The Sport Review: “Chelsea 0 Man Utd 1: Sir Alex praises ‘tremendous’ Rooney” plus 4 more

Chelsea 0 Man Utd 1: Sir Alex praises ‘tremendous’ Rooney
England women confirm Sweden World Cup warm-up
Emmanuel Adebayor keen to stay at Real Madrid
Silvio Berlusconi eyes Cristiano Ronaldo swoop
Man Utd ‘close to sealing’ £17.5m deal for David de Gea

Chelsea 0 Man Utd 1: Sir Alex praises ‘tremendous’ Rooney

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 03:11 PM PDT

Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Wayne Rooney’s contribution after the striker netted a valuable away goal to give Manchester United a Champions League triumph over Chelsea.

Rooney slotted home Ryan Giggs’ low cross to hand United a priceless lead to take back to Old Trafford for the quarter-final return leg next Tuesday.

Ferguson believes Rooney did well to put his recent disciplinary misery behind him and fire United to within touching distance of the semi-finals.

“Wayne just played his game,” said Ferguson. “He got a lot of abuse and late tackles but he played his game and that shows the courage of the players.

“He was important on the counter-attack and he was in tremendous form and he has given us a great chance of reaching the semis.”

Ferguson added: “He’s now been more regular with his goalscoring which, in the last part of the season, is going to be important to us.”

Chelsea were furious at not being awarded a penalty late on when Patrice Evra brought down Ramires as the Brazilian raced through on goal.

Referee Alberto Mallenco waved away Chelsea’s protests, but goalkeeper Petr Cech is convinced the Blues were denied a clear spot-kick.

“I think everybody saw what happened, you can see clearly on the TV,” he said. “But the most important person did not see it.”

He added: “We lost the game and we have left ourselves a mountain to climb but we have to do it.

“I think we created chances and that was the key. They had their first chance and scored and we had some but we didn’t score, and that’s the difference.”

And United centre-half Rio Ferdinand insists the referee was right not to point to the spot. “It evens itself out over the course of a season,” he said.

“I don’t think it was a penalty, maybe it should have been but they have ridden their luck here over the years so it was time we had some.”

Chelsea

Cech, Bosingwa (Mikel 78), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Zhirkov (Malouda 70), Drogba (Anelka 71), Torres.
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Benayoun, Ferreira, Kalou.

Manchester United

Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Nani 51), Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park (Smalling 90), Hernandez (Berbatov 78), Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Scholes, Evans, Gibson.

England women confirm Sweden World Cup warm-up

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 10:52 AM PDT

england usa

The England Women's team will continue their World Cup preparations with a high-profile international against Sweden next month.

Hope Powell’s side will look to build on their impressive 2-1 victory over the USA last weekend as they gear up for their World Cup opener against Mexico on 27 June.

The encounter on 17 May will take place at The Kassam Stadium, home to Oxford United, and will be the first meeting between the two nations since the 1-1 draw in Euro 2009 that clinched England's place in the quarter-finals.

The most recent clash on home soil was the final Group A fixture in Euro 2005, when Sweden triumphed 1-0 courtesy of Anna Sjostrom's scrambled goal at Ewood Park.

Sweden are currently ranked number five in the world and coach Powell is looking forward to pitting her wits against one of the women's game's traditional powerhouses.

"Sweden are world-class opposition and they are always there or thereabouts in the major tournaments," she said. The last time we played them was in the European Championship and we always have tough games against them.

“This will undoubtedly be another tough game and it will give us the opportunity to test ourselves against a strong European side just a few weeks before the start of the World Cup.

"I was pleased with the way we played against USA and it will be a good test for us to see if we can replicate some of the things we did in that game against Sweden."

Emmanuel Adebayor keen to stay at Real Madrid

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 10:02 AM PDT

emmanueal adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor has urged Real Madrid to make his loan deal permanent following his two-goal haul against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.

Adebayor, who joined Madrid on a six-month loan deal from Manchester City in January, scored the first two goals in Real’s 4-0 victory over Spurs in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabéu.

And the 27-year-old former Arsenal striker, whose temporary deal includes an option for the La Liga club to sign the striker on a permanent basis in the summer, hopes his brace will help encourage Los Blancos to tie him down to a long-term contract.

When asked if he wants to stay in the Spanish capital, Adebayor said: “Of course I do. I don’t know at the moment [what will happen].

“I just keep going working hard in training. I still have one or two months left so we will see.”

Adebayor, who joined City from Arsenal for £25m in 2009, says Tuesday’s performance was his best since arriving in the Spanish capital just under three months ago.

“It was my best game for Real Madrid,” he said. “When you join a new club the most important thing is to score.

“It’s always special to score in the Champions League. I have to keep working hard now, keep going and keep working in training to progress.

“I’m very happy. Now we have the second leg to finish the job. It puts us in a good position going to London.”

Silvio Berlusconi eyes Cristiano Ronaldo swoop

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:23 AM PDT

cristiano ronaldo

AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi is plotting a sensational swoop for Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Berlusconi is reported to have told AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani to contact Real Madrid officials over the possibility of signing the 26-year-old Portugal international, whose contract at the Bernabéu expires in 2015.

“My dream is to have Cristiano Ronaldo in the team,” said Berlusconi. “I gave free reign to Galliani [to start the negotiations].”

Real coach José Mourinho declared that he would leave the Madrid club if Ronaldo, who swapped Manchester for the Spanish capital in a world record £80m deal in 2009, were sold to Milan.

He told Mediaset Premium: “Berlusconi wants Ronaldo? That’s an impossible mission. Although football is an industry and you never know.

“If Cristiano goes away, I’ll go away too. But not to AC Milan, not AC Milan.”

Man Utd ‘close to sealing’ £17.5m deal for David de Gea

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 06:13 AM PDT

sir alex ferguson

Manchester United have “virtually sealed” a €20m (£17.5m) deal with Atlético Madrid to sign highly-rated goalkeeper David de Gea, according to reports in Spain.

Sir Alex Ferguson has identified the 20-year-old Spanish stopper as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar, Spanish daily newspaper Sport claims.

The report says Madrid-born De Gea must now agree personal terms with United after the two clubs reached an agreement this week.

The player’s agent last week claimed United had held talks with the keeper, but that no deal between the clubs had yet been reached.

“We did have talks with Manchester United but, first of all, they look for an agreement with the club,” said Hector Rincon. “Anyway, most of the biggest European teams have shown interest in David De Gea.”

United have been on the look-out for a goalkeeper to replace Dutch veteran Van der Sar, who announced his decision to hang up his boots this summer earlier this season.

De Gea has become one of the most talked about young goalkeepers in Europe and helped Atlético Madrid lift the Europa League in his first term at the Vicente Calderón last season.

Atlético are currently lying in a disappointing eighth position in La Liga and face missing out on a European spot for next season – and without the appeal of European football they may struggle to keep hold of prize assets Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán.