Uefa News

Berita Coy

Magic Madrid achieve ten straight wins

Guti and Raúl González scored midway through the second half to earn Real Madrid CF a 2-0 win at second-bottom RCD Espanyol and a tenth successive Liga victory.

Quick-fire strikes
In a game of few chances, Guti broke the deadlock when his free-kick was tipped on to the post and in by Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni after 67 minutes, just minutes after being sent on by coach Juande Ramos. With the hosts despondent, Madrid doubled their lead when Raúl placed a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Los Merengues now trail leaders FC Barcelona – who lost to Espanyol last week – by four points ahead of the Catalan outfit's match at Club Atlético de Madrid on Sunday, while Espanyol lie three points from safety.

Kanouté double
Elsewhere, Sevilla FC tightened their grip on third place by coming from a goal down to win 2-1 at Athletic Club Bilbao. Igor Gabilondo gave the hosts a 27th-minute lead at the San Mamés when he fired in after the visitors failed to clear a corner although Sevilla were soon level. Six minutes before half-time, Frédéric Kanouté brought down a cross from Aquivaldo Mosquera and shot past Armando while the Mali forward struck what proved to be the winner just before the hour when he held off the attention of two Athletic defenders and placed the ball into the bottom corner.

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Liverpool laid low by Middlesbrough setback

There were mixed results for three of England's UEFA Champions League representatives on their return to Premier League action as Liverpool FC lost 2-0 at relegation-threatened Middlesbrough FC while Frank Lampard scored a last-minute winner for Chelsea FC.

Liverpool lose
Rafael Benítez's Liverpool may have won at Real Madrid CF on Wednesday but, without the injured Fernando Torres, were unable to find a way through a Middlesbrough team without a win in their previous 14 league matches. The north-east club have found goals hard to muster this term and it was Liverpool's Xabi Alonso, deflecting a corner from Stewart Downing into his own net, who set the hosts on their way just past the half-hour mark. Tuncay Şanlı added a second after 63 minutes to secure a victory which moves Middlesbrough two places up to 17th, one point above Stoke City FC, who occupy the final relegation place.

Lampard winner
Chelsea replaced Liverpool in second place thanks to a 2-1 defeat of Wigan Athletic FC at Stamford Bridge. The hosts looked to be heading for a point when Olivier Kapo (82) cancelled out John Terry's 25th-minute opener only for Lampard to strike in added time. Meanwhile, Arsenal FC were held to a 0-0 draw by Fulham FC − their fourth goalless draw in as many league games − and now trail fourth-placed Aston Villa FC, who host Stoke on Sunday, by five points. In the day's early kick-off, Everton FC continued their push for a place in the top five by beating strugglers West Bromwich Albion FC 2-0 at home thanks to goals in each half from Tim Cahill (36) and Louis Saha (70).

Cup final
Leaders Manchester United FC play Tottenham Hotspur FC in the League Cup final on Sunday, while West Ham United FC host Manchester City FC, Blackburn Rovers FC travel to Hull City AFC and Bolton Wanderers FC welcome Newcastle United FC.

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Marchisio the difference as Juventus down Napoli

Juventus cut FC Internazionale Milano's leadership of Serie A to six points with a 1-0 defeat of SSC Napoli ahead of the Nerazzurri's meeting with AS Roma on Sunday night.

Marvelous Marchisio
Napoli arrived in Turin with just one win in all competitions this year although they had drawn 0-0 with the Bianconeri in a Coppa Italia tie in early February before losing on penalties. The fixture at the Stadio Olimpico proved equally tight with Claudio Marchisio's 44th-minute effort, which deflected in off former Juventus midfielder Manuele Blasi, all that separated the sides.

Zárate double
In the day's early game, S.S. Lazio heightened Bologna FC's relegation worries with a 2-0 home win. Argentinian striker Mauro Zárate struck on 35 and 81 minutes to take his league tally to ten for the season – his first a sumptuous curling free-kick from the edge of the penalty area – to propel the Biancocelesti up four places into seventh. Bologna, meanwhile, are without a league win in five and sit just one point above third-bottom US Lecce.

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Hertha keep up title pressure

First-half goals from Andriy Voronin and Pál Dárdai helped Hertha BSC Berlin to a 2-1 home win over strugglers VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, the three points taking Lucien Favre's team back to the Bundesliga summit after fellow challengers TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were held 0-0 at BV Borussia Dortmund.

