Fabrice Muamba able to sit out of bed and eat in hospital
Bolton midfielder
Fabrice Muamba has been able to sit out of bed in hospital, eat and
watch his team-mates on Match of the Day.
"He continues to make encouraging progress in his recovery," said a joint hospital and club statement.
Manager Owen Coyle said Muamba watched highlights on Sunday morning of the 2-1 Premier League win over Blackburn.
"If there is a bit of humour that comes out of that, I am led to believe he fell asleep when it was 2-0," he said.
The Scot is treating Tuesday's rearranged FA Cup quarter-final tie as "a chance to thank the Tottenham Hotspur fans" for their support.
The game sees Bolton return to White Hart Lane for the first time since the midfielder's cardiac arrest shortly before half-time led to the match being abandoned.
"Last Saturday it was almost like a sixth sense had taken over," said Coyle.
"There was a real sense of unity. Is it going to be tough [to return]? Yes."
Several Bolton players plan to visit Muamba as he recovers in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital, while fans staged a tribute before Saturday's game.
A statement from the hospital and Bolton on Monday said: "Over the weekend, he has been able to sit out of bed for a short time, watch television and has begun to eat.
"However, he will need to continue to be closely monitored by the medical team at the London Chest Hospital for some time.
"His family requests that he receive no more visitors for the moment, outside of immediate family and members of Bolton Wanderers Football Club."
Football figures from around the world have offered their support as the 23-year-old continues to recuperate.
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Barcelona and Real Madrid players have worn T-shirts expressing their best wishes,
with the same gesture replicated by Premier League teams in action at the weekend.
Fans of Bolton and Blackburn came together to pay tribute to Muamba
Coyle said: "He [Muamba] was so taken in and thankful that he wanted to express that to everybody for the support that has been shown to him.
"I think as well in the last few days he's been able to take in more the goodwill that globally he's been getting from people.
"But it's so great to know that bit by bit he is getting better."
Spurs have revealed that the match shirts worn by both teams for the replay will be signed and auctioned, with proceeds going to the London Chest Hospital, the London Ambulance Service, the British Heart Foundation, Pan Africa Heart Foundation and CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young).
This story around the web
- FA Cup: Bolton and Spurs to meet again after Muamba incident Firstpost.com 47 mins ago External Link
- Spurs, Bolton set for poignant night at White Hart Lane Reuters UK 1 hr ago External Link
- Muamba making 'encouraging progress': hospital Yahoo! Malaysia 1 hr ago External Link
- Muamba watches Match of the Day Scottish Sun 4 hrs ago External Link
- English: Recovering Bolton star Fabrice Muamba dozes off watching highlights of win over Blackburn Glasgow Sunday Mail 4 hrs ago
Egypt's Al Ahly are held by Ethiopian Coffee on return
Egypt's Al Ahly drew 0-0 at Ethiopian Coffee in an African Champions League second round first leg tie on Sunday.
Both Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohamed Barakat started the game for Ahly
despite saying they had retired in the aftermath of the Port Said tragedy.
Ahly have not played since
the death of 74 fans in Port Said
prompted the Egyptian league's cancellation.
The game was however overshadowed by the death of
a 13-year-old boy during clashes in Port Said on Friday.
The violence erupted at news the Port Said-based club Al Masry had been banned for two years over the tragedy in February.
Ahly's great rivals
Zamalek
beat
Africa Sport
of Ivory Coast 1-0 in Cairo.
Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi scored the only goal of
the game after just one minute after he nicked the ball away from the
goalkeeper and slid home past several defenders.
The start of the second half was delayed by 20 minutes
as match officials tried to ensure that unauthorised people were moved
away from the dugouts.
There was a huge win for Ghanaian champions
Berekum Chelsea
as they overcame visiting three-time African champions
Raja Casablanca
of Morocco 5-0.
Striker Emmanuel Clottey scored a hat-trick to go with goals from Solomon Asante and captain Abdul Basit.
Berekum's Dutch coach Hans Van der Plyum was naturally
thrilled with the scoreline ahead of the second leg in a fortnight's
time.
"Our strategy is to score more goals than the opponent," he said.
"If you get a chance against a side like Raja and play
first at home, you have to take your chances - these teams are always
difficult to beat away too."
