Manchester City supporters are considering walkout protests after criticising the club’s ticket prices for the forthcoming Champions League quarter-final showdown against Paris St Germain.

City claim the £60 (US$86) cost of top-priced tickets is a “fair reflection of the profile of the game”, with the cheapest seats available for £45.

However, City fans angry at the large increase on prices from the previous round against Dynamo Kiev last week (£30-£40), and from the group stage matches against Juventus, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach (£20-£40).

The 1894 Group claim the situation has so alienated fans that even if the club were ever to sign Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, many supporters would not attend if tickets were not priced realistically.

And they have now been asked to organise a walkout protest in a repeat of the tactic which last month was hugely successful in forcing Liverpool’s owners into a U-turn over new season ticket prices.

“We have had a huge amount of correspondence from City supporters who feel the pricing policy for the PSG game has gone over a line,” said a statement from the fans’ group.

“We have been asked to organise walkouts and to try and reverse the club’s decisions on ticket prices.

“The prices were too high for too long. Our view is that even if the club signed Messi, Pogba and Neymar but the prices were too high fans just would not go.

“It’s likely that a lot of fans will wait and see what happens in the first leg (in Paris) before purchasing a ticket for the return – then there’s a concern of higher prices in the event of us reaching a semi-final. We feel the club need to really listen to the fans now on ticket prices.”

With Premier League clubs recently agreeing to cap all away tickets at £30, and Liverpool’s turnaround on their pricing plans, the mood domestically appears to be being more considerate of supporters but that has so far not applied to European tickets.

City defended their pricing structure, insisting the calibre of opposition and the club’s progress in the competition makes increases inevitable.

“Pricing for each match is reviewed on an individual basis, based on factors such as the opposition and stage of competition,” said a club statement.

“As this match is the quarter-final of Europe’s biggest cup competition and the first time the club has progressed to this stage we believe the ticket prices are a fair reflection of the profile of the game.”

Source AFP

Monaco ruined Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 title celebrations as a clinical second-half performance gave the principality side a 2-0 victory at the Parc des Princes on Sunday (Mar 20).

PSG wrapped up a fourth consecutive league title in record time with eight matches to spare by thrashing Troyes 9-0 a week ago, but they were uncharacteristically flat in the capital.

After a drab opening 45 minutes it was the visitors who turned on the style, as Vagner Love’s fourth goal for the club gave them a deserved 65th-minute lead.

A David Luiz error gave Monaco a penalty that was coolly converted by Fabinho just three minutes later, as PSG slumped to just a second league defeat of the season, and a first at home since May 2014.

The victory is a timely one for Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco in the race for the top three and the Champions League, as they stay second in the table and now have the cushion of a six-point gap back to fourth-placed Lyon.

“This is a very important victory, but in getting this the team has actually only maintained our gap to our competitors,” Jardim said.

“Paris is a big team, one of the top four in Europe, and they could win the Champions League. My players played a great game. In football, you have not won or lost before the match, everything is played on the pitch.”

PSG manager Laurent Blanc selected an attacking line-up, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura and Angel Di Maria all starting on a night when the home fans expected to party.

But they started slowly, and the hosts’ frustration at their lacklustre opening half an hour was clear, as Cavani thumped the turf in anger after ballooning an acrobatic effort well wide.

PSG improved in the minutes before half-time, with Cavani heading a Marquinhos cross wastefully off target when totally unmarked.

Leonardo Jardim’s visitors grew in confidence in the second period and home keeper Kevin Trapp had to beat clear Fabinho’s drive after a mistake by Luiz, before the German also had to save well at his near post from Thomas Lemar.

PSG were pleasing the crowd with plenty of neat tricks and flicks, but rarely looked like breaking their opponents down.

LOVESTRUCK

While Blanc’s men appeared to be resting on their record-breaking efforts from last week, there was a hunger and desire about Champions League-chasing Monaco that brought the opening goal.

Some quick passing released Lemar, who crossed low to the back post to give Love a simple tap-in with Trapp out of the picture. Less than two minutes later and the principality side were gifted the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot.

Another horror-show in the PSG defence culminated in Luiz pulling back Fabinho, and the Brazilian full-back picked himself up to calmly chip his spot-kick down the middle.

Unsurprisingly PSG pushed forward in numbers and, after Subasic had brilliantly clawed away a Cavani header, Ibrahimovic somehow contrived to head the ball over the top from two yards out with the goal at his mercy.

It was not Ibrahimovic’s day, the league’s top scorer was left red-faced again after volleying over an unguarded net from point-blank range.

Monaco held on in the face of heavy pressure to record a first win against PSG in over six years.

Blanc said that his side’s missed chances were the key, and played down suggestions that his men had eased off after winning the title.

“In the first half we created many chances, we controlled the game against a very defensive team,” he said. “I do not feel as though there was a party tonight, we will celebrate the title when we receive the trophy on the final day.”

Earlier, Hatem Ben Arfa’s latest breathtaking strike set Nice up for a 3-0 win over struggling Gazelec Ajaccio that keeps them right in contention for a surprise top-three finish.

