A Pakistani appeals tribunal on Sunday suspended a five-year ban on fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for one month to allow him to compete in a domestic cricket tournament in India.
   The 32-year-old paceman received the ban in April for a series of discipline violations, including his public criticism of the Pakistan Cricket Board after he was not offered a central contract.
   ‘We have suspended the five-year ban for one month,’ tribunal head Justice Farrukh Aftab told reporters, adding that Akhtar’s appeal of the ban will be heard June 4.
   The tribunal had temporarily upheld the ban last week but cleared him to play cricket outside the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, however, would not allow Akhtar to play until the ban was overturned.
   ‘We had to suspend the ban because it was stopping him from playing in India and it would have been tantamount to additional punishment on Akhtar,’ Aftab said.
   Two other tribunal members – former Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan and businessman Salman Taseer – did not attend Sunday’s hearing.
   ‘I got the consent of Taseer on telephone, but Ahsan could not be contacted,’ said Aftab, who was assisted by senior advocate Khawaja Sultan.
   The fiery cricketer, who has a history of discipline problems and injuries, struck out at the PCB in January after he did not make the list of 15 contracted players.
   Akhtar was already on two years’ probation for hitting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat a few days before the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa last September.
   Akhtar has accused PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf of demanding a commission from his contract for the Indian event, saying his refusal led to the five-year ban.
   Ashraf has responded by suing Akhtar for alleged defamation and has demanded 200 million rupees (three million dollars) in compensation. The legal proceedings began in a civil court on Saturday, and the court has summoned Akhtar to answer the charges on May 16.

AC Milan triumphed 2-1 over Inter in the Milan derby at the San Siro on Sunday to boost their hopes of Champions League football next season and delay their city rivals’ title celebrations.
   AS Roma’s impressive 3-0 win at Sampdoria ensured champions Inter still need three more points from their final two matches to clinch a third straight crown.
   Afetr Fiorentina’s 2-1 defeat at Cagliari, Milan moved up to fourth and now have Champions League qualification within their own hands.
   Predictably, hosts Milan made the brighter opening in the day’s big match.
   Massimo Ambrosini and Giuseppe Favalli were both wildly off target with early long-range efforts before the Kaka-Filippo Inzaghi partnership started kicking into gear.
   On 20 minutes world player of the year Kaka prepared to shoot on the edge of the area but fooled everyone by playing in Inzaghi instead. Inter’s Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar stood up well, though, and blocked his shot for a corner.
   Ten minutes from the break Daniele Bonera got to the byline but his cross was just too high for Inzaghi in the six yard box after good build up play involving Kaka and Gennaro Gattuso.
   Milan should have had the lead in first half stoppage time as Kaka broke down the right and crossed for Inzaghi but his stooping header from three yards somehow drifted wide of the far post.
   Milan started the second half as they had ended the first, putting pressure on the leaders and their greater endeavour soon paid off.
   Ambrosini had just headed an Andrea Pirlo corner over from close range before Kaka and Inzaghi combined once again, the Brazilian crossing for the Italian veteran to nod home at the near post from barely a yard out.
   That seemed to spark Inter into action and Maicon raced down the right but overhit his cross into the centre with both Julio Cruz and Hernan Crespo unmarked and waiting to pounce.
   But France captain Patrick Vieira gifted Milan a second with a misplaced back-pass that Kaka gleefully accepted before firing low past Julio Cesar.
   That seemed to snap Inter out of their lethargy and Portugal midfielder Maniche stung Australian goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac’s hands before the Milan stopper was out quickly to block from Crespo.
   Kalac then had to tip over a long range effort from Brazilian full-back Maicon before Inter coach Roberto Mancini threw on a third striker in teenager Mario Balotelli for Maniche.
   Inter piled on the pressure and with 14 minutes to play Cruz curled home a free-kick that left Kalac flat footed.
   Milan held on grimly though and the title and Champions League qualification race will both go on for at least another week.
   Roma scored three times in the final quarter of an hour to beat Sampdoria. Veteran Italy defender Christian Panucci notched the first before Chile midfielder David Pizarro and Brazilian wing-back Cicinho added the others.

Mumbai Indians (162/8) beat Delhi Daredevils (133) by 29 runs
   A magnificent all-round performance by Shaun Pollock produced the biggest upset of the tournament as Mumbai Indians – languishing with just one win in five games – pipped the fancied Delhi Daredevils by 29 runs in a gripping contest at the DY Patil Sports Academy stadium on Sunday.
   Requiring a modest 163 for the fifth win, Delhi’s much-vaunted batting line-up collapsed for a paltry 133.
   One player influenced this result more than any other. Pollock has had a mixed tournament so far, but here he was immense in every aspect.
   With the bat, he came in to bat in the 15th over, when Mumbai were languishing at 112 for 5, and blasted 33 off a mere 15 balls, including 22 off the penultimate over, which changed a below-par total into a competitive one.
   He then returned with the ball and sent down four metronomic overs, conceding just 16 for two wickets.
   In his second over, he nailed Shikhar Dhawan, and then returned for a second spell to dismiss the dangerous Shoaib Malik. Add a catch to dismiss Virender Sehwag, and some inspired captaincy moves, and there was no doubt about who the Man of the Match was.
   Delhi’s strength has been their top-order batting – their top three have been in outstanding form – but here, two of them were back in the hutch after 14 deliveries, and the rest failed to measure up.
   On a slow pitch, both Gautam Gambhir and Dhawan mistimed drives on the up, and after three overs, the scorecard read a sorry 6 for 2. to make matters worse, Sehwag struggled to get the strike, facing just seven deliveries in the first six overs.
   AB de Villiers and Sehwag mounted a mini-revival, but when de Villiers was unluckily run out backing up too far, it was the first indication that the day was going to belong to Mumbai. Sehwag, though, wasn’t about to give up too easily.
   He continued to struggle to get to the striker’s end, but when he did, he made it count: Pollock was slashed over point for a huge six, Dwayne Bravo’s slower one was heaved over the bowler’s head, while Sanath Jayasuriya was greeted into the attack with two brutal sixes over long-on and midwicket, the first of which gave him the orange cap for the tournament’s highest scorer.
   The next ball he faced was his last, though, as Pollock – that man again – brought off a smart catch as Sehwag miscued a low full-toss off Dominic Thornely.
   From there, it was a matter of holding their nerve, and Mumbai did that expertly. The bowling was spot-on, and the fielding showed an urgency which clearly demonstrated how much they wanted this win.
   Nothing exemplified the new-found spirit more than Ashish Nehra diving full-length at the long-on boundary to bring off an amazing save in the 16th over.
   Shoaib Malik and Dinesh Karthik both threatened a fightback, but Mumbai weren’t to be denied.
   Pollock returned for a second spell and immediately had Malik scooping one to long-on as another batsman was defeated by lack of pace, while Pollock’s golden touch then brought another success, as he tossed the ball to Bravo, who trapped Karthik plumb in front with his first ball. Nehra, the other stand-out bowler in the game, then took two wickets in two balls to seal the contest.
   At the halfway mark, though, it seemed Mumbai’s 162 would be inadequate. The absence of Sachin Tendulkar hit them hard again, especially against a new-ball bowling attack which had Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif.
   Yogesh Takawale, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper from Maharashtra who opened the innings, struggled to get the ball off the square, putting additional pressure on Jayasuriya.
   For a brief period, though, he responded magnificently. After starting off with a glorious cover-drive off McGrath, he flicked and lofted Asif for three fours. Yo Mahesh was greeted with a flicked six over square leg and a four to fine leg off successive balls.
   That, unfortunately, was as good as it got, as Takawale skied to third man, and Jayasuriya charged once too often. Those two wickets in the spate of three balls suddenly pegged back Mumbai, and they struggled to recover from that double blow.
   The one feature that ran through the Mumbai innings was their tendency to lose wickets every time they seemed to be snatching the momentum.
   Robin Uthappa struck successive sixes over long-on and midwicket, only to throw it away by attempting a too-cheeky scoop over fine leg. Dominic Thornely, who returned to the team after recovering from the blow to the eye off Zaheer Khan a couple of weeks back, picked off Rajat Bhatia for a straight six before falling next ball, bowled while attempting a wild slog.
   The reckless approach continued, as Abhishek Nayar moved to leg and missed a quick one from Virender Sehwag, while Dwayne Bravo lofted the fourth ball he faced straight to long-on. With the innings falling away alarmingly, it needed a quick blitz from Pollock to lift Mumbai to a somewhat respectable total.
   The 19th over – bowled by the lacklustre Asif – disappeared for 22 as Pollock smashed him straight, over extra cover, and over square leg for three sixes. A total of 162 still seemed below par, but that was before an inspired Mumbai India team took the field.