Angola's side
Recreativo do Libolo
took a big step towards the next round with a 4-1 win over visiting Nigerian side
Sunshine Stars
.
Libolo took the lead through Rasca on 33 minutes before Bobo-Izu Azuka equalised for the Nigerians before half-time.
The hosts dominated after the break and Adawa restored the lead on 79 minutes with a long-range strike.
Darius extended Libolo's lead just two minutes later and Edy completed the victory in injury time at the end of the match.
Better news for another Nigerian club
Dolphins
as they overcame 2008 runners-up
Coton Sport
of Cameroon in Port Harcourt.
Dolphins took the lead after just two minutes through
Ifeanyi Egwim before Alim Hamdama equalised for Coton Sport 18 minutes
later.
Egwin then missed a penalty in the 64th minute but his blushes were spared when Owusu Adei scored a late winner.
Finally, Africa's reigning Confederation Cup winners -
MAS
of Morocco - were held to a 1-1 draw in Guinea by Horoya.
African Champions League 2nd round, 1st leg results on Sunday
Zamalek 1-0 Africa Sport
Horoya v MAS
Ethiopian Coffee
0-0
Al Ahly
Tonnerre
p-p
Stade Malien
Recreativo de Libolo
4-1
Sunshine Stars
Dolphins
2-1
Coton Sport
Berekum Chelsea
5-0
Raja Casablanca
African Champions Esperance of Tunisia held by Brikama
Esperance of Tunisia began the defence of their African Champions
League title with a 1-1 draw in The Gambia against Brikama United.
Wajdi Bouazzi gave Esperance the lead in their secound
round first leg game as early as the third minute as he capitalised on a
defensive mistake to score.
The lead lasted just nine minutes before Brikama's Musa Bojang headed home a corner to level the scores.
Esperance went on to dominate the second half but were unable to find a winner.
Two other former winners also found it hard going on Saturday in the opening encounters of their second round ties.
TP Mazembe , back-to-back winners in 2009 and 2010, were held 1-1 at Zambian side Power Dynamos .
The DR Congo team are back in the competition, having been disqualified in 2011 for fielding an ineligible player.
Meanwhile, Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel , champions in 2007, could only manage a goalless draw away to Rwandan side APR FC .
The big winners on Saturday were
Al Hilal,
last year's semi-finalists, as the Sudanese took a huge step toward the next stage with a 3-0 win at
DFC 9th Arrondissement
of Central African Republic.
Al Merreikh
have the edge after drawing 2-2 with
FC Platinum
on Saturday in their first leg tie in Harare.
But much talk after the game centred on the Confederation of African Football's (Caf) decision to bar FC Platinum from using their home ground for the match.
Joel Ngodzo, who netted Platinum's second equaliser, was particularly critical - even if his second-half goal gave Platinum a glimmer of hope ahead of the trip to Sudan.
"We were supposed to play in our home ground. This ground is not our ground. We are six hours from our ground," he said.
"But I trust my team to turn this (scoreline) around. There's no pressure on us. We'll keep on fighting."
Uganda midfielder Mike Mutyaba put Al Merreikh ahead on 18 minutes with a curling shot, before Mitchell Katsvairo levelled for FC Platinum from close range 10 minutes later.
Al Merreikh captain Saeed Mustafa headed in a corner seven minutes before the break, only for Ngodzo to have the final word just after the interval.
Ngodzo remains hopeful going into the second leg, whilst Merreikh's Nigerian midfielder Kelechi Osunwa insists they will pay Platinum due respect.
"We're happy with the result but we still need to work hard at home," Osunwa said. "It's not over yet and we'll be well prepared."
There was also a 2-2 draw for another Zimbabwean side as Dynamos twice took the lead in Mozambique against Liga Muculmana.
Takesure Chinyama opened the scorng for Dynamos in the 22nd minute before Stelio Ernesto equalised just after half-time.
Chinyama grabbed his second of the game three minutes later before Luis Vaz equalised for Liga Muculmana in the 73rd minute with a close-range header.
On Friday, Ivory Coast club AF Amadou Diallo won 2-1 at JSM Bejaia , leaving the Algerian side with work to do in the return leg.
Their Algerian compatriots, ASO Chlef , were held 0-0 at home by AS Vita Club of DR Congo.
Goals from Alou Bagayoko and Mahamane Cisse gifted Malian club Djoliba a 2-0 win at URA of Uganda. URA coach Alex Isabirye accused his players of showing Djoliba too much respect.
African Champs Lge 2nd round, 1st leg results Friday/Saturday
AS Chlef 0-0 AS Vita ClubDFC 9th Arrondissement 0-3 Al Hilal
JSM Bejaia 1-2 AF Amadou Diallo
APR 0-0 Etoile du Sahel
URA 0-2 Djoliba
Muculmana de Maputo 2-2 Dynamos
Brikama 1-1 Esperance
FC Platinum 2-2 Al Merreikh
Power Dynamos 1-1 TP Mazembe
OTHER STORIES
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Dual role
Wallemme to combine Auxerre coaching job with leading Congo
Lingering tragedy
A teenager dies in Port Said as Masry fans riot over two-year ban
Feeling the love
Mainz coach says confidence is the key for Egypt's Zidan
South Africa's women seek improvement ahead of the Olympics
Today's Gossip Column
A round-up of the day's hottest gossip
Sone Aluko shines in Scottish derby
Bolton's pre-match Muamba tribute
Kenya out to improve stadium security
Allegri hails Muntari's impact at AC Milan
The Ghana international made a low-key arrival at Milanello during the January transfer window but he has emerged as a very important player for the Rossoneri
Getty Images
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes the club's CEO, Adriano Galliani, pulled off a masterstroke by signing Sulley Muntari from city rivals Inter during the January transfer window.
The Ghana international had long been deemed surplus to requirements at Appiano Gentile and was allowed to join the Rossoneri on loan.
Muntari has been a revelation since arriving at Milanello and turned in another dynamic display in Saturday's crucial Serie A victory over Roma, leaving Allegri singing the player's praises after the game.
"Knowing Muntari as I do, he could have done even better but he hasn't played for two years," the Rossoneri boss is quoted as saying by his club's official website.
"He gives us intensity and he has technique. I was disappointed with the booking he received but Galliani has acquired a good player."
Allegri, though, was reluctant to focus on one player after a hard-fought win which has moved Milan seven points clear of second-placed Juventus ahead of the Bianconeri's meeting with Inter on Sunday evening.
The Rossoneri had fallen behind to Pablo Osvaldo's first-half strike but turned the game around courtesy of a double from talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"We conceded an unlucky goal but the team looked for the result by trying as hard as they could," Allegri enthused.
"The players were stupendous. They're real professionals and they’re doing great things. I’m lucky to have them.
"Winning the league will take many more points than last season because Juve have the potential to win a lot of games.
"They have a good squad and desire to get back to the top but tomorrow [Sunday] is a big game for them to keep up with us."
Milan must now turn their attention to the Champions League with Barcelona set to visit San Siro on Wednesday night for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
'Chelsea can overturn any deficit' - Drogba
The Blues striker insists his side have recovered their confidence ahead of their Champions League quarter-final with Benfica and will fight 'until the last minute' this season
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The Blues travel to Lisbon on Tuesday night having not won away from home in European competition for 13 months. They lost 3-1 at Napoli in the last 16 but went through after a 4-1 home victory after extra-time, and Drogba believes they are capable of progressing to the semi-finals even if they were to suffer another defeat on their travels.
“There are teams who you know can do it whatever the challenge — even if they lost by five or six away,” the 34-year-old told The Times.
“There are a few teams that you know can do it in those situations and Chelsea is one of them.
“With the players we have and the mentality we have here to fight — and fight until the last minute — we can do anything.
"I believe that’s why we’ve had these moments in so many seasons:
because we all believe we can do it and when we do something, we do it
as a team, as a group.”
Chelsea's victory over Napoli made them only the fourth club in
Champions League history to overturn a deficit of two goals or more in
the second leg. And after their revival under caretaker boss Roberto di
Matteo, Drogba admitted they are now brimming with confidence.
“We have started to believe a little bit more in ourselves and there is a little bit more confidence now,” he said.
“The only thing that can change a dressing room is winning games and going on a good run of results.
