THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 SPORTS PSG left haunted by familiar feeling of failure

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain have some moment”, in Bayern and Blanc was in the firing line after aban- One of those was Monaco in 2004 Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the superstar serious soul-searching to do after once , as well as Real Madrid. doning his usual 4-3-3 formation to play while the other was Lyon, semi-finalists of this PSG project, but the Swede is again coming up short in the Those three have become regulars in with three central defenders at kick-off in 2010. But while those two surprised now 34 and has always been associat- Champions League as they exited the the last four of Europe’s elite club com- against City. many by getting so far, there is pressure ed with failure in the Champions competition at the hands of Manchester petition in recent seasons and PSG It was a gamble that backfired and on PSG to reach the last four and even League, never having won it in his oth- City on Tuesday. aspire to join them, but they came up one that followed a disappointing per- win the Champions League. erwise glittering career. A 1-0 defeat in England saw PSG lose short against a City side enduring a dis- formance in the first leg at the Parc des The question now is, what does the Ibrahimovic’s deal expires in the sum- 3-2 on aggregate as they became the appointing season in England and Princes. “In the two matches they were future hold? “The future? We have a sea- mer, while Maxwell and Gregory van der first team to lose in the quarter-finals of appearing in their first ever Champions incapable of imposing the rhythm son to finish. We have a French Cup Wiel are out of contract at the end of the the Champions League in four consecu- League quarter-final. required. It was not enough to try to win semi-final to try to win and a League season too. The club have the means tive seasons. After losing twice to Having already wrapped up a fourth a match in the quarter-finals of the Cup final to win,” Blanc said. and the desire to sign a new superstar, Barcelona and once on away goals to successive French title, PSG are still on Champions League,” Jerome Rothen, a “I know that doesn’t have the same with apparently on their wish- Chelsea in the previous three cam- course to complete a clean sweep of the former PSG player who featured in the flavour, the same excitement as the list, and Al-Khelaifi will surely be tempt- paigns, this was supposed to be the year domestic honours for the second season 2004 final for Monaco and now working Champions League but we owe it to our- ed to add new faces while keeping the Paris went one further and reached the running, but it is in Europe where they as a pundit, said on beIN Sports. selves to win them for the club. We are likes of Angel di Maria, and semi-finals for the first time since being are to be judged these days given the very disappointed but we will have to . taken over by Qatar Sports Investments enormous sums of money invested by SQUAD CLEAR-OUT? get over it.” The other question mark surrounds in 2011. their owners. From a French viewpoint it is a famil- Once they have done that, the club Blanc, who has done a fine job overall Before last week’s first leg against “What a fiasco” screamed the front iar failing — 12 times in the last 13 sea- may be tempted to clear the decks and and has a contract until 2018 but has City, PSG coach had spo- page headline on sports daily L’Equipe sons a French side has appeared in the freshen up the squad. Now is perhaps now been to four Champions League ken of his relief at avoiding “the two on Wednesday, as the search for some- quarter-finals, and only twice have they the time, with several leading players quarter-finals as a coach and lost ogres of European football at the one to blame began. gone further. soon out of contract. them all. —AFP

Man City breakthrough shows Pellegrini still punching MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s symbolism-the other club buoyed by vast Champions League quarter-final success Middle Eastern wealth, already French over Paris Saint-Germain demonstrated champions and supposedly several devel- that reports of the team’s demise under opmental stages ahead of City, sent back to have been greatly exag- Paris with their tails between their legs. gerated. Pellegrini has been cast as a dead man KOMPANY, TOURE NOT MISSED walking ever since the announcement on In passing, City’s victory served to February 1 that Pep Guardiola will succeed debunk several commonly held truths him as manager at the season’s end and about their side. City, supposedly, were a City’s dwindling league form of three wins one-man team, but Sergio Aguero fluffed in eight games was held up as proof that his lines by missing a first-half penalty and his players had downed tools. it was left to De Bruyne to apply the coup Instead they pulled off the most eye- de grace with his 15th goal of an impres- catching European result since the club’s sive debut season. City were said to be too acquisition by super-rich Emirati owner dependent on a spine that has been largely Sheikh Mansour in 2008, giving Pellegrini a unchanged since 2011, but injured captain moment of sweet personal vindication. “I was, for once, not missed came to City because I had good perform- and nor was midfield colossus Yaya Toure, ances in Europe, so to leave this club with- who Pellegrini left on the bench despite out taking them to a new state would have his return to fitness after a knee problem. been a bad thing for me,” said the Chilean, Centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and who succeeded Roberto Mancini in 2013. have both been “It is very important to me to be in the described as expensive failures, but even semi-finals because that is my job.” without Kompany’s steadying influence It is the third time Pellegrini, 62, has bro- they left Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson ken new ground for a club in the Cavani feeding on scraps. Goalkeeper Joe Champions League, having led Villarreal to Hart, meanwhile, produced a faultless dis- the semi-finals in 2006 and steered Malaga play, which included an alert late stop to the last eight in 2013. that prevented Cavani from giving PSG An urbane, understated figure, Pellegrini hope. “We criticised the back four, but has already brought one they were solid, as were Fernandinho and title and two League Cups to the Etihad Fernando,” said former England winger , but although it took the might of Chris Waddle, who was analysing the sec- PARIS: A picture taken yesterday shows the official Twitter account of reading “unfortunately for me and for thosewho have Barcelona to oust City from the Champions ond leg for BBC radio. always backed me and supported me, I will not be selected for our Euro in France”. Embroiled in the sex-tape scandal, France League in his first two seasons, he has been “The Champions League suits Nicolas forward Karim Benzema will not be selected for Euro 2016, the player and the French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed yesterday. — AFP seen as something of a tactical ingenu. Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala. The Pellegrini, it was said, was too closely wed- Premier League is a hard league, it is end- ded to attacking football to achieve success to-end and tough. They played a European in Europe, but the manner of the triumph game (against PSG) and ground out a Benzema ruled out of Euro 2016 over PSG showed that City could play on result.” Friday’s semi-final draw will be the the front foot in the Champions League, latest staging post in a journey that has PARIS: Karim Benzema will not play for France at and prosper. City were sloppily defensively seen City emerge from the shadow of this year’s European Championship after his in the first leg, but scored opportunistic cross-town rivals Manchester United to national federation ruled against his return due to blueprint serves away goals through Kevin De Bruyne and become a major European player. an ongoing legal case. Benzema is facing prelimi- Fernandinho, and their reward for refusing The strength of the opposition is formi- nary charges of conspiracy to blackmail, relating to to sit on their advantage in Tuesday’s return dable, but whatever comes to pass in the an extortion scam over a sex tape involving France Klopp in Liverpool rebuild leg was the 76th-minute De Bruyne strike next round, Pellegrini will walk away at the teammate Mathieu Valbuena. LONDON: It was perhaps inevitable that Jurgen at Bayer Leverkusen in August 2008, featuring in that sealed a 3-2 aggregate win. That PSG end of the season knowing that he has Benzema was suspended indefinitely in were their last-eight victims was rich in done his bit. —AFP Klopp’s Liverpool would produce their most the squad that faced Bayern Munich in the December pending the ongoing case, and the FFF -like performance at the Champions League final five years later. said yesterday in a statement that “(federation home of his former club. president) Noel Graet and (coach) Didier In last week’s Europa League quarter-final first ‘High-intensity games’ Deschamps have decided that Benzema will not be leg at the Westfalenstadion, Klopp watched his He seems similarly determined to extract Mid-table Chelsea will able to play at Euro 2016.” Liverpool players press and harry like the every ounce of quality from the Liverpool players Leading politicians, such as Prime Minister Dortmund team he steered to the highest eche- at his disposal. The occasionally maligned cen- fight for trophies again Manuel Valls, said Benzema should not be select- lon of the European game. If historical prece- tre-back pairing of and Dejan ed for the national team. Benzema, who has dents are to be believed, the 1-1 final score gives Lovren performed with sturdy resolve in the first LONDON: Chelsea will be fighting on all next season. “I think we will improve and scored 27 goals in 81 matches, misses a second Liverpool a 74 percent chance of progressing, leg, while Origi is flourishing after a difficult start fronts next season and will look to win their for Chelsea the only target is to win. For the major tournament after being left out of the 2010 and the nature of their display revealed the to his time at the club. “He always believed in me remaining Premier League games as a dis- big clubs, if you have one bad season World Cup squad. extent to which Klopp’s methods have taken and he believes in the group also,” said the 20- appointing campaign for the champions where you don’t win trophies, you have to “Unfortunately for me and for those who have hold. “I’m pretty sure a lot of people thought we year-old Belgian striker, who followed up his goal nears its end, defender Cesar Azpilicueta bounce back. We are in a big club here and always supported me ... I will not be selected for would lose 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0,” said Klopp, whose at Dortmund with a brace in Sunday’s 4-1 defeat has said. Despite losing just once in their we have to fight again for trophies next our Euro in France,” Benzema said on his Twitter side tackle Dortmund at in Thursday’s of Stoke City. last 16 league games, Chelsea’s early sea- season.” Chelsea host fourth-placed page. Deschamps will be without his leading scorer return leg. “But at some moments we had “The fact that I’m on the pitch gives me confi- son form under former manager Jose Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the