Rajshahi clinched the one-day crown of the National Cricket League with two games to spare when they defeated Chittagong by 70 runs in the eighth round at the Divisional Stadium on Tuesday.
   The victory helped to raise Rajshahi’s points tally to 14 and the defeat of contenders
   Dhaka and Khulna meant they cannot be overtaken in the remaining two rounds of the competition.
   Holders Dhaka and Khulna, who both have eight points from as many matches, will vie for the runners-up position, though Barisal and Sylhet also have a chance to take the honour.
   Barisal defeated Dhaka by eight wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium to join the reigning champions and Khulna in the points table. In the eighth round, Sylhet outclassed Khulna by 86 runs at the Khulna Divisional Stadium to record their third one-day win.
   Rajshahi v Chittagong
   Opener Shakil Haider smashed 95 off 103 hitting 10 fours and three sixes to take Rajshahi to 242 before they were all out in 47.2 overs. Anisur Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahman made 31 and 21 respectively.
   Sajjadul Hossain claimed three wickets for Chittagong conceding 64 runs.
   Chittagong were down and out when they lost seven wickets for just 55 runs before Foysal Hissain salvaged some pride with an unbeaten 51 as the visitors finally ended up on 172.
   Medium-pacer Delwar Hossain ripped through the Chittagong’s batting with 5-34 to win the man-of-the-match award jointly with Shakil.
   Dhaka v Barisal
   Nadif Chowdhury was unbeaten on 51 while Mahmudullah Riyad made fifty followed by a sedate 44 from opener Mehrab Hossain, but the trio’s efforts could only see Dhaka reach 196 before they were dismissed in 49.2 overs.
   Opening bowlers Suman Kumar and Arafat Salahuddin shared six wickets for Barisal, who coasted to 197-2. Skipper Shahriar Nafees and Nasiruddin Faruque put on 115 for the opening stand to lay the foundation of the win.
   After both openers departed having made 61 and 55 runs, Imran Ahmed and Roquibul Hasan did the rest with an unbeaten 36 and 21 respectively.
   Khulna v Sylhet
   Alok Kapali followed his previous day’s four-day century with a fabulous 73 while in-form Golam Mabud complemented with 65 to propel Sylhet to make 278-8 in their stipulated 50 overs.
   Nazmus Sadat, who took three wickets with the bat, fought a lone battle for Khulna making 83 off 78 balls that included 12 fours and a six as the home side were all out for 192 in 45.1 overs.
   Alok Kapali completed his fine all-round performance claiming 3-45.

AC Milan playmaker Kaka added to his remarkable haul of trophies and titles on Monday when he was named FIFA World Player 2007.
   The 25-year-old Brazilian international beat Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo in the annual poll of national team coaches and captains.
   Kaka collected more points than the combined total of the other two nominees, world soccer’s governing body FIFA said after the ceremony here. He won 1,047 votes while Argentine Messi gained 504 and Portuguese Ronaldo picked up 426.
   Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was fourth on 209. Barcelona and Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho, winner of the award in 2004 and 2005, came fifth.
   ‘Tonight is really special for me,’ said Kaka, who helped Milan to their seventh European Cup title in May and was also inspirational in Sunday’s 4-2 Club World Cup final victory over Argentina’s Boca Juniors.
   ‘When I was young I dreamed of playing for Sao Paulo and playing just one game for the national team. That was it...but the Bible says God gives us more than we ask for and that is what has happened in my life.’
   Kaka, a devoted Christian, was a heavy favourite to win Monday’s prize after landing France Football magazine’s prestigious Ballon d’Or and World Soccer magazine’s World Player of the Year accolade.
   ‘I had always thought about winning this (FIFA) award,’ said Kaka. ‘But there are always doubts until it is actually confirmed.
   ‘It is not just this award but the whole year that has been very nice. Winning the Champions League and everything that has happened, it’s just been wonderful.’
   Kaka received his prize from compatriot and three-times World Cup winner Pele, who was himself given FIFA’s presidential award for his lifetime contribution to the sport broke down in tears.
   ‘My father told me it was a gift from God to play football,’ said Pele, after picking up the award.
   Although Kaka was rested for Brazil’s successful Copa America campaign in June and July, Pele said his success with the national team had helped set him apart from the other nominated players.
   ‘Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi have played some great football this year but they are not yet the most prominent players in their national teams,’ Pele said.
   ‘Kaka has been playing at this level for Brazil for four years now, he helps out in midfield and he is also a great example off the pitch. He’s the complete player.’
   Messi, who tore a thigh muscle over the weekend when Barcelona beat Valencia 3-0, memorably showed his skills when he scored against Getafe in April after picking up the ball in his own half and going past four opposition players before sliding the ball past the goalkeeper.
   The feat drew comparisons with Diego Maradona’s second goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match against England, voted the best the greatest goal in FIFA World Cup history in 2002.
   Asked about being compared with the Argentine legend, Messi said, ‘I just want to ... become a better player and hope to win a couple of titles with a good team, and that’s about it.’
   He added: ‘To be chosen among the top three when I am so young is a great honour - and I just want to keep improving and working hard on the pitch.’
   Ronaldo was honoured to be considered among the world’s top three stars.
   He said: ‘Of course, there is a feeling of disappointment as well - but I am honoured to be considered one of the best three players in the world.’
   He added: ‘I was so pleased when I got nominated. The first thing I did was tell the people closest to me. I called my mother and told her, and then my brother and my sister.
   ‘It’s a real honour for me to be considered one of the three best players in the world.’
   None of the short-listed trio had been nominated before and Kaka, 25, said: ‘It shows that this is a new era in football, a new cycle is starting.
   ‘They were great players before, but now the new players are starting to make history.’
   On the women’s side, Marta of Brazil captured the award with 988 points, ahead of Birgit Prinz of Germany with 507 and Cristiane of Brazil with 150.
   Marta was the top scorer of the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China, with seven goals. The 21-year-old lead Brazil to the finals, where they were beaten 2-0 by Germany.
   ‘I’m very happy to be here once more, and you can be sure I am going to give my best to be here on other occasions,’ said Marta, who won the award last year after three consecutive wins by Prinz.

