.Glaswegian midfielder Snodgrass fired the Canaries to just their second win in 12 league clashes, with goalkeeper John Ruddy producing a string of first-class saves. Chief executive David McNally has admitted Norwich would be "delinquent'' not to keep eyes and ears open for a replacement for embattled boss Hughton. McNally's revelation raised rumours Neil Lennon could trade Celtic for Norwich, but this nervy victory may keep Hughton in post just that little bit longer.
A circumspect first half left the hosts the more frustrated with the deadlock at the break. Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer would have harboured most of the Canaries' annoyances all on his own, after missing the half's only clear-cut chance. Fer's chance was positively gilt-edged in fact, the 24-year-old failing to tuck away Martin Olsson's threatening cut-back.
Nathan Redmond sent Olsson in behind Kyle Naughton on Norwich's left flank, and his accurate cross begged for a finish from the penalty spot. The onrushing Fer could not quite arrive in the box quickly enough though, failing to capitalise on a completely static Tottenham defence.
Spurs struggled for rhythm and pace throughout the half, the visitors as much at fault for their midfield shortcomings as Norwich merited praise for continually hassling them off their stride. Joseph Yobo's hefty clearance handed Ricky van Wolfswinkel a chance to terrorise the poorly positioned Michael Dawson on the cusp of the Spurs box. Instead he dallied and was dispossessed with little more than a whimper.
So out of sorts and hesitant before the break, Van Wolfswinkel somehow managed to leave his meekness in the changing rooms. Straight from the second-half kick-off the Dutchman produced a telling contribution that sparked the counter-attack for the opening goal.
Sneaking up on Bentaleb, Van Wolfswinkel picked the green Spurs midfielder's pocket before releasing Bradley Johnson. Snodgrass immediately picked a smart diagonal run in behind the Tottenham defence and Johnson slid him the perfect ball.
Scotland international Snodgrass latched onto the pass, steadied himself and buried the ball past the helpless Lloris, making a mockery of Norwich's first-half profligacy and indecision. Van Wolfswinkel's goalless run since August is not over, but at least he found the wherewithal to produce a telling contribution.
The Norwich goal sparked an inevitable Spurs reaction, but Chadli wasted acres of space with a poor cross, before Rose spoiled a fine 50-metre break with a loose pass.
Adebayor then bustled past Canaries centre-backs Bassong and Yobo, muscling a fine opening.
But John Ruddy raced off his line to slide onto the ball and deny the Togo striker.
Lennon and Adebayor's one-two sent the rangy Spurs forward through on goal again, but once more Ruddy was equal to the challenge.
Spurs boss Sherwood threw Roberto Soldado into the mix, and the switch to a two-man strikeforce almost paid immediate dividend. Adebayor played Soldado through on the inside-right channel, but the Spaniard hit only side-netting. The former Valencia striker had another clear opening moments later, but headed Lennon's pinpoint cross wide of goal.
Chadli headed back across goal with no team-mate in attendance, then Adebayor could not direct the winger's cross to trouble Ruddy. Tottenham's increasing threat cranked up the tension, and Ruddy was forced to deny Chadli at point-blank range. Norwich were not to be denied though, and rallied once more in the closing 10 minutes.
Johnson struck the bar from a firecracker free-kick, before Lloris parried the follow-up from Redmond.
Gary Hooper raced clear and squared the ball across the empty net, but no yellow shirt could provide a finish.

