Chelsea face rebuilding challenge

Diego Costa

English champions Chelsea face the challenge of rebuilding for the future after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris St Germain on Wednesday, interim coach Guus Hiddink said.
The defeat left Chelsea with the FA Cup as their only realistic target this season because they trail Premier League leaders Leicester City by 20 points and are 10 behind Manchester City who occupy the last Champions League qualifying spot.
"My opinion is that Chelsea is now in a transitional period. They have to see how to go on and try to regain the lost terrain where Chelsea used to be," Hiddink told reporters.
"It's difficult to get into fourth position."
Chelsea travel to Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday and must wait to see if striker Diego Costa is fit to play.
Costa hauled Chelsea back into the tie against PSG when he equalised in the 27th minute but he left the field injured with half an hour left.
Hiddink said Costa suffered a recurrence of a tendon injury which left him sidelined for Chelsea's last league match against Stoke City.
Chelsea have yet to announce the appointment of a new permanent coach.
Hiddink took over on an interim basis in December from Jose Mourinho, who won three league titles in two spells at Stamford Bridge but was fired after a string of defeats left the champions a few points above the relegation zone.
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Ibrahimovic silenced his doubters

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had answered his critics by inspiring his team to victory over Chelsea in the Champions League last 16.
Ibrahimovic created the opening goal for Adrien Rabiot and then volleyed in a 67th-minute winner as French champions PSG won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to complete a 4-2 aggregate victory.
The outspoken Swede, sent off during PSG's success against Chelsea in last season's competition, has faced criticism throughout his career for failing to reproduce his domestic form in European competition, but Blanc said that he had proven his worth.
"Zlatan played a match in keeping with what he's done this season," the former France defender told reporters in his post-match press conference.
"You always have doubts because it's Ligue 1. That's the truth. You ask if he can play like that in the Champions League. He gave his response tonight.
"He has important qualities for us. He moves the two centre-backs around in the opposing team.
"Technically he sees things very quickly. When he drops deep – which we ask him to do – he helps put our game in place. He played a great match like lots of PSG players tonight, like pretty much the whole team.
"It won't give him confidence as he already has huge confidence in himself. But a goal and an assist will do him well, and the coach and the club get the benefit."
Chelsea's interim manager Guus Hiddink also heralded Ibrahimovic, whose contract expires at the end of the season, when he was asked if the 34-year-old could cut it in the Premier League.
"He's proving already many, many years what kind of player he is," said the Dutchman, who lost goal-scorer Diego Costa and Eden Hazard to injury in the second half.
"He's a personality, he's the boss in this team and they use him perfectly.
"He's not the youngest, but for his age, for a footballer he's doing very well. He can adapt himself, also through his big personality, in any league in Europe."
CHELSEA 'IN TRANSITION'
With Chelsea 10 points below the top four in the Premier League, they face next season being almost certainly their first without Champions League football since Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
Saturday's FA Cup quarterfinal at Everton represents their last potential path to silverware this season and Hiddink said the club's hierarchy would need to think hard about their next managerial appointment.
"Chelsea is now in a transition period," said Hiddink, who has returned last season's Premier League champions to an even keel after succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho in December.
"They have to see how to go on and try to regain the lost terrain where Chelsea used to be. Chelsea must consider its short future, how to handle this."
Hazard was booed off by some fans after sustaining a hip injury and also came under fire on social media for swapping shirts at halftime with PSG winger Angel di Maria, but Hiddink refused to condemn him.
"I'm aware. It should not be done," he said of the shirt-swap.
"But in some countries it's usual that you do it (at halftime) and not after the game. Maybe they're both used to doing that. Don't overvalue this issue."
Hiddink felt that his side had been "too respectful" in the game's early stages, but after falling behind to Rabiot's 16th-minute tap-in they rallied and equalised through Costa's drilled finish.
Ibrahimovic had the final say, however, deftly converting Di Maria's left-wing cross, and Blanc feels that his side are now even better equipped for success in the tournament's latter stages than a year ago.
"It's a much higher level, the Champions League, and we have much more experience," he said.
"The young players were very good technically and tactically. That's very good going forward, for us, but also for them."
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Pizarro fired up for Bayern return

