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      I’ve knocked Man Utd out of Europe twice, ended up on the front pages over a sex act and was ran over by my own car

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      EVER BANEGA is one of the most successful players in the Europa League having won the competition three times.During his career has been able to knock out Manchester United of European football on two different occasions.
      Ever Banega has had an interesting life since moving to EuropeCredit: Getty – Contributor
      He has won the Europa League three timesCredit: AFP OR LICENSORS
      The Argentine midfielder haunted the Red Devils in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2018 and in the Europa League semi-finals in 2020.
      Banega, 34, will be hoping to make it a hat-trick as Sevilla take on Man United in the Europa League quarter-finals second leg tonight at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
      The first leg ended 2-2 at Old Trafford as United threw away a two-goal lead in the last ten minutes of the game.
      However, Banega’s life has not just been full of football highs as he has hit headlines for antics off the pitch.
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      In 2008 after moving to Valencia from Boca Juniors he was caught on webcam performing a sexual act on himself, which led to him hitting the Spanish newspapers.
      He was able to move on from the incident with his form on the pitch despite the side struggling under manager Ronald Koeman.
      However, it did not take long for him to hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again after he was pulled over by police in March that year.
      The club statement at the time did not hold back on blame for the midfielder.
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      It read: “Banega committed a traffic offence last night and as a result was given an alcohol test where he gave a positive [test].
      “Until the details of the incident become clear, Valencia will not make any comment.”
      The player was then allegedly involved training ground incidents with alcohol issues which lead to him being loaned to Atletico Madrid.
      After this spell away from the club, Banega came back to a very different Valencia team that boasted the likes of Juan Mata, David Villa and David Silva.
      This allowed Banega to benefit and show his true abilities with the ball.
      He hit the headlines for his antics off the pitchCredit: AFP
      He is one of the stars of Sevilla’s teamCredit: Getty
      However, problems arose again as in 2012 he was run over by his own car.
      The incident happened at a petrol station as his car reportedly rolled back after a handbrake failure and crushed his leg leaving him needing ankle surgery and a long stint on the sidelines.
      Things never picked back up for Banega at Valencia and in 2014 he moved Sevilla and quickly found his best form.
      He won the Europa League back to back in his first two seasons, including beating Liverpool in the final in 2016.
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      After a year at Inter Milan, Banega returned to the LaLiga club and won the competition again in 2020, beating the Italian side in the final.
      It was during this run that they knocked out the Red Devils in the semis 2-1 on aggregate.
      Banega will be aiming for a fourth Europa League medal this seasonCredit: Getty More

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      Bayern Munich chief Oliver Kahn fires brutal shot at Choupo-Moting after crashing out of Champions League to Man City

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      OLIVER KAHN brutally attacked Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s performance against Manchester City in the Champions League quarter final.The Bavarians were beaten 4-1 on aggregate, only managing to score through a consolation Joshua Kimmich penalty in the 83rd minute of the second leg.
      CEO Oliver Kahn shared his thoughts on Bayern Munich’s lacklustre 1-1 drawCredit: Getty
      And he had harsh words for Eric Maxim Choupo-MotingCredit: Getty
      Germany legend and Bayern CEO Kahn ruthlessly summed up the Cameroon forward’s abilities, saying: “We saw one striker yesterday, but unfortunately he wasn’t playing for us”.
      He added, “There aren’t many #9’s like Lewandowski”, in reference to their old star striker.
      Kahn also seemed to be comparing Choupo-Moting to City goal machine Erling Haaland.
      The former Stoke City and PSG striker registered just one shot on target, with an attempted back heel from close range blocked by Ruben Dias just before half-time.
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      Bayern needed a miracle to go through after losing the first leg 3-0 – and they squandered plenty of opportunities to get back into the game.
      Yet, Haaland – who also scored in the first-leg – made them pay as he lashed home a shot into the top corner to cap off a swift counter-attack in the second half.
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      Kahn himself is reportedly set to be sacked following the disappointing quarter final exit.
      Bayern dismissed Julian Naglesmann, who was unbeaten in the Champions League this season, last month. The club has also been knocked out of the domestic cup by Freiburg.
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      As well as their cup exits, the German champions are at risk of losing out on the Bundesliga title, with Borussia Dortmund closing the gap with six games remaining.
      It was also under his leadership, that the club sold the talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski, and failed to replace him with an equivalent goal-scorer.
      The fact that Jamal Musiala is the leading scorer with eleven goals highlights the lack of strike power.
      The German giants will be in the market for a new striker in the summer, with Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen linked. More

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      How Man City could afford Jude Bellingham transfer bid by winning Champions League as prize money is broken down

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      MANCHESTER CITY could bank a staggering £117million from their Champions League run – to virtually cover the transfer cost of Jude Bellingham.Pep Guardiola’s men have already banked just short of £100m for reaching the semis.
      Jude Bellingham is a key Manchester City target this summerCredit: Getty
      Manchester City booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals this weekCredit: Getty
      And a semi-final win over Real Madrid followed by becoming champions of Europe for the first time would add another huge windfall to the Etihad coffers.
      But while City are eyeing history as well as the massive earnings, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs were left staring at the black hole facing them without Champions League football next term.
      Chelsea’s last eight run was worth £73.3m before gate receipts from five matches at Stamford Bridge.
      That was significantly due to the £27m Chelsea earned from Uefa’s “historical coefficient” payment before a ball was kicked.
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      Liverpool earned £72.69m from their last 16 run, while Spurs, who had the lowest historical coefficient and “market pool” TV share, earned £57.5m.
      By contrast, Manchester United can earn a maximum of less than £35m for winning the Europa League while West Ham’s Conference League campaign will be worth less than £20m.
      City’s group stage efforts, including the coefficient and initial prize money, were worth £69.6m, with Guardiola’s team, as champions, taking a 40 per cent share of the initial £28.8m market pool fund.
      Their knock-out wins have been worth a further £20.37m.
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      Reaching the final would see City taking £9.6m of the remaining half of the market pool – as they would have played 13 of the total 39 matches involving English teams.
      And winning in Istanbul would mean a further £17.63m, taking their potential total earnings to £117.2m.
      With Borussia Dortmund wanting around £130m for England star Bellingham, it means City’s European exploits alone would almost cover the total fee – with payments actually likely to be split over the duration of any contract the midfielder signed.
      And that would see the former Birmingham midfielder reunited with Erling Haaland at the Etihad. More

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      Supercomputer predicts Champions League winner as each team’s chances of European glory is revealed

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      MANCHESTER CITY are overwhelming favourites to win the Champions League this season, according to our supercomputer.Pep Guardiola’s side are aiming to finally win the famous competition for the first time after a string of near misses.

      Man City booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday nightCredit: Getty
      City booked their place in the semi-finals on Wednesday night by completing an impressive 4-1 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich.
      And our supercomputer reckons it’s their time to win it all.
      The boffins over at Bettingexpert have built BETSiE – a supercomputer tasked with determining probabilities in football.
      BETSiE takes into account factors like results, xG and pre-season expectations while running a simulator 20,000 times.
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      Having worked its magic, BETSiE gives City a 65.75 per cent chance of reaching the final and a 50.25 per cent likelihood that they go on and win it.
      Real Madrid are distant second favourites, despite their amazing pedigree in the competition, given just a 22.57 per cent chance of winning the final and 34.25 per cent shot at beating City in the semis.
      BETSiE reckons that Inter will beat Milan in the other semi-final, giving them a 54.22 per cent chance – compared to 45.78 per cent for their rivals – of reaching the final.
      Neither Italian side are given much of a shot at beating City or Madrid, however, with Inter at 14.65 per cent and Milan at 12.53 per cent.
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      Real Madrid beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday nightCredit: Alamy
      AC Milan knocked out Serie A leaders NapoliCredit: Rex
      Both semi-finals will take place next month, before the final in Istanbul on June 10.
      City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that his side are feeling the fatigue as they continue to fight on three fronts.
      Ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United, he said: “We are exhausted.
      “I don’t know how we recover to play against Sheffield United. Now is a tough moment for the game on Saturday.
      “Three years in a row in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
      “We struggled in the first half. (Dayot) Upamecano broke all the lines down our left side and we struggled with (Kingsley) Coman.
      “We were fortunate before the penalty miss, they had one or two chances and anything could happen but we defended really well.
      “The finishing from Erling (Haaland) was really, really good. He is so young. The experience that we have in this competition, the players feel it a lot, they want to do it really well. The second half was much, much better since minute one.”
      Inter Milan celebrate their quarter-final triumph over BenficaCredit: Alamy More

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      Fans concerned for Erling Haaland as striker suffers brief ‘software glitch’ during Man City clash at Bayern

