Valverde: Messi incredible in Lyon win

Paderborn clinched their second successive promotion to seal a Bundesliga return, despite losing 3-1 to Dynamo Dresden on the final day of the season.

Steffen Baumgart s men travelled to the DDV-Stadion with a one-point advantage over third-placed Union Berlin, while Cologne were already confirmed as 2. Bundesliga champions.

Philipp Klement gave Paderborn the lead after 10 minutes in Dresden, but Baris Atik hit a hat-trick to give Union the chance to steal promotion with victory over VfL Bochum.

Union were two goals down within four minutes of the second half and while they were given late hope thanks to goals from Grischa Promel and Joshua Mees, they failed to force a winner that would have secured them second place.

Schluss in Bochum! Es reicht! Wir st…

Barcelona booked a Champions League quarter-final place with a 5-1 home win against Lyon secured thanks to Lionel Messi s inspirational performance, triumphing on aggregate by the same scoreline.

After last month s goalless first leg, Messi opened the scoring at Camp Nou from the penalty spot, with Philippe Coutinho adding a second prior to half-time in Wednesday s tie.

Although Lucas Tousart sparked hope of a second-half Lyon fightback, Barca held their nerve and Messi struck again before Gerard Pique and substitute Ousmane Dembele wrapped up the scoring to seal a place in the last eight, where a bigger test likely awaits.

Barca have fallen at the quarter-final stage in each of the past three seasons since they last lifted the trophy in 2014-15, but with…

Simon Grayson was sacked by Sunderland after his side squandered the lead to draw 3-3 against Bolton Wanderers and extend their miserable winless streak.

Wolves returned to the top of the Championship as they rediscovered their winning habit at Norwich City, while previous leaders Sheffield United slipped up away to Queens Park Rangers.

The Blades dropped to third in the table as Cardiff City also leapfrogged them courtesy of a 3-1 home win over Ipswich Town, while Bristol City stay fourth after winning 2-0 away at Fulham.

GRABBAN DOUBLE NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE GRAYSON

Lewis Grabban scored twice in 12 minutes either side of half time to give Sunderland the lead in a home game for the first time in 2017, but bottom club Bolton bounced back in a dramatic draw at…

Ander Herrera has reportedly revealed that he is unlikely to sign a new deal with Manchester United.

As relayed by Sky Sports, the midfielder spoke to Spanish newspaper ABC and told them that at the moment, it looks like there will be no contract renewal to keep him at Old Trafford past the expiration date on his current one June 30, 2019.

The Spaniard s place in the team has never been in much doubt since his arrival from Athletic Bilbao in 2014. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had hoped that his own permanent appointment would help Herrera, as well as Juan Mata and David De Gea, to stay, but it seems Herrera considers that one FA Cup, one League Cup and a Europa League trophy in five years at the north-west of England are enough.

The midfielder has been linked wi…

Hamburg eased to a 3-1 success over local rivals Werder Bremen in the 103rd Nordderby at the Weserstadion on Saturday.

The sides shared the spoils over the two derbies last season and goals from Ivo Ilicevic, Michael Gregoritsch and Nicolai Muller gave the visitors maximum points to leave Bremen just above the drop zone.

Ilicevic opened the scoring three minutes in with a stunning effort and Gregoritsch doubled the advantage inside half an hour.

Anthony Ujah gave the home fans hope shortly after the hour, but Muller applied the finishing touch to a counter-attack to ensure Hamburg a first win in Bremen since 2009.

Bremen slip to 15th, thanks partly to Hannover s thumping 4-0 against Ingolstadt.

Marcelo, Leon Andreasen, Kenan Karaman and Uffe…

Incoming manager Pep Guardiola will be able to lure superstars to Manchester City and a move for Lionel Messi is not out of the question, according to former City striker Darius Vassell.

Bayern Munich head coach Guardiola has agreed a three-year deal to take over from Manuel Pellegrini at the end of the season despite City remaining in the running to win the quadruple this season.

Vassell, who played for City between 2005 and 2009, feels the former Barcelona boss  arrival will take the club to a new level and thinks the likes of Messi will want to come to play for him.

He told Omnisport: It is going to be the new manager comes in and all these superstar players are going to be signed. This is what I envisage. 

City do need a few players to be really c…

Jonas Hector has spurned the chance to activate an opt-out clause at Cologne and instead extended his contract with the Bundesliga s bottom club.

The Germany international was rumoured to be a transfer target for Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but has demonstrated his commitment to Cologne despite their precarious position in the table.

Having joined the club in 2010, Hector has renewed for a further two years, meaning he is set to stay put until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Cologne allowed me to take the path from the regional league to the German national team, Hector told the club s website.

I am very connected and thankful to this club and feel very comfortable living in Cologne. It would have been no problem for me to switch to another club…

Defeated FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa has offered his backing to Gianni Infantino after the Swiss triumphed at Friday s election in Zurich.

Sheikh Salman was the favourite heading into the vote but lost to Infantino in the second round by 88 votes to 115.

Infantino, who became UEFA general secretary in 2009 having worked for European football s governing body since 2000, sprung a surprise in the first round as he bested Sheikh Salman by 88 to 85, necessitating a second ballot where a simple majority of 104 was required for victory.

Speaking in his role as president of the Asian Football Confederation, Bahrain s Sheikh Salman said in a statement: The AFC looks forward to working with the new-look FIFA and its new president Giann…

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Venezuela and Argentina are set to lock horns on Friday in the quarterfinals of this year s Copa America edition.

Venezuela

Having successfully navigated through Group A of the competition without a defeat, Venezuela have been somewhat of a pleasant surprise, especially as they held off hosts Brazil to a 0-0 draw. They achieved the same result against Peru in the opening round, and booked their place in the knockout stages by putting three past Bolivia and conceding one in return.

Apart from Brazil, this is likely to turn out their greatest challenge so far.

Team News

Despite being available for selection after serving a one-match ban, Luis Del Pino is expected to sit this one out too, with Ronald Hernandez looking li…

Phil Jones believes Gareth Southgate s England are enjoying a fresh approach ahead of their World Cup opener against Tunisia.

The Three Lions face their Group G rivals in Volgograd on Monday, 20 years on from the sides meeting in Marseille that began their respective France 98 campaigns.

Southgate, along with Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, formed part of a three-man central defence that day as goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes secured a 2-0 victory, and two decades later England s manager looks set to deploy a similar shape.

It seems unlikely Jones will earn a starting spot against Tunisia but the Manchester United defender a survivor from England s desperate disappointment of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil believes the squad are in a much better place und…