Kings XI Punjab (178/6) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (169/6) by nine runs
   Incisive new-ball spells in helpful conditions by Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth ensured several trends continued - Kings XI Punjab maintained their momentum with a fourth successive win while the Kolkata Knight Riders slumped to their fourth straight defeat. Both innings were characterised by late bursts. Punjab hit 21 off their final over which put the match just beyond the reach of Kolkata, who scored 75 off overs 15 to 19, but still fell nine short after a sluggish start.
   After Sreesanth removed Sourav Ganguly, slashing to Pathan at third man, Pathan struck twice in one over to leave Kolkata reeling. Pathan has always been a dangerous bowler when he gets the ball swinging back into the right-hand batsman and Mohammad Hafeez and Brad Hodge fell in the space of five balls. Sreesanth added Debradata Das to make it 29 for 4 after five overs, the most wickets to fall in that space of time in the tournament, and when VRV Singh bowled Laxmi Ratan Shukla at 50 for 5, Kolkata seemed to be heading for a massive defeat. David Hussey and young Wriddhiman Saha, however, had other ideas.
   The pair started slowly, playing out a couple of overs before Hussey took Gagandeep Singh, who had bowled two very tidy overs, for 17 runs, including a massive six over long-on. There was another quiet over before the pair really turned it on. The big hits were complemented by agile running between the wickets and they brought the equation down to 55 off 18 deliveries. James Hopes, back after missing three games, served up several full tosses which were promptly deposited into the crowd and when Gagandeep was taken for 18 in the penultimate over, the equation had come down to 19 off the last six balls, after Hussey was dismissed for a 46-ball 71.
   Pathan kept his nerve and sent down a mix of yorkers and low full tosses and despite some big swings only four runs came off the first three balls. There was no fairytale ending for Kolkata.
   After Punjab chose to bat, several of their batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts - three of their top five got into double digits but didn’t make it to 20. Hopes, coming in for Ramnaresh Sarwan, carved a few powerful boundaries square on the offside before top-edging Ashok Dinda to mid-on. Yuvraj Singh looked imperious, as in the previous game, plundering 14 off an Hafeez over before over-balancing to be stumped and Mahela Jayawardene lofted a huge six over midwicket before miscuing a bouncer from Umar Gul to mid-on.
   Shaun Marsh, fresh from his match-winning IPL debut against Deccan Chargers, kept his composure at the other end to make a pleasing 40. There were some crisp drives in his knock, with one through the covers off Dinda early on standing out. He was stumped, missing a flighted delivery from Hussey, as Kolkata started to gain the upper hand. When Karan Goel was run out a couple of overs later, Punjab had slid to 106 for 5 from 82 to 1.
   Kumar Sangakkara, who retired on 10 with a side strain, returned to lead the fightback with Pathan. He again demonstrated the importance of timing and placement in Twenty20 before departing for 28, bowled by Gul, who at $150,000 is providing competition to Shane Watson for being the bargain buy of the IPL. Pathan remained unbeaten on 24, but the acceleration at the end was provided by Piyush Chawla, who hit three fours and a six off Ishant Sharma’s final over.

The Pakistan National Cricket Academy were on the verge of a clean sweep victory over GP-BCB Cricket Academy in the two-match series after assuming control in the second four-day game at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium on Sunday.
   Chasing 149 runs, the visitors reached 56-1 at stumps on Day Three with in-form batsmen Ahmed Shehzad and Khalid Latif remaining unbeaten on 27 and 23 respectively.
   Sajidul Islam took the only wicket that fell in the Pakistan innings.
   Earlier, Anwar Ali and Wahab Riaz took four wickets each to end the second innings of GP on 173 runs that saw no fifty. Shamshur Rahman, unbeaten on 86 in the first innings, made highest 34.
   Naeem Islam, Sohrawardi Shuvo and Dollar Mahmud were the other notable run-getters with 33, 22 not out and 24 runs respectively. Anwar, who also took four wickets in the first innings, claimed 4-56 while Wahab conceded 45 runs for his four-wicket haul.
   Resuming the play on 276-8, Pakistan added 13 runs to the total to take a 25-run lead on the first innings. Medium pacer Farhad Hossain ended up with an impressive bowling figure of 5-57 for the hosts.

Anwaruddin, the lone footballer of Bangladeshi origin to play professional football in the UK, will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow to oversee the progress of the Canary Wharf –UK Bangladesh Football Project.
   British football coach Anthony Ferguson and Canary Wharf official Zakir Khan will be accompanying him.
   Anwaruddin will go to BKSP to watch the football training and he will also visit Chittagong. Anwaruddin, whose father hailed from Sylhet, was the skipper of U-19 team of West Ham United but a foot injury forced him to stay out of the field for the last two and a half years. However, he has restarted his career with the first division side Deck Ham Redbridge last season.

Steve Harmison is likely to quit cricket if he fails to win back his England place, the fast bowler said on Sunday.
   The Durham paceman was dropped after England lost the first Test in New Zealand in March and in his absence the team won two matches in a row to take the series 2-1.
   ‘The prospect of playing for England is what drives me and if I felt my chance of doing that was gone the probability is I’d retire from first-class cricket altogether,’ Harmison told the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
   ‘This is not an ultimatum or me trying to impose conditions on anyone. But I am 29 now and if I felt my England career was over I would be tempted to say I want to do something different with my life.’
   Although Harmison retired from one-day internationals in 2006, he is desperate to add to his haul of 212 Test wickets.
   ‘I am absolutely determined to show I have something to offer England,’ he said. ‘I certainly do not believe I am finished.
   ‘After a terrible year for me on the field with injuries, operations and so little cricket it is ridiculous, my aim is to bowl fast, take wickets and give the selectors something to think about.’
   England open the three-match home series against New Zealand with the first Test at Lord’s starting on May 15.