Claudio Pizarro

Evergreen Claudio Pizarro is relishing his return to Bayern Munich on Saturday as the 37-year-old can not stop scoring in Germany's top flight.
The Peru striker is out of contract at Werder Bremen in June, but is enjoying the Indian summer of his career and is Werder's top scorer this season.
He has netted 11 league goals this season, scoring five times in his last three games, including a hat-trick in Werder's shock 4-1 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen last week.
Pizarro had two separate stints at Bayern from 2001-2007 and then 2012-2015.
He left at the end of last term, returning to Bremen for the fourth time, after Bayern boss Pep Guardiola deemed him surplus to requirements.
"Of course it will be a special game for me against former colleagues at the Allianz Arena," he said.
"I hope we can beat Bayern and, best of all, with a goal from me."
With his 38th birthday approaching in October, Pizarro is to Germany's top flight what Ryan Giggs was to England's Premier League.
The Welshman retired in 2014, aged 40, having played nearly 700 games for Manchester United, scoring over 100 goals.
Pizarro holds the German league records for the most goals (187) and games (405) and has no thoughts of retiring.
He even wants to play at the 2018 World Cup in Russia with Peru.
While Bayern want to become the first club to win four straight Bundesliga titles, Bremen are just focusing on staying up, as they remain only three points from the relegation play-off place.
"It is important that we look positively ahead, rather than downwards," he added.
"It's crucial that we pick up points from game-to-game.
"We're on a good run now and if we keep it up, I am confident we won't slide back towards the bottom."
Bremen have shot up to 13th in the table with back-to-back wins, while Bayern's lead is now five points after defeat to Mainz was followed by a crucial draw with Dortmund.
Pizarro's nine goals in the second half of the season means he has scored more times than even Bayern's star striker Robert Lewandowski.
"We're slowly getting used to Claudio scoring in every game, without wanting to, of course, put him under too much pressure," said Bremen captain Clemens Fritz.
If he needed any extra incentive, his 100 goals for Werder leaves him just one short of the club's record of 101, held by current board member Marco Bode.
"We have nine games left, he'll do it," said Bode.
"Perhaps he'll even manage it in Munich."
Bayern's stars certainly know what to expect from the goal-scoring Peruvian when Saturday comes.
"I'm not surprised by him, he's always had these qualities," said Bayern winger Arjen Robben on the subject of Pizarro.
"He is a very, very good player and it's a shame that he is playing against us."
And Bayern wing-back Rafinha knows he has his work cut out to contain Pizarro.
"We played together, trained together and virtually lived together, he is experienced and he is still a nuisance on the pitch," said the Brazilian.
"It's good and I hope he plays on for a few more years."
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Costa, Hazard injured as Chelsea go out

Diego Costa

Diego Costa and Eden Hazard both sustained injuries as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, interim manager Guus Hiddink confirmed after the game.
Costa, Chelsea's goal-scorer, hobbled off shortly before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the 67th minute to give PSG a 2-1 win on the night and complete a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Hazard left the fray late on with a hip injury and was booed by a small number of Chelsea fans as he made his way over to the touchline to be replaced by Oscar.
"We'll see if there is big damage tomorrow (Thursday)," said Hiddink of Costa, who missed Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke City due to a minor tendon problem.
"Diego was desperate to play today, although he's not 100 percent fit. I don't know if it became worse.
"I don't hope (think) that it's worse than it was before the Stoke game. Because in two days we have to play another game (against Everton in the FA Cup)."
On the fans' booing of Hazard, Hiddink said: "Yes, they had the right to do what they think. You can express always your feelings. He was also having a little bit of a problem with a late injury on the hip."
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United, Liverpool cross Europa frontier

Liverpool v Manchester United

The 122-year-old rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United enters uncharted territory on Thursday when they meet at Anfield for the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
After 194 encounters in domestic competitions, dating back to 1894, the fierce foes from England's northwest are crossing swords on the continental stage for the first time.
Both Liverpool and United would rather be in the Champions League -- they have been European champions five and three times respectively -- but with neither team assured of a top-four finish in the Premier League, they may need to win the Europa League in order to reclaim a place among the continental elite.
United manager Louis van Gaal has contested suggestions that both clubs are in decline, telling journalists at Wednesday's pre-game press conference: "You live in the past."
"How many titles have Liverpool and how many titles have Manchester United?" he asked. "It was another time. You have to live in the present.
"This happens in football. It's normal. It's not normal that one team dominates for 20 years in a row as champions."
Currently sixth in the Premier League, United have not yet given up hope of a top-four finish, but Van Gaal will be conscious of how damaging elimination at Liverpool's hands could be.
The Dutchman has won all four of his previous encounters with Liverpool, including home and away wins in the league this season, and his side appeared to have turned a corner recently, winning four games in a row.
But Sunday's 1-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion cut them three points adrift of the Champions League berths -- having played a game more than fourth-place Manchester City -- and thrust Van Gaal back into the spotlight.
Liverpool are three points below United with a game in hand after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Crystal Palace, having previously claimed a measure of revenge for their penalty shootout loss to City in the League Cup final with a rousing 3-0 win over Manuel Pellegrini's men.
But whereas United also remain alive in the FA Cup, ahead of a quarter-final clash with West Ham United at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Europa League represents Jurgen Klopp's last chance to end his first season as Liverpool manager with a trophy in his hands.
'MOTHER OF ALL GAMES'
Klopp has described the encounter as "the mother of all games".
"These games are easy, because they are so big," said the German, who succeeded the sacked Brendan Rodgers in October.
"You don't have to think about concentration because you are absolutely focused.
"It's big. I don't have to compare games. If you work in (Borussia) Dortmund, as I did, and you play against Schalke, it's not possible to talk about anything else.
"It's similar here with this fixture. It's a really big game. I hope it's not the biggest in my Liverpool career, but it's very important."
United winger Jesse Lingard will miss Thursday's game through suspension after being booked in both legs of the 6-3 aggregate win over Danish side FC Midtjylland in the previous round.
Wayne Rooney's continued absence with a knee injury means that 18-year-old striker Marcus Rashford, who shot to prominence with a debut brace against Midtjylland in last month's 5-1 second-leg win, stands to get his first taste of the Anfield atmosphere.
Antonio Valencia could make his return following a foot injury, but Ashley Young, Luke Shaw, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Phil Jones remain absent, while Adnan Januzaj is cup-tied and Timothy Fosu-Mensah ineligible.
Playmaker Philippe Coutinho and striker Daniel Sturridge are expected to return to Liverpool's starting XI after beginning the victories over both City and Palace on the bench.
Nathaniel Clyne will take over at right-back from Jon Flanagan, who was not included in Liverpool's Europa League squad, but midfielder James Milner is doubtful after being sent home from training due to illness.
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PSG 'not satisfied yet' - Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic warned that there was more to come from Paris Saint-Germain after he inspired them to victory over Chelsea in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
The Sweden striker scored one goal and made another as PSG won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to complete a 4-2 aggregate win and reach the quarterfinals for a fourth successive season.
Sent off as PSG eliminated Chelsea at the same stage last season, Ibrahimovic made his presence felt on his return to west London and vowed that the French champions were determined to make a mark on the competition.
"I stayed more than 20 minutes on the pitch this year!" he joked in an interview with BT Sport.
"We did a good game, very stable. We played with lots of patient possession and when we had a chance to strike, we scored two goals. We had enough to win the game.
"Overall we played the way we wanted to. It was not easy, you have to watch out. Chelsea's front four are able to do anything.
"We are doing good things. Where we end up, we don't know. We are not satisfied yet."
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Foxes tick boxes on and off the field

Riyad Mahrez

Leicester City's meteoric rise on the pitch has transpired off of it as well after the English Premier League club posted a record pre-tax annual profit of 26.4 million pounds ($37.18 million).
The results point to a most successful financial year in club history to coincide with a fairytale campaign that has seen the Foxes open a three-point lead at the top of the standings with 10 games left to play.
Revenue rose more than three times to 104.4 million pounds from 31.2 million pounds the previous year, after Leicester secured their top-flight status in May 2015, the club said on their website (www.lcfc.com).
The club invested an additional 25 million pounds in the recruitment of players after they had tied down several others to long-term contracts, which led to a 20.7 million pound increase in staff cost to 57 million pounds.
As a result of their on-field success this campaign, the club have utilised 98.5 percent of their stadium capacity, with average attendances rising to 31 693.
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Pep admits Bayern must fight for title

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola admits his Bayern Munich face a fight at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in their battle to win a historic fourth Bundesliga title after Mainz's upset victory in Bavaria.
Bayern's shock 2-1 defeat both trimmed their lead over second-placed Dortmund to just five points and saw them lose their 100 percent home record for this season.
Dortmund host Bayern in a top-of-the-table clash in three days and Guardiola admitted his side has a fight on their hands.
An unthinkable second straight league defeat for Bayern would leave Dortmund trailing by just two points with nine games left in Germany's top flight.
But the Spaniard said Bayern simply were not good enough against Mainz as they failed to convert their mind-blowing 78 percent ball possession into victory.
"Our performance wasn't good enough, but I am not sad," said Guardiola, who is in his final season in Munich before coaching Manchester City next season.
Bayern have won the league at a canter for the last three years, setting a record in 2014 when they secured the title with seven games left.
But Guardiola says those days are gone.
"No other team has won the Bundesliga four times in a row," he said.
"This Borussia Dortmund team is completely different to the last three years and we will have to fight until the last game.
"We have to think of the next game and today was a clear signal that it won't be easy.
"We must fight until the last second."
Mainz sealed only their second ever win in Munich when Colombia striker Jhon Cordoba came off the bench to hit the 86th-minute winner.
"We had our chances and then let them counter-attack. We shouldn't have allowed that to happen," fumed Bayern's goal-scorer Arjen Robben.
Mainz took a shock lead at the Allianz Arena when Spanish winger Jairo fired home in the first-half with the Bayern defence well beaten.
Robben pulled a goal back for the Bavarians on 64 minutes before Cordoba netted only to be mobbed by his teammates.
"We knew how we could win here with a strong defensive display and a good counter-attack," said Mainz coach Martin Schmidt, who praised his side's 'outstanding display'. "It feels really good."
Dortmund's 2-0 win at Darmstadt on Wednesday cut Bayern's lead from eight points to five as another Colombia striker, Adrian Ramos, and defender Erik Durm netted.
"We and Bayern both know that things can now be a bit tight. We want to win the thing," said Dortmund's Germany defender Durm.
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Cech, Koscielny blows add to Arsenal woe

