Champions League round-up:Bayern and Barcelona win big to book semi-final places

Bayern Munich overturned a two-goal deficit in fine style to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals, thumping Porto 6-1 in a rampant display at the Allianz Arena.

Porto ran out shock 3-1 winners in the first leg in Portugal, where they took advantage of a number of key absentees for the German giants.

But five-time European Champions Bayern made amends for that poor defensive display with an electric attacking performance in front of their home fans, as they sealed a 7-4 aggregate victory.

The tone was set after 14 minutes when Thiago Alcantara opened the scoring with a leaping header at the near post, with Jerome Boateng nodding the hosts level just moments later.

Bayern were completely dominant in a commanding first half, with Porto rarely touching the ball at all, and Robert Lewandowski netted his first of two goals on 27 minutes - again with his head - before the provider, Thomas Muller, also got in the act to make it 4-0 with a deflected long-range strike which left Porto goalkeeper Bruno Indi helpless.

And barely five minutes had passed before the keeper had to pick the ball out of his net again, the Porto defence making it far too easy for Lewandowski as the Polish star turned his marker and completed his brace with a crisp finish into the bottom corner.

The tempo predictably slowed after the break, which allowed the visitors to pull a goal back through Jackson Martinez, the Premier League target netting his seventh goal in eight Champions League matches to leave Porto just two away from claiming an away goal victory.

But no more came, with Pep Guardiola’s men only making it worse with a sixth goal in the closing stages, Xavi Alonso curling a free-kick over the wall and into the net after Ivan Marcano’s dreadful tackle on Thiago saw the defender shown a straight red card.

Bayern will be joined in the semi-final draw by Spanish giants Barcelona, who beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at the Nou Camp in a 5-1 aggregate win.

Luis Suarez was the first leg star with two well taken goals, but it was the Uruguayan’s strike partner Neymar who grabbed the headlines this time around, as the Brazilian’s fine double capped a one-sided tie against the French champions.

Leading 3-1 from the first leg, it was game over by half-time as Barca went further ahead through Neymar’s 14th minute opener.

It was a delightful move orchestrated by captain Andres Iniesta, who burst on a majestic run, making it look easy as he drifted past four players, before playing the striker through with an inch-perfect through ball.

Neymar still had plenty to do, but it seemed mere child’s play as he darted past highly-rated goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu to slot home, and he was completely unmarked to head in his second ten minutes later, taking his season tally to 30 goals.

PSG were boosted by the return of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from suspension but the Swede endured a frustrating evening against his former team, seeing a first half goal disallowed for offside before seeing another good effort easily saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The visitors’ best chance of the match fell to Edinson Cavani late on, but the Uruguay international failed to hit the target as the Catalans progressed to a seventh semi-final in eight years.

Victor Moses wins Stoke's goal of the month award

Victor Moses has won Stoke City's goal of the month for March,2015.

The Nigerian on-loan winger from Chelsea scored a sublime header against Everton as he backpedaled but managed to still generate enough power to beat Tim Howard in the Toffee`s goal to give the Potters the lead from 15-yards out.

Moses won with 72% of the vote, beating both Mame Diouf efforts against Crystal Palace (28%) and Everton (0%).

Robben: I will be ready for Champions League semi-finals

Bayern Munich attacker Arjen Robben is optimistic about his recovery and is confident he will be match fit in time for the Champions League semi-finals.

The Netherlands international picked up an abdominal problem in his side's defeat at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach back in April and has since been out of action.

Robben consequently missed a number of big games, including the Champions League quarter-final tie against Porto.

The winger is edging closer to his comeback, though, and expects to be back in action within two weeks' time.

"I returned to the training pitch on Monday and did some running exercises," Robben told NOS.

"I read somewhere that I was already sprinting again, but they must have been blinded by the sun or something when they were watching me.

"My recovery is going according to schedule. The doctor told me I would be sidelined for six weeks. It's been four weeks now, so two to go... I can only say that things are going very well.

"I was already hoping Bayern would turn things around versus Porto. This gives me a chance to return for the semi-finals."

Robben then went on to voice his disappointment with the departure of club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, who resigned last week.

"His departure is a sad thing and comes at a bad moment for us. But these kinds of things happen. I just want to be fully recovered when I return. I don't want to endure any setbacks."

Torres: Gerrard is the best I've ever played with

Fernando Torres has hailed former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard as the best player he’s ever played with.

The 31-year-old spent three and a half years at Anfield, scoring 81 goals in 142 appearances, before joining Chelsea for £50 million in January 2011.