India’s cricket team arrived in Australia on Tuesday full of high expectations for a tour which is likely to be the last trip Down Under for veterans such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
   The Indian squad touched down in Melbourne, where the first game of the four Test series will begin on December 26, full of confidence after recently defeating arch-rival Pakistan 1-0 in a three-Test contest.
   Captain Anil Kumble said winning a series against Australia at home, something India has not achieved in almost 60 years, was the number one prize in world cricket.
   ‘It means a lot. We came pretty close to doing that the last time we came here (in 2003-04),’ he told reporters.
   ‘Leading up to the (final) Sydney Test match it was 1-1 and we did extremely well in the last Test series (to draw), so it’s going to be very crucial for all of us.’
   Kumble said conquering Australia at home would be a thrill for himself and fellow veterans Tendulkar, Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman who are unlikely to tour Down Under again.
   ‘Most of the senior cricketers are here on their last tour of Australia, so it’s very important we go back victorious,’ 37-year-old leg-spinner Kumble said. ‘It means a lot to all of us in the team and also it means a lot to Indian cricket.
   ‘Not many teams have come here and gone home victorious, so it’s a great opportunity for all of us and we look forward to that,’ he added.
   If India pull off a series victory, they will be the first team to do so since the West Indies triumphed in 1991-1992 and they will upset Australia’s record of not losing a Test since August 2005.
   They will also be battling against their past playing experience in Australia, where they have won just four of 32 Tests.
   Tendulkar, who at 34 first played here as a teenager, said he was looking forward to what is likely to be his last chance to score runs in front of Australian crowds.
   ‘I think it will be my last tour, I don’t know what’s in store but I am just going to come and enjoy my cricket,’ he said. ‘Australia has been a fantastic place, we’ve come here in good shape and are looking forward to this tour.’
   Australia coach Tim Nielsen said while India was always
   competitive, they would need something special to beat his team.
   ‘It’s all great to talk the talk, the real challenge for both sides is to walk the walk come Boxing Day,’ he said.
   The Indian team for the first Test has not yet been determined, but Kumble said his strong batting line-up would seek to exploit weaknesses in Australian bowling following the retirement of leg-spinner Shane Warne.
   ‘They miss Warnie, somebody like him, so that’s something, an area, we can (exploit),’ he said.
   Australia’s 12-man squad for the Melbourne game, announced Tuesday, includes spinner Brad Hogg who joins the team as leg-spinner Stuart MacGill recovers from hand surgery.
   Cricket Australia said who takes the field will depend on conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day.
   India will play a three-day match against Victoria state starting Thursday, before the first Test starts. They will also play a triangular one-day series, which will include Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka (147/4) against England at stumps, day 1
   Steve Harmison grabbed three wickets as England took the opening day’s honours in the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.
   England, seeking a series-levelling win, put Sri Lanka in to bat on a moisture-laden wicket and reduced them to 147-4 in a shortened day’s cricket at the Galle International Stadium.
   Just 55 of the stipulated 90 overs were sent down in the first big game at the refurbished stadium, which was destroyed by the Asian tsunami in December 2004.
   The match, watched by some 7,000 local and England supporters, started two hours late at 12 noon (0630 GMT) due to a wet outfield caused by overnight rain.
   Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene hit an unbeaten half-century to keep the hosts afloat as Harmison dealt heavy blows, including two valuable wickets in the final session.
   Jayawardene followed his 195 in the drawn second Test in Colombo with a classy 51 not out that was studded with six boundaries.
   Left-handed Kumar Sangakkara (46) put on 88 for the third wicket with his captain after Sri Lanka were reduced to 44-2 within the first 15 overs.
   Sangakkara was lucky to get that far, having survived a loud appeal for a catch at the wicket off Matthew Hoggard before lunch when he was on 21.
   Television replays revealed a thin edge off the bat which Australian umpire Daryl Harper did not notice.
   Sangakkara, however, fell in the second over after tea when he hooked Harmison to deep square-leg where Monty Panesar took a well-judged catch.
   Harmison then forced new batsman Chamara Silva to edge a catch to Ian Bell at first slip as Sri Lanka slipped from 132-2 to 138-4 in the final session.
   Tillekeratne Dilshan, making a comeback after being dropped for the recent Australian tour, was unbeaten on seven when the umpires called off play due to bad light. A heavy downpour hit the ground soon after the players came off, raising fears of another delayed start on the second day.
   Harmison said he was delighted England came back strongly in stifling hot and humid weather after allowing Jayawardene and Sangakkara to prosper.
   ‘I am happy with the way things have gone — 147 for four—you can’t argue with that,’ the Durham seamer said.
   ‘We want to win the Test match first and foremost, and we had a good day.
   ‘I was disappointed with myself at the start but we had a chat at lunch and came out fighting.’
   England captain Michael Vaughan’s aggressive decision to give Sri Lanka first strike paid off as the tourists removed openers Michael Vandort and Upul Tharanga quickly.
   Left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom was lucky to claim Vandort leg-before for 18 in the 11th over as replays of umpire Asad Rauf’s decision showed the ball may have gone over the stumps.
   Tharanga made 16 when Rauf ruled him leg-before off Harmison to leave Sri Lanka tottering on 44-2.

The resignation procedure of Bangladesh Football Federation president SA Sultan remained inconclusive till Tuesday. Anwarul Huq Helal, the former general secretary of BFF, felt the president would have done better if he had followed the constitution.
   Helal who resigned in the executive committee meeting and submitted his resignation to the president, probably was a glaring example what should be done. Sultan would require the approval of his executive committee over his resignation and then the senior vice-president would take over.
   ‘I don’t understand what he thought or is thinking, but sending resignation to FIFA and to the NSC chief does not cover all the procedures. He simply has to disclose it to his executive committee,’ said Helal.
   The former general secretary was shocked to see the situation in the federation. ‘Things are going from bad to worse. I hoped that the committee would finish their tenure on a constructive note.’

AC Milan’s Brazilian superstar Kaka who was awarded Player of the Tournament after Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final in Japan, will be joining his team-mates in Dubai to play in the Emirates Challenge on January 8.
   Milan will be in Dubai for a week of winter training, courtesy of Emirates, from January 2. During their time in Dubai, They will be playing in the Emirates Challenge, a friendly match, against the UAE national team at the Al Maktoum Stadium at the Al Nasr Sports Club.
   Kaka’s goal, along with a goal from Alessandro Nesta and a double from Fillippo Inzaghi, helped Milan beat Boca Juniors 4-2 and become the first European team to win the FIFA Club World Cup.

