Wayne Rooney has the chance to finish Manchester United's all-time leading goal scorer this season.

The England ace is on 30 goals with potentially 15 fixtures remaining to catch Cristiano Ronaldo's 42 goal mark he established two years ago.

However, if Rooney can continue his amazing scoring form then Denis Law's all-time 46 goal record will be under threat.

Chelsea and Liverpool have heaped more misery on Real Madrid after their Champions League exit last night.

Kit suppliers Adidas have revealed this morning that Real's official replica shirts are being outsold by those of Chelsea and Liverpool.

Adidas have attempted to explain away the discrepancy in shirts sales between Real and their Premier League counterparts - which comes in spite of Liverpool?s exit at the group stage of this year?s Champions League - down to a greater tendency among English fans to purchase replica shirts, though it will also raise questions about Real?s ability to compete commercially with English clubs.

Arsenal hero Nigel Winterburn says Theo Walcott should not be concerned with his England World Cup place.

Winterburn believes Walcott silenced his critics with his performance in victory over Porto.

He told the Islington Gazette: "It was good to see Theo Walcott contribute in a positive way - I said the other week that he is going to have to be given the chance to play a few games to find his form.

"He struggled a bit for England and received plenty of criticism for that, but I still think that unless Fabio Capello is no longer manager Theo will be at the World Cup.

"If he can finish the season well and stay fit then he is the kind of player you want in the squad. He has that pace and while Aaron Lennon may start ahead of him, the Spurs man is not fit at the moment and Theo would be my next in line."

CSKA Moscow have moved to ward off Manchester United's interest in goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

The Daily Mail says Akinfeev will be offered a new contract by CSKA Moscow in a bid to ensure they don't lose him for nothing.

The Russia international is seen as a successor to Edwin van der Sar and his current deal with CSKA runs out in December next year.

Van der Sar's decision to pen another one-year deal at Old Trafford means the Barclays Premier League champions can now bide their time when replacing the 39-year-old.

But CSKA are determined not to let him leave cheaply and are expected to offer an extension through to 2014.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for Akinfeev earlier this season.

Olympique Lyon defender John Mensah wants to sign permanently with Sunderland.

The Ghana international hopes to prove his fitness to manager Steve Bruce.

"Well for me I've been to many clubs and I cannot say I have to stay or I have to go," he told SAFC TV.

"I like Sunderland. They treat me well and make me happy. The physios work hard on my fitness and give me more confidence to come back fit and give everything possible for the team.

"I don't feel anything bad and I am happy to stay, but that depends on my agent, the club and the manager."

Fit-again Zenit St Petersburg striker Danny is still chasing a move to Chelsea.
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Danny, back after ten months out with knee injury, is set to play his first competitive match since returning to fitness when Zenit kick off their Russian Premier League season at Krylya Sovetov on Saturday, and expects Chelsea scouts are expected to keep tabs on the attacking midfielder.

"The injury made it a very difficult time for me," he said recently. "It prevented my transfer to Chelsea, for example, and even before the injury, I nearly went to Juventus.

"But I understand their position. They have to think twice before hiring a player who has an injury."

Manchester City are threatening Manchester United's move for Nigeria U17 midfielder Ramon Azeez.

The youngster won the 'Bronze Ball' as the third best player at the U17 World Championships and has been likened to Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Azeez has already rejected an offer from City, according to his agent, while United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is eager to tie up a deal to avoid the same mess that led to Obi Mikel eventually joining Chelsea from Lyn Oslo - via United.

Ifeanyi Abanum, the executive editor of allnigeriasoccer.com, told tribalfootball.com: "After the U-17 World Cup, he was invited to England for trials by Manchester City, who had closely monitored his performances at
the competition. However after spending a few days with the Citizens, he was also invited to Old Trafford for trials. Apparently, Manchester United scouts also had monitored him at the competition held in Nigeria.

"Another big transfer drama is about to unfold and we are all (in Nigeria) watching and waiting."

Abanum adds: "He plays as a defensive midfielder and there is this clamour by Nigerians that he should go to the World Cup. So highly rated by followers of the game here, that they call him the 'new MIKEL OBI'."

Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney says he is in the form of his life after victory over AC Milan.
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Rooney reached the 30-goal landmark with his double against the Italians but he wants more.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "I am delighted to have reached 30 goals and hopefully I can now get even more.

