Perez Rules Out Mourinho Call

Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, has ruled out an immediate return to the club for José Mourinho and insisted he is happy to stick with under-fire manager Rafael Benítez for now.

Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea on Thursday after a disastrous defence to their title defence, with technical director Michael Emenalo revealing that the decision had been taken due to “palpable discord” between the manager and his players.

But asked whether he might consider reappointing the Portuguese, who spent three seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu between 2010 and 2013, Pérez was adamant Benítez would remain at the helm.

“No one knows the future but right now no, because we have Rafa Benítez and we are not thinking beyond Rafa,” he told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

“We hired Benítez to sort out a specific problem. He was the right man among the many possibilities that we had. And if we believed that he was the right man at the start of the season we can’t three months later say he is not.

“We have a great coach. Rafa is the person that we have chosen and we have to let him work with the collaboration of all the players. I talk to the players and it is not true that they do not get on with him.”

Asked whether he looked back fondly on Mourinho’s spell at the club, Pérez added: “I have good memories of Mourinho. He raised our competitive level. When Mourinho came we had been knocked out for six straight seasons in the round of 16 of the Champions League and we were 13th in the Uefa rankings, and when he left we were number one and we made it to three consecutive semi-finals always losing in unlucky circumstances.

“He gave us a competitive boost. But all coaches come and they all have to go. [Vicente] Del Bosque, Mourinho. The job wears them out and you need to change.”

The former France international Zinedine Zidane has been mooted as a potential replacement for Benítez but Pérez claimed that was unlikely to transpire. 

“Zidane will be a great coach and I’m sure if he wants to be Madrid coach then he will be, but not today.”

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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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Atletico Madrid v Barcelona - Preview

Simeone and Atletico - Getty Images

Fernando Torres is adamant he was wrongly sent off in the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. The Atlético Madrid striker is suspended from Wednesday’s second leg following his dismissal in the 35th minute at the Camp Nou for a double booking, shortly after giving his side the lead.

Barcelona took advantage of having an extra man, Luis Suárez’s second-half double setting up a 2-1 win that Atlético must overturn without Torres at the Vicente Calderón.

“I’m convinced the second yellow card was not a card, I felt a mix of impotence and frustration,” Torres told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday, when describing his foul on the midfielder Sergio Busquets.

“When I see it again I see a slip-up. It’s not a kick nor a late tackle. The only argument is that it was an action that could have been avoided. My ambition to make it 2-0 ended up harming the team.

“I’m certain that with 11 players we would have won. The following days after the game were difficult. It took two days to get over what happened. The moments after the sending off were the worst of my career. I just wanted to be alone.”

Torres has two months left on his loan contract with Atlético, his boyhood club for whom he played between 2001 and 2007 until moving to Liverpool. He later played for Chelsea and Milan before returning to Atlético on loan from Milan in January 2015.

Although he did not give details on where his immediate future lay, the 32-year-old said he wanted to emulate the former Deportivo La Coruña veteran Juan Carlos Valerón and the Roma captain, Francesco Totti, by extending his stay with Atlético. “I would love to be the Valerón or Totti of Atléti but today more than ever is not the time to talk about that,” he said.

Diego Simeone

Being Atlético means being tenacious, competitive, never giving up and overcoming difficulties. We know there are better teams than us. But we know we can compete against Barcelona.

We try to improve what we are doing [against Barça] game after game. We will try to find an angle and see if we can get at them and win.

The excitement and enthusiasm around this match is fantastic, but I don't think the Barcelona players will be surprised by the atmosphere because they are used to it.

Koke is a very important player for us. He has great vision. The team has had a freshness and an energy about it of late, and that's down to having a player like him in midfield.

Luis Enrique

We are treating this like any quarter-final – I don't feel it's the biggest match of our season. We have a small advantage and we will try to win here too to make sure of the result. This team was made for matches like this. Yes, it's always difficult against Atlético, but it's all about doing things well, which is what we try to do every match. We'll need to play really well.

