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      Man City 3 Bayern Munich 0 LIVE RESULT: Guardiola’s side DOMINATE Germans in HUGE Champions League clash – reaction

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      MANCHESTER CITY have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after Pep Guardiola’s side dominate Bayern Munich at the Etihad.Rodri opened the scoring inside thirty minutes with a cracking strike to beat Yann Sommer in the Bayern net.
      Bernardo Silva made it two after getting on the end of a superb Erling Haaland cross.
      The Norwegian goal machine then got on the score sheet himself to make it three and give Bayern Munich a mountain to climb in the second leg.

      Match result: Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      Man City XI: Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
      Bayern Munich XI: Sommer, Pavard, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Musiala, Sane, Coman, Gnabry

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      City in control of own destiny
      Many City head into their next run of games knowing that five wins would put them fully in control of their season.
      With Arsenal heading to the Eithad for a crunch encounter and their reverse fixture in Munich coming up, it could be a pivotal moment of the season for the Spaniard’s team.
      Based on tonight’s performance, it would be a brave man who would bet against them winning all five games.

      Pep talk gives edge over Tuchel
      Thomas Tuchel will feel that his opposite number has got one over him this evening with his side heading back to Munich with their tails between their legs.
      They had an air of confidence about them in the first half until Rodri’s wonder strike put the hosts ahead.
      Bayern will be looking for divine intervention if they have any hopes of reaching the semi-finals as they will need to overturn a three-goal deficit.
      Credit: EPA
      City in classic Guardiola mindset
      Man City are hitting form just at the right time as they look to chase down league leaders Arsenal heading towards the end of the season.
      This victory against Bayern Munich will only boost their confidence heading into the business end of the season.
      It is a common trait of a Pep Guardiola side that hit a run of form when it is most needed of them.
      He has turned this side into serial winners and they will be confident that they can get the job done when they travel to Germany for the second leg.
      Spaniard picks the perfect moment
      Rodri had never scored a goal in the Champions League for Man City going into tonight’s game.
      It was his goal that opened the scoring this evening, immediately after Bayern almost took the lead themselves.
      After his wonder strike, he bossed the midfield and controlled things for Pep Guardiola’s side.

      Grealish haunts Tuchel and Bayern
      Jack Grealish has been in red-hot form since the World Cup in Qatar.
      He continued that this evening as he proved to be the thorn in Bayern Munich’s side.
      The Man City wide man put in a man of the match performance tonight.

      FT: Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      These are the European nights Man City fans have dreamed of.
      Dispatching the German champions Bayern Munich with ease.
      The atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium is off the scale.

      FT: Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      The referee brings the game to a close.
      City resist the Bayern onslaught towards the end to maintain their three goal lead to take into the second leg.
      What a performance tonight by Pep Guardiola’s side.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      90+2. Bayern are still coming forward trying to get some form of consolation.
      A goal for the Germans would change the perspective of this tie.
      It seems a daunting task to beat Pep Guardiola’s side by three goals in Germany the way they are playing at the moment.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      90. City are looking like they will have a three goal lead to take to Munich for the second leg.
      It is a huge ask of Tuchel’s side to turn this tie around.
      They will need the sort of miracle that saw Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 to progress.
      We are going to have three additional minutes added here.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      88. Kimmich is booked for a heavy tackle on Grealish.
      He is lucky to just see yellow as caught the Man City man quite high up the leg.
      This has been a bad night at the office for the German champions.
      Credit: PA
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      86. Upamecano plays a wayward backpass to his keeper.
      Sommer cannot keep it in play, gifting City another corner.
      Rodri meets the cross with a great header which Sommer somehow tips over the bar.
      World class goalkeeping there.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      84. City are forced onto the backfoot as Bayern attack with a ball through the middle towards Sane.
      As it looks like he may get there before Ederson, Stones intervenes.
      Great play from the City defender.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      82. The ball is played to Alvarez who is about thirty yards out.
      He tries his luck with Sommer scrambling.
      The ball goes inches wide with the keeper nowhere near it.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      80. Bayern look to bring on Muller and Cancelo.
      Gnabry and Davies are the ones to make way.
      He is given a feisty reception by the home fans.
      Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich
      78. What a night this is turning into for Pep Guardiola and his team.
      The ball is dinked over to the back post and Haaland volleys it past Sommer to make it three.
      Thomas Tuchel’s side are in real trouble here.
      Credit: Reuters
      Goal – Erling Haaland (Man City)
      Man City 2-0 Bayern Munich – Alvarez chance
      76. This is all Man City at the moment.
      Alvarez looks to pass one into the bottom corner but Sommer makes a brilliant save down to his left.
      The corner is swung in by City but it is half cleared by Bayern.
      Man City 2-0 Bayern Munich
      74. The visitors have it all to do now.
      They will not want to go back to Germany with such an uphill task for the second leg.
      City on the other hand will want to add more.
      Man City 2-0 Bayern Munich
      72. Man City are in the ascendency now.
      Bayern are self-destructing at the moment.
      Upamecano looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up right now.
      Man City 2-0 Bayern Munich
      70. Grealish does brilliantly to dispossess Upamecano.
      He feeds it to Haaland on the left who looks like he is surely going to shoot but he chips it towards the back post.
      The arriving Bernardo Silva heads it passed Sommer.
      Great header.
      Goal – Bernardo Silva (Man City)
      Man City 1-0 Bayern Munich
      68. De Bruyne is on the end of another rough challenge.
      Guardiola seems to be getting Alvarez to warm up.
      Davies puts a good ball in from the left but Grealish flicks it clear.
      Alvarez comes on to replace De Bruyne.
      Credit: Reuters
      Man City 1-0 Bayern Munich
      66. Bayern are pressing and win a corner as Sane comes over to take it.
      De Bruyne is the man who heads it away at the near post.
      It seems Sadio Mane may be coming on to join us for the visitors.
      Man City 1-0 Bayern Munich
      64. De Bruyne is down and receiving some attention.
      As he slid to keep the ball in play he seemed to twist his right knee.
      He seems okay to continue but is still off the field.
      Man City 1-0 Bayern Munich
      62. Man City are looking to pass their way through the visitors.
      The neat one-touch passing is opening the Germans up.
      De Bruyne and Grealish are causing all the problems.
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      Man City 3 Bayern Munich 0: Haaland rounds off spectacular Champions League victory as Guardiola routs his former club