when Euro 2016 host France takes on Romania on Dortmund, and around our goal we were bril- dence and I just try to play my game and enjoy Mourinho, which saw them lose nine league on Saturday. — Reuters June 10 in the tournament opener at Stade de liant.” The sight of Klopp on the touchline- it.” Hard-working players like Adam Lallana, Emre games and dwell dangerously close to rele- France. Investigators charging him believed he was squawking at his players, pumping his fist in cel- Can and James Milner have also earned Klopp’s gation has cost them dearly. approached by a childhood friend to act as an ebration of Divock Origi’s first-half goal-will have trust and are striving to show that they can The Blues, who have already exited both intermediary and convince Valbuena to deal direct- been immediately familiar to Dortmund’s fans, become to him what hardy perennials like Mats European and domestic tournaments, are Matches on TV ly with blackmailers in possession of a sex tape fea- who granted him a touching send-off at the final Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer and Jakub turing the Lyon winger. 10th in the table with just six games left, (Local Timings) whistle. So too the tactics employed by his team, Blaszczykowski were at Dortmund. and Azpilicueta felt a club of Chelsea’s Although Benzema denies any wrongdoing, his whose aggressive, front-foot approach prevent- Milner, captain in the absence of the injured arguments were undermined when Valbuena stature should not be languishing in such a UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE ed the home side from settling into any kind of Jordan Henderson, is relishing the challenge of position. spoke about Benzema’s attempts to pressure him, rhythm and whose counter-attacks kept the playing teams like Dortmund and Tottenham “We have Premier League games to win Shakhtar Donetsk v Sporting Braga22:05 telling a French newspaper he was particularly Dortmund rearguard on constant alert. While Hotspur, held 1-1 at Anfield recently, who play and our motivation is to finish as high up beIN SPORTS 5 HD shocked by the way Benzema spoke about him Dortmund have become more of a possession- with a similar high-tempo approach. “It’s nice to the table as possible because for Chelsea AC Sparta v Villarreal CF 22:05 over the phone with one of the suspected black- based team under Klopp’s successor, Thomas keep getting the games,” Milner said of it’s not enough to be fighting in mid-table,” beIN SPORTS 4 HD mailers, joking that Valbuena would get “eaten by Tuchel-the legacy of the new status his seven- Liverpool’s busy schedule. “They have been high- the Spain international told the club’s web- Sevilla FC v Athletic de Bilbao 22:05 the piranhas.” year tenure left them with-Liverpool are exhibit- intensity games as well-Dortmund and Spurs site (www.chelseafc.com). beIN SPORTS 3 HD Benzema acknowledged that the tone of his ing the same underdog mentality upon which he play at a high tempo. “That’s good for us as it “We haven’t won any trophies this sea- Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund 22:05 conversation - after his phone had been tapped by built his success in the Ruhr valley. keeps us at that intensity we want to play at. We son but we want to win as many games as beIN SPORTS 2 HD police investigators - was uncalled for and apolo- Speaking earlier this season, former Liverpool know if we play at that intensity, that’s when we we can and prepare to lift trophies again gized to Valbuena and his family. In 2010, Benzema defender Mark Lawrenson said the team’s best have our best matches.” If Dortmund are to prove was handed preliminary charges for soliciting an performances were “reminiscent of Borussia themselves worthy favourites for the trophy, underage prostitute but was acquitted in a case Dortmund at their best under Jurgen Klopp”. Tuchel must find a way to withstand the red tide that lasted more than three years. Former France Klopp readily bestowed trust upon the players when the teams resume hostilities today. coach left him out of the he inherited at Dortmund, with seven of the 18 Dortmund’s supporters will know exactly what is 2010 World Cup squad. players he called up for his first game, a 3-2 win coming their way. —AFP A few hours before Wednesday’s verdict, Benzema reaffirmed his commitment to Les Bleus - the nickname for the national team - with a tweet saying “Quoi qu’il arrive, Bleu un jour, Bleu toujours” (Whatever happens, once a Blue, always a Blue). The 28-year-old Benzema has been in the best club form of his career this season, scoring 21 league goals in 22 games and four in seven Champions League games for Real Madrid. Although Deschamps is a big fan of Benzema, his importance to the national squad has been increasingly debated in recent weeks after some impressive attacking performances without him. France won 3-2 away to Netherlands and beat 4-2 at home, having also beaten World Cup winner Germany 2-0 back in November. Earlier this week, Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery said he would consider coming out of international retire- ment in time for the Euro, but first wants to speak with Deschamps. Benzema’s No. 9 jersey with likely go to either PRAGUE: Villarreal’s players take part in a training session at the Generali Arena on LVIV: SC Braga players take part in a trainng session at the Arena Lviv Stadium in Lviv yester- Arsenal striker or Andre-Pierre the eve of the UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg football match AC day on the eve of the UEFA Europa League quarter final second leg football match between FC Gignac, who plays for Mexican side Tigres. — AP Sparta Praha vs Villarreal yesterday in Prague. — AFP Shakhtar Donetsk and SC Braga. — AFP