There is always room for improvement. It's not fair to think that victories or defeats are because of two or three players. I'm just as guilty for any defeats because I am the coach. I'm very happy with Arda Turan's performances and Gerard Piqué is fine.

Tomorrow will be difficult like any UEFA Champions League tie, particularly so against Atlético since they know us so well. There is no doubt we are going to compete. We love to see the Vicente Calderón full but if there's any team able to play in this atmosphere it is Barça. I hope we can see a great spectacle.

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Ronaldo Record in Real La Liga Eibar Win

Cristiano - Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar.

The Portugal forward netted in the 19th minute and also provided passes for Lucas Vázquez and Jesé to score as the hosts stormed into a 4-0 half-time lead. James Rodríguez had opened Real’s account with a curling free-kick in the fifth minute.

Zinedine Zidane made eight changes to the team that suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Wolfsburg in the Champions League in midweek with only Ronaldo, Pepe and Casemiro keeping their places.

The Brazilian right-back Danilo was booed by the home fans for his disappointing display at Wolfsburg when he came on in the second half but it was an otherwise positive afternoon for Real, who host Wolfsburg in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday.

James was criticised for being caught laughing on the sidelines in Germany in midweek but the Colombia international lifted the crowd by scoring early on, his first goal in just under two months.

A fine piece of skill from Ronaldo allowed Vázquez to pass the ball into an empty net in the 18th minute before the record-breaker finished off a cutback from the lively Jesé a minute later. Ronaldo returned the favour for the 23-year-old in the 39th minute as Real made it 4-0.

Eibar’s top scorer, Borja Baston, hit the crossbar in a rare attack for the visitors.

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Dazzling Draxler Stuns Real Madrid

Wolfsburg - Getty Images

Wolfsburg stunned an out-of-sorts Real Madrid by comfortably beating the Spanish team in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

The hosts were awarded a controversial penalty when Casemiro was deemed to have fouled Andre Schurrle, and Ricardo Rodriguez converted from the spot.

Real were poor defensively and a rapid attack ended with Bruno Henrique setting up Max Arnold for the second.

The visitors created little, but should have been awarded a penalty early on.

Defeat was Real's first in a Champions League quarter-final since 2004, and leaves the 10-time winners needing a vastly improved performance in the return leg at the Bernabeu next Tuesday.

The Spaniards last overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit in European competition in 1987, when they beat Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking said his players would try to "annoy" Real, and the questionable penalty awarded by referee Gianluca Rocchi would certainly have irked the Spaniards.

But despite the fortuitous circumstances in which they took the lead, the quarter-final debutants deserved their first-leg advantage and could have scored more, so awful were Real in defence.

Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, in particular, were to blame for the second goal, which Arnold side-footed home from six yards.

Moments earlier, Arnold had nicked the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo inside his own half and was allowed to surge 60 yards unchallenged before nearly putting Schurrle through.

After the break, Schurrle should have done better when through on goal, while substitute Max Kruse forced a fine save from Keylor Navas in the dying minutes.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane said his team would treat the match "like a final" but his men were a shadow of the side that beat Barcelona in El Clasico at the weekend.

Ronaldo made his 124th Champions League appearance, taking him to joint sixth in the all-time list

Zidane made just one change to the team that ended Barca's 39-match unbeaten run, yet they could not reproduce Saturday's performance.

Gareth Bale, playing on the left wing, was their most potent player and should have been awarded a penalty when the score was goalless. Ronaldo - making his 124th Champions League appearance - lacked clout, while Karim Benzema hobbled off early in the first half.

It was not a result many would have predicted beforehand, with Wolfsburg losing 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen - their third game without a win in the Bundesliga, at the weekend.

Seven points adrift of fourth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach, they are in danger of missing out on next season's Champions League if they do not win the competition, yet in Julian Draxler and Schurrle the Germans proved they have players who can shine on such a stage.

