Boca Juniors to play at Galaxy on May 23

Slumping Boca Juniors will play an exhibition at Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy on May 23.
While Boca has won 23 Argentina championships and six Copa Libertadores titles, it is just 15th in the 20-team Argentine first division this season.

Boca Juniors’ roster includes Juan Roman Riquelme.
The Galaxy figure to be missing Landon Donovan, who will be with the U.S. national team, and also could be without Edson Buddle, who might be called to the Americans’ pre-World Cup training camp.

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Man City signs goalkeeper Fulop on emergency loan

Manchester City signed Hungary international Marton Fulop on an emergency loan from Sunderland on Tuesday after goalkeeper Shay Given dislocated his shoulder.


Given injured his shoulder in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Arsenal and, with backup goalkeeper Stuart Taylor already sidelined, City was left with Faroe Islands international Gunnar Nielsen as its only fit senior ‘keeper.

City failed in its attempts to recall Joe Hart, who is on loan at Birmingham, for the final three games of the Premier League season as it chases the fourth Champions League place.

Instead, the 26-year-old Fulop signed late Tuesday and is set to make his debut Saturday against Aston Villa, which is one point above City in fifth place — level on 64 points with fourth-place Tottenham.
Fulop is set to join City for training on Wednesday.

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Estudiantes, Chivas grab first-leg wins in last 16

Defending champion Estudiantes claimed an important away win in Tuesday’s first leg of its Copa Libertadores round of 16 clash at Mexico’s San Luis, with Leandro Gonzalez giving the Argentines a 1-0 victory.
In Tuesday’s other first-leg clash, Guadalajara salvaged some pride for Mexico with a 3-0 defeat of Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield.

Estudiantes will host San Luis in the return leg on Wednesday, May 5. Velez is at home against Chivas on Tuesday, May 4.

Gonzalez hit a diagonal drive into the roof of the net in the 25th minute for what proved the winner.
Gaston Fernandez missed the chance to extend the lead as San Luis goalkeeper Carlos Trejo saved his penalty just before half time.
Estudiantes fullback Clemente Rodriguez was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 69th minute, but the Argentine club had little difficulty protecting its lead.

Estudiantes, currently top of the Argentine league standings, won despite resting six first-team players, including veteran playmaker Juan Sebastian Veron.

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Kaka unhappy with performances for Real

Real Madrid's Brazilian star Kaka said he was unhappy with his performances since arriving last summer, but blamed injuries for his lack of form.


"I'm not happy with my performances, but it's all physical. I suffered a lot since I got injured," he said.

"When I'm good physically, my performance will improve, I'll be happy and the fans too," he told a news conference on Tuesday.

The midfielder has found goals hard to come by since arriving from AC Milan last summer for 65 million euros and has been accused of failing to replicate the form that made him the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2007.

But on Saturday, he ended a six-week injury absence by grabbing the winner for Real Madrid in a 2-1 victory over Zaragoza.

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Weakened PSG thrashed 4-0 by relegated Grenoble

Paris St Germain paid the price for resting key players four days before this weekend’s French Cup final by slumping to a 4-0 defeat at relegated Grenoble in Ligue 1 on Tuesday.

PSG, who face Monaco at the Stade de France on Saturday, were torn apart by the bottom club who picked up just their fourth league win in 35 games.

Grenoble went ahead on 26 minutes when Laurent Batlles fired home with a powerful 25-metre drive and Nicolas Dieuze added a second on the stroke of halftime. Goals after the break from Nassim Akrour and Danijel Ljuboja rubbed salt in PSG’s wounds.

Monaco were held 1-1 at home by Le Mans.
Niger striker Moussa Maazou came off the bench to cancel out Mathieu Dossevi’s 10th-minute opener.
Monaco keeper Stephane Ruffier picked up a thigh injury during the warm-up and was replaced by Yohann Thuram-Ulien as a precautionary measure, the club from the principality said.