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      IT was the second goal which exemplified Manchester City’s finest Champions League night under Pep Guardiola. It was the second goal which brought to life the City manager’s vision of total football.  And what a beautiful mugging of Bayern Munich it was.  
      Man City are on the brink of the Champions League semis after thrashing Bayern MunichCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      City fired three past the Germans as Thomas Tuchel suffered on his return to EnglandCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Jack Grealish – a supposed show pony – won a bruising challenge to rob Dayot Upamecano, a centre-half approximately twice his size, and back-heeled to release Erling Haaland.
      Then Haaland – supposedly a gluttonous one-track-mind goal machine, forego the chance to shoot and floated a visionary centre to Bernardo Silva.
      And Bernardo, the smallest man on the pitch, stuck his nut on it and nodded past Yann Sommer. 
      Soon after, Haaland notched one of his own – his 45th of a ridiculous campaign – and City were almost home and hosed ahead of the quarter-final second leg in Munich next Wednesday. 
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      City were excellent here, making elite opposition look thoroughly ordinary as the second half progressed.  
      They led at the break through Rodri’s first Champions League goal – a long-range belter to compare with Vinny Kompany’s famous strike against Leicester during a title run-in a few seasons ago. 
      But it was not until the second period when Guardiola’s side skewered the perennial champions of Germany with a relentless attacking verve. 
      Guardiola loves to sarcastically claim he will be a ‘failure’ if he never wins the Champions League with City. 
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      But here, at the seventh time of asking, was his team’s most compelling performance at the sharp end of the world’s greatest club competition.
      A run of 21 goals in City’s previous four matches had convinced Guardiola to avoid his usual selection brainstorm for a major Champions League fixture. 
      We’d arrived here in a perfect Mancunian storm, almost assuming he’d drop Haaland. 
      But against his former club Bayern and his 2021 final nemesis Thomas Tuchel, the Catalan played it straight. 
      Well as straight as you for a man who has spent a king’s ransom on specialist full-backs but has long since stopped selecting any of them. 
      Instead, he employs four specialist centre-backs. Tony Pulis used to do the same at Stoke but his team never played like this lot.
      Rodri fired Man City ahead after 27 minutesCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      The midfielder smashed in a glorious long-range effortCredit: Getty
      Joao Cancelo, allowed out on loan to Bayern after a spat with Guardiola in January, was only on the bench for the Bavarians, although former City winger Leroy Sane was a starter.
      Early on, the swirling storm took the edge off proceedings, cat-and-mouse football as it piddled down, cats and sogs. 
      Haaland, though, was lurking. First the Norse god of goalscoring spun past Dayot Upamecano and shot wide. 
      Then when keeper Yann Sommer took an extra touch in dealing with a back-pass, Haaland clattered him and almost diverted home.
      By the time Haaland had shot straight down the keeper’s throat from a Grealish pass, City were fully finding their feet. 
      John Stones, sitting in front of the back three, was in full Barnsley Beckenbauer mode against the club of the real McCoy, while Ruben Dias was an effective roadblock any time Bayern surged forward.
      Bernardo Silva doubled City’s lead in the 70th minuteCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      The midfielder snuck in to score a clever headerCredit: Reuters
      When the goal arrived, on 27 minutes, the source was an unlikely one. 
      Rodri is primarily employed by Guardiola as a burly doorman, suddenly he was centre stage.
      When Grealish squared to the Spanish midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan had slipped through the inside-right channel expecting a pass.
      But Rodri turned Jamal Musiala, looked up, sized up Sommer and thought ‘I fancy this’. 
      From almost 25 yards he curled one deliciously into the top corner for his first Champions League goal. 
      They cavorted in the squall, elation and relief raining down from the terraces. 
      Erling Haaland made sure of the result six minutes laterCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      The hitman netted a clever finish to put City in total controlCredit: AFP
      Sommer was soon flapping at a De Bruyne cross but then stuck out a leg to deny Ilkay Gundogan the chance to double City’s lead. 
      Either side of half-time, Sane pinged one wide from distance then crashed a swerving shot towards Ederson who saved with his body. 
      Then, Sane taking it upon himself to take them to game to his former employers, skimmed a shot along the sodden turf, forcing Ederson into a sprawling save. 
      While Ederson excelled, Sommer – deputising for Manuel Neuer after the German No 1’s skiing injury – was struggling. 
      He got into a tangle with Upamecano, almost letting in Grealish, and then he slipped and passed straight to Haaland, whose effort was blocked. 
      Sane took aim again, Ederson saved again. Then the Brazilian tipped over a deflected cross and it was starting to feel nervy inside the Etihad. 
      Pep Guardiola constantly demanded more from his starsCredit: Getty
      It was a miserable return to England for ex-Chelsea boss Thomas TuchelCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Grealish, though, slipped a cunning back-heel to Nathan Ake, whose shot was beaten away by Sommer. Then the Swiss keeper tipped a Bernardo Silva volley over. 
      By now, Bernardo was in the mood to get up to no good, 
      In one move, he embarrassed Bayern’s defence with a Cruyff turn, a dummy and a nutmeg – a tasting menu, consisting of pure sauce. 
      On the other flank, Grealish won a shuddering challenge and stuck out his chest like a man who realised he belonged here. 
      De Bruyne had just suffered a minor knock when Guardiola withdrew him midway through the second half but he was in no mood for an early cut – refusing the handshakes of his boss and his replacement Julian Alvarez. 
      Then, Grealish seized the moment, Haaland centred and Bernardo scored.
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      Alvarez then had Sommer flinging out an arm to prevent a third but City didn’t have to wait long.
      Bayern failed to clear a corner, Bernardo centred, Stones won a big header and Haaland, who doesn’t need much room, was allowed acres to score with a cushioned volley.  More