International Master Enamul Hossain Rajib took another step towards earning his third Grand Master norm when he became runner-up in the National Chess Championship on Sunday.
   Enamul collected ten points to finish second behind Grand Master Ziaur Rahman who reclaimed his title after two years.
   Enamul’s current FIDE rating is 2484 and prior the national tournament he required ten points to achieve his third norm. He earned his first norm back in 2002 in Slovenia and the second one was earned last year in Abu Dhabi. Now he will appeal to the game’s governing body FIDE to wear the badge of Grand Master.
   Niaz Murshed was crowned the first GM of the subcontinent. He was followed by Ziaur Rahman, Reefat bin Sattar and Abdullah al Rakib.

Bangladesh face Afghanistan in the opening match of group C of the AFC Challenge Cup at the 30,000-capacity refurbished Bishkek stadium in Kyrgyzstan at 5:30pm (BST) today.
   Bangladesh coach Abu Yusuf expressed his optimism about putting up a good show at the official press conference on Sunday. ‘We will try to put in our best performance and hope to qualify from this group. I believe both the teams are of equal standard but in football there is ups and downs,’ said Yusuf.
   Bangladesh have played two matches against Afghanistan so far. Both the matches, which were World Cup qualifiers, were held in Dhaka in 1979 and Bangladesh drew 2-2 in the first game and won 4-2 in the second.
   Bangladesh reached Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on Friday and had regular practice sessions.
   Though Afghanistan are the least-fancied of the three teams their German coach Klaus Staerk was optimistic about giving a decent show in the Kyrgyz capital.
   ‘We have to produce our best performance and everything will be fine,’ said the German who led the Afghans in the opening edition of this tournament in Dhaka in 2006 where they finished at the bottom of their group with two points. ‘If we lose it is still not a problem but we expect to perform to the best of our ability,’ concluded Staerk.
   Bangladesh will adopt a 4-4-2 strategy with Emily and Ujjal up front. It was not confirmed who would be the first-choice custodian but it seems Aminul is all set to restart his international career.
   In the defence, Hasan-al Mamun, Rajani, Wali Faisal and Ariful will be forming the back-four while Arman Aziz, Faisal Mahmood, Maruf and Zahed Parvez will be the midfielders.
   The match will provide an ideal warm-up for Bangladesh who will be closely watched by Kyrgyzstan as the hosts are the favourites of this group but it is thought that Bangladesh are the only team who can dismantle them.

Sonali Bank crushed Sadharan Bima 6-2 in the duel of two office teams in the Green Delta Insurance Metropolis Premier Division Hockey League at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
   Forward Rimon Kumar slammed the first hat-trick scoring three consecutive goals off a penalty-corner on the 4th minute and two field goals in the 20th and 24th minutes.
   Krishna Kumar scored a brace on the 29th and 30th minutes while Iqbal Nader netted the other.
   Sadharan Bima tried to stage a comeback in the second half with Avijit Kumar scoring twice in the 37th and 67th minutes but all their efforts fell short.

Rajshahi emerged champions in the Ka zone of the EXIM Bank 19th National Women’s Handball Championship beating Joypurhat 13-6 in the super three matches at the Rajshahi Divisional Women’s Sports Complex on Sunday.
   Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan was the chief guest on the occasion and later distributed the prizes.
   Earlier, Rajshahi defeated Tangail 8-3 (1st half 6-1) in the first match, while Joypurhat outplayed Tangail 13-6 (1st half 9-6) in the second match.

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer have guaranteed that a Spaniard will triumph for a sixth straight year in Sunday’s Barcelona Open final after both leading seeds Saturday reached the title match.
   Nadal stormed to victory in 51 minutes on Saturday, crushing the life out of German underdog Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 in a haze of shotmaking and controlled aggression.
   Ferrer, seeded second, needed almost two hours to get past persistent Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 14, Switzerland, 7-6, 6-3.
   ‘Today I tried to be focussed,’ said Nadal, 20-1 at the Real club and winner of the last three editions. ‘Even with a big lead I didn’t want to lose concentration.
   ‘I wanted to prepare well for the match tomorrow. I knew Gremelmayr had a good clay season so I went onto the court with a lot of respect.
   ‘I only concentrated on focusing and playing my game.’
   Nadal gave his outclassed number 85 opponent a harsh schooling a fortnight after Roger Federer also beat the 26-year-old in an Estoril semi-final.
   On that occasion, the German took a set off the startled Swiss on heavy, wet clay.
   Nadal, by contrast, achieved another day of near-perfection on his home clay as he won his 20th match at the venue where he suffered his only loss as a teenager in 2003 against Alex Corretja.
   The top seed claimed 50 of the 65 points, leaving the scraps to the outclassed German.
   Nadal is aiming to defend all four of the clay honours he collected last spring and stands one-for-one after Monte Carlo.
   He also won Barcelona, Rome and Paris in 2007, while losing the Hamburg final to Federer in a 6-0 final set.
   Gremelmayr’s only successful moment came as he held serve on his first try; then it was all over as Nadal put on a master class.
   Ferrer needed 73 minutes alone to claim the first set against Wawrinka, eventually denied a spot in his sixth ATP career final.
   The Spaniard saved a set point and claimed the set on his fourth chance. He broke in the fifth game and eighth games of the second set on his way to the win.
   Ferrer will be bidding for his second trophy of the season and sixth overall after winning Valencia last month.
   Nadal holds a 5-3 led over his compatriot, whom he beat last week in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals on the way to a fourth consecutive title in the principality.

It’s hard to imagine a 104-run partnership from just 55 balls being intrinsically worthless, especially in the Twenty20 format where such associations are usually 24-carat gold. It’s also difficult to think of an occasion when the margin, nine runs, masked what was a yawn-inducing mismatch for such long periods. But for David Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha, the Knight Riders were abject with the bat, a parody of the side that looked like it might sweep all before it after the opening two games.
   This was their fourth loss in succession, and though Sourav Ganguly tried to put a brave face on it by speaking of five home games to come, the downward spiral will only continue unless more batsmen offer the splendid Hussey some sort of support.
   This was a game that Kolkata could have won, and they’ll look back ruefully at two decisive passages of play when they were out in the field. At the fall of the fifth wicket, with a once-flourishing Punjab innings in disarray, Kumar Sangakkara shrugged off a side strain to reemerge into the noisy cauldron. His partnership with Irfan Pathan, the Man of the Match, was subsequently worth 49, and it gave the team something to build on.
   Kolkata would argue that he shouldn’t have left the physio’s table in the first place. Before he retired hurt, he had gloved one behind off Ashok Dinda, but the vociferous appeal met with only casual indifference from I Shivram.
   The second blow to their fragile confidence came in the final over. A total of 157 from 19 was decent, but it certainly wasn’t intimidating. Once Piyush Chawla cheekily nudged and smacked Ishant Sharma for three fours and a six though, the required rate jumped up by nearly one an over.
   ‘It gave us just a bit of an injection,’ said Tom Moody, the Punjab coach, later. ‘We knew we were probably 20 runs short, but it gave us some momentum to take into our bowling.’ Different coaches and players have vastly different ideas about momentum, but the rousing finale with the bat certainly appeared to inspire the Punjab team’s opening bowlers. Both Pathan and Sreesanth bowled outstanding spells, and the fact that both employ such dissimilar methods made it doubly difficult for batsmen to settle.
   ‘He bowls away [from the right-hander] and I bowl in,’ said Pathan later. ‘It’s a good combination, isn’t it?’ A Kolkata line-up adapting to life without Brendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting simply folded, and by the time VRV Singh castled Laxmi Ratan Shukla, half the innings was gone with only 50 on the board. They needed 94 from the last 36 balls and what followed was strictly of the stable door-horse bolted variety. Without some more armour, these Knights, like the one that John Keats wrote about, will soon be palely loitering.