Relegation fears
Top at the start of play, Hamburger SV can reclaim the lead by beating VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday, while FC Bayern München could go level on points with Hoffenheim in third with victory at Werder Bremen. On Friday, 1. FC Köln consolidated their mid-table position with a 1-1 home draw against DSC Arminia Bielefeld, who themselves are now only clear of the drop zone on goal difference after VfL Bochum 1848's dramatic 3-2 home win over FC Energie Cottbus. Having gone behind twice to fellow strugglers Energie, Bochum secured victory with a 79th-minute penalty from Marc Pfertzel.

Bruggink winner
FC Schalke 04, meanwhile, boosted their chances of playing European football next season with a 2-1 success at Eintracht Frankfurt, Heiko Westermann's 83rd-minute strike proving the winner and keeping Eintracht looking nervously over their shoulders. Elsewhere, Hannover 96 dented Bayer 04 Leverkusen's title hopes with a 1-0 win courtesy of a first-half effort from Dutch striker Arnold Bruggink. Second-bottom Karlsruher SC host VfB Stuttgart in Sunday's other fixture.



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Russian rivals matched in futsal finals draw

Russian rivals MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg and MFK Dinamo Moskva, respectively the winners of the last two UEFA Futsal Cups, have been drawn together in the semi-finals on 24 April while two-time champions Interviú Madrid play Kairat Almaty.

Rivals meet
Holders Ekaterinburg took the European title in Moscow at their first attempt last year and, just as Dinamo did 12 months ago, will defend the trophy as final four hosts. Viz hold the upper hand over their rivals this season having won three and drawn one of their four league meetings including both home fixtures in September, and the teams also play in the Russian Cup final on 1 and 5 April. Dinamo have reached the UEFA Futsal Cup semi-finals five years running and lost at this stage for the first time last season on penalties to ElPozo Murcia FS.

Interviú aim
Interviú, aiming to become the first three-time winners, are rematched with a Kairat team they defeated 5-2 in the second qualifying round on their way to the most recent of their titles in 2005/06. Kairat also went on to the semi-finals that season but were beaten by Dinamo, as they were by Ekaterinburg at this stage last year.

Russian race
The draw was held at the venue for the finals, the Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport, minutes after Viz's 3-1 Russian Super League defeat of TTG-Ugra Yugorsk, which took them ten points clear of MFK Tyumen. That side lost 9-4 at home to reigning champions Dinamo, three points further back with two games in hand. Both Interviú and Kairat lead their domestic leagues and are hoping to secure cup successes this weekend.

Schedule
The UEFA Futsal Cup semi-finals will be played on 24 April, with the final and third-place match two days later. All games are live on Eurosport or Eurosport 2.

UEFA Futsal Cup final four schedule
Date Stage Match KO
Fri 24 Apr Semi-final 1
Kairat Almaty (KAZ) v
Interviú Madrid (ESP)
17.00
Fri 24 Apr Semi-final 2
MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg (RUS, hosts) v
MFK Dinamo Moskva (RUS)
19.00
Sun 26 Apr Third-place match
Losers SF1 v SF2
18.30
Sun 26 Apr Final Winners SF1 v SF2 21.00

All kick-off times local, CET +4 hours

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Bergougnoux fires Toulouse up to second

Substitute Bryan Bergougnoux struck an 81st-minute equaliser to earn Toulouse FC a 1-1 draw at AJ Auxerre and move the southern outfit into second place in Ligue 1.

Le Mans victory
Trailing since the 25th minute to an Ireneusz Jeleń goal, Bergougnoux's equaliser moves Toulouse to within six points of leaders Olympique Lyonnais and ahead of third-placed Paris Saint-Germain FC on goal difference. Further down the table, Le Mans UC 72 moved into the relative security of mid-table with a 2-0 win over bottom side Le Havre AC, courtesy of second-half goals from Modibo Maiga and Gervinho. Le Mans now lie eleventh, four points clear of the final relegation berth currently occupied by FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, 1-0 winners at home to OGC Nice.

Late leveller
Another team to boost their survival hopes were Valenciennes FC, goals in the space of five first-half minutes from Gaël Danic and Jean-Claude Darcheville securing a 2-0 success against LOSC Lille Métropole. FC Nantes, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Grenoble Foot 38, for whom Sandy Paillot struck in added time to cancel out Ivan Klasnić's 38th-minute opener.

Sunday's games
Lyon host Stade Rennais FC on Sunday looking to extend their advantage, while third-placed PSG take on AS Nancy-Lorraine in the capital. Elsewhere, FC Girondins de Bordeaux welcome FC Lorient, AS Monaco FC host UEFA Cup contenders AS Saint-Etienne and Olympique de Marseille travel to SM Caen.