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Bayern Munich beats Lyon 3-0 to reach final

Bayern Munich is headed to the European Champions League final for the first time in nine years.
Ivica Olic scored three goals, and Bayern Munich routed Lyon 3-0 Tuesday night to win the home-and-home semifinal on 4-0 aggregate.

“This is the best game of my career,” Ilic said. “I can’t find the words to express how happy I am.”
The German power, which overcame the absence of suspended star Franck Ribery, will seek its fifth European title when it plays defending champion Barcelona or Inter Milan in the final on May 22 at Madrid.

“On my first day in charge, I said Barcelona is the best team in the world and the example,” Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. “Nine times out of 10, Barca would win, but we could win one game.”
Barcelona will try to overturn a 3-1 deficit when it hosts Inter on Wednesday night.

“I would prefer to play Inter,” van Gaal said. “That way I could have a press conference with my friend Jose Mourinho.”

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Olic peaking at just the right time for Bayern

The 30-year-old Croatia striker’s clinical hat trick helped Bayern beat Lyon 3-0 on Tuesday night to reach the Champions League final for the first time in nine years.

It was his fifth goal in his last four European outings for a career journeyman who has played at seven clubs, and came after he’d scored crucial goals in both legs against Manchester United in the quarterfinals.

Olic described his performance as “the best game of my career.” Bayern will need him to continue his scoring run against either Inter Milan or Barcelona in the May 22 final in Madrid.

“I thought my game against Manchester United was (the best), but this one is,” better, Olic said. “I can’t find the words to express how happy I am. Scoring three goals in such a game is outstanding.”

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Liverpool vs Benfica Live Predictions – Europa League

The Europa League quarterfinals match between Liverpool and Benfica will take place at Anfield on Thursday 8 April 2010, kick-off set for 8:05 PM. Portuguese side Benfica’s visit to Anfield is relevant because is not an event like the other matches that Liverpool have played in this season. There is an undeniable sense of urgency that simply was not present in any other recent match. It surely goes beyond the so called race for the fourth spot in the EPL, it means to rescue some prestige at the European level.

Liverpool and Benfica go through different realities. Benfica Portuguese table is comfortable leading the championship of their country and come from winning 2-1 in the first leg, while Liverpool is in its worst crisis in 10 years.

Liverpool is the favourite for winning this first edition of Europa League, Benfica played really well in the first leg and the Portuguese may aim now for a draw at Anfield, a result which will bring them into the semifinals.

With the planning for next season already in motion what is critical right now is Liverpool’s basically last chance to put forth a quality performance and progress to the title game in the Europa League. Again, maybe not something that carries much weight for the fans but the chance to be one of only eight teams left playing in the continental competitions is nothing to complain about, although the Europa League is not to be compared with the quality of the Chamipons League.

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Atlético Madrid vs Valencia , Match Preview & Score

The quarter final match in Europa League between Atlético Madrid and Valencia will kick off on April 8, 2010 at 20:05 UK.

There are millions of fans waiting for the next match of UEFA Europa League, and here it is, the football match and you can Watch Atletico Madrid vs Valencia online free kick off is scheduled on Thursday, April 8, 19:45 CET. Enjoy with the live score, Atletico Madrid vs Valencia preview, recaps and highlights here.

Atletico thought to have been the hardest to score twice leading to Valencia in the first leg. But Valencia’s strong recovery is finally picking up the zero before the 2nd leg in Madrid. 10th in La Liga, Atletico approximate gently European markets which are only 5 points. Very comfortable at home, Atletico has won his last 5 league matches at the Vicente Calderon with a convincing 4-1 victory against same Valencia last February 28.


The quarter finals is still very open the score after the first leg of parity. During the 2 previous rounds, Valencia had released sensitive situations after the matches go wrong negotiated. Since the 1/16th final of the 5 games played Atletico Europa League for 4 including 2 draws at home. This match will be the 4th year of confrontation between these two teams with an advantage so far toAtletico (1 win, 2 draws). Moreover, during their last 4 encounters since 2008 to Vicente Calderon, Atletico has won 4 times.