STURRIDGE AND HENDERSON WINS IT FOR LIVERPOOL

Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge netted twice each as title outsiders Liverpool edged a seven-goal Anfield classic against Swansea.
Brendan Rodgers' side continue to be plagued by a porous defence but moved within four points of Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea after emerging victorious from one of the games of the season.
Henderson had the final word in his side's 4-3 success, forcing home from point-blank range in the 74th minute after his initial effort had been saved.
However, Rodgers' former team played their part with a stirring away performance capped by Jonjo Shelvey's first-time strike and a brace from Wilfried Bony.
The frenetic pace was set in just the third minute, when the hosts scored a wonderful opener on the break.
Raheem Sterling played creator when he robbed Angel Rangel inside his own half and executed an inch-perfect 30-yard pass for the advancing Sturridge.
Sterling's ball, bending into the striker's path off the outside of the boot, still required Sturridge to round Michel Vorm and he did so with aplomb before locating the open net.
Liverpool nearly caught Swansea off guard moments later when Sterling's curled effort was beaten away by Vorm at the near post.
The hosts doubled their lead against the run of play after 21 minutes.
Sturridge's flash of pace - breezing past Neil Taylor as he cut in from the right wing - created the space, but the finish was even better. Henderson, lurking on the edge of the area, controlled the ball with his left boot, eyed up the top corner and dispatched a precision finish with his right.Swansea's response was immediate and emphatic.
Just two minutes after conceding they created their own version of Liverpool's second, Nathan Dyer playing the Sturridge role as he drifted iside.
And Shelvey was on hand to match Henderson's finish, stroking the ball into top corner from a similar position.
There was no celebration against his former club and Anfield responded with a warm ovation.
The goals kept coming, with the visitors making it four in the 27th minute and Martin Skrtel unfortunate on two counts.
The Slovakian was harshly adjudged to have fouled Shelvey for the initial free-kick and, when Jonathan De Guzman's delivery was headed on by Bony, the ball deflected past Simon Mignolet via Skrtel's shoulder.
Swansea had the momentum, but once more the Reds proved lethal in the final third as they reclaimed the lead after 36 minutes.
A patient build-up stretched Swansea and when Luis Suarez floated a cross for Sturridge, he rose between Ashley Williams and Wayne Routledge to nod home his 20th goal of the season.
There was no further scoring before the break, though did Luis Suarez see an an audacious strike from 45 yards drift a couple of yards wide with Vorm back-tracking.
Less than three minutes of the second half had passed when Swansea equalised for the second time, Skrtel again cursing his luck as he conceded a questionable penalty as he tangled with Bony.He was at least spared a second yellow card but Bony made no mistake from the spot.
Attack continued to dominate defence with Suarez denied at the near post after a flowing move, and De Guzman twice going close at the other end.Referee Mike Jones had decisions to make too, Mignolet close to handling outside the area and Suarez calling unsuccessfully for a penalty following a collision with Jose Canas.
A seventh goal seemed inevitable and Liverpool grabbed it with 16 minutes remaining.Steven Gerrard produced a wonderful 40-yard pass to Suarez, who controlled on his chest and saw his shot blocked by Williams.
Henderson fired the loose ball at Vorm, who saved smartly but allowed it to squirm out of his grasp as the England midfielder followed up to finish the job from a yard. The two goals he bagged meant the England midfielder doubled his season's tally in a day.
Swansea threatened to equalise for a third time in the closing stages, but the Reds went even closer as Gerrard's deflected effort crashed off the post.

AC MILAN GRABS AWAY WIN AS JUVENTUS MAINTAINS TOP SPOT

AC Milan bounced back from their Champions League setback with a 1-0 victory at Sampdoria on Sunday afternoon. The Rossoneri, who were beaten 1-0 at home by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 clash on Tuesday, took a 12th-minute lead against Samp through Adel Taarabt.
Adil Rami made it 2-0 before the hour mark. The hosts shot themselves in the foot when former AC Milan striker Maxi Lopez was sent off 18 minutes from time for a second yellow card, both bookings for dissent. Lopez had only come into the match in the 56th minute.
Meanwhile, Table-toppers Juventus kept their nine point lead over Roma after a 1-0 win over Torino thanks to a first half goal from Carlos Tevez.
Rolando's third goal of the season salvaged a 1-1 draw with Cagliari on Sunday to keep Inter Milan in fifth place.
Mauricio Pinilla's penalty gave Cagliari a half-time lead but Inter equalised early in the second period, defender Rolando credited with the goal. The result leaves fifth-placed Inter 10 points adrift of the top three, while Cagliari are five clear of the relegation zone in 15th.
Chievo halted a 10-match winless run with a 2-0 triumph over Catania.
Cyril Thereau converted from the penalty spot in the 37th minute to put the hosts on their way.
Luca Rigoni secured all three points by scoring his team's second in the 68th minute. Chievo tasted victory for the first time since December 8 while Catania had their four-match unbeaten run came to an end. A second-half fightback from relegation-battling Livorno fell short as Hellas Verona hung on for a 3-2 win in Tuscany.
Three goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half from Bosko Jakovic, Romulo and Luca Toni put the visitors firmly in control, 3-0 up at half-time, but Livorno made a fight of it as Paulo Betanin and Leandro Greco scored two in the space of two minutes with less than 20 minutes to go.
The win keeps Verona firmly in the hunt for European football, but does nothing to help Livorno's bid to get out of trouble at the wrong end of the Serie A standings.
Udinese captain Antonio Di Natale's second-half equaliser denied Atalanta their first win on the road since Oct. 5, for a 1-1 draw.
The Bergamaschi looked to be heading for a long overdue win when Davide Brivio gave them a 24th-minute lead at the Friuli stadium. However, Di Natale earned and converted a penalty 19 minutes from time to earn his side a share of the spoils.
The outcome in Udine lifted Atalanta to 14th place, level on 28 points with Udinese, who are 12th. Both sides are eight points clear of the relegation zone.

