Chelsea and Drogba set for talks

Chelsea have revealed they will sit down with Didier Drogba to sort out the striker’s future at the club.

Drogba, who was sent off in extra time of Wednesday’s Champions League final, has been linked with a summer move to several clubs including AC Milan.

“Didier is a superb player generally,” admitted chairman Bruce Buck.

“Now that the season is over we have to sit down with him and see what the story is and what his future is. He is a great player, I hope he stays.”

Buck added: “But that is a decision the club and Didier will have to make collectively.

“There have been some comments reported to be made by Didier over that last year that maybe he would like to leave Chelsea. On most occasions he has said that he has been misquoted.”

Drogba suffered a number of injuries last season that affected his performances, but the Ivory Coast striker was also reportedly unhappy at the departure of former manager Jose Mourinho.

Hiddink ‘would say no to Chelsea’

Russia coach Guus Hiddink will not become the next manager of Chelsea, according to his agent.

Hiddink, 61, has been installed as one of the favourites to replace Avram Grant, who was sacked on Saturday.

But Cees van Nieuwenhuizen has told BBC Sport that Hiddink is planning for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Dutchman only has a verbal agreement to remain in charge of Russia beyond the Euro 2008 finals but van Nieuwenhuizen says he will stay on.

Hiddink has a formidable record at club and international level, having taken Holland and South Korea to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

He is known to have a strong relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who is believed to have played a key role in his appointment as Russia boss in 2006, as well as helping to fund his salary.

Hiddink is yet to sign a new deal to stay on with Russia but BBC Radio 5 Live football correspondent Jonathan Legard said: “His agent says there is nothing suspicious about the unsigned contract.

“And his relationship with the Russian Football Federation is good, even if Hiddink himself expressed concern last week that the issue could become a distraction.

“By contrast, Hiddink’s fellow countryman Frank Rijkaard is readily available and may not object as much as (former boss) Jose Mourinho eventually did to Abramovich’s football involvement, which is reckoned to be as much as 30% of on-the-pitch activity by Richard Bevan of the League Managers’ Association.”

source:bbcsports

Evil Prevails!

Manchester United’s victorious players are on a flight back to England with the Champions League trophy after their thrilling win over Chelsea in Moscow.

The United squad celebrated the penalty shoot-out win well into the early hours at a party in their hotel.

BBC sports news correspondent James Pearce said the party had gone on until 1000 local time, and the team’s return has been put back by at least an hour.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have already begun their trip back to Gatwick airport.

In a dramatic final, Manchester United took the lead through Ronaldo before Frank Lampard equalised for Chelsea.

It went down to penalties, with John Terry missing the chance to win it for Chelsea before Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s spot-kick to take the trophy.

The Chelsea players are expected to make a low-key exit when they land at Gatwick, after seeing their dreams of glory snatched away in the Luzhniki Stadium.

Barca’s Messi set to face Man Utd

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is set to win his fitness battle for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United on 23 April.

Argentine sensation Messi, 20, has been named in the Barca squad for Saturday’s La Liga game against Recreativo Huelva.

He tore a muscle in his left thigh in the Champions League last 16 game against Celtic on 4 March and has been recovering from injury in Argentina.

Barca are without Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho for the rest of the season.

The 28-year-old, who has struggled to hold down a regular place this season, pulled a leg muscle in training last week.

Barca forwards Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic picked up knocks in the European game against Schalke on Wednesday, while midfielder Andres Iniesta has a knee problem.

Portuguese midfielder Deco has missed the last month with a calf injury, but he may still be fit for the first leg.

source:bbcsports

Man Utd 1-0 Roma (agg 3-0)

Carlos Tevez struck as Manchester United defeated Roma to seal a Champions League semi-final match-up with Barcelona.

Roma should have taken the lead from the penalty spot after a foul by Wes Brown but Daniele de Rossi smashed the ball high over the crossbar.

Edwin van der Sar denied Mirko Vucinic as Roma threatened but Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves forced saves from Doni.

And Tevez scored with a diving header from Hargreaves’ cross to seal the tie.

The Argentine struck after 70 minutes and it was a goal that punctured any lingering hopes Roma harboured of a dramatic comeback.

The Italians had been left stunned after their 2-0 defeat in Rome but, after enduring a poor start to the second leg, they showed great spirit to rattle their opponents.

And they might have ensured an extremely nervous evening for United had De Rossi not been so wasteful with his penalty kick after 29 minutes.

Ferguson relishing Barcelona test

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is excited by the prospect of playing Barcelona after his team defeated Roma in the Champions League.

Carlos Tevez scored as United won the second-leg 1-0 to secure a 3-0 victory on aggregate over Roma - and set up a semi-final tie with the Catalan giants.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Ferguson. “I think that we have something special in our team.