Ben Arfa collected possession wide on the right and skipped away from two challenges as he cut into the box before curling a shot beyond goalkeeper Clement Maury to set Nice on their way in the 14th minute at the Allianz Riviera.

He then turned provider for Alassane Plea to make it 2-0 and Ivorian midfielder Jean-Michael Seri wrapped up the victory late on.

Bordeaux were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bastia in their first match since Willy Sagnol was sacked and replaced in the dugout by club legend Ulrich Rame.

Collated French Ligue 1 results on Sunday:

Bordeaux 1 Bastia 1

Nice 3 Gazelec Ajaccio 0

Paris Saint-Germain 0 Monaco 2

Source AFP /AP

Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur won 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday (Mar 20) to cut Premier League leaders Leicester City’s advantage back to five points.

But Manchester City’s title ambitions were dealt a likely fatal blow in a 1-0 home defeat by Manchester United in which Manuel Pellegrini’s side lost both Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling to injury.

The result, courtesy of 18-year-old striker Marcus Rashford’s 16th-minute strike, left City 15 points behind Leicester in fourth place and took Louis van Gaal’s United to within a point of the Champions League places.

“Today was one of the best performances of the season,” said Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. “We have seven games ahead and when the players come back from the national teams, we hope it is with a good spirit.”

Leicester had provisionally gone eight points clear with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday, but it took Kane just 43 seconds to settle Spurs’ nerves against Bournemouth at White Hart Lane by sliding in to convert Kyle Walker’s cross.

It was the England striker’s 20th goal of the campaign and he made it 21 in the 16th minute by applying a polished finish to Dele Alli’s pass.

Kane was denied a hat-trick by Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc in the 52nd minute, but Christian Eriksen followed in to score and seal a win that lifted Spurs six points above third-place local rivals Arsenal.

City are four points further back in fourth and while they, like Arsenal, retain a game in hand on the pace-setters, their title challenge now appears over.

Rashford was United’s match-winner at the Etihad Stadium, the youngster skinning the hapless Martin Demichelis and planting a shot past Hart in the 16th minute to become – at 18 years and 141 days – the youngest scorer in the fixture’s 171-game history.

Sterling hobbled off with a groin injury midway through the first half and Hart was stretchered off with a calf problem early in the second half to complete a miserable day for manager Pellegrini, whose side are also under threat from West Ham United.

“We did not deserve to lose,” said Pellegrini, who predicted that Hart and Sterling would be out for “three or four weeks”. “We dominated the game from the first minute. We were the only team who wanted to play the whole game, but we missed three or four chance to score.”

MITROVIC RESCUES NEWCASTLE

On City’s ambitions for the rest of the campaign, he would only say: “We continue in the fourth position. We have another 24 points to play.”

It was a rare day to remember for under-fire United manager Van Gaal, whose team ended a four-game winless run to rekindle their hopes of Champions League qualification.

“I am a very proud manager today,” said Van Gaal. “This victory was necessary. The gap was four points and now is one point, plus we are equal with West Ham, which is important.

“Rashford is very quick and Demichelis looked like the years are catching up with him. He was a very good defender. He was my centre-back in Bayern, but that is the life of football.”

Earlier, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored an 83rd-minute equaliser as Newcastle United prevented northeast rivals Sunderland from escaping the relegation zone in a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.

Seeking a seventh successive win over Newcastle, Sunderland took the lead through Jermain Defoe in the 44th minute.

But with seven minutes remaining, Georginio Wijnaldum crossed for Serbian striker Mitrovic to score with a downward header, sparing Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez from suffering defeat in his first home game and keeping both teams in the bottom three.

“The players fought till the end and the fans were behind us in a difficult situation,” said Benitez. “We have to do this from the first minute to the last to get more points. I think we can stay up.”

In the day’s other early game, substitute Sadio Mane scored twice – and squandered a penalty – as Southampton checked Liverpool’s charge towards the top four by storming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at St Mary’s.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool went 2-0 up inside 22 minutes, Philippe Coutinho curling in a fine effort from 25 yards and Divock Origi teeing up Daniel Sturridge to score.

But after seeing a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, Mane reduced the arrears in the 64th minute and after Graziano Pelle had equalised, the Senegal international drove home an 86th-minute winner.

English Premier League results on Sunday:

Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1

Newcastle 1 Sunderland 1

Southampton 3 Liverpool 2

Tottenham 3 Bournemouth 0

Source AFP

Arsene Wenger concedes Arsenal’s dismal form means there is a chance they will crash out of the Premier League’s top four unless results improve quickly.

Wenger’s side have been eliminated from the Champions League and FA Cup in the last week and are on a run of one win in eight games in all competitions.

They travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Saturday and, if results go against them, the Gunners could be 14 points adrift of leaders Leicester.

The worst-case scenario for Arsenal boss Wenger would be wins for both Manchester City and West Ham, which could see the north Londoners drop out of the top four altogether.

Wenger has never finished outside the top four in his 20-year reign, but the Frenchman admits it is a real possibility this time and he is keeping a close eye on the chasing pack.

“Yes of course. It’s very tight. The Premier League is far from over but we have to look behind us because things can change very quickly,” Wenger said.

