Pro Eleven Headline News

Injury puts Rio Ferdinand in doubt for Inter match

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is concerned by the fitness of Rio Ferdinand ahead of the second leg of his team’s Champions League first knockout round tie against Inter Milan at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Ferdinand is a serious doubt for the match after suffering an ankle injury during the first half of United’s 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win away to Fulham on Saturday.

The England defender had to have his right foot placed in a plastic boot to protect his ankle after being taken off at half-time and was being closely assessed by United’s medical staff yesterday.

Jonny Evans, who impressed in the first leg in Italy in the absence of the suspended Nemanja Vidic, will partner the Serbia defender in central defence in the event that Ferdinand fails to recover in time. John O’Shea, the defender, is also a doubt after suffering a hamstring injury at Craven Cottage.

“Ferdinand is a bit of a concern,” Ferguson said. “He went over on his ankle and I hope he is all right for Wednesday because he is so important to us.”

Mike Phelan, the United assistant manager, added: “There’s a small swelling to his ankle. I don’t know if he’ll be fit for Wednesday, but Jonny Evans is more than a substitute for Rio if he doesn’t make it.”

Inter, who were held to a goalless draw by United in the first leg at the San Siro, have injury problems of their own in central defence. Marco Materazzi and Nicolas Burdisso were injured during the first half of Inter’s 2-0 win away to Genoa on Saturday and have been ruled out while José Mourinho, the Inter coach, said that Cristian Chivu and Walter Samuel, the central defenders, would also miss the game.

Materazzi, the former Everton defender, damaged a muscle in his left thigh and was replaced after 16 minutes. He is likely to be sidelined for three weeks. Burdisso was forced off after suffering knee-ligament damage that could rule out the Argentina defender for the rest of the season.
Times Online


Hat-trick hero Inzaghi steals Beckham show

Veteran forward Filippo Inzaghi stole the show from David Beckham with a hat-trick as AC Milan returned to winning ways in a 3-0 success over Atalanta at the San Siro on Sunday.

The script seemed to have been written for Beckham to score the winner on the same day that it was announced he would stay at Milan until the end of the season, but instead it was his 35-year-old team-mate whose treble proved decisive.

Perhaps more important for Milan, who've been in disarray on the pitch recently, going out of the UEFA Cup 10 days ago and losing at Sampdoria in the league last weekend, is that the victory gave them a five-point gap over fourth-placed Fiorentina, who lost 2-0 at home to Palermo.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said Inzaghi had helped lift the club out of a crisis.

"He gave us a real helping hand. It was a tough match and for most of the first half Atalanta caused us problems," he said.

"Then Pippo's ability to find the right place to be in allowed us to end the match well.

"We were in a crisis and now I hope that this result has put an end to the crisis."

Only the top three in Serie A will go straight into next season's Champions League group stages with the fourth place finisher having to negotiate two qualifying rounds.

With his contract uncertainty behind him, Beckham seemed to have a new lease of life and he was even given a free role behind forwards Inzaghi and Pato by Ancelotti.

The former England captain initially thrived in that position, dictating the play with his array of passing.

One raking 50-yard crossfield ball sent Pato scampering away towards goal while a clever flick with the outside of his boot to find Mathieu Flamini drew gasps and a round of applause from the stands.

His crosses were also causing havoc and it was from one of those that Milan took a seventh-minute lead.

Atalanta failed to clear a dangerous ball in from Beckham and Marek Jankulovski picked up the loose ball before firing it across the box for the unmarked Inzaghi to poke home.

Andrea Pirlo also tried to muscle in on the Beckham show and planted a 30-yard free-kick onto the roof of the net.

The visitors were at times dangerous and Tiberio Guarente forced Christian Abbiati into making a diving one-handed save on the half hour.

Abbiati was soon called back into action to keep out a Gianvinto Plasmati header at his near post as Atalanta caused problems for Milan's backline in the air.

After the break a clever Beckham pass played in Pato but Andrea Consigli rushed out to block his attempted dink finish from close range.

The fragility of a single goal lead was brought home on 64 minutes, though, as Atalanta's Brazilian midfielder Ferreira Pinto flashed a shot just past the far post.

So it was with as much with relief as joy that the crowd met Inzaghi's second on 71 minutes as the goalmouth predator for once beat the offside trap to latch onto Pato's chip and take the ball around Consigli before slotting home.

And moment's later Inzaghi was once again in the right place at the right time to tap in Gianluca Zambrotta's pass from close range.

After that Ancelotti took both Inzaghi and Beckham off to give the fans the chance to show their appreciation for both players.

There was no change to the top three in Serie A as Inter Milan and Juventus both won on Saturday, 2-0 at Genoa and 1-0 at Torino respectively.

Serie A top scorer Marco Di Vaio also scored a hat-trick as Bologna thrashed Sampdoria 3-0. AFP


Man United-Everton in FA Cup semifinal

Everton rallied past Middlesbrough 2-1 on Sunday and set up an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley with Manchester United. Arsenal defeated lower-tier Burnley 3-0 to reach the last eight.

David Wheater's 44th-minute header surprised American goalkeeper Tim Howard, and Middlesbrough threatened an upset at Goodison Park. But Everton rallied with two headed goals in seven minutes by Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha.

Sunday's other game was in the previous round, with Arsenal beating League Championship club Burnley 3-0 on strikes by Carlos Vela, Eduardo da Silva and Emmanuel Eboue.

Held up by postponements and replays, Arsenal now faces Hull in a quarterfinal and the winner will meet Chelsea in the semifinals. Both semifinals will be at Wembley April 18-19.

Manchester United, which has a record 11 FA Cup titles, won 4-0 at Fulham on Saturday to reach a record 26th cup semifinal. Arsenal, a 10-time cup winner, can match that mark by beating Hull. Everton, which has won the cup five times, is in its 24th semifinal. International Herald Tribune