Bayern Feel Cheated - Kalle Rummenigge

Rummenigge 

Bayern Munich feel "cheated" after some tight decisions allowed Atletico Madrid to advance from their Champions League semifinal, chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

Playing at home on Tuesday, Bayern won the second leg on Tuesday 2-1 but Atletico advanced thanks to Antoine Griezmann's away goal.

It was a classic counter-attack as Fernando Torres sent Griezmann racing through and the France international, played onside by David Alaba, kept his cool to whip the ball past Manuel Neuer.

Rummenigge said he believed Griezmann was offside when Torres released him through on goal, and also took issue with a penalty given to Atletico that Torres ended up missing.

"We feel a little bit cheated," the CEO said after the game. "The Atletico goal was offside, the foul for the penalty [which Atletico missed] was outside of the box.

"The referee had two matches in the last seven days. I don't know whether those UEFA guys can have too many matches, too. The UEFA delegate told me: 'It's a shame what he did.'"

Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal insisted his side were still the better team, but the Chilean was left to rue missed opportunities to overturn the scoreline in the second half.

"I don't know why the ball did not want to go in ... with so many chances created in both legs," Vidal said. "I think we were superior in both games. We controlled possession, but didn't seize it.

"They take their opportunities well, and that's why they move into the final. From here to the final they will dream with us. They faced the best team in the world.

Bayern now turn their attention to securing the Bundesliga, where they enjoy a five-point lead over Dortmund with two rounds remaining. They will also face Dortmund in the DFB Pokal final on May 21.

"We are left sad, but we still have two titles that we hope to win. We are still the best team in the world, but sometimes the best doesn't always win," Vidal said.

"Football is sometimes like this. Today the best didn't advance, they were eliminated."

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Atletico Madrid v Bayern Munich

Diego Simeone - Getty Images

Diego Simeone admitted his Atlético side face a challenge on Wednesday night but has warned Bayern Munich to expect a battle at the Vicente Calderón.

Madrid face Bayern after dispatching Barcelona in the quarter-finals and the Argentinian is eager to test the character of Pep Guardiola’s squad. “Bayern have many options, but in battles, the side with most soldiers does not win, but those who use their soldiers better,” said the Atlético manager.

His midfielder Saúl admitted he could not find any weaknesses in the Bayern team. “They [Bayern] are the most complete side, they have a lot of variety to their game and can attack through the middle or via the wings, and they are strong in the air,” Saúl said. “We will do what we always do; work as a team, fight to the death for every ball, treat the game as though it was a final, that’s only way we will be able to compete against a top side like Bayern. The main objective is to win the game.”

The defender Stefan Savic believes the match promises to be a clash of styles. While the Spanish side are happy to grind out results when necessary and are more ready to embrace the physical side of the game, Bayern operate a possession-based game built around Guardiola’s tactical nous.

Savic, who is in contention to replace the injured Diego Godín in central defence, said: “They have another style totally different from ours, but that’s the beauty of football – it can be played in different ways and all are worthy. We will see after the game which is best. Everyone wants to win the Champions League, but we must be calm and try to give our best. It will be a tough tie, but we are confident in ourselves.”

Savic is vying with José Giménez and Lucas Hernández for Godín’s shirt, while Yannick Carrasco is expected to start despite taking limited part in training on Monday. The Belgian is being treated carefully due to a sore ankle, with Augusto Fernández standing by.

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Guardiola believes he must win the Champions League for his spell in Germany to be deemed a success. In his first two years, Bayern have suffered semi-final exits to La Liga opposition – losing to Real Madrid in 2013-14 and Barcelona 12 months ago, after first-leg defeats away from home each time.

“Three semis in three years is not something that every team does,” Guardiola said. “I have read in Munich that without winning the Champions League, the work would not be complete. I must accept that. But I am very fortunate to have lived and worked three years in Germany. I am a better coach, a better guy, more relaxed, I have enjoyed it a lot. We will try and reach the final, as we did against Madrid and Barcelona, and now this year against Atletico.

