UEFA could move Champions League final from St Petersburg amid Ukraine crisis

Germany captain Michael Ballack says his side must use the confidence from their 3-2 quarter-final win over Portugal to knock out comeback kings Turkey on Wednesday in order to reach the Euro 2008 final.

Germany play Turkey in Basel s semi-final at the St Jakob-Park Stadium where Chelsea midfielder Ballack scored the crucial third goal last Thursday which knocked Luiz Felipe Scolari s Portugal out of the tournament.

Ballack says the win gave his side a huge shot of confidence, especially after the shock 2-1 group stage defeat by Croatia, and Germany must take advantage of the injury-hit Turks on Wednesday.

You always grow into the opponent and the task, said Ballack.

Portugal had been acting like the top favourites.

So if you can throw a tea…

It may be called rather fetchingly the Old Lady but the stadium for Sunday s Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain has a dark past it was formerly a site for Nazi propaganda and racial experiments.

The Ernst Happel stadium, originally named Prater stadium after the area of Vienna in which it is located, opened in 1931 for the second Workers Olympiad after 23 months of construction.

A utopia made of steel, glass and concrete, the sleek structure by German architect Otto Ernst Schweizer was then considered the most modern stadium in Europe.

The venue, which was home to the celebrated Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s, originally held 60,000.

It was later increased to 90,000 in the 1950s, before standing places were abolished.

Renovated in 1…

Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly lining up moves for Salzburg star Dominik Szoboszlai, while three Premier League giants are monitoring Ben White.

Szoboszlai, 20, has been linked with a move from Salzburg after starring for the Austrian club.

And several European heavyweights are eyeing the Hungary international.

TOP STORY – ARSENAL, TOTTENHAM PUSH FOR SZOBOSZLAI

Arsenal and Tottenham are ready to push to sign Salzburg star Szoboszlai, according to Eurosport.

But the report says RB Leipzig look likely to win the battle to sign the star, despite interest also coming from Milan and Atletico Madrid.

Contracted until 2022, an offer of around €20million will reportedly be enough.

ROUND-UP

Mancheste…

Gary Neville labelled Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes embarrassing and Roy Keane said Erik ten Hag s players should go into hiding after a 7-0 humbling by Liverpool.

Liverpool s three starting forwards – Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez – each scored twice, with substitute Roberto Firmino coming off the bench to add to the humiliation.

It was Liverpool s heaviest-ever win over United, their great rivals, and came just a week after the visitors to Anfield won the EFL Cup.

If United s Wembley win pointed to a bright future, this Sunday shoeing on Merseyside was a wake-up call.

United legends Neville and Keane offered no sympathy.

A stunned Neville said after the game: They ve not understood, I don t think, the dangers of this…

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of five key players rested by Real Madrid for the Copa del Rey tie against Numancia, while Karim Benzema is sidelined by injury.

Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos were excluded from the squad to face the second-tier team in the first leg of the round of 16 at Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos on Thursday.

Benzema, who has struggled badly for form this season, suffered a hamstring strain in the 3-0 Clasico defeat at home to Barcelona in December and will not be involved.

Gareth Bale has been picked though, as the Wales international seeks to regain full fitness after battling calf and hamstring issues in an interrupted first half of the 2017-18 campaign. 

Here s our 19-man squad for our trip to Soria to face ! …

Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing former France international Lassana Diarra on a free transfer.

Diarra has been a free agent since leaving Al Jazira last month and boosts the midfield options of the Ligue 1 leaders, although PSG coach Unai Emery previously indicated he would not be looking to make signings during the January transfer window.

The Spaniard namechecked 21-year-old Argentine Giovani Lo Celso as a possible solution to the club s defensive midfield issues earlier this month, while playing down a move for Diarra.

But the 32-year-old former Marseille and Real Madrid midfielder completed his return to Ligue 1 on Tuesday, signing a 18-month deal.

Diarra, who last featured for France in 2016, could make his PSG debut against Guing…

Swindon Town s board have released a statement assuring supporters they share the same promotion ambitions as manager Paolo Di Canio.

The statement comes after Di Canio criticised the club s prospective new owners for selling Matt Richie to fellow League One promotion-chasers Bournemouth without consulting the Italian.

Di Canio said he would review his position at the County Ground on Friday, prompting the club to issue the following statement on their website: The decisions made over the course of the last few days have not been made lightly, and in the case of the decision to sell Matt Ritchie, have been done in conjunction with the new owners.

Whilst the board understands Paolo s desire to gain promotion and is wholly supportive of this, the board s conside…

A number of European top clubs are closely monitoring Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, the player’s representative has revealed.

Mangala, 22, has largely impressed ever since he arrived at the club from Standard Liege, and he is being tipped to leave Porto for greener pastures at the end of the season.

The defender’s representative admits the summer exit is likely, and claims some of Europe’s top clubs are watching his client.

The Rossoneri, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are on his trail, agent Fabrizio Ferrari told Portuguese TV station Antena 1.

But the boy now thinks only of Porto, we ll talk again in June when the market reopens. He was an important investment for Porto, but he will be well worth it.

Eliaquim Mangala came throu…

Erling Haaland is not finding it difficult to deal with the transfer speculation that has unsurprisingly followed his remarkable run of goalscoring form.

The teenage Salzburg striker is enjoying an excellent campaign and has scored eight goals in five Champions League games to go with 16 in 14 in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Should Haaland score against Liverpool on Tuesday in their Group E finale, in which Salzburg could knock out the holders, he will become the first player to score in his first six Champions League matches.

Manchester United – managed by Haaland s former Molde coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – have been heavily linked with a move for the 19-year-old, while Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have also been credited wit…

Frank Lampard has indicated Chelsea will look to sign at least one new attacker in January after having their transfer ban halved.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport brought an early end to the original two-window embargo last week, enabling the Blues to become active participants in the transfer market.

An inexperienced squad reached the Champions League last 16 with Tuesday s 2-1 home win over Lille and could now be reinforced.

Chelsea scored 11 times in their six Group H games and have notched a further 31 goals in the Premier League, but head coach Lampard outlined plans to seek a replacement for Eden Hazard.

I think it will be a bit fluid, Lampard told BT Sport after beating Lille at Stamford Bridge.

There will be discussions …