FIFA presidency and the Australian Open in the Best of the Week

February 1, 2016 23:45

1/14 FIFA confirmed the 5 candidates to replace President Joseph Blatter. In the world of tennis, Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open.
2/14 FIFA presidency: Five candidates confirmed: FIFA has confirmed that five candidates will battle for the presidency of football's world governing body when voting takes place on 26 February. Those five are Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne. The election, prompted by Sepp Blatter's decision to stand down amid a growing corruption scandal at FIFA, will be held in Zurich.
3/14 Atletico & Real Madrid transfer bans suspended: Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have confirmed they will be able to register new players while they are appealing against their FIFA transfer ban. Both clubs have appealed against the two-window ban, which is not due to take effect until the transfer window at the end of the 2015-16 season and subsequent registration period in January 2017. Atleti and Real Madrid have now been informed that the ban will be temporarily suspended while their respective appeal processes are completed.
4/14 Investigated 64 managers, players and agents in Italy for tax evasion: A total of 64 people, including Milan CEO Adriano Galliani, Modena coach Hernan Crespo and Paris Saint Germain striker Ezequiel Lavezzi have been targeted by an Italian police investigation into alleged tax evasion and false accounting, according to widespread reports. Dubbed 'Fuorigioco' (Offside), the probe was launched by prosecutors in Naples and is focusing on suspicions that several players' agents colluded with club officials and players from Italy's top two divisions in a complicated tax-avoidance scheme that deprived the tax man of millions of euros.
5/14 AC Milan 3-0 Inter: Nerazzurri crash to comprehensive defeat: Goals from Alex, Carlos Bacca and M'Baye Niang were enough for AC Milan to down city rivals 3-0 Inter in fiery Derby della Madonnina. Alex rising highest to give his team the lead with an expertly-placed header. Mauro Icardi then blazed his penalty over the bar before Bacca made his impact felt, scoring just as Inter were pushing hard for their own equaliser to head home a cross from Niang.
6/14 Barcelona face Valencia in Copa del Rey semi-finals: Holders Barcelona will face Valencia in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, while Sevilla take on Celta Vigo. Gary Neville has experienced poor form in La Liga since arriving at Valencia, but has won four out of five games in the cup competition. Barça will of course present a strong test to that record. Sevilla, meanwhile, are vying for their first Copa since 2010. Celta however dispatched Atletico Madrid in the previous round, and will be formidable opponents. The first legs will be played on February 3, with the return games scheduled for a week later.
7/14 Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao (agg 5-2): Neymar seals win as hosts ease into last four: Barcelona came from behind to cruise into the Copa del Rey semi-finals courtesy of a 3-1 second-leg win over Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou. Boasting a 2-1 lead from the first leg, Barca fell behind at the Camp Nou to Inaki Williams' opener but Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Neymar were all on target in the second half as the holders ended Athletic's campaign for the second season in succession, winning 5-2 on aggregate.
8/14 Atletico Madrid 2-3 Celta Vigo (agg 2-3): Simeone’s men dumped out of Copa del Rey: Atletico Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage after Celta Vigo won 3-2 at Vicente Calderon. Chilean midfielder Pedro Pablo Hernandez scored a pair of headed goals either side of John Guidetti's thunderbolt to give Celta only their second victory over Atletico in the last six meetings between the two sides. Goals from Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa turned out to be meaningless in the second leg for Atletico, whose unbeaten run of eight matches in all competitions came grinding to a halt on a night they will want to forget.
9/14 Manchester City 3-1 Everton (4-3 agg): Aguero sets up Wembley return: Sergio Aguero booked Manchester City's place in the League Cup final with a decisive late goal in their 3-1 victory over Everton. Ross Barkley gave the Toffees a 3-1 aggregate lead after 18 minutes at the Etihad Stadium but Fernandinho's deflected effort put City back on track. Kevin De Bruyne netted a second - though the ball appeared to have gone out for a goal kick in the build-up - before Aguero headed home the Belgian's cross to make it 4-3 on aggregate.
10/14 Liverpool 0-1 Stoke City (1-1 agg, 6-5 pens): Reds qualified to Capital One Cup Final: Joe Allen scored the winning penalty to send Liverpool through to the League Cup final at Wembley despite their 1-0 loss at home to Stoke City. Allen netted to give the Reds a 6-5 victory from the spot after Marko Arnautovic's goal had levelled the tie at 1-1 on aggregate, with no further goals separating the two sides over 120 minutes. Peter Crouch, Emre Can and, crucially, Marc Muniesa missed from the spot in a seven-round shootout, with Simon Mignolet denying the Spanish defender to set Allen up to win it.
11/14 Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Toulouse: Lavezzi & Di Maria seal final berth: Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria scored second-half goals to put Paris Saint-Germain through to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue at the expense of Toulouse. Lavezzi put the hosts into the lead at Parc des Princes after 65 minutes, rolling the ball into an open goal after goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea had blocked his initial shot, with Di Maria's fine individual effort sealing the win seven minutes later.
12/14 Real Madrid 6-0 Espanyol: Ronaldo scores hat-trick in impressive win: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a superb hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 6-0 at the Bernabeu. The Portugal international converted a spot-kick in the 12th minute, before doubling his tally in the dying seconds of the first half and making it three late on. Karim Benzema had opened the scoring for Madrid after being set up by James Rodriguez, who found the net himself between Ronaldo's first two goals to cap an impressive outing on the right wing. At the end, Espanyol debutant Oscar Duarte beat his own goalkeeper to cap a dominant outing for the hosts.
13/14 Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray in Australian Open Final: Novak Djokovic has clinched a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title by once more beating Andy Murray in the decider. The dominant world number one was too good for a below-par Murray, winning 6-1 7-5 7-6 (7-3) on Rod Laver Arena.
14/14 Serena Williams suffers stunning loss to Angelique Kerber in Australian Open Final: Angelique Kerber defied the odds to win her maiden grand slam after stunning an error-prone Serena Williams in three sets in the Australian Open final. All eyes were on Williams in the defending champion's bid for a 22nd major title and a seventh Australian Open crown. But the below-par Williams tallied 46 unforced errors as slam final debutant and seventh seed Kerber triumphed 6-4 3-6 6-4.