“We are very happy to be here, we know that all semi-finalists are difficult,” he said. “The best trophy Atlético have achieved, with Diego Simeone and his team, is that they are now equals to Barcelona and Real Madrid, just as feared when they play in Europe. I have been outside Spain for five years, but have watched on the TV, and their consistency has been really impressive. Normally only the biggest teams can play every three days, and keep winning, season after season.”

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Will Clement Rejoin Ancelotti at Bayern

Derby County have sacked head coach Paul Clement after a winless run of seven games in the Championship.

A statement on the club’s official website confirmed that the former Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea assistant to Carlo Ancelotti had been relieved of his duties.

“Derby County Football Club is saddened to announce that Paul Clement will leave his post with immediate effect,” read the statement.

“The Head Coach, who joined the club in June last year, has been relieved of his duties and is replaced by Academy Director and former Rams defender Darren Wassall until the end of the season.”

Clement has seen his Derby side fail to win in the league since Boxing Day, a run that has seen them slip four points behind second-placed Middlesbrough in the race for automatic promotion.

Chairman Mel Morris said: “We are grateful for the contribution Paul has made to the football club but the time is right to make a change.

“When Paul joined us last year we worked with him to develop a plan for the club which we asked him to embrace.

“It was clear in this plan, which was briefed to supporters, players, sponsors and all our stakeholders last summer that promotion this season was not the primary target. The priorities were building on the Derby way and style of football enjoyed in the past two seasons; adding depth and strength to our playing squad; and, developing and improving player and team performance.

“Sadly, on these measurements, we have not made enough progress and that is why we have decided to part company with Paul.

“I firmly believe that we have one of the very best first team squads in this league. Our players are highly talented professionals who are more than capable of winning games at this level and beyond.

“I want to record our thanks to Paul for his efforts in leading the team through the first 30 games of this season and in achieving a top six position at this point. We wish him every success in his future career.”

Chief executive Sam Rush, confirmed that Wassall, 47, will take training on Tuesday in his new role.

He said: “We are in the fortunate position to have somebody as capable as Darren at our football club and he will be leading the coaching staff with immediate effect.

“Our focus is to get the team back on track, delivering the style of football and performance we know they are capable of. I know our fans will give Darren, the coaching staff and the team their full support.”

Paul Clement worked in the past with Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris Saint German and Real Madrid. 

Perhaps he will rejoin the Italian at Bayern Munich in the summer when Ancelotti takes over from Pep Guardiola.

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Benfica v Bayern Munich - Preview

Pep Guardiola before Benfica match - Getty Images

Bayern Munich have been warned they cannot afford to relax as they prepare to to defend a 1-0 lead in the Champions League against Benfica in Portugal.

Victory in Munich last week has put the Bavarians ahead in the tie but they must successfully navigate a further 90 or 120 minutes if they want to advance to a fifth consecutive semi-final and the 2013 European champions are well aware they cannot celebrate yet.

“It was a good result but it was not a cushion we can relax on,” Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer said at a press conference in Munich. “We still expect a very difficult challenge. There’s definitely a lot of pressure, also for us.”

Bayern had looked set to cruise into the last four when Arturo Vidal’s second-minute strike put them ahead at the Allianz Arena last week.

However, Benfica showed their battling qualities to restrict Pep Guardiola’s side to just that one goal and, buoyed by the achievement of their compatriots Porto in beating Bayern 3-1 in Portugal last season, will be confident of pulling off a shock by reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1990.

“They have one of the best defences in Europe,” the Bayern defender Javi Martínez said of Benfica. “They defend very high up the field and are very aggressive and tight, which makes it hard to pass the ball through. But we will try to win the game because that is the Bayern mentality.”

A draw would do for Guardiola’s men, while Benfica will be forced to come out of their defensive shell to attack them, which could play into the German club’s hands.

“If we get a goal, then there’s a big chance that we will go through,” their captain Philipp Lahm said. “I have no doubt about it.”

Benfica’s hopes could be dented by the absence of two of their attacking talents. Jonas, who has scored 18 goals in 18 appearances this season, will definitely miss out through suspension, and Nico Gaitán is rated doubtful after missing training on Tuesday because of a muscular problem.

