* Newcastle United bolstered their place in the Premier League's top four and took a huge step towards Champions League qualification as Callum Wilson and Joelinton both scored twice in a 5-1 rout of woeful West Ham United on Wednesday (Apr 5).
* Marcus Rashford scored the only goal with a brilliant half-volley as Manchester United beat Brentford 1-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Wednesday (Apr 5) to climb back into the top four.
* Holders RB Leipzig beat toothless Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to reach the German Cup semi-finals on Wednesday (Apr 5) and snap their three-game losing run across all competitions.
* Frank Lampard has agreed to take over as Chelsea's interim manager, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday, as club owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali continue their search for a candidate to replace Graham Potter. Potter was dismissed on Sunday after a string of poor results left the team 11th in the Premier League.
* A second-half stunner by Ludovic Blas helped holders Nantes beat Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 at home to reach the French Cup final on Wednesday. Blas's masterpiece gave Antoine Kombouare's side a well-deserved victory against a Lyon team who looked out of sorts three days after beating Paris St Germain in Ligue 1.
* Fiorentina earned a 2-0 win over Cremonese in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday, with goals by forwards Arthur Cabral and Nicolas Gonzalez.
* Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected as UEFA president unopposed during the Ordinary Congress of European soccer's governing body in Lisbon on Wednesday (Apr 5). The Slovenian has been re-elected for a four-year term until 2027.
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UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. (Photo: Reuters) |
* Peru has pulled out of hosting next year's under-20 athletics World Championships after political instability and social unrest, as well as natural disasters left the country unable to stage the event, World Athletics said on Wednesday.
* Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano has been appointed as the new head coach of Spanish side Real Valladolid until the end of the 2023-24 season. Troubled Valladolid, who are 16th in the standings and one point above the relegation zone, on Monday parted ways with Jose Rojo Pacheta after they were thrashed 6-0 by champions Real Madrid on Sunday.
* Nearly 900 Liverpool fans who attended last year's Champions League final in Paris have filed legal action against European soccer's governing body for personal injuries allegedly caused by chaos outside the stadium. Law firm Leigh Day filed a lawsuit against UEFA and UEFA Events on Monday, according to publicly-available records of cases brought at the High Court.
* The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan 12 to Feb 10, 2024, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed on Wednesday (Apr 5). The quadrennial continental championship was awarded to China in 2019, but the world's most populous country relinquished the rights last year as it pursued a zero-COVID policy.