EURO 2016 QUALIFIERS UPDATE

The Three Lions of England have been handed a favourable draw in their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 and will face San Marino, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia and Switzerland in Group E following proceedings in Nice.
England manager Roy Hodgson said he was happy to face Switzerland, whom he led to the 1994 World Cup and through the qualifying for Euro 96."I'm very satisfied, in particular for the fans. We've had some quite tough trips to get to in recent years, but there's some good places to visit," Hodgson said. "The name Switzerland always brings a smile to my face because they were four fantastic years (as national team coach)."Scotland have arguably the toughest draw and will face Republic of Ireland, Germany, Poland, Gibraltar and Georgia in Group D."The matches against Scotland will be great occasions," Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill said. "It looks like a group, Germany apart, where teams might take points off each other."Wales play host to Belgium, as well as Bosnia, Andorra, Cyprus and Israel in Group B."I'm happy, positive," Wales coach Chris Coleman said. "We managed to get a point in Belgium (in World Cup qualifying) and were unlucky at home."Northern Ireland have been drawn in Group F alongside Greece, Faroe Islands, Finland, Romania and Hungary.Gibraltar, who will contest their first qualifying campaign after being accepted as a UEFA member in 2013, were originally drawn into Group C, but had to be moved to Group D as they could not be drawn to face Spain due to political tensions.
Defending champions Spain will play Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Slovakia, Ukraine in Group C."It's not as easy a group as it might appear to some. We are facing emerging teams who are young and strong," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "The cold conditions could play a role in the group because many of the trips will be to teams from the east."The top two teams from each group will qualify automatically alongside the best third-placed finisher. The remaining eight teams who finish third in their respective groups will go into the play-offs, scheduled to take place in November 2015.
Despite hosting the tournament, France will take part in qualifying -- the first host nation to do so since UEFA's rule change. However, no points will rest on their qualifying fixtures and they will take part in the finals whatever the outcome of their group games.

Below is the outcome of the EURO 2016 Draw:

GROUP A
Netherlands
Kazakhstan
Iceland
Latvia
Turkey
Czech Republic 

GROUP B
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Andorra
Cyprus
Wales
Israel
Belgium 

GROUP C
Spain
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Belarus
Slovakia
Ukraine 

GROUP D
Germany
Gibraltar
Georgia
Scotland
Poland
Republic of Ireland

GROUP E
England
San Marino
Lithuania
Estonia
Slovenia
Switzerland 

GROUP F
Greece
Faroe Islands
Northern Ireland
Finland
Romania
Hungary 

GROUP G
Russia
Lichtenstein
Moldova
Montenegro
Austria
Sweden 

GROUP H
Italy
Malta
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
NorwayCroatia 

GROUP I
Portugal
Albania
Armenia
Serbia
Denmark
France 

Below is the Qualifying match dates:

Sept. 7-9, 2014
Oct. 9-11, 2014
Oct. 12-14, 2014
Nov. 14-16, 2014
March 27-29, 2015
June 12-14, 2015
Sept. 3-5, 2015
Sept. 6-8, 2015
Oct. 8-10, 2015
Oct. 11-13, 2015

IBRAHIMOVIC'S HAT-TRICK RESTORES PSG'S FIVE POINT LEAD

Swedish International Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his second Ligue 1 hat-trick of the season as Paris Saint Germain restored their five-point lead at the top of the table with a 4-2 win away to Toulouse.
The pressure was on for the visitors after Monaco won on Friday night to cut PSG's lead to two points but, largely thanks to their talismanic striker, Laurent Blanc's team refused to fold.
His treble and a solitary strike from Ezequiel Lavezzi was enough to claim all three points, although Toulouse played their part with Wissam Ben Yedder finding the net either side of half-time to make it a less than straightforward afternoon for the Parisians.
Le Tefece impressed early on and Salvatore Sirigu was the first goalkeeper called into action when Daniel Braithwaite's curling effort threatened before Serge Aurier fired against the post just a few minutes later.
However, despite their early dominance, Toulouse found themselves a goal down just after the half-hour mark when Uros Spajic brought down Lavezzi inside the area and referee Nicolas Rainville pointed at the spot.
Man of the moment Ibrahimovic took charge and, for the sixth time this season in Ligue 1, the Sweden captain scored from 12 yards.
PSG almost doubled their lead before the break when Ibrahimovic crossed for Thiago Silva but the Brazilian somehow put the ball wide and seconds later the hosts were made to pay in stunning fashion.
Toulouse's Etienne Didot made space on the right before delivering a perfect cross for Ben Yedder at the far post and he dispatched a superb first-time volley beyond a motionless Sirigu.
The second half began much like the first, with Toulouse frustrating the visitors, but it was not long before PSG's quality shone through when Lavezzi fired them back into the lead.
Ibrahimovic was heavily involved again and, despite Blaise Matuidi miscontrolling his pass, the ball fell to the former Napoli man who made no mistake with a clinical finish from inside the area.
Boosted by that goal, PSG began to find their rhythm and Ibrahimovic went close with a rocket of a shot which Zacharie Boucher clawed out of the top corner - but it was not long before PSG's number 10 was celebrating again.
Substitute Yohan Cabaye took charge of a free-kick and his delivery was pin-point for Ibrahimovic, who brilliantly headed beyond Boucher to give his side a two-goal cushion.
Toulouse did hit back when Ben Yedder benefited from a Thiago Motta deflection to beat Sirigu for a second time in the game, despite being in an offside position, but Ibrahimovic made sure of all three points in the 88th minute.
Issiaga Sylla handled inside the area and Ibrahimovic saw his cheeky 'Panenka' attempt saved by Boucher but, after the keeper failed to hold onto the ball, the Sweden captain poked home the rebound.

REAL MADRID GOES TOP OF THE SPANISH LA LIGA

Gareth Bale scored an outstanding long-range goal as Real Madrid beat Elche 3-0 at the Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon to go top of the Primera Division standings.
The world's most expensive player added to Asier Illaramendi's first-half opener with a stunning strike on 71 minutes, and then substitute Isco hit a third with 10 minutes remaining.
Although Madrid never hit top gear, they pulled off their 10th home win of the season to keep the pressure on title rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
In the absence of the suspended Luka Modric, Madrid struggled to control the game in the opening half an hour, their only chances being a blocked effort by Bale, a wayward shot from Angel Di Maria and a miscued effort from Jese, who failed to hit the target after a cutback from Di Maria.With neither of Madrid's forwards enjoying their finest afternoon, it was left to the man who had been called in to deputise for Modric to get the opener.
Illaramendi controlled a corner with his chest and then fired a low shot into the bottom corner of Manu Herrera's net, to score his first goal for for Real Madrid with what was his first shot in the league this season.
The goal settled Madrid, and Karim Benzema could have got the second before the break, his low shot saved by Elche goalkeeper Manu Herrera.
The visitors had put on a respectable display in the first half but only managed two shots on target throughout the game, and wilted once they went behind.
Herrera almost landed his team in huge trouble when he took the ball round Benzema in his own area and played a hurried pass to Alberto Botia, who was dispossessed by Jese before fouling the Real Madrid forward, but only being shown a yellow card.
Madrid's second goal was certainly worth waiting a little longer for.
Bale had struggled to get involved in the game and had a frustrating first half, giving the ball away on numerous occasions, but soon made amends - picking the ball up around 35 yards out and blasting high into the net to score his 10th league goal for Los Blancos.
Isco replaced the off-colour Jese shortly after Bale's screamer and almost provided the third goal for Dani Carvajal, who completely missed the midfielder's low cut-back from a couple of yards, the ball instead rolling across the goalmouth.
So the former Malaga man took care of the final goal himself, controlling a pass from Benzema then racing between two defenders to knock the ball in at the near post.
And the Bernabeu faithful fully appreciated the youngster's first goal of 2014, greeting the finish by chanting his name loudly.