Everton missed a chance to wrap up a UEFA Cup spot as Nicklas Bendtner’s late goal condemned David Moyes’s side to a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday. With 13 minutes left to play at the Emirates Stadium, Everton were on course to claim the point they needed to secure fifth place and guarantee European football next season.
   But Bendtner’s powerful header left them to sweat for another week. Now the Toffees have to avoid defeat at home to Newcastle next Sunday to ensure they finish above Aston Villa, who remain three points behind Moyes’s side.
   Bendtner’s winner gave Arsenal a third successive victory but Arsene Wenger’s emerging young squad will have to settle for the promise of better things to come.
   Villa’s defeat against Wigan on Saturday had left Everton within touching distance of another continental campaign.
   A draw would have been enough for Everton so Moyes opted to deploy Andy Johnson as the lone striker and leave Ayegbeni Yakubu on the bench.
   In contrast to the visitors, Arsenal had nothing more than pride to play for. Their fading title challenge was extinguished by Manchester United’s win 24 hours earlier and there was an unfamiliar look about Wenger’s experimental team, with Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini among the notable absentees watching from the stands.
   Still, Everton could take nothing for granted. They would hardly have been encouraged by their miserable record at Arsenal, where they were without a victory since January 1996.
   The safe-first nature of Moyes’s line-up inevitably presented the initiative to Arsenal in the opening stages. Theo Walcott threatened when the winger exchanged passes with Denilson before curling a shot past the far post.
   But Everton’s hunger ensured they didn’t lie dormant for long. Manuel Fernandes cleverly worked space to send Johnson scampering clear of Gael Clichy, with Lukasz Fabianksi forced to save with his feet.
   Everton went even closer when Joleon Lescott met Fernandes’s corner with a downward header that Denilson alertly hooked off the line. It was tepid stuff for long spells after that. Adebayor briefly raised the pulse as he burst clear only to poke straight at Tim Howard. The Togo forward was frustrated again as he glanced a diving header off-target from Emmanuel Eboue’s cross just before half-time.
   Alexandre Song’s nervous display at centre-back for Arsenal could have been exploited more by the visitors. Instead they were content to stiffle the Gunners, with Lescott’s scuffed effort on the hour a rare foray forward.
   Wenger gave Jens Lehmann a farewell appearance at the Emirates midway through the second half. The Germany goalkeeper is likely to leave this close-season after spending much of the current campaign grumbling about his lack of playing time, but Wenger showed no hard feeling as he sent him on for Fabianski.
   After coasting for much of the match, Arsenal suddenly sprang into life in the 77th minute.
   Bendtner’s pass sent Armand Traore away down the left and the young full-back returned the favour with a perfectly-flighted cross. Bendtner thrives on such offerings and rose above Phil Jagielka to power his header past Howard.
   Everton couldn’t muster a response and face a nervous wait to claim that top five finish.

Management department defeated Chemistry department by four runs on Sunday in the Islamic University Inter-department Cricket tournament.
   Batting first, Management made 102-9 in 20 overs then restricted their opponents to 98 for six in the stipulated 20 overs.

Mohammad Yousuf’s bar against playing in the Indian Premier League will continue after the arbiter hearing the case filed against him by the rival Indian Cricket League, passed an interim order yesterday restraining him from taking part in the tournament.
   ‘Justice (retd) Dr BP Saraf passed an interim order restraining Yousuf from participating in IPL in any manner,’ Hitesh Jain, the ICL’s lawyer, told PTI. Jain, while adding that a final order is expected in July, said the arbiter’s order was ‘significant for the IPL too.’
   This is the second time that the arbitration court has postponed giving its final verdict. The court, had, on December 15 last year, restrained Yousuf from playing in the IPL till the final order, which was originally expected on March 19. This was then extended to April 30.
   Based on the arbiter’s original order, the ICL had warned the various IPL franchises that they could face legal complications if they bought Yousuf in the player auctions. Subsequently, Yousuf was not bought by any of the IPL teams, but he was compensated by league’s organisers, who gave him $350,000 – his starting bid price.
   Yousuf had originally signed by the ICL, but was persuaded by the Pakistan board to revoke his contract and sign with the IPL, thereby ensuring that he continues playing international cricket. But the ICL maintained that his contract with them was still binding, and that Yousuf ‘can’t participate in any competing league during the term of the contract.’ The ICL had also challenged Yousuf’s claim that he returned the advance payment that he received from them to one of its agents in Pakistan.

Motorcycling supremo Valentino Rossi rode his Fiat Yamaha to victory at the China Moto GP on Sunday to snap a seven race winless streak, beating Spain’s Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner of Australia.
   The five-time Moto GP world champion from Italy completed the Shanghai race, the fourth of the season, in 44mins 08.061secs, with Pedrosa’s Honda nearly four seconds behind, and Stoner, on a Ducati, a distant third.
   Rossi, 29, champion here in 2005, snatched Pedrosa’s lead on the fourth lap, as the two riders ran away from the pack at a tough Shanghai circuit made more difficult by slightly wet conditions.
   It was Rossi’s 62nd victory in the premier racing class and he celebrated by immediately pulling off the track, kissing his bike and then sitting on the barrier near the pits, grinning at the crowd.
   ‘I’m very, very happy. It’s been a long time without victory,’ said the flamboyant Italian, who had not won since last season’s Portugal race.
   ‘I felt confident with my bike from the first lap. The start was not so bad and after I went in front I kept my rhythm. It was a great battle with Dani.’
   The mercurial icon of motorcycle racing had struggled this season to get his bike in tip-top balance after he switched to tyre-makers Bridgestone, but those troubles appeared to have vanished in Shanghai, where he started second.
   ‘My rhythm was fantastic to the end, and I was able to ride the bike like I wanted, so it was a great victory,’ Rossi said.
   Pedrosa, who glued himself to Rossi’s tail through most of the race, said his opponent was too strong.
   ‘It was a hard race... at the end I just slowed down because I saw that I could not get him,’ said the 22-year-old Spaniard.
   The race was almost an entirely different affair, as morning rain drenched the track and showers threatened before the start.
   Although Rossi won emphatically in Shanghai’s debut Moto GP event four years ago, lapping his rivals in the pouring rain, he did not want to test those conditions again.
   ‘This morning when I saw rain, I was quite upset, but when I understood that maybe it was possible to race in the dry, I thought that today was my day,’ he said.
   The potential foul weather caused Stoner, 22, to make a wrong tyre choice.
   ‘We were advised to go with a softer compound rear tyre, which basically after three laps just wasn’t enough,’ the defending world champion said.
   ‘I’m a little disappointed with today, we still have a lot more work to do,’ said Stoner, who won the season opener in Qatar but showed poorer form in Spain and Portugal.
   After finishing third in Portugal last month and second in Spain, Rossi is now third in the standings with 72 points, nine behind Pedrosa and two adrift of Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo.
   Rookie Lorenzo, riding with a fractured left ankle suffered in a crash during practice on Friday, finished a gutsy fourth on his Fiat Yamaha after falling back in the early laps.
   At one point it looked like the Mallorca native, who turned 21 on Sunday, might not get off at all when he was forced to push his bike over the start during the warm-up lap.
   Record-setting pole-sitter American Colin Edwards was seventh in Yamaha Tech, initially fighting for the lead with Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner, but then sealing his fate when he went off the track.
   Mika Kallio of Finland triumphed in the 250cc category, defeating KTM team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama of Japan and Italy’s Mattia Pasini riding an Aprilia.
   Italy’s Andrea Iannone won the 125cc bikes with an Aprilia, ahead of Mike Di Meglio of France and Hungary’s Gabor Talmacsi.