Cricket Australia named a 12-man squad to take on India in the first Test of the summer series on Tuesday, with spinner Brad Hogg replacing an injured Stuart MacGill.
   Fast bowler Shaun Tait has recovered from injury to return to the team which will play India in the first of four Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting December 26.
   Cricket Australia chairman Andrew Hilditch said Hogg’s performance in domestic competition and his consistent play in one-day internationals had secured his place in the team.
   ‘Brad deserves the opportunity to once again represent Australia in Test cricket,’ he said in a statement.
   MacGill, who has struggled with various injuries as he attempts to secure a permanent place in the team following the retirement of leg-spinner Shane Warne, is out for at least a month after undergoing hand surgery.
   Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain), Phil Jaques, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Brad Hogg and Michael Clarke.

Sourav Ganguly believes the absence of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath could see India clinch their first ever Test series victory on Australian soil.
   Fresh from victory over Pakistan, India travel to Australia this week hoping to improve on their 2003/04 series draw.
   ‘I think we are the two best sides in the world,’ former India captain Ganguly told BBC World Service Sport.
   ‘We did well in 2003 but without McGrath and Warne, I’m sure that will make a difference.’
   Australia have played just one series since the retirement of McGrath and Warne - who boast 1,271 Test wickets between them - at the end of the Ashes series last January.
   Ricky Ponting’s side are currently well clear at the top of the ICC Test rankings, while India are one of four teams vying for second place.
   Captained by Anil Kumble, India begin a three-day a warm-up match against Victoria in Melbourne on 20 December, with the first of four Tests starting in the same city on December.
   Ganguly, currently India’s fifth-highest overall run-scorer in Tests, admitted a trip to Australia is the hardest tour in cricket but claimed India are full of hope.
   ‘It will be a massive series in their backyard, they are a very strong team - probably the best in the world - so we will really have to raise our game if we are to compete,’ he said.
   Ganguly, who in the past year has make a remarkable return to international cricket after being dropped from the national team in early 2006, says spin bowling could prove crucial.
   While India have Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Australia may have to look to one-day specialist Brad Hogg and first choice Stuart MacGill is recovering from wrist surgery.
   ‘All good Test teams have good spinners and for Australia to lose Warne is going to make a difference,’ Ganguly continued.
   ‘For us, [pace bowler] Sree Santh will definitely be missed.
   ‘But at the same time we have two quality spin bowlers. And out of the four Test matches we are playing at three venues - Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide - which spin.’
   ‘Definitely if we can put runs up on the board that will be the key and put us in a position to get them out.’
   While denying that Australia ‘fear’ India, Ganguly insisted the home team will know they face a tough challenge.
   ‘I spoke to some of the other players when they were in India, and they feel we are the only team which competes with them,’ he said.
   ‘They have probably beaten most other teams quite easily, apart from the Ashes in 2005, so it is for this reason it will be a tightly-contested series.
   ‘We just want to do well in the four Test matches and take one match at a time.
   ‘Obviously if we can win the series, that will be fantastic. But we know we will have to play really well to do it.
   ‘It’s not impossible.’

Barcelona’s top scorer Lionel Messi, sidelined for five weeks due to injury, believes his side has enough talent to beat Madrid when they meet on Sunday despite his absence.
   ‘There are players left over to win against Madrid. While I won’t play, Barcelona has lots of talent up front,’ the 20-year-old, who has notched eight goals this season, said in an interview published Tuesday in El Pais.
   Messi, who tore a muscle in his left thigh shortly before half-time in Barcelona’s 3-0 league win over Valencia on Saturday, said he was saddened though that he will miss ‘El Clasico’ against Madrid.
   ‘I would pay to be on the pitch but now I am only thinking of getting better. It’s nothing new, I have been through bad times before,’ he told the top-selling Spanish daily.
   ‘An injury is the worst thing that can happen. You don’t play and you don’t even train.’
   Messi scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid in their last game at Camp Nou in March which ended 3-3. He came in second place in the race for FIFA’s world player of the year which was awarded Monday in Switzerland, coming in behind winner Kaka of AC Milan and ahead of Manchester United’s Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said Sunday that the club had to pay attention to protect Messi against injuries.
   Messi ‘is a very explosive player and because of that from time to time he has muscle problems,’ he said.

Promising young France striker Karim Benzema has proved a revelation in 2007 and is confident his talent will take him higher still.
   ‘I know where I want to go and that’s very, very high, right to the top,’ the Olympique Lyon forward, who turns 20 on Wednesday, told Reuters in an interview.
   Lyon-born Benzema was 17 when he made his Ligue 1 debut in a game at Metz and his first touch of the ball in that match set up a goal.
   He scored his first goal in the Champions League against Rosenborg in December 2005. Then, in March this year, he made his France debut, hitting the winner in a 1-0 victory over Austria nine minutes after coming on.
   Benzema , who grew up admiring Ronaldo and is not unlike the Brazil striker with a deadly mix of power and skill, is now an automatic choice both for Olympique Lyon coach Alain Perrin and France’s Raymond Domenech.
   Ligue 1’s top scorer with 12 goals, he showed his class again last week when he scored two and set up the other in a 3-0 win at Rangers that took Lyon through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
   ‘I have not changed but things around me have,’ he said. ‘I feel that a lot is expected from me. It puts pressure on me but I like that.’
   He may be young, but at Lyon he is already one of the bosses.
   ‘I’m not the young kid making his debut any more,’ he said.
   ‘Everybody trusts me. When Lyon concede a goal, the older guys such as (Brazil midfielder) Juninho or (France forward Sidney (Govou) talk to the others on the pitch. Now, I do that as well. I might be a bit shy off the pitch but on it, I’m different.’
   Benzema said he was not at all surprised to be under the spotlight.
   ‘This is the result of years of hard work,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t quite sure when but I knew it would pay off. I have a lot of confidence. If I miss a chance, I know I will get another one.
   ‘My parents tape all my matches and I look at them to find out what mistakes I made and see how I can improve.’
   Benzema is being targeted by several top European clubs but has a contract with Lyon until 2012 and has said he will not leave the six-times French champions until they win the Champions League.
   In 2008, he not only has club action to look forward to and could be one the attractions of the European championship finals in Austria and Switzerland.
   ‘First of all I need a rest,’ he said, looking forward to a break after a busy year.

