Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen stayed on course for an all-German UEFA Cup semi-final clash with 3-1 victories over Manchester City and Udinese respectively in their quarter-final, first legs on Thursday. Shakhtar Donetsk beat visitors Olympique Marseille 2-0 while Dynamo Kiev drew at Paris St Germain in a lacklustre goalless affair leaving open the possibility of a Ukrainian semi-final if the French clubs fail to put in improved performances.
Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play.
Germany's professional teams have been training since mid-April, divided into small groups and under strict conditions, including extensive testing of all players and coaching staff.
A late equaliser from Werder Bremen's Brazilian international Diego denied AC Milan victory in their UEFA Cup first knockout round first leg tie in Germany on Wednesday.
Brazilian Jadson struck an extra-time winner to secure Shakhtar Donetsk a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen in the last UEFA Cup final Wednesday.
New Juventus signing Diego stole the show in only his second Serie A start with two stunning goals in a 3-1 win at AS Roma on Sunday.
Samuel Eto'o coolly converted a penalty on his league debut but champions Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Bari in their Serie A opener on Sunday.
Hajime Moriyasu's side, one of the favourites for the title, laboured throughout the opening 45 minutes and fell behind to a vicious long-range strike from Arslanmyrat Amanov that flew past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.
Bayer Leverkusen dumped Bayern Munich out of the German Cup with a 4-2 victory over the holders in Wednesday's quarter-final. Leverkusen were joined on Wednesday by Werder Bremen, who ousted VfL Wolfsburg 5-2, and Hamburg after they beat second division Wehen Wiesbaden 2-1.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho's fixation with playing three up front will come under further scrutiny at home to Werder Bremen.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho's fixation with playing three up front will come under further scrutiny at home to Werder Bremen on Wednesday following Sunday's 1-0 defeat by AC Milan.
Leaders Schalke 04 surrendered their unbeaten Bundesliga record when they lost 1-0 at promoted Cologne on Friday. The visitors got away with a series of defensive lapses until Youssef Mohamad headed in for Cologne just before halftime after a long throw from Pierre Wome bamboozled the defence. Schalke remain top with 11 points from six matches followed by 1899 Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg SV on 10 points from five.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
VfL Wolfsburg sealed their first Bundesliga title by demolishing Werder Bremen 5-1 on the final day of the season on Saturday.
Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese saved two first-half penalties as the Bundesliga side began their UEFA Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Braga.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will return to Juventus from Real Madrid on July 1 despite widespread supporter anger over the move.
Out of form Ronaldinho has been included in Brazil's squad for the Olympic Games as an overage player.
The UEFA Cup final will be contested by German and Ukrainian teams after Werder Bremen and Hamburg SV along with Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk set up domestic semi-final showdowns. The semi-final first legs take place on April 30 with the return matches on May 5. The final is in Istanbul on May 20.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Hamburg SV will play Manchester City in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and could meet Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen in the last four. Shakhtar Donetsk will play Olympique Marseille and Dynamo Kiev face Paris St Germain with the winners lined up to meet in the semis after the draw was made by UEFA on Friday.
A last-gasp goal from Hertha Berlin's Adrian Ramos denied Bayer Leverkusen the chance to go six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Friday after a 2-2 draw.
Liverpool tore Real Madrid apart with a blistering 4-0 win to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday while Premier League rivals Chelsea drew 2-2 with Juventus in Turin to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Bayern Munich cantered into the last eight by routing Portugal's Sporting 7-1 in Germany and 12-1 over the two legs for a Champions League aggregate record victory.
Bayern Munich's domestic woes continued on Sunday when they were held 0-0 at Werder Bremen and slipped to fifth in the Bundesliga.
Werder Bremen produced a rousing fightback at the San Siro to eliminate favourites AC Milan from the UEFA Cup on Thursday and heap further pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian shrugged off fresh speculation this week that he could be sacked in May but will face further calls for his head after Claudio Pizarro scored twice as Werder hit back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and reach the last 16 on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.
Manchester City's quadruple bid remained intact as Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne secured a 2-0 win at Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final clash
A lacklustre Bayern Munich needed a long-range goal from Spaniard Xabi Alonso to secure a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday that put them into the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
Hamburg SV clung on at the top of the Bundesliga on Sunday after being held to a 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Juventus rehire Allegri.
France midfielder Franck Ribery was voted Bundesliga player of the year in a poll of 268 league players published in Kicker newspaper on Monday.
Bayern Munich secured their 21st German league title and completed a domestic double for the third time in four seasons when they drew 0-0 away to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. Bayern's draw stretched their lead over closest rivals Werder Bremen to 10 points with three games left and set off the traditionally soggy celebrations, as the players soaked each other, and anyone else on the field, with beer.
A fabulous backheel from Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped Inter Milan to a 2-1 home win over Bologna on Saturday and put the Serie A champions back on track after an awkward week.
Substitute Lionel Messi scored two late goals, including one in stoppage time, to lead 2006 winners Barcelona to a 2-1 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday. Last season's runners-up Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at surprise packages CFR Cluj, who were playing in Romania's third division just six years ago.
Schalke 04 named Dutchman Fred Rutten on Wednesday as the Bundesliga club's coach for next season.
Top two teams in each group qualify for the first knockout round. Third placed team to play in the UEFA Cup.
They were joined in the second knockout round by Bayer Leverkusen, who enjoyed a 5-1 demolition of Galatasaray, and now meet league rivals Hamburg SV, who dispensed with FC Zurich. Werder Bremen cruised through 4-0 on aggregate against Braga.
Liverpool continued their revival with a 4-1 home win over Porto while Real Madrid lost 2-3 at Werder Bremen in Wednesday night's Champions League matches.
Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez displayed nerves of steel to win a marathon doubles match on Saturday and propel Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals. They battled for almost five hours before grinding out a 6-7 7-6 6-4 2-6 12-10 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber and Philipp Petzschner, giving Spain an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Germany in Bremen.
Italy striker Luca Toni scored twice to steer Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Two clinical finishes from Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov took twice winners Tottenham Hotspur through to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Striker Robinho scored twice in a virtuoso second-half display to help Real Madrid to a 4-2 victory over 10-man Olympiakos in an action-packed Champions League game at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances