footballworld

Ryan Giggs is playing the best football of his 20-year stint in Manchester United's first team, according to Old Trafford legend Sir Bobby Charlton. The 37-year-old Giggs, who this month broke Charlton's record of 606 league appearances for United, signed a one-year contract extension in February. He has now played a total of 867 games for the club, winning 11 league titles. "Last year, I thought that was the best he had ever played but this year he's been even better," said Charlton. "I don't know what he's putting in his tea but he's been at his peak again this season. "He's a great, great professional footballer and I'm ever so proud of him for what he's done, what he's still doing and what hopefully he'll continue to do. "He's got a gift and he's a credit to the game." The Cardiff-born midfielder was 17 when he made his league debut as a substitute against Everton on 2 March, 1991. His first start and goal came two months later, when United beat Manchester City 1-0. It was during the next season that Giggs emerged as a first-team regular. 

He would finish the campaign with a League Cup winner's medal and the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Subsequent seasons have seen him accumulate more silverware than any player in English football history and only two months ago he was named United's greatest player in a poll conducted by the club's official magazine and website. Having started as an old-fashioned winger, he has adapted his game to play a more withdrawn role in Sir Alex Ferguson's midfield. His importance to the team, however, has not changed, a fact recognised by last month's new deal. When asked for the secret to his longevity as a player, Giggs has talked about his yoga regime and the decision he took in 2007 to retire from international football, finishing his Wales career with 64 caps.Pleas for him to reconsider have been a constant theme during the last four years and, if anything, have intensified ahead of England's visit to Cardiff on Saturday. But Giggs has resisted the temptation to face England - the country he played for as a schoolboy - although he offered to help new Wales manager Gary Speed in the build-up to the European qualifier. This has led to speculation about what he will do when his playing days are over (and Giggs has made no secret of the fact he is currently taking coaching courses), but there is no doubt about his short-term goals: United's pursuit of a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble. "I hope we can finish it off for Ryan," said Charlton, who scored 199 league goals for United between 1956 and 1973. "I saw him when he was 15 and he first came to the club. Since that time he's not been anything other than good news. "He's just fantastic to work with as a player, (Ferguson) has told me this many times. He's unique."

John Terry has hit back at the critics who slammed his reappointment as England captain by insisting he should never have been stripped of the armband in the first place. Terry has regained the leadership of Fabio Capello's team just over a year after the England coach deprived him of the honour following an alleged affair with the partner of team-mate Wayne Bridge and reports that he was exploiting the captaincy for financial gain. Capello's decision has been criticised in some quarters because it is felt Terry's distasteful activities off the pitch showed such a lack of respect for the captaincy that he should not have been given a second chance.

Much to Terry's consternation he has become regarded as one of the poster boys for everything that is wrong with English football and he could have gone some way to changing that perception with a contrite tone when he met the English media at the team's hotel ahead of Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales. Instead Terry insisted that, although he has made a concious effort to avoid negative headlines of late, he still felt he had been harshly treated by Capello last year. "Change my ways? That's a difficult word," Terry said. "When I spoke to Fabio, and we can't go into too much details, but when he knew the facts, he knew. "As I said to the manager at the time, I accepted their decision. It doesn't mean to say I agreed with it, and I never will. That's me being very proud and having been honest with them. "Over the last year I'd like to think I've personally kept my head down and done the right thing. "As we get older, we live and learn. We move on. As a man, as a player, we can see I've moved on, on and off the field."