BARCELONA LOSE TOP SPOT AFTER LOSE TO REAL SOCIEDAD

Barcelona lost the chance to maintain top spot in the Spanish la liga when they endured another miserable trip to the Anoeta on Saturday as Real Sociedad produced a brilliant team display to beat the under-par Catalan giants 3-1.
The Basque outfit, who defeated Barcelona 3-2 in the corresponding fixture last term, went ahead in the 32nd minute when Gorka Elustondo's header found the net via the shoulder of visiting defender Alex Song.Lionel Messi equalised four minutes later with a typically clinical finish, but further home goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half - scored by Antoine Griezmann and David Zurutuza - ensured the Primera Division champions left San Sebastian empty-handed for the third time in four seasons.
Barcelona headed into the game buoyed by their midweek 2-0 Champions League win at Manchester City, but having fallen three points behind arch rivals Real Madrid at the summit following the capital club's 3-0 victory over Elche earlier in the day.
Pedro Rodriguez passed up their only notable chance of the first half-hour, firing wide after a slick one-two with Andres Iniesta in the 19th minute, while Carlos Vela was unable to capitalise when presented with the best of the early opportunities for the hosts.
The opening goal arrived in the 32nd minute, though, when the champions were caught out by a short corner.
Sergio Canales produced a fine first-time cross towards Elustondo, who nodded home via a deflection off Song.
The lead lasted only four minutes, though, before Messi equalised.
The Argentina forward had been on the periphery of proceedings until that point, but popped up to coolly despatch a low shot into the bottom right corner following neat interplay with Sergio Busquets. Tellingly it was Barcelona's only shot on target in the first half.
Sociedad should have gone in at the break ahead, but Vela blazed over the bar after being presented with an opening by some sloppy defending from Gerard Pique in the 40th minute.
Jagoba Arrasate's side did restore their lead early in the second half, however.
The visitors were given a warning on 52 minutes when Mikel Gonzalez headed a Canales free-kick narrowly over when well placed, and two minutes later Sociedad were 2-1 up.
A long punt downfield by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was met by the head of Barcelona defender Marc Bartra, but he only managed to flick the ball on to Vela, whose early square ball for Griezmann caught Barcelona cold. The Frenchman still had work to do but, on the slide, he made the perfect connection to lash high past Victor Valdes.
And, before Gerardo Martino's side could regroup, they found themselves two goals down.
Griezmann was again involved, supplying the perfect cross in for Zurutuza, who had breezed into the Barcelona box unnoticed and got his left foot to the ball to poke home ahead of the out-rushing Valdes.
Sociedad could and should have extended their lead in the 81st minute when substitute Xabi Prieto pounced on more hesitant play by Pique and unselfishly teed up Vela, but his low shot rebounded off the post.