Peter

Arsenal will be without goalkeeper Petr Cech and centre-back Laurent Koscielny for Saturday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur, manager Arsene Wenger revealed after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Swansea City.
"Cech got a muscular problem at the end of the game," Wenger said. "He will not play on Saturday. I have full faith in (David) Ospina."
On Koscielny, he added: "He has a calf problem as well. He will not play on Saturday."
The double injury blow will have blackened Wenger's mood yet further after a result that left Arsenal six points below Premier League leaders Leicester City in third place.
It was Arsenal's third defeat in a row, after previous losses at the hands of Barcelona and Manchester United, and saw them booed off by their own fans at the Emirates Stadium.
Wayne Routledge cancelled out Joel Campbell's early opener for Arsenal before Ashley Williams bundled in a 74th-minute winner.
"It is a very unlucky defeat because we created many chances and we were unlucky in our finishing," said Wenger, whose side hit the woodwork three times.
"The two shots on target they had in the whole game were the two goals. It's a very disappointing result and the players are very down. We have to respond to that.
"It looks a bit like a confidence issue. We have to focus on our job and come back, reminding ourselves that we have some quality as well. Analyse it well and bounce back. We have a big game in three days.
"At the moment I am more worried about our results (than the title race). We just lost three games and that is always a very difficult moment for the team.
"At the moment we don't dream, we are realistic. We must come back to what we do well and do the basics."
'NOT IN THE MOOD'
Wenger defended his decision to send Danny Welbeck on for Campbell in the second half, a move that drew derision from Arsenal fans and cries of "You don't know what you're doing!"
"Campbell has not played for a while and he started to tire," the Frenchman said. "He played against a very young left-back and I thought Welbeck could give him some problems with his runs behind.
"These kind of decisions don't mean that Campbell did badly. I think he did quite well tonight (Wednesday), but there was room on that flank to be very dangerous with pace.
"We have to take the fans on our side. They were ready to support us tonight.
"They were quite good, but we faded in the game and you could see in the last part we had a lack of movement to create dangerous situations.
"We will not talk about titles tonight. I'm not in the mood. It's a big disappointment."
Swansea's win was all the more remarkable given they were without head coach Francesco Guidolin, who had been admitted to hospital with a lung infection.
His deputy Alan Curtis, who made six changes, said: "I've not spoken to him, but I had a voicemail to say how delighted he is.
"As far as I know, it's a lung infection, and he stays in hospital for the next couple of days, (it) remedies itself quite quickly, and he travels to Swansea on Friday.
"He's been struggling for a week or so, but he's turned up for training and helped pick the team with the changes.
"We know we could have faced criticism, but it wasn't change for change's sake. There's nobody guaranteed a place.
"I do think we'll stay up. We have enough in the changing room. The squad is there and if we can pick the right team and the right shape, there's no reason why we can't get the results between now and the end of the season."
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Van Gaal impressed by youthful United

vanGaal

Louis van Gaal hailed Manchester United's youthful spirit after they ground out a 1-0 Premier League victory over Watford.
United were second best for much of the game in atrocious weather at Old Trafford on Wednesday, but still secured a fourth successive victory thanks to Juan Mata's 83rd-minute free-kick.
It was tough on Watford, and on their head coach Quique Flores, who coached Mata in Real Madrid's youth set-up and at Valencia.
United boss Van Gaal, though, felt it was just reward for the way his players battled against physical opponents.
"I don't think it was an ugly win because the free-kick was a fantastic shot from Mata," Van Gaal said.
"The performance was not so good. The weather meant it was difficult to play good football. It was a physical game.
"If you see the size of the Watford players compared to ours, it was not beneficial to us.
"I think that the youngsters give us a lot of spirit and now when the dressing room is full of joy and all the players are laughing, that is beautiful to see."
United's teenage striker Marcus Rashford was unable to repeat the scoring form that brought him two goals in each of his first two senior games for the club.
He laboured in a central striking role in the first half, but was much more effective when moved to the right in the second half, with Anthony Martial switching inside to take the central role.
"In the first half, Martial was not in the game as a right winger and Rashford was not in the game as a striker," Van Gaal said.
"That's why we changed the shape. From that moment, we were the better team."
HANDFUL
United's manager also praised the performance of 18-year-old Tim Fosu-Mensah, who made his full debut at centre-half.
"Timothy has saved us three times because of his speed. He wanted to come off in the second half, but I kept him on because he always closed the door for us," Van Gaal added.
"I think he's a better full-back than a central defender. But at Ajax, he always played right centre midfield or right centre-half.
"However, he had not played before against Odion Ighalo, who is a handful for a centre-half.
"When you get a yellow card after 20 minutes, as Timothy did, it is not so easy to play against Ighalo and Troy Deeney."
Flores was encouraged by Watford's display, but disappointed by a result that left his side 12th in the table.
"This happens in English football. We played well. We tried to get a good result, but a moment of quality decided the match," he said.
"It was a bad result, but we had good feelings after the match because of our performance.
"It didn't surprise me what Mata did with the free-kick. I've known him since he was 14, when I was training the teenagers of Real Madrid.
"Mata can score these kind of goals. He can make the difference in very dangerous areas."
Ighalo missed a host of chances for the visitors, and Flores says the Nigerian striker needs to stop putting himself under so much pressure.
"My work with Ighalo is about trying to remove pressure from this player," Flores said.
"He puts a lot of pressure on himself. At the moment, he is not scoring. Sometimes, putting pressure on yourself is not the way to sort this out.
"He needs to forget about the bad feelings and play more freely."
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Zidane keen for Real to carry on cramping