Torres, who has won the Champions League and FA Cup with Chelsea, as well as two European Championships and a World Cup with Spain, has played alongside the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard - but the striker insists the Liverpool captain is closest to his version of an “ideal footballer”.

"It is difficult to say as I have had the good fortune to play with so many great players," Torres told Marca Plus magazine.

”For me the best is, and has been, Gerrard. I would choose him, above all, to have him behind me in my team.

"Steven Gerrard is the best footballer I have played with over my career, so my ideal footballer would be very similar to him."

Geremi Njitap set to Champion The Match in Lagos

All is set for the Heineken ‘Champion The Match’ session in Lagos tomorrow. To lead the session at the Heineken House, Lagos will be ex-Real Madrid and Cameroonian international, Geremi Sorele Njitap better known as Geremi. Remembered for his power, agility and free kick ability, Geremi is a two-time UCL winner with Spanish giant, Real Madrid FC.

Like other football Legends who have visited different cities of the world in recent past to Champion The Match, Geremi will be in Lagos to interact with football fans and reporters during a wonderful night of football that will be laced with unique and unforgettable experiences for fans in Lagos and across the globe.

During his international career, Geremi earned 116 caps for Cameroon between 1996 and 2010, scoring 13 goals. He was a member of their squad for 7 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, winning in 2000 and 2002, as well as the World Cup in 2002 and 2010 and a gold medal at the2000 Olympics.

Born in 1978, Geremi Njitap also had a glowing professional career during his active days playing for English sides- Middlesbrough FC, Chelsea FC and Newcastle FC.

Football fans in Nigeria and across the globe have the opportunity to chat live with Geremi during the Barcelona versus PSG game tomorrow on twitter: @Heineken using the hashtag #Championthematch.

Pellegrini mum on Yaya agent row

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini refused to be drawn into a war of words with Yaya Toure's outspoken agent after a 2-0 win over West Ham kept his side on course for a Champions League place.

However, Sunday's victory at Eastlands was marred by an injury to David Silva, who was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured cheekbone and injured collar bone.

But before kick-off there was another headache for under-pressure City boss Pellegrini following incendiary comments from Dimitri Seluk.

Toure's agent branded Pellegrini a "weak manager" and accused the club's Spanish executives Ferran Sorriano and Txiki Begiristain of failing to take responsibility and blaming his client for City's problems this season.

Pellegrini, when asked to respond to Seluk's claims, would only say "no comment".

But the latest potential disagreement with Toure will only cast more uncertainty on the the Ivory Coast international's City future.

Pellegrini was more forthcoming about the injury to Silva, who was taken off on a stretcher in the 75th minute after being caught by an elbow from Cheikhou Kouyate, who was booked for the incident.

"It looks serious but we must wait," said Pellegrini. "He (Silva) is in hospital now having checks on his cheekbone to see what happened with him.

"I always think that a player doesn't want to make damage to another player and the referee was so near and decided it was unintentional. I always think these things are unintentional. I don't think a player wants to cause more damage to another player.

"I don't know if he was unconscious. At the moment, the doctor has some doubts about that. After that, he recovered well," the Chilean added.

'PRETTY INNOCUOUS' -

City officials later insisted the visit to hospital was precautionary, with Silva having injured his collar bone after falling awkwardly.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce was also at pains to clear Kouyate of any deliberate wrong-doing in the incident.

"It was accidental, pretty innocuous," Allardyce said. "In fact I didn't even think it was a free-kick. I've just had a look on video and it doesn't look deliberate at all to me.

"He (Kouyate) has no idea what happened because it happened behind him, he doesn't think he's done anything."

Victory for reigning English champions City – coupled with defeats 24 hours earlier for Southampton and Manchester United – certainly improved Pellegrini's hopes of a top four finish.

West Ham were beaten thanks to a James Collins own-goal and City forward Sergio Aguero's 20th goal of the season as Pellegrini's men bounced back from the previous weekend's 4-2 derby defeat by United.

"We're not depending on what Manchester United or anyone else did yesterday," said Pellegrini.

"It was very important for our team to win because we are coming off two defeats in a row and always when it's a derby defeat, it's worse."

Meanwhile, Allardyce was angry at the manner of the two first-half goals conceded by his defence but also infuriated by a late incident in which Eliaquim Mangala took a swipe at West Ham winger Downing, who remained on his feet but saw the ball run out of play, breaking up a late attack by the visitors.

"Everybody goes on about simulation and cheating," said Allardyce who berated the fourth official after the incident. "But Mangala tried to clean out Downing who stayed on his feet and, because of that, the ball runs out and we lose possession.