Those accusations of making money off the back of his privileged position were also given short shrift by the Chelsea defender. "I've never cashed in. I'm not the best looking guy anyway, so people aren't going to want me spread all over the place. But I've never tried to cash in on the England captaincy," he said. Another black mark against Terry was a perceived attempt to destabilise Capello by publicly questioning him during the World Cup as revenge for taking away the captaincy. On that subject, Terry was ready to admit he had gone too far, but he was adamant he was just trying to do the best for his country. "I just wouldn't come out publicly and say what I said. It would stay in-house. That's what I learned from that," he said. "Looking back, certain things I shouldn't have said, but I can still hold my head up high. "Certainly. I wasn't trying to upset the apple cart, the squad, the manager. That's not me." With first-choice captain Rio Ferdinand too often injured and Steven Gerrard regarded by Capello as too timid a leader to galvanise the squad, the Italian has taken the substantial gamble of giving Terry a second chance. However, he made such a mess of switching the armband that the situation reached farcical levels as Capello sat in the same directors' box as Ferdinand without being able to talk to him. That led to claims of an England dressing room potentially divided into factions supporting both players, but Terry tried to head off those disruptive suggestions as he invited team-mates to approach him in person if they had any grievances. "Anyone who's been around the squad for five or 10 games, I'd feel they should have the confidence to say what they feel," Terry said. "I don't want to get into too much detail about 'moving on', but it's a massive thing for me today. The emotion is quite overwhelming. "I had the worst night's sleep ever, actually. I was pretty nervous to be honest. "Coming out and having to deal with the questions and stuff like that. It was like the first day back at school really. An intimidating thing, even though I've been in this position many times before. "The England captaincy comes with a responsibility. I totally understand that but it's just so important for me to have it back now and to concentrate on the right things."

West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green made a series of fine saves to help West Ham earn a 0-0 draw against London rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Green was in unbeatable form and saved his best moment until the final minutes when he tipped Gareth Bale's free-kick onto the crossbar. The England international's man-of-the-match display ensured Avram Grant's side overcame waves of Tottenham pressure and moved out of the relegation zone ahead of Saturday's 1500GMT matches. Spurs were handed a tough task when they were pitted against Real Madrid in Friday's draw for the Champions League quarter-finals. But their focus was on this London derby as they tried to close the three-point gap on Chelsea in the race for a top-four finish. Make no mistake, there is no love lost between these two sides. There is a deep-rooted rivalry that has only intensified following the battle for the Olympic Stadium. Tottenham and West Ham both launched bids for the stadium in Stratford and the latter were successful. West Ham arrived at White Hart Lane in their best form of the season. Wins over Liverpool and Stoke in the Premier League have improved their chancaes of beating relegation.

Big-spending English giants Manchester City, Liverpool and Rangers crashed out of the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday to end Britain's interest in the competition. Roberto Mancini's City side, bank-rolled from Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Mansour's £500 million investment, beat Dynamo Kiev 1-0 at Eastlands but bowed out 2-1 on aggregate. At Anfield a lacklustre Liverpool eked out a goalless draw with Sporting Braga to put the plucky Portuguese side through 1-0 on aggregate. Scottish giants Rangers, the finalists of the then UEFA Cup in 2008, had been in a strong position after coming away from their first leg at PSV Eindhoven with a scoreless stalemate. But a 13th minute goal from Jermain Lens meant it was the Dutch visitors rather than Rangers whose name went into Friday's draw. Joining PSV, Dynamo and Braga in the last eight were Benfica, FC Twente, Spartak Moscow, FC Porto, Villarreal. In Manchester, City were cut to 10 men in the 37th minute after Italian Mario Balotelli was shown a straight red for a dreadful, high one-footed lunge at Goran Popov in a bad-tempered clash that also saw seven yellow cards brandished. But the home side rebounded immediately after Balotelli's rash challenge through Aleksandar Kolarov, the Serb scoring from an indirect free-kick through a congested area. Over at Anfield, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll made his first start since his £35 million move from Newcastle in January. But Kenny Dalglish's men failed to find their spark against Braga who were progressing to the last eight of a European competition for the first time in their history.

Liverpool's sorry tally of only one goal in their last five Europa run-outs ultimately cost them dear. PSV qualified when catching Rangers on the break, with Lens sliding home Balazs Dzsudzsak's cross from the left.PSG went out 3-2 to Portugual's Benfica after the two teams finished 1-1 on the night. Nicolas Gaitan bagged that all-important away goal for the Lisbon-based club in the 27th minute, an ambitious left-footed shot swerving past the static Apoula Edel in goal.PSG responded eight minutes later, Mathieu Bodmer sending in a screamer of a right-foot volley into the corner of the net, but the Portuguese side held out. In Moscow, Spartak wrapped up a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate victory over toothless Ajax, the Russians winning 3-0 on the night courtesy of goals from Dmitri Kombarov, and Brazilian duo Welliton and Alex. There was no such luck for Spartak's domestic rivals Zenit St-Petersburg, whose 2-0 defeat of Dutch side FC Twente was not enough to overhaul a first-leg 3-0 deficit. And another Russian club, CSKA Moscow, lost 2-1 at FC Porto to go out 3-1 on aggregate, while Villarreal beat Bayer Leverkusen by the same scoreline to qualify 5-3 over the two legs.

Chelsea booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals despite wasting a host of chances in Wednesday's 0-0 draw against Copenhagen in the last 16 second leg match at Stamford Bridge. Carlo Ancelotti's side went through 2-0 on aggregate and their first leg victory in Denmark meant they were never likely to rue some woeful finishing. But far sterner tests lie in wait on the road to Wembley and there will have to be a significant improvement if the Blues are to reach the final. After three successive wins, Ancelotti must be concerned that his team returned to the kind of flawed display that has been the hallmark of Chelsea's inconsistent campaign. Nicolas Anelka's brace in the first leg had put Chelsea within touching distance of the last eight and Ancelotti clearly felt the job was all but done as he left Fernando Torres, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda on the bench. Chelsea had lost just one of their previous 25 home matches in the Champions League, so it was hardly surprising that Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken admitted his side would need a miracle to go through. The only miracle in the first half was how Chelsea failed to put the tie completely beyond Copenhagen's reach.

Fabio Capello's move to reappoint John Terry as England skipper in place of Rio Ferdinand was given a resounding endorsement from the Chelsea fans who hailed their defender with chants of "there's only one England captain". But Terry had few chances to show his leadership qualities as Copenhagen's bright pink shirts left more of an impression than the players wearing it. Ancelotti's side created and then squandered chances from the start, with Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole both shooting wide when they should have at least tested Copenhagen goalkeeper Johan Wiland. Yuri Zhirkov had an even better chance to open the scoring after Didier Drogba's clever back-heel and Cole's pass carved open the Copenhagen defence, but the Russian winger curled his shot wide. Zhirkov almost made amends when he collected Ramires's sublime cross-field pass and slipped a perfectly weighted ball through to Anelka, whose shot lacked the power to beat Wiland from a tight angle. After spending 25 minutes penned into their own half, Copenhagen were agonisingly close to taking a shock lead when Dame N'Doye's whipped free-kick caught Petr Cech moving the wrong way and cannoned to safety off a post. The Danish defence was pierced moments later but Zhirkov was having a night to forget in front of goal and he was off-target from close-range after Anelka crossed from the touch-line.

Drogba fared little better when the Ivorian volleyed wide from Jose Bosingwa's deep cross early in the second half. John Obi Mikel had Chelsea's closest effort when he hit the crossbar after Terry and Anelka flicked on Lampard's corner. But Chelsea's profligacy spread to Anelka, who was twice played in by Drogba, only to dwell on the ball and give Copenhagen time to clear the danger. Torres, who had failed to score in five appearances since his £50 million move from Liverpool, was finally sent on to replace Anelka with 20 minutes to play. The Spaniard nearly made an immediate impact with a deflected shot that looped just wide.Torres also burst into the penalty area and forced Wiland into action with a rising drive, but his wait for a goal continues.

Real Madrid put their recent European woes behind them to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2004 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday. Real Madrid had crashed out at the last 16 stage of the Champions League for six successive seasons, but new coach Jose Mourinho brought an end to that jinx. Goals from Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria secured victory as Madrid progressed 4-1 on aggregate. Brazilian full-back Marcelo scored his first Champions League goal on 37 minutes to break the deadlock, before Benzema netted his sixth goal of the competition on 65 minutes against his hometown club. Argentine Angel di Maria added a third on 76 minutes as Real took revenge on Lyon, who defeated them at this stage last season, and keep alive their hopes of a first Champions League title since 2002. Mourinho, who won the trophy with Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu last season, is looking to provide Real with their 10th European Cup and make history by becoming the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs. "We did what the manager wanted and went out to win the game," said Marcelo. "This victory gives us a lot of confidence and we owed it to the Madrid fans. We are not thinking about who we could get in the next round. We will just wait for the draw and see." Real welcomed back top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo from injury -- the Portuguese star having missed the last two league games with a thigh problem and the world's most expensive player was thrust into the starting line-up.