“We cannot go to Spain and be negative, we must be positive.”

United last met Barcelona in the Champions League in 1998 when their group encounter at the Nou Camp ended in a 3-3 draw.

But United won the Champions League final at the Nou Camp in 1999, with a spectacular 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich.

The first leg of this year’s tie will also take place in Spain, on 22 or 23 April, with the return leg at Old Trafford on 29 or 30 April.

Barca defender Carles Puyol will be missing from the first leg after picking up a yellow card in the 1-0 win over Schalke.

Anelka dismisses “Le Sulk” label

Chelsea’s new £15m signing Nicolas Anelka says his “Le Sulk” reputation is entirely unfounded. The 28-year-old, who has played for eight clubs in his career, said: “Ask a player I played with in England and they won’t say a bad word about me.”

Anelka also rejected claims he would have preferred to rejoin Arsenal.

“Arsenal was good, but it’s in the past, I’m happy to be here,” he said. “We’re still in the race to win everything and I’ll try to do it.”

Anelka, who has now cost £85m in transfer fees, began his career at Paris St Germain before joining the Gunners in 1997.

He also played for Real Madrid, Paris St Germain again, Liverpool, Manchester City and Fenerbahce before joining Bolton.

There were rumours he found it difficult to mix with teammates but he said: “Sometimes you are happy when you play football and sometimes you are not happy.

“Maybe some people saw me when I was not happy but no, I don’t think it’s fair.”

Now at Stamford Bridge, Anelka insists he does not expect to be permanently guaranteed first-team football but will remain fully committed to the Chelsea cause.

“It’s a big club with big players and if the manager gives me the chance to play, I’ll play and try to do my best,” he said.

“If I have to start on the bench, I’ll do the same. I knew this before I signed. I’m just happy to be here.”

Another mischievous suggestion that Anelka was quick to play down was that he could not form an effective strike partnership with Didier Drogba, who is currently away at the African Nations Cup.

“It’s not very difficult to play with him,” Anelka said.

“He can do everything and he’s clever and can play with his back to the goal. I like this kind of striker. I can turn around him and give him some good balls to score.”

 source:bbcsports

Middlesbrough 1-1 Liverpool

Liverpool’s faint title ambitions suffered another setback when they were held to a draw at Middlesbrough. The lacklustre Reds went behind after failing to deal with a Stewart Downing cross and Jeremie Aliadiere nodded back for George Boateng to turn in.

Downing later had a shot tipped on to the post by Pepe Reina before Fernando Torres equalised with a rasping strike.

Liverpool duo Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard went close with long-range efforts but Boro held firm for a point.

Middlesbrough had shown a steely resolve from the start when they comfortably repelled and broke up anything Liverpool could muster.

The home side hustled and harried the visitors and grew in confidence as the game progressed against a Reds side who were not allowed to settle.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham

Chelsea kept the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the table with victory over Tottenham. Juliano Belletti’s powerful 25-yard strike put Chelsea ahead after Spurs left him with room to shoot at goal.

Tottenham struggled to create clear chances, with Steed Malbranque going closest with a well-struck volley.

Nicolas Anelka hit the bar after making his Chelsea debut off the bench and Shaun Wright-Phillips sealed the win with a low shot past Radek Cerny.

Chelsea’s victory maintained their long-standing dominance over their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, with Spurs’ last away win over the Blues coming back in 1990.

The opening stages were fiercely contested, but lacking in quality with the emphasis on perspiration rather than inspiration.

But the match suddenly exploded into life with a superb strike from Belletti, and Spurs had no-one to blame but themselves.

Man Utd 6-0 Newcastle

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first hat-trick for Manchester United sent them to the Premier League summit as they destroyed managerless Newcastle at Old Trafford. The winger’s free-kick broke the deadlock after 49 minutes and Carlos Tevez quickly tapped in a second.

Ronaldo capped a stunning four-man move for the third and Rio Ferdinand volleyed in a fourth after 85 minutes.

He sealed his treble via a deflection, and Newcastle’s Alan Smith saw red for dissent after Tevez’s disputed sixth.

Newcastle’s fans, stunned by Harry Redknapp’s refusal to succeed sacked Sam Allardyce, paraded banners calling for the appointment of Alan Shearer.

But the Tyneside legend is unlikely to have been tempted towards the hot-seat by what was on offer from a wretched Newcastle side, who conceded all six goals in the second half.

New England coach Fabio Capello was in attendance as Wayne Rooney drove an early chance over the top as United set the platform for first-half domination.

Newcastle keeper Shay Given twice saved well from Rooney as United threatened to lay siege to the visitors’ goal.

Claudio Cacapa then cleared a goal-bound header from John O’Shea before the game had a moment of controversy after 28 minutes.