An electric first-half display from Rafael Leao steered AC Milan into the Europa League quarter-finals as 10-man Slavia Prague succumbed 3-1 on the night and 7-3 on aggregate.
Just as they had in the first leg, the Czechs paid the price for a red card, Tomas Holes dismissed after just 17 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Davide Calabria.
The Rossoneri cashed in three times before the break, Leao lending a helping hand as Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek netted before bending in a spectacular strike of his own from distance.
Milan are through to the final 8
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague)
Slavia had not lost at the Fortuna Arena all season but were unable to summon a serious battle for their Serie A opponents until Matej Jurasek g…
Utrecht have issued an official complaint to FIFA about Swansea City s sale of Michel Vorm to Tottenham.
The Netherlands international goalkeeper joined Swansea from Utrecht in 2011, and made 89 Premier League appearances for the Liberty Stadium club.
Vorm signed for Tottenham last month and Wilco van Schaik, general manager of Utrecht, claimed last week that his club were owed money on the back of that transfer.
Van Schaik declared that Utrecht were entitled to 30 per cent of the sell-on fee for the keeper, as agreed when the 30-year-old left with Swansea countering that Vorm s sale to Tottenham had been conducted and concluded correctly .
But when contacted by Perform on Tuesday, FIFA revealed Utrecht had lodged an official complaint against the Premier…
Kwesi Appiah has been buoyed by Ghana s preparations for the FIFA World Cup as the Black Stars head to the Netherlands for a friendly.
Ghana face a tough challenge to replicate their run to the 2010 quarter-finals at this year s tournament, having been drawn alongside Germany, Portugal and the United States in Group G.
But head coach Appiah is taking heart from his side s attitude to the task that awaits them in Brazil.
The unity is so great and discipline is very high, he said ahead of Saturday s match against the Dutch in Rotterdam. Discipline plays a big role, if you want to be successful, 100 per cent lies with the players behaviour and so far it has been good.
There is this kind of competition, no one is sure of himself at the moment. Everybody is attentive …
Lyon are closing in on the signing of Chelsea attacker Bertrand Traore in a deal believed to be worth €19 million.
The Ligue 1 side are keen to strengthen their attack after an underwhelming 2016-17 campaign in which they had to settle for fourth place in the table.
They already secured the services of Memphis Depay from Manchester United during the January window and are now looking to bring in Traore.
Lyon president Jean-Michael Aulas has confirmed they are in advanced talks and reports suggest they have already agreed a five-year deal with the 21-year-old.
We absolutely want to complete this deal, Aulas told reporters.
Traore is keen to come to Lyon.
Negotiations are in the advanced stages and we do not intend to let anything come …
Micah Richards has slammed Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini for making him an outcast at the Premier League champions.
The 26-year-old made his City debut in October 2005 and racked up 245 appearances for the club, picking up winner s medals for the 2011 FA Cup and 2012 Premier League in the process.
However, a string of injuries and the emergence of Pablo Zabaleta as City s first-choice right-back have limited Richards to just 19 games since the 2012-13 season and he joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan in a bid to get back in action.
With France international Bacary Sagna arriving from Arsenal ahead of the current campaign, Richards has criticised Chilean manager Pellegrini for showing a lack of faith in him.
Richards told The Guardian: The …