Lyon had never lost in their three Champions League trips to the Bernabeu but the French visitors knew they would have to score in the Spanish capital after the 1-1 draw in the first leg. Lyon welcomed back striker Lisandro Lopez and Brazilian captain Cris shrugged off a knock to start. Ronaldo tried his luck with a long range free-kick early on but his effort sailed over the crossbar. With four minutes gone Real almost scored but goalkeeper Hugo Lloris raced out to thwart German international Mesut Ozil, who had timed his run to perfection. On 21 minutes Madrid got a real scare when Argentine Cesar Delgado curled a shot towards the bottom-right corner but goalkeeper Iker Casillas got down to palm away. Real responded by upping their game and took the lead on 37 minutes thanks to a fine individual goal from Marcelo. The Brazilian exchanged passes with Ronaldo before surging into the area, cutting back onto his left foot and firing in a shot that deflected off Lloris on its way in. The relief was tangible and Benzema, in fine form with six goals in his last three league outings, was denied by Lloris four minutes later after latching onto a Marcelo cross. Benzema had the ball in the net 60 seconds later with a fine header but was flagged offside. Coach Claude Puel threw on striker Bafetimbi Gomis to give his side more firepower, but it was the hosts who looked the more dangerous, especially from set-pieces. Benzema had a penalty appeal turned down on 63 minutes but shrugged off the disappointment to score three minutes later. A defensive mix-up allowed Benzema a free run on goal and the Frenchman slotted home for his sixth goal in the competition this term.Lyon sensed the game was up and winger Angel di Maria went clean through on goal in the 76th minute before producing a neat chipped finish to complete the scoring.

 Inter Milan reached the Champions League quarterfinals after a dramatic 3-2 win at Bayern Munich in Tuesday's Last 16 second-leg clash put them through on the away-goals rule. It ended 3-3 on aggregate after goals by Bayern's Mario Gomez and Thomas Mueller were cancelled out by Inter's Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder before Goran Pandev scored the Italians' crucial third in the 88th minute. "We have played too passively and made too many mistakes at the end," said a visibly disappointed Gomez. "We didn't finish our chances to counter-attack, we could have led 4-1 or 5-1 at half-time if we had. "You can't do something like that against a team like that without being punished." Dutch winger Arjen Robben was just as stunned by the result. "It is unbelievable, I don't know how it came to this," said Robben.

"We made individual concentration errors, but it could still have been 4-1 at half-time. "It doesn't seem possible that we could concede three goals against a side like that. "I do not know how we can save the season, apart from making sure we qualify for the Champions League next season." The slender first-leg lead Bayern had worked so hard to earn was cancelled out after just four minutes when the Munich defence unwisely allowed Eto'o a free run at goalkeeper Thomas Kraft. The 30-year-old Cameroon star needed no second invite to plant his shot firmly in the back of the net for his 32nd goal of the season to level on aggregate. But Bayern refused to panic, as they have so often done this season, and worked hard to turn their possession into chances. They made it 1-1 on the night when Dutch winger Arien Robben fired in a cross which Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar fumbled and the ball into the path of Germany striker Gomez.

The Bayern star, the scorer of the goal in the first-leg, shielded the ball with his body before flicking it over his head and into the empty goal on 21 minutes. It was his eighth Champions League goal of the season and his 29th in all competitions. Then with half an hour gone, Bayern took the lead when Robben threaded a pass through the Milan defence for German international midfielder Mueller to give Bayern a 2-1 lead. It should have been 3-1 in the 34th minute when French winger Franck Ribery beat his marker and was left to sprint unhindered into the Inter area, but he fired over both Cesar and the crossbar. And somehow the ball stayed out when Mueller lunged in a goal-mouth scramble with Cesar and hit the post before bouncing back into play leaving a dismayed Mueller to contemplate what might have been. With half-time approaching Sneijder fired just over the Bayern net from a direct free-kick in a frantic first 45 minutes.

