Sport

Updated: 10:42 EST

Shanghai Shenhua 0-2 Brisbane Roar: Nightmare  for Tevez

Big-spending Shanghai Shenhua have been knocked out of the Asian Champions League before it has even begun after being beaten by Brisbane Roar in a play-off. Manager Gus Poyet, boasting a team led by the world's highest-paid footballer Carlos Tevez, saw his side become the first Chinese Super League team to lose a Champions League play-off in 14 years. Tevez, understood to be earning £615,000 per week in China, could do little as his new team were humbled at home today.

Sportsmail's pick their Premier League team of the season

The Premier League is approaching the business end with plenty to play for at the top and bottom. Chelsea lead the league by nine points and are hot favourites to win the title in May. The battle for the other three Champions League places is between five teams - Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. While the bottom six clubs are separated by just two points. We asked Sportsmail's reporters to pick their team of the season made up of the players who have stood out the most. While plenty of players from the top clubs get a look in, the sides at the bottom are not overlooked.

Wenger has only returned two FA Cups since 2005 and, though some regulars at the Emirates have voiced their dissent, Burley believes more fans should be complaining about the relative lack of success.

It will not have escaped Pep Guardiola's attention that some rather strange things have been going on in France, particularly the sudden and quite dramatic resurgence of Monaco.

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has called Manchester United a ‘small team’ when asked if Antoine Griezmann would be heading to Old Trafford this summer.

Troy Deeney has accused Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey of bottling it in Arsenal's defeat by the Hornets last week. Watford pulled off a shock result when they went to The Emirates and beat Arsenal

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has offered Ryan Mason help in his recovery from a fractured skull - an injury he sustained over 10 years ago at Chelsea.

Vincent Kompany makes dying Man City fan's dream come true

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany made a dying fan's wishes come true by visiting his Chester home and spending time with his family. Kompany dropped in on 74-year-old supporter David Burns, whose throat cancer has been deemed incurable by doctors. The father-of-five had previously told family members that meeting some of the City squad would be a dream and, after an emotional plea to the club, it became a reality on Tuesday.

Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller is in crisis

KIT HOLDEN: The odd bit of tinkering and rotation from Pep Guardiola aside, Muller has been a stalwart of the Bayern starting eleven for the last seven years. His place has been uncontested, his worth never in doubt. Now, for the first time in his illustrious career, that might be beginning to change. For the first time in his career, Thomas Muller is in crisis.

Freddy Adu has failed to land a contract at MLS side Portland Timbers after they took him on trial during their pre-season. Adu is free agent after being parting from Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Only minutes before Lahm explained his decision, Bayern president Uli Hoeness had told reporters he knew nothing of Lahm's retirement and said any announcement would be a joint one.

Holly Holm shocked the world when she knocked out the seemingly unstoppable 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey in front of a crowd of 56,000 people back in 2015.

If Claudio Ranieri’s employers stay true to their word and he makes it through to the summer, player power may be about to meet its Waterloo in Leicester.

Man Utd news: Stars gear up for Watford clash

Marcus Rashford claims Zlatan Ibrahimovic's mentality has been key to lifting the Manchester United dressing room throughout a tricky campaign. Ibrahimovic (pictured left, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan at today's training session) has been credited with helping United's players through their difficult start to the campaign.

Manchester United news: Paul Pogba shows off his braces

Paul Pogba was all smiles as Manchester United trained at their AON complex ahead of their clash with Watford on Saturday. And some eagle-eyed supporters were quick to notice something different about the French midfielder's look. And don't worry, it wasn't a tattoo of his personal emoticon.

Ahlawat - who has played first-class cricket for Delhi and is highly thought of by former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir - crashed 39 sixes in his extraordinary knock for Maavi XI.

O'Sullivan is back in action at this week's World Grand Prix in Preston, where he caused a stir by giving a bizarre interview to ITV Sport after his win over Chinese teenager Yan Bingtao on Tuesday.

Chelsea activated the clause in Nathan Ake's loan contract at Bournemouth last week but did not have one inserted in Cuadrado's unusual three-year loan in Turin.

Jurgen Klopp's side have endured a nightmare start to 2017 as their poor form has seen them drop out of the Premier League's top four and suffer disappointing exits from both the FA and EFL Cups.

Mkhitaryan insisted that the £30m deal that took him to Old Trafford was more about continuing his development as a footballer than boosting his bank balance.