Rui Vitória

We have to play well defensively as we're facing one of the best teams in the world, one of the favourites to win the competition and a side who set up the same home and away. Nicolas Gaitán is a doubt and only before the match will I know if I can count on him. We didn't win there, but tactically we did well and were very organised. However, we know Bayern are tactically very versatile with lots of resources at their disposal, so if they don't achieve what they want playing one way they'll try something else. We had 5,000 fans in Munich and tomorrow the supporters will be even more important.

Josep Guardiola

We are focused on tomorrow's match. We intend to defend well, score a goal and qualify for the next round. Regarding Benfica's absentees, we have had the same problem ourselves. For example, Javi Martínez was out for five months and we had to play without genuine central defenders during that time, so that's football. The teams know each other well as they just played last week, but tactically we know what to do. A player's mentality and character will be clear to see in front of 60,000 fans. We have to play well in order to get a result.

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Champions League Quarter-Final Draw

Manchester City will face Chelsea’s conquerors Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side beat Dynamo Kyiv in the last round to reach the last eight for the first time and their reward will be tie against the reigning French champions.

Barcelona’s quest to retain the title they won last year will see Luis Enrique’s side take on La Liga rivals Atlético Madrid. Wolfsburg’s reward for reaching this stage of the competition for the first time is a tie against 10-time winners Real Madrid, while Bayern Munich face Benfica in the other tie.

City are currently fourth in the Barclays Premier League table, four points ahead of sixth-placed Manchester United, whom they host on Sunday.

While not yet conceding the championship race, overhauling a 12-point deficit on leaders Leicester remains a difficult task for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, who last month won the Capital One Cup with victory over Liverpool at Wembley.

Getting past PSG and into the semi-finals of the Champions League will also prove no mean feat - especially with Vincent Kompany injured again.

Laurent Blanc’s men have already wrapped up the Ligue 1 title in style, inspired by veteran Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and showed with their 4-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the last 16 that they remain very much determined to prove themselves a continental super-power.

City and PSG have met just once before, playing out a goalless draw in Manchester during the group stages of the 2008/09 Uefa Cup.

Real, 10-time winners of the European Cup, squeezed past Roma to get through to the last eight, while city rivals Atlético needed a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory to see off the challenge of Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven following two goalless legs.

Atlético faced Barcelona at the quarter-final stage of the 2013/14 campaign, winning 1-0 at home after a 1-1 away draw to progress en route to the final in Lisbon, where they lost as Real secured ‘La Decima’.

However, Barcelona, the five-time champions who comfortably defeated Arsenal in the last 16, have won their last six meetings with Atlético.

The first leg will be played at the Camp Nou, with the return at the Vicente Calderón.

The quarter-finals will take place on 5-6 April and 12-13 April.

Champions League draw

Wolfsburg v Real Madrid

Bayern Munich v Benfica

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Manchester City v Paris Saint-Germain.

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Bayern Munich v Juventus - Preview

Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic is a doubt for his side's Champions League last-16 second leg against his former club Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The Italians, who came from 2-0 down to draw the first leg 2-2 at home, will also be without striker Paulo Dybala and midfielder Claudio Marchisio.

Bayern rested key players Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski at the weekend.

"We're aware of how strong Bayern are, but they also possess weak points," Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci said.

"We go to Munich full of enthusiasm and determination to reach the next round.

"No doubt about it, we started the first leg in completely the wrong fashion. It had nothing to do with what formation we were playing - we knew that we had to give more.

"We confronted one another face to face and took it upon ourselves to come out fighting and, from that point onwards, we saw the true Juventus once more."

The tie looked all but over after 55 minutes of the first leg in Turin after away goals from Thomas Muller and Robben put a dominant Bayern in control.

But Juventus, Champions League finalists last season, fought back in the second half and levelled through strikes from Dybala and Stefano Sturaro.

Both sides are chasing a treble this season, with Bayern five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and Juventus three clear in Serie A.

"I know what will happen if we don't win the Champions League," said Bayern boss Pep Guardiola, who has been unable to win Europe's premier club competition in his two seasons with Bayern and who will leave them in the summer to take over at Manchester City.