Former Brazil captain Zico reacted angrily on Tuesday after FIFA apparently declined to recognise the Flamengo side in which he played as world club champions in 1981.
   ‘It’s another of those controversies involving players, supporters and the media which are decided by people sitting in an office,’ Zico, now coach of Turkish club Fenerbahce, told the Estado News Agency in an interview.
   Flamengo won the South American Libertadores Cup in 1981, beating Chile’s Cobreloa in a stormy final, and then hammered European champions Liverpool 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup final played in Tokyo.
   ‘There’s nothing to argue about. We took part in a very difficult Libertadores, we played European champions, as the representatives of South America, and we won,’. he said. ‘What else is there to say?’
   Soccer’s governing body FIFA ruled at a meeting in Japan on Saturday it would only officially recognise the winners of the club world championship it has organised itself.
   FIFA has so far held four club world championships, one played in Brazil in 2000 and then three held in Japan from 2005 onwards.
   ‘With respect to the history of the FIFA Club World Cup and intercontinental club competitions in years gone by, such as the Copa Rio in the 1950s, the FIFA Executive Committee endorsed the view that the first edition of this competition was held in 2000 in Brazil where Corinthians became the very first FIFA club world champions,’ said FIFA in a statement.
   ‘Other tournaments are not considered official FIFA events.’
   Until 2004, the champions of Europe and South America met annually to decide what was widely regarded as the world club championship, although the title was never recognised by FIFA.
   The match was played on a home-and-away basis from 1960 until 1979 but, after several troubled games in South America, the match lost credibility and several European Cup winners refused to play.
   From 1980 until 2004, a one-off match was played in Japan.

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which has experienced a nervous existence due to low interest levels and crowded playing schedules, will be expanded to five-match series over the
   next two years. The first four versions of the trans-Tasman contest have included three games and Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket have agreed to push ahead with the concept.
   ‘We are both very supportive of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy,’ Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, told the Dominion Post after meeting with Cricket Australia’s James Sutherland. ‘We looked at the future and there is no problem in three of the next four years, it is just 2011, being a World Cup year.’
   Vaughan wants the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy to become a tradition and the prize will be at stake during the five-game series that was already planned for Australia’s revised 2008-09 programme.

German giants Bayern Munich join the final scramble for a berth in the UEFA Cup knock-out round today as Bolton and Aberdeen bid to bolster the British contingent along with Spurs, Everton and Rangers as the group phase enters its final stretch.
   Having played all their matches in Group F, Bolton’s hopes of qualification is now out of their hands.
   The Trotters presently top the group on six points with Greek side Aris Saloniki and Bayern Munich both on five with Sporting Braga on three.
   Red Star Belgrade are already eliminated having picked up zero points from three games.
   The English Premier side could still join the Serbs at the exit if Sporting Braga beat Red Star by more than one goal while Bayern Munich draw at home against Aris.
   Bayern, however, remain unbeaten at home in the UEFA Cup in over a decade but recent results - two wins and four goals in seven games - have caused concern.
   ‘I am slightly annoyed concerning the club’s latest results. Mentally speaking we’re not very good,’ admitted their France international midfielder Franck Ribery.
   Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld insists, however, his side are confident ahead of Wednesday’s tie where a win would take them into the last 32 as group winners.
   ‘We must not get infected by all this crisis talk,’ said Hitzfeld.
   ‘We have lost just once in 17 matches. If we now win our UEFA Cup tie against Aris, then the first half of the season will have been very, very positive.’
   Aberdeen, meanwhile, have their fate in their own hands and will battle it out with FC Copenhagen in a bid for the remaining Group B berth - Panathinaikos and Atletico Madrid are already through.
   The Dons host the Danes on Thursday at Pittodrie needing a win to qualify.
   A draw will see Jimmy Calderwood’s side eliminated so the Scottish club will have to overturn their zero-goals tally against Danish opposition if they are to join SPL rivals Rangers in the last 32.
   Rangers are one of the eight teams to drop down from the Champions League to battle it out in Europe’s second-tier competition.
   Everton have secured their place in the knock-out phase as Group A leaders heading into Thursday’s tie against AZ Alkmaar, who need a win to advance with the Toffees.
   German side Nuremberg also need three points to qualify when they play bottom club Larissa.
   Londoners Tottenham are safe on seven points in Group G leaving Getafe, Anderlecht and Hapoel Tel Aviv in the hunt the two remaining spots.
   Getafe host Anderlecht while Hapoel welcome eliminated Aalborg on Wednesday.
   Panionios Athens enter their all-important Group H clash with French club Bordeaux with renewed confidence after a domestic league win over city rivals Panathinaikos at the weekend.
   ‘The win against Panathinaikos, one of the best teams in Greece and with a vast European experience, will certainly help us psychologically for the match against Bordeaux,’ said Panionios’ Croatian midfielder Ivica Majstorovic.
   ‘I believe we are 100 percent ready to win and go on to the next round of the UEFA Cup competition.’
   Turkish side Galatasaray, the 2000 winners, will join Panionios in a battle for the remaining ticket and have the easier fixture when they play bottom side Austria Vienna at home.
   Group winners Bordeaux and Helsingborg have both qualified.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said there was no-one to blame but himself for the mistake that presented Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 1-0 victory over their London title rivals.
   But their decisive goal at the Emirates Stadium came about when former Chelsea defender William Gallas headed in after Cech completely misjudged the flight of a Cesc Fabregas corner the Czech Republic keeper should have caught.
   ‘It is difficult and for me I am disappointed because, in the end, the game was decided by my mistake,’ Cech said. ‘It was a mistake from me. There is no explanation or excuse. It was a simple as that.
   ‘This is the part of the game. You play in these big games with this passion. These are the best games to play in and you always want to do your best. I love this type of game, but will not remember this one as one of the best ones.
   ‘You have to analyse yourself and see why you made a mistake, what was the moment you could have done better. Of course you have to watch it, but in the end you have to turn the page and go on.’
   Cech added: ‘When you see the game overall, in the first half, they had no chances. They had nothing, only a bit of possession but that was it. We controlled every movement they tried to do.
   ‘They had only one corner, I made a mistake and they were 1-0 up.’ But he insisted the result would not have a decisive bearing on the destiny of the title. ‘There is still a long way to go. We play them (Arsenal) at home and have plenty of games left so we can do it again.
   ‘There are still big games between the big four (Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool) so they can slip there.
   ‘You cannot underestimate the other games because every single point counts and they have the same importance.’