Zidane

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane hailed his team's effort after four of his players ended with cramps in a 3-1 win over Levante on Wednesday.
Zidane made four enforced changes with a host of first team regulars injured and suspended from the side that lost 1-0 at home to Atletico Madrid on Saturday to realistically end Real's La Liga title hopes.
However, 18-year-old Borja Mayoral shone on his first La Liga start as did fellow youngsters Lucas Vazquez and Casemiro.
All three suffered from cramp towards the end, while Toni Kroos was visibly winded at fulltime and Zidane praised the application of his players after questioning their mental strength and attitude after the Atletico defeat.
"It is what we have to do. We all have to run and be committed," said Zidane.
"I expected the four or five players that haven't played a lot to end the game tired. That is normal, but I come away happy with the performance of the whole team.
"When you don't play a lot it is difficult, but it didn't show today."
In the absence of Sergio Ramos, Pepe returned as captain in the Madrid defence and he insisted the players needed no reminding from Zidane they had let the club's fans down by falling 12 points behind Barcelona with defeat against Atletico on Saturday.
"We didn't need the boss to ask for more intensity, the fans demand it of us," the Portuguese international told Canal Plus.
"Today the team showed we are a unit that can fight. We came here under a lot of pressure."
The fallout from the derby defeat was added to by Cristiano Ronaldo's statement that Real would be top of the league if the rest of the team matched his standards.
However, Pepe defended his international teammate and insisted the Madrid dressing room is united.
"That is in the past. We have spoken and as the coach said we are all in the same boat," added Pepe.
"We need to work hard and sweat for the shirt in every game because there are many people around the world who suffer when we lose."
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Juve survive scare to book Cup final

Yuto Nagatomo

Holders Juventus suffered an almighty scare on their way to a second successive Italian Cup final, dominating Inter Milan at a penalty shoot-out after Roberto Mancini's men won 3-0 on the night to level their semifinal tie.
Juventus, who claimed their first league and Cup double in 20 years last May, will now meet AC Milan in the May 21 at Rome's Olympic Stadium.
But in a rain-hit San Siro encounter that saw Inter dominate throughout, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was soon regretting his decision to deploy a second string side.
With a 3-0 cushion from the first leg, Allegri rested goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and striker Mario Mandzukic, while Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Martin Caceres were all injured.
But, under the cosh following a string of poor results, Mancini cracked the whip and the Nerazzurri responded in style to take a 2-0 lead by the 49th minute thanks to Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic.
When Brozovic hit his second from the spot eight minutes from time after a dubious penalty decision, the tie was forced to extra time.
After two thrilling but goalless periods, Rodrigo Palacio's miss from the spot made the difference as Juve stayed on track for a second consecutive double.
Defender Leonardo Bonucci scored Juve's fifth and final spot-kick to start the celebrations, although he will miss the final due to suspension after earning a caution on the night.
He admitted to Rai Sport: "We made life difficult for ourselves, I think tonight we played the worst ever game since I've been at Juventus.
"We were lucky to take it to penalties... we didn't have the right approach to the game. Inter didn't have anything to lose, and we made it easy for them."
Inter coach Roberto Mancini could only lament: "We deserved to win this. We were very unlucky.
"But it was a great performance. I can only compliment the lads. I hope this gives us the extra spur to try and finish in third place."
Inter threatened from the outset, Perisic drilling just wide of Norberto Neto's upright but the hosts were rewarded for their efforts on 17 minutes when Slovenian midfielder Brozovic fired past Neto after Gary Medel had bundled Hernanes off the ball.
Juve looked out of sorts and another error, this time from Daniele Rugani, allowed Adem Ljajic to unleash a curling shot that bounced off the top of the bar.
Ljajic, meanwhile, fired inches wide of the near post to give Juve plenty of reason for reflection at the interval.
Inter resumed in similar fashion and after just four minutes Eder burst down the right to fire a perfect delivery for Perisic, who tapped the ball past Neto at the back post.
The threat now looked real and Juve upped their game, striker Simone Zaza powering through the middle and rounding Inter 'keeper Juan Carrizo only to hit the upright.
From the corner, Inter launched a counter that saw Ljajic's angled drive shave the far post.
An increasingly worried Allegri switched to a three-man defence when he replaced Stephan Lichsteiner with Andrea Barzagli, but the referee pointed to the spot after Rugani was ruled to have fouled Perisic in the area, despite first making contact with the ball.
Neto was unlucky as Brozovic's spot-kick squirmed under him to level the tie 3-3 on aggregate, but the 'keeper then produced a great reflex save in the final minute of regulation time to parry Perisic's first-timer from close-range.
Moments later Perisic earned a yellow card after he got up from a rash tackle on Juan Cuadrado to take the Colombian by the throat.
Both sides created chances in extra time, Neto palming Perisic's free header over the bar and Zaza firing an angled drive inches past the far post.
In the dying seconds, Carrizo produced two quickfire saves on Alvaro Morata, including a superb one-handed effort from the Spaniard's right-footed curler, to force the tie to penalties.
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Ibra drives PSG into French Cup semis