"These goals are behind me now I am just looking forward to the next games and hoping to do my best in them. I am enjoying the best form of my life and really enjoying myself.

"Every game will be difficult so we are not bothered who we get in the next round. This was a great win for us. Milan are a great team with a great history so to beat them in both legs the team will take a lot of confidence from it.

"It wasn't easy tonight. The first goal was vital. That is what we set out to do. In doing that it gave us great confidence and shattered theirs.

"We are building up a nice head of steam and looking forward to the draw next week."

Wayne Rooney says he'll be proud if he can match the achievements at Manchester United of David Beckham.

Beckham was given an emotional reception by United fans before and during last night's thrashing of AC Milan.

"David has been a great servant to this club and all the United players were delighted he got a great reception," said Rooney.

"I hope I can become as well respected and thought of at this club as David Beckham. I have plenty of years ahead of me and if I get half of the plaudits he has been getting then I will be delighted."

Manchester United are waiting to hear from Paul Scholes if he wants to play on next season.

The Manchester Evening News says United are anxious to see if he'll talk about a new Old Trafford contract.

The Reds want to add Scholes' name to fellow veterans Ryan Giggs and Edwin Van der Sar who've been signed up on new 12-month deals for next season. It is now up to the 35-year-old to decide his future.

Chelsea are being linked with a swap bid for Atletico Madrid star striker Sergio Aguero.

The Daily Express says Atletico Madrid have opened talks with Chelsea over a bid to sign midfielder Deco on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Chelsea could now use Deco, and Ricardo Carvalho, who is another Atletico target, in their bid to land Aguero, the Spanish club?s £35 million striker.

Sergio Ramos insists Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini does not deserve blame for last night's Champions League exit.
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Lyon dumped Real out of Europe 2-1 on aggregate after drawing 1-1 at the Bernabeu.

"There is no question of blaming the coach ahead of any one player. There are many ways of seeing things, but we are the primary culprits. We are distressed at the elimination and it has been a very difficult night, but we must be strong to stay united," said Ramos.

"We created chances, but could not get the goals we needed. We can survive this."

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez saw his €250 million spending spree blow up in his face last night.

Florentino shelled out the record transfer outlay to reach the final of this season's Champions League at Real's Santiago Bernabeu. But like Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey, modestly-assembled Lyon ended Florentino's European dreams.

Only Karim Benzema (€36m) and Xabi Alonso (€30m) missed last night's game. But Cristiano Ronaldo (€96m) and Alvaro Arbeloa, through to Kaka (€65m), Ezequiel Garay and Esteban Granero, all featured. And Real Madrid's €250 million project fell apart in a disastrous second half.

Christian Abbiati admits he is "embarrassed" and "ashamed" after AC Milan's 4-0 thrashing by Manchester United.
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The Milan goalkeeper insists injuries can be no excuse for the dismal Champions League result.

Abbiati said: "The absence of Alessandro Nesta tonight? We know that Sandro is a great champion and then during the game unfortunately (Daniele) Bonera has felt discomfort with a bad calf injury, but injuries should not be excuses for this defeat.

"Manchester United deserved qualification. We knew that tonight we needed to win 2-0, it was not easy. The boys of Alex Ferguson are great players and we were embarrassed by them.

"Personally, I'm a bit ashamed of the result, but you have to admit when a team plays better, as it was for Manchester tonight."

AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta's World Cup chances could be over.

Nesta has been pondering ending his international exile for Italy's World Cup defence this year.

But he was ruled out with a knee injury for last night's Champions League thrashing at Manchester United and coach Leonardo admitted: "I'm afraid it's serious."

Rafa Benitez says he isn't about to walk out on the job at Liverpool.
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Benitez's name is again being linked with Real Madrid after their Champions League elimination last night.

But the Reds boss says: "This is a crucial period for everyone at the club and my job is to concentrate on getting the best out of the players. When I signed my new contract it was because I wanted to stay and fight for this club and that is what I will continue to do."

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with the reception fans gave AC Milan midfielder David Beckham last night.

Beckham made a second-half cameo in the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of his former club.

Ferguson said: "We expected that reception for David. I think he deserved that. He was a great player, he had a great spell here. Normally they always applaud our players, the ones who have had great careers here."

AC Milan coach Leonardo was left in awe of two-goal Wayne Rooney in last night's 4-0 thrashing by Manchester United.

The Brazilian believes Rooney can only get better as he hit goals No29 and 30.

Leonardo said: "Rooney can grow up even more because he is still young. He?s a complete player, strong, fast and he works hard.

"He does a lot of incredible movement and he?s playing in a system that is perfect for him. United play at such speed and often on the counter-attack. That system, with Rooney, is incredible."

Fabio Capello believes Manchester City were correct to replace Mark Hughes with Roberto Mancini.

The England coach says Mancini has brought a new confidence to City's player.

"Mancini is an Italian manager and he is working very well. The results are good. I hope he will realise the ambitions of the owner," said Mancini. "He changed a lot, the style from Mark Hughes is very different. Now I think the team has more confidence and they can beat every team. I was there and Chelsea was a really important game for all the players. Beating Chelsea away is not easy for the best team in the world. Yes, they can reach the top four."

Kaka's relationship with Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini is at breaking point after last night's Champions League exit.
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The Brazilian was hooked on 77 minutes in humiliating fashion by Pellegrini, who was lambasted by both the midfielder's wife and his spokesman via their Twitter accounts.

During the match, Diogo Kotscho criticised Pellegrini several times on Twitter, says Marca, describing him as "a big joke".

Manuel Pellegrini will not walk away after Real Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League by Olympique Lyon last night.

Miralem Pjanic's equaliser for Lyon was enough to send them through 2-1 on aggregate.

Former Villarreal boss, who took charge at Madrid last summer, was defiant in his answer, saying: "I'm not going to resign, I'm not going to quit the fight.

"Of course we're all very disappointed because we wanted to go far in this competition, but I've never thought about resigning."

When further quizzed on his future, Pellegrini said: "You will need to ask the directors that question.

"I see myself in exactly the same situation as I saw myself yesterday, though obviously with the bitter disappointment of the failure of being knocked out.

"My future depends only on the board, the only thing I can do is continue working as until now."

Guti hit out at Real Madrid's lack of teamwork after their Champions League elimination at the hands of Lyon.

The midfield veteran didn't hold back and refused to make excuses for the European failure.

"It was a shame. We can not make excuses. It has been shown that in big games we do not kill off teams," said Guti. "The solution is to be more of a team instead of many individuals.

"Now we just think of the League, which is what we have left."

Iker Casillas insists Real Madrid can bounce back from their Champions League elimination.

After their 1-1 draw against Lyon, Casillas sought to remind fans that they're a club in transition.

"It is a new club this season, after suffering the Copa elimination at the hands of Alcorcón, this is also hard, but we do not make excuses. We had high hopes and it is hard to digest," said Casillas.

"The truth is that it is a new club this season and I hope the Madrid fans understand. I apologize on behalf of the squad. Now we must recover."

Casillas added: "Now we must be calm. We all have so much anger and tomorrow we'll talk. What is clear is that these things should help us to move forward."

Celtic legend Lubomir Moravcik fears for manager Tony Mowbray if they finish the season trophyless.
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Moravcik believes Mowbray could go the same way as Dr Jo Venglos if Celtic do not win the Scottish Cup.

?It will be very, very difficult to accept no trophies,? he said as he pondered the prospect of Celtic failing in the last competition open to them.

?I remember my first season. We had the same situation. We were behind Rangers and could not catch them. The cup final was the only thing left for us. It was the last chance to satisfy the Celtic fans under Dr Jo. We lost, he moved.?

Moravcik, though, believes Mowbray could survive a cup final defeat but an earlier exit would be catastrophic to the manager?s hopes of continuing rebuilding at Celtic Park.

?It is difficult to stay without success because in the next season you have more pressure. If you win nothing in the first season, it is hard.?

Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka admits his team may be down a touch in the mentality stakes but says the fact they are playing at home this weekend will help them.
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The Sky Blues host the high-flying Wellington Phoenix in Saturday?s A-League Preliminary Final and although Lavicka understands his players may be mentally drained, the Sydney Football Stadium crowd and a Grand Final berth at stake is likely to lift them.

?Now we are a little bit mentally maybe down after the game against Melbourne, they are up, more confident than us but we're playing a home game," Lavicka told reporters on Thursday.

"Mentally takes a bit more time but, as I said, we had a talk yesterday and this morning with the players individually and I see in the players that they still have a clear intention and big desire to qualify for the grand final.

