La Liga: Granada 0 Sevilla 3

27 March 2012

A brace from Manu del Moral helped Sevilla to a comfortable 3-0 win at lowly Granada in La Liga on Monday.

A brace from Manu del Moral helped Sevilla to a comfortable 3-0 win at lowly Granada in La Liga on Monday.
The visitors took the lead in the 40th minute through Alvaro Negredo, who collected Jose Antonio Reyes' pass before calmly slotting a left-footed chip into goal.

Negredo turned provider 10 minutes after the interval as Moral opened his account by turning in the Spain striker's cross.
Manu scored his second in injury-time, prodding home the rebound after Granada goalkeeper Roberto parried Jesus Navas' strike on to his path.
The win revives Sevilla's hopes of qualifying for Europe next season, with Michel Gonzalez's side in eighth place on 39 points, four points shy of the qualification places.

Promoted Granada stay 17th on 31 points, six clear of the relegation zone.

Champions League preview: AC Milan v Barcelona 27 March 2012

27 March 2012

AC Milan will be desperate for a home win over Barcelona in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the San Siro.

AC Milan will be desperate for a home win over Barcelona in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the San Siro.
Massimiliano Allegri's men were handed the tough draw of the defending champions, and a win on Wednesday is key in their bid to go through to the last four.
The Serie A leaders, who played out a draw and lost to Barcelona in the group stages of the competition, enter the encounter in fine form, unbeaten in four matches.
Allegri's side have been guided by the excellent form of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who took his tally to 29 goals in all competitions with a brace in the 2-1 win against Roma on Saturday.
They continue to dominate in the league despite several injury problems, with Thiago Silva the latest concern.
Silva will miss a month with a thigh injury, joining Alexandre Pato, Ignazio Abate, Robinho and Alexander Merkel on the sidelines.
Mark van Bommel, who is missing with a back problem, is serving a one-match ban for the first leg.
AC Milan welcome a red-hot Barcelona side, with Lionel Messi in particular starring in recent outings.
Pep Guardiola's men have won nine straight games in all competitions, seeing them close the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to six points.
Argentine superstar Messi has been a standout, netting 12 times in their last five victories to take his tally to 55 this term.
The reigning champions are still without David Villa, although Alexis Sanchez and young gun Cristian Tello have filled the void.
Guardiola had the luxury of keeping gun midfielder Xavi on the bench in his side's 2-0 win at Mallorca on Saturday, but the Spain international is a certainty to return against AC Milan.
Allegri's side troubled Barcelona but were 3-2 losers when the teams met on November 23 last year, and he would love for his team to keep a clean sheet in their home leg.

A home win is almost a must if the Serie A champions are to progress to a semi-final clash with either Benfica or Chelsea.

Champions League preview: AC Milan v Barcelona 27 March 2012

Howard instils FA Cup focus

16 March 2012

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard wants to put Tuesday's defeat to Liverpool behind him and earn a place at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard wants to put Tuesday's defeat to Liverpool behind him and earn a place at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Howard's side lost 3-0 at Anfield as Steven Gerrard netted a hat-trick on the eve of David Moyes' 10-year anniversary in charge of the Premier League club.
Everton had gone nine games unbeaten before the defeat and Howard is keen to recapture that form in their quarter-final clash with Sunderland this weekend.
The United States international told the Daily Mirror: "It (Anfield) is never a nice place to lose, but with the anniversary and everything, it's even more so. Ten years is a lot of results, a lot of highs and lows."
"We had gone into the game on the back of a really good run, but unfortunately it didn't end in the storybook way we all hoped. But this is a good team, this is a good bunch of boys, and there is definitely no problem with the character in the squad."
"We will be up for the fight at the weekend, and it would be fantastic to get a good result to give everyone a lift after what has been a long week. It won't be for the lack of trying."
"Losing derbies always hurts, but we are professionals, we want to see it out, so we will get back to work and hopefully get a result."
Howard insisted that this weekend's game has not become any more crucial because of the Liverpool loss, and believes that the players will be motivated by the desire to finally win a trophy in Moyes' reign.
"I don't think the FA Cup game has any more importance because of losing the derby - the chance of going to Wembley is enough to lift everyone's spirits," he said.
"We all want a place in the semi-final. We will keep going, because the confidence is certainly still there. That's because of the way we were playing before Anfield."

"We still feel our form is good and we will count that defeat as just a blip, push on and hopefully get a good result at the weekend, which will really help to put this behind us."

Premier League preview: Wolves v Manchester United

t will be a battle of second-bottom versus top when Wolverhampton host Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
United have gained the upper hand on rivals Manchester City in the title race, taking top place after defeating West Brom while Roberto Mancini's side slipped up at Swansea.
Terry Connor's Wolves meanwhile are in deep relegation trouble and will need a colossal effort against the leaders to help their survival cause.
They will be hoping to repeat last season's effort in which they stunned United 2-1 at home.
But to do so Wolves will have to overcome their reticence in front of goal. The Midlands club have played 204 minutes since their last score, an equaliser in the thrilling 2-2 comeback draw with Newcastle.
Wolves have netted in each of their past four contests with Sir Alex Ferguson's men, so a free-flowing game could unfold.
After the United test, the Molineux outfit's run home sees them play three of the top four sides, while tricky away trips to Sunderland and Swansea also await.
In selection news, Karl Henry has failed to pull up after a hamstring strain, while fellow midfielder Stephen Hunt is facing a fitness test before the clash.
Defender Sebastien Bassong looks set to miss following a knock to his ankle, while Nenad Milijas is in doubt after sustaining a calf strain in training.

United have an extensive injury list, with Chris Smalling (head), Anders Lindegaard (ankle), Darren Fletcher (bowel), Nemanja Vidic (knee), Michael Owen (thigh), Antonio Valencia (hamstring) and Nani (knock) all sidelined.

FIFA ban ex-South Korea international

16 March 2012

Former South Korea international Choi Sung-Kuk has been banned from playing professional football by FIFA, K-League officials said Friday.

Former South Korea international Choi Sung-Kuk has been banned from playing professional football by FIFA, K-League officials said Friday.
Choi, 29, was implicated in a match-fixing scandal last year along with several other players from his former club Sangju Sangmu Phoenix.
The FIFA ban comes after the disgraced winger attempted to restart his career by joining Macedonia's FK Rabotnicki during the northern winter, only to see the move fall through after the Football Federation of Macedonia rejected the late registration application.
"FIFA has banned Choi Sung-Kuk from playing football as a professional player in any league in the world," read the K-League statement, which also noted that the Asian Football Confederation, UEFA, and FFM had been alerted to the decision.

Choi earned 26 caps for South Korea, scoring two goals.