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LEIPZIG STUN ATLETICO MADRID TO REACH UCL SEMI-FINAL; FACES PSG NEXT

RB Leipzig overcame the departure of top scorer Timo Werner when they stunned Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Thursday to set up a Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain.

Dani Olmo headed Leipzig ahead in the 51st minute, youngster Joao Felix levelled for Atletico 20 minutes later from a penalty, but a deflected shot from Tyler Adams won it for Leipzig in the 88th.

Founded only in 2009 and playing in the elite event for the second time, Leipzig dominated possession at the Estadio Jose Alvalade against three-time runners-up Atletico.

The Spanish outfit was a far cry from their last 16 triumph over title holders Liverpool.

The eastern Germans caused a second surprise in a row after ousting last season’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round.

They are the first German club other than Bayern and Borussia Dortmund to reach the last four since Schalke in 2011.

On Tuesday, Leipzig play PSG who won the first quarter-final 2-1 over Atalanta. Both will be bidding for a first-ever place in the final.

“It was hard work. But we deserved victory, we are overjoyed,” Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer told streaming portal DAZN.

“We stayed calm after the equaliser, had a little luck and won.”

Yussuf Paulsen took the place of Werner who departed for Chelsea after the end of the German season while there was no place for Felix in Diego Simeone’s starting line-up in a return of the youngster to his home country.

Julian Nagelsmann’s Leipzig got the first chance when Marcel Halstenberg volleyed over the bar in the fourth minute after Atletico failed to clear decisively.

On the other end the lively Yannick Carrasco forced Peter Gulacsi to a first save in the 13th from a tight angle, after a determined run from Renan Lodi down the left.

Six minutes after the break the Germans found the opening, patiently passing the ball around the Atletico penalty area from left to right, and Sabitzer’s cross from the right then met by Olmo’s glancing header into the far right corner.

Felix came on in the 58th and quickly made an impact. He was fouled by Lukas Klostermann and calmly converted the penalty himself in the 71st into the bottom left corner past the diving Gulacsi.

The goal gave Atletico confidence but it was Leipzig who eventually prevailed. The Germans broke on the left and the ball came to the substitute Adams whose shot from some 20 metres deflected by Savic into the net over the wrong-footed Oblak.

Atletico furiously pressed for another equaliser, with even Oblak moving up front, but Leipzig hung on through eight minutes of stoppage time.

The other quarter-finals at the mini-tournament behind closed doors in Lisbon are Bayern Munich against Barcelona on Friday, while Manchester City clash with Olympique Lyon.

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WATFORD APPOINT FORMER MACCABI TEL AVIV MANAGER, VLADMIR IVIC AS NIGEL PEARSON’S REPLACEMENT

Watford are to appoint Vladimir Ivic as their new manager on a two year contract.

The 43-year old Serbian left his role as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv at the end of the season after winning consecutive league titles.

According to reports, Ivic was to hold talks with Watford’s owners in Udine, Italy last month and he impressed them sufficiently to be handed the job. Ivic had previously managed PAOK where he won the Greek Cup in 2017.

He succeeds Nigel Pearson who was controversially sacked before the end of last season which saw Watford relegated to the Championship.

Former Leicester City coach Claude Puel, currently at St Etienne, had been the early favourite to succeed Pearson prior to Watford’s relegation while Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber had also been considered.

Ivic did not command compensation and was on a relatively modest contract in Israel

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FULHAM BOSS, SCOTT PARKER TO BE REWARDED WITH CONTRACT EXTENSION, SURVIVAL BONUS.

Fulham manager, Scott Parker is set to be rewarded with a new contract that includes a significant Premier League survival bonus.

The 39-year-old led Fulham back to the big time after only a single season in the Championship by beating Brentford in their play-off final at Wembley.

Parker, whose current contract only runs until 2021, has been taking time to unwind following that win and discussions over a new deal are expected to be a formality.

His predecessor Claudio Ranieri was believed to have a seven-figure bonus built into his contract, which would have been triggered had they not been relegated to the Championship.

Fulham went down but were brought back by Parker, who could receive similar terms. His coaching staff are also set to be given extensions on their current contracts.

Captain Tom Cairney previously suggested Parker is destined for a job at a top club someday.

The former England midfielder is popular among the players and he also gets along with Tony Khan, Fulham’s hands-on vice chairman and director of football.