"We lost the chance to play the grand final at home last game against Melbourne but we're still hoping to play the grand final.

"We know that Wellington Phoenix is playing very well this last part of the season and we expect a very tough game."

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung says he is not concerned with who the team meets next in the European Champions League.

After the Red Devils trounced Italian giants AC Milan 4-0 last night to go through to the quarter-finals 7-2 on aggregate, the South Korea captain wasn?t bothered with who they drew next.

?It doesn't matter who we are up against in the quarter-finals. It is interesting to see how the draw goes and we will just prepare for our team after that,? he said.

Park played a major role in United?s victory at Old Trafford, keeping Milan danger man Ronaldinho quiet and managing to find the back of the net for Manchester?s third goal.

?I had a great game and it's always good to score at Old Trafford - especially in the Champions League - so I'm very happy,? he added.

?We didn't start the game expecting to get four goals. It was quite a tight game then we scored the first goal.?

Rangers boss Walter Smith says defender Andy Webster can have a successful Ibrox career.

Smith has backed Webster to play a significant role at Ibrox when he returns from his loan spell at Dundee United.

"I have been impressed by Andy," Smith told Rangers News. "He has been captain at Dundee United and, as someone who is on loan, that's a real accolade for him.

"It's a reflection of how the people up there view him and the reason I let him go elsewhere was because he was going through a terrible injury period here.

"He wasn't settling down but I'm hoping the confidence he gets from going out on loan and playing can kick-start his career when he comes back to us next season."

Smith, who is working without a contract as the club push on with takeover talks with a consortium headed by London-based estate agent Andrew Ellis, added: "I'm not sure of what future any of us will have here but I think putting him out to United has worked well for him.

"He had a hard period here where, due to contractual situations and his transfer from Hearts to Wigan, he stalled a bit.

"He had a terrific start to his career but it hit the skids when that happened to him and he was unfortunate when he came here and played just once in two-and-a-half years.

"If my memory serves me correctly, he scored in that one against Gretna but injuries limited him a lot. I think he's over that now.

"I certainly hope he is and I like to think he can come back with the confidence he had three or four years ago."

England U21 coach Stuart Pearce says Manchester United?s Michael Owen can still have an impact at international level.

Following the season-ending injury Owen suffered last week, there are fears growing that his international career is over but Pearce eased those concerns.

?It's wrong to say Michael's international career is over and that Fabio (Capello) doesn't like him," Pearce told The Sun.

"He picks the squad on merit and the door is still open for Michael."

West Ham?s new owners are planning a summer raid on former club Birmingham City according to reports.

Hammers duo David Sullivan and David Gold, who are already being sued by City owner Carson Yueng after his £80million takeover, are keen to attempt a raid on the club by taking a key trio of players in the summer.

Defender Liam Ridgewell and midfielder Sebastian Larsson are both out of contract this summer and are rated highly by Sullivan whilst the club is also keen on Ecuadoran striker Christian Benitez.

The players are yet to agree news deals with City as they are seeking improvements in their salaries.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits his side could have beaten anybody with the way they played in Wednesday night?s 4-0 thrashing of AC Milan in the Champions League.

The Red Devils cruised through to the next round 7-2 on aggregate and after the performance, a jubilant Ferguson was not worried about who they were up against next.

"It was a marvellous second-half performance," he told ITV. "We played very, very well.

"When we play at that tempo, we're difficult to play against and it was a really solid performance.

"With that kind of team I've got it doesn't matter who we play.?

David Beckham admitted he was happy to back at Old Trafford but the performance put up by his team, AC Milan, made for a disappointing night.

The former Manchester United star was playing at the famous ground for the first time against the Red Devils but could not do anything to prevent Milan going down 4-0 (7-2 on aggregate) in the Champions League Round of 16 clash.

He did, however, speak of how good it was to be back at his old stomping ground despite getting an unfavourable result.

"It was a disappointing night because we lost the game but returning here is always special," Beckham told ITV.

"It was unbelievable. I have to say thank you. It was really incredible.

"It was nice to be back, a disappointing night but nice to be back."

Adelaide United were praised by coach Aurelio Vidmar after a solid 2-0 away win against China?s Shandong Luneng.