Real Madrid’s Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder is disappointed that Barcelona’s top scorer Lionel Messi will be sidelined due to injury when their two sides meet on Sunday for ‘El Clasico.’
   ‘He’s (Messi) a great player, he will be one of the best players in Europe and the world. It’s a shame that he won’t be available,’ Sneijder told a news conference on Monday, adding he expected Messi will be replaced by Giovani Dos Santos. ‘For the team it will be an important absence because Leo has had an extraordinary season and for this type of match you need a player with his traits,’ Sneijder added.
   Messi, who has scored eight goals, tore a muscle in his left thigh shortly before half-time in Barcelona’s 3-0 league win over Valencia on Saturday and will be out of action for up to five weeks.
   The 20-year-old Argentine scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid in their last game at Camp Nou in March which ended 3-3.
   Real Madrid defeated Osasuna 2-0 over the weekend and are four points ahead of Barcelona going into the showdown, meaning they are guaranteed to enter 2008 as the leaders of the Spanish championship.
   ‘A win for us would even things up at the top of the table,’ said Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta. ‘I believe there’s still a long way to go in the league but of course it (a win) is important for what it represents historically and because of the situation of both teams in the table,’ he said.
   ‘It won’t be decisive but we have to win in order to get to the top as soon as possible,’ Iniesta added.

They are the biggest name in Germany’s Bundesliga and Bayern Munich proved they have the spending might to rival Europe’s biggest clubs as they splashed the cash to buy success in 2007.
   According to the Chinese, 2007 was the year of the boar and the aggressive spending and ruthless dismissals of the squad’s under-achievers in the summer months - Owen Hargreaves was off-loaded to Manchester United - was certainly boarish.
   Bayern finish 2007 top of the German league, but it had all been a different story at the start of the year.
   When the Bundesliga resumed in February 2007, Bayern were 11 points behind leaders Schalke 04 in fourth place - the same league position the Munich club were to occupy when the season ended in May.
   Bayern coach Felix Magath was sacked in February, to be replaced by Ottmar Hitzfeld, the team exited the Champions League in the quarter-finals at the hands of AC Milan in April and limped to the end of the season.
   With Bayern out of the running for last season’s Bundesliga title, the Royal Blues of Schalke 04 held the league lead running into the last few weekends of the season, only to lose to neighbours Borussia Dortmund.
   The defeat cost them the league and Werder Bremen’s defeats in the title race allowed VfB Stuttgart to hold their nerve to claim the crown.
   But while the celebrations rang out at their Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart, the powers that be were already plotting revenge in Bayern.
   That triggered a 69 million euros (100 million US dollars) summer spending spree as a host of top names were hand-picked from across Europe to spearhead Bayern’s charge at the title.
   French midfielder Franck Ribery was recruited from Marseille along with Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni from Fiorentina and Germany’s hot-shot striker Miroslav Klose, top-scorer at last year’s World Cup, also arrived.
   The other Bundesliga sides could only watch in awe as Bayern brought big-name after big-name to Munich.
   Bayern began the new season with a hiss and a roar, smashing Hansa Rostock and Werder Bremen in succession on the opening weekends.
   In contrast, Germany’s Champions League sides Schalke 04, Stuttgart and Bremen all began their league campaign slowly and Bayern were six-points clear by mid-October.
   With Bayern out of the Champions League due to their poor performance the previous season, Germany’s three teams struggled against top-class opposition in Europe’s elite competition.
   VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen both lost to Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and fell off the pace, but Schalke clung to their opportunity and after beating Norway’s Rosenborg in their final group game, they made the last 16.
   Schalke will be Germany’s only representatives in the first knock-out stage, while Hamburg, led by Dutch star Rafael van der Vaart, are leading the way in the UEFA Cup.
   But Bremen, who will join Stuttgart, in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup next year, have emerged as Bayern’s main domestic rivals in the league and they join Munich on 36 points at the top of the table.
   Only Bayern’s superior goal difference keeps them top of the table and after they were hammered 3-1 at Stuttgart on November 10, Bayern have struggled for consistency and form.
   With just two wins in their last seven league games before the winter break, Bayern still have much to do if they are to pick up their 21st crown as German champions when the league resumes on February 1.
   On the international stage, Germany showed they will be serious contenders for Euro 2008 next June in Austria and Switzerland.
   Joachim Low’s side were the first team to qualify when they drew 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in October and had looked unbeatable by dominating their group.
   They went to Prague and managed a 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in March and looked strong with Miroslav Klose, top-scorer at last year’s World Cup, and Lukas Podolski, voted the best young player of Germany 2006, in the squad.
   But their unbeaten record was blasted away when the Czech’s smashed the German’s 3-0 in Munich last October and although the home side bounced back in November with a crushing 4-0 win over minnows Cyrpus, the confidence was damaged.
   However, with a crop of talented young players they can expect to be amongst the top four sides at Euro 2008.