HAMBURG HUMILIATES BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Mirko Slomka celebrated an ideal start to life as coach of Hamburg with a 3-0 Bundesliga win over Borussia Dortmundon Saturday.
Slomka has only been in charge for five days, but it was evident he had done something to alter the mental state of his players. Rather than being the nervous side seen over the past month, they exuded confidence from the very first kick.
Petr Jiracek headed the hosts in front just before half-time with Pierre-Michel Lasogga adding a second for a side which had lost their last eight games in all competitions before Slomka replaced Bert van Marwijk this week.
Dortmund seemed distracted by their upcoming Champions League clash with Zenit St Petersburg as they showed little resistance at the Imtech Arena, and they conceded a third when Hakan Calhanoglu scored with a free-kick from over 40 yards out in added time.
Hoffenheim recovered from two goals down to leave Borussia Monchengladbach still waiting for their first win of 2014 after a 2-2 draw at the Borussia Park Stadion.
The Foals looked to be heading for that elusive victory as goals from Patrick Herrmann and Tony Jantschke gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Roberto Firmino and a Sejad Salihovic penalty denied them, however, as struggling Hoffenheim picked up a precious point away from home.
Stuttgart slipped closer to the Bundesliga relegation zone after losing a sixth game in a row, Hertha Berlin taking the spoils 2-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Levan Kobiashvili gave Jos Luhukay's men the lead in the fifth minute before Arthur Boka levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Sandro Wagner clinched victory for the capital club in the 87th minute before picking up a red card, the only blot on the day for Hertha in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Freiburg threw away a 2-1 lead with just over 10 minutes to go to lose 4-2 at home to Augsburg and see their relegation worries deepen.
Tobias Werner gave Augsburg the lead early on, but Jonathan Schmid and Admir Mehmedi turned things around to put Christian Streich's men on course for a much-needed win.
They failed to go the distance, though, with Paul Verhaegh, Halil Altintop and Andre Hahn all scoring inside the last 12 minutes to earn Augsburg all three points and take them to within a point of the top six.
Rafael Schafer saved two penalties as Nurnberg came from behind to beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 with 10 men, missing a spot kick of their own in a dramatic battle at the Frankenstadion.
Per Nilsson was given his marching orders minutes before Dominik Kumbela put Braunschweig ahead.Kumbela was then denied a second from the spot by Schafer before two goals in as many minutes at the start of the second half from Hiroshi Kiyotake and Tomas Pekhart turned the game on its head.
Ermin Bicakcic was next to be denied by Schafer before Kiyotake returned the favour by missing a penalty at the other end, but Nurnberg held on to their fourth win in five games in 2014.

HAMBURG HUMILIATES BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Mirko Slomka celebrated an ideal start to life as coach of Hamburg with a 3-0 Bundesliga win over Borussia Dortmundon Saturday.
Slomka has only been in charge for five days, but it was evident he had done something to alter the mental state of his players. Rather than being the nervous side seen over the past month, they exuded confidence from the very first kick.
Petr Jiracek headed the hosts in front just before half-time with Pierre-Michel Lasogga adding a second for a side which had lost their last eight games in all competitions before Slomka replaced Bert van Marwijk this week.
Dortmund seemed distracted by their upcoming Champions League clash with Zenit St Petersburg as they showed little resistance at the Imtech Arena, and they conceded a third when Hakan Calhanoglu scored with a free-kick from over 40 yards out in added time.
Hoffenheim recovered from two goals down to leave Borussia Monchengladbach still waiting for their first win of 2014 after a 2-2 draw at the Borussia Park Stadion.
The Foals looked to be heading for that elusive victory as goals from Patrick Herrmann and Tony Jantschke gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Roberto Firmino and a Sejad Salihovic penalty denied them, however, as struggling Hoffenheim picked up a precious point away from home.
Stuttgart slipped closer to the Bundesliga relegation zone after losing a sixth game in a row, Hertha Berlin taking the spoils 2-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Levan Kobiashvili gave Jos Luhukay's men the lead in the fifth minute before Arthur Boka levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Sandro Wagner clinched victory for the capital club in the 87th minute before picking up a red card, the only blot on the day for Hertha in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Freiburg threw away a 2-1 lead with just over 10 minutes to go to lose 4-2 at home to Augsburg and see their relegation worries deepen.
Tobias Werner gave Augsburg the lead early on, but Jonathan Schmid and Admir Mehmedi turned things around to put Christian Streich's men on course for a much-needed win.
They failed to go the distance, though, with Paul Verhaegh, Halil Altintop and Andre Hahn all scoring inside the last 12 minutes to earn Augsburg all three points and take them to within a point of the top six.
Rafael Schafer saved two penalties as Nurnberg came from behind to beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 with 10 men, missing a spot kick of their own in a dramatic battle at the Frankenstadion.
Per Nilsson was given his marching orders minutes before Dominik Kumbela put Braunschweig ahead.Kumbela was then denied a second from the spot by Schafer before two goals in as many minutes at the start of the second half from Hiroshi Kiyotake and Tomas Pekhart turned the game on its head.
Ermin Bicakcic was next to be denied by Schafer before Kiyotake returned the favour by missing a penalty at the other end, but Nurnberg held on to their fourth win in five games in 2014.