The game's tempo dropped after the break, but Bayern kept up the pressure as Gomez fired at Cesar with an hour on the clock. Sneijder then put his side level on the night in the 63rd minute when Eto'o squared the ball for the Dutchman to drill his shot into the back of the Bayern net from the edge of the penalty area.Pandev scored the winner with two minutes left when Eto'o squared the ball into the path of the Macedonian striker whose shot gave Kraft no chance.

A Lionel Messi brace helped Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over 10-man Arsenal on Tuesday to put them into the quarterfinals of Champions League on a 4-3 aggregate. The Argentine World Player of the Year was the difference as Barcelona produced another outstanding display of attacking football which left the Arsenal defence stretched from beginning to end. A tense last-16 second leg at the Nou Camp, which the Spanish club completely dominated, was marred for Arsenal by the controversial dismissal of striker Robin van Persie 11 minutes into the second half. A Sergio Busquets own goal to level the scores at 1-1 would have put the visitors through but a fine strike from Xavi and Messi’s penalty gave the 2009 winners a 3-1 victory and a 4-3 aggregate success that sent them into the last eight for a fourth successive season. Arsenal were furious with the referee over the sending-off but they failed to muster a single shot on goal in the entire game while Barca managed 19. The La Liga leaders had almost 70 percent of the possession at a packed and boisterous Nou Camp stadium and completed 738 passes to Arsenal’s 199.

‘We played a fantastic match against 11 and against 10,’ Barca coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. ‘We did not allow them to make more than three consecutive passes.’ Arsenal were chasing the ball from the kickoff and were rocked when they were forced to replace goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with Manuel Almunia in the 19th minute after the Pole dislocated a finger when dealing with a Daniel Alves free kick. As Barca pressed for a goal, Adriano Correia raced in from the left wing in the 36th minute and struck a fierce angled shot against the post. Messi twisted and turned into space in the penalty area moments later but shot straight at Almunia. The Argentina forward, who netted all four goals in a 4-1 win over Arsenal at the Nou Camp in last season’s quarter-finals, put Barca ahead when he dashed on to Andres Iniesta’s dinked pass, lifted the ball over the keeper with an audacious flick and volleyed into the empty net. After Busquets’s error from a Samir Nasri corner, Xavi rifled home from close range in the 69th minute and Messi claimed his second in the 71st following Laurent Koscielny’s foul on Pedro. Substitute Nicklas Bendtner had a chance to score in the dying minutes but he was denied by a brilliant covering tackle from midfielder Javier Masherano before Barca ran down the clock to complete a deserved victory. ‘This was footballing justice. We were very superior both here and there (in the first leg),’ Xavi told reporters. ‘We had an infinite number of chances to kill the game off but it was Leo who again made the difference.’

Messi’s goals were his seventh and eighth in the competition this season, putting him one ahead of Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o and Bayern Munich’s Mario Gomez at the top of the scoring charts. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was furious about the Van Persie sending-off, which he felt changed the game at a time his side were coming back into contention. ‘At the moment he made his decision it was a very promising game, very interesting,’ the Frenchman told reporters. ‘If you have played football at a certain level you cannot understand this decision. It’s impossible. ‘I felt we would have come back into the game. Overall I am convinced we would have won this game.’Barcelona, who also beat Arsenal in the 2006 final, will go into the March 18 draw for the last eight when they could be pitted against Real Madrid if their arch-rivals get past Olympique Lyon next week.

Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk made no mistake in ensuring they reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time with an impressive 3-0 victory over 10-man AS Roma to win 6-2 on aggregate here on Tuesday. Goals by Tomas Hubschmann, outstanding Brazilian Willian and Eduardo extended the 2009 UEFA Cup winners' unbeaten home record in European competition to October 2008 when they went down to Sporting Lisbon. Shakhtar Donetsk booked their place in the last eight of the Champions League for the first time as Roma fell apart.Shakhtar took a first-half lead when Tomas Hubschman got a faint flick to guide in Willian's left-wing cross. Roma's Marco Borriello then had his penalty saved by Andriy Pyatov after he had been fouled by Henrik Mkhitaryan. Philippe Mexes was shown a second yellow card for pulling back Luiz Adriano, before Willian curled in and Eduardo slotted in a late third.

