Sevilla FC will look to take another step towards a third successive UEFA Europa League triumph when they welcome Athletic Club for their quarter-final decider.Previous meetings• In the sides' first UEFA competition meeting, Aritz Aduriz headed Athletic in front in Bilbao, but goals from Timothée Kolodziejczak and Vicente Iborra earned Sevilla their first away victory in the UEFA Europa League and Liga this season.• Sevilla are now 65-63 ahead of Athletic (with 31 draws) in the teams' 159 competitive encounters (158 of them in Spanish football). Sevilla have had marginally the better of their 143 Liga tussles (W59 D29 L55), while Athletic have edge...
Football Update
Liverpool v Dortmund background
The 'Jürgen Klopp derby' concludes at Anfield, with the manager's current club Liverpool FC eager to finish off his old side Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.Previous meetings• Divock Origi gave the Reds the lead in the first leg in Dortmund, but Mats Hummels evened things up after the break.• The teams have now met four times in UEFA competition, with the record W1 D2 L1. Most notably, Willi Multhaup's Dortmund beat Bill Shankly's Liverpool 2-1 after extra time in the 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup final in Glasgow.• In the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League first group stage, Gérard Houllier's Liverpool drew 0-0 wit...
Dortmund and Liverpool draw, Sevilla win away
Holders Sevilla, 2009 winners Shakhtar Donetsk and Spanish Liga top-four contenders Villarreal all picked up quarter-final first-leg victories on Thursday.The only game that finished without a winner came in the opening instalment of arguably the tie of the round. Jürgen Klopp's return to Borussia Dortmund with Liverpool ended in a 1-1 draw, Mats Hummels' header cancelling out Divock Origi's first-half opener for the Reds.
De Bruyne demonstrates his importance to City
The Paris Saint-Germain fans expecting a midweek stroll were clearly looking at the wrong set of Manchester City results. The English club may have wobbled of late, but their recent woes coincided with the absence of Kevin De Bruyne – and the Belgian schemer underlined the point on a frenetic night that left the visitors favourites to reach the semi-finals.This was football to quicken the pulse, a rollercoaster game strewn with twists, turns and telling lapses that ended in a 2-2 draw neither coach could quibble with. Laurent Blanc and Manuel Pellegrini rued mistakes in the aftermath, but there was quality too, and the moment of purest expertise was delivered by a fit-again De Br...
Tuchel wants warm Dortmund welcome for Klopp
Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel expects a "warm welcome" for the returning Jürgen KloppLiverpool manager Klopp won two Bundesliga titles as Dortmund coachThe Bundesliga side are 16 matches unbeaten in 2016Dortmund eliminated English opposition, Tottenham Hotspur, in the round of 16Liverpool press conference scheduled for 18.15CETPossible lineupsDortmund: Bürki; Piszczek, Hummels, Sokratis, Schmelzer; Weigl, Şahin, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan, Reus; Aubameyang.Out: Subotić (arm)Doubtful
Guardiola applauds Bayern’s Vidal and Ribéry
Josep Guardiola, Bayern coachIt was a hard game but I am happy with our performance. I know very well the quality that Benfica have. A big compliment to my team.Ribéry was extraordinary today. Vidal is very important too – he is a great character, he has shown this during the last month.In the quarter-finals the more important game is always the second leg, which we will play in Lisbon. It all depends on how we play in Lisbon. We could have lost this game. I have watched a lot of Benfica matches in recent days – they are really strong, they always try to get the second ball.
Snap shot: Arconada agony, France ecstacy
Spain were proving equal to the task against hosts and favourites France in the 1984 UEFA European Championship final when the cruel finger of fate pointed to Luis Arconada. The goalkeeper allowed Michel Platini's free-kick to squirm under him, meaning a ninth goal of the finals for Platini, the vanguard of France's 'carré magique' (magic square) alongside Luis Fernández, Jean Tigana and Alain Giresse. There was no way back for Spain, Bruno Bellone sealing a 2-0 French triumph.