HAMBURG HUMILIATES BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Mirko Slomka celebrated an ideal start to life as coach of Hamburg with a 3-0 Bundesliga win over Borussia Dortmundon Saturday.
Slomka has only been in charge for five days, but it was evident he had done something to alter the mental state of his players. Rather than being the nervous side seen over the past month, they exuded confidence from the very first kick.
Petr Jiracek headed the hosts in front just before half-time with Pierre-Michel Lasogga adding a second for a side which had lost their last eight games in all competitions before Slomka replaced Bert van Marwijk this week.
Dortmund seemed distracted by their upcoming Champions League clash with Zenit St Petersburg as they showed little resistance at the Imtech Arena, and they conceded a third when Hakan Calhanoglu scored with a free-kick from over 40 yards out in added time.
Hoffenheim recovered from two goals down to leave Borussia Monchengladbach still waiting for their first win of 2014 after a 2-2 draw at the Borussia Park Stadion.
The Foals looked to be heading for that elusive victory as goals from Patrick Herrmann and Tony Jantschke gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Roberto Firmino and a Sejad Salihovic penalty denied them, however, as struggling Hoffenheim picked up a precious point away from home.
Stuttgart slipped closer to the Bundesliga relegation zone after losing a sixth game in a row, Hertha Berlin taking the spoils 2-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Levan Kobiashvili gave Jos Luhukay's men the lead in the fifth minute before Arthur Boka levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Sandro Wagner clinched victory for the capital club in the 87th minute before picking up a red card, the only blot on the day for Hertha in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Freiburg threw away a 2-1 lead with just over 10 minutes to go to lose 4-2 at home to Augsburg and see their relegation worries deepen.
Tobias Werner gave Augsburg the lead early on, but Jonathan Schmid and Admir Mehmedi turned things around to put Christian Streich's men on course for a much-needed win.
They failed to go the distance, though, with Paul Verhaegh, Halil Altintop and Andre Hahn all scoring inside the last 12 minutes to earn Augsburg all three points and take them to within a point of the top six.
Rafael Schafer saved two penalties as Nurnberg came from behind to beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 with 10 men, missing a spot kick of their own in a dramatic battle at the Frankenstadion.
Per Nilsson was given his marching orders minutes before Dominik Kumbela put Braunschweig ahead.Kumbela was then denied a second from the spot by Schafer before two goals in as many minutes at the start of the second half from Hiroshi Kiyotake and Tomas Pekhart turned the game on its head.
Ermin Bicakcic was next to be denied by Schafer before Kiyotake returned the favour by missing a penalty at the other end, but Nurnberg held on to their fourth win in five games in 2014.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
Chelsea 1-0 Everton
Arsenal 4-1 Sunderland
Cardiff City 0-4 Hull City
Manchester City 1-0 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Fulham
West Ham United 3-1 Southampton
Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United

Spanish Primera División
Real Madrid 3-0 Elche
Celta Vigo 1-1 Getafe
Real Sociedad 3-1 Barcelona
Almeria 0-0 Malaga

Italian Serie A
Bologna 0-1 AS Roma

German Bundesliga
Borussia Monchengladbach 2-2 TSG Hoffenheim
Hamburg SV 3-0 Borussia Dortmund
Nurnberg 2-1 TSV Eintracht Braunschweig
SC Freiburg 2-4 FC Augsburg
VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Hertha Berlin
VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