How Eric Cantona ended up at Leeds via Sheffield Wednesday

AMITAI WINEHOUSE: There are few names in football that bring with them as much mystique as Eric Cantona (pictured, centre, ahead of his debut for Leeds at Oldham, left). Rightfully nicknamed ‘Le Roi (The King)’ by Manchester United fans, Cantona changed the club’s fortunes, inspiring a rise under Alex Ferguson that defined the modern era.

Liverpool FC fan honours star with 'Adam Lallama' tattoo

Fans have always been to go to extreme lengths to support their teams, but one Liverpool fan has gone further than most. While football tattoos to honour your heroes may now be commonplace, few are as spectacular as this one. One Reds supporter in America, it appears, has covered their entire thigh with the face of Anfield star Adam Lallana.

Josh Kelly has become the latest British boxer who competed at last year's Olympic Games to turn professional after signing a promotional contract with Matchroom Boxing.

Manchester City are in pole position to snap up Real Mallorca's teenage right-back Richard Dionkou. The 15-year-old Dionkou will finish the season at Mallorca.

Claudio Ranieri has revealed his attempts to ignite Riyad Mahrez's form are continuing with pep talks — but the Algerian remains uncertain of how to recapture his influence of last season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is yet to compete his first full season at Manchester United but the evergreen Swede has already made a lasting impression on the Premier League.

The Southampton striker, who drives a Porsche, claims the rider rode into his path when he drove off from a junction after traffic lights turned green in the south coast city in October.

David Haye shoots hoops on £27m Skyfall yacht in Miami

The 36-year-old, who will be competing in his 32nd professional contest, posted an image of the basketball session with the caption: 'Tough day in camp, shooting hoops on the deck of #skyfallyacht. The yacht is priced online in the region of £27million, with weekly charters costing £240,000 during the winter months.

Kevin-Prince Boateng wants to help advise young players

PETE JENSON: Kevin-Prince Boateng moved to Tottenham from Hertha Berlin 10 years ago this summer. It ended after two seasons and barely 24 appearances. But it didn’t finish him. After admitting he wasted his money on a combination of cars, women, alcohol and 'fake friend', he makes a good case for young professionals needing more help.

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has claimed Antoine Griezmann has no intention of calling time on his career in Spain by moving to the Premier League this summer.

Thierry Henry has described Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud as 'extraordinary' — and wishes he had the chance to line-up alongside his fellow Frenchman.

Gaston Ramirez handed in a transfer request last month, with champions Leicester attempting to lure him away from the Riverside Stadium, but has now returned the Middlesbrough squad.

Chelsea duo Willian and Kenedy turn on the Samba style as Brazilian pair show off tricks

Sitting nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, Chelsea players could maybe be forgiven for wanting to turn on the style. So it was no surprise to see Willian and Kenedy showing off their skills on the Chelsea Instagram account as they prepared for a photo shoot. The two Brazilians were in confident mood after ahead of their trip to Burnley on Sunday, with the Blues sitting pretty at the top of the table following a grueling double-header against Liverpool and Arsenal.

Chelsea captain John Terry reveals his coaching notes

Chelsea captain John Terry has offered up a look into his plans for life after football with an insight into his coaching training notes. Terry, 36, is considering coaching among a list of post-playing options and has been studying towards his UEFA licence qualifications. On Wednesday he revealed an image featuring some of his notes, accompanied by the message: 'Always learning'.

Lisa Murphy, 39, of Northampton, who aborted his baby, and her colleague Violet Smith, 27, of Berkshire. were handed a 22-month sentence suspended for two years.

Now 48, Ravanelli was Boro's star signing for the 1996-97 season and the 'White Feather' made an immediate impact with a hat-trick against Liverpool on his debut.

Liverpool legend John Barnes has offered hope to Chelsea's Premier League rivals by suggesting the title race isn't over. Chelsea are 13 points ahead of Jurgen Klopp's side.

Tottenham's Harry Kane on 'emotional' Mauricio Pochettino

In Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham have a manager who is respectful to a fault but who can be ruthless if players don't toe the line, according to Harry Kane. Since arriving in 2014, Pochettino has turned Spurs from top-four hopefuls to contenders for the Premier League title and the north London side currently sit second in the table, nine points behind Chelsea after 24 games. 'A lot of the time he's calm, but he's very passionate. If he feels the problem isn't the game but is about our attitude, he'll tell us we need to work harder or play harder,' Kane said.

Argentinian club produces shirt with space for 50 sponsors

An Argentinian football club has unveiled a new shirt with space for 50 sponsors. That's right, 50. Asociacion Deportiva Centenario (ADC) - from the south west of the South American country - are chasing a place in the record books by upping the logo capacity on their blue and white jerseys by 50 per cent.

