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Pep Guardiola insisted revenge was not his motivation as he prepares Manchester City for their Champions League semi-final rematch with Real Madrid. City were beaten in heartbreaking fashion by the Spanish giants in the last four a year ago and have a chance to make amends this term. The first leg of their latest encounter takes place at the Bernabeu on Tuesday and Guardiola is focusing on the game in hand rather than looking back 12 months. The City manager said: “It was tough but we made an exceptional first game in Manchester and played a really good game here. “In general it was a good performance but it was not enough. You congratulate them and accept it and now one year later we are here. “We are not here for revenge. It is another opportunity. One day we will get it. We will get to the final and win it. “It didn’t happen last season as we played Real Madrid and in this competition they know exactly what they have to do.” Guardiola admitted, however, last season’s loss was hard to stomach at the time. City controlled the tie in the second leg and looked on course for the final, leading 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate heading into injury time. We are not here for revenge. It is another opportunity. One day we will get it. We will get to the final and win it. Pep Guardiola Yet they dramatically capitulated, conceding twice in quick succession and going on to lose in extra time. It added to the catalogue of near misses experienced by the club since Guardiola took charge in 2016, which includes defeat in the 2021 final. Guardiola said: “Seven years ago we wanted to win the Champions League. Last season it was (like) the end of the world but here we are again. “Being stable is the most important thing. The important thing is we are trying to get better every year. “We were prepared last year too. We are the same manager, mainly the same players but completely different games. “The difference is the second leg is at home and everything will be decided in Manchester.” Unlike Guardiola, midfielder Rodri admitted revenge was on his mind. The Spain midfielder said: “Football gives you the option to have revenge. “We have the philosophy you can always learn from past experiences. We did a great two games but football is like this and we didn’t go through. “We will fight again. We will try to learn from what we did bad in that moment.” City are without defender Nathan Ake after the Netherlands international suffered a calf injury in Saturday’s Premier League victory over Leeds. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Dwight McNeil bags brace as Everton ease past Brighton in battle against PL drop Alex Sanderson confirms interest in bringing Luke Cowan-Dickie to Sale Sharks Lionel Messi cherishes ‘special honour’ after winning Laureus award in Paris

Dean Smith admitted he did not see Leicester’s poor first-half performance coming as they were beaten 5-3 by Fulham at Craven Cottage to plunge them deeper into relegation trouble. The visitors were overrun before the break by Marco Silva’s side, with Leicester – porous and disorganised in defence – allowing Fulham to rip into them and build a three-goal lead by half-time. Willian and Tom Cairney both hit braces either side of the interval whilst Carlos Vinicius also netted to affirm the home side’s dominance, with two second-half goals from Harvey Barnes and a James Maddison penalty lending a respectability to the score that did not reflect Leicester’s frailties. It leaves Smith’s side in serious danger of being relegated from the Premier League with three games remaining, and he said: “The game was lost in the first half. “The performance in the first half was nowhere near what it has been and what the players can produce. I’m disappointed because I didn’t see that coming. We’d had a good week in training, good attitude, good application, good quality. “I expected a far better performance and a better start to the game than we got. At this level, if you give the kind of goals away that we gave away it’s going to be an uphill battle. “I don’t like basketball games, I don’t think it suits us given the fact we haven’t kept a clean sheet for so long. The first goal was really disappointing, a soft free-kick and it goes straight in. From there you could see the buoyancy in their players. “It was far too easy to get into our penalty box and create chances. We were quite happy to get in at half time to try and stem the flow. “I wasn’t happy (at half-time), the players weren’t happy with their performance as well. We started the second half better, had a chance early on then got done on the counter-attack ourselves.” It ended a three-game unbeaten run for Leicester which had seen them rise to 16th, but with only a point separating four threatened sides at the start of play the Foxes could ill afford to make the kind of start the travelling fans witnessed. Their woeful first half means no amount of effort after the break was likely to rescue the game, though the team did at least make a fight of the final 10 minutes with two late goals. By then they already trailed 5-1, and now face an uphill struggle in their final three games against Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham if they are to avoid dropping into the Sky Bet Championship for the first time since 2014. “We had a reaction (in the second half), said Smith. “We got some chances, had two penalties, we’ve scored three goals. I think we’ve had more shots than Fulham today, but the first half is what’s killed the game. “I was certainly very worried in the first half today. It got better in the second half. That’s the first time I’ve seen (a lack of fight) with these players. I hope I don’t see that again and I’m sure I won’t. “I can’t talk for the players but what I saw on the training ground this week, I thought we would be ready for this game. But the game was never going to be a given, any game in the Premier League is tough. “I believe there is (enough quality to survive). There are signs I had seen prior to the first half today that they’re good enough. The first half certainly was a step backwards, the second half was a step forwards again. We have to make sure we put in a 90-minute performance next week.” Fulham boss Silva felt the two-goal margin of victory for his side did not represent the gulf in class between the teams. “We were the best team on the pitch, no doubt about it,” he said. “We should have won this game much more comfortably. Great moments of football, great goals. From the first minute we were the team that started to command. “We started really intensely with desire, the will and quality to play. The dynamic we played in the first half and beginning of the second, I was really pleased to see it, the way the players expressed themselves on the pitch.” Read More Aleksandar Mitrovic ban ‘really tough’ for whole club – Fulham boss Marco Silva Steve Borthwick returns to Leicester to strengthen England’s coaching staff Dean Smith believes Jamie Vardy still has a lot to offer Leicester Marco Silva delighted to prove Fulham’s doubters wrong with fine campaign Everton showed character needed to avoid drop in Leicester draw – Idrissa Gueye Frida Maanum keeps Arsenal within reach of WSL title with winner against Leicester