IBRA

Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled the strings as Paris Saint Germain cruised into the French Cup semifinals on Wednesday with a 3-1 away win at Saint Etienne.
The result saw PSG bounce back from their first domestic defeat in a year, a 2-1 league loss at Lyon at the weekend, with goals from Edinson Cavani, Marquinhos and late substitute Lucas.
Ahead of their crucial Champions League return match at Chelsea next week however key midfielder Blaise Matuidi limped off with a thigh injury in the second half.
Paris coach Laurent Blanc had told his players their weekend performance was not good enough and had demanded application, which he seemed happy with afterwards.
"It's difficult to win here. But really it's rare you see a team win so easily at Saint Etienne," he told French television.
"PSG warranted their win. It's an experienced side, and even if they went missing at Lyon they showed up and did a job tonight."
Ibrahimovic carved open the home defence for the opener on 12 minutes with a perfectly weighted pass which his Uruguayan strike partner Cavani ran onto and smacked home with great relish.
The giant Swede was at the heart of the second goal on 35 minutes too when Marquinhos tapped in at the far post after a fine team move, as a vicious cross from Ibrahimovic was flicked on toward the back post by Cavani.
A spirited Saint Etienne, pumped up by 36 000 boisterous fans, hit back when a Valentin Eyserric penalty reduced the arrears to 2-1 just before the break.
PSG were easing out the game when late substitute Lucas dribbled past several defenders and fired home the clincher two minutes into added time.
Defending champions PSG have won the Coupe de France on nine occasions, second only to arch-rivals and ten-time winner Marseille, who play fifth tier Granville on Thursday.
In an all top-flight quarterfinal earlier Wednesday, Lorient, on the back of two league wins, cruised past Gazalec Ajaccio 3-0.
After first half goals from Romain Philippoteaux and Maxime Barthelme, Pape Paye finished the job with a late strike.
The shock of the evening came when second division Sochaux made the semifinals when they put an end to top flight Nantes' 16-game unbeaten run.
Nantes had been leading for most of the game before Moussa Sow got an equaliser in the 87th minute to send the game into extra-time.
Substitute Sekou Cissé made it 2-1 against the run of play before Sow sealed the win for the former Peugeot factory side and despite a late consolation from the Brazilian Adryan Socahux are into the final four.
By SuperSports

Real Madrid back to winning ways

CR7

Real Madrid bounced back from defeat to Atletico in the Madrid derby on Saturday to cut the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to nine points with a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty and an own goal from Levante 'keeper Diego Marino put the visitors in command before Deyverson pulled one back for Levante before halftime.
However, Isco's late strike from Ronaldo's cut-back secured the points in stoppage time.
Real trail second-placed Atletico by four points, but do open up a four-point lead of their own on Villarreal after they were held 0-0 at Celta Vigo.
Barcelona can extend their lead over Atletico at the top to eight points with victory at Rayo Vallecano on Thursday.
Gary Neville's Valencia moved into the top half of the table as they benefited from spectacular own goal by Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to win 2-1 at La Rosaleda.
Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was without a host of first team regulars as the suspended Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos joined the injured Marcelo, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema on the sidelines.
 Real had former Levante 'keeper Keylor Navas to thank for not getting off to a terrible start as he produced a brilliant save low to his left to prevent Giuseppe Rossi giving the home side a shock lead.
Ronaldo caused controversy with an outburst claiming Madrid "would be top" of the league if his teammates matched his standards after defeat to Atletico at the weekend.
The three-time World Player of the Year made amends by opening the scoring from the spot on 34 minutes after Lucas Vazquez had been tripped inside the area by Lucas Orban.
Injuries to Benzema and Bale opened the door for 18-year-old Borja Mayoral to get his first league start and he took his opportunity when his shot from the edge of the box hit the post and cannoned into the net off Marino's back three minutes later.
However, Levante were back in the game instantly as the Real defence were caught flat-footed appealing for an offside flag that never arrived and Deyverson slotted into the bottom corner.
Madrid had much better control of the game after the break and Ronaldo was desperately unlucky not to restore their two-goal lead when he struck the post from James Rodriguez's fine through ball.
However, Zidane's men needed to rely on Navas once more to secure the points as he made a flying save to parry Ruben Garcia's shot from distance.
And Isco answered his recent critics with a calm finish from Ronaldo's cut-back in stoppage time to round off the scoring.
Defeat leaves Levante still rooted to the foot of the table, six points off safety.
Villarreal's hopes of temporarily usurping Real Madrid into third were dashed in a game of few chances in Vigo as the visitors registered a sixth consecutive clean sheet in La Liga.
Sevilla closed the gap on Villarreal to nine points in their quest for Champions League football as Fernando Llorente's early strike handed the Europa League holders their 15th straight home win in all competitions, 1-0 over Eibar.
Valencia moved up to ninth as they recovered from Duje Cop's early deflected opener to register just Neville's third league win.
Kameni punched the ball into his own net under pressure from Denis Cheryshev just before halftime and Real Madrid loanee Cheryshev completed the turnaround when he fired into the bottom corner five minutes after the break.
Aritz Aduriz continued his push to be included in Spain's squad for the Euro 2016 with a hat-trick in Athletic Bilbao's 4-1 win over Deportivo la Coruna to take his tally for the season to 30.
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Mata free kick gives United win