There is an inevitability to being opened up by Barcelona these days because either Lionel Messi picks the lock on the defence, or Luis Suarez takes a sledgehammer to it. 

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha issued a public statement of support on Tuesday and had not intended to attend the FA Cup replay against Derby. Now he feels the scrutiny on Ranieri warrants his attendance.

Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn is deep in talks with Spence’s representatives about a match-up towards the end of May, with venues in the UK and US under consideration.

Great Britain thrash Portugal 3-0 in Fed Cup

Great Britain got off to a perfect start on the opening day of their Fed Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group I campaign with a 3-0 win over Portugal in Estonia. Under new captain Anne Keothavong, the British squad is aiming to come through a round-robin phase which will also see ties against Latvia and Turkey in a bid to reach a play-off for a place in the World Group II. Heather Watson, the British No 2, breezed through Wednesday's opening rubber against Ines Murta, whose singles ranking is 546, to complete a 6-1 6-1 victory in under an hour. 

Gabriel Jesus concedes even he has been ‘very surprised’ by the way he has taken the Premier League by storm in his first month in England. The Brazilian has three goals in two league starts.

Jose Mourinho’s partnership with Jaguar is officially over in what is bound to come as a boost to Manchester United's £47million-a-year deal sponsors Chevrolet.

CHARLES SALE - SPORTS AGENDA: Greg Clarke is taking personal responsibility for pushing through the changes opposed by FA councillors and says he will have failed if he cannot.

Eden Hazard 'has the potential to become the world's best' but is still short of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to the Chelsea star's brother Thorgan. 

Scotland 6 Nations hero Iain Milne was 'close to suicide'

EXCLUSIVE: Iain Milne was known as The Bear for his battling qualities on the rugby pitch. A hero of Scotland’s Grand Slam-winning team of 1984, he was the imposing bulk on which the forward pack was built. This giant of a man never took a backward step, but now, years after his boots were cast aside, he is facing up to the fight of his life with all the courage he showed on the pitch.

Wood sustained a shoulder injury in the 19-16 victory over France on Saturday, departed Twickenham with his arm in a sling and has been unable to train with the squad since.

Head coach Eddie Jones is considering fielding Maro Itoje, Jack Clifford and Nathan Hughes — with only four Test back-row starts between them — amid concerns about the fitness of Tom Wood.

EXCLUSIVE: The 2013 Grand Slam ending nightmare in Cardiff may be etched in the memories of every England player that day but scrum-half Danny Care insists there is no chance of a repeat.

A defensive Andy Farrell claims he can't go into full detail about why Ireland are leaking a try on average every 28 minutes on his watch. He says, however, that he can't talk about it in public.

Arsene Wenger Debate: Will Arsenal boss survive?

Their title dream has died, they face a battle for the top four and now Arsenal have to negotiate Sutton United's plastic pitch in the FA Cup. Sportsmail's experts MARTIN KEOWN and CHRIS SUTTON paid a visit to the non-League club's Gander Green Lane ground, where they uncovered the potential pitfalls the Gunners may face a week on Monday and how the tie may decide the future of Arsene Wenger. JAMES RESTALL asked the questions...

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Barcelona 1-0 Atletico Madrid (agg 3-2):

PETE JENSON AT THE NOU CAMP: Barcelona made it to their fourth straight Spanish Cup final thanks to a Luis Suarez goal but he will miss the game after being sent off in the dramatic semi-final. Luis Enrique’s side finished with nine men after both Suarez and Sergi Roberto walked. Atletico Madrid also had Yannick Carrasco sent off and were lucky not to lose Filipe Luis too after he scythed down Lionel Messi.

Bayern Munich 1-0 Wolfsburg: Costa fires  cup winner

A first-half strike from Douglas Costa was enough for defending champion Bayern Munich to edge Wolfsburg at home and scrape into the German Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. Costa scored with a deflected shot in the 18th minute but Bayern failed to build on its greater possession and was made to suffer late on as Wolfsburg grew in confidence. Yunus Malli should have equalized with less than 10 minutes remaining when Manuel Neuer saved in a one-on-one and the Bayern `keeper was called into action again to deny Daniel Didavi.

Rivaldo's son lands move to Dinamo Bucharest

His father won the Champions League, the World Cup and the Ballon d'Or during a storied career. The 21-year-old Rivaldinho has a lot to live up to if he is to emulate Brazil and Barcelona legend Rivaldo. But he made his latest steps to achieving his aim on Tuesday as he sealed a return to European football, signing a three-and-a-half year deal at Dinamo Bucharest.

