JUVENTUS SUFFER SECOND DEFEAT IN SERIE A

Napoli dealt Serie A rivals Juventus their second defeat of the season to revive a humdrum title race.
The Bianconeri were unbeaten in 22 league games and cruising heading into Sunday night's game at the Stadio San Paolo but goals from Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens gave Napoli the 2-0 victory.
Rafael Benitez's men may be a distant 17 points off the championship pace, yet Roma have a game in hand and could cut Juve's lead to only eight points by beating Parma on Wednesday.
The leaders will have 18-goal striker Carlos Tevez - suspended in Naples, leaving Juve rather toothless in attack - back for the run-in and ought to clinch enough wins from seven games to claim their third straight Scudetto.
Resounding jeers meant the hotly-anticipated match was finally under way and that Juve were on the ball, but Napoli would control the early stages.
A confident save from Gianluigi Buffon denied Callejon from close range in the sixth minute and, 60 seconds later, Marek Hamsik found the back of the net but was offside.
Buffon then made himself big to push Hamsik's first-time drive over the bar before Kwadwo Asamoah headed Faouzi Ghoulam's cross-cum-shot away from the far corner.
Juve finally rallied and tested home goalkeeper Jose Reina with a sighter from Stephan Lichtsteiner in the 26th minute.
Callejon bore down on Buffon once again and, eight minutes after watching the veteran stopper snaffle his attempted conversion on Lorenzo Insigne's cross, he broke Juve's creaking resolve.Insigne again supplied the pass, which took a fateful deflection before Callejon ghosted in behind Asamoah to guide the ball beyond Buffon.
Dani Osvaldo's response to the setback was certainly ambitious - the Southampton loanee's acrobatic overhead kick flew into the stands.
Juve centre-back Giorgio Chiellini was lucky to avoid conceding a penalty just before the break when Gonzalo Higuain tumbled under his attentions on the by-line.
The visitors switched to a 4-3-3 formation shortly after the restart and soon began to enjoy more time on the ball in the final third.
Half-time substitute Mauricio Isla, on for Asamoah, beat the offside trap to cross low into the box, where Reina smothered, before Lichtsteiner sent the Spanish stopper sprawling to cover his effort.But Napoli pushed back with confidence and soon got Buffon working again with a free-kick from Ghoulam that stung the Italy keeper's fingertips.
Andrea Pirlo's free-kicks have saved Juve in two recent matches but his latest attempt sailed harmlessly over the crossbar as an increasingly frustrated Antonio Conte prowled the touchline.
Osvaldo was unhappy, too, when his coach withdrew him for Mirko Vucinic, who almost made an instant impact when blasting wide of goal on the turn.Napoli had waited patiently for Juve to run out of puff and broke forward again in the 78th minute.
Hamsik collected the ball from the left wing but, instead of beating Buffon with power, scuffed a weak shot against his legs.
It was the Slovakian's last contribution and his replacement Mertens would not make the same mistake.
The Belgian shielded the ball from Claudio Marchisio and promptly drilled a crisp strike into the top corner to confirm the visitors' fate.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
Fulham 1-3 Everton
Liverpool 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Spanish Primera División
Real Valladolid 1-0 Almeria
Osasuna 1-1 Real Sociedad
Villarreal 1-1 Elche
Valencia 1-3 Getafe

Italian Serie A
Sassuolo 0-2 AS Roma
Hellas Verona 3-0 Genoa
Lazio 3-2 Parma
Sampdoria 0-0 Fiorentina
Torino 2-1 Cagliari
Napoli 2-0 Juventus

German Bundesliga
Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Hamburg SV
Hannover 96 1-2 Werder Bremen

French Ligue 1
Stade Rennes 3-0 Bastia
Lille 1-0 Guingamp
Lyon 1-2 St Etienne

LIVERPOOL GOES TOP OF THE EPL

Luis Suarez wrote his name into the Anfield history books with his 29th goal of the season as Liverpool moved top of the Premier League with a 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool had led inside 90 seconds when Younes Kaboul mistimed his clearance and the ball trickled over the line for an own goal.
Then, in the 25th minute, Suarez then took full advantage of a Michael Dawson error -- the Spurs' defender's first touch after coming on the injured Jan Vertonghen -- before firing a left-footed shot past Hugo Lloris as he surpassed Robbie Fowler's record of 28 goals in a single season for the Reds.
The Uruguayan almost made it three shortly before the break, but his close-range header from Raheem Sterling's cross was tipped brilliantly onto the underside of the bar by Lloris.
Spurs offered little in the way of a comeback in the second half and any hope was buried in the 55th minute when Philippe Coutinho drilled in a low shot from 25 yards.
Jordan Henderson provided the icing on the cake 15 minutes from time when his free kick found its way through a cluster of players and into the net.As has been so often the case this season, especially at home, Liverpool's start was explosive.
Just 100 seconds had elapsed from kick-off when they went ahead with a slick move which ended with Younes Kaboul putting into his own net.
Philippe Coutinho sprayed the ball out to Raheem Sterling, back in the starting line-up for the first time in three matches, and overlapping full-back Glen Johnson drilled in a cross from which, had Kaboul not done the honours, Daniel Sturridge would have cleaned up from close range.
Anfield, already at a heightened state of fervour, exploded in a wave of noise which continued to reverberate around the ground as Liverpool regularly attacked with vigour.
Luis Suarez, after two crosses from either flanks which first saw the ball sail marginally over the head of the waiting Sturridge and then drilled narrowly wide by Coutinho's volley, whipped a 25-yard free-kick over before producing a sublime strike for his 29th of the season.
Michael Dawson, only just on the pitch as a replacement for the injured Jan Vertonghen, tried to turn Steven Gerrard's clearance into the patch of fellow centre-back Kaboul only for Suarez to nip in, skip past the defender and drill an angled shot across Hugo Lloris and inside the far post - into the only spot the goalkeeper could be beaten.
In doing so, he eclipsed Robbie Fowler's record of goals in a Premier League season with the promise of plenty more to come before the end of the campaign.
Tottenham saw so little of the ball their chances were sporadic at best, and, when Christian Eriksen did find space in the area, Martin Skrtel threw his body in the way and Gylfi Sigurdsson's follow-up header was saved by Simon Mignolet.
Free-kicks came and went as Sturridge, after a 50-yard run ended with Kaboul being booked, curled over and Suarez, still on set-piece duty despite Gerrard's effort in the midweek win over Sunderland, whipped a vicious effort just wide.
The Uruguayan's best chance of doubling his tally, however, came just moments before. Kaboul's day continued its downward spiral when he was robbed by Sterling, who crossed to the back post, where Suarez's header was clawed onto the crossbar by Lloris and hooked clear by Nabil Bentaleb.
Any chance Spurs had of rescuing the situation had to come from the next goal, but they were not given the remotest chance as, after Jordan Henderson ballooned over a cut-back from Sterling - who himself had only Lloris to beat - Coutinho made the result safe.Young left-back Jon Flanagan's dummy of England international Aaron Lennon typified the confidence flowing through the side but, when he offloaded to Coutinho in midfield, there was still plenty to do.
Despite the Brazilian playmaker advancing, Spurs saw fit to stand off and Coutinho made them pay with a low shot from 25 yards which easily beat Lloris for just his fourth goal of the season.
The large travelling support were suitably disgruntled, chanting "Where is our manager?'' at Tim Sherwood.
He was actually sat in the directors' box throughout - two rows behind chairman Daniel Levy, who this week reportedly held talks with Holland coach Louis van Gaal. The pair left without exchanging words.

EVERTON GETTING CLOSER FOR TOP FOUR

Everton continued to snap at the heels of the Premier League top four after plundering three second-half goals at Craven Cottage that nudged Fulham closer to relegation.
Having seen Fulham dominate the first 45 minutes, the Champions League-chasing Toffees responded with strikes from substitutes Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith and an own goal by David Stockdale.
It was Stockdale's unfortunate 50th-minute error that enabled Roberto Martinez's men to open the scoring, and although Fulham rallied with an outstanding strike from Ashkan Dejagah, they were quickly overwhelmed.
Only four points separate Everton from fourth-placed Arsenal -- the rivals meet at Goodison next Sunday -- with the Toffees also benefiting from having a game in hand.
The result leaves Fulham rooted to the foot of the table, five points adrift of safety and with just six games to secure a 14th successive season in the top flight.
That prospect appears bleak, even though Norwich, Hull and Crystal Palace are due to visit Craven Cottage over the coming weeks.
Despite the spirit on display against Everton, who were unchanged following their 3-0 victory at Newcastle, it surely leaves manager Felix Magath facing an impossible mission.
Magath took the gamble of starting 17-year-old French striker Moussa Dembele and the teenager showed enough promise to suggest he was worthy of the German's faith.
Dembele was little more than a spectator as Fulham made a lively start, Everton clearing a dangerous ball from John Arne Riise before Brede Hangeland sent a looping header narrowly wide.
A glimpse of the ability that convinced Magath to start Dembele was evident in the 22nd minute when the French teenager raced clear and supplied a perfect pass to Kieran Richardson.
The vision he showed deserved a better outcome than Richardson's weak shot that meant the best move of the half went unrewarded.
A rare moment of panic in Fulham's defence came when Gerard Deulofeu crossed but the ball sped to safety with no Everton player able to reach it in time.
The final chance of the first half arrived just seconds before the interval, but Dembele was unable to convert Lewis Holtby's delicate chip.
Fulham were left to rue the missed opportunity as just five minutes into the second half Everton edged ahead with a large slice of luck forcing the opener.
A corner reached Naismith, who had replaced the injured Ross Barkley at half-time, and he drilled a low shot towards goal from the edge of the penalty area.
The ball struck Fulham defender William Kvist before being diverted into the net by the blameless Stockdale, who had been deceived by its sudden change in direction.
Everton went within a whisker of extending the lead when Romelu Lukaku narrowly missed Leighton Baines' cross.
Just as Fulham looked in danger of being swamped, they responded with Dejagah's superbly taken goal that saw the Iranian cut inside two defenders from the left flank and beat Tim Howard at the near post with a powerful 20-yard effort.
Inspired by Dejagah's brilliant intervention, the Cottagers pressed for a second goal with Johnny Heitinga and Pajtim Kasami denied by successive saves from Howard.
Instead, the next goal came from Everton with Howard pumping the ball upfield to Aiden McGeady who released Mirallas with a precise pass.
There was still plenty of work for Mirallas to do, with the Belgium winger holding off Hangeland and planting the ball into the bottom left corner.
Fulham's defence was in disarray and could have conceded a penalty when Heitinga hacked down Mirallas, but the ball still squirted to Naismith who put the result beyond doubt.