Goals to Sergio van Dijk and Mathew Leckie did the damage for the Reds who made it two from two in the group stage after reigning Asian champions Pohang Steelers on matchday 1.

Despite not being the official head coach for the Asian Champions League, Vidmar is basically doing his normal job whilst Joe Mullen fills the role and he was over the moon after the positive performance and heaped praise on his players.

?It was a great win. I think it was really important that we backed up from our good win against Pohang,? Vidmar said.

?We started the game off very well, we really didn?t allow them to get any rhythm in the game, especially in that first half and then we scored a great goal.

?He (Galekovic) is a fantastic keeper, we know that and at the right times he made two fantastic saves, but he wasn?t the only one that was fantastic tonight,? Vidmar added.

?I thought our two centre halves Robbie Cornthwaite and Iain Fyfe were fantastic, Sergio up front and our midfielders were absolutely brilliant, they stay disciplined, we executed our corner extremely well and we knew that was probably an area that we could have got a little bit of joy out of and we certainly did, it was a fantastic goal from Leckie.

?The group?s mentality has been fantastic?the confidence amongst the players and within the group is very good at this point of time and winning does that.

?The performance tonight, you could see that they were stubborn, there was no way they were going to concede the goal, they were desperate in defence and everything worked very well for us.?

Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante has been named the club?s Player of the Year.
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The former Newcastle Jets defender was awarded as Wellington?s SONY Player of the Year at the club?s annual award night last night.

Durante played every minute of every game in the regular season and was voted for on a 3-2-1 basis by a panel of five coaches ? Ricki Herbert, Luciano Trani, Jonathan Gould, chief executive Tony Pignata and football operations manager Mal Impiombato.

The centre-half polled 117 votes, with midfielder Vince Lia second on 110 and striker Paul Ifill on 101.

In other Phoenix award news, Barbadian-born English import Ifill almost stole the show, winning the Player?s Player of the Year, Members? Player of the Year, Media Player of the Year and the Golden Boot whilst Troy Hearfield was named the U23 Player of the Year.

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said Durante was a deserved winner of the award and labeled him as the best centre-back in the league.

?Paul Ifill certainly grabbed the attention and the headlines but Andrew?s work on defence was top-shelf throughout the season. Scoring goals up one end is great but counts for nothing if you can?t keep the opposition out at the other end,? Herbert said.

?In that regard Andrew has been outstanding. His partnerships with Jon McKain and Ben Sigmund at the heart of the back four have been superb and his leadership on and off the field integral to all the success the team has enjoyed this season.

?It was no surprise to anyone at the club when Andrew was picked for the Socceroos ? it was deserved reward for a player who is clearly the best centre back in the Hyundai A-League.?

Real Madrid have been dumped out of the Champions League after Lyon held them 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Real Madrid's dreams of a Champions League final at their Bernabeu home were crushed by Lyon as the Spanish giants were knocked out at the last-16 stage for the sixth successive season.

Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh Champions League goal of the season gave Madrid the perfect early start as he netted after just six minutes to level up the aggregate scores at 1-1.

However, Madrid failed to make the most of a host of first-half chances and they paid the cost as Miralem Pjanic smashed home a 75th-minute equaliser for Lyon to send Manuel Pellegrini's men crashing out.

With this year's final being staged at the Bernabeu, Madrid had high hopes of reaching that final showpiece and the postmortem in the Spanish capital will almost certainly leave Pellegrini under more pressure.

Manchester United HUMILIATED AC Milan tonight thrashing the Italian giants 4-0 in the second-leg of their Champions League tie.
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United crushed AC Milan 4-0 at Old Trafford to cruise into the Champions League quarter-finals by a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.

Goals from Wayne Rooney (2), Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher saw the Red Devils coast to victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

United's dominant display meant David Beckham's Old Trafford return was a losing one.

Introduced as a substitute just after the hour to a fantastic reception from the Old Trafford faithful, the tie was already lost when Beckham made his entrance.

Spotted wearing a green-and-gold scarf at the end, the England midfielder did go close to a consolation with a volley.

However, it was United's night. Rooney did the damage, taking his tally for the season to 30 with goals either side of the interval.

The first was a superb header from a Gary Neville cross and the second a deft finish from Nani's super pass just after the break.

Park made the tie safe with a third fired low into the corner of the Milan net before Darren Fletcher wrapped up an exceptionally easy win with a late header from close range three minutes from the end.