Suarez double sees Barca recover to beat 10-man Atletico
Richard Martin, Reuters
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
After a flurry of chances for the home side, Suarez levelled from close range in the 63rd minute and then headed the winner in the 74th, giving the European champions the edge before next week's second leg at the Vicente Calderon.
Atletico got off to the ideal start when Torres fired Koke's pass through the legs of keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen after 25 minutes but 10 minutes later he was dismissed for a second booking as they suffered a seventh straight loss to Barca.
"We are still alive in the tie," Atletico coach Simeone said. "They had a chance to score another goal with an extra man and they didn't, so that gives us hope and belief. The second leg is going to be a great game."
-----------------------------------------
Bayern edge resolute Benfica with early Vidal goal
Reuters
Bayern Munich will take a slender lead into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica after Arturo Vidal's early goal earned a 1-0 win over the resolute Portuguese side on Tuesday.
Benfica, aiming to reach the European Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990, have conceded 13 goals in their three previous visits to Bayern and must have feared the worst when Vidal headed home after two minutes.
But the floodgates failed to open after that as the visiting defence stood firm on a frustrating evening for the hosts who beat Benfica's arch-rivals Porto 6-1 at home at the same stage of the competition last season.
Five-times European champions Bayern had also found goals easy to come by in the Champions League this season, blasting 18 in their previous four home matches, but came up against some dogged defending as they pushed to extend their advantage.
-----------------------------------------
U.S. women's soccer star Wambach pleads innocent to drunk driving charge
Dan Whitcomb, Reuters
Former U.S. women's soccer star Abby Wambach pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to driving under the influence of alcohol and was given permission by an Oregon judge to travel out of the state for work reasons, prosecutors said.
Wambach, who helped lead the U.S. women's team to the 2015 World Cup title and retired as the world's leading international goal-scorer, was arrested late Saturday night in Portland.
Portland Police said Wambach, 35, had run a red light in her 2014 Range Rover and was taken to Multnomah County Jail on charges of driving under the influence after failing a field sobriety test. She was later released on her own recognizance.
Wambach, who retired from soccer in October, was not in court for the arraignment and her not guilty plea was entered by a defense lawyer, Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Susan O'Connor said.
-----------------------------------------
Real must be wary of Wolfsburg, says Zidane
Reuters
Real Madrid know they cannot rest on their laurels after beating Barcelona and must beware a VfL Wolfsburg transformation in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg, said coach Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman, who took over in January from Rafael Benitez, said the Germans may have been going through a rough patch in the Bundesliga in recent weeks but they will be tough opponents at this stage of the competition.
"It will be a complicated match, very difficult," he told reporters. "A team transforms itself at this stage and even if they have problems in the league this is the Champions League. The players know it, the club knows it."
"The are physically very fit. They are quick in attack."
-----------------------------------------
Rangers return to elite after four-year exile
Reuters
Rangers ended a four-year exile from the Scottish Premiership when they beat Dumbarton 1-0 with a second-half goal by James Tavernier to clinch the Championship title and automatic promotion at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday.
The victory means they will be back among the elite next season after being demoted to the lowest, fourth-tier of the Scottish League for financial irregularities in 2012 which left the Glasgow club 134 million pounds ($190.24 million) in debt.
The club was liquidated and reformed since when Rangers, who have won a world record 54 domestic league titles, have climbed back to the top flight with three promotions in four years, including claiming the one automatic place this season.
-----------------------------------------
Infantino "dismayed" after name found in Panama Papers
Brian Homewood, Reuters
Recently-elected FIFA president Gianni Infantino was "dismayed that his integrity was being doubted" in media reports about a contract he signed several years ago, the global soccer body said in a statement on Tuesday.
The reports from multiple news organisations, citing leaked documents, said Infantino had signed off on a contract with two Argentine businessman, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who were later indicted in the United States.
Reuters could not determine if the contract Infantino signed was related to the conduct underlying the indictments.
The reports said Infantino, at the time an official with European soccer body UEFA, signed a contract with the pair for the broadcast rights to Europe's elite Champions League club competition in South America.
The pair, who owned an Argentine company called Cross Trading, then allegedly sold the rights for a price almost three times higher to Teleamazonas, a broadcaster in Ecuador, the reports said.
Reuters, which has not seen the documents, was unable to confirm this.
"I am dismayed and will not accept that my integrity is being doubted by certain areas of the media, especially given that UEFA has already disclosed in detail all facts regarding these contracts," Infantino said in a FIFA statement.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