Parker and Khan work together closely on transfers and are set to make additions this summer – but there will be no repeat of their £100m spending spree in 2018

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PSG LIMP OVER ATALANTA WITH LATE COME BACK, HOPS IN TO UCL SEMIFINALS.

Brazilian superstar Neymar insisted that Paris Saint-Germain always believed they could come back from the brink to defeat Atalanta with two goals in the dying moments of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

“I never thought of going home. From start to finish, from the warm-up, we only thought of qualifying for the semi-finals,” the world’s most expensive footballer toldl news men

Substitute Eric Choupo-Moting’s goal three minutes into added time allowed PSG to beat the Italian outsiders 2-1.

Mario Pasalic gave Atalanta a 27th-minute lead but PSG were rescued when Marquinhos came forward to scramble in a last-minute equaliser.

Kylian Mbappe set up fellow substitute Choupo-Moting to win the tie right at the end.

The French champions will play RB Leipzig or Atletico Madrid next Tuesday for a place in the final.

“Nobody is going to take my mind off that I want to go to the final,” added 28-year-old Neymar as PSG made the last-four for the first time since 1995.

“We really have a great group, we’re a family, we know that with this state of mind it’s impossible. to put us out of competition.

“We knew that a ball could arrive, that even after the equaliser we could score a second goal.”

Neymar hailed Atalanta, the team which captured the imagination of neutrals, reaching this stage despite their city of Bergamo being one of the worst hit by the coronavirus.

“Atalanta are a great team, they played very well, they are the surprise of the competition. They were very aggressive, we knew they were going to press us,” said Neymar.

“Now we’re going to have to rest, it was a tough game mentally.

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LILLE ANNOUNCE CAPTURE OF CANADIAN FORWARD, JONATHAN DAVID.

Canadian forward Jonathan David has officially joined Ligue 1 side Lille.

The French club announced the signing, which has been rumoured for days.

The 20-year-old David, voted Canada’s player of the year in 2019, tied for leading scorer in the top Belgian league this season with 18 goals for KAA Gent.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., David was three months old when his family moved to its native Haiti and six when the family came north to Ottawa.

With 11 goals in just 12 senior appearances, he is already halfway to matching Dwayne De Rosario’s Canadian men’s record of 22 national team goals. De Rosario, who doubled as an attacking midfielder and forward, compiled his total in 81 games between 1997 and 2015.

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MIKEL ARTETA WANTS AJAX STAR, QUINCY PROMES AT THE EMIRATES.

Arsenal are weighing up a £25m bid for Ajax ace Quincy Promes, who impressed in the Eredivisie this season.

Promes scored 16 goals and added five assists in 28 games before the coronavirus lockdown ended the Dutch league ahead of schedule.

Liverpool have been linked to the winger in the past but now Arsenal are leading the race for his signature.

Mikel Arteta is keen to act fast to strengthen his squad in the wake of their FA Cup final win over Chelsea.

And according to sources, he is keen to bring Promes to North London to kickstart his summer transfer plans.

A source close to the player told reporters: “Quincy would go in a heartbeat.

“It would be a great move for him and Arsenal.”

He was signed to replace Barcelona-bound Frenkie de Jong which made him the club’s third most expensive player of all-time.

The winger also has 42 caps for Holland was grabbed the third goal against England in the semi-final of the Nations League as Gareth Southgate’s team were beaten 3-1 last summer.

Arteta looks certain to add former Chelsea star Willian to his squad on a free transfer in the coming days.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is thought to be close to agreeing a new contract with the captain and leading goalscorer for the past two seasons a crucial part of the Spaniard’s plans.

Arsenal are also looking to raise money by selling Ainsley Maitland-Niles in order to fund the club’s recruitment drive ahead of next season.

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SOUTHAMPTON CONFIRM £12M SIGNING OF KYLE WALKER-PETERS FROM TOTTENHAM.

Southampton have confirmed the signing of defender Kyle Walker-Peters on a five-year deal.

The right back has been on loan at St Mary’s since January and moved for a fee of around £12million plus add-ons.

The deal was announced after midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg moved the other way in a separate £20m deal.

Kyle Walker-Peters told the club’s official website: ‘I’m delighted to have signed here. The last few months on loan have been great for me and a lot of fun too. I’ve really enjoyed my football, the atmosphere here and also the style of play.

The club definitely fits the way I like to play, and I hope that people were able to see that during the last month or so of the season.