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is happy with life at Stamford Bridge, and believes there is ‘no point’ in parting company with manager Avram Grant.
   Ballack’s future at Chelsea has been the subject of speculation for some time as he has previously struggled to live up to expectations since his arrival from Bayern Munich in 2006.
   However, the Germany international has reminded the critics of his quality in recent weeks with a number of impressive displays, including a brace against Premier League leaders Manchester United last Saturday.
   The 31-year-old has shrugged off talk of an exit, and instead redirected focus on the Blues’ charge for a League and UEFA Champions League double.
   ‘I am happy with Chelsea and I don’t know why some people say otherwise,’ Ballack told the Sunday Express.
   ‘I feel I am playing well. I want to win the title. You always want to win something and I also hope to win the Champions League final.’
   Ballack also hit out at reports suggesting that Grant could lose his job at the end of the season.
   ‘I liked (former boss) Jose Mourinho. He brought me to the club. But it would have been difficult for anyone who took the Chelsea job after Jose Mourinho because fans loved him and the club loved him.
   ‘I think Avram Grant is doing a good job.
   ‘There is no point in changing the manager again. We are having success now. We are in the Champions League final and we still have a chance of winning the League as well.
   ‘I don’t like comparing the coaches I have worked
   under but Avram is a bit quieter than Jose, though he speaks to the players very sharply and clearly.
   ‘He will have us focused against Newcastle (on Monday). It is going to be a big few weeks for us but we are ready.’

Cristiano Ronaldo has a touch of double vision - but could hardly be happier.
   Manchester United’s gifted winger is in sight of retaining the Barclays Premier League title as well as lifting the Champions League trophy.
   Ronaldo ended a five-game run without a goal with a timely reminder of the art of scoring in the 4-1 trouncing of West Ham.
   He grabbed a brace with former Hammers Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick also on target.
   Dean Ashton pulled a goal back before United were reduced to 10 men when Nani appeared to headbutt Lucas Neill.
   But even that petulant action could not take the gloss off a polished performance by the team - and Ronaldo in particular.
   He took his tally for the season to an astonishing 40 goals with 30 of them coming in the league.
   Ronaldo, the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year, needs only one more to equal Alan Shearer’s record of 31 in 38 games.
   Ronaldo was unplayable at times against the Hammers as United showed not the slightest trace of a hangover after beating Barcelona in midweek.
   That saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side book their place in the final of Europe’s top club competition against Chelsea.
   The Portugal international said: ‘It is wonderful to score so many times. Now if we win the next game we are Premier League champions.
   ‘We are also in the final of the Champions League, so all the players are very excited and very happy as we have a great chance to win both.
   ‘I have to thank my team-mates a lot as they give me great passes. If they give me an opportunity, I am confident I can score.’
   The pressure is back on Chelsea, now three points adrift, when they face Newcastle on Monday at St James’ Park.
   Defeat is not an option for coach Avram Grant given United’s vastly superior goal difference - plus 56 compared to 37.
   United are in the driving seat and finish the campaign at Wigan next Sunday while Chelsea entertain Bolton.
   It is a fascinating climax to the season but Owen Hargreaves believes there should be only one winner.
   ‘It would be nice if teams like United who play attacking football and score lots of goals got their reward,’ said the England midfielder-turned-right-back.
   ‘It is very rare at this level to see a team at the top of the table with such a massive goal difference.
   ‘We are in control of our own destiny, which is what you want, and we need only one win to retain our title.
   ‘Now we will see how Chelsea get on. It should be an interesting game as Newcastle are doing well of late.’
   Hargreaves was pleased with the way United reacted after the euphoria of beating Barcelona.
   He said: ‘We got three goals very quickly and then West Ham got a goal back.
   ‘Perhaps we could have defended better and when Nani got sent off it made things a bit more difficult.
   ‘But West Ham surprised us by the way they defended and we kept the ball better than them.
   ‘I thought we were always likely to score again as we maintained our focus and that’s what happened. ‘It was important to finish our home game with a win as there was good energy among the supporters.’

David Beckham scored two first-half goals to deliver a 2-2 draw for the Los Angeles Galaxy against Real Salt Lake in a Major League Soccer contest Saturday.
   With Los Angeles trailing by two goals early in the first half, Beckham took advantage of a couple of defensive lapses and posted his first two-goal outing since arriving in the North American football league.
   ‘It was a good game in the end,’ Beckham said. ‘I think that we started off terrible the first 20 minutes. We didn’t get close enough to them as a team. We looked scared of them.
   ‘And then a couple of tackles started going in, and we livened up,’ he said. ‘We got ourselves back into the game.’
   The English superstar scored twice in the space of four minutes, his free-kick in the 40th minute making it 2-2.
   Fabian Espindola in the sixth minute and Kenny Deuchar in the 17th had given Real the early lead. ‘I would say two goals in the first 20 minutes was the gameplan. That’s definitely how it was drawn up,’ Real coach Jason Kreis said. ‘But our reaction after that was very, very poor.’