Once again, the 22-year-old Draxler stood out in a Champions League tie. The Germany international covered more than 10km, made three key passes and was even ever-present when needed in defence, tackling and clearing for his team.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane: 

"I'm not happy with how the game went, especially the first half.

"That's football - that's how difficult it is. That's what happens when you don't play with intensity from the start. We have to rest and think about the return leg because we still have the chance to change everything."

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale: "We're only halfway through the tie so we have time to turn it around. I had a clear penalty on me at the start of the game. I got smashed over.

"No excuses - we weren't good enough. It happens sometimes."

Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking: 

"I was laughed at when I said that we may have a chance. Real had their opportunities early on and we were a bit lucky.

"We pulled together, we found the spaces and played very well. Now we will go to Madrid, knowing that we have a chance to advance."

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Bayern Munich v Benfica - Preview

For the second year running, FC Bayern München must overcome Portuguese opposition in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League as SL Benfica look to reach a first semi-final in more than 25 years.

The teams have met in three previous ties – and not only have Bayern won them all, they have gone on to reach at least the final of the competition on every occasion. The sides were first paired in the quarter-finals of the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup, a goalless first leg in Lisbon preceding Bayern's 5-1 win in Munich in which Bernd Dürnberger and Gerd Müller each scored twice and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge got the other Bayern goal.

Bayern went on to defeat AS Saint-Étienne 1-0 in the final at Hampden Park, Glasgow – therefore claiming the trophy for the third year in a row.

It was a similar story when the teams met again in the 1981/82 European Cup second round, the first leg in Lisbon again ending scoreless. Once again Bayern ran out comfortable victors at home, thanks mainly to a Dieter Hoeness hat-trick. Paul Breitner got the other in a 4-1 victory.

Again Bayern progressed to the final, although this time they missed out on the trophy, going down 1-0 to Aston Villa FC in Rotterdam.

Jürgen Klinsmann was the standout performer the last time the teams' paths crossed, in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup third round. The striker scored all four goals in Bayern's 4-1 home first-leg victory, then added two more in a 3-1 Lisbon success with Andreas Herzog contributing the other.

Bayern went on to the final and beat FC Girondins de Bordeaux 5-1 over two legs. Klinsmann finished with 15 goals for the season.

Five-time winners Bayern have featured in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in each of the last four seasons. Their European Cup quarter-final record is W17 L9.

Bayern have been unstoppable at home in this season's UEFA Champions League, winning all four games – although they needed extra time, and a recovery from 2-0 down, to beat Juventus in the round of 16 second leg. They won their home group games against GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC with an aggregate score of 14-1.

Twelve months ago, Bayern went down 3-1 at FC Porto in the quarter-final first leg but turned the tie round spectacularly with a 6-1 second-leg success in Munich.

That Porto defeat ended Bayern's 15-match unbeaten record against Portuguese opposition. Their overall record is now P24 W14 D8 L2 F55 A18; at home it is W9 D2 L0. They have won alll nine of their previous two-legged knockout ties against Portuguese opposition.

Bayern's only other defeat by a Portuguese club was also against Porto, in the 1987 European Cup final. Ludwig Kögl gave Bayern a 25th-minute lead at Vienna's Praterstadion, but late goals from Rabah Madjer (77) and Filho Juary (81) snatched away the trophy.

This is Benfica's first UEFA Champions League quarter-final since a 3-1 aggregate defeat by Chelsea FC in 2011/12. Their overall European Cup quarter-final record is W8 L8.

Benfica reached the final on the last two occasions they survived this hurdle – in 1990 and 1988.

Júlio César was in the FC Internazionale Milano side that beat Bayern 2-0 in the 2010 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid. The goalkeeper also helped the Nerazzurri win 3-2 in Munich in the following season's round of 16, going through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw. Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben and Thomas Müller were in the Bayern side.

Arturo Vidal was in the Juventus team beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Benfica in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League semi-finals.

