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
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's preparations for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid have been hit by news that their player is transferring to Bayern Munich at the end of the season. On the eve of what it calls "the most spectacular home game in Borussia Dortmund's history," the first leg has been overshadowed by Mario Goetze's decision to join Bayern on July 1. Bayern, which are triggering Goetze's reported...
05:03 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Berlin: An injury scare to Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski is unlikely to derail unbeaten Borussia Dortmund's focus ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday as they bid for their first final spot since 1997. Poland international Lewandowski, who scored for a 12th consecutive league game in their 2-0 win against Mainz 05 on Saturday, picked up a knock on his thigh but said...
02:46 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho refrained from committing to remaining at the club beyond the end of this season on Friday and said a decision on his future would be taken at the end of the current campaign. Speculation about the Portuguese's possible exit has been a near-constant feature of his stint at Real, whom he joined from Inter Milan in 2010, and he has been linked with a...
06:08 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Madrid: FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has made a passionate defence of his side's passing style of football as they prepare for the run-in to the end of the season. Barcelona are almost assured of winning Spain's BBVA Primera Liga thanks to an impressive 13-point lead over Real Madrid, but face a tough task in the Champions League, where they will meet last season's defeated finalists Bayern Munich in what...
01:41 PM, Apr 18, 2013
Nine-time European champion Real Madrid have ended Manchester United's run as the world's most valuable soccer team, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Wednesday. The value of Real, a Spanish club owned by its thousands of members, surged 76 percent to $3.3 billion from a year ago, Forbes said in a statement. (www.forbes.com/soccer) United, who have won the English title a record 19 times and are controlled...
10:40 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 49th and 50th goals in all competitions this season as Real Madrid won 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, while Barcelona didn't need Lionel Messi to brush aside Real Zaragoza 3-0 and ease closer to the Spanish league title. Ronaldo opened with a dipping free kick two minutes in and scored again in the 69th, before passing for Gonzalo Higuain to net a third in...
08:33 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Nyon: It's Spain vs. Germany twice over in the Champions League semifinals. Barcelona play Bayern Munich in a clash of teams ranked by UEFA as the two best in Europe. Bayern hosts the first leg. Real Madrid face Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of their 1998 semifinal, when the Spanish side dethroned the reigning champions. Dortmund are at home first. Friday's draw featured four former European champions who have combined...
04:16 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Istanbul: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho saluted the passion of the Galatasaray fans on Tuesday after his team scrambled past the Turkish side into the Champions League semi-finals. Mourinho's men had to weather a second-half storm to go through 5-3 on aggregate even though Galatasaray scored three second-half goals in quick succession to win the second leg 3-2. "I had no time to be nervous," Real's coach told reporters. "I...
08:39 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Istanbul: Real Madrid reached the Champions League semi-finals for the third straight season on Tuesday despite losing 3-2 at Galatasaray following a second-half resurgence by the Turkish team. Madrid needed a double from Cristiano Ronaldo to advance 5-3 on aggregate, but only after conceding three goals in a 16-minute span to raise Galatasaray's hopes of pulling off what would have been a remarkable comeback. Ronaldo looked to have wrapped up...
02:39 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Istanbul: Didier Drogba and his Galatasaray team-mates have a tough task when they try to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. Drogba, who won the title last season with Chelsea, will take some cheer from his performance in Saturday's domestic championship game against Mersin Idman Yurdu when he scored two second-half goals in a 3-1 win. However, the...
01:30 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Madrid: Nine-man Atletico Madrid sputtered to a 0-0 draw at Getafe Sunday in the Spanish league, as Diego Simeone's team fell further adrift of Real Madrid in their fight for a second-place finish. Atletico have only one win in their last five games and failed to match Madrid's victory from Saturday to fall four points behind the defending champions. Barcelona are cruising to the title 13 points clear. "The league...
09:47 AM, Apr 08, 2013
Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo went on as a substitute to seal Real Madrid's 5-1 win over Levante as they maintained their dominant form on Saturday ahead of their Champions League quarter-final at Galatasaray. Madrid reduced Barcelona's lead in the Spanish league to 10 points before the Catalan side hosted Mallorca later. Gonzalo Higuain's exquisite volley pulled Madrid level in the 36th minute after Miguel "Michel" Alfonso grabbed the visitors the lead...
11:47 PM, Apr 06, 2013
