Madrid: Needing at least three goals to reach the final for the 13th time, Real Madrid are ready to go after the "impossible." The nine-time European Cup winners are out to overturn last week's 4-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday. A tall task, but one that Madrid have done in the past. "This is our last chance to put things...
06:41 PM, Apr 29, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is fit for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at home to Borussia Dortmund, after missing their La Liga win over Atletico Madrid through injury, coach Jose Mourinho said. The Portugal international, top scorer in the latest edition of Europe's elite club competition with 12 goals, returned to training with his team mates on Monday after sitting out Saturday's 2-1 La Liga victory. He...
06:26 PM, Apr 29, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo picked up an injury in Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League defeat at Borussia Dortmund and is out of Saturday's La Liga match at city rivals Atletico. The Portuguese international has a "muscle problem" but the club are hopeful he will recover in time for Tuesday's semi-final second leg at home to Dortmund, assistant coach Aitor Karanka told a news conference on Friday. "Before the Dortmund...
12:42 AM, Apr 27, 2013
London: Arsene Wenger believes English clubs will be challenging strongly again in the Champions League next season after this term's German dominance although his side face an anxious few weeks trying to secure their place. The north London club have been ever-presents in the Champions League for 15 consecutive seasons, but face a scrap with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to keep that run going. With champions Manchester United visiting the...
07:22 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Berlin: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief two-line statement. Bayern stunned Dortmund fans a day before their team crushed Real Madrid 4-1 in their Champions League semi-final first...
03:45 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Madrid: Playmaker Andres Iniesta has dismissed the idea Barcelona are at the end of an era following their 4-0 Champions League mauling by Bayern Munich. Barca, who lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2011, were the favourites to win the competition ahead of Tuesday's semi-final first leg but they were so outclassed by the Germans that many pundits believe their recent spell of dominance is over. "I think it is...
10:21 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Warsaw: Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski played down his stunning one-man demolition of Real Madrid, saying he had played better than Wednesday's four-goal masterclass. The Poland international scored all his team's goals in a 4-1 win over the nine-times champions in their Champions League semi-final first leg. "In the second half Real Madrid did not know how they should play, at some moments they were helpless," Lewandowski told the Polish...
07:04 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Bad karma catches up with you. But never imagined it would, so soon. All Real Madrid fans who were jeering their arch rivals after their crash-landing in Munich, the 'Mocking-Bird' or an entire flock of them were gunned down in nearby Dortmund last night. The man responsible, Polish sniper par excellence Robert Lewandowsky. Fifteen minutes of breathtaking football from the only unbeaten team in the UEFA Champions League this season...
05:09 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid's nightmare in Dortmund comes as a greater surprise than Barcelona's mauling in Munich, given coach Jose Mourinho has given up on La Liga to focus on the Champions League. The nine-time European Cup winners were overwhelmed 4-1 by a dynamic Borussia Dortmund in their semi-final first leg on Wednesday, though Cristiano Ronaldo's away goal gives them a glimmer of hope for the return at the Bernabeu next...
03:28 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final on Wednesday as speculation mounted about his future. The Poland striker opened his account in the first leg against Real Madrid in the eighth minute and added three more in a stellar second half to give his team a 4-1 advantage to take into Tuesday's return leg. Lewandowski, who has scored in...
09:02 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: A rampant Borussia Dortmund are by no means favourites to reach the Champions League final despite their crushing 4-1 win against nine-times winners Real Madrid, coach Juergen Klopp said on Wednesday. Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final as the Germans produced a stunning display of attacking football in the home first leg. Klopp played down his team's performance, saying...
08:54 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could not understand how his well-drilled side let Robert Lewandowski score four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win on Wednesday but vowed that his team could still reach the Champions League final. The nine-times European champions have a huge task on their hands in Tuesday's home second leg after Mourinho acknowledged they had been outplayed in the semi-final first leg in Germany. "I saw...
08:51 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: Robert Lewandowski scored four goals as Borussia Dortmund romped to a convincing 4-1 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday and took a huge step toward the Champions League final. Dortmund's triumph in the first leg of the semi-final also lined up the prospect of an all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25, following Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona on Tuesday. The second leg matches will be played...
02:45 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Madrid: No team has ever advanced after losing the first leg of a European Cup tie by four goals. To Lionel Messi, that doesn't mean it can't be done. After he and Barcelona were mauled 4-0 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, Messi said they must not give up hope for the return leg at the Camp Nou next week. That, he said, will be "a...
11:23 PM, Apr 24, 2013
You aren't a journalist if you don't speculate. So what if the speculation is about the world coming to an end after watching the world's best football club capitulate in a manner that might even shame the German defeat at Stalingrad? As sports fans and observers, we are often prone to hyperbole, but that may be excused if the matter up for debate is whether modern football's most decorated and...
04:53 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Madrid: Even Lionel Messi, so often Barcelona's saviour, was at a loss to explain how the La Liga leaders could come back from their Champions League semi-final mauling in Munich. Barca were thumped 4-0 away by an impressive Bayern Munich in their first leg on Tuesday, putting in one of their most toothless displays in recent memory. On Wednesday, they were greeted with newspaper headlines such as 'Historic beating' in...
04:11 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday was partly down to two goals that should have been chalked off, said assistant coach Jordi Roura. Mario Gomez looked marginally offside when he turned in Thomas Mueller's header from close range for the second goal in the 49th minute. The two-goal Mueller also appeared to obstruct Jordi Alba when the full back attempted...
09:35 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than...
09:16 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Thomas Muller scored two goals as Bayern Munich dominated Barcelona on Tuesday to take a commanding 4-0 lead after the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final. Muller scored in the first half and added another after Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben had also scored in the second half. It was Barcelona's biggest loss in the Champions League since 1997, and a humbling defeat for the team...
02:19 AM, Apr 24, 2013