"I have to live with the pressure. It's been like that for this club for the last 40 years: when we win, everyone is happy, when we don't, they are unhappy."

Of Juventus, the Spaniard added: "I know the Italian mentality and they have won a thousand titles with it - that's how it is."

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Munich Muller in Bremen Rout

Thomas Müller scored twice as Bayern Munich warmed up for Juventus in the Champions League with a routine 5-0 rout of Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Thiago Alcantara opened the scoring after nine minutes when he beat his marker to Kingsley Coman’s sharp cross. Coman was again provider for the second in the 31st minute, beating a defender on the left and crossing for Müller to convert past Werder Bremen’s goalkeeper, Felix Wiedwald.

Bayern had around 80% ball possession as Bremen failed to threaten in a flat first half of football. Thiago struck the crossbar from distance after the break.

Mario Götze, playing for the first time since getting injured on international duty in October, had two efforts on goal, and went off shortly after his second attempt after 50 minutes.

Müller sealed the game with his 19th goal of the season in the 65th minutes, converting the rebound after Wiedwald saved Franck Ribéry’s volley from 20 yards.

Robert Lewandowski, who came on for Müller after 74 minutes, claimed his 24th goal of the campaign in the 86th minute, and there was still time for Thiago to complete the scoring in the final minute, again set up by former Juventus player Coman.

Bayern, who host Juventus on Wednesday after drawing 2-2 in their Champions League last 16 first leg, moved eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund who play Mainz on Sunday.

Werder Bremen were missing top-scorer Claudio Pizarro to injury, as well as their captain, Clemens Fritz, and midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic after they intentionally picked up yellow cards to incur suspensions which they hoped would make them available for later games. The German Football Association (DFB) decided to fine the pari e20,000 each for deliberately picking up yellow cards but not to give them additional suspensions.

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Barcelona Fire Six Past Getafe

Getty Images

Lionel Messi scored one goal and figured in four more to keep Barcelona on course to retaining their Spanish league title with a 6-0 rout of Getafe, increasing their domestic record to 37 games without a loss.

The only blemish to Messi’s superb showing was a missed penalty in the first half. Otherwise, the Argentina forward led a dominant performance that does not bode well for Arsenal’s chances to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Barcelona never looked back after an own goal by Getafe’s Juan Rodríguez. Messi then made up for his missed spot-kick by scoring to make it 4-0 before half-time while also assisting Neymar for two goals and Munir El Haddadi on another.

Barcelona enjoyed their 12th consecutive league win without Luis Suárez, kept on the bench by coach Luis Enrique before Wednesday’s match. What little fight Getafe had at the start was sucked right out of the struggling side in the eighth minute when Messi played Jordi Alba wide, and his return pass intended for Messi was turned into Getafe’s goal by Rodríguez.

Not even goalkeeper Vicente Guaita blocking Messi’s spot-kick three minutes later after Neymar was fouled by Emiliano Velázquez revived the visitors. Andrés Iniesta’s playmaking kept the action entirely in Getafe’s half, and Messi’s apparently off-target shot from Iniesta’s pass became a perfect cross for El Haddadi to head home in the 19th minute. “We didn’t have a chance,” said Getafe coach Fran Escribá. “The game was lost from 2-0.”

Guaita did well to push Gerard Piqué’s effort from another Iniesta pass off his bar, but he could do nothing to stop Neymar’s curling strike when Messi played him clear with a pass in the 32nd minute. Messi then grabbed his 22nd league goal of the season when he was given time outside the top of the box and struck a left-footed shot beyond the reach of Guaita four minutes before the break.

Messi picked up where he had left off after the restart with a pass for Neymar to beat Guaita again in the 51st minute, the Brazilian’s 20th league goal of the campaign. Arda Turan got the hosts’ sixth with a bicycle kick from close range after a corner in the 57th minute.

Barcelona lead Atlético Madrid, who were playing Deportivo on Saturday night, by 11 points at the top of La Liga. 

Third-placed Real Madrid now trail Barcelona by 15 points and visit Las Palmas on Sunday.

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