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      Man City fans boo OWN PLAYER Joao Cancelo as Bayern Munich loanee subbed on in Champions League defeat

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      MANCHESTER CITY fans booed their own player Joao Cancelo as Bayern Munich bought on the loanee in their 3-0 Champions League thumping.The Portugal defender got a hostile Etihad reception when he replaced Alphonso Davies late on as the outclassed German giants tried everything.
      Joao Cancelo tries to fend off Bernardo Silva in his brief cameo against parent club Man City in Bayern’s 3-0 defeat at the EtihadCredit: Getty
      Cancelo got a better reception from City players at the final whistleCredit: Reuters
      Rodri’s brilliant opener on 27 minutes had set up a glorious night for Pep Guardiola’s men.
      Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland then struck to round off one of City’s best ever nights in Europe, giving them a commanding lead for the Champions League quarter-final return.
      Cancelo was loaned out to Bayern in January following a spat with Guardiola.
      And although he was only given nine minutes with the Bundesliga champs already 3-0 down, another ex-City star played the whole game.
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      Germany winger Leroy Sane played the whole game, forcing home keeper Ederson into a crucial stop just before Haaland notched City’s third goal.
      Social media was as ungenerous to Cancelo as fans in the stadium were.
      One wrote: “Pep owns this guy. benched by another team.”
      Another wrote: “He got benched by Pep, Nagelsmann and Tuchel now. Salah truly finished his career.”
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      A third claimed: “Benched against us. Poetic.”
      And a fourth handed out the warning: “Always respect and trust the coach.”
      But a solemn-looking Cancelo was embraced at the final whistle end by City players.
      How Man City recorded a brilliant victory More