AC Milan have opened talks over the summer transfer of Didier Drogba from Chelsea. The Italian club’s sports general manager, Ariedo Braida, met two of Drogba’s representatives in a Paris hotel on Tuesday to discuss Milan’s reinforcement plans. But any transfer could depend on whether the Italian club qualify for next season’s Champions League.
   Braida informed them that Milan intended to buy Ronaldinho from Barcelona, bring Andriy Shevchenko back from Chelsea and sign Drogba as a principal centre-forward. Salary was not discussed, although Milan are expected at least to match the Ivorian’s current weekly wage of around £90,000.
   However, Milan are two points outside the Champions League places, a gap that would be increased to five with two games left were they to lose Sunday’s home derby with leaders Inter while Fiorentina won at struggling Cagliari.
   Milan, who were last season’s European champions, were eliminated from this year’s tournament by Arsenal. They face a trip to mid-table Napoli and a home game against Udinese – who are chasing a UEFA Cup spot – in their last two matches. Fiorentina face games against two more teams battling relegation, at home to Parma then away to Torino on the last day of the campaign.
   Drogba, who scored twice in last week’s Champions League semi-final defeat of Liverpool, resolved to leave Chelsea after their dismissal of Jose Mourinho in September. He has told friends that he believes he will be permitted to join another club and has allowed some of his feelings for current manager Avram Grant to become clear. The striker opened a recent column for French magazine Sport with the words: ‘Don’t ask me what I think of Grant. It’s better for everybody if I keep quiet.’
   Two other sides who have definitely qualified for next season’s Champions League are in the running to sign the 30-year-old – Spanish league leaders Real Madrid and Inter – provided Mourinho agrees to replace Roberto Mancini as the Serie A club’s coach.
   Grant has been unable to guarantee Drogba’s presence at the club next season. On Friday the Chelsea manager said, ‘There are a lot of rumours about everybody. Didier can only play for one club, but he’s been linked to six or seven. He’s at the club. Sometimes he has good days, sometimes he has bad days. Most of the time, you have to give answers to questions like this on the pitch. In the semi-finals, he was good.’
   Meanwhile, despite Avram Grant’s disclosure that Roman Abramovich called to congratulate him following Chelsea’s defeat of Liverpool in last week’s Champions League semi-final his job is still not safe, according to a Stamford Bridge executive.
   The source also claimed that the Russian billionaire had been absent from many of Chelsea’s recent games because he was ‘unhappy with the club’s results’.
   ‘He is happier now, of course,’ the source said. ‘But it is still unclear what will happen regarding Grant’s future. Mr Abramovich was not present on Wednesday for two reasons. The first is because he was in Moscow due to the changing political situation. But he has also been unhappy at the form of the team.’ Grant created history by leading Chelsea to their first European Cup final, but even if the club were to win the competition and the Premier League, his future could still be in doubt, the source said.
   Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has been told by Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra that he will be sacked at the end of the season, is one candidate to replace Grant if he were to leave, with the Israeli a possible mover in the opposite direction.
   ‘The club would be interested in Grant. The owner likes him very much,’ a City insider said. West Ham are also thought to be monitoring Grant if they decided to replace manager Alan Curbishley in the summer.

John Terry believes Chelsea have a unique opportunity to achieve ‘something special’ as their battle for a memorable double reaches its climax.
   The Blues are still fighting on two fronts, with Avram Grant’s men pushing Premier League leaders Manchester United all the way in the title race, having already set up a Champions League final against the Red Devils on May 21.
   Grant’s side pulled level on points with United last week only for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team to restore a three-point lead at the summit following Saturday’s 4-1 triumph over West Ham United.
   Chelsea travel to Newcastle United today aware that success is a necessity, while they must then go on to win their final league game of the season against Bolton in the hope that their rivals, who boast a superior goal difference, drop points at Wigan.
   And ahead of three season-defining fixtures, Terry has issued a rallying cry to his team-mates, urging them to give their all and grab their ‘unique opportunity’ with both hands.
   ‘We have a unique opportunity. I really believe it is our time. We feel strong,’ he told the News of the World.
   ‘This is the moment when we can achieve something truly special. We are in top form and we have the drive and determination to do this.
   ‘We have a driving force within, a drive that’s instilled in every one of us. We are winners. We hate to lose and that’s why we never give up.
   ‘Seeing Manchester United win the Premier League last year, seeing them and Arsenal running away with it at the start of the season - that hurt us.
   ‘But credit to everyone at the club. We refused to concede anything and just kept fighting and fighting.’
   On Moscow’s Champions League final, Terry said: ‘We have dominated the domestic scene in the last few years and now we have a great chance to be crowned the top side in Europe.
   ‘I don’t care how we win, what the match is like, what the score is. That doesn’t bother me at all just as long as we win. To lift that trophy is all I dream about.’
   And on manager Grant’s reportedly uncertain future at Stamford Bridge, Terry added: ‘It’s bizarre to even talk about that when we’ve just made history and are still pushing for two massive trophies. Avram Grant has done very well.’

Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan’s hopes of a summer transfer treasure chest may have risen after the club’s billionaire owner Mike Ashley won a windfall on the roulette wheel, the Mail on Sunday reported.
   According to the British weekly, sports goods retailer Ashley won £1.3 million ($2.5 million) on a single spin of the wheel after a complex complete bet on black 17, the number favoured by James Bond.
   Ashley reportedly placed the bet at a luxurious casino in St James Street, in the London high-rollers’ haunt of Mayfair.
   According to the Mail, Keegan, who replaced the sacked Sam Allardyce in January and has since lifted an under-performing side into mid-table, believes even cash may not be enough for a title bid next season, however.
   United, who will bid to prevent title contenders Chelsea going level with Manchester United on Monday, were runners-up under Keegan 12 years ago and also came close to glory under Sir Bobby Robson.
   But Keegan says the club are a long way from returning to that level. ‘Newcastle fans are realistic. We are a long, long, long way from that.

Racist abuse from Atletico Madrid fans was upsetting and disappointing, French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle said after Recreativo Huelva’s 3-0 defeat at the Calderon.
   ‘I just don’t understand that there are still people that go to football matches to insult people of another race,’ he said after Saturday’s match.
   ‘Atletico were rightful winners but I was upset by the racist abuse that you could hear from part of the crowd at the Calderon. It isn’t right,’ said the former Liverpool player who has been linked with a move to Atletico.
   Referee Miguel Angel Perez Lasa noted the incident in his match report, saying the crowd had made monkey noises when the player came near the stands. He ordered the match delegate to issue a warning on the public address system and said the noises then stopped.

Sir Alex Ferguson praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s courage as Manchester United put one hand on the Premier League trophy after a 4-1 victory over West Ham.
   Ronaldo continued his stunning season by scoring twice against the Hammers at Old Trafford on Saturday to take his goal tally to 40 and keep Ferguson’s team on course for a Champions League and Premier League double.
   United, who face Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow later this month, will win the title if they beat Wigan in the last game of the season next Sunday.
   Ferguson insisted their success was due in large part to the way Ronaldo refuses to be intimidated by opponents who kick him. The United manager was particularly upset by a challenge on Ronaldo by West Ham left-back George McCartney.
   ‘It was a terrible tackle from behind,’ added Ferguson. ‘But he showed his courage. The boy is just improving all the time. To score 40 goals in one season is a fantastic contribution.’
   Ferguson was jubilant afterwards but that did not stop the United manager from hitting out at Nani.
   The 21-year-old Portugal international was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Riley for head-butting West Ham’s Australian captain Lucas Neill during an ugly 37th-minute spat.
   Nani put his Champions League final place in jeopardy and will miss the Wigan match as well as United’s first two games of next season.
   ‘It was a great performance by the team but it was marred by real immaturity by Nani,’ said Ferguson afterwards.
   ‘There are no complaints from me because the referee had no option but to send him off. I’ve seen the incident and I’ll deal with it.’
   Yet Nani’s red card failed to take the gloss off what was a highly impressive United performance.
   Ronaldo’s double and a spectacular 30-yard finish by Carlos Tevez against his former club put United 3-0 ahead inside the opening half an hour.
   Dean Ashton reduced the deficit with an equally impressive overhead kick before Michael Carrick sealed an emphatic United victory in the second half.
   Ferguson went on the pitch at the final whistle and thanked the fans for their support during a brief address.
   ‘Enjoy yourselves in Moscow and hopefully next week in Moscow,’ he said.
   Ferguson acknowledged his team have a ‘big chance’ of wrapping up the title.
   Although victory at Wigan next Sunday will confirm United as champions, the coronation may come even earlier as Chelsea now need to win at Newcastle today to fight on until the final day.
   ‘It’s been a great day for us and we’ve got a big chance,’ said Ferguson. ‘Our players have been absolutely fantastic this season.
   ‘We were down to 10 men today and I said to try to run the clock down, keep possession and be patient in the second half and I’m very pleased because there was a bit of tiredness.’
   Wayne Rooney watched from the stands but Ferguson believes the England striker, who is struggling with a hernia injury, could be fit in time to play at Wigan and in the Champions League final
   ‘Wayne is improving all the time,’ said Ferguson. ‘He was with us today but we felt it was just too early. We will do our best to get him fit for next week.’