Follow live coverage as Nottingham Forest take on Southampton in the Premier League tonight. This is a huge battle at the bottom of the table as 19th placed Nottingham Forest host bottom of the table Southampton. Should they win Forest would jump above Leeds and Leicester and move three points clear of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, the Saints need to pick up three points against their relegation rivals to keep themselves in with a chance of getting out of the bottom three. If they lose, they will be eight points from safety and would need to win their final three fixtures to stay up. We’ll bring you all the action and updates from today’s game in the live blog below: Read More ‘Hard to say’ whether Steve Cooper will work with Dean Henderson again Ruben Selles believes Southampton deserve a win ahead of crucial Forest game

Sunderland snatched a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs at Millwall’s expense in a dramatic final round of regular games, while Coventry also secured a top-six finish. Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats took sixth spot following a 3-0 win at Preston, where Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke netted after the break. Millwall had started the day in that position and looked set to seal a play-off berth at half-time against Blackburn, leading 3-1 with Duncan Watmore having scored a brace either side of Adam Wharton’s reply before Oliver Burke added a third for Gary Rowett’s men. But things turned around in remarkable fashion in the second half as a goal from Joe Rankin-Costello and two from Ben Brereton Diaz secured a 4-3 victory for Rovers. It left Millwall in eighth place, with Blackburn coming seventh as their own top-six hopes came to an end as they just missed out to Sunderland. Coventry, meanwhile, claimed the point they needed with a 1-1 draw at fourth-placed Middlesbrough, who had already secured their spot in the play-offs. Gustavo Hamer put Mark Robins’ Sky Blues ahead before Cameron Archer equalised in first-half stoppage time. West Brom were the other team starting the day with a chance of making the top six but they suffered a 3-2 defeat at Swansea, for whom Joel Piroe scored a stoppage-time winner. Albion had led twice, with efforts from Okay Yokuslu and Semi Ajayi being cancelled out by Luke Cundle and Olivier Ntcham. Luton, already confirmed as finishing third, drew 0-0 at home against Hull and will now face Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals, while Middlesbrough take on Coventry. Champions Burnley beat Cardiff 3-0 at Turf Moor, Josh Brownhill, Ashley Barnes and Scott Twine getting on the scoresheet as Vincent Kompany’s men finished with 101 points, while second-placed Sheffield United – also with automatic promotion already achieved – won 2-1 at Birmingham. Oliver McBurnie and James McAtee scored in quick succession for the Blades early in the second half, with Dion Sanderson pulling a goal back for the hosts. Among the three relegated teams, Blackpool finished on the most positive note as Morgan Rogers’ early goal earned them a 1-0 win at Norwich. Bottom side Wigan drew 0-0 at home with Rotherham, while 22nd-placed Reading lost 2-0 at Huddersfield, where Josh Koroma and Joseph Hungbo got the goals. Elsewhere, Watford beat Stoke 2-0 at Vicarage Road, Imran Louza and Keinan Davis netting, and it was the same scoreline as Bristol City triumphed at QPR, with Mark Sykes and Sam Bell on target. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sunderland snatch play-off spot on dramatic Championship final day Ros wins Badminton title at a Canter Newcastle’s Dan Burn refuses to criticise Arsenal’s ‘stifling’ tactics