MONACO STUNNED BY EVIAN

Monaco lost 1-0 at struggling Evian on Saturday as Paris-Saint Germain stayed 13 points clear atop the Ligue 1 table.
Evian defender Cedric Mongongu converted a penalty in the 84th minute after Monaco centre-back Ricardo Carvalho blocked a goal attempt from Cedric Barbosa with his hand.
PSG edged Nice 1-0 on Friday to extend their lead over Monaco to 13 points with just seven rounds remaining.
Evian, who also beat PSG 2-0 in December, remained in 17th place but moved five points clear of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Marseille defender Nicolas N'Koulou's 90th-minute equaliser denied struggling Sochaux a valuable win that would have helped move them closer to Evian in the last position of safety.
Defender Stoppila Sunzu put Sochaux ahead in the 25th minute and the second-bottom side looked on course to claim their seventh league win of the season, but N'Koulou broke the hearts of the home crowd with the last-minute score as the game ended tied at 1-1.
The result leaves Sochaux still behind third-bottom Valenciennes, while Europe-chasing Marseille remained in sixth place.
Reims drew 1-1 with Lorient as winger Odair Fortes fired home a powerful strike to level in the 49th minutes.
Lorient striker Vincent Aboubakar scored his 13th league goal from the spot to give Lorient the lead on the stroke of halftime.
Toulouse drew 2-2 with bottom-side Ajaccio to stay level on points with Reims.
Ajaccio led 2-0 with goals from midfielder Ricardo Faty in the fourth minute and striker Gadji Tallo in the 33rd. But Toulouse rallied with a close-range effort from left-back Issiaga Sylla four minutes later.
Midfielder Clement Chantome equalised with a diagonal strike in the 61st minute.
Valenciennes lost ground in the battle for safety by splitting the points with Montpellier in a goalless draw.
Bordeaux also drew 0-0 with Nantes.

ATLETICO MAINTAINS TOP SPOT AS BARCA AND REAL MADRID WINS

Atletico Madrid remained top of the Primera Division after coming from a goal behind to pull off a hard-fought 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao, who finished the game with 10 men when Aymeric Laporte was sent off late on.
Iker Muniain put the Basques ahead with just five minutes played but Diego Costa pulled Diego Simeone's side level midway through the first half, and Koke dived in to head in the winner in the second half, allowing Atletico to preserve their one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the table.
The result means that Atletico become just the second team to do the double on Athletic, as well as being responsible for two of the three times the Basques have lost at their new stadium San Mames Barria, adding to their 2-1 win in the Copa del Rey quarter finals in January.
But although it ended well for Los Rojiblancos, they were made to sweat for the three points, surviving two penalty scares in the second half, and once again were grateful to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for coming to their rescue.
Lionel Messi scored his third penalty in six days to give Barcelona a 1-0 win at local rivals Espanyol and boost their chances of retaining the Primera Division title.
With 14 minutes remaining of a difficult afternoon for Gerardo Martino's side, the prolific Argentina forward calmly sent his spot-kick the other side of Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who was then sent off for handling another shot from Messi outside his area.
Defender Javi Lopez, who had given away the penalty for handball, went in goal for the remaining eight minutes, but Barca were unable to take further advantage and stay a point behind Atletico.
Real Madrid netted five goals in a big 5-0 win over Rayo to get back to winning ways and close their gap to three points again, two behind second placed Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the first half, then four goals followed in the second with Gareth Bale getting on the scoresheet twice alongside Daniel Carvajal and Alvaro Morata.
Ronaldo scored from Bale's pass in the 15th minute before setting up Dani Carvajal in the 55th.
Bale scored twice on the break in the 68th and 70th minutes. Morata curled in Madrid's fifth in the 78th minute.
A late penalty from Nolito earned Celta Vigo a 1-0 victory over Sevilla which ended the visitors' six-match winning run in the league.
Unai Emery's side were on a high following a midweek success over leaders Real Madrid, but Celta ended that euphoria with the successful spot-kick three minutes from time.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
Manchester United 4-1 Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 1-0 Chelsea
Southampton 4-0 Newcastle United
Stoke City 1-0 Hull City
Swansea City 3-0 Norwich City
West Bromwich Albion 3-3 Cardiff City
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City

Spanish Primera División
Espanyol 0-1 Barcelona
Celta Vigo 1-0 Sevilla FC
Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid 5-0 Rayo Vallecano

Italian Serie A
Bologna 0-2 Atalanta
AC Milan 3-0 Chievo Verona

German Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 TSV Eintracht Braunschweig
Bayern Munich 3-3 TSG Hoffenheim
Mainz 3-0 FC Augsburg
VfB Stuttgart 2-3 Borussia Dortmund
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
SC Freiburg 3-2 Nurnberg

French Ligue 1
Sochaux 1-1 Marseille
AC Ajaccio 2-2 Toulouse
Evian Thonon Gaillard 1-0 AS Monaco
Montpellier 0-0 Valenciennes
Nantes 0-0 Bordeaux
Stade de Reims 1-1 Lorient

BAYERN MUNICH WINNING STREAK ENDS

Hoffenheim ended Bayern Munich's 19-game winning streak in the Bundesliga as the newly crowned champions suffered a title-winning hangover in a 3-3 draw at the Allianz Arena.
Anthony Modeste gave Hoffenheim the lead midway through the first half, but two goals from Claudio Pizarro and a Xherdan Shaqiri strike appeared to have given Pep Guardiola's men a commanding lead.
Hoffenheim had other ideas though and Sejad Salihovic pulled a goal back before the break before Roberto Firmino earned the visitors a point in the second half, making them only the third side to take anything off Bayern in the Bundesliga all season with a six-goal draw.
Marco Reus fired a hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Stuttgart.
Reus struck one before the interval and twice after to hand Dortmund a nail-biting victory over their relegation-threatened hosts, who had led through goals from Christian Gentner and Martin Harnik. Stuttgart's cause was not helped by the dismissal of Georg Niedermeier, having conceded the penalty which led to Reus' second goal.
The visitors' win moved them back a point above Schalke, who had temporarily taken over second place in the Bundesliga standings with a 2-0 triumph over Hertha Berlin on Friday night.
Bayer Leverkusen were jeered off the field by their own fans at the BayArena after being held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-placed Eintracht Braunschweig.
Ken Reichel gave the visitors the lead early in the second half before a penalty from Stefan Kiessling saved the hosts from an even worse result.
They nevertheless saw their advantage over fifth-placed Wolfsburg reduce to a single point, jeopardising their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season, and drawing derision from their own fans.
That was after Wolfsburg defender Naldo had scored a stunning winning goal in the final minute to hand his side a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Brazilian powered home from around 45 yards as the home side turned around a 1-0 deficit to take all three points. Ivica Olic had levelled for Dieter Hecking's side after they had gone behind to Stefan Aigner's goal.
Mainz picked up three points in the battle for a European spot with a 3-0 triumph over fellow surprise package Augsburg. Goals from Niko Bungert, an own goal from Marwin Hitz and Johannes Geis gave Thomas Tuchel's side their first win in three games.
In the day's later game, Freiburg picked up a crucial 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Nurnberg to move five points clear of the relegation zone.Emanuel Pogatetz gave Nurnberg the lead against the run of player in the seventh minute before Pavel Krmas levelled. A penalty from Josip Drmic restored the hosts' lead at half-time, after Freiburg had hit the post twice.
But Admir Mehmedi brought Freibug level with a penalty eight minutes into the second half and Felix Klaus then sealed a deserved victory for Freiburg.
The result saw Christian Streich's side move three points clear of their opponents, who ended the game with 10 men after Pogatetz was dismissed.