Italy’s World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi believes new England manager Fabio Capello may have to drop a high-profile player who ‘is not on the same wavelength’ as the others if his team are to find success.
   Lippi, who was also linked with the England job before Capello’s appointment, was not afraid to drop star players during his reign with the Azzurri.
   Talented but temperamental striker Antonio Cassano was left out of the World Cup-winning squad while Alessandro Del Piero was only used sparingly in the successful campaign.
   Meanwhile, previously unheralded players like Fabio Grosso and Simone Perrotta made important contributions in Germany.
   Lippi told Sky Italia that Capello would also have to make some difficult decisions.
   He said: ‘Capello’s most difficult task will be to make a team become a team, something which in recent years it hasn’t felt like one.
   ‘That will be the most difficult challenge. He will need to construct a team, the national team is not the selection of the best players of the country, but in order to make a team you may also need to have to drop an important player that perhaps is not in the same wavelength as the others.’
   Lippi thinks the language issue is crucial for Capello’s success as well.
   He does not believe Capello can rely on a translator for long but must be able to communicate with his players directly.
   ‘The fact that I don’t speak English is one of the reasons why I have turned down three or four proposals in that last two years that have arrived from the English Premiership,’ Lippi said.
   ‘I have always said that a coach must transmit to his players everything that goes through his heart and head and in order to do so, he can’t be talking and then asking the interpreter to translate, it’s impossible.’
   Brazil legend Carlos Alberto, meanwhile, maintains England players must ‘improve their technique’ if they are to compete with the world’s best.
   The man who led Brazil to a victory over Italy in the 1970 final in Mexico - netting a famous goal - believes the likes of Steven Gerrard and company need to raise their game to another level.
   ‘The most important thing that can happen to English players is that they improve their technique,’ Alberto, 63, told BBC Sport.
   ‘Technical skills like dribbling, good movement, the ability to pick a pass are key to breaking teams down - but you just don’t see it when England play, their style is always the same.
   ‘They never changed, they never improvised and they never improved.
   ‘They put the high ball into the area and try to head it in, but they need to focus on more technical skills.’

Liverpool’s new stadium in Stanley Park will not be ‘as dramatic’ as first planned, the Premier League club said on Monday.
   The five-times European champions unveiled plans in July for a futuristic 70,000-seater home, complete with an 18,000 single-tier Kop to replicate the famous end at their existing Anfield stadium.
   Chief executive Rick Parry said two new schemes were now being considered but told fans it would still be a 70,000-seater arena and that the Kop would be retained.
   ‘The new stadium will be a significant improvement on the original plans,’ Parry said on the club’s Web site (www.liverpoolfc.tv).
   ‘It will be a massive improvement on where we were 12 months ago, if not quite as dramatic as the plans unveiled in the summer.
   ‘The single-tier Kop remains fundamental to the design and we are not expecting any delays, it should be on schedule for 2011.’
   Liverpool were given the green light for a revised version of the original 300 million pounds ($603.5 million) plan by city authorities in November, with work scheduled to start early next year.
   Stanley Park is a few hundred metres from Anfield.
   Liverpool’s Anfield capacity of 45,000 puts them at a disadvantage to the likes of Manchester United (76,000) and Arsenal (60,000).

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra is still waiting to open negotiations with the club over a new contract.
   The Frenchman has been an impressive performer at left-back in recent months, but his present deal expires in a year and a half.
   And Evra says the club have taken no steps to begin talks, but hopes the situation will be sorted out as soon as possible.
   Evra told the Daily Express: ‘I have one year left after this one. People keep talking to me about it. They think I have extended my contract.
   ‘But that is not true. We have not even started to discuss it.
   ‘It is said that the club want to prolong (the contract), but there is nothing for the moment. What do I want? You will not get me talking about that.’
   Evra, who has previously stated that he would like to extend his contract, is happy with his form of late.
   ‘I think I have found the right balance, the one I have always sought between my attacking and defending,’ he explained.
   ‘These days I have kept my attacking desire, but I have learnt to love the combat.
   ‘Sir Alex Ferguson had this nice word about me one day, saying ‘he’s a football player’. Just that.’

Brazil and AC Milan’s Kaka has simply been the outstanding footballer of 2007 and proved that claim by winning the FIFA Player of the Year award on Monday to add to his European Footballer of the Year honour.
   The 25-year-old Kaka starred in AC Milan’s run to the European Champions League title, then the European Super Cup and the recent Club World Cup.
   Few fans of Manchester United will forget Kaka’s opening goal in the semi-final, second leg at the San Siro, a low drive from 20 metres, which put the tie level at 3-3, but crucially left the Italians ahead on away goals.
   Milan went on to win 3-0, and 5-3 on aggregate, before going on to beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Athens final.
   Kaka plays in the style of a classic number 10 such as legends Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane, whom so many youngsters dream of emulating.
   Kaka, born Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, comes from a comfortably off family in Sao Paulo, not from the slums which have produced so many top Brazilians, and aged just 20 played in his first World Cup in 2002 where Brazil won the title for the fifth time.
   At a young age, the diminutive Kaka had high hopes heaped on his shoulders with the Brazilian media saying he would emulate legendary playmakers such as Rivelino and Socrates and it was not a surprise when he joined European giants AC Milan in 2003.
   His talent was as obvious as the jokes about his name were numerous and he was a key component of AC Milan’s 2003/2004 Italian league winning team which finished 11 points ahead of AS Roma.
   Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi is famously said to have commented: ‘Kaka? We could never sign anyone with a name like that.’ Of course AC Milan had the last laugh and he went on to become one of the best players in Italy.
   He was part of the Brazilian dream team which, for them, did so disastrously to lose to France in the World Cup quarter-finals in 2006, to all appearances because of overconfidence.
   Although last season Kaka did not many goals in Serie A, he still managed to set up a lot of scores for his team-mates. However, his strike rate of 10 goals in 13 matches in the Champions League helped AC Milan avenge their defeat to Liverpool in the 2005 final.
   As his career has progressed, he has become more fluent in his movement, has continually improved technically and has generally got better and better in all departments.
   In an interview published earlier this year, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said that ‘there has never been any possibility’ that Milan would sell Kaka, who has been a target of Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon.
   Real Madrid offered AC Milan 90 million euros (123 million dollars) for Kaka, Spanish sports daily Marca reported in the summer.
   Kaka, the highest earning footballer in Italy, ‘has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so... Kaka is the symbol of Milan,’ Berlusconi added.
   And Kaka is the highest earning footballer in Italy with an annual salary of six million euros, according to a study published in the Gazzetta dello Sport.
   Milan, who have the biggest wages bill at 120 million euros a year, certainly have the financial muscle to handsomely pay for Kaka’s huge influence on the team. Kaka is contracted to them till 2011 when he will not even have reached 30.

