Arsenal's push for a place in next season's Champions League

Arsenal’s push for a place in next season’s Champions League received a welcome boost on Saturday as a Tomas Rosicky double inspired them to their third Premier League win a row against West Brom. Clinical strikes either side of the break from the Czech midfielder had given the Gunners a comfortable lead but Per Mertesacker’s 70th-minute sending off and James Morrison’s subsequent penalty made for a frantic finish.

Arsenal managed to hold on, though, and their fifth successive victory at the Hawthorns sees Arsene Wenger’s side move into fourth, with Chelsea and Tottenham not due to play until tomorrow.

Steve Clarke made just two changes from his side’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham last week as Morrison came in for the suspended Youssouf Mulumbu and Jerome Thomas replaced Romelu Lukaku.

The visitors, meanwhile, named an unchanged side from their 4-1 win against Reading as Gervinho and Olivier Giroud retained their places up front in the absence of the injured Theo Walcott.

Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundiesliga with one Zero

Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundesliga title with a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Commerzbank Arena. Unsurprisngly, with the title there for the winning, Bayern took the early initiative, with Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben and Alaba all finding space down the wings, but the first effort of note came from Frankfurt as Takashi Inui fired over from distance.

The visitors, however, were certainly the team on top. Some neat build-up play from Robben and Thomas Muller presented Xherdan Shaqiri with the chance to shoot, and the Swiss youngster's long-range effort rattled the post. The former Basel man had another strike saved, Robben narrowly missed Gomez's left-wing cross then in the 26th minute they were presented with a golden opportunity to have a goal to show for their efforts. Marco Russ' shove on Thomas Muller saw the referee point to the spot, but Alaba's penalty was a poor one, striking the post en route to going wide. The miss almost proved costly. Within seconds, a fantastic last-ditch challenge from Jerome Boateng prevented Inui from running clear. Atfter that, the first half fizzled out disappointingly. Nikolov made a great save to keep out Schweinsteiger's cross-shot and Robben had another poor effort, but Bayern largely failed to craft many more chances. Muller had appeals for another a penalty turned down on the stroke of the break, ensuring parity at the halfway point. Jupp Heynckes' side came out with renewed intensity after the restart, with Gomez forcing the ball to Robben under heavy pressure, only for the Dutchman to miss from a matter of yards. But their wastefulness did not continue. Philipp Lahm found some space down the right and fed Schweinsteiger, who flicked it brilliantly into the net at the near post. Despite only trailing by one goal, Frankfurt had no sort of impetus until late on. Indeed, Manuel Neuer was not forced into a save of note until the hour mark, when he was forced to get down to save Inui's tame long-range strike. However, Heynckes withdrew both Robben and Muller which saw Bayern's intensity die down as the hosts enjoyed more possession, resulting in another Inui shot which Neuer blocked easily. Indeed, when they had committed men forward on the attack, a clearance almost had Lahm in on goal, but Nikolov's decision to rush off his line was vindicated when he beat the Bayern captain to the loose ball. The Bavarians were almost forced to put the champagne on ice 10 minutes from time when Stefan Aigner's ball found Srdjan Lakic unmarked, but Neuer was alert enough to make a brilliant save. The former Schalke keeper made another great block second later after a goalmouth scramble following a corner, ensuring that Schweinsteiger's strike was enough for the title.

Jay-Jay Okocha predict Istanbul match with Madrid

Former Fenerbahce player Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha has declared city rivals Galatasaray a difficult team to play in Istanbul as Real Madrid prepare to travel there for their second leg Uefa Champions League quarter final game. Jay Jay spent two seasons in Turkey and knows the temperament of his former club’s biggest rivals as he predicted a tough time for the Spanish giants who will take a 3-0 lead to Istanbul. “If you fly in as a visiting team from a foreign country, [Galatasaray fans] won’t let you sleep, they will come to your hotel and disturb you,” said Okocha at the Heineken Champions Planet in Victoria Island on Wednesday night.

          “And if you have a Galatasaray fan serving you in the hotel, I don’t think you will get the best service. “It’s a really difficult place to go to but I think with the experience of Real Madrid and with the result they have gotten [on Wednesday] they will do well,” he said. 

Okocha was guest of the Heineken Champions Planet's Legends Night where he talked about the game among other topics.

Nigeria announce 30-man squad for June World Cup qualifiers and Confederations Cup