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      FOOTBALL fans hilariously claimed Erling Haaland suffered a “software glitch” as Manchester City booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals.Pep Guardiola’s side drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening, clinching a 4-1 aggregate victory.
      Erling Haaland turned to his Manchester City team-mates in an intimidatory mannerCredit: Twitter@FootballReprt
      He then quickly punched his first in a somewhat bizarre celebration while shaking his headCredit: Twitter@FootballReprt
      And Haaland, who missed a first-half penalty, helped himself to his 48th goal of the season after the break following Dayot Upamecano’s crucial slip.
      But the pair were involved in an incident earlier on in the game when Haaland was brought down by the French defender as he went through on goal.
      Upamecano was shown a red card by Clement Turpin for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
      However, the offside flag then went up – a decision which was confirmed by VAR.
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      And Turpin then wiped out Upamecano’s dismissal as his blushes were temporarily spared.
      But before the red card had been rescinded, the cameras caught Haaland celebrating in a rather bizarre manner.
      He swiftly pumped his fist in an aggressive way while rapidly turning his head.
      And fans jokingly claimed Haaland – who has often been compared to a robot for his freakish goalscoring ability – had suffered a “glitch”.
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      Reacting on social media, one person said: “Software update required.”
      Another added: “What if it’s hardware glitch.”
      A third replied: “Error 404. Update required 😂😭.”
      And a fourth responded: “Hahaha downloaded software updates mid-game.”
      Haaland’s 48 goals in 41 games could fire Man City to a treble this season.
      They sit four points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table, but have a game in hand and face the Gunners at the Etihad on Wednesday.
      In the Champions League, they will face holders Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
      But before that they take on Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday. More

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      Watch shocking moment Benfica fans throw FLARES at Inter supporters as they crash out of Champions League

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      SHOCKING footage shows Benfica fans throwing flares during their Champions League exit earlier this week.The Portuguese side drew 3-3 with the Italian side at San Siro last night.
      Benfica fans lit flares in the stands at San SiroCredit: https://twitter.com/tancredipalmeri/status/1648788247991013376
      Flares could be seen being thrown at Inter fansCredit: https://twitter.com/tancredipalmeri/status/1648788247991013376
      Their late rally wasn’t enough to progress, having lost 2-0 on home soil last week.
      Disgruntled Benfica fans lit flares at Inter’s historic San Siro home.
      And in disturbing scenes, the flares could be seen being thrown down from the upper reaches of the stands, hurtling towards Inter Milan fans sat in the lower tier.
      Italian reporter Tancredi Palmeri tweeted a video of the shocking scene.
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      He wrote, all in capital letters: “The criminal moment when Benfica fans could have cause a tragedy by throwing several flares amongst fans!”
      Supporters online were disgusted by the scene.
      One blasted: “Benfica must be banned from European competitions.”
      While a second called it: “Poor behaviour.”
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      And a third wrote: “Hopefully @UEFA will punish them.”
      Palmeri later shared a further clip, in which Inter fans could be seen mockingly flashing their phone torches at Benfica fans as their team sailed into the semi-finals.
      Inter went 1-0 up on the night and 3-0 on aggregate via Nicolo Barella’s early goal.
      Fredrik Aursnes scored for Benfica on 38 minutes, with Inter leading the tie 3-1 at half-time last night.
      Further goals by Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa made progression comfortable, before a late Benfica rally that saw Antonio Silva and Petar Musa pull goals back.
      Inter will face city rivals AC Milan in next month’s semi-finals after their rivals beat Serie A leaders Napoli 2-1 on aggregate.
      Inter Milan booked their place in the Champions League final last nightCredit: Alamy More

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      Two-time Champions League finalists could face extinction with club ‘only able to survive one year if relegated’

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      VALENCIA may only survive for ONE YEAR if they are relegated from LaLiga this season.The Spanish giants sit 18th in the top flight, three points adrift of safety with just nine games remaining.
      Valencia sit three points adrift of safety following defeat to Sevilla on SundayCredit: Getty
      Peter Lim has been slammed for his ownership of the clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Owner Peter Lim, who also has a share in Salford City, has been heavily criticised for the demise of the club and dragging them into a relegation dog fight.
      It comes just two decades on from a thoroughly successful era.
      They reached back-to-back Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, losing to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
      Rafa Benitez then took over and guided the club to two league titles in three years between 2002 and 2004.
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      But now they face the very real prospect of dropping down to the second tier for the first time since 1987.
      And Marca Valencia’s journalist Javi Lazaro insists the club could cease to exist under its current ownership.
      He said: “To this day, the continuity of Meriton [the owners] can only bring one thought, that of disappearance.
      “Practically the team economically could last a year in the second [division], for sure it would not manage two.
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      “And seeing Lim’s management, they are hardly going to make a project to get promoted from the second to the first.”
      Valencia, who appointed Ruben Baraja as Gennaro Gattuso’s replacement in February, are on a run of four games without a win.
      On Sunday, a frustrated home crowd watched them lose 2-0 to fellow strugglers Sevilla.
      Next up in their fight to avoid the drop is a trip to Elche this weekend. More

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      Lampard should be calling out Boehly – that Drogba can say he lacks the ‘class’ of Putin crony Abramovich says it all