‘I feel like I’ve already developed in the time I’ve been here, and that’s a big part of wanting to stay too. Obviously, it’s a club with a great reputation for improving young players and, personally, I’ve found it really valuable working under the manager, with his ideas on the game and what he expects from you as an individual.

‘I think the way we finished the season gives us real optimism about where we’re heading too, and it just feels like a really good place for me to keep developing as a player and make the best out of what I have.’

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl added: ‘It was not easy for Kyle when he arrived here. He needed some time to adapt to our style of play, and then we had this period where we could not be together as a team.

But you could see from how he performed when we came back that he had worked a lot in this time, both on his physical condition and also on his understanding of our own game. It says a lot to me about this player that he was able to do this.

‘He is a very good fit for our style. He is a young, intelligent player, and he is very good on the ball, with good quickness and an ability to play this intense style that we like.

‘I am very pleased we have been able to bring him back as our player, as this is a position that we have been looking to improve in and Kyle does this for us. I think he can develop his game even more here too.’

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UNITED TO FACE SEVILLA IN EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL.

Manchester United will face Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals on Sunday, after the Spanish club defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in their quarter-final on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men booked a place in the last four by recording a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen thanks to a confident Bruno Fernandes penalty that was scored in extra-time.

We now know the reward for that victory is an exciting meeting with a Sevilla side that earned a slender but dominant 1-0 win over Wolves at the MSV Arena in Duisburg.

Wolves made a decent start to the quarter-final by earning an early penalty, but striker Raul Jiminez saw his effort saved by the goalkeeper and the Spanish club controlled the game from there on.

Sevilla enjoyed 75 per cent of the possession and tallied 17 shots at goal, but their winning goal did not arrive until Lucas Ocampos headed home in the 88th minute.

Elsewher, Shakhtar Donetsk cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over Basel to set up a semi-final against Internazionale, which will take place on Monday night at the Dusseldorf Arena.

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DAVID SILVA SET TO JOIN LAZIO ON THREE YEAR DEAL AFTER DEPARTING MANCHESTER CITY.

David Silva is joining Lazio on a three-year deal after leaving Manchester City. The Spanish playmaker is moving on from the Etihad Stadium this summer after 10 years and has decided to play in Serie A for the first time in his career.

The 34-year-old is confident that he has at least another five years left at the top injuries permitting and Lazio have given him the long-term security he desired when leaving City.

David Silva has already played his last Premier League game for City but may yet feature as Pep Guardiola’s side continue their quest to win the Champions League, with the quarter-final against Lyon on Saturday.

Last month the playmaker posted an emotional message thanking City fans for their support during his time at the club. “They have shown me so much respect and respect is the most important thing for me,” he said.

“They have shown me and my family respect wherever we go and then on the pitch too. I am very grateful for all of this. I just want to say thank you to all the supporters, to the club, to the workers here at the club because they have made my life much easier and I am grateful for that. I will be Blue, Blue forever.”

Lazio, who have just finished fourth in Serie A to qualify for the Champions League next season, are confident of renewing the contract of their star striker Ciro Immobili and are in advanced talks to sign Vedat Muriqi from Fenerbahce for €16m (£14.4m).

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UEFA CONFIRM CANCELATION OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH DUE TO CORONA VIRUS.

UEFA have confirmed that the Champions League tie between Linfield and KF Drita has been cancelled following a positive coronavirus test.

The preliminary round tie between the Northern Ireland side and the Kosovan counterparts was due to take place on August 11 in Nyon, Switzerland.

It comes after a Kvita player tested positive on Monday, having previously produced a negative Cover-19 test on August 7.

The whole Drita squad also tested negative prior to their arrival in Switzerland.

However, a UEFA statement confirmed: “On Friday, in a separate case, a player from KF Drita returned a positive result for COVID-19 following testing on the eve of their match against Inter Club d’Escaldes (AND) in accordance with the UEFA’s above-mentioned protocol.

“This player was put into quarantine, together with one teammate after tracing found he had come into close contact with the affected player.

This second positive test of a player who was in contact with other members of the delegation over the last days has prompted the Swiss authorities to put the whole Kosovan team into quarantine.

Accordingly, the upcoming fixture cannot be played.

“The matter will now be submitted to the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body, for a decision to be taken in accordance with Annex I of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League regulations, which was approved by the UEFA Executive Committee last week.”

Kvita could be booted out of the competition, with Linfield potentially advancing to the next round.