CHELSEA STUNNED BY CRYSTAL PALACE AS MAN CITY WAS FORCED TO A DRAW BY ARSENAL

Chelsea's Premier League title hopes were dealt a major blow as John Terry's own goal was enough to give Crystal Palace a 1-0 win and first league victory over the Blues since 1990 at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho stood frustrated and making notes for much of the first 15 minutes as the home side stifled Chelsea's attempts to exert early pressure, and Palace looked the stronger side during the first half.
Their dominance paid off seven minutes into the second half as they finally found the breakthrough when Joel Ward's dangerous cross from the left was headed past his own goalkeeper by captain John Terry, under pressure from Joe Ledley.
The Blues were unable to provide a response and Tony Pulis' men claimed a victory that will provide an unexpected boost to their survival hopes while causing serious damage to their visitors' title bid.
Arsenal came back from an early David Silva goal to draw 1-1 with Manchester City at the Emirates, thanks to Mathieu Flamini's second half effort.
The home supporters felt they should have been awarded a penalty on 12 minutes when Tomas Rosicky went down under a challenge from Pablo Zabaleta. There looked to be some contact, but referee Mike Dean pointed for a goal kick.
Man City were lightning on the break and swept into the lead on 18 minutes. Podolski was dispossessed in midfield, as Silva carried the ball forwards and to the edge of the Arsenal penalty area before feeding Edin Dzeko on the left. His shot cannoned back off the near post, with the ball dropping at Silva's feet and bouncing into the far corner.
Arsenal came out of the break looking a different side as Santi Cazorla's drive stung the hands of England keeper Hart before Arsenal levelled on 53 minutes.
Patient build-up by the home side was rewarded when the ball was worked out to the left for Podolski, and his low centre into the penalty area was swept into the far corner by Flamini as he arrived on cue 12 yards out.Manchester United came from a goal down to beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Old Trafford and ease the pressure on manager David Moyes.
Wayne Rooney scored twice and Juan Mata got his first goal in United colours as Moyes was given reason to smile rather than look to the heavens for a change. Had he done so, he would have seen an aeroplane carrying a much-publicised banner: "Wrong One -- Moyes Out."
More turbulence followed as Ashley Westwood curled home a superb free kick from the edge of the box to give Villa a surprise lead. However, Rooney soon equalised when left unmarked in the area and then converted a penalty -- won by Mata -- to put United 2-1 up at the break. Mata then seized upon a scrappy passage of play in the visitors' box to sweep home a low shot and Javier Hernandez rounded off the scoring in injury time.
An astonishing finish at the Hawthorns saw West Bromwich Albion denied a vital three points against Cardiff City, with both sides scoring deep into injury time in a 3-3 draw.
Morgan Amalfitano put West Brom in front after two minutes when his spectacular effort looped over David Marshall and into the far corner of the net. Marshall then made a fine save to deny fellow Scotland international James Morrison but found himself picking the ball out of his net once again on nine minutes when another Scot, Graham Dorrans, was in the right place to finish off Matej Vydra's knockdown from an Amalfitano cross.
Cardiff pulled one back before half-time as Jordon Mutch matched Amalfitano's effort with a stunning strike from range that -- like his teammate's -- may well have been intended as a cross. Steven Caulker hauled Cardiff level with 17 minutes to go, meeting Gary Medel's free kick from deep with a looping header over Ben Foster, but the drama was only just beginning.
Koulossa Thievy had looked to have given West Brom victory with a goal in the 94th minute, but Mats Daehli still had time to equalise.Swansea City jumped above Norwich City in the table with a crushing 3-0 win at the Liberty Stadium.
Jonathan de Guzman broke through for Swansea on 30 minutes with a low shot from the edge of the box after Norwich only half-cleared Jonjo Shelvey's cross. He doubled his tally eight minutes later after being set through on goal by Wilfried Bony before dinking a composed finish over John Ruddy.
A crisp strike from Wayne Routledge in the final quarter of the game wrapped up all three points and opens up a seven-point gap between Swansea and Welsh rivals Cardiff in the drop zone.
Southampton move above Newcastle United after a 4-0 victory over their lacklustre visitors at St Mary's.
Southampton dominated the first half with 14 goal attempts to Newcastle's nil, but it was not until the last of those efforts that they took the lead, with Jay Rodriguez tapping home after being set up by Rickie Lambert.
The provider then turned scorer four minutes in the second half as he converted Adam Lallana's cross.
Lallana got in on the goalscoring act with 20 minutes remaining as he charged towards a retreating Newcastle defence then curled a terrific shot into the top corner. Rodriguez then claimed his second of the match when he took the ball down, cut inside Mike Williamson then converted.
A blunder from Ahmed Elmohamady helped Stoke City to a 1-0 victory over Hull City at the Britannia Stadium.
There seemed little threat when Elmohamady gave away possession midway through the second half, allowing Peter Odemwingie to charge through and score the only goal of the game.
Stoke remain 10th with Hull 14th, seven points clear of the relegation places.

MOURINHO: CHELSEA'S LOSS TO CRYSTAL PALACE ENDS TITLE HOPE

Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho has said he no longer believes it is possible for Chelsea to win the title following Saturday’s shock 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
A John Terry own goal on 52 minutes handed the three points to the Blues' relegation-threatened hosts and Mourinho, who has repeatedly played down his side’s title hopes in recent months, said after the match that -- with Manchester City and Liverpool in pursuit -- the result looked to have ended their chances.“We depend too much on other results,” he said. “When you depend a little, it's possible. When you depend a lot, I don't think it's possible. We depend now too much. I don't think now we can win the league.”
In comments published on Chelsea’s official Twitter feed, he added: “We could have scored in the first half and had chances to equalise but it's fair to say Palace deserved it. Our opponent beat us clearly on mentality. They were aggressive and committed and all played to their potential.”

WENGER REGRETS NOT SIGNING YAYA TOURE

Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger has revealed the failed opportunity to sign Yaya Toure for Arsenal over a decade ago is one of his biggest regrets.
The midfielder, who is now contracted to Manchester City, featured for Arsenal in a preseason friendly in 2003, but preferred to move to Metalurh Donetsk.
Now, the in-form Ivory Coast international is one of City’s main threats to Arsenal when they play in the Premier League on Saturday.
Toure scored a hat trick in the 5-0 win against Fulham last Saturday and netted again during the 3-0 win against Manchester United in midweek to strengthen City’s title hopes.Arsenal, meanwhile, lost 6-0 to Chelsea and drew 2-2 with Swansea to see their own title aspirations all but end, and Wenger has rued his failure to add Toure to his ranks when he had the chance."It’s up at the top," Wenger said when asked how highly missing out on Toure ranked on his lift of regrets. "But let’s not forget that Yaya Toure had an agreement with us and it’s not because we did not want to sign him that he went to Ukraine."We had to wait for his passport in Belgium. We have made mistakes [with transfers], but this was not a mistake. He preferred to go to Metalurh Donetsk because he could go there without a passport."
Wenger went on to suggest City’s success in signing players of Toure’s calibre in recent years meant they were still benefitting from rules in place prior to financial fair play's introduction.
While the likes of City and Chelsea are now showing an eagerness to embrace financial restrictions that force them to work within a more balanced budget, Wenger suggests what he has previously described as the "financial doping" of the game remains a major issue.
"Financial fair play is coming in, but these teams in front of us [in the Premier League] have not respected financial fair play," Wenger said.
"They built their team without respecting financial fair play and now they want to respect it, but their team is built. So it is still unfair."
Despite the financial imbalance that Wenger claims Arsenal have been forced to contend with in recent years, he is still confident they can defy the odds and beat a team that overcame his side 6-3 at the Etihad earlier this season."We had plenty of opportunities to score in that game," Wenger said.
"We conceded three goals in the last 20 minutes when we were down to 10 men and after playing in Naples [against Napoli in the Champions League] three days before.
There are plenty of positives in this game to convince us that we can beat City. Of course we conceded goals so we need to defend better on the day.
"We try to stop them by playing our game and focusing on our own strengths and of course getting it right defensively against them as they are a good offensive force, so that will be important."

RUMMENIGGE HAILS GUARDIOLA

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has praised Pep Guardiola for bringing a new style of football to the recently crowned Bundesliga champions.
On Tuesday, Bayern won their 24th German championship, marking the first time ever that a Bundesliga side had won the title in March -- the 2013 Treble holders have now won 25 and drawn only two league matches.
In 2013, Bayern won the Bundesliga title in early April, and followed the domestic title with the Champions League crown and the DFB-Pokal, the last game under Jupp Heynckes.
Writing in the matchday magazine ahead of Bayern’s upcoming Bundesliga match against TSG Hoffenheim, Rummenigge praised the Catalan coach.“Pep is a blessing for our club,” Rummenigge wrote. “He has lifted our game to a new level. He has created a football, which has never before been seen in Germany.”
“I bow to this coach, to this extraordinary person and to this extraordinary team,” Rummenigge added.
In a column for Kicker magazine, the former Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes explained that the defeat in the 2012 Champions League final against Chelsea had been a blessing in disguise.“We’ve drawn the right conclusion from the defeat against Chelsea. We had no options to react with substitutions in that final,” Heynckes wrote.“We explored new avenues afterwards and signed absolute top players in Dante, [Mario] Mandzukic, [Javi] Martinez, [Claudio] Pizarro, [Xherdan] Shaqiri and [second keeper Tom] Starke. This secured the club golden years. With [Mario] Goetze and Thiago [Alcantara] two outstanding footballers were added.”“They now have the best squad in Europe, and thus in the world,” Heynckes said. “And when you bring in an excellent coach like Pep Guardiola, success is programmed.”

MOYES: I STILL HAVE THE BACKING OF MAN UNITED FANS

Manchester Manager David Moyes accepts Manchester United fans are entitled to fly a plane over Old Trafford calling for his sacking.
But the Scot insists that he still has the backing of the majority of supporters and said this season’s disappointments make him more determined to succeed.
Defending champions United are a lowly seventh in the table, 18 points behind leaders Chelsea, and suffered their 10th league defeat of the season against Manchester City on Tuesday.
It prompted some supporters on the Red Issue message boards to club together and raise 840 pounds to hire a plane, which is set to fly over Old Trafford in the opening minutes of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa and which is expected to have a banner reading “Wrong One: Moyes Out.”And manager Moyes said: “I heard about that. People are entitled to do that.”Fans inside the ground are yet to turn on the 50-year-old, while a flag about Moyes reading “The Chosen One” is set to remain in place at the Stretford End.Despite some fans’ calls for it to be removed, the former Everton manager feels most are still behind him, saying: "Everywhere I go I get great support."And Moyes said setbacks, culminating in Tuesday’s 3-0 derby loss to City, only increase his ambition to bring about a revival in United’s fortunes.
And he is adamant he can do that, saying: "You work hard to get here in the first place but I’ve got to say I’m more driven to succeed than ever because I want the team to turn around and I want to change the position we’re in just now."I really do believe we can do that. We’ve got a great club, which gives you the chance to do that because of the people we can attract and the players we can attract to the club."But it’s just going to take a little bit of time to get it sorted. Anyone who has an understanding of the game knows there's a rebuilding plan here.
The people in charge here are top people."Moyes insisted that his players are also feeling the pain of a difficult year.
He added: “The players know exactly what it is to play for Manchester United and the standards they have to set.
"But they’re hurting as well as me and are desperate to put it right. And hopefully when we get to the game against Villa, they can show that.”