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Manchester United vs Bayern Munich Match Preview

Watch Manchester United vs Bayern Munich at Sportsbook Online: The quarter final 2nd leg match between Manchester United and Bayern Munich will kick off on 7th April 2010, 19:45 GMT in Manchester.

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal insists Manchester United are still the favourites to progress from their Champions League quarter-final despite the German side going into Wednesday night's second leg with a 2-1 lead.

Only seven days ago Manchester United were sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table and were red-hot favourites to progress to the semi-final of the Champions League.

Earlier to the first leg of Manchester United’s Champion League there will be the quarter final fight against Bayern Munich, much of the conversation wandered around the proficient final of 1999, which the Red Devils alleged in dramatic situations. Unfortunately, for Sir Alex’s Ferguson’s men, by the time it has moved 22:35 last week in Munich, the media were considering over a diverse showing. This time United have the good chance to take revenge tomorrow against Bayern.

The hosts looked good value for their victory in the Allianz Arena, but Van Gaal feels his side remain underdogs for the return match at Old Trafford.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is refusing to rule out naming Rooney on the bench, as his 34-goal striker looks to overcome the ankle injury he suffered in the final moments of United's first leg defeat seven days ago.

Over the last five years, with the European pedigree there is only the defeat by Barcelona and there may be slight suspect over the experienced English side to remain with full confidence of the midweek test.

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Bordeaux vs Lyon Live Online, Match Preview and Predictions

The quarterfinal 2nd leg match between Bordeaux ands Lyon will kick off on 7 April, 2010, 19:45 GMT at Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux, France.

Lyon will be without Lisandro López and Sidney Govou, both suspended for their second leg against fellow Ligue 1 side Bordeaux. In their absence, OL will have one major advantage over the Girondins: two goals.

Bordeaux has been on an unbeaten streak in the Champions League before losing the first leg at Lyon. They were leading Ligue 1 until losing Saturday but do have several matches in hand. Lyon currently lead Ligue 1 but only on goal differnce. The two teams are very familiar with each other and there won’t be many surprises.

Pedigree, recent form and a two-goal advantage from the first leg suggest Olympique Lyon will knock out Girondins Bordeaux on Wednesday to advance to the last four of the Champions League.

Lyon, who won 3-1 at home last week after an exciting first leg of the all-French quarter-final clash, have greater experience of European battles and boosted their morale by winning 2-1 at Stade Rennes on Saturday to go top in Ligue 1.

Olympique Lyon Coach Claude Puel said, "I am not and we are not looking beyond this game - we must play a return match. Both teams want to qualify. We have to be efficient and play well to qualify."

Lyon have one foot into the semifinals with their performance in the first leg but if they look to far ahead, Bordeaux could surprise them. This doesn’t seem likely as Lyon should be focused and have shown their ability to play a defensive match.

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CSKA Moscow vs Inter Milan , Score and Match Preview

The second leg of Champions League match between Inter Milan and CSKA Moscow will kick off on April 6, 2010 at Luzhniki Stadium. The match will commence at 17:30 UK.

The Champions League rolls around once more and Inter travel to Moscow for the quarter-final second leg against CSKA. The Italian champions hold a 1-0 lead going into the game at the Luzhniki Stadium.

The first leg of the tie was very uneventful for the first 45 minutes. CSKA was very organized defensively and Inter struggled to break them down. Inter’s best chance of the half came on Goran Pandev’s blast from 25 yards out that narrowly missed its mark.

Going into the match Inter welcome back ‘Super’ Mario Balotelli who was also included and scored in the weekend’s 3-0 victory over Bologna. The 19 year-old striker had been in a well-publicised spat with the club and Jose Mourinho, but he has since apologised so should find a place on the bench in Moscow.

Inter dominated the possession and had three times as many shots on goal as CSKA did. CSKA will hope that their home field advantage will help them level the score in the second leg.

CSKA on the other hand are playing in their first ever Champions League quarter-final, though they will be confident they can overturn the 1 goal deficit. Though they will have to do it without the aforementioned Krasic and Aldonin, who are both suspended for the match after picking up bookings in the first leg.

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