Full Champions League draw: Madrid derby in semis

Real Madrid will do battle __with their city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

This will be the fourth successive season the rivals have met in the competition and Atleti have yet to get the better of Los Blancos across that run.

Real won both the 2014 and 2016 finals against their foes from across Madrid, __with Diego Simeone’s men now having the opportunity to exact revenge when the sides meet in the last four.

Monaco and Juventus go head-to-head in the other semi-final clash as the June 3 finale at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium looms large.

The official result of the #UCLdraw!

Who will reach the final? pic.twitter.com/ctmsrrB8ip

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 21, 2017

The semi-final first legs will be played on May 2 and 3, with Real Madrid and Monaco starting at home in their respective ties.

The return fixtures will be played the following week, when Atletico will be hoping to end their Champions League heartache by finally overcoming their rivals.

Atleti have finished runners-up in the competition on three occasions, whereas Real’s victory last year was their 11th in the competition.

Gareth Bale would love nothing more than to win the competition in his hometown of Cardiff, while Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will hope to add the trophy that has so far eluded him during his glittering career.

The 39-year-old’s side will be home for the second leg against Monaco, whose young, exciting team knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals.

Jose Mourinho, a touchline kiss and the big questions

Rojo, row your boat
Who did you think Manchester United’s worst player was against Anderlecht in their Europa League victory on Thursday? Daley Blind? Michael Carrick? Zlatan Ibrahimovic?

All three players do receive a rating of five out of ten from John Cross in the Daily Mirror, as does poor Jesse Lingard. But Cross hands out yet another his worst mark – to another individual.

‘Marcos Rojo – Injured early, bravely carried on but that nearly cost his team’

Yes, Rojo carrying on despite being injured ‘nearly cost’ Manchester United, who looked terrible in defence after he was substituted. They conceded their only goal nine minutes after Blind replaced him.

Into the Woods
You get the sense that most journalists in the country had some sort of article lined up __with regards to Premier League clubs struggling in the Champions League. The demise of England’s final team, Leicester, was the cue to file them.

After Neil Ashton of The Sun put it down to fixture congestion on Thursday, David Woods seeks to find the answer in the Daily Star on Friday.

‘Not so long ago managers whose teams were in the Champions League felt they were in __with a shout of winning it.

‘Not any more. Following years of dismal efforts, summed up this year by Leicester being the only team to reach the quarter-finals, that Champions League confidence has evaporated.’

Sure, English clubs are not quite as dominant as they were from 2005 to 2011, when they had at least one representative in six of the seven finals, but only Spain and Germany have had more semi-finalists since 2012.

Woods continues:

‘Even the last win, by Chelsea in 2012, was hardly done in style, the Blues battling their way to success with breakaway football against Bayern Munich, winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

‘Bayern had 21 shots on target, compared to the west Londoners’ six. The German giants had 20 corners, while the Blues had one!’

Crikey. Does anyone in charge at UEFA know that Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League win was ‘hardly done in style’? The victory will surely be annulled when they find out.

Also, no German clubs reached the Champions League semi-final between 2003 and 2010? And they’re doing alright now. Go figure.

Sport or Sporf?
The terrible news of Ugo Ehiogu’s sudden passing at the age of just 44 led to an understandable outpouring of grief towards one of the game’s much-loved figures on Friday.

BBC Sport were at the forefront of the reporting, as ever.

The tributes to the death of Ugo Ehiogu are coming in from around the sporting world.https://t.co/1mJ5ZXzUxV https://t.co/Mu6Rn7WRep

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 21, 2017

What BBC Sport failed to mention in that tweet above was that half an hour earlier, they had posted their own tribute to Ehiogu.

They decided that the best way to respect and remember Ehiogu would be to post his stats from an old computer game.

Screenshots are not necessary here – they are readily available all over Twitter – but the ill-judged nature of the BBC’s reporting has to be seen to be believed.

‘Just look at Ugo Ehiogu’s stats on Championship Manager 2,’ they tweeted, alongside a picture of said stats from said game. ‘What a career the ex-Aston Villa man had.’

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is surely the result of a person working for an organisation that believes ‘Topical event + thing people love = great content’ is the secret to social media.

It is perhaps the greatest example of ‘BBC Sport or BBC Sporf?’ ever, and that is doing a disservice to the numerous ‘banter’ social media accounts who display better judgement than to mourn someone’s death by posting their stats from a 20-year-old computer game.

What makes BBC’s stance on this even stranger – and they have yet to apologise for the tweet, for what it’s worth – is that they are not as click-driven for profits as any other outlet. This is purely a terrible attempt at producing shareable ‘content’ for an audience that they have misjudged terribly.

But hey, outrage is king, and engagement figures on social media are the be all and end all. Tastefulness and respect is for idiots.

Mail order
The headline on the front of the MailOnline website:

‘What was Jose’s mystery note? United boss Mourinho spotted KISSING a piece of paper just before Rashford’s Anderlecht winner’

The headline in the story:

‘Marcus Rashford nets the winner just moments after Jose Mourinho kisses mystery piece of paper as Manchester United beat Anderlecht at Old Trafford’

Amount of times said piece of paper is referred to in the article: Once.

Amount of times MailOnline answer their own question of ‘What was Jose’s mystery note?’: Zero.

Amount of clicks MailOnline get for essentially writing another match report sold on a spurious and unanswered question in the headline: Loads.

Mirror, Mirror
Headline on the front of the Daily Mirror website:

‘What is Mourinho’s lucky charm? Man United boss spotted kissing item moments before winning goal’

The headline in the story:

‘What is Jose Mourinho’s lucky charm? Manchester United boss spotted kissing item moments before winning goal’

Oh look, they’ve added a ‘Jose’ and a ‘chester’. Get you.

Amount of times said ‘lucky charm’ is referred to in the article: Twice.

Amount of times Mirror Football answer their own question of ‘What was Jose’s mystery note?’: That depends as to whether you deem ‘The charm appeared to be a small book, that looked to have writing on the left-hand side, which he took a short look at’ as an appropriate answer.

Amount of clicks Mirror Football get for essentially writing another match report sold on a spurious and unanswered question in the headline: Loads.

You gotta have faith
Luckily for Mediawatch and those who hate being asked questions by people who don’t properly answer them, Mourinho discussed his piece of paper/lucky charm after the match. Because that is football journalism.

“It is not because of this that we score,” he joked. “I do it so many times, maybe you just saw it today. I do it for 17 years. It’s just my religion and faith.”

It isn’t “religion and faith” Jose, mate. It’s intrigue and clicks. Fool.

Knock it off, Nigel
Reads the first paragraph to John Cross’s interview with Nigel Winterburn in the Daily Mirror:

‘Nigel Winterburn is worried that Arsenal have lost their winning mentality.’

Mediawatch is worried that Nigel Winterburn is about ten years behind everyone else with that belief.

Recommended reading of the day
Miguel Delaney on Tottenham.

Seb Stafford-Bloor on Mousa Dembele.

Steve Price on a stadium with ski jumps.

Everton ready to make ‘big investments’

Everton chief executive Robert Elstone says the club will be making “big investments” in the summer.

Ronald Koeman has targeted a place in the Champions League over the next few years and this summer the club have stated that this summer will be “really important” for strengthening the squad.

In an interview __with Radio City Talk, Elstone said: “It’s really important big summer for us and the club will continue to make big investments, the squad will continue to grow and improve and it will be a very busy and exciting summer for Everton fans.

“Looking back at the last summer transfer window, the transfer window changed enormously.

“Transfer fees went through the roof and wages went through the roof and I think more of the same will happen.

“What we’ve got to do is operate in that window as we always have done, looking out for best value and being as good as we can in terms of negotiating and getting the best bang for our buck in that sense.”

Everton are believed to be at the front of the queue to sign Burnley’s Michael Keane after holding talks over a £20million summer move.

And the arrival of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri last year will help Koeman financially as he bids to find the best talent out there, but Elstone was quick to point out that Everton are way behind some of the Premier League’s big spenders.

“A lot of fans have been thinking there’s been a pivotal moment, Mr Moshiri joining the club was a special moment but that ambition has always been there ever since I’ve been at Everton,” added Elstone.

“Every single penny we’ve had has gone into creating and developing and putting the best 11 players on the pitch.

“What has happened across the whole of the Premier League is that we’ve got an amazing new TV deal which means that every single club is considerably better off and undoubtedly __with Mr Moshiri standing behind us and providing funds is giving us that extra confidence.

“The strategy has always been there, the ambition has always been there, finally we’re getting the wherewithal to live up to that.

“The gap between Everton in seventh and some of the clubs above us who have been playing in the Champions League regularly is absolutely enormous.

“We’re £30-40million behind Tottenham in terms of wage bill, we’re about a third of what some of the other teams above us are behind and about a quarter of Manchester City and Chelsea.

“That gap is absolutely enormous but there’s a belief within the club that it’s not just about money.

“With a great manager with a great youth development system and great spirit, Leicester proved it – and we’ve definitely got better resources than Leicester – we believe we can kick on and take the club into the top four and take the club forward.”

Mourinho fears worst over Zlatan and Rojo

Jose Mourinho fears the worst after Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo were forced off __with serious-looking injuries as Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-finals.

Having impressively beaten Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday, United were made to sweat by Anderlecht after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s early strike was cancelled out by an equaliser from skipper Sofiane Hanni.

The tie was eventually settled in extra-time by man-of-the-match Marcus Rashford as a breathless quarter-final second leg ended 2-1 at Old Trafford, seeing Mourinho’s men through 3-2 on aggregate.

But victory came at a cost as increasingly important defender Rojo left the field on a stretcher in the first half, before top scorer Ibrahimovic’s knee buckled after landing awkwardly just before extra-time.

Asked about the condition of the pair, Mourinho said: “I want to wait, but my feeling is not good for both.

“I want to wait and try to be optimistic, but I am not.”

Ex-England defender Ugo Ehiogu dead at 44

Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu has died aged 44, Tottenham have announced.

Ehiogu, Spurs’ Under-23 coach, collapsed on Thursday at the club’s training centre before being rushed to hospital.

But the former Villa, Middlesbrough and Rangers defender died in the early hours of this morning.

It is __with immense sadness that we announce the passing of Ugo Ehiogu, our Under-23 coach. pic.twitter.com/sSU0yqVfyk

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 21, 2017

His former clubs including Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Rangers and West Brom were among those to pay tribute to a player described as an uncompromising defender on the field and a gentleman off it.

Ehiogu’s former Villa team-mate Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports News: “To find out he has passed away, it must be devastating for his family.

“Ugo was such a character. He has always been that bubbly character. He was just a great guy to have around.”

Current Villa manager Steve Bruce also paid tribute to Ehiogu, describing the centre-back as a “bargain” signing by former Villa Park boss Ron Atkinson in 1991.

Bruce told a press conference ahead of Villa’s derby against Birmingham on Sunday: “I played against him. Big Ron bought him for £45,000 – what a bargain. He was a great player.”

Stoke manager Mark Hughes also played against Ehiogu and remembered what it was like to face the defender.

Hughes said: “He was a big strong guy, a big athlete, and you knew when you went up against him it was always going to be a difficult game. That is why, when these things happen, it is even more shocking, because you remember them in their prime. It is a real shame.”

Villa, for whom Ehiogu played more than 300 games, tweeted: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of our former defender Ugo Ehiogu.

“Our thoughts are __with his family at this terribly sad time.”

The club added: “We will be holding a minute’s applause before our derby with @BCFC…

“Both sets of players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect.”

Tottenham forward Shayon Harrison, who was coached by Ehiogu at the club, added his own tribute.

Harrison, who is on loan at Yeovil, wrote: “One of the most genuine, and caring people I’ve ever met. An honour to have been taught by you, not only as a player, but as a person. 🙏🏽UE”

Former Tottenham and England defender Sol Campbell tweeted: “One of my East London mates of old. Ugo Ehiogu true defender my heart goes out to his family. I just can’t believe it!”

Trevor Sinclair, the former England, QPR and West Ham winger, said on Twitter: “Absolutely devastated to hear Ugo Ehiogu has died! Thoughts and prayers with his family and loved ones 🙏🏾 such a lovely gentleman RIP

Ehiogu played four times for England and was also part of the coaching team for England Under-20s at the 2013 World Cup in Turkey.

Football Association chairman Greg Clarke said: “We’re devastated to hear the news that Ugo Ehiogu has passed away. Our thoughts and sympathies are with all lucky enough to know him.

“A hugely popular figure across English football but particularly at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, he was also close to many at Wembley and St George’s Park through his England connections – both as a player and as a coach.

“He will be much missed by the game he served so well.”

Middlesbrough, where Ehiogu played over 100 times, tweeted: “MFC are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of our former player Ugo Ehiogu. Our thoughts go out to Ugo’s friends and family.”

West Brom, where Ehiogu began his career, tweeted: “The thoughts of everyone at #WBA are with the family and friends of Ugo Ehiogu, who started his career at The Hawthorns. Rest in peace.”

Rangers said in a statement: “Rangers Football Club is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of former defender Ugo Ehiogu.

“The 44-year-old Englishman joined the Light Blues when Walter Smith returned as manager in 2007 and made a huge impact in his short time in Glasgow – notably his winning goal at Celtic Park in the derby.

“He died after suffering a heart attack at Tottenham’s training ground and everyone associated with the club sends their sincere condolences to Ugo’s family and friends at this difficult time.”