The Ukrainian outfit deserved to go through but Roma will count themselves unlucky, having started well before their game plan was ripped apart in 27 madcap first-half minutes. Having trailed 3-2 from the first leg but laid siege to the Shakhtar goal during the first 15 minutes, Roma undeservedly fell behind. Brazilian Willian surged down the left before checking his run and delivering an inswinging low cross which Hubschman, at the near post, flicked in with the faintest contact. The Italian side now needed three goals. Rodrigo Taddei should have got the first but he mistimed his volley horribly from David Pizarro's corner.If that attempt was embarrassing, Roma's next was shameful. Shakhtar's Mkhitaryan, in an attempt to stop Borriello from getting his strike away, hauled down the Italian and conceded a penalty.

The forward took on the responsibility from the spot but struck his effort straight at the Shakhtar keeper.

The visitors still had enough time on their hands but they were dealt a further blow four minutes before the interval when Mexes received a second booking for pulling back Adriano on the halfway line. They were lucky to retain 10 men on the pitch when Daniele De Rossi appeared to thrust his arm into the face of Shakhtar captain Darijo Srna. English referee Howard Webb missed the incident and instead booked Srna for complaining. Roma, seemingly shell-shocked from events in the first half, failed to trouble Pyatov after the break, while the home side began to control the match. Armenian Mkhitaryan was an impressive attacking outlet all night and his delivery from a corner led to Shakhtar's second which was curled in brilliantly by Willian to make it 5-2 on aggregate. Former Arsenal striker Eduardo was then brought on to the field of play and he added the finishing touch to a historic night for the Ukraine side by taking advantage of Aleandro Rosi's poor back pass to slot in a third.

League leaders Barcelona look for a third league win in a week as they host strugglers Real Zaragoza at Camp Nou today. Barceona needed a late goal from top-scorer Lionel Messi, who has 27 league goals, to seal a vital 1-0 win at Valencia on Wednesday and the champions are keen to maintain their seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said ‘The Valencia win was a very important result. Points like these are what could win us the title.’ ‘There are still some difficult games to play. There’s a lot at stake. But we’re optimistic. We are pleased with the team dynamic, the way we’re playing and the attitude.’ Xavi returned from a calf injury against Valencia but Barcelona are still without goalkeeper Victor Valdes and captain Carles Puyol who are both doubtful for next Tuesday’s Champions League second leg at home to Arsenal. After difficult away matches at Real Mallorca and Valencia, Barcelona will be glad to be back at home although Zaragoza, two points above the relegation zone, are on a high after a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Real Madrid closed back to within seven points of Barcelona with an emphatic 7-0 home win over Malaga on Thursday to maintain their 100 per cent home record. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Madrid’s biggest win of the season and coach Jose Mourinho will hope his side can now improve on their erratic away form – they have dropped 14 points on the road – in Sunday’s trip to Racing Santander. Racing are unbeaten in their last five league outings under new coach Marcelino and they have only lost twice at home this season. Elsewhere, Valencia are at Real Mallorca as they battle to hold onto third and the final automatic Champions League place.