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      SO this is the stage we’re at with Todd Boehly’s Stamford Bridge omnishambles.A stage where Didier Drogba can accuse Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali of lacking the ‘class’ and ‘principles’ of Vladimir Putin’s crony, Roman Abramovich, while everyone nods sagely and reckons the Chelsea legend has a valid point.
      Caretaker boss Frank Lampard faces a crisis on and off the fieldCredit: Getty
      Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have much to answer forCredit: Getty
      It says much about the way Chelsea, and the ownership of Premier League clubs in general, has evolved, that the tainted, hire-and-fire regime of Abramovich is now being seen as a benchmark for sense and dignity.
      When the Russian became the first foreigner to buy an English top-flight club in 2003, he was soon accused by David Dein of parking his tanks on Arsenal’s lawn and firing £50 notes.
      But Abramovich never scatter-gunned his cash like Boehly & Co — who have spaffed more than £600million in the transfer market, plus another £34m for hiring and firing Graham Potter — without a functioning team to show for it.
      Being patient with Potter as a ‘long-term project’ was supposedly the definition of the new Clearlake ownership model.
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      Seven months later, Potter was axed and that definition was clear  as mud.
      That Potter wasn’t the chief problem became increasingly obvious with the rose-tinted temporary appointment of Frank Lampard, which has heralded Chelsea’s first four-match losing streak in 30 years.
      Nostalgia ain’t even what it used to be when the club’s record goalscorer returned a fortnight ago.
      Chelsea, in the bottom half of the Premier League, are winless in seven games and have scored just once in six outings, via a wicked deflection in a home defeat by Brighton.
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      Drogba, of course, was a mighty centre-forward. Now Chelsea don’t have any sort of centre-forward, despite their expensive trolley dash.Last summer, Boehly wanted the human stinkbomb Cristiano Ronaldo in that role but was dissuaded by Thomas Tuchel, the Champions League winner he soon sacked.
      In the meantime, N’Golo Kante was employed as an inside-forward during the 2-0 Champions League quarter- final second-leg defeat by Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge which sealed Chelsea’s fruitless campaign.
      We can only hope, for the sake of Lampard’s own sanity, that he privately shares the views of his old team-mate Drogba about Boehly, who brashly predicted a 3-0 win in the Bernabeu last week.
      Then, after defeat by Brighton, he stormed the sanctuary of the dressing room to accuse some players of being ‘embarrassing’ in what was said to be a ‘pep talk’.
      And word has it that anyone assuming Eghbali is the quiet, sensible one of the ruling pair will be sadly mistaken.
      Apparently, this is a double act without a straight man.
      Why is Lampard acting as a human shield for these people?
      Without a permanent role, he has nothing to lose and should be calling out, rather than defending them. Perhaps during the remaining six weeks of Chelsea’s season, Lampard might deliver a few home truths.
      Ralf Rangnick did so at Manchester United last season and his medicine helped an ailing club.
      Whoever takes over from Lampard will inherit an obese squad without a core, without identity, without balance, but with plenty of lengthy, fat contracts.
      Chelsea must hold a summer fire sale, which has become even more of an emergency now that they are highly unlikely to play European  football next season.
      On Tuesday, Lampard claimed, with some complacency, that the ‘reality is this club is going to be back’. There is absolutely no guarantee of a swift Champions League return.
      Chelsea have signed duds —Cucurella and Koulibaly have been huge disappointments, while nobody at Arsenal is mourning the hijacking of Mudryk.
      The Clearlake crew are filthy rich but they must compete with the  sovereign wealth of Abu Dhabi at Manchester City, Saudi Arabia at Newcastle and soon, perhaps, Qatar at Manchester United.
      What Raheem Sterling made of Lampard’s team selection against Real — and what he made of Kante missing two excellent chances when the second leg was goalless — is anyone’s guess.
      Sterling was supposed to be a statement signing in Boehly’s first window — a multiple title-winner lured from champions Manchester City.
      The winger, once the subject of infamous abuse as a visiting player at Stamford Bridge, always felt like a bad fit.
      Now he’s being scapegoated by fans and was benched for the club’s biggest match of the season.
      Still only 28, he is no longer a first-choice England player either. Mason Mount, one of the few homegrown players with some feeling for the club, looks certain to be off this summer.
      Chelsea have certainly signed some duds — defenders Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly have been huge disappointments for a combined initial fee of £90m, while nobody at Arsenal is mourning the hijacking of winger Mykhailo Mudryk in an £88m deal.
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      All in all, it is an epic mess.
      And while Abramovich was worshipped at the Bridge — with many supporters perhaps fooled by the Russian’s expensive lawyers as much as to his close links to Putin — Drogba’s views are shared by many fans, who view Boehly’s mob with growing contempt.
      Roman Abramovich reigned at Chelsea when Drogba and Co thrivedCredit: AFP or licensors More