JUST IN: Benz gives Madrid edge over sterile Bayern

A solitary strike from Karim Benzema was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

The France international poked home Fabio Coentrao's cross in the first half for the only goal of the game to inflict only a second defeat in the competition for Pep Guardiola's side.

BREAKING NEWS: Barcelona transfer ban suspended

Fifa has announced they have suspended Barcelona's transfer ban following their appeal against the punishment.

The Catalans were banned from signing players for the next two transfer windows for breaching regulations relating to the international transfer of players under 18 years of age, but the suspension has been put on hold until a final decision on their appeal is taken.

"The club Barcelona have lodged an appeal before the Fifa Appeal Committee against the decision of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee that sanctioned the club for breaches relating to

Klopp: I don't want Manchester United job

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp says he is not interested in taking the Manchester United job, after the Premier League club sacked David Moyes on Tuesday.

The Scot was relieved of his duties on Tuesday morning only 10 months into a six-year contract at Old Trafford, having presided over the club's worst campaign in the Premier League era.

Klopp was seen as one of the favourites to succeed Moyes this summer, despite having

BREAKING NEWS: Manchester United confirm Giggs as interim boss

Manchester United have revealed that Ryan Giggs will assume first-team responsibilities as interim coach until a permanent successor to David Moyes is appointed.

The Scot was relieved of his duties on Tuesday morning just 10-months into a six-year contract, having presided over the club's worst campaign of the Premier League era.

And it has now been confirmed that Giggs, who has made a record 962 appearances for United and was widely expected to end his playing career this summer, will negotiate the

OFFICIAL: Manchester United sack David Moyes

Manchester United have sacked manager David Moyes with immediate effect after owners the Glazer family finally lost patience with the Scot.

The 50-year-old, who created a host of unwanted records during his brief stint at Old Trafford, becomes the first United manager to be dismissed since Ron Atkinson in 1986.

Announcing Moyes' departure on their official Twitter account, United added: "The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought

FINALLY! Brazil World Cup provisional list: Osaze in, Ike Uche out!

AS Nigerians await the release of the 35-man provisional World Cup list from coach Stephen Keshi tomorrow, we can authoritatively inform that all the players who played at the Africa Cup of Nations victory in South Africa in 2013 except Ike Uche are included in the list.

Also, six home-based Eagles,  Kunle Odunlami(Sunshine), Chigozie Agbim(Gombe United), Azubike Egwuekwe(Warri Wolves), Dan Akepei(Warri Wolves), Ejike Uzoenyi(Rangers of Enugu) and Abdullahi Shehu(Kano Pillars) are the lucky ones who would  join the foreign

Hazard misses Chelsea training ahead of Atletico Madrid clash

Eden Hazard missed training on Monday ahead of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid.

The Belgian has been in sparkling form for the Blues this season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, but sustained a calf injury in the 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on April 8

Mourinho confident Chelsea will beat PSG

Jose Mourinho is confident Chelsea can overturn their two-goal deficit in the Champions League to progress to the semi-finals beyond Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

The second-leg of their quarter-final with the Ligue 1 champions begins with Chelsea 3-1 behind after defeat in Paris, however Mourinho is confident his squad can turn the tie around.

Laurent Blanc's men arrive in London without their main striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who

Sherwood: It's been an honour to manage Tottenham

Tim Sherwood spoke of the “honour” of managing Tottenham after learning that he will lose his job at the end of the season.

It is understood that Spurs have decided to replace Sherwood in the summer, with Louis Van Gaal and Mauricio Pochettino the front runners for the position.

Tottenham thumped bottom-placed Sunderland 5-1 at White Hart Lane on Monday night - but it will not be enough for Sherwood to stay in charge despite only agreeing an 18-month

Dimeji Lawal urges respect for Keshi’s final decision on Uche & Odemwingie

Former Nigeria international Dimeji Lawal has asked fans and analysts to respect head coach Stephen Keshi’s decision to leave any top player out of his squad for the World Cup.

Keshi has come under intense pressure to include veteran Stoke City forward Osaze Odemwingie and Villarreal hitman Ikechukwu Uche in his squad for the summer’s tournament in Brazil.

The former winger who though seeks the inclusion of Ike Uche in the squad expressed

BREAKING NEWS: Van Persie sidelined for up to six weeks

Manchester United have revealed that Robin van Persie will be sidelined for "four to six weeks" with a sprained knee.

The Dutch striker scored a hat-trick against Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday night but was stretchered off late in the game, having suffered a knee problem during the closing stages of the encounter.