Benfica's Greek international striker Kostas Mitroglou holds German citizenship and had spells in the youth ranks at MSV Duisburg and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Mitroglou scored twice in Greece's 2-0 friendly win against David Alaba's Austria on 14 August 2013.

Robert Lewandowski has scored 13 times in 14 club appearances in 2016. He has registered ten of Bayern's 20 league goals since the winter break. The Poland forward has 44 goals in 47 outings for club and country in 2015/16.

Lewandowski's 25th Bundesliga goal this term, one more than his previous best total for a league campaign, earned Guardiola's men a 1-0 victory at 1. FC Köln on 19 March. With that effort against Köln, Lewandowski surpassed Luca Toni as the scorer of the most Bundesliga goals by a foreign player in a single season for the Bavarians.

Benfica have won 19 of their last 20 games in all competitions, the exception being the 2-1 home loss to Porto on 12 February. 

Jonas has managed 18 goals in 16 appearances in all competitions this calendar year. He has played the last 11 minutes of Brazil's 2-2 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw against Paraguay on 29 March – his first international appearance since September 2012.

Renato Sanches made his senior international debut on 25 March, coming on as a substitute in Portugal's 1-0 home loss to Bulgaria. He also featured against Belgium four days later.

Victor Lindelöf earned his first caps for Sweden in their 2-1 loss to Turkey and the 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic. 

Luisão (out since 21 November, broken left arm) suffered a setback in training and underwent surgery on the injury for a second time on 8 February.

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Wambach Apologises for DUI Arrest

Abby Wambach

Retired U.S. soccer champ  was arrested late Saturday night for driving under the influence in Portland, Oregon, authorities said.

Wambach, 35, was charged with a misdemeanour's and released on her own recognisance, jail records show.

In a statement, Portland Police said that Wambach was pulled over shortly after 11 p.m. when a police officer saw her drive through a red light. After failing a sobriety test, she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, the statement said.

In a note posted on her Facebook page, Wambach apologised and said that she was arrested after having dinner at a friend's house.

"Those that know me, know that I have always demanded excellence from myself. I have let myself and others down," she wrote. "I take full responsibility for my actions. This is all on me. I promise that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that my horrible mistake is never repeated."

Wambach added: "I am so sorry to my family, friends, fans and those that look to follow a better example."

In a statement, one of Wambach's sponsors, the car brand Mini, said it was pulling ads that feature her.

"We're obviously concerned about the alleged DUI attributed to Abby Wambach," the statement said. "This behaviour is against the values we promote as an organisation and the safety of everyone on the road is a priority here at MINI. Because of this, we are re-evaluating her association with the brand and are pulling content that individually features Abby from our marketing."

Some sponsors, including Nike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gatorade, citing Wambach's "heartfelt" Facebook post, said it "has no further comment at this time."

Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, retired last October, just three months after she played on the U.S. women's team that beat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup finals.

Since retiring, Wambach has actively campaigned for Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton and pushed FIFA, the international soccer association that has been under fire over allegations of widespread corruption, to include more women on its executive committee.

Wambach's arrest comes three days after several of her former team-mates announced that they were filing a wage-discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that will seek pay that equals male players

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Mandzukic Heads Juventus Towards Title

Mandzukic scores for Juventus
Photo - Getty Images

Juventus moved six points clear at the top of Serie A overnight after beating Empoli 1-0 on Saturday.

Mario Mandzukic scored the only goal before half-time to send Juventus further ahead of Napoli, who visit Udinese on Sunday.

Empoli had their chances and almost got off to a great start but Riccardo Saponara blazed over from close range.

Mandzukic put Juventus in front with a glancing header from a chipped Paul Pogba pass. It was the forward’s first goal for Juventus this year. Alvaro Morata had earlier sent a curling shot off the crossbar from the edge of the area.

Despite keeping a firm grip on top spot of Serie A, Juventus will be disappointed defender Giorgio Chiellini, who has only just returned from injury, limped off early in the second half.

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