Rafa Benitez has never been short of confidence but the Liverpool manager will be relieved to get the backing of the club’s American owners as he prepares for a League Cup quarter-final against Chelsea today.
   Benitez’s belief in his own ability knows no bounds but successive league defeats to Reading and Manchester United left Liverpool 10 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
   The prospect of another year as title also-rans was hardly the ideal preparation for a meeting with George Gillett and Tom Hicks in the aftermath of the loss to United on Sunday.
   Benitez had put his job at risk by publicly criticising his employers after they told him to concentrate on coaching rather than lining up potential new signings.
   The Spaniard wanted to sign AC Milan defender Kakha Kaladze and tie up a permanent move for on-loan midfielder Javier Mascherano and was angry that his request was denied.
   But Benitez has the unwavering support of Liverpool’s fans after taking the team to two Champions League finals in three years, so the Americans opted to make a point or two and then give him their support.
   ‘Rafa is the one we want as manager further on, and we have faith in him,’ Gillett said. ‘I’ve been married over 40 years and have first-hand knowledge about how to solve an argument.
   ‘We concentrated on getting an overview over the situation, and I felt we accomplished that.’
   Benitez can now concentrate on finding a way to get Liverpool back on track, starting with ending Chelsea’s impressive record at Stamford Bridge.
   Chelsea are unbeaten in 50 matches in all competitions at home but Liverpool have enjoyed an impressive record against the Blues in cup competitions.
   Benitez’s side knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-finals in 2005 and 2007, and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2006.
   But Sami Hyppia insists Liverpool’s cup success will count for nothing on Wednesday.
   ‘I don’t want to look at the records at all,’ Hyppia said. ‘Every game is different, we go there to win and do our best.’
   After three years of increasingly bitter clashes between Chelsea and Liverpool, this is the first post-Jose Mourinho era meeting of two English superpowers.
   Those matches during Mourinho’s reign brought out a tetchy side to Benitez, who would respond to the Portuguese’s barbs with uncharacteristic outbursts. Now Grant is in charge, there should be less snipping between the rivals.
   Grant has more important issues to worry about. Chelsea are showing signs of missing Didier Drogba after the striker’s knee operation and Grant needs to find a solution quickly.
   They have failed to score in their last two matches and clearly lacked a cutting edge in Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal.
   That loss ended a 16-match unbeaten run since Grant’s first game in charge at United in September. The majority of those games were against mediocre opposition and a defeat to Liverpool would raise questions after Grant’s ability to outwit the top clubs.
   He will have to take on Liverpool without captain John Terry after the England defender suffered three broken bones in his foot against Arsenal.
   Terry could be out for up to six weeks so Grant will be keeping his fingers crosses that Petr Cech avoids any repeat of the error that led to Arsenal’s winner.
   The Czech goalkeeper’s mistake was notable because it was so rare but he was honest enough to own up and aim to learn from it.
   ‘You have to analyse yourself and see why you made a mistake, what was the moment you could have done better.
   ‘Of course you have to watch it, but in the end you have to turn the page and go on.’

You could almost hear the footballing gods sniggering mischievously after the draw for the Euro 2008 finals produced the latest chapter in France and Italy’s international rivalry.
   All the talk before December’s draw in Lucerne was centred on how the peculiar seeding system had left the way open for the mother of all groups of death featuring the 2006 World Cup finalists.
   And sure enough, to the delight of impartial fans at least, it emerged, with France and Italy being joined by fellow European heavyweights the Netherlands and Romania in Group C (for complex).
   All three are former European champions, with France edging out Italy with a golden goal in the Euro 2000 final.
   The Azzurri gained their revenge and how sweet it was six years later in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, beating Raymond Domenech’s side on penalties to capture the world title.
   Their paths crossed once again in qualifying.
   Europe’s big guns are out to restore the natural order of things next year after Euro 2004 saw the underdogs have their day with Otto Rehhagel’s Greece sweeping all before them.
   If the Greeks are to carry out a repeat performance they will first have to survive an opening group comprising Sweden, Spain and Russia.
   Guus Hiddink’s young Russian side will be hoping history repeats itself as Russia were the only side to get the better of Greece at the same stage four years ago.
   That didn’t stop Rehhagel’s upstarts tearing up the football formbook and lifting the title at the main expense of hosts Portugal.
   Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Portuguese have the chance to go one better after making it through as one of the 14 qualifiers.
   They’ve been drawn in Group A with the Czech Republic, Turkey, and co-hosts Switzerland.
   The Czechs meeting with Portugal in Geneva on June 11 will revive memories of their encounter at Euro 96 when Karel Poborsky’s famous lobbed winner booked his side’s semi-final ticket.
   The Swiss and Turks will be praying for a less heated encounter compared to their last meeting in a 2006 World Cup qualifier in Istanbul which ended in mayhem with fights between players and officials.
   The Turks won’t need reminding that Switzerland won that tie on away goals to qualify for Germany at Turkey’s expense.
   Switzerland’s fellow hosts Austria have the dubious distinction of being the lowest ranked team ever to appear in the finals.
   Josef Hickersberger’s men are placed 94th in the world, behind Equatorial Guinea but at least two rungs higher than St Vincent and the Grenadines.
   Austria are in Group B with the only other newcomers to a European championships, Poland, Slaven Bilic’s impressive Croatia, and dual winners Germany.
   The last time Germany and Austria met competitively was at the 1982 World Cup when the then West Germany won 1-0 - a result which conveniently saw both sides through to the second round at the expense of Algeria.
   Like a celebrity wedding guest list there’s been as much interest on those teams that failed to make it to the Euro 2008 finals as those who did, with England’s absence a bit like the bride’s mother-in-law going AWOL.
   It’s hard to imagine a Euro finals without England fans adding their own special colour to proceedings.
   The tortuous process of qualifying spelled the end of the road for not only England’s Steve McClaren but a cluster of other coaches, 16 in all, with one failed qualifier, Bulgaria, changing their manager three times.
   Armenia changed their coach but that was only after the tragic death of Ian Porterfield, the Scotsman who succumbed to cancer in September.