RESULTS FROM SPANISH LA LIGA AND ITALIAN SERIE A

Spanish Primera División
Getafe 0-1 Villarreal
Real Sociedad 1-0 Real Valladolid
Almeria 2-2 Valencia
Levante 1-3 Real Betis

Italian Serie A
Internazionale 0-0 Udinese

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE FIXTURES

Friday, 28 March 2014

German Bundesliga
8:30 PM - Schalke 04 vs Hertha Berlin

French Ligue 1
8:30 PM - Nice vs Paris Saint-Germain

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
1:45 PM - Manchester United vs Aston Villa
4:00 PM - Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
4:00 PM - Southampton vs Newcastle United
4:00 PM - Stoke City vs Hull City
4:00 PM - Swansea City vs Norwich City
4:00 PM - West Bromwich Albion vs Cardiff City
6:30 PM - Arsenal vs Manchester City

Spanish Primera División
4:00 PM - Espanyol vs Barcelona
6:00 PM - Celta Vigo vs Sevilla FC
8:00 PM - Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid
10:00 PM - Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Italian Serie A
6:00 PM - Bologna vs Atalanta
8:45 PM - AC Milan vs Chievo Verona

German Bundesliga
3:30 PM - Bayer Leverkusen vs TSV Eintracht Braunschweig
3:30 PM - Bayern Munich vs TSG Hoffenheim
3:30 PM - Mainz vs FC Augsburg
3:30 PM - VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund
3:30 PM - VfL Wolfsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt
6:30 PM - SC Freiburg vs Nurnberg

French Ligue 1
5:00 PM - Sochaux vs Marseille
8:00 PM - AC Ajaccio vs Toulouse
8:00 PM - Evian Thonon Gaillard vs AS Monaco
8:00 PM - Montpellier vs Valenciennes
8:00 PM - Nantes vs Bordeaux
8:00 PM - Stade de Reims vs Lorient

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
1:30 PM - Fulham vs Everton
4:00 PM - Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur

Spanish Primera División
11:00 AM - Real Valladolid vs Almeria
4:00 PM - Osasuna vs Real Sociedad
6:00 PM - Real Betis vs Malaga
8:00 PM - Valencia vs Getafe

Italian Serie A
11:30 AM - Sassuolo vs AS Roma
2:00 PM - Hellas Verona vs Genoa
2:00 PM - Lazio vs Parma
2:00 PM - Sampdoria vs Fiorentina
2:00 PM - Torino vs Cagliari
7:45 PM - Napoli vs Juventus

German Bundesliga
2:30 PM - Borussia Monchengladbach vs Hamburg SV
4:30 PM - Hannover 96 vs Werder Bremen

French Ligue 1
1:00 PM - Stade Rennes vs Bastia
4:00 PM - Lille vs Guingamp
8:00 PM - Lyon vs St Etienne

Monday, 31 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
8:00 PM - Sunderland vs West Ham United

Spanish Primera División
7:00 PM - Granada vs Levante
9:00 PM - Villarreal vs Elche

Italian Serie A
6:00 PM - Udinese vs Catania
8:00 PM - Livorno vs Internazionale

FLAMINGOES OUTCLASSED BY SPAIN

Spain will face Italy for a berth in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final after the Europeans saw off Nigeria with a dominant 3-0 win, led by Patri Guijarro's double.
The result ended a seven-match unbeaten run for Nigeria at the tournament dating back to 2012, and fell one match short of the record sequence established by Japan between 2010 and 2012. The contest was played at a good tempo throughout and was end-to-end in the first half, before the Spaniards took the game by the scruff of the neck with two second-half goals.
Guijarro converted from the penalty spot just before the quarter-hour mark after Nigeria’s Ugochi Emenayo tripped Andrea Falcon who was running into the penalty area at speed. Nahikari Garcia could easily have doubled the margin but she fired over from near the penalty spot after latching onto a ball fired into the penalty area.
Spain’s Laura Dominguez powered in a low shot that was pushed around the near post by Nigeria goalkeeper Onyinyechukwu Okeke who had been by far the busier of the two shot-stoppers. After the break the silky-skilled Dominguez set up Garcia but Okeke diffused a dangerous moment.
Spain doubled their advantage just prior to the hour mark with Dominguez once again set up Garcia this time with a through pass which saw the latter hold off a defender and beat the advancing goalkeeper.
The match went out of sight with 20 minutes remaining as a fierce strike from Sandra Hernandez from a 45-degree angle burst through the hands of Okeke, and Guijarro was there to force the ball home from close range.

UEFA APPROVES EUROPEAN NATIONS LEAGUE

A "League of Nations" competition intended as a third major tournament for European countries after the World Cup and European Championship has been given the go-ahead by Uefa.

The competition, which starts in September 2018, will also provide four qualifying spots for Euro 2020.

Uefa is still finalising the details but there will be four divisions, sub-divided into four smaller pools.

The top division's four pool winners will then play each other in June 2019.

There will be promotion and relegation between divisions.

The tournament will replace most international friendly fixtures, with pool matches played between September and November 2018 and the 'final four' competition played the following summer.

The opportunity to qualify for the European Championships is intended to make the League of Nations competitive.

The best four teams in each division who have not already qualified for Euro 2020 will play off for the final four places in the tournament.

"Twenty teams will advance from the qualifying competition to the Euro 2020 finals - which are being played in 13 cities around Europe," Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino told delegates at the authority's Congress in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

"That leaves four extra slots to be filled and they will come from four teams from the Nations League who have not otherwise qualified."

On current ranking, England would be in the top division alongside the likes of Spain, Germany and Italy. Each division would then be divided into pools of three or four teams, with the winners of each pool qualifying for a semi-final and final, played at neutral venues.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - ranked 31, 34 and 39 respectively by UEFA- could find themselves playing each other in the third or fourth divisions using the current national team coefficient.

Fifpro, the world footballers' association, is concerned about the added strain it will place on players.

"It should be clear that there is a difference in a friendly match and a competitive match," said director of player services Tijs Tummers.

"The Nations League will be another prestigious competition. As a consequence, that implies an increase in the workload for the group of top players."

While matches will be played on dates reserved for friendlies, there will still be flexibility for smaller countries to arrange high-profile fixtures with bigger European teams and for nations to play friendlies against national sides from outside Europe.

The Football Association has backed the plan, with chairman Greg Dyke saying earlier this month: "The hard thing is the detail, but I think a Nations League where we played the top nations would be very attractive."

Scotland's FA is also in favour and performance director Mark Wotte told BBC Scotland: "Friendly games are only interesting if you play world-class opponents.

"It is a good proposal, it is something new, it is worth a try and we have a couple of years to prepare for it."

NFF ISSUES KESHI QUERY

The Nigeria Football Federation is set to clash with Stephen Keshi over the coach's failure to attend Tuesday's technical committee meeting in Abuja.

The Super Eagles trainer had instead chosen to attend a reception and media roundtable organised by national team sponsors TomTom in Lagos. 

The NFF has issued a query to the trainer in which it has also asked him to respond to other issues including missing the reception by the president in February and travelling without informing the federation.

"It is important we draw your attention to previous actions whereby you travel out of Nigeria without NFF's express permission," the NFF wrote to Keshi in a letter widely circulated in the media.

"Specifically, you travelled out of Nigeria before 13 February 2014, the day President Jonathan received the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) team, causing us huge embarrassment.

"Your request for leave approved by the NFF was from 15 February - 10 March 2014 but you left before 13 February and returned 26 March.

"The Technical Committee meeting on 25 March was called off because you said you had flight hitches from USA.

"As a responsible organisation, we have no other option than to issue you a query to explain how all these events unfolded," wrote Emmanuel Ikpeme, the NFF's director of technical.

He is expected to respond within 24 hours.

On Tuesday, Keshi told media that he was not at loggerheads with his employers and assured that they both enjoyed cordial relations.

"My relationship with my bosses is good, I don't have a problem with them," he said.

This new development is certain to strain the relationship between the former national team captain and the federation as Nigeria prepare for the World Cup in less than four months.

FLAMINGOES OF NIGERIA TACKLE SPAIN IN QUARTER FINAL MATCH

Nigeria will be looking to seal their place in the last four of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup when they entertain Spain in Liberia, Costa Rica on Friday.

The Nigerian girls started their campaign on an impressive note, advancing from the group phase with a 100-percent record - scoring seven goals and conceding two in the process. 

The African powerhouse are within touching distance of their first ever semi-final place after three-straight wins against China PR, Colombia and Mexico rewarded them with a quarter-final match with the European giants.

Coach Bala Nikyu though expects a stern test but trusts that his team will be solely motivated by the emphatic victory recorded against the red-hot Mexicans early this week.

Spain defeated Paraguay 7-1 in their last game and Nikyu admitted that the Europeans would be an imposing threat but he is confident and assured his ladies will be prepared for the challenge.

"We would ensure that we win this game within the allotted time and we are looking at the possibility of not allowing the game to be dragged into a penalty shootout," said Nikyu.