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has invited 30 players to prosecute the team’s jumbo schedule between the end of May and mid-July, in which about 10 matches loom. The African champions have a high-profile friendly against CONCACAF champions Mexico in Houston, Texas, USA on the last day of May, before two World Cup qualifying matches in Nairobi and Windhoek that come before the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil. Nigeria play Tahiti, Uruguay and Spain in Brazil but will play two more games if they advance to the knock-out stage, before returning to Africa for a 2014 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Cote d’Ivoire. Usual suspects Vincent Enyeama, Mikel Obi, Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses are called, as well as dark horses John Ogu, Michael Babatunde and Anthony Ujah, while midfield ace Kalu Uche returns after 16 months in the international wilderness. Top scorer of the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, Emmanuel Emenike, back from injury, returns to the fold. There are four goalkeepers, eight defenders, seven midfielders and 11 strikers. The delegation of 12 home-based players and technical/backroom staff will depart Abuja for the training camp in Nuremberg, Germany on May 15 while the overseas-based professionals are expected to join the team in Germany as their various Leagues come to an end. Players in Russia, Ukraine and Norway may only join the team for the matches against Kenya and Namibia, and for the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament. Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel); Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel); Chigozie Agbim (Enugu Rangers, Nigeria); Daniel Akpeyi (Heartland FC, Nigeria) Defenders: Efe Ambrose (Celtic FC, Scotland); Elderson Echiejile (FC Braga, Portugal); Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag, The Netherlands); Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves, Nigeria); Ebenezer Odunlami (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria); Benjamin Francis (Heartland FC, Nigeria); Solomon Kwambe (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria); Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars, Nigeria) Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea FC, England); Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio, Italy); Fegor Ogude (Valerenga FC, Norway); John Ogu (Academica de Coimbra, Portugal); Reuben Gabriel (Kano Pillars, Nigeria); Sunday Mba (Warri Wolves, Nigeria); Emeka Ezeh (Enugu Rangers, Nigeria) Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine); Victor Moses (Chelsea FC, England); Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow, Russia); Michael Babatunde (Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine); Nnamdi Oduamadi (AS Varese 1910, Italy); Anthony Ujah (FC Cologne, Germany); Kalu Uche (Kasimpasa, Turkey); Gomo Onduku (Sharks FC, Nigeria); Obinna Nwachukwu (Heartland FC, Nigeria); Gambo Mohammed (Kano Pillars, Nigeria)

Chris Brown shout out to wizkid and on his song Azonto

Christiana ROnaldo Celebrate his Goal

  

 

 

 

 

Christiana Ronaldo (R) of Real Madrid CF celebrates scoring the opening goal with team-mate Mesut Özil during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg match against Galatasaray.

Messi injury

Lionel Messi has suffered a hamstring injury in the first leg of Barcelona's Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain.

The club confirmed that the Argentine had damaged his right hamstring in Paris and that he will undergo tests on Wednesday to assess the full extent of his problem.

"Messi sustained an injury to his right hamstring. He will undergo further tests on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury," read their statement.

The Argentine appeared to have suffered the muscle strain towards the end of the first half, with the attacker hugging the touchline and showing limited movement in the closing moments while talking with manager Tito Vilanova.

The Barca boss then chose to substitute the 25-year-old during the break, replacing him with Cesc Fabregas.

Messi had already put the Blaugrana ahead in the 38th minute, latching onto a lofted Daniel Alves' pass before striking the ball low past PSG keeper Salvatore Sirigu.

Drogba's aerial prowess could stop Real Madrid

 

Didier Drogba’s aerial prowess could see Real Madrid suffer from set-pieces against Galatasaray. expert argued that the debate ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Garganese, James Richardson and Peter Staunton sat down to discuss what the deciding factors could be when the Turkish team visit the reigning Liga champions.

He said: "Real Madrid may be the most in form team in Europe but they do give up chances, especially from set pieces - they’ve conceded a lot of goals from crosses, off corners, and Drogba is one of the best in the world aerially.

"I think Drogba and [Burak] Yilmaz will get chances, but the question is will they take them? Van Persie didn’t take them, and as a result Manchester United went out."

Staunton, on the other hand, believes that Luka Modric could be the player to decide the fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 3.

He explained: "Real Madrid were quite high up the pitch at Old Trafford and were looking for that pass, and Cristiano Ronaldo and [Angel] Di Maria at times lack the creativity and guile to unlock defences.

"It’s more about pace and power with those two, and a player like Luka Modric can find those runs in behind, make those clever little passes and interchanges between Ozil and the strikers.

"They need to rely on that in the last twenty minutes of a match when teams sit back against them, and Modric could be the one to make a difference in this tie."

Who can you see stealing the show on Wednesday night? Will Galatasaray spring a surprise or could Jose Mourinho’s men grab the victory Blancos fan crave?

Bacelona hope to defeat Real Madrid in Champions League

Arjen Robben is brimming with confidence ahead of the first leg of Bayern Munich's Champions League quarter-final tie against Juventus, and believes the Bundesliga leaders can challenge pre-tournament favourites Barcelona and Real Madrid for the title.

The Bavarians made it to the final of the competition last campaign, and Robben feels they have what it takes to make it to this year's showpiece at Wembley, too, even though he realises Juventus will not be pushovers in the quarter-finals.

"We showed last season that we can be up there with the best in Europe, so we want to be in the final at Wembley. We will challenge the likes of Barca and Real for the title," the Dutchman was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

"If you look at last year's final against Chelsea, again we should never have lost it. But we’ve improved from last year. We are in the quarter-finals and we are top of our league, so you can’t ask for more.

"The tie against Juventus is going to be a tough challenge for sure. They are a team with so many experienced players people like Andrea Pirlo  and we know how hard they will make it for us."

The Netherlands international then went on to discuss his future at Bayern, and dismissed rumours that he could be on the move this summer.

"Sometimes it's ridiculous what gets written. I have another two years on my contract and I am looking forward to seeing it through," he continued.

"Of course I didn’t want to be on the bench. When you’ve recovered from a few injuries like me, then you’ll understand. I love being on the pitch. When I’m out there, I just want to play football."