Chelsea crash out of the Champions League

Chelsea crash out of the Champions League: Chelsea failed to make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after Paris St Germain beat on away goals after a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

The deciding goal was headed home by Thiago Silva in extra time after the PSG captain had earlier given away the penalty that put Chelsea 2-1 ahead.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off in the first half for a foul on Oscar, then Gary Cahill fired the hosts in front late on before David Luiz haunted his former club with a leveller four minutes from time to force the extra half hour.

Once more Chelsea went ahead through Eden Hazard's penalty following Thiago Silva's handball but a superb header from PSG's Brazilian defender made his team qualify for the quarter-finals.

Real Madrid need to keep nerves as Barcelona, Atletico seek to close in

Real Madrid need to keep nerves as Barcelona, Atletico seek to close in: Madrid suffer a 0-4 humiliatio

FC Barcelona have the chance to pile the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid this weekend.



Last weekend saw Real Madrid suffer a 0-4 humiliation away to local
rivals Atletico Madrid. Barcelona beat Athletic Club Bilbao 5-2 to be
just one point short of Real's 54. Atletico need a slip-up from one of
the big two as they have 50 points, reports Xinhua.



Real kick off the weekend in the title race Saturday afternoon after
Sevilla open the weekend's affairs with a derby against struggling
neighbors Cordoba.



Real are at home to Deportivo la Coruna, whose form has improved
drastically of late and who will face a Real side hit by injuries with
Luka Modric, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao and Sami Khedira all
injured.



That will mean Rafael Varene and Nacho Fernandez playing again in the
central defence, although the side will be boosted by the return of
Marcelo after injury.



There is also the chance of a change in goal after Real Madrid coach
Carlo Ancelotti tried Keylor Navas in a couple of midweek training
sessions ahead of Iker Casillas, who was not at his best a week ago.



Saturday's other games see a relegation battle between Granada and
Bilbao, who will hope they are not too affected by the efforts of the
King's Cup semifinal Wednesday night. Espanyol will travel to face a
Malaga side that appears to have run out of stream after a good first
half to the campaign.



Sunday begins with Valencia looking to cement their place in fourth
at home to Getafe, who are led by former Valencia coach Quique Sanchez
Flores. Getafe have picked up slightly under Quique, but Valencia will
be favourites with Alvaro Negredo likely to lead their attack.



Barcelona take on Levante, who lifted themselves off the bottom of
the table with a shock 4-1 win over Malaga last week. But the visit to
the Camp Nou will be different.



Barcelona are arguably in their best form of the season as coach Luis
Enrique seems to have found the formula for success. He has reduced the
squad rotations and placed his faith in the attacking trio of Lionel
Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.



The trio have built up a formidable understanding and with the
midfield also working like clockwork, Barcelona are starting to resemble
the unbeatable team they were under Pep Guardiola at just the right
time.



Rayo Vallecano receive Villarreal, who will be without captain Bruno
Soriano for two months after he broke his foot in midweek. Atletico also
stake their title claim with what could be a difficult trip to Celta's
Balaidos Stadium.



Celta have struggled for form and goals, but have the talent to
trouble Atletico, who need to keep focus after last weekend's triumph.
Coach Diego Simeone will no doubt have drilled that lesson into his
players.

West Brom draw with Burnley from two down

West Brom draw with Burnley from two down: West Brom fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley.

It all looked rosy for Burnley as they



West Brom fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley.



It all looked rosy for Burnley as they were two up inside 32 minutes
through headers from Ashley Barnes and Danny Ings until Chris Brunt
pulled one back just before half-time for Albion



The Baggies' record signing Brown Ideye almost left the club in the
final hours of the winter transfer window on Monday but came off the
bench at half-time at Turf Moor to head in the equaliser.

Messi helps Barcelona thrash Athletic Bilbao

Messi helps Barcelona thrash Athletic Bilbao: Lionel Messi’s magic inspired Barcelona thump Athletic Bilbao 5-2 in La Liga on Sunday and move within a point of La Liga leaders, Real Madrid.



Lionel Messi’s magic inspired Barcelona thump Athletic Bilbao 5-2 in La
Liga on Sunday and move within a point of La Liga leaders, Real Madrid.



Lionel Messi not only opened the scoring but also turned provider, as
they trounced Athletic Bilbao 5-2, with strikes from Luis Suarez,
Neymar, Pedro and an Oscar de Marcos own goal taking the Catalan giants
clear.



The win takes Barcelona up to 53 points and right onto Los Blancos'
coattails after they lost 4-0 to third-placed rivals Atletico Madrid on
Saturday.

Real Madrid will win La Liga: Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid will win La Liga: Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo Monday insisted that his team will make a strong comeback from its Saturday’s 0-4 loss to

Real Madrid’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo
Monday insisted that his team will make a strong comeback from its
Saturday’s 0-4 loss to rivals Atletico Madrid and clinch the La Liga
title this year.



This was Real’s heaviest defeat in recent years but they still top the league table ahead of FC Barcelona and Atletico.



"In my opinion we are a better team than Atletico and we should be
showing that on the pitch. I'm sure, in the end, we'll win La Liga,"
Ronaldo was quoted as saying by BBC Monday.



The 30-year-old said it was a day to forget and hoped they would not repeat the 0-4 debacle again.



"It was a day to forget but we are still top of the league and we
know we'll have to fight right until the end," Portugal captain Ronaldo
added.



"We have to put this game behind us as quickly as possible because Real Madrid can't lose 0-4 to any team."

England beat Wales in Six Nations opener

England team battling with injuries made a stunning comeback to beat Wales 21-16 in the Six Nations Championship opening match.

Striking the first blow in World Cup year on Friday night, England held the hosts scoreless in the second half to quieten a noisy Millennium Stadium crowd and avenge a record 30-3 defeat two years ago in Cardiff.

Maiden tries from Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, plus 11 points from the boot of George Ford, hauled England back into a contest that had appeared lost.

Atletico Madrid thrash Real Madrid 4-0

Atletico Madrid thrash Real Madrid 4-0: Champions Atletico Madrid thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 and extended their unbeaten run over their city rivals to six matches.

Real's £250m fo
Champions Atletico Madrid thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 and extended their unbeaten run over their city rivals to six matches.

Real's £250m forward line of Bale, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema mustered just one shot in a first half dominated by Atletico Madrid.

Tiago put the hosts ahead with a right-footed shot which Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas failed to hold. Then four minutes later midfielder Saul Niguez doubled the lead with a spectacular overhead kick. And in the second half the suffering continued when the brilliant Antoine Griezmann added a third and Mario Mandzukic made it four.

A shell-shocked Carlo Ancelotti said after the game, ‘We were second to everything; we lost all the aerial challenges, we weren’t in the game. None of our players played well. It’s the worst performance since I have been the manager.’