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      Carlo Ancelotti reveals who should be Chelsea boss and admits he’s ‘sad’ at shocking state of club he still supports

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      CARLO ANCELOTTI thinks Frank Lampard is the right man to sort out Chelsea.The Real Madrid boss, who led Blues to the Premier League title in 2009-10, insists he will never return to west London.
      Stamford Bridge legend Frank Lampard is tipped by Carlo Ancelotti to do a ‘great job’ in his surprise second stint in charge of ChelseaCredit: PA
      But he has no doubts that Lampard, who he managed during his two-year stint in London, could enjoy success in this shock second spell as manager, albeit on an interim basis.
      Ancelotti said: “I have a fantastic memory of Chelsea.
      “I am a supporter of the club. But go back? No.
      “I think Lampard is the right man and he will do a great job with them.
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      “Lampard is a very good coach, he has a great team and he knows how to prepare big matches.”
      Asked about the Blues’ current situation, Italian Ancelotti added: “I am sad as I have fantastic memories and know a lot of people there.
      “I had two fantastic years there.”
      Ancelotti will be hoping for a similar result to last year’s quarter-final, when Real beat Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate thanks to two late goals in the second leg.
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      Real then squeezed past Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate in the semis and beat Liverpool 1-0 in the final for a 14th European crown.
      Asked if his team were maybe a bit fortunate to lift the trophy, Ancelotti said: “Real Madrid lucky in the Champions League? We deserved to win.
      “If you come back, it means you want to win it more. It’s not luck.”
      Real defender David Alaba knows his team will have to be at their best.
      He said: “We don’t underestimate Chelsea.
      “The changes they’ve made could influence things in some way — and we know it.” More

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      Fans fear for Kevin de Bruyne as Man City star goes off after appearing to injure himself rolling ankle

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      MANCHESTER CITY superstar Kevin de Bruyne has left fans worried after picking up an injury against Bayern Munich.De Bruyne hobbled off the pitch after appearing to roll his ankle in the Champions League quarter-finals at the Etihad.
      Kevin de Bruyne hobbled off the pitch in the second half against Bayern MunichCredit: Getty
      Manchester City superstar Kevin de Bruyne picked up an ankle injuryCredit: Reuters
      The 31-year-old hurt his foot in the second half when he tried to clear the ball with his right down the left flank.
      The playmaker fell to the ground and was immediately approached by medical staff.
      And City manager Pep Guardiola had to replace him with Julian Alvarez on 68 minutes.
      Fans took to social media to reach out to the Belgium international hoping his substitution was mostly a precaution.
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      One supporter tweeted: “De Bruyne can’t get injured now….”
      Another commented: “Don’t tell me De Bruyne is injured pls.”
      A third posted: “De Bruyne did not have the best game today. But he is no doubt City’s best player. Hopefully its not an injury.”
      This fan said: “If Kevin de Bruyne has a serious injury call the season off.”
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      And that one wrote: “Julian Alvarez coming in for De Bruyne. I just hope he is not injured.”
      City, though, still managed to pick up a major 3-0 victory over Bayern ahead of next week’s second-leg at Allianz Arena.
      Rodri opened the scoring on 27 minutes and Bernardo Silva sealed the win in the 70th minute.
      The Citizens’ star striker Erling Haaland made it three and put his team in prime position for the semi-finals with his finish after 76 minutes. More

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      Fans claim Pep Guardiola is trying to turn Haaland into Weghorst after seeing bizarre Man City line-up from BBC

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      FANS worried Pep Guardiola was trying to turn Erling Haaland into Wout Weghorst after seeing the BBC version of Manchester City’s formation against Bayern Munich.Goal machine Haaland was shown next to John Stones amid four players behind sole attacker Bernardo Silva for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
      Erling Haaland is gunning for more Champions League goal records as he takes on Bayern Munich in the last eightCredit: EPA
      Loan frontman Wout Weghorst has often been used behind the main striking position by Man Utd boss Erik ten HagCredit: Reuters