Uruguayan striker Suarez received his second yellow card for a clash with Lucas Hernandez during the closing stages for 'striking his arm against a rival player in a reckless fashion.'

EXCLUSIVE: England manager Gareth Southgate will be at the London Stadium on Saturday with West Ham striker Andy Carroll hoping to do enough to earn another call-up.

EXCLUSIVE: There is growing disillusionment at a number of London Premier League clubs over the Police’s handling of their investigation into allegations of historic child sex abuse.

Morgan Schneiderlin says there is no reason why Everton can’t catch Liverpool and Manchester United and challenge for a place in Europe.

Chelsea's former first-team goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon has been keeping a close eye on Jamal Blackman with the Wycombe loanee aiming to challenge Thibaut Courtois.

Gaston Ramirez handed in a transfer request and was the subject of an offer from Leicester during the January transfer window but Middlesbrough held firm and refused to let him leave.

Montpellier 1-2 Monaco: Kylian Mbappe continues to impress

MONTPELLIER 1-2 MONACO: Teen prodigy Kylian Mbappe showed why he has caught Arsene Wenger's eye with a well-taken goal as Monaco overcame determined Montpellier to move six points clear in Ligue 1. With Radamel Falcao left on the bench and restricted to just a 10-minute cameo at the end, Arsenal target Mbappe started. He is the club's youngest scorer, a record he took from Thierry Henry. The comparisons with the Gunners' greatest scorer became even clearer when he put Monaco two up inside 20 minutes with a calm finish after the principality had taken the lead through Kamil Glik minutes earlier.

PSG 2-1 Lille: Lucas snatches dramatic late winner

PSG 2-1 LILLE: Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was the most relieved man in the Parc des Princes as a stoppage-time winner from Lucas spared his blushes in a dramatic victory over Lille. Lille appeared to have earned an unlikely point when a heavy touch from Areola gave Nicolas De Preville an 86th-minute equaliser, but Lucas Moura scored a controversial winner to move the side within three points of Monaco.

Roma 4-0 Fiorentina: Dzeko double seals rout

Roma have jumped up to second place in Serie A following victory over rivals Fiorentina in the Italian capital on Tuesday night. Former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko opened the scoring, latching on to an inch-perfect through-ball from Daniele De Rossi to elude the offside trap and pick out the bottom corner. Roma doubled their margin under De Rossi's influence again, the club legend whipping in a free-kick for Federico Fazio to meet with a precision header. 

Arsenal have put Bellerin on a specialist programme at their London Colney training ground after the 21-year-old suffered a sickening head injury during last week’s loss to Chelsea.

William Gallas believes Arsene Wenger's time at Arsenal is coming to an end and that he lacks the winning mentality of his managerial nemesis Jose Mourinho.

West Brom defender Allan Nyom says he has no regrets about snubbing Cameroon to stay with West Brom. Nyom was one of several players who opted not to travel to the tournament in Gabon.

Crystal Palace players and staff face having their wages slashed by up to 50 per cent if they fail to stay in the Premier League.

After their Premier League fixture against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday they have a two-week break from action after being knocked out of the FA Cup and are intent on taking full advantage.

MailOnline has teamed up with Carling, the Official Beer and Cider of the Premier League, to give you the chance to win four tickets to watch Liverpool vs Tottenham on Saturday, February 11.

Gareth Southgate looks to get some tips from Eddie Jones

England began their preparations for Saturday's crunch Six Nations clash with Wales under the watchful eye of Gareth Southgate. The England football manager was at Pennyhill Park to cast his eyes over Eddie Jones' men as they aim to win their second successive Grand Slam. Southgate was appointed England manager on a full time basis at the end of last year and looked to be keen to pick up some tips from Jones, who is unbeaten in his 15 games in charge of the Red Rose since taking charge at the end of 2015.

Wales head for 2am ice baths upon return from Italy

It was one of the secret weapons behind Wales' Grand Slam success in 2012, and now the side has returned to the ice torture chambers in a bid to end England's 15-game winning streak on Saturday. Interim head coach Rob Howley and his team flew back from Rome in the early hours of Monday morning after their Six Nations opening weekend win over Italy, and it was a case of off the plane and into the ice saunas for the players.

NIK SIMON: Sam Warburton has labelled England public enemy No 1 as Wales plot to bring down their 15-Test winning run in a ‘cauldron-like’ atmosphere in Cardiff on Saturday.

Wales scraped their way to an unimpressive opening Six Nations win over Italy in Rome. 30 second-half points ensured that Warren Gatland's side set up an intriguing clash with England next week.

