Reuters Football - Champions and Europa League

Money talks for PSG, Man City count cost of exit

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:16:03 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Big-spending Paris St Germain, struggling to deliver domestically on a huge investment by Qatari owners, showed they mean business in the Champions League by winning Group A at Porto's expense on Tuesday.

Helton howler helps PSG clinch top spot in group

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:13:56 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Ezequiel Lavezzi took advantage of a second-half blunder by goalkeeper Helton to clinch Paris St Germain a 2-1 home win over Porto and top spot in Champions League Group A on Tuesday.

Real cruise but Ajax eye home Europa final

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:06:02 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid crushed Ajax 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Tuesday but the Dutch side still finished third in Champions League Group D and have a shot at playing a Europa League final at their own Amsterdam Arena.

Man City dealt final blow in Dortmund

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:36:57 GMT

Schieber, starting only his second game for the club, slid home Jakub Blaszczykowski's cross as the English champions again looked out of their depth at European level.

Zenit beat AC Milan to secure Europa League spot

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:19:05 GMT

MILAN (Reuters) - Zenit St Petersburg booked a Europa League place with a 1-0 win away to a depleted AC Milan side thanks to a first-half goal by captain Danny in their final Champions League Group C match on Tuesday.

Schalke's draw at Montpellier enough to secure top spot

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:07:03 GMT

The Germans, who were assured of their passage into the last 16 before kickoff, opened the scoring through Benedikt Hoewedes 11 minutes into the second half but Emanuel Herrera equalised three minutes later.

Arsenal denied top spot after defeat at Olympiakos

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:52:33 GMT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Arsenal missed out on the chance to finish top of Champions League Group B after surrendering the lead to lose 2-1 at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.

Real crush Ajax who get Europa consolation

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:41:59 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid crushed Ajax 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Tuesday but the Dutch side still finished third in Champions League Group D to earn a place in the Europa League at Manchester City's expense.

Ajax lose at Real but qualify for Europa League

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:40:11 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Ajax were crushed 4-1 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday but finished third in Champions League Group D to earn a place in the Europa League at Manchester City's expense.

Lavezzi earns PSG top spot with win over Porto

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:09:17 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Ezequiel Lavezzi benefited from a second-half blunder by goalkeeper Helton to clinch Paris St Germain a 2-1 home win over Porto and top spot in Champions League Group A on Tuesday.

Spain striker Llorente says he will leave Bilbao

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:40:12 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain striker Fernando Llorente put Europe's top clubs on alert on Tuesday when he confirmed he will leave Athletic Bilbao when his contract finishes at the end of the season.

Benitez confident Shakhtar can do Chelsea a favour

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:07:29 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea's under-fire manager Rafael Benitez believes Shakhtar Donetsk can beat Juventus on Wednesday and open an escape hatch for his side to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

Vidic may face Cluj as Ferguson does 'the right thing'

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:06:06 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United will "do the right thing" and field a strong line-up in their final Champions League Group H clash against CFR Cluj on Wednesday, with Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic likely to make a timely return from injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Tuesday.

Arsenal have problems but I can fix it, says Wenger

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 02:14:13 GMT

(Reuters) - Languishing mid-table, outplayed by teams he would fully expect to beat and with fans loudly questioning his judgement, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger concedes his side have problems but is adamant he is the man to fix them.

Benitez seeks unlikely salvation in Champions League

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 02:04:29 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Rafael Benitez made scuppering Chelsea's Champions League hopes a pastime when he was at Liverpool but on Wednesday he has the chance to preside over an unlikely rescue act at Stamford Bridge.

Benfica equipped to get result at Barca - Jesus

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:59:08 GMT

LISBON (Reuters) - Benfica have enough quality to get the result they need to reach the Champions League last 16 away at Barcelona on Wednesday, whether or not the already-qualified Catalans decide to rest Lionel Messi for their final group game, coach Jorge Jesus said.

Valverde accepts six-month challenge at Valencia

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:19:42 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - New Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde's immediate objectives are to end the crisis at the club and to restore the confidence of the players, he said at his presentation on Monday.

PSG must get over this rough patch, says Ancelotti

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:51:33 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris St Germain have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League but Tuesday's home game against Porto is extremely important for two reasons, according to coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Messi backs Celtic to make Champions League last 16

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:45:26 GMT

Those at Celtic Park for Wednesday's decider against eliminated Spartak Moscow will be keeping close tabs on the other final Group G match in Spain to see if Barcelona can dent Portuguese side Benfica's hopes of progression and deliver Celtic an early Christmas gift.

Man City's Silva to miss Dortmund match

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:01:12 GMT

"It's a hamstring. We don't know if he can recover for the derby. We will try," City manager Roberto Mancini was quoted as saying by the Sky Sports website (www.skysports.com).

Chelsea deny reports linking Avram Grant return

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:08:32 GMT

Newspaper reports suggested the club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich was second guessing his decision to bring in Spaniard Benitez after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked in late November.

Arsenal rest six for Olympiakos in bid to avoid fatigue

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:08:03 GMT

Midfielders Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta, forwards Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott as well as defender Per Mertesacker were all missing from Arsenal's 18-man squad named to travel to Greece for Tuesday's match.

Valencia appoint Valverde as new coach

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:21:29 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Valencia have agreed to appoint Ernesto Valverde to replace Mauricio Pellegrino as their new coach until the end of the season, the Spanish club said on Monday.

Chelsea need big helping hand for last-16 ticket

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 02:08:49 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Six clubs enter this week's final round of Champions League group matches harbouring hopes of grabbing one of the three last-16 places still up for grabs although for holders Chelsea their fate is beyond their control.

Zenit's Kerzhakov to miss AC Milan match

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 02:05:37 GMT

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Zenit St Petersburg's Alexander Kerzhakov will miss their final Champions League Group C match at AC Milan on Tuesday with a leg injury.