Juan Mata

A late free kick by midfielder Juan Mata gave Manchester United a laboured 1-0 home win over Watford after the visitors missed a flurry of chances in their Premier League clash on Wednesday.
The 27-year old Spaniard curled a superb shot from 25 metres into the top right corner in the 83rd minute, much to the relief of his manager Louis van Gaal, whose decision to play two strikers almost backfired.
"It was a good night for us but we have to keep going," Mata said a post-match interview.
"We are Manchester United, we don't give up and we have to keep going until the end (in the race for Champions League qualification)."
Fit-again Anthony Martial was deployed up front alongside 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, who had made a dream start to his United career by scoring four goals in his opening two games, but the pair looked toothless for much of the contest.
Watford's Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo missed three gilt-edged chances in the first half and Austrian defender Sebastian Proedl saw his header cleared off the line by Rashford, before Mata finally broke the deadlock.
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Pellegrini unfazed by City slump

Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini refused to accept Manchester City's hopes of Champions League qualification are now under threat after their lacklustre 3-0 loss at Liverpool.
City started the season as favourites for the Premier League title and a place in the top four was thought to be a formality.
However, they are currently in freefall and were comfortably second best on Wednesday as goals from Adam Lallana, James Milner and Roberto Firmino condemned them to a third straight league defeat.
City might be impressing in the Champions League and also beat Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, but they are in real danger of falling away from the leading pack in the top-flight.
Pellegrini bemoaned the lack of preparation his side had for this contest following a long journey back from Ukraine after last Wednesday's Champions League last 16 first leg win over Dynamo Kiev and then Sunday's Wembley final – which lasted 120 minutes before City's penalty shootout win.
But the City boss did accept that a victory against Aston Villa on Saturday is now absolutely vital if his fourth-placed side, now level on points with fifth-placed Manchester United and 10 points behind leaders Leicester, are to get back on track.
"I'm not thinking about the title or not thinking about qualifying for the Champions League, it's important to think about the next game," Pellegrini said.
"We need to win at home because we have lost our last three games in the Premier League so that is the most important thing. We have to recover our performances in the Premier League and get as many points as we can.
"We've lost the last three games but we want to try and be on the top of the table. We have less than three days to recover, we have to play on Saturday at 3pm so we are going to see the best team that can start on Saturday."
WOEFUL
Pellegrini took former Liverpool star Raheem Sterling off at halftime on Wednesday but denied that the loud booing the winger endured during the first half had anything to do with the decision.
Sterling left Anfield under a cloud in a move to City last year and had no impact in a woeful first half display.
"It was because we were losing 2-0 and I wanted to make a tactical change," Pellegrini added.
Meanwhile, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was thrilled with the way his team responded to the disappointment of losing to City at the weekend and praised the mental strength he has in his squad.
Liverpool never gave City a chance on a bitterly cold night as Lallana, Firmino, Emre Can and James Milner ran the show from start to finish.
Klopp is hoping the victory gives Liverpool an extra boost as the end of the season appears on the horizon and he was full of compliments for his side.
"I'm very pleased, very satisfied with all the 93 minutes," Klopp said. "It was really good from the first second. We spoke about the final after the game.
"It was very important we showed the reaction, we showed we are not as disappointed as it could have had a negative influence on the performance tonight.
"The boys did brilliantly. They were very angry in a positive way.
"Tonight is more about the mental thing. We lost on Sunday. We had to show a reaction. We were lively from the start.
"With their quality City can always win and score decisive goals but tonight we made it really difficult for them.
"We can go and go and go because we are in a good moment and they are not."
By SuperSports

Arsenal title bid hangs by a thread

Wayne Routledge

Arsenal's title hopes took another heavy blow on Wednesday after a 2-1 defeat at home to Swansea that gave the visitors' Premier League survival hopes a big boost.
Third-placed Arsenal dominated the early stages and went ahead on 15 minutes when Joel Campbell slid along the ground to half-volley home a pass from Alexis Sanchez on the turn.
Fifth from bottom Swansea equalised against the run of play after 32 minutes as Wayne Routledge slotted in a ball from Jack Cork that had sliced the home defence in two.
The game became stretched in the second half. Arsenal twice came close through Sanchez before goalkeeper Petr Cech missed a cross and Swansea captain Ashley Williams bundled the ball in with 16 minutes to go.
"I believe we were really unlucky with our finishing and some decisions today," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the BBC. "They had two shots on target and two goals.
"We stopped playing before the first goal because there was a foul on Mesut Ozil. There were hands around his neck and it should have been a free kick for us.
"We need to bounce back very quickly now," added Wenger. "We were unlucky on the night, we were on top and hit the bar a number of times."
By SuperSports