United boss David Moyes initially declared that the injury "did not look too bad" but later

EXCLUSIVE: Atletico Madrid move into pole position to sign Torres

Atletico Madrid are keen on re-uniting with Fernando Torres this summer as they step up plans to end his Chelsea misery.

The Spanish club have expressed an interest in re-signing their former striker, either on loan or a permanent deal in the summer.

As reported by Goal, Chelsea will listen to offers for all three of their senior strikers – Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba – and doubts also surround the future of on-loan forward

Aston Villa 1-0 Chelsea: Mourinho sent off as Delph blows title race wide open

Jose Mourinho had never won at Villa Park heading into the fixture and Delph's well-taken goal after the break extended the Portuguese coach's misery in the Midlands.

To add insult to injury, Willian was sent off for a second bookable offence just minutes before the winning goal, while Mourinho would have been further incensed when Ramires saw red deep into injury time.

And the Chelsea boss then made matters worse for himself as he, too, was sent to the stands right at the death. There could have been a different outcome, meanwhile, had Nemanja

Villas-Boas told me he's going to Zenit' - Jesus

Zenit St Petersburg have lined up Andre Villas-Boas to fill the vacant head coach position, according to Benfica boss Jorge Jesus.

The ex-Chelsea manager has been out of a job since Tottenham fired him in December after a mediocre start to the season in which a number of expensive summer signings failed to click under the Portuguese's system.

However, he has been heavily linked with a return to the footballing fray with the Russian

Tottenham need no motivation for Arsenal, insists Adebayor

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor is confident he and his team-mates will require no added motivation for Sunday's derby clash with Arsenal.

The north London neighbours will go head-to-head at White Hart Lane on Sunday with Spurs coming off the back of humbling defeats to Chelsea and Benfica in the past week.

Those losses have seen Tim Sherwood's side drop away from the Premier League top four and move closer to Europa League elimination with the Spurs boss blasting his players' poor

Hull City 0-2 Manchester City: Dzeko & Silva keep Pellegrini’s men in title contention

Manchester City overcame the early dismissal of Vincent Kompany to beat Hull City 2-0 and keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Captain Kompany saw red in the opening 10 minutes on Saturday after hauling down Nikica Jelavic as the striker looked set to race through on goal, but David Silva's superb curling effort handed the visitors the lead just four minutes later.

Pablo Zabaleta hit the crossbar before the break as Manuel Pellegrini's reorganised charges

Manchester City fear for Agüero fitness after Messi shatters their dreams

Vincent Kompany tackles Lionel Messi, as Barcelona won the Champions League game 2-1 and 4-1 on aggregate. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

Manchester City's elimination from the Champions League was accompanied by fresh concerns about Sergio Agüero's fitness but a firm declaration from their captain, Vincent Kompany, that the club would not allow the most disappointing week of their season to spill over into the Premier League.

Manuel Pellegrini's team now travel to Hull City for the early Saturday kick-off with Kompany admitting they "had nothing left in the tank" at the end of a 2-1 defeat against Barcelona, completing a 4-1 aggregate loss and exit at the last-16 stage.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the second half and Pablo Zabaleta had been sent off before Kompany equalised in the 89th minute. Dani Alves quickly restored the home side's lead on a night when Agüero was taken off at half-time with a recurrence of his hamstring troubles. "It is very early, so we cannot say how long he is going to be out," Rubén Cousillas, Pellegrini's assistant, said. "Hopefully, it is nothing serious, but he felt some pain. It is more a precaution, but we are doing some tests to assess it."

Wilshere out for at least six weeks with fractured foot

Jack Wilshere has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a hairline fracture of his left foot playing for England on Wednesday.

The midfielder received lengthy treatment after a crunching tackle from Daniel Agger just 13 minutes in, but played almost an hour before being substituted.

He now faces a fight to return in time to play any further part in Arsenal's season, as well as

Wenger: Arsenal will see a new Ozil now

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the rest afforded to Mesut Ozil will refresh the out-of-form midfielder and is convinced he can handle the pressures placed on him by the north London club.

The former Real Madrid man was absent for last weekend's 4-1 win over Sunderland having failed to get over the disappointment of missing a penalty against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, a match that saw him singled out and criticised.

Wenger, though, believes Ozil is reinvigorated by his short break and exclusion from the

Chelsea want me to return, says Courtois

Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he is wanted by both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, but has not yet made a decision on where he will play next season.

The 21-year-old is yet to play a game for parent club Chelsea as he has spent the last three seasons on loan at Atletico after joining the English side from Genk in 2011.

However, Courtois has consistently stated that he will not go back to Jose Mourinho’s side unless he is guaranteed first team football and with Petr Cech enjoying a return to his best form this season, Courtois would be open to another year in the Spanish capital.