"I agree that Spain has been making progress since they started but they won't progress (beyond the quarterfinal) at the expense of Nigeria on Friday."

The Europeans will bank on Nahikari Garcia who scored twice aginast Paraguay to trouble the Nigerians while Uchenna Kanu will be the bargain for the Flamingoes after scoring against all opponents in the group stage.

Meanwhile, Spain coach Jorge Vilda, who is yet to face an African side in the competition, believes his side's impressive attacking potential will get them far in the competition but admits they must improve on their finishing.

“This team goes from strength to strength. It’s always the same for us at major tournaments; as the games go by, the team gets better and better. Our last two results have shown our attacking potential," Vilda said.

“But there are still aspects of our play that we need to improve, such as nervous starts and little uncharacteristic lapses. We still have work to do,” he admitted.

The Nigerian side will have an injury-free full squad to pick from with Nikyu expected to field the same team that defeated Mexico in the final Group D clash. Similarly, the Spaniards are with their full strength for the knock-out tie.

Nigeria are in search of their first-ever semi final ticket while Spain hope to go one better than their  third-place finish at Trinidad and Tobago 2010.

The game takes place at the Estadio Edgardo Baltodano on Friday (3am Nigerian time)

VALDES TO MISS WORLD CUP DUE TO INJURY

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has likely played his final game for the club and will miss the World Cup after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right leg during the 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Valdes, who announced earlier this season that he will leave Barca in the summer, jumped to stop a Celta free-kick in the first half of the match at Camp Nou but his right knee appeared to buckle as he landed. He fell to the turf and called to be substituted.
He was carried to a cart and then shuttled off the pitch with his gloved hands covering his face.Barcelona confirmed the extent of Valdes' injury shortly after Wednesday's victory.
The Club's medical services confirm that the player will need surgery.
Valdes' ACL tear will cause the Spain international to miss this summer's World Cup in Brazil.
Valdes, 32, has 20 caps for Spain and has been in a back-and-forth battle with Real Madrid's Iker Casillas for La Roja's starting spot. His absence would likely open the door for Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to travel with Vicente del Bosque's squad.
Jose Manuel Pinto replaced Valdes in goal on Wednesday. He has been the starter in Copa del Rey matches this season, and started for Barcelona when Valdes injured his calf in November.

GUARDIOLA LEFT BARCELONA FOR PERSONAL REASONS

Pep Guardiola has disputed reports that he left Barcelona because he felt he could no longer lift the club’s players.
“Maybe I did not explain myself well,” Guardiola told Mundo Deportivo. “It was a purely personal matter. I felt the moment had come."Guardiola, who led Bayern Munich to the quickest Bundesliga title in history on Tuesday with a 3-1 win against Hertha Berlin, left the Camp Nou in 2012 after winning 14 trophies in four seasons.
He had been reported as saying that he was no longer able to reach his team, and that realisation had convinced him to move on.“They are responsible for all the successes we achieved, just like those of Bayern," he said. "Barca’s players motivate themselves. I did not teach Xavi [Hernandez] or [Andres] Iniesta to play.“We coaches are there to give them a hand, but they have played that way for 20 years. Coaches do not make players play well. They played well enough without me.”
After falling short in La Liga and the Champions League during Guardiola’s final season at the Camp Nou, Barca won the domestic title with a record 100 points under successor Tito Vilanova the following year, even though he was absent for long spells through illness.
Guardiola has played down his part in that achievement, preferring instead to focus on the good work done by Vilanova.
“I would give myself a certain part of that, but that is a personal question,” Guardiola said. “With me they would not have had the success they had with Tito Vilanova.”

MAN CITY TARGETS ARSENAL'S SAGNA

Advisers representing Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna are in talks with Manchester City over a lucrative three-year contract for the French full-back, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
Sagna's current deal with Arsenal is due to expire in the summer, with Gunners manager Arsene Wenger persistently confirming he was hopeful that the 31-year-old would commit to a new two-year deal with the north London club.
Wenger suggested he was "hopeful" of a new deal for Sagna at the turn of the year, but he has been less positive about retaining the services of the full-back, who has been allowed to start negotiations with rival clubs since January 1.
There were suggestions that Arsenal were hopeful of confirming a new deal for Sagna at the same time as Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosisky put pen to paper on their new deals in early March, but Sagna has continued to stall on his Arsenal future.
Now it has emerged that his advisers have been holding detailed negotiations with rival clubs, with Inter Milan president Erick Thohir confirming on Thursday that his club had been in negotiations with the experienced French defender.
However, Thohir went on to reveal Sagna had rejected the chance to follow Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic from the Premier League to Serie A and has instead opted to sign for another English club.
That club is looking increasingly likely to be Manchester City, and if Sagna completes a move to the Etihad Stadium, it will continue trend of Arsenal players moving to Manchester's top two clubs in recent years.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri are among those who have moved from Arsenal to City, while Robin van Persie completed a contentious move from the Gunners to Manchester United in the summer of 2012.
The Guardian's report suggests Sagna is earning a salary of 50,000 pounds per week at Arsenal, with the offer on the table from City likely to be substantially more as they could sign the French international without the outlay of a transfer fee.
Sagna joined Arsenal from Auxerre in 2007 for a fee reported at the time to be around 11 million euros, but he has failed to win a major trophy in his seven years at the club.

AC MILAN BEATS FIORENTINA AS JUVENTUS MAINTAINS TOP SPOT

The pressure on AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf was lifted a little as his side picked up their first win in five games by beating Fiorentina 2-0.
Philippe Mexes and Mario Balotelli scored the goals at the Stadio Artemio Franchi as the Rossoneri celebrated a rare victory to reignite fading hope of qualifying for Europe next season.
La Viola's own European ambitions suffered a setback as they can practically write off clinching a place in the Champions League, with 10 points now separating them from third-placed Napoli who resisted a valiant fightback from doomed Catania to ride out a 4-2 victory at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.
First-half goals from Duvan Zapata, Jose Callejon and Henrique made the final outcome look like a foregone conclusion but bottom side Catania hit back through Fabian Monzon and Norbert Gyomber.
The Azzurri sensibly decided to shut the game down and successfully put three more points on the board in their bid to catch second-placed Roma, who are now only six points better off in Serie A.
Carlos Tevez scored twice to end Parma's lengthy unbeaten run as Juventus took another huge step towards retaining the title with a 2-1 win.
Sixth-placed Parma arrived in Turin having avoided defeat in 17 games but quickly succumbed to a first-half brace from Tevez, who recovered his position as the championship's leading scorer.
Cristian Molinaro turned the game into a contest for its final 30 minutes yet the dismissal of striker Amauri left Parma toothless and unable to force the draw late on.
Juve are now once again 14 points clear of second-placed Roma and look set to clinch their third straight Scudetto in a matter of weeks.
Genoa delivered a blow to Lazio's hopes of playing in Europe next season with a 2-0 win at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Alberto Gilardino and Ioannis Fetfatzidis scored the goals for Gianpiero Gasperini's men, who can now look forward to another season in the top flight having put 39 points in the bank, only three less than their guests.
For Lazio, it was an evening to forget as they also lost Cristian Ledesma to a red card late on.
Sassuolo are staring at the reality of a quick return to Serie B after 10-man Sampdoria moved into the top half of the table with a 2-1 victory at the Stadio Citta del Tricolore.
Samp always had the psychological edge after opening the scoring through Gianluca Sansone inside 18 seconds but Sassuolo are fighting for top-flight survival and levelled through Alessandro Longhi.
The chances were shared in a frenetic second half and it was Stefano Chuka Okaka who grabbed the goal that Samp needed to reach ninth place in the table.
Defender Vasco Regini saw red at the death, but it did not affect the final outcome.Chievo claimed a crucial three points in their battle to avoid relegation after swatting aside fellow strugglers Bologna 3-0.
Alberto Paloschi's brace and a last-minute effort by Luca Rigoni saw Chievo to an impressive win that vaults them out of the bottom three.
They are now one place and one point above Bologna, who occupy the last position of safety above the drop zone and hold a two-point advantage over third-bottom Livorno.
Atalanta pushed Livorno even closer to the Serie A trapdoor while keeping alive their hopes of playing in Europe next season thanks to a 2-0 win in Bergamo.
Even without the suspended Maxi Moralez, Stefano Colantuono's men had enough firepower to see off the Tuscans with Giuseppe De Luca and German Denis netting the goals.
The win takes the Bergamo side to within four points of the top five, although Inter Milan, the side they beat at the weekend, are in action against Udinese on Thursday night and could pull seven points clear.
A solitary goal from Nene eased Cagliari's relegation fears and inflicted a fourth straight defeat on freefalling Verona.
The Sardinians had slipped dangerously close to the Serie A drop zone in recent weeks but a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Sant'Elia saw them pull eight points clear of 18th-placed Livorno.
Verona, now in 10th, were the surprise package in the first half of the season and looked set to challenge for a Europa League place but have now failed to score or earn a point since February.