“Even if you have the best atmosphere in the dressing room to begin
with, when you lose games everyone will be down. That’s just human.
“However, when you win games everything is better. Now we want to win
again and give ourselves confidence for the coming weeks.”
Pardew urges Newcastle fans: Make Demba Ba stay
The Magpies' boss is willing the Toon Army to show their support for the prolific Senegalese striker and persuade him to stay at the North-East club
Demba Ba - Newcastle
Alan Pardew is calling on all Newcastle fans to help persuade Demba Ba to stay with the club and not leave this summer.
Ba has been in impressive form, notching up 16 goals in his first season on Tyneside, but a £7 million release clause in his contract means transfer speculation is rife.
Pardew told The Telegraph: “I think Demba’s made it quite clear that he loves it here.
“I think that’s a big part of Demba. I think if you know Demba you know that he is an emotional person. It isn’t all about money for him.”
The Toon boss believes the club’s fans can play on this emotional side, and he has sent a message to the supporters.
“I think the fans can play a big part in keeping him. If I had a message I would say it would be nice for them to show him they want him to stay.”
Last weekend Newcastle were undone at home to Norwich, but Pardew has been gratified to see an improvement this week.
“I see on the training ground this week a new buoyancy among us and I do think we’ll play better on Sunday than we did against Norwich. I’m convinced of that.”
The Magpies take on West Bromwich Albion in a 16:00 BST kick-off on Sunday at The Hawthorns.
Newcastle boosted their chances of a top-four finish with a convincing 3-1 victory away at West Brom on Sunday.
A double from Papiss Cisse and a strike from Hatem Ben Arfa gave the Magpies a commanding lead and, although half-time substitute Shane Long scored shortly after the break, the visitors never looked likely to relinquish their lead.
For Newcastle, the victory went some way to making up for their 3-2 defeat to the Baggies in the reverse fixture in December.
In that game the Magpies were 2-0 up before subsequently conceding three, however, that scenario never looked likely at the Hawthorns as Alan Pardew’s side made the perfect start, taking the lead after just six minutes.
£10 million January signing Cisse scored his first goal away from the Sports Direct Arena as he swept in a cross from former Marseille midfielder Ben Arfa.
Just five minutes later the pair combined again only this time it was Cisse setting up Ben Arfa, who jinked past Olsson and finished brilliantly to score his sixth goal for the club.
Stunned by the early onslaught, the hosts began to play their way back into the game but, on the half-hour mark, matters got worse as Cisse slotted in after another assist from Ben Arfa.
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson made a double change at the break and just five minutes later his decision proved shrewd as Long pounced on a mix-up between Mike Williamson and Tim Krul to give the home side a chance of a comeback.
They struggled to build on their early second half advantage though, as Newcastle’s defence held up to anything thrown at them.
Despite their dominance, the game ended on a somewhat sour not for the Magpies, as the impressive Cisse left the field on a stretcher with 15 minutes left to play.
However, Pardew’s side now sit level on points with Chelsea and five points behind Tottenham in the last Champions League qualification spot, whilst West Brom are still four points short of the 40-point mark that should guarantee survival.
Ba has been in impressive form, notching up 16 goals in his first season on Tyneside, but a £7 million release clause in his contract means transfer speculation is rife.
Pardew told The Telegraph: “I think Demba’s made it quite clear that he loves it here.
“I think that’s a big part of Demba. I think if you know Demba you know that he is an emotional person. It isn’t all about money for him.”
The Toon boss believes the club’s fans can play on this emotional side, and he has sent a message to the supporters.
“I think the fans can play a big part in keeping him. If I had a message I would say it would be nice for them to show him they want him to stay.”
Last weekend Newcastle were undone at home to Norwich, but Pardew has been gratified to see an improvement this week.
“I see on the training ground this week a new buoyancy among us and I do think we’ll play better on Sunday than we did against Norwich. I’m convinced of that.”
The Magpies take on West Bromwich Albion in a 16:00 BST kick-off on Sunday at The Hawthorns.