      In the event, the Norwegian poacher did of course feature at the front of City’s attack.
      But even he must have been open-mouthed in admiration at the way Rodri swerved a stunning opener on 27 minutes – his first ever goal in Europe’s top club competition.
      Online observers, however, were bewildered by Haaland’s tactical role, based on the Beeb’s graphics, which suggested he might play a deeper role like Manchester United’s under-fire Weghorst.
      One fan said: “#Pep seen #Weghorst playing in the hole and thinks I can’t be outdone by Sir #TenHag – I know let’s try #Haaland and #Stones as a centre midfield pairing with license to go forwards protected by #Rodri and #Ilkay.”
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      Another posted: “What is BBC cooking!? Gündogan DM, Haaland and Stones as number 10s and Bernardo Silva as a number 9.”
      A third wrote: “Has BBC Sport got this right? I know Stones has been playing more advanced lately, but next to Haaland with Silva as lone striker?”
      And a fourth stated: “BBC Sport reckon Stones and Haaland are playing midfield just in behind Bernardo Silva tonight.”
      Etihad chief Guardiola has shaken his tactics up in recent months.
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      One fan spotted the BBC’s lineup
      The main difference is England centre-back Stones generally playing as one of two holding midfielders in front of a three-man defence.
      But he can drop to right-back to make a rearguard of four players when City are on the defensive.
      In front of the banks of three and two come four more creative midfielders, chiefly Bernardo Silva, stylist Kevin De Bruyne and bang-in-form Jack Grealish.
      That leaves Haaland in the position no-one doubts he’s best at – centre-forward.
      But it was Rodri’s long-range breakthrough that ignited fans most on social media.
      One said: “There’s no stopping those!” and another raved: “What a goal!” More

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      Chelsea boss Frank Lampard opens up on only ever Bernabeu appearance as he says ‘I didn’t touch the ball’ in horror show

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      CHELSEA interim manager Frank Lampard revealed he only played once at Real Madrid’s legendary Santiago Bernabeu Stadium during his celebrated 21-year career.And Lampard admitted it was not a performance to remember as he didn’t “get a kick” during an international match between Spain and England.
      Frank Lampard will lead Chelsea against Real Madrid in the Champions LeagueCredit: Getty
      Chelsea caretaker boss Frank Lampard admitted he only played once at the Santiago BernabeuCredit: PA
      However, the 44-year-old tactician insists his players will have to do better than he did back in the day ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final.
      Lampard said: “I only played once in my career [during] England-Spain and we lost 2-0.
      “I don’t think I got a kick, Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta were in their heyday.
      “But I absolutely remember the size of the stadium, we’ve got some young players but also we have some players that have achieved a lot.
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      “Champions League winners, World Cup winners and these things, so I don’t think it’s something completely new to them.
      “But of course it’s that stadium and a quarter-final is an occasion and we have to play the occasion because levels go up at this point in the competition.
      “But we have to come with the belief that we can perform under that pressure.”
      Lampard will be without Mason Mount, Thiago Silva and captain Cesar Azpilicueta against Real.
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      N’Golo Kante was surprisingly missing from the caretaker boss’ first squad after coming back from injury the week before.
      But it was later revealed that Kante was left out due to a precautionary decision.
      Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana are not in the Chelsea’s Champions League squad. More

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      Star who scored Sevilla winner at Old Trafford handed six-month prison sentence ahead of Man Utd Europa League clash

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      WISSAM BEN YEDDER has been sentenced to six months in prison in Spain.But according to AS, former Sevilla star Ben Yedder, who currently plays for Monaco, will not serve any jail time.
      Ex-Sevilla star Wissam Ben Yedder has been handed a six-month prison sentenceCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      Wissam Ben Yedder eliminated Manchester United during his time at SevillaCredit: Mark Robinson – The Sun
      The striker was penalised for a crime against the Public Treasury and was also ordered to pay a fine of €133,798 (£117,519).
      The sentence was suspended for two years and includes the condition of “the defendant not committing a crime again during the period of suspension”.
      So it is highly-likely Ben Yedder will not spend any time behind bars.
      The charges relate to the France international’s three-year spell at Sevilla until his departure in 2019.
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      The 32-year-old scored 70 goals and bagged 22 assists in 138 appearances during his time in Seville.
      Ben Yedder is widely remembered for knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League in 2018.
      Sevilla and United met in the Round of 16 and the Frenchman fired his team to the quarter-finals thanks to a brace that led to a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
      The Red Devils and the LaLiga giants are now set to face off again this Thursday in the Europa League quarter-finals.
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      But of course Ben Yedder won’t play any part as he is now competing in his home country for Monaco.
      The centre-forward has so far amassed 96 goals and 30 assists in 161 games with the Ligue 1 giants.
      United face Sevilla at Old Trafford in their first-leg and will visit Spain next week.
      The winner of that tie will go on to face either Juventus or Sporting Lisbon, who knocked Arsenal out, in the semi-finals. More