REAL MADRID STUNNED BY SEVILLA

Real Madrid's title challenge unravelled on Wednesday night as they suffered back-to-back defeats with a 2-1 loss at Sevilla.
Fresh from their clasico beating by Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti's men still held the upper hand in the title race ahead of this game.
But another loss, coupled with wins elsewhere for Barca and Atletico Madrid, means they are now three points off the pace with their destiny out of their hands.
All appeared to be well when Cristiano Ronaldo put them ahead, but a host of missed chances and a Carlos Bacca brace condemned them to defeat.
The night ended on a tense note too as Ronaldo openly complained at Gareth Bale taking an injury-time free-kick ahead of him and putting it into the stands.
As a result of all that, it could end up being a significant night in Real's season and if, they do miss out on the title, will no doubt reflect on it with significant regret.
The chances started to present themselves with just three minutes gone, as Bale shot over the bar and then Karim Benzema had an effort touched behind.
The French striker then headed wide when he should have hit the target, but it did not seem to matter when Ronaldo's 14th-minute 20-yard free-kick hit the wall and went in, catching Antonio Beto cold.
Sevilla quickly replied, though, with Bacca racing through on to Jose Antonio Reyes' pass and finishing beyond the advancing Diego Lopez from close to the penalty spot.
Real returned to the front foot in response and Ronaldo had a free-kick saved and saw another piledriver tipped over.
The Portugal captain then went even closer when his rising effort was touched onto the post and dropped down onto the line, stopping almost entirely still and allowing the Sevilla defence to get back and clear.
Bale also went close, cutting in on the right before dragging a shot at Beto from six yards, before the break cut some of Madrid's energy.
They did not look as rampant after the rest and, despite lots of possession, could not really get at Beto.
Their first-half misses were really come back to haunt them and, with 18 minutes left, Sevilla delivered the killer blow.
Rakitic watched a high ball drop to him close to halfway and, with his back to goal, flicked it on the volley over Pepe's head. He raced clear of his marker in chase of it, reached it first and then delivered a perfect through-ball which Bacca converted into a goal.
It was a marvellous piece of skill from Rakitic and Ancelotti's angry reaction showed just how hurtful a moment it was for the visitors.
They rallied in an attempt to save the game but efforts from Bale, Marcelo and Xabi Alonso were all off target.
There was further misery for them in injury time as Ronaldo openly dissented against Bale for taking a 20-yard free-kick ahead of him and slapping it over the bar.

DIEGO COSTA'S LONE STRIKE KEEPS ATLETICO MADRID ON TOP

Diego Costa's solitary goal lifted Atletico Madrid back to the top of the Primera Division standings as they claimed a 1-0 win over Granada on Wednesday night.
Costa headed Jose Sosa's cross past Granada keeper Roberto to ensure Atletico moved one point clear of Barcelona, who went second, and three clear of capital city rivals Real Madrid, who lost 2-1 at Sevilla.
The Vicente Calderon faithful were left to sweat for the breakthrough against their mid-table opponents, though, with the Spain striker scoring in the 63rd minute.
The result in Madrid, and the shock final score in Sevilla, was almost the perfect outcome for Atletico and manager Diego Simeone, who assumed narrow in control of the title race with eight league games remaining. Barcelona had earlier won their match against Celta Vigo 3-0 to keep the battle very much still on the boil.
Joao Miranda had a chance to tip the game in Atletico's favour early on only to fire over the crossbar before Arda Turan sent his shot wide.
Despite their best efforts, Atletico were struggling to get a shot on target in the first half, although luckily for them Granada were not faring any better.
After the break, Granada defender Jeison Murillo put a close-range header wide before David Villa forced a save out of Roberto at the other end with a header from slightly longer range.
Costa had a good chance to break the deadlock on the hour mark with a header from the six-yard box, but Roberto made the save.
However, the 25-year-old was not to be denied three minutes later when he got onto the end of Sosa's cross to head home from a similar range.
Atletico midfield Gabi tried his luck with a 30-yard blast with 15 minutes remaining, but Roberto made the save, and that turned out to be the last meaningful chance for both sides.

BARCELONA RIDE OVER CELTA VIGO

Goals from Neymar and Lionel Messi meant Barcelona kept the pressure on title rivals Atletico and Real Madrid with a comfortable 3-0 win over Celta Vigo but the evening turned sour when Victor Valdes was carried off with a serious knee injury that could end his Barca career and rule him out of the World Cup.
The goalkeeper struggled to hold on to a free-kick from Fabian Orellana midway through the first half and landed on his right knee as he gathered the ball, and was seen crying as he was taken off the pitch, replaced by Jose Pinto.
It could be Valdes' last appearance for the club, with the player set to depart Barcelona in the summer when his contract runs out.
Neymar had given the Catalans the lead after six minutes, and Messi doubled the advantage on the half hour, before Neymar struck again midway through the second period.
Messi thought he had put the hosts ahead with just three minutes played, but his close range effort was ruled narrowly offside.
Barca did not have to wait long before scoring a legitimate goal, however, Neymar appearing at the far post to nudge in a pass across the face of goal from Alexis, facilitated by quick passing by Andres Iniesta and Messi.Adriano then attempted a trademark left-footed drive from outside the area, but on this occasion he was unable to cause much trouble to the goalkeeper.
In the 15th minute Barca produced a move worthy of a goal. Adriano took on a defender down the right wing before releasing Alexis, who then found Messi, but the Argentinian's final ball was a touch too long for Neymar to get on the end of at the far post.
The Nou Camp fell silent when Valdes was injured in the 22nd minute, struggling to deal with a free-kick that had initially been awarded as a penalty for a handball by Adriano, although referee Miguel Angel Ayza gamez soon corrected himself when realising the incident had taken place outside the area.
But Messi soon lifted the mood by doubling the lead, getting on the end of a low through ball by Iniesta to take the ball around Yoel Rodriguez and tuck it into the bottom corner.
Valdes's replacement Pinto made a fine double save in the second half, first keeping out a header from Augusto Fernandez and then thwarting Santi Mina on the rebound.
Neymar then added his second goal of the night, receiving a long ball from Alexis inside the area and powering a shot past Yoel.
It was a fine response from the Brazilian, who was criticised by former Barca player and coach Johan Cruyff earlier in the day for destabalising the team's dressing room as a result of his controversial move from Santos to the Catalan club last summer, which lead to Sandro Rosell resigning as president last January.

LIVERPOOL CLOSE UP GAP ON CHELSEA

Liverpool may be third favourites in a three-horse race to lift the Premier League title but they continue to get results like they neither know nor care.
Struggling Sunderland were a hurdle they were expected to clear comfortably but the 2-1 scoreline showed it was not a trademark performance of fluidity and control.
Steven Gerrard's free-kick broke their opponents' resistance late in the first half but it was Daniel Sturridge's strike just after the break which had statisticians reaching for the history books before substitute Ki Sung-Yeung's header made for a tense finish.
In scoring his 20th league goal of the campaign, moving to within eight of team-mate Luis Suarez, England international Sturridge ensured he and his strike partner achieved a feat not seen in these parts for 50 years since Ian St John and Roger Hunt achieved it.
Only six times previously have two Liverpool players scored 20 league goals apiece and in four of those campaigns they went on to win a league title - twice Division One and twice Division Two.
A banner in the Kop before kick-off read 'Anything is possible if you believe' and by the end the stadium was reverberating to chants of 'We're going to win the league'.
There is still plenty of ground to cover before their 24-year wait becomes a reality and the visits of Chelsea and Manchester City take on greater significance with every passing day.
But a seventh successive victory moved them back into second place in the table, just a point behind the Stamford Bridge club, and two ahead of City, who have a couple of matches in hand.
Their team coach had been greeted on arrival at the ground by an avenue of flags and banners down Anfield Road, with fans keen to herald the side they firmly believe will be the new kings of the Premier League.
The atmosphere inside was no less excitable but whether it was the weight of expectation which lay heavy on the players' shoulders or Sunderland's tactics of packing the defence and denying the Reds any attacking width, Brendan Rodgers' side did not match the supporters' fervour in the early stages.
Suarez fired over a free-kick and also delivered a delightful cross with the outside of his right foot which sailed just too high for Sturridge to do anything other than head up in the air.
Joe Allen, running from deep, and Suarez again - this time cutting in from the right on a quick counter-attack - were both off-target with efforts as frustrations began to grow.
Liverpool were trying to be almost too precise in their execution of Rodgers' plan and, as a result, the ball often overran or just bobbled out of reach.
Sunderland's tactic of leaving two men up the field at all times drastically cut the effectiveness of Liverpool's two full-backs, key to providing width and getting in behind their opponents, and led to Philippe Coutinho in particular trying impossible passes through the Black Cats' massed central ranks which failed to pay off.
However, a much simpler lay-off from the Brazilian playmaker ultimately resulted in the breakthrough but Sunderland were lucky to just escape with conceding the goal.
Suarez had wriggled past Santiago Vergini and looked set to skip into the area only for the Argentinian to bring him down in the 39th minute.
Referee Kevin Friend decided former Liverpool full-back Andrea Dossena was close enough to not warrant showing the red card but Gerrard lessened the Anfield wrath on the official by dispatching the 25-yard free-kick into Vito Mannone's top left-hand corner.
Connor Wickham, recalled from a loan spell at Leeds, forced Simon Mignolet to tip wide in front of the Kop when his shot clipped Martin Skrtel but it was another deflection at that end which proved decisive.
Three minutes after half-time Sturridge collected the ball on the right side, switched it on to his left foot and struck a shot which caught enough of Wes Brown to help it loop over Mannone.
Suarez got in the way of his strike-partner's next effort, although he did try to redeem himself by attempting to beat the Sunderland goalkeeper at his near post with a backheel from the rebound.
Lee Cattermole hit the crossbar - a feat subsequently matched by Sturridge - before substitute Ki converted a corner with 14 minutes to go and, despite exerting some late pressure which saw John O'Shea miss a header from six yards, Sunderland remain three points from safety.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 2-1 Hull City
Liverpool 2-1 Sunderland

Spanish Primera División
Barcelona 3-0 Celta Vigo
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Osasuna
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Granada
Sevilla FC 2-1 Real Madrid

Italian Serie A
Atalanta 2-0 Livorno
Cagliari 1-0 Hellas Verona
Catania 2-4 Napoli
Chievo Verona 3-0 Bologna
Fiorentina 0-2 AC Milan
Genoa 2-0 Lazio
Juventus 2-1 Parma
Sassuolo 1-2 Sampdoria

German Bundesliga
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
FC Augsburg 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Hamburg SV 1-1 SC Freiburg
Nurnberg 2-0 VfB Stuttgart
TSG Hoffenheim 3-1 Hannover 96

SERGIO RAMOS' RED CARD APPEAL REJECTED

Real Madrid’s attempt to have Sergio Ramos’ red card overturned has been rebuffed by the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) Competitions Committee. Therefore, the centre-half is set to sit out Wednesday's vital Liga clash with Sevilla after the capital club failed to have his dismissal against Barcelona quashed.
The 27-year-old centre-half, who has been handed a one-match ban, was shown the 19th red card of his career when he was adjudged to have felled Neymar as the Barcelona forward bore down on goal in Los Blancos' 4-3 Clasico defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The capital club had hoped to have the Spain international’s suspension quashed to allow him to participate in Wednesday evening’s encounter at Sevilla but the RFEF have decreed otherwise.
However, Madrid have indicated that they will make a last-ditch attempt to have the World Cup winner available for the trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, as they will lodge a case with the RFEF’s Appeals Court and could even go as far as the Spanish Sport Ministry’s Administrative Court, which would mean that the defender’s ban would be postponed to a later date.
Madrid, who are now second in La Liga behind Atletico Madrid on a head-to-head basis, have included Ramos in their squad for their must-win clash with in-form Sevilla.