Advantage Leicester as rivals lose

Arsenal

Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City remain sitting pretty at the Premier League summit after their closest rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City remarkably all contrived to lose on Wednesday.
Leicester had dropped points in a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, but they remain in pole position after Spurs lost 1-0 at West Ham United, Arsenal crashed 2-1 at home to Swansea City and Liverpool claimed revenge for their League Cup final defeat by crushing City 3-0.
The results kept Leicester three points clear of second-place Tottenham, with Arsenal, booed off at the Emirates Stadium, three points further back and City now 10 points off the pace, albeit with a game in hand.
Manchester United are now level on points with City in fifth place, having played a game more, after Juan Mata's 83rd-minute free-kick secured a 1-0 home win over Watford.
West Ham's win over Tottenham, courtesy of Michail Antonio's seventh-minute header, left them a point off the Champions League places in sixth place.
Spurs, for whom Dele Alli started on the bench due to a foot injury, would have gone top on goal difference if they had won at Upton Park.
But Mauricio Pochettino's side never recovered from going behind early on, Antonio meeting Dimitri Payet's corner with a header that visiting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could not keep out.
Spurs' best chance of an equaliser fell to Harry Kane in the second half, but the England striker could not find the target after Toby Alderweireld's shot was parried by Adrian.
Arsene Wenger's Arsenal completed a night to forget for the north London clubs by blowing a 1-0 lead in a home defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened Swansea.
It was Arsenal's third defeat in succession in all competitions and their seventh of the league campaign, prompting a wave of angry boos to roll around the ground at the final whistle.
SHAQIRI SCREAMER
After earlier hitting the post, Alexis Sanchez neatly teed up Joel Campbell to put Arsenal ahead with a scooped finish in the 15th minute.
But Wayne Routledge equalised from Jack Cork's pass just after the half hour and although Olivier Giroud and Sanchez both hit the bar for Arsenal, Swansea won it when captain Ashley Williams headed in Gylfi Sigurdsson's 74th-minute free-kick.
Victory took Swansea, whose head coach Francesco Guidolin was absent with a chest infection, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Manchester City's title hopes were left in a sorry state after they slumped to defeat at Anfield, three days on from their 3-1 win on penalties over Liverpool in the League Cup final at Wembley.
Two goals in seven first-half minutes put Liverpool in control, Adam Lallana beating England colleague Joe Hart from 25 yards with a tame left-footer before James Milner stabbed in from Roberto Firmino's pass.
Firmino completed victory for Liverpool in the 57th minute, curling home from Lallana's pass, as Jurgen Klopp's men climbed to eighth.
Louis van Gaal's Manchester United seized their opportunity to make ground on the top four as Mata's late strike gave them a fourth successive win in all competitions.
Van Gaal paired fit-again Anthony Martial with teenage sensation Marcus Rashford up front, but Watford created the better chances before Mata curled in the winner.
The day's other game saw Stoke City beat Newcastle United 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium courtesy of a late 25-yard screamer by Xherdan Shaqiri, which kept Steve McClaren's men rooted in the bottom three.
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Mainz land shock win at Bayern

Jhon Cordoba

Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
Jhon Cordoba snatched the winner for the visitors in the 86th minute.
Borussia Dortmund closed the gap at the top to five points as they beat SV Darmstadt 98 2-0 ahead of the second-placed club's meeting with Bayern on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's men gave a lacklustre display and Mainz, who are fifth in the table, went 1-0 up when Jairo Samperio arrived at the far post to hammer Giulio Donati's cross past keeper Manuel Neuer in the 26th minute.
Bayern, who were last beaten by Borussia Moenchengladbach on December 5, levelled thanks to a 25-metre drive from Arjen Robben in the 64th minute.
The 32-year-old Dutchman was set up by Arturo Vidal and Robben controlled the ball before hitting a thunderous left-foot shot to notch his first goal since November.
Bayern pushed for a second goal but Mainz hit them on the break as Daniel Brosinski found Julian Baumgartlinger and his cut-back was converted from the edge of the area by Cordoba.
Mainz now have 39 points from 24 matches, three behind third-placed Hertha Berlin who beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 thanks to second-half efforts from Mitchell Weiser and Salomon Kalou.
Bayern are on 62 points while Dortmund have 57.
Adrian Ramos's first-half header gave Dortmund a 38th-minute lead at Darmstadt, the striker flicking Gonzalo Castro's fine curling ball past Christian Mathenia, before Erik Durm finished from close range after more good work by Castro.
Gladbach remained fourth on 39 points after outclassing Stuttgart 4-0 while Schalke 04 defeated Hamburg SV, who had Johan Djourou sent off in the 45th minute, 3-2.
Bayer Leverkusen lost 4-1 at home to Werder Bremen while relegation-threatened Hoffenheim sank Augsburg 2-1 with Mark Uth grabbing the 81st-minute winner.
By SuperSports

Spurs miss chance to go top with defeat

Michail Antonio and Dimitri Payet

Tottenham Hotspur spurned the chance to take over at the top of the Premier League when they lost 1-0 at London rivals West Ham United to an early goal by Michail Antonio on Wednesday.
West Ham shocked the visitors in the seventh minute when Antonio got in front of Nacer Chadli on the near edge of the six-yard box and headed home a Dimitri Payet corner.
Home captain Mark Noble brought a fine save from Hugo Lloris with a thunderous long-range strike that the Frenchman had to dive full-length to claw away.
Tottenham's best chance came on the hour when Harry Kane somehow missed his kick in front of goal after West Ham keeper Adrian saved a low 25-metre drive from Toby Alderweireld.
Spurs, who needed a win to go top, were aiming for a seventh successive league victory for the first time in almost 50 years but lost their first league match since mid-January.
By SuperSport