Messi stamps his mark on the global game

 

Barcelona may have breezed through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League thanks to a resounding 10-2 aggregate victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 on Wednesday night, but there can be no denying the impact of Lionel Messi, who acted as the catalyst by putting on an inspirational display against the Germans in Camp Nou.

The Argentine contributed to the 7-1 scoreline with five goals of his own, earning him the distinction of becoming the first player in the competition's history to reach that tally in a single game, and also a place in Goal.com folklore after being awarded a perfect 10 for his, well, perfect display.
 

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Podolski for sale

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Wenger's side give AC Milan an almighty scare

 

AC Milan survived a major scare against a spirited Arsenal side on Tuesday night, despite conceding three goals in the first half of their Champions League round-of-16, second-leg clash at the Emirates.

The Rossoneri had a hefty four-goal advantage from the game in Italy three weeks ago, but had their backs against the wall after first-half goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie. AC Milan managed to wake up from their nightmare to emerge winners in the tie - but the likes of Massimiliano Allegri, Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi were given one hell of a fright along the way.

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Wenger of the Middle East

 

On Monday Diego Maradona revealed that he would like to leave a legacy at Al Wasl akin to that of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Maradona told DPA: "I would love to fulfil and go on to renew [my contract]; to become a sort of Arsene Wenger at Al Wasl."

The Argentine legend rejected claims that he took the job in Dubai for solely monetary reasons and went on to reveal his desire to lead the club to glory. Maradona's side currently sit fifth in the UAE Pro League, five points adrift of an AFC Champions League qualifying spot.

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Big baby Abramovich throws away another toy

 

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is on the hunt for his eighth permanent manager at Stamford Bridge after sacking Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday. 

The dismissal came as little surprise following the Blues' 1-0 defeat to West Brom which further extended a miserable run of form for the west London club. 

The 34-year-old is the latest in a long line of coaches to have been shown the door by the Russian billionaire, with the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti having already been dumped at the club after relatively short tenures. 

The only question that remains is who would dare take the role on next?

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Amman Streets and The Snow

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Van Persie is Arsenal's one-man team

 

Arsenal boosted their prospects of qualifying for the Champions League again next season with a somewhat fortuitous 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. 

After spending nearly the entire game under the cosh, they stole three crucial points in injury time. The reason? Robin van Persie, who clinically finished the only two chances which came his way during the 90 minutes. 

The Dutchman has now scored 31 goals in all competitions this season, seemingly single-handedly keeping his colleagues in with a shout of the top four ...

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Benitez on the hunt for a new job

 

With two La Liga titles, one Uefa Cup, a Champions League triumph and an FA Cup medal in his trophy cabinet, Rafa Benitez comes with a sparkling track record of success.

However, the Spanish coach has been out of a job since he was dismissed by Inter back in December 2010, and may be getting desperate to get back to work - perhaps talk of two unsettled Portuguese will have got him interested ...

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Sahin desperate to catch Mourinho's eye

 

Nuri Sahin played 90 minutes for Turkey in midweek and despite a lack of match sharpness, he still showed some good passing range, leading his national team coach Abdullah Avci to voice his confidence that the midfielder will still be a success with Real Madrid.  

However, after nine months and only a handful of appearances to his name under Jose Mourinho, the 23-year-old must be wondering what he must do to get a start in the Spanish capital.

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Messi king of the hill

 

Lionel Messi went some way to banishing his Argentina demons on Wednesday night after putting on a virtuoso display to inspire his country to a 3-1 victory against Switzerland in Bern. His well-taken hat-trick also took his international goal tally to 22, surpassing legendary striker Mario Kempes and capping off a memorable night for the 24-year-old.

The fleet-footed attacker has been continually criticised by many for failing to replicate his form with Barcelona on the international stage, but his latest performance should see Portuguese counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo look on in envy following the Seleccao's latest disappointing result - a 0-0 draw in Poland.

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