BAYERNUNICH WINS BUNDESLIGA TITLE IN HISTORIC FASHION

Bayern Munich wrapped up their 24th Bundesliga title in record time with a 3-1 win at Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.
Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze scored inside the first 15 minutes to put Pep Guardiola's men on their way.
Although Adrian Ramos pulled a goal back for Hertha Berlin from the penalty spot midway through the second half, substitute Franck Ribery's 79th-minute goal wrapped up the win in style.
The result ensures Pep Guardiola's side wraps up the title with seven games to spare in the Spaniard's first season as coach, beating the mark set in last year's record-breaking campaign by one game.
It was also Bayern's 19th consecutive win, their 10th consecutive victory away from home, and stretched their unbeaten run to 52 games. All are Bundesliga records.
Bayern would have been celebrating even had they lost, as Borussia Dortund, who sit in second place 25 points behind Bayern, settled for a goalless draw at home against third-place Schalke.
Pride and second spot was up for grabs in the 144th Revierderby, but neither team could make a breakthrough.
In-form Wolfsburg enhanced their own top four hopes with a 3-1 win at Werder Bremen.
Junior Malanda and Ivan Perisic scored in the first 10 minutes to give the visitors control. Sebastien Prodl pulled a goal back six minutes later, but Maximilian Arnold made the points safe for Wolfsburg 10 minutes from time.
At the other end of the table, bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig picked up a crucial three points with a 3-1 victory over European hopefuls Mainz.
Dominick Kumbela's 18th minute goal gave Braunschweig the lead but Nicolai Muller levelled two minutes later. However, Havard Nielsen restored the home side's advantage just before the break, before Kumbela got his second and his team's third 13 minutes from time to move Braunschweig to within three points of safety.

MAN CITY TRASH MAN UNITED IN DERBY

Manuel Pellegrini's City underlined their status as kings of Manchester after they brushed aside David Moyes' United 3-0 with alarming ease at Old Trafford.
Edin Dzeko scored after just 42 seconds to put City ahead and the big striker struck again after the break before Yaya Toure rounded off yet another miserable night for Moyes.
Further questions will surely be asked about Moyes' ability to bring the glory days back to United.
There was no fortune about this victory from Pellegrini's team, who are now three points off the top of the Barclays Premier League with two games in hand on Chelsea.
If anything, it was a minor miracle that City did not win by four or five.
David Silva, Toure, Fernandinho and Samir Nasri overran and outclassed a weak United midfield and Dzeko - a surprise starter ahead of Alvaro Negredo - did the rest up front.It seems, after all, that Pellegrini had a point when he said there has been only one club in Manchester this year.
United lacked confidence, tempo and cohesion. There was no cutting edge up front while the back line was exposed for its lack of pace, just as was the case against Liverpool.
Moyes made life easy for the visitors too. Antonio Valencia was left on the bench and Adnan Januzaj did not even make the squad, leaving United with no width at all.
Moyes placed his faith in Tom Cleverley as has been common in the big games this year, and once again the England midfielder failed to deliver.
Things could have been worse had Marouane Fellaini received the red card he deserved for an elbow on Pablo Zabaleta or had David de Gea not prevented Dzeko scoring his third with a superb save.
There were plenty of glum faces by the final whistle, and one of them was Moyes'. The statistics do not make for good reading for the Scot.
United are now guaranteed to end the season with their lowest points total in Premier League history.
They have been defeated in six home games for the first time since 1978 and they have now lost three successive derbies for the first time in 45 years.
All the noises coming out of Old Trafford before the match were positive.
Sir Bobby Charlton said Moyes was "absolutely the right man" for the job.
Moyes wrote in his programme notes that it would not be long before United came through their "tricky period" and rose again.
The United boss said his team were not as far behind City in terms of quality as the table suggested, but that theory was shot to bits in the opening minute.
Toure sliced open the home defence to find Silva, who would have put City ahead had it not been for a decisive intervention from Rafael.
If United thought the trouble had passed then they were wrong. The cleared ball fell to Fernandinho, who found Nasri in acres of space in the box. The Frenchman's shot beat a stationary De Gea and the ball fell to Dzeko, who was left with the simplest of tap-ins.
Moyes sat there looking glum while the away fans proclaimed the Scot a "football genius".For the rest of the opening quarter, United simply could not get hold of the ball. Silva penetrated the defence but fluffed his shot from 12 yards.Dzeko slid the ball across the box, but Rafael was there to intercept again.
Silva snuck in behind the United back four again and squared for Dzeko, who placed his shot towards the bottom right-hand corner, but De Gea stuck out a hand and saved.
United fans, so supportive this season despite their team's failings, vented their anger as City's attack strolled towards the home defence unchallenged in attack after attack.
Joe Hart was twice called into action, but only to save weak shots from Wayne Rooney and Fellaini.Fellaini then blotted his copy book by elbowing Zabaleta. He was lucky to get away with a booking.
United had one more chance before the break, but Rooney's fresh-air swipe from Rafael's simple pass summed up the hosts' first half.
Moyes brought on Shinji Kagawa for Cleverley at the break but it had no effect on the game.
Fernandinho headed over from six yards, but Dzeko made no such mistake soon after.
Fellaini blocked Rio Ferdinand's path as he tracked Dzeko and he was left unchallenged to head past De Gea.
United threatened momentarily through Welbeck, whose backheel was saved by Hart from point-blank range.
More substitutions came but nothing changed. Moyes sat in his seat dejected as Toure drove the ball beyond De Gea from 16 yards to wrap up the win in the final minute

ARSENAL NIGHTMARE CONTINUED

Arsenal's nightmare continued as a bizarre own goal from Mathieu Flamini in the last minute handed Swansea a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had called for a response to the "accident" of his side's 6-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge which ruined his 1,000th match in charge on Saturday.
Having trailed to an 11th minute header from Wilfried Bony, it was not until the introduction of substitute Lukas Podolski just before the hour that Arsenal finally sparked into life with two goals in the space of 60 seconds which looked to have won the match.
First, Kieran Gibbs - whose red card at Chelsea in a case of mistaken identity was overturned on Monday night - darted down the left and supplied a low cross which was bundled home by Podolski in the 73rd minute.
The German then turned provider as he charged clear of the Swansea defence to send in a low cross which Olivier Giroud smashed past Michel Vorm at the near post.
However, Garry Monk's side - fighting against being dragged into the relegation battle - had defended resolutely and were themselves dangerous on the counter-attack, eventually forcing a late equaliser.Following a disputed free-kick, the ball broke to Leon Britton at the edge of the Arsenal penalty area.
As the midfielder pressed forwards, riding a couple of challenges, he stabbed the ball goalwards. It was partially blocked by Per Mertesacker, then ricocheted off goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and back onto Flamini before rolling into the net.
Wenger was left less than impressed, and will be in no doubt of the challenges which now lie ahead in a campaign which has promised so much - and continues with the visit of Manchester City on Saturday. Arsenal had both midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain and left-back Gibbs in the side after successful disciplinary appeals from the fallout of Saturday's fiasco at Stamford Bridge.
The Football Association overturned the mistaken-identity dismissal of Gibbs by referee Andre Marriner for Oxlade-Chamberlain's handball in the six-yard box, which was then downgraded to a yellow on review as it was decided the initial shot had been going just wide.
Thomas Vermaelen started at centre-back with Laurent Koscielny out because of a calf problem, while defensive midfielder Flamini came in to shore up the side - as many felt the Frenchman should have done at the weekend.
Swansea are in danger of being sucked into the relegation dogfight after no wins in the last six league matches, but recalled Spanish forward Michu as one of four changes by Monk.
Oxlade-Chamberlain almost found himself in the headlines again on five minutes when his rasping 20-yard drive was palmed away by Michel Vorm.
It was the visitors, though, who took the lead on 11 minutes. The ball was swung over from the left by Neil Taylor and Bony simply had too much power for Vermaelen as he out-jumped the Belgian to head past Wojciech Szczesny.
Arsenal looked for an immediate response as Tomas Rosicky charged into the Swansea penalty area, but was crowded out before Mertesacker's flick at the near post from a corner went into the side netting.
Swansea, though, continued to look dangerous on the counter attack as, just like against Chelsea, Arsenal were caught out pressing a high line.
When Cazorla did squirm free to make space for a shot from the edge of the crowded Swansea penalty area, Vorm saved smartly.
Arsenal started the second half with some purpose, but were again found wanting of a telling pass in the final third.
Wenger had seen enough and made a change on 57 minutes as Podolski replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It could have got worse for Arsenal had Michu not sent a free header over the crossbar after another floated ball into the penalty area.
Arsenal suddenly sparked into life to turn the match around with two goals in a minute.
Gibbs got away down the left and to the goal-line before cutting it back into the six-yard box, where Podolski arrived on queue to hook his shot over the keeper.
The German then turned provider as his powerful run and cross was finished off by Giroud at the near post.
Despite Arsenal turning the match around, there were still plenty of nervous moments in the closing stages.
And the home supporters were left in stunned silence at the dramatic finale as Swansea players ran over to the jubilant travelling fans, with Flamini and the rest of Wenger's men left to curse their luck once again.