The Bath forward Taulupe Faletau has not played since suffering a knee injury on Christmas Eve, therefore missing last weekend's 33-7 victory over Italy in Rome, but is fit for Saturday.

England extended their impressive winning run to 15 matches with a hard-fought 19-16 victory over France in their opening game of the Six Nations on Saturday.

Maro Itoje, Nathan Hughes and Tom Wood were comprehensively outplayed in the win over France and injuries are now further complicating the picture. 

Stuart Hogg led the way with two tries as Vern Cotter's men kicked off their campaign with an impressive win at Murrayfield, despite a second-half fightback from the visitors.

New England Patriots draw millions for Super Bowl parade

The Patriots took to 22 of Boston's traditional duck boats for the parade around the city. As snow turned to rain the fans were pictured 10 deep at the barricades to catch a glimpse of Tom Brady and Co. with the Lombardi Trophy. The Pats die-hards were in a defiant mood with home-made signs mocking NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whose handling of the Deflategate scandal and the four-game suspension handed to Brady at the start of the season have made him public enemy No 1 in New England.

Cook says he was let down by handling of Pietersen sacking

Alastair Cook bowed out as England captain claiming he had been let down over the controversial firing of Kevin Pietersen. The man who led England a record-breaking 59 times, chose his final media round as skipper at Lord’s to talk of his regret at the way the maverick superstar was jettisoned in the wake of the 5-0 Ashes thrashing of 2013-14. ‘I do wish it had been done differently,’ said Cook, who is expected to be succeeded next week by Joe Root. ‘I felt it wasn’t handled particularly well by the ECB. I know I was the lightning rod for it, every person thought it was my decision. I felt I bore the brunt of that, unfairly in my opinion.

Sawyers says athletics comes first despite The Voice

MARTHA KELNER: Jazmin Sawyers is adamant she would prefer an Olympic gold medal to a No 1 album, but perhaps she will not have to choose. Already a European and Commonwealth silver medallist in the long jump, Sawyers is now one of the favourites to win TV singing competition The Voice.

The IAAF president also admitted he felt ‘personal sadness’ after his former right-hand man Nick Davies was expelled from the IAAF for lying about accepting a £25,000 payment.

Sportsmail has learned that the West Country club will receive approval next week for the takeover led by French businessman, Mohed Altrad – who already owns Montpellier.

A ‘damning’ review into British Cycling - launched after Sportsmail published accusations of sexism at the top of the sport - has been put on hold as lawyers try to keep the revelations secret.

The Lions are destined to suffer further fixture cuts in the face of pressure from leading English clubs — with future tours likely to be reduced to eight matches from the current 10.

Rafael Nadal has revealed that he would like to become president of La Liga giants Real Madrid. The 2017 Australian Open finalist, who loves football as well as tennis, has always supported Real.

Harper-Nelson posted a statement on her Twitter account, admitting she had made a mistake and saying that she'd learned her lesson and hoped her experience would serve as a warning to others.

Cheika said he was surprised to hear an All Blacks security consultant had been charged over the discovery of a listening device hidden in the foam of a chair in a Sydney hotel.

Takeda, quoted by the Kyodo News agency, said he voluntarily answered questions but told the prosecutors what he 'has said so far' with regard to the matter. Tokyo will host the 2020 Games.

Women's world No 1 Lydia Ko confirmed Gary Gilchrist as her new coach on Wednesday and said the South African had already 'ripped apart' her swing ahead of her season debut in Australia.

Former world number one Lee Westwood is in buoyant mood as he looks to claim a first European Tour title in three years at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.

Former champion Dos Santos won a razor-close decision after an epic five-round battle in 2014 and now Miocic, who has been on a tear ever since, will get his chance at revenge.

Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips ahead of Wednesday's meetings at Ludlow, Chelmsford City, Carlisle and Kempton.

Nicholls has not got an entry in the Champion Hurdle while Silviniaco Conti, his dual King George VI Chase winner, will by-pass the Gold Cup and not run again until the Grand National meeting.

Aguero is not the first star to be outcast by Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has shown throughout his career that he's a ruthless customer when it comes to players whom he perceives as not fitting in with his philosophy. Here are some of the others who've been given the cold shoulder during Pep's time at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

It may only be the February but the most gripping battle at the top of the Premier League does have first place as the reward. How bad could it be for the teams who miss the Champions League?

The England captain has to be an ambassador for his country. The dignified way he always went about his business has been to his immense credit.

The fact that we lost the former South Africa captain on Monday, at the age of 45, six years after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, is a tragedy beyond belief.