West Brom 1-3 Newcastle: Cisse nets twice as visitors move level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea
The Senegalese striker hit his fourth and fifth strikes for the Magpies since his January move from Freiburg either side of a fine Hatem Ben Arfa finish
Getty Images
A double from Papiss Cisse and a strike from Hatem Ben Arfa gave the Magpies a commanding lead and, although half-time substitute Shane Long scored shortly after the break, the visitors never looked likely to relinquish their lead.
For Newcastle, the victory went some way to making up for their 3-2 defeat to the Baggies in the reverse fixture in December.
In that game the Magpies were 2-0 up before subsequently conceding three, however, that scenario never looked likely at the Hawthorns as Alan Pardew’s side made the perfect start, taking the lead after just six minutes.
£10 million January signing Cisse scored his first goal away from the Sports Direct Arena as he swept in a cross from former Marseille midfielder Ben Arfa.
Just five minutes later the pair combined again only this time it was Cisse setting up Ben Arfa, who jinked past Olsson and finished brilliantly to score his sixth goal for the club.
Stunned by the early onslaught, the hosts began to play their way back into the game but, on the half-hour mark, matters got worse as Cisse slotted in after another assist from Ben Arfa.
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson made a double change at the break and just five minutes later his decision proved shrewd as Long pounced on a mix-up between Mike Williamson and Tim Krul to give the home side a chance of a comeback.
They struggled to build on their early second half advantage though, as Newcastle’s defence held up to anything thrown at them.
Despite their dominance, the game ended on a somewhat sour not for the Magpies, as the impressive Cisse left the field on a stretcher with 15 minutes left to play.
However, Pardew’s side now sit level on points with Chelsea and five points behind Tottenham in the last Champions League qualification spot, whilst West Brom are still four points short of the 40-point mark that should guarantee survival.
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Robin van Persie
Striker Arsenal |
26 | 1 |
|
Wayne Rooney
Striker Manchester United |
20 | 4 |
|
Kun Agüero
Striker Manchester City |
17 | 3 |
|
Demba Ba
Striker Newcastle United |
16 | 2 |
|
Aiyegbeni Yakubu
Striker Blackburn |
14 | 3 |
'It is really important now not to panic' - Yaya Toure on Premier League run-in
Roberto Mancini's side had to come from behind to pick up a point at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday and the midfielder spoke of his hope that United will falter soon
Getty
The midfielder secured the point for City with a long range effort with 15 minutes to go following a goal of the season contender from Peter Crouch on the hour mark.
The draw sees City go top for the time being, with Manchester United set to face Fulham on Monday, but the defender has called for the rest of the squad to keep their cool.
Speaking to ESPN after the match, he said: “It is really important now not to panic. Today we drew against a good team.
“It is always tough to play against Stoke, but I think the most important thing is to keep going, continuing to work hard.
“Hopefully if United can continue to drop points that will be important for the title race. I think we have to work hard and continue being ourselves.”
Yaya also spoke about City’s faltering away form since Christmas and admitted that it was always going to be tough against Stoke.
He continued: “It is difficult because of the pressure and away it is always more difficult.
"Stoke are very hard and very strong on the break and I think we deserved to draw today because Stoke did play very well and cause us a lot of problems.
"I think the most important thing is that we keep winning and wait for Monday and see what United do.”
The former Barcelona man’s older brother echoed his thoughts, praising the efforts and performance of Stoke, and underlined the importance of showing character.
He said: “It is always difficult to come to the Britannia. Every time u play against stoke you know it will be a difficult game, particularly away.
“I think today we are a little disappointed with two points dropped but at the end of the day I think it is a good result.
“This is a title race and it [character] is very important. We will watch the United game on Monday and hope they don’t do very well.
“From now on we need to think of every game like a final. Today I think we played a good game.
"Stoke played very well. They put us under pressure. The reaction was great. It was a fabulous strike from Yaya and now we are looking forward to the next game.”
| Diawara's season over as he undergoes knee surgery |   |
© Reuters
 Olympique Marseille's Souleymane Diawara |
Senegal centre back Diawara suffered a serious sprain with a tear of a back cruciate ligament in his right knee in Saturday's 1-1 league draw at Nice.
"He will undergo surgery next week. He will be out of action for about six months," Marseille said on their website (www.om.net).
Diawara will miss the rest of the season and is unlikely to be fit when the next term begins in August.
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