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE RESULTS

Barclays Premier League
Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City
Arsenal 2-2 Swansea City
Newcastle United 0-3 Everton

Spanish Primera División
Malaga 1-2 Espanyol

Italian Serie A
AS Roma 2-1 Torino

German Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Schalke 04
Hertha Berlin 1-3 Bayern Munich
TSV Eintracht Braunschweig 3-1 Mainz
Werder Bremen 1-3 VfL Wolfsburg

TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
8:45 PM - Manchester United vs Manchester City
8:45 PM - Arsenal vs Swansea City
8:45 PM - Newcastle United vs Everton

Spanish Primera División
8:00 PM - Malaga vs Espanyol
10:00 PM - Elche vs Athletic Bilbao

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

German Bundesliga
8:00 PM - Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04
8:00 PM - Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich
8:00 PM - TSV Eintracht Braunschweig vs Mainz
8:00 PM - Werder Bremen vs VfL Wolfsburg

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Barclays Premier League
8:45 PM - West Ham United vs Hull City
9:00 PM - Liverpool vs Sunderland

Spanish Primera División
8:00 PM - Barcelona vs Celta Vigo
8:00 PM - Rayo Vallecano vs Osasuna
10:00 PM - Atletico Madrid vs Granada
10:00 PM - Sevilla FC vs Real Madrid

Italian Serie A
8:45 PM - Atalanta vs Livorno
8:45 PM - Cagliari vs Hellas Verona
8:45 PM - Catania vs Napoli
8:45 PM - Chievo Verona vs Bologna
8:45 PM - Fiorentina vs AC Milan
8:45 PM - Genoa vs Lazio
8:45 PM - Juventus vs Parma
8:45 PM - Sassuolo vs Sampdoria

German Bundesliga
8:00 PM - Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach
8:00 PM - FC Augsburg vs Bayer Leverkusen
8:00 PM - Hamburg SV vs SC Freiburg
8:00 PM - Nurnberg vs VfB Stuttgart
8:00 PM - TSG Hoffenheim vs Hannover 96

ARSENAL WINS RED CARD APPEAL

Arsenal won their appeal on Monday over Kieran Gibbs being wrongfully dismissed in the 6-0 hammering at Chelsea, with real culprit Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also let off a ban by the Football Association.
Oxlade-Chamberlain used his hand to divert a shot in Saturday's Premier League match but referee Andre Marriner sent off left back Gibbs in a case of mistaken identity despite Oxlade-Chamberlain owning up to the foul.
The FA said in a statement that not only would Gibbs' offence be transferred to Oxlade-Chamberlain but that the case was one of wrongful dismissal.
Arsenal had argued the ball would have gone wide if the midfielder had not handled and therefore did not constitute denying a goal.
"This claim was upheld meaning Oxlade-Chamberlain will not serve any suspension with the standard punishment withdrawn with immediate effect," the FA said.
Despite his double error, the Premier League said on Monday that Marriner would not be demoted and would take charge of Southampton v Newcastle United on Saturday.

FLAMINGOES OF NIGERIA TO FACE SPAIN IN QUARTER FINAL

Nigeria defeated Mexico with a deserved 3-0 scoreline to leapfrog their opponents at the top of Group D and set up a quarter-final showdown with Spain.
The Africans rarely looked liked being hauled in after racing to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Rasheedat Ajibade and Uchenna Kanu.
The deadlock was broken on 12 minutes after Mexican goalkeeper Emily Alvarado could only parry a low cross into the path of Ajibade who easily buried the loose ball.
The North Americans could have equalised almost immediately, but Jacqueline Crowther struck the post with an awkward effort after the goalkeeper had been caught out of position.
It was to prove costly as Nigeria quickly doubled their advantage with Aminat Yakubu reacting quickest to a loose ball in the penalty area and crossing for Kanu to nod home from close range.Kanu then missed a gilt-edged chance at the back post by a matter of millimetres and the chance to virtually end the contest.
However, Yakubu did just that when she collected a much-deserved goal just prior to the hour mark after heading home Kanu’s well-flighted cross.
Crowther was invariably involved in Mexico’s dangerous moments in attack and the tall blond attacker narrowly came close to getting El Tri on the board on several occasions, but Nigeria were always comfortable winners.

CAF CONFEDERATIONS CUP RESULTS

CAF CONFEDERATIONS CUP RESULTS

23 March 2014

CS Constantinois 1 v 0 ASEC Mimosas
Ismaily 0 v 0 Atletico Petroleos
Medeama 2 v 0 Zesco United
Warri Wolves 0 v 0 C.A Bizertin

22 March 2014

AS Kigali 1 v 0 Difaa Hassani El Jadidi
How Mine 2 v 1 Bayelsa United
Wadi Delga 2 v 0 Djoliba AC
ES Sahel 1 v 0 SuperSport United

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

23 March 2014

AC Leopards (Congo) 1 v 1 Al-Hilal (Sudan)
Sewe Sport (Ivory Coast) 2 v 1 TP Mazembe (DRC)
AS Vita (DRC) 3 v 0 Kaizer Chiefs
Horoya (Guinea) 0 v 1 CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
ES Setif (Algeria) 1 v 0 Coton Sport (Cameroon)

22 March 2014

Nkana (Zambia) 0 v 0 Zamalek (Egypt)
AS Bamako (Mali) 1 v 1 Esperance (Tunisia)

21 March 2014

Ahly Benghazi (Libya) 1 v 0 Al Ahly (Egypt)

LATE GOAL GIVES TOTTENHAM VICTORY

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a late winner as Tottenham dragged themselves back from two goals down to earn a thrilling victory against Southampton.
Southampton dominated the first half and a Kyle Naughton mistake allowed Jay Rodriguez to score.
Adam Lallana doubled Saints' lead with an impressive strike into the corner.
Christian Eriksen scored twice from close range to level before substitute Sigurdsson struck with a dramatic long-distance winner.
Tottenham's spirited comeback will ease the pressure slightly on manager Tim Sherwood, who has seen Dutchman Louis van Gaal linked with his job.
Sherwood's side, knocked out of the Europa League by Benfica on Thursday, had endured a poor run of form of late - losing three and drawing one of their last four matches in all competitions - but this victory will reignite their hopes of finishing inside the top four.
Qualifying for the Champions League will still be a tough task as fourth-placed Arsenal are six points ahead of their north London rivals in fifth and have a game in hand.
However, this was the first time Spurs had bounced back from a two-goal deficit since their 3-2 win against Arsenal in November 2010, and a gritty turnaround against ninth-placed Southampton will boost confidence.
Tottenham manager Sherwood watched the opening 30 minutes from the directors' box, saying it gave him a "better view" while also alluding he hoped it would help him keep his emotions in check.
By the final whistle, Sherwood was on the touchline and unable to contain his delight as Sigurdsson's 92nd-minute 20-yard winner sparked wild celebrations.
From the stands, Sherwood - and the watching England manager Roy Hodgson - would have noticed Lallana imposing himself on the match in the first half, finding holes in Tottenham's high defensive line with his customary panache.
But for all of Southampton's creativity, their opening goal came thanks to a long ball from their goalkeeper Artur Boruc and a defensive blunder.
Tottenham's Naughton let the ball bounce and it was left for Rodriguez to impressively finish low into the corner for his 13th league goal of the season - and his third in as many games.
Less than 10 minutes later Southampton had doubled their advantage and, once again, it was Naughton at fault. The defender tamely poked the ball towards Rickie Lambert, whose quick feet released Lallana to score his first league goal in seven games.
By the time Tottenham had halved the deficit, Sherwood was already by the dugout, gesticulating at his players.
Again, it was a defensive error which led to the match's third goal, with Nathaniel Clyne diving wildly at a Naughton cross to present Eriksen with a simple tap-in.
Tottenham posed more of a threat as half-time approached and both goalkeepers were required to make point-blank saves; Hugo Lloris preventing Lallana and, at the other end, Boruc stopping Eriksen from levelling before the break.
But Boruc was helpless when Eriksen did equalise a minute into the second half.
The industrious Roberto Soldado won the ball from Dejan Lovren near the corner flag and passed across goal for the onrushing Eriksen to once again score from close range.
Southampton's threat faded quickly and, if the first half belonged to Lallana, it was left for Eriksen to conduct proceedings after the break, with the Dane scoring twice in a match for the first time in his career.
Eriksen had a chance to complete his hat-trick after being put through by a Younes Kaboul long ball, but the Southampton defence did enough to unsettle the former Ajax playmaker.
Eriksen's strike remained the only shot on target in the second half until Sigurdsson's low effort hit the net in a rousing finale.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino said "The first half we dominated but there's refereeing decisions which did not go our way and completely changed the dynamic of the game."We suffered after conceding the equaliser and the last goal made it very difficult for us. There's nothing to complain about the third goal. We lost the game, more than Tottenham won the game, and they had a little help from the referee."