“We want to move forward, but I’m conscious that our position is not secure.

“We have to take care of our own destiny and that’s by producing the performances we expect from ourselves.

“We are in a position where we hope for the best. I agree that a negative result (at Everton) would be very bad for us.”

Leicester have been warned that their fairytale challenge for the Premier League crown could be shattered by title wreckers Crystal Palace.

With only eight matches remaining, Claudio Ranieri’s side are on the brink of arguably the most unexpected title triumph in English football history after establishing a five-point lead over second placed Tottenham.

The unheralded Foxes have defied all expectations to remain at the top of the table while their supposed superior rivals have struggled to keep pace.

But Palace manager Alan Pardew believes that wobble could come at Selhurst Park this weekend as the hosts aim to reprise their role as notorious party crashers.

BANANA SKIN

In May 2014, Palace famously ruined Liverpool’s bid for a first English title since 1990 when they fought back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Selhurst Park in a result that effectively gifted the trophy to Manchester City.

Then last April, Pardew’s men defeated City 2-1 in south London to all but end their hopes of overhauling eventual champions Chelsea.

“Human instinct is when you’re trying to achieve something magnificent like Leicester are, you’re going to start worrying and doubting,” Pardew said.

“It’s been almost the perfect season for them but it doesn’t always come all the way through, that perfect run. Maybe their blips are still to come

“It has been a banana skin, this place, in the past and it’s typical of Crystal Palace. Our history is littered with upsets against the odds.”

If Leicester can extend their lead, it will put pressure on Tottenham, chasing a first title since 1961, to beat Bournemouth at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Tottenham bowed out of the Europa League against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday but, with the last 16 tie effectively decided in the first leg, boss Mauricio Pochettino was able to rest Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele to keep them fresh.

Manchester City would love to pile on the misery for Louis van Gaal when troubled Manchester United visit Eastlands.

Van Gaal saw his United side eliminated from the Europa League by bitter rivals Liverpool in midweek and a defeat in the Manchester derby would be a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

United are currently four points behind fourth placed City, with fifth placed West Ham also in the hunt as they travel to Chelsea.

Rafael Benitez will take charge of his first home match as Newcastle boss against hated neighbours Sunderland, who have won the last six Tyne-Wear derbies.

Benitez’s second bottom side are only one point behind Sunderland in 17th and a first victory over the Black Cats in nine attempts dating back to 2011 would improve thir prospects of avoiding relegation.

Source AFP

Becamex Binh Duong stayed at the bottom of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League’s Group E after their second loss on March 15.

The Viet Nam champions were defeated 0-2 by hosts Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium, in Jeonju City.

After three matches, Becamex Binh Duong have one point and two goals.

Their rivals jumped to the top with six points, followed by Jiangsu FC of China and FC Tokyo of Japan.

Becamex Binh Duong started brightly but were slowly pushed back by the South Korean champions as Lee Dong-gook was robbed of possession at point blank range as the striker was about to pull the trigger 15 minutes into the game.

Minutes later, Christian Amougou Nsi’s smart back-heel fell into the path of Henry Kisekka but the Ugandan striker shot straight at Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae from the edge of the penalty area for the visitors.

Becamex Binh Duong had their best spell of the game with Nsi’s shot from inside the area looking goal-bound before it was blocked.

Despite a great effort the visiting side could not save their net for the first half.

Ricardo Lopes opened the scoring five minutes before half-time for Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk. The Brazilian striker drilled a perfect shot into the far corner to claim his first goal for his new club.

Considered the weakest team of the group, Becamex Binh Duong were still very much in the game, and 10 minutes into the second half defender Dang Van Robert fired a fierce shot that was well saved by Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwoun.

But the home side finally sealed the win as Luiz Henrique crossed for Lee Dong-gook, who found the net via a deflection. His 30th goal of the tournament was made at the last official minute of the game.

“We have played well almost all the time but it was a tough match for us. We made one mistake at the end of each half and lost the game,” Becamex Binh Duong coach Nguyen Thanh Son said.

“We are looking forward to the return match, and we are confident that we can keep improving and hope to overturn this result at home,” he said.

Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk will visit Viet Nam on April 6.

On the other side, Coach Choi Kang-hee said the win at home was important for his team. Although things did not go as they planned and there were mistakes the result stood on his side.

He believed that Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk would get better.

In the other match of the group, Tokyo were tied in a goalless draw by Jiangsu at Tokyo Stadium.

Their rematch will be at the start of April at the Olympic Sports Centre in Nanjing City.

FIFA on Wednesday (Mar 16) demanded tens of millions of dollars in damages from the “sordid” officials now facing charges in the United States over mass bribery scandals that have rocked world football.

In a legal submission to US authorities, football’s governing body also openly accused South Africa of paying a US$10 million bribe to secure votes for the 2010 World Cup. South Africa has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

FIFA said it “estimates that at a minimum tens of millions of dollars were diverted from the football community illegally through bribery, kickbacks and corrupt schemes carried out by the defendants”.

It is seeking the damages from money seized by US authorities from 39 individuals and two companies facing corruption charges.

Source AFP / REUTERS