The 1-0 defeat to Barcelona was their first in the league in 2011 and Villarreal are now just a point behind in fourth.‘We are hurting after the Barcelona defeat but we competed with the best team in the world,’ said Valencia coach Emery. Villarreal closed to within one point of  Valencia and hope to stay on their heels with a win at Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Villarreal have been poor on their travels with just four away wins and Atletico Madrid will be full of motivation having moved to within three points of the top six. ‘It is a special game because there is a really good atmosphere at the (Vincente) Calderon,’ said Villarreal midfielder Borja Valero. European rivals Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla lock horns at San Mames on Sunday as the race for the European places hots up. Bilbao have lost their last four matches but are clinging to sixth place with Sevilla level on 38 points.‘When you can’t win you have to at least get a point,’ said Bilbao midfielder Carlos Gurpegui. ‘When you lose everything looks bad. Sunday is a huge game for us against a direct rival. We are in a good position in the league but we have to try and win against Sevilla.’Down at the bottom relegation rivals Hercules and Almeria face off on Saturday in a crucial six-pointer.‘Not scoring goals is certainly complicating things for us at the moment,’ said Hercules coach Esteban Vigo. Hercules have failed to score in their last three outings and are one point above the relegation zone, while Almeria prop up the 20-strong table.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second half hat-trick to make it 27 league goals for the season as Real Madrid crushed hapless Malaga 7-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to seven points. Ronaldo had gone four games in all competitions without a goal - a drought by his high standards - but the Portuguese star hit the goal trail as Real ran riot. First half goals from French forward Karim Benzema, Argentine winger Angel di Maria and Brazilian full back Marcelo put Real Madrid into a commanding first half lead before Ronaldo took center stage in the second half to give Manuel Pellegrini a horrid return to the Bernabeu.Malaga coach Pellegrini guided Real to a record 96 points in the league last season only to be sacked after one season to pave the way for Mourinho's arrival.

Benzema started the match ahead of Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor and repaid the faith by opening the scoring on 27 minutes.Xabi Alonso delivered a free-kick into the box and Malaga defended it poorly allowing Benzema to stay onside and the Frenchman used the outside of his right boot to steer a volley into the roof of the net.Benzema had a second goal ruled out for offside minutes later after Mesut Ozil had crashed a left-footed free-kick off the post. Real Madrid were looking menacing and scored again on 35 minutes as Malaga were blitzed on the counter attack. The visitors were attacking with a corner but Real Madrid cleared and launched a speedy attack and some woeful defending allowed Angel di Maria to run clean though on goal. The Argentine showed good composure to side-foot home and then played a key role in the third goal on the stroke of half-time.

Angel Di Maria floated a neat pass to Marcelo and the Brazilian thundered a left-footed volley into the corner as Real Madrid went in 3-0 at the break.The second half belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's most expensive player bagged a 26-minute hat-trick.Ronaldo opened his account in the 50th minute and added his second from the penalty spot on 67 minutes with an emphatic spot-kick. The Portuguese star completed his hattrick nine minutes later after a good pass from substitute Sergio Canales and joins Barcelona's Lionel Messi at the top of the goalscoring charts on 27 goals. Benzema grabbed his second on 61 minutes and could have had a hat-trick himself, while Cristiano Ronaldo could have scored six or seven against a poor Malaga who stay second from bottom three points from safety. Earlier Almeria stay rooted to the bottom of the Spanish first division after a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Racing Santander on Thursday.

Lionel Messi scored his 27th La league goal of the season as champions Barcelona beat Valencia 1-0 at the Mestalla stadium on Wednesday to move ten points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the Spanish first division top. Messi netted a 76th minute winner as Barcelona continued their unbeaten away run and put Real Madrid under extra pressure to win at home to Malaga on Thursday. Messi had missed several chances in the first half but came better14th minutes from time slotting in a cross from Adriano to clinch a vital win.It handed coach Pep Guardiola his first ever victory at the Mestalla, which had been the only top-flight venue where he had failed to secure three points.For third-placed Valencia it was a first league defeat since early December of last year and Villarreal are now just one point behind them in fourth.It was an emotional first return to the Mestalla for Spanish super star David Villa, who spent five years at the club before joining Barcelona for 40 million euros in the summer, and the forward was given a warm reception from the home fans.Spanish playmaker Xavi Hernandez returned to the Barcelona starting line-up after recovering from his calf injury to join Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets in midfield.