Stung by a surprise triumph by Greece four years ago, Europe’s major soccer teams are out to make sure there is no upset winner this time.
   Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, France and the Czech Republic – as Czechoslovakia – have all won the European Championship, and they are among the favourites again this time when the tournament kicks off on June 7 in Austria and Switzerland.
   Most of them failed to produce anything like their best form in Portugal at Euro 2004 and the Greeks, 80-1 outsiders who had never before won a match at a major championship, took advantage.
   The team’s German coach, Otto Rehhagel, is still in charge and will use many of the players who triumphed four years ago.
   Since then, the big European teams have restored dominance in world soccer, shutting out the rest of the globe by reaching the 2006 World Cup semi-finals with Italy beating France on penalties in the final in Berlin.
   Germany are now the favourites with the bookmakers to win a fourth European title and are the shortest-price team to reach the quarter-finals. That’s because Joachim Low’s team has a comparatively easy group with Croatia, Poland and co-hosts Austria, whereas Italy and France are in the toughest – facing each other, the Netherlands and Romania.
   Two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals and Greece, who are a 25-1 shot this time, have a realistic chance in a group with Sweden, Russia and Spain.
   Portugal, who lost to Greece twice at home at Euro 2004, face Turkey, the Czech Republic and co-hosts Switzerland. That failure four years ago was embarrassing for Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had guided Brazil to their fifth World Cup title only two years earlier.
   Now he’s carefully calculating what his team’s chances are this time.
   ‘There will be 16 national teams and each one have a 6.2 per cent chance of winning the trophy next summer,’ Scolari said. ‘If we get through to the next stage our chances will increase to 12.4 per cent and so on. However, we have a good team, that’s a fact.’
   Because no leading contenders are hosting the tournament, it appears to be wide open with eight teams – plus defending champions Greece – capable of winning the title.
   They include Croatia, a World Cup semi-finalist in their debut in 1998, who have improved under 39-year-old coach Slaven Bilic. The Croatians knocked England out of qualifying with a 3-2 win at Wembley.
   Bilic has assembled a squad of enterprising and well-organised players who are capable of showing that the victory at Wembley was no fluke. They also beat and outplayed England 2-0 at home.
   ‘I will never be under more pressure than now,’ Bilic said. ‘I’m managing my own country. This is personal. It is not like I’m managing England or some other foreign nation.’
   Bilic will be without talented Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva, however. He is recovering from a fractured left leg and dislocated ankle and won’t be back until well into next season.
   ‘We are seriously hit by Eduardo’s injury, but we still have enough manpower to play better than in the qualifications,’ Bilic said. ‘Our goal is to play at least as good as the best teams in the tournament.’
   A lot depends on how the top players are able to recover from another long, gruelling season in domestic and European club competitions.
   Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Carvalho, the Netherlands’ Edwin van der Sar, Germany’s Michael Ballack, France’s Florent Malouda and the Czech Republic’s Petr Cech will be playing when Manchester United and Chelsea face each other in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21. After that, they have to link up with their national teams to prepare for Euro 2008 with warm-up games at the end of May and beginning of June.
   The Spanish, Italian and German leagues don’t finish until the middle of May and, as recent World Cups and European Championships have proved, some of the top players are simply worn out by the time the big tournaments come around.
   ‘I have no doubts but there are a few matches to play before the end of the season and there are players who can improve or decline in form,’ Scolari said. ‘There’s a lot going on before the end of the season but I have nothing to worry about. The players I choose will be in perfect condition.’
   A few will come out of their seasons nursing injuries and then have to play two games every four days in group play. The two finalists will have to play six times in a month.
   The English players won’t have to worry about the gruelling schedule because they failed to qualify for a major championship for the first time since the 1994 World Cup.
   The absence of the English fans takes away one security problem, but with Germany, Poland and Croatia in the same group as the Austrians, there is still the potential for violence.

Kevin Keegan will forever be associated with a televised rant against Sir Alex Ferguson more than a decade ago.
   But that has not prevented the Newcastle boss from suggesting he would ‘love it’ if his side were to beat Chelsea here today – a result which would hand Ferguson the tenth Premier League title of his 22-year reign at Old Trafford. Although Newcastle have only pride left to play for this season, Keegan has pledged to field a full-strength side with Australian striker Mark Viduka notably delaying treatment for an Achilles problem to ensure he can line up against Chelsea.
   Keegan believes the recent form of Michael Owen will be of particular concern for his Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant while midfielder Nicky Butt, a former United star, makes no secret of his desire to help his old boss Ferguson clinch another trophy.
   ‘I’m a great believer in playing football the right way,’ said the former England international. ‘I’m not saying Chelsea don’t, but it’s more attractive to the eye watching United games.
   ‘Football’s about not losing and Chelsea have become masters at that. Obviously I’d love United to win it and it would be more of a highlight for the football purist if they did.’
   United’s 4-1 demolition of West Ham on Saturday has left Chelsea with no room for error and even if they beat Newcastle and Bolton in their remaining games, Ferguson’s men will top the table on goal difference if they win their final match at Wigan.
   ‘United are more experienced than anyone in the Premier League and I can’t see them slipping up,’ added Butt.
   ‘They’re definitely going to win the league and they have a great chance of the Champions League. With the players they’ve got they’re capable of beating any team.’
   Butt is revelling in the recent upturn in Newcastle’s form after a difficult start to Keegan’s second spell at the club.
   ‘Kevin’s brought a smile to the club, he keeps it simple, tells you what he expects and it’s a nice way to play football,’ he said.
   Newcastle go into today’s match on a seven-game unbeaten run in which Owen, who has scored six goals in his last 11 games, has been a crucial factor, operating in a withdrawn role behind Viduka and Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins.
   ‘I think he’s different to the Michael Owen of old and he’s suited to a different role,’ Keegan said. ‘He’s been asked different questions and the answers he’s coming up with are world class.
   ‘In the position he’s playing in for us, nobody in the world could do a better job. He’s playing in two positions. He’s linking us up and scoring goals. Instead of having one player up front we’ve got two. We’re playing with 12 men sometimes – that’s how I feel. It’s because of his fitness and his awareness.’