"The assistant is one yard away but didn't give it so what am I going to say to Stewart? 'Dive on the floor, get him booked and get us a free-kick'?"

Fabregas desperate to end wait for title

Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas said on Monday he wanted to win the Premier League title as "soon as possible" as he gave an indication of why he'd returned to English football with the Blues rather than Arsenal.

The 27-year-old Spanish international midfielder made more than 300 appearances for Arsenal in eight years with the club before leaving for Barcelona with just a solitary FA Cup-winners medal after a string of near-misses, including a defeat in the 2006 Champions League final.

Arsenal had the option of buying back Fabregas when he left Barcelona but chose not to take it up and he opted to join London rivals Chelsea instead.

The table-topping Blues travel to Fabregas's former club on Sunday with Chelsea currently 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League.

Victory this coming weekend would all but seal a first Chelsea title since 2010 and Fabregas told the club's website: "We just want to win it (the Premier League). The sooner, the better."

Fabregas, a World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain and is nearing a century of caps, added: "We want to give satisfaction to the supporters. It's been five years for them without winning the Premier League title; for me it's been 27 years so I'd love to win it as soon as possible."

Last Saturday's 1-0 win over Manchester United saw Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho deploy Fabregas further forward than normal in a bid to accommodate Kurt Zouma, who man-marked Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

"If I played there normally I would struggle a bit more to deal with long balls and the physical aspect of the game," Fabregas added.

"We had to put someone on Fellaini, especially for the long balls, so yes our style changed. I thought Zouma did extremely well.

"I think his future is as a centre-back but he can do the job very well in central midfield when it's needed. He's a top, top boy. He wants to learn, he wants to play.

"That's why Mourinho is who he is and has won what he has won. The plan worked very well."

Nigeria U20 official inspects New Zealand ahead of 2015 World Youth Championship

An official of the Flying Eagles has departed for the Oceania nation in order to have a good look at the venues that will host the Nigeria U20 games

Nigeria U20 team secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Auwal, has departed for New Zealand, where he will inspect facilities at the team’s venue for next month’s Fifa  U20 World Cup.

The Flying Eagles will play Hungary, Brazil and North Korea in Group E at the Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth.

The facilities will cover such aspects as hotel boarding, stadium, training and medical.

Nigeria U20 team will play their first game on June 1 at the 46,000-capacity Yarrow Stadium, formerly known as Stadium Taranaki, in New Plymouth.

Mexes: I want new AC Milan deal

Philippe Mexes has indicated that he wants to sign a new contract at AC Milan.

The defender's current deal expires in June but he has endured a difficult campaign for the Rossoneri, who lie ninth in Serie A.

Mexes admits that he has no idea if he will be offered an extension but says he would love to remain at San Siro.

"I hope I can sign a new deal." he said at a charity event. "It's important for my family to know what is going on. That’s the only thing that irritates me slightly about the uncertainty.

“Otherwise, I’ll just give my best until the end of the season.”

Filippo Inzaghi's men drew 0-0 with Inter on Sunday and Mexes, who scored an own goal that was ultimately ruled out, has confessed that he was disappointed his side failed to claim the victory.

“The important thing is that we didn’t lose. Now we have try to get as many points as possible in the final weeks.

“There’s a bit of disappointment, we could have done better. It’s a shame - you need personality in the derby.

“It’s in the past now and we must look ahead.”

Messi Can Stay At Barcelona Until He Retires - Bartomeu

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said he would like Lionel Messi to stay at the club until he retires.

The Argentine has been at the Blaugrana since he was 13, making his way through the youth system to win six Liga titles, three Champions Leagues and two Club World Cups with the team, plus four Ballon d'Or individually. He is also their top all-time scorer.

Messi was linked with a move away from Camp Nou earlier this season, but Bartomeu insists he will always be welcome to stay put.

"We work with a leader like Messi, who is the best in the world, but also in history." he told RMC. "He has a place here until he decides to quit football."

The club chief was asked about the likelihood of the Blaugrana making a move to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus, but he says they are not thinking about it.

"Pogba is a great player, but in this moment we are not thinking about additions. It’s true that we have a sanction that prevents us from signing players until January 2016. We are working so that some will players arrive, and others can leave.

“We are preparing for next season, but we will not provide the names here. Pogba is a good player, one who has a contract with an Italian team that I respect a lot.

“For the moment, it is not expected that we will sign anyone, but everyone wants to have the great players. Also, we have players that the others clubs would like to have."