Follow live coverage as Brighton & Hove Albion face Everton in the Premier League today. Manchester City are reigning champions after beating Liverpool to the finish line in a neck-and-neck 2021/22 title race where a comeback win on the final day of the season against Aston Villa secured a fourth title in five years for Pep Guardiola's side. Jurgen Klopp's Reds were on course for a quadruple last season but were forced to settle for just an FA Cup and Carabao Cup win and will return trying to win the title again just as they did in 2020. It was a dramatic season for Chelsea a year ago with Roman Abramovich now replaced by Todd Boehly as owner in west London. He will want an instant return on his hefty investment at Stamford Bridge while Tottenham, back in the Champions League, will want to kick on once more too. It's not all about the action at the top though with Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest promoted to the top tier for 2021/22 and hoping to hold their own against the best English football has to offer and avoid the drop. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below:

This WNBA season will be a heartwarming few months for the Phoenix Mercury, featuring Brittney Griner back on home soil and a healthy Diana Taurasi.What hasn't happened to the Phoenix Mercury since the start of last year? There have been so many on- and off-court issues, some in their contr...

NFL 2023 Schedule Release Could Be Delayed

Follow live coverage as Fulham face Leicester in the Premier League today. Relegation-battling Leicester made two changes for the trip to Fulham. Dean Smith brought in Victor Kristiansen for Luke Thomas and Dennis Praet for Wilfred Ndidi as the Foxes looked to move three points clear of danger. Harrison Reed and Kenny Tete came back into Fulham's starting line-up as Cedric Soares and Sasa Lukic dropped to the bench. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below: Read More Premier League top-four race: Remaining fixtures and how each club can qualify for the Champions League Six clubs, only three survive: Who can escape the great Premier League relegation fight?

Newcastle defender Dan Burn had no complaints over Arsenal’s streetwise tactics after a tooth-and-nail Premier League battle at St James’ Park. The Gunners emerged from Sunday’s fiercely-contested encounter on Tyneside with a 2-0 victory on an afternoon when anything less would have all but handed the title to leaders Manchester City. In doing so, they dealt a blow to the Magpies’ Champions League qualification hopes in a game punctuated by frequent delays in play and ill-tempered confrontations which prevented the home side from establishing a rhythm, something they themselves had been accused of doing in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium in January. But, asked about Arsenal’s approach, Burn said: “Of course it’s frustrating, but that’s what they said we did at their place. We get a lot of stick for slowing the game down, which I don’t know if we intentionally do all the time. “They did that, but it’s part and parcel of football. We can’t do it and then complain when it happens to us. “A lot of teams tend to do that now when they feel the energy of the crowd, they try and stifle it a little bit. “When a team like Arsenal is coming here and doing that, it’s a compliment.” Newcastle set off with high hopes of repeating their 2-0 home win over the Gunners last season and might have been on their way in front of an expectant home crowd had Jacob Murphy’s early shot not come back off a post or had referee Chris Kavanagh not been advised to review his decision to award a penalty for handball against Jakub Kiwior. In the event, they were undone by Martin Odegaard’s first-half strike and Fabian Schar’s unfortunate own goal. Burn said: “We knew it wasn’t going to be the same as last season, where we played them off the park. They’re a lot better this year and they’ve shown that all season. “They’ve been unlucky that City have overtaken them, but they’re a very good team who caused us problems, especially at home. We’re just unfortunate we couldn’t get the win.” We’re disappointed, but we’ve got four games to go and it’s still in our hands Newcastle defender Dan Burn Manchester United’s defeat at West Ham means Newcastle remain two points clear in third place with four games remaining, although with Liverpool and Brighton making concerted bids to reel them in. Burn said: “We’re disappointed, but we’ve got four games to go and it’s still in our hands.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lionel Messi back in training with PSG after ban for Saudi Arabia trip ‘It’s in our hands’: Erik Ten Hag not panicking over Man United’s top-four hopes Michael Flynn named new Swindon manager on two-year deal