French Ligue 1
Marseille 1-0 Lorient
Bastia 0-2 St Etienne
Bordeaux 2-1 Evian Thonon Gaillard
Guingamp 1-0 Nice
Montpellier 2-0 AC Ajaccio
Valenciennes 2-2 Sochaux

MAN UNITED TRAMPLES OVER CRYSTAL PALACE

Wayne Rooney added the gloss to his new contract with a well-taken goal in Manchester United's hard-fought Barclays Premier League victory at Crystal Palace.
The England forward signed a fresh B£300,000-a-week deal on Friday and, after being on the periphery for much of the game, thrashed in United's second as they recorded a 2-0 win over the Eagles to move sixth in the table.
Rooney had not scored since another sweetly-hit strike in the 3-2 comeback victory over Hull on Boxing Day but he pounced six minutes after a Robin van Persie penalty to secure the points for the champions.
Manager David Moyes yet again saw his side labour in an attempt to create chances, with the attacking quartet of Van Persie, Rooney, Juan Mata and Adnan Janujaz not yielding the expected results.
Rooney saw a first-half effort cleared off the line but Palace were in the ascendancy before Marouane Chamakh's clumsy challenge on Patrice Evra on 62 minutes let United in the back door as Van Persie scored his fourth goal in five games.
Striker Glenn Murray made his first Palace start in over nine months and almost had a dream return but he could not turn home a deep cross in the second minute as Chris Smalling applied pressure at the back post.
United's first effort on goal came courtesy of Janujaz, who exchanged passes with Van Persie before firing in a shot that drifted harmlessly wide of Julian Speroni's post.
The ever-lively Janujaz had the ball in the back of the net on 17 minutes as he arrowed home a Van Persie pass but the effort was rightly struck off by referee Michael Oliver after the teenager had controlled the ball with his arm.
United were gradually starting to box Palace in without really creating any clear-cut chances to break the deadlock but it was Rooney who came close to changing that.
The 28-year-old was held up taking a corner as a Palace fan threw a coin in his direction but, after the initial delivery found its way back to his feet, Rooney clipped the ball towards goal only to see Damien Delaney head off from under his own crossbar, with Nemanja Vidic nodding the follow-up over.
Moments later it was Palace who came close for the first time as Jonathan Parr's header took a deflection off Smalling and forced David De Gea into his first save of the game.
Chamakh was the next to force De Gea into action but the former Arsenal man could only give the United goalkeeper a simple save after heading Thomas Ince's cross into the ground.
The first half then reverted back to type as the visitors bossed possession without coming close to bringing the best out of Speroni, a Rooney effort straight at the Argentinian the only save he had to make before the break.That should not have been the case, however, as Fellaini was guilty of a poor miss, bending a left-footed shot wide after originally linking up well with Van Persie.
Rooney sent a free-kick wide in first-half stoppage time but Moyes would have been left frustrated once again at the interval as his side showed a lack of cutting edge in the final third.
Palace started the second half with a string of corners as they looked to make their visitors pay for their lack of first-half spark.
A chance finally materialised for Ince but he could only fire a difficult volley high over the crossbar before Jason Puncheon shot straight at De Gea moments later.
United were then given a simple way into a largely undeserved lead as Chamakh was guilty of a mis-judged challenge on Evra just inside the Palace box, with Oliver pointing to the spot and Van Persie sending Speroni the wrong way from the resulting penalty.
The goal seemed to rouse United from their slumber as Rooney and Mata exchanged passes before picking out Fellaini, whose low effort was well held by Speroni.
De Gea was also called upon shortly afterwards as Cameron Jerome, introduced moments before in place of Murray, curled a great effort towards goal which the Spaniard did well to push away.
United's second again came courtesy of Evra, who skipped down the left flank before crossing low to a free Rooney who drove a crashing shot into the back of the net.
Palace seemed to lose their defensive rigidity after conceding twice in six minutes and it almost got worse as Janujaz rolled in Van Persie, whose shot across Speroni came back off the crossbar.The Eagles fought to the last to grab a consolation but slipped to just their second home defeat since Tony Pulis was appointed in November.