Thunderbolt or curler — how do you like yours? A converted free-kick is one of the greatest joys of football, especially when it’s executed with brilliance. Are you from the Stuart Pearce school of striking the ball as hard as possible? Or do you bow at the twinkled-toed feet of curling kings like David Beckham? Either way, sit back and enjoy our latest top 10 — the best free-kick takers to grace the game.
   No10: Jose Luis Chilavert
   South American goalkeepers are an eccentric bunch at the best of times – but none more so than this Paraguay legend. Beefy Chilavert prided himself on his dead-ball prowess, roaming upfield to slot home a number of free-kicks. Incredibly, he once scored one from inside his own half.
   No9: Roberto Carlos
   Roberto Carlos has been trying the same trick for far too long but when it works, it’s great. The Brazilian’s most famous free-kick came against France in 1997. He raced up 35 yards out and bent the ball around the wall with the outside of his left foot. Keeper Fabien Barthez didn’t move but the ball boy standing three yards wide of the post did because he thought the ball was coming straight at him. Still amazing to watch it swerve in.
   No8: Paul Gascoigne
   Gazza carved his name into North London’s football history with a stunning free-kick in Spurs’ 3-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Arsenal at Wembley in 1991.That screamer was one of a number in the England hero’s portfolio of dead-ball wizardry.
   No7: Diego Maradona
   The Argentina legend made his name with a number of stunning individual goals, as well as the odd handball. But people forget he was probably the most dangerous free-kick taker of his generation. From a one-step run up, the little left-footer struck goal after goal from a dead-ball position.
   No6: Stuart Pearce
   When Stuart Pearce strikes a football, it stays struck. And the tough-tackling left-back can boast a career full of bullet set-pieces. Pearce’s most famous effort came in the 1991 FA Cup final that put Nottingham Forest ahead against Spurs.
   No 5: Pierre van Hooijdonk
   When he wasn’t going on strike or insulting homeless people, Pierre van Hooijdonk could take a mean free-kick. The sight of the lanky Dutchman running up to take one seemed harmless enough. But Celtic and Nottingham Forest fans will testify there have been few better in the game.
   No4: Matt Le Tissier
   Matt Le Tissier was the reason that games against Southampton in the 90s were anything but a formality. As well scoring dozens of astonishing strikes from open play, Le God was deadly from set pieces. His most outrageous strike came in 1994 against Wimbledon when he flicked the ball up before volleying in from 25 yards.
   No3: Sinisa Mihajlovic
   Picture the scene. Your team sells its star player to a rival club and he returns the next season to score a hat-trick of free-kicks against you in one game. That’s what Sampdoria’s fans had to endure in 1998 when Sinisa Mihajlovic came back to haunt them with Lazio. It wasn’t a fluke either. The Serbian must go down as the greatest ever free-kick-taking defender.
   No2: Juninho
   No, not that Juninho. We’re talking about Lyon’s free-kick master Juninho Pernambucano. The Brazilian midfielder has carved out a reputation as the best in the modern game, lighting up Champions League nights with a string of stunning strikes from outside the box.
   No1: David Beckham
   When England needed him most, David Beckham delivered a superb injury-time free-kick against Greece to secure his country’s passage to the 2002 World Cup. While that remains Beckham’s golden moment, it was the best in a long line from his Manchester United and Real Madrid days. Amongst all the hype and fame, there has always been genuine talent.

Chelsea captain John Terry could be out for up to six weeks, his club said Monday, after revealing the England centre-half broke three bones in his foot following a clash with Emmanuel Eboue during a 1-0 defeat away to Premier League leaders Arsenal.
   Terry left the Emirates Stadium here Sunday on crutches after going off before half-time in a hard-fought match.
   ‘Scans today (Monday) have revealed that John Terry has fractured three bones in his right foot, including his third metatarsal,’ said a Chelsea statement on the club’s official website, www.chelseafc.com.
   ‘The initial diagnosis suggests he may be out for six weeks.’
   Club doctor Bryan English told Chelsea TV: ‘An x-ray taken in the Arsenal medical room straight after John left the field didn’t show the injury.
   ‘However as is usual with mid-foot injuries the fractures were revealed following scans, which were performed this (Monday) afternoon.
   ‘John will start his rehabilitation immediately with the Chelsea medical team and we will continue to monitor the injury.’
   Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou said earlier Monday he’d spoken with fellow Ivory Coast international Eboue after the match and that the Arsenal player had apologised for his role in injuring Terry.
   ‘I was saying to Eboue that it was a red card because he did it on purpose - but he denied that. He said he tried to block the ball. He said sorry to John. He didn’t mean to do it, but to apologise was a nice thing to do.
   ‘John will be a big loss and is very important to the squad. It will be difficult without him but we have the players to do that,’ Kalou added.
   Terry is now set to miss today’s League Cup quarter-final against Liverpool and the Premier League matches against Blackburn (on Sunday), Aston Villa (December 26), Newcastle United (December 29), Fulham (Jan 1).
   Chelsea may yet face further defensive disruption after a spokesman for the Football Asscoiation said Ashley Cole could be punished for an offensive two-fingered salute at Arsenal fans, even though the incident was not mentioned in referee Alan Wiley’s match report.
   England full-back Cole was subjected to persistent verbal abuse from Arsenal supporters in what was his first game back at his old club since his controversial transfer across London last season.
   He further angered Gunners fans’ by making disparaging remarks about the club in his autobiography.
   Photographs of Cole making his gesture appeared in British newspapers on Monday and the spokesman said: ‘None of the officials saw the incident.
   ‘If an incident is not seen by the officials, it would depend on what evidence is available, whether there’s any TV footage, any photographic evidence to be considered.’
   Arsenal’s win ensured they stayed top of the Premier League by a point from Manchester United and left Chelsea in third place, six points off the lead.

Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his ‘dream’ to one day play for a Spanish club.
   The 22-year-old Portuguese winger, the subject of interest from Real Madrid in the recent past, is happy at Manchester United - but would love to experience the Primera Liga one day.
   Ronaldo - speaking in Zurich before the FIFA world player award for which he, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and AC Milan’s Kaka have been short-listed - said:
   ‘I would like to play for a Spanish club one day - I don’t know if it is possible, but it is my dream.
   ‘Sometimes I want something and it’s not possible. But this is my dream.
   ‘It’s a fantastic league where they play beautiful football, but I am convinced the English league is the most competitive in every aspect.
   ‘I feel very comfortable in the English league; I think it’s beautiful, and if I stay in Manchester that would be great for me - I love the club; I love the supporters, and it would be amazing for me to stay there for many years.
   ‘But maybe one day, only God knows whether it will happen, I would like to play for a Spanish team and experience the difference.’