Valencia decided to play with Juan Mata, normally a winger, leading the line and the hosts started at a high tempo to try and disrupt Barcelona’s possession game. Eric Abidal and Dani Alves were both forced to make crucial clearances for Barcelona early on before the champions found their rhythm.In the ninth minute Messi went clean through on goal but the Argentine fluffed a chance he usually buries on autopilot.Messi had three chances to score but missed them all with goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, third choice at the beginning of the season, standing tall.Valencia thought they had scored in the 20th minute but Jordi Alba’s goal was ruled out for offside.Just after the half hour mark Messi squandered another goalscoring opportunity when his lob landed on the roof of the net with only Guaita to beat.Villa and full back Adriano both went close before the interval but Barcelona went into the break frustrated at the 0-0 scoreline. Substitute Roberto Soldado volleyed just wide in the 51st minute for Valencia’s best chance of the match and Pablo Hernandez then curled inches wide of the post minutes later to give Barcelona a warning.The decisive goal came on 76 minutes with Brazilian Adriano cutting the ball across goal for Messi to arrive on cue to guide in with his trusty left foot.Earlier Villarreal ended a run of four league games without a win with a 1-0 home victory over promoted Hercules.Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi scored his 13th league goal of the season on 21 minutes to seal Villarreal’s 11th home win of the campaign as they got back to winning ways after collecting two points from the last 12.Elsewhere Athletic Bilbao crashed to their fourth successive league loss with a 2-1 reverse at Real Zaragoza.

Czech Jiri Jarosik headed an equaliser three minutes after the break and Nigerian striker Ikechuwku Uche scored the winner on 55th minutes as Zaragoza moved out of the bottom three.Bilbao, who could have gone above Espanyol into fifth, stay sixth but Sevilla are now level on points after their 3-0 home win over Sporting Gijon on Tuesday.In other matches, city rivals Getafe and Atletico Madrid shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Brazilian substitute Elias Mendes, only on the pitch for 14 minutes, grabbed an 81st minute equaliser for Atletico after Manu del Moral had put Getafe into a third minute lead.               

Sevilla boosted their European hopes with a comfortable 3-0 home victory over 10-man Sporting Gijon on Tuesday to move level on points with sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao.Brazilian international forward Luis Fabiano opened the scoring from the penalty spot for his ninth league goal of the season with Diego Perotti and Alvaro Negredo also on target in a convincing home win.It was Sevilla's fourth game in nine hectic days but the hosts were aided by the first half sending off of Gijon midfielder Sebastian Eguren.Eguren fouled Fabiano to concede a penalty on 28 minutes and Sporting had to stomach a double punishment as the Uruguayan was given a red card.Fabiano made no mistake thumping a low penalty into the bottom left hand corner.

Minutes later Federico Fazio hit the crossbar with a downward header before Argentine Perotti made it 2-0 with a fine first time volley.Negredo scored a third in the second half as Sevilla climbed to seventh while Sporting hover one point above the relegation zone.Earlier on Tuesday Real Mallorca recorded their first away win at Espanyol in over a decade with a 2-1 comeback win at the Cornella-El Prat thanks to second half goals from Pierre Webo and Emilio Nsue.Fifth-placed Espanyol had taken an 18th minute lead through Alvaro Vazquez but Cameroon forward Webo headed an equaliser on 62 minutes and Nsue netted the winner eight minutes from time as the islanders won at Espanyol for the first time since 2000."After the break our goalkeeper practically didn't touch the ball and I think it was a deserved win," said Mallorca coach Michael Laudrup.

It was a major setback for Espanyol's European hopes and Athletic Bilbao, two points behind in sixth, can move above them with a win at Real Zaragoza on Wednesday.For Mallorca it was only their third away win of the season as they move four points off the top six.With just seven minutes gone Mallorca won a penalty with centre-back Jordi Amat clipping Webo in the box.Chori Castro stepped up but goalkeeper Carlos Kameni guessed the right way and got down low to palm away the spot-kick.A minute later Espanyol went down the other end and Jose Callejon crashed a shot against the post.The hosts got the breakthrough on 18 minutes with Mallorca getting their offside trap horribly wrong as Vazquez bent his run before keeping a cool head to slot home. Mallorca thought they had equalised on the half hour mark but Webo's header was harshly ruled out for offside.

Livewire Webo got the goal his performance deserved with a header to level the scores just after the hour mark.Winger Nsue then popped up with a late 82nd minute winner as Mallorca took the spoils.Malaga, second from bottom of the table, are coached by former Real boss Manuel Pellegrini who managed the club last season but a club record 96 points saw them finish runners-up to Barcelona and the Chilean was axed.