Petr Cech believes Chelsea are stronger now than when they were crowned Premier League champions two years ago.
   The Blues must beat Newcastle tonight in the penultimate match of the campaign to prevent Manchester United from retaining their title.
   Cech believes his side is more formidable now than when Jose Mourinho was in charge – even though they could end up conceding the Premier League to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
   ‘I would say the team is at least on the same level and maybe a little bit better than two seasons ago,’ he told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek.
   ‘This is because this year has been tough as we started from behind and had to chase United.
   ‘That is difficult to do so the quality we have shown is at least the same.’
   Cech has demanded Chelsea keep up the pressure on United by prevailing at St James Park and is confident his side have the resolve to take the title race down to the wire.
   ‘Last week was a great week as we beat United and reached the Champions League final, which was a great achievement,’ he said.
   ‘We will do our best to keep our dream of winning the Premier League alive at Newcastle. If we win then the last game will be interesting.
   ‘There is always a lot of pressure at Chelsea but we are used to this and have to make sure we keep winning games.
   ‘You can see we have the same qualities as two years ago when we won the Premier League. We can handle the pressure and maybe win every game.’
   Cech is delighted for boss Avram Grant, whose position remains under intense scrutiny despite guiding Chelsea to the Champions League final.
   ‘It was an emotional week for Avram because he was under pressure,’ Cech said.
   ‘He must take great personal satisfaction from this as this is the first time Chelsea have reached the Champions League final.’
   Cech has been pleased with his own form this season has not suffered despite suffering a succession of injuries.
   ‘It’s not been the best year for me because of injury but I’m still happy with the way I’ve played so far,’ he said.
   ‘I’ve kept my standard despite all the injuries and this is the most important thing for me.
   ‘I’ve missed a lot of games and you don’t like doing this as a professional.’

Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo has lost an advertising contract worth $4.8 million a year with mobile phone company TIM because of the scandal involving him with three cross-dressing prostitutes, EFE news agency reported Sunday.
   The contract contained a clause allowing its unilateral cancellation by the telecom company if for some reasons the athlete might project a negative corporate image, Brazilian daily O Globo reported Saturday.
   Ronaldo had already received $1.8 million from this contract in 2008 and still had another $3 million to collect before the end of the year, according to the report.
   The AC Milan striker could also run the risk of losing the lifetime contract that he has with US sports apparel firm Nike, worth some $100 million, some media reports suspected.
   Ronaldo, who represented Brazil in two World Cups, Wednesday denied in a statement the possibility of losing those contracts, saying he would have to be found guilty in court in any offense for that to be happened.
   Ronaldo has not been accused of any crime - as prostitution is legal in Brazil - but he landed in a police station early Monday following a fight with a transvestite who accused him of not wanting to pay for a night of sex.
   According to a cross-dresser’s story, Ronaldo, who told police he was unaware the prostitutes he picked up were men, contracted his services and those of two others working the street in the upscale neighborhood of Barra de Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro and they subsequently had sex in the motel.
   The transvestite also said that Ronaldo had sent him to buy cocaine in a nearby shantytown, something that the athlete has categorically denied.
   Following the scandal, Ronaldo’s girlfriend broke up with him and he has shut himself away in his mother’s mansion to escape the paparazzi.
   Ronaldo is in Brazil to recover from a bad knee injury that will keep him off the field until early 2009.
   Ronaldo plans to return to Paris next week to see the doctor that operated on him last February.

Roman Abramovich has authorised an astonishing £80-million move for Lionel Messi.
   Chelsea’s move for the Barcelona maestro would shatter the world transfer record of £46.5m that took Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid in 2001 and send shock waves through the football world. The Spanish giants are desperate to keep Messi but have been stunned by news Abramovich wants the Argentine so badly. And with almost £100m on the table, the Barca hierarchy are split on the decision to sell.
   It’s a massive statement of intent from Chelsea’s billionaire owner who, even before Messi’s superb individual performances against Manchester United in the Champions League, had identified him as the kind of player to bring fantasy football to Stamford Bridge.
   Abramovich has made it clear to Avram Grant the style of Chelsea’s football must change.
   He has tolerated what’s been on offer since the sacking of Jose Mourinho because he accepts that it takes time to change.
   A source close to the proposed deal told the News of the World, ‘Roman is convinced Messi could change the whole face of Chelsea and is willing to spend what it takes to get him.
   ‘He has always wanted that type of player. Under Jose Mourinho he accepted the football because it was bringing in the trophies but he got bored. Grant wants to change things but has explained it takes time and a lot of money to alter the style.
   ‘Now is the time for Roman to finance that change. Chelsea are attractive because of the wages on offer and they are in the Champions League final.’
   Abramovich is also considering making other changes. Grant’s position will be discussed after the final while Frank Arnesen’s position is under threat.
   Arnesen, whose job title is chief scout and director of youth development, was brought in to oversee the identification and coaching of young talent but Blues chiefs have been disappointed with the calibre of player coming through the ranks.

Ryan Giggs has stressed his priority is ending the season with trophies, rather than breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s appearance record.
   Manchester United winger Giggs could surpass Charlton’s club landmark by playing in the last Premier League game against Wigan Athletic and the UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea.
   Featuring in both of those matches would take Giggs’ tally to 759, but the Welshman is more determined to finish the campaign with silverware.
   ‘The record is in the back of my mind but, you never know, I might not play against Chelsea in Moscow or in the League,’ said Giggs in The People.
   ‘But, ultimately, I want to win trophies – that’s what matters most.
   ‘When it comes to records I’ve done my best to play things down. Winning trophies matters most, it’s as simple as that.
   ‘That’s the sole aim for me and if I pass milestones in the meantime then great.
   ‘For myself, Moscow will be a great occasion because when you get to my age you appreciate it a lot more because there will not be many of these nights.
   ‘After 1999, I thought I was going to be involved in more of those nights again.
   ‘But now, at 34, you know you won’t get so many, so you enjoy them more.
   ‘We did think there would be more of it after ‘99 – you had a taste of it and you wanted a taste of it again.
   ‘It’s been a long time but, hopefully, we can go out and make it count.
   ‘Chelsea have been our big rivals over the past three or four years, and although it will be a tough game we will be up for it, believe me.
   ‘Being the first United player to win two European Cups would be great for myself, but it would be brilliant for everyone here because the manager has often said United should be winning more European Cups.’

Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on fourth spot in the Primera Liga, and a berth in the Champions League qualifiers, with a 3-0 home win over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.
   Two-goal midfielder Ignacio Camacho, who turns 18 on Sunday, got on the scoresheet for the first time while fellow teenager Sergio Aguero weighed in with his 17th goal of the season.
   Atletico have 58 points, three behind third-placed Barcelona and five clear of Racing Santander who both play on Sunday.
   At the other end of the table Real Zaragoza snatched a last-gasp 1-0 win over Deportivo Coruna to climb out of the relegation zone.
   Zaragoza laid siege to the Depor area in the second half and looked as though they would be denied by a combination of brilliant keeping by Dudu Aouate and poor finishing.
   But Argentine centre-back Roberto Ayala stabbed the ball home from one metre during a goalmouth scramble four minutes into stoppage time.
   ‘We suffered but we really went for the win from the first whistle and deserved it because we gave everything,’ a tearful Ayala told reporters.
   Zaragoza rose to 16th, one spot above Recreativo and two higher than Osasuna, who host leaders Real Madrid on Sunday.
   Depor remained seventh, three points behind sixth-placed Sevilla who entertain Valladolid on Sunday.
   At the Calderon, Camacho opened the scoring by heading past keeper Stefano Sorrentino after a corner midway through the first half.
   Argentine striker Aguero made it 2-0 in the 54th minute when Maxi Rodriguez squared the ball following a scorching run down the right.
   Camacho sealed victory in the 75th by tucking in a low shot after snapping up a miscued effort from Luis Garcia.