Football: Uefa to offer Champions League place to Europa League winners

Uefa is set to award a place in the Champions League to the winners of the Europa League from the 2014-15 season, in order to make the competition more attractive, with an announcement expected on Friday.

Other plans being considered include whether to award a fifth Champions League place to clubs in the big European leagues and to expand the number of Europa League places on offer.

Also teams who win the Champions League or Europa League but finish outside the qualifying places in their domestic campaign will no longer usurp one of their league rivals to take up their place the following season.

That means the fate that befell Tottenham Hotspur in 2011-12, when they missed out on Europe despite finishing fourth because Chelsea won the Champions League and finished sixth, would not happen again.

Instead, England would now have five representatives.The new rules are expected to be ratified by the Uefa Congress in London on Friday and will apply from 2014-15.

Football: Gatecrasher John Terry does it again!

As Branislav Ivanovic headed home for Chelsea's last-gasp winner in the Europa League final, skipper John Terry must have rushed to the changing rooms in an instant.

Terry, who was unable to play in the 2-1 win over Benfica because of an ankle injury, came out after the final whistle in full kit to help lift the trophy at the Amsterdam ArenA.

But it's not the first time. Terry did the same in the Champions League final last year after Chelsea's penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich on their own turf.

Gatecrashing expert, John Terry

Football: Ivanovic rises high in injury time to seal dramatic Europa League success for Benitez's Blues

They are the first club ever to hold both European crowns at the same time, even if the biggest one, the Champions League is theirs for ten more days only.

With Wednesday night’s victory, Chelsea also become one of only four European clubs to have won all three UEFA titles, including the now defunct European Cup-Winners Cup. Juventus, Bayern Munich and Ajax are the others. Good company, that. Good history, too.

And that means Rafael Benitez is part of Chelsea history now, too, whether the locals like it or not.

The clocks at either end of the stadium had just ticked past 92 minutes when Branislav Ivanovic made the run that will immortalise him in Chelsea's history. The header was weighted with perfection, angled across goal and looping into the net, and it was then that Chelsea knew they had another European trophy to take back to Stamford Bridge and Rafael Benítez's brief and turbulent period in charge was guaranteed its happy ending.

Congrats Chelsea FC

Wigan relegated as Arsenal move a step closer to Champions' league football

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey holds off Wigan Athletic's James McCarthy during the Premier League encounter at the Emirates stadium. 

Are you watching Tottenham? The Arsenal support could afford to gloat in the closing stages of this firecracker, which ended with Wigan Athletic being burnt, and they surely knew the answer. Everyone was watching, it was utterly pulsating and now Arsenal and, indeed, Tottenham Hotspur, know the drill for the final round of Premier League fixtures on Sunday.

Arsenal are back in the box seat for the final Champions League place, the only thing left to fight for in England's top division after Wigan were finally pressed into the third relegation spot, and Arsène Wenger will demand one last push. Win at Newcastle United and Tottenham's result at home to Sunderland will be rendered academic. Arsenal can almost touch their 16th consecutive qualification, although nothing is remotely settled.

This scoreline suggested a rout but it was nothing of the sort, with Wigan recovering from a slow start to equalise and go close to taking the lead through Arouna Kone in the second-half, which would have ratcheted up Arsenal nerves to fever pitch. But, inspired by Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott, Wenger's players drew the sting and took Wigan apart with a flurry of three goals in eight minutes. There was brutal symmetry with the end of Wigan's eight-year top-flight association.

It was a sad sight at the stadium though.

Football:Bayern thrashes Barcelona in a "four-star" show

                                Barcelona's Xavi, centre, and team-mates look dejected after Bayern Munich's fourth goal

Bayern Munich's incredible season continued when they handed Barcelona one of their heaviest defeats for years, hammering the Catalans 4-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Thomas Mueller headed the recently-crowned Bundesliga champions ahead in the 25th minute and Mario Gomez turned in the second goal amid suspicions of offside early in the second half.

Arjen Robben added a third in the 73rd minute and Mueller then grabbed his second of the night as Barca collapsed dramatically in a game where Lionel Messi, returning from a hamstring injury, made little impact.

In doing so, Bayern avenged their defeat by the same score in the quarter-finals four years ago.

Robben nearly put Bayern ahead in the third minute after a clever backheel by Javi Martinez gave him a clear scoring chance but he shot straight at keeper Victor Valdes.

Barca then put together some intricate passing moves although they rarely threatened to score and Bayern had the next chance when a goalbound Philipp Lahm shot was blocked by defender Gerard Pique.

Pique also appeared to handle when he cleared the resulting corner but the referee was not interested.

It was not long before Bayern, who won the Bundesliga with six games to spare, went ahead with the help of an overhit corner by Franck Ribery.

His effort found Robben on the other side of the penalty area and a rare right-footed cross from the Dutchman found Dante whose header fell for Mueller to stoop and score.

Barca's most dangerous first-half effort was a low Pedro cross which Dante was lucky not to turn into his own net.

Bayern extended their lead from another corner as Mueller at the back post headed back into the middle for Gomez to turn the ball in at close range after 49 minutes although he may have been fractionally offside.

The Germans threatened another as shots from Mueller and Ribery flashed wide and then Robben headed wide from a free kick.

Barca, often reduced to long balls forward, managed to impose some of their possession football but were vulnerable on the break.

Robben exploited the gaps when he burst down the right for the third and, with Barca still reeling, Mueller blasted a David Alaba pass into the net for the fourth goal.

The rout equalled Barca's worst ever defeat in European competition. 

Lionel Messi comes on to inspire Barcelona and eliminate PSG

Leo Messi came off the bench to play a key role as Barcelona edged into the semi-finals of the Champions League and maintained their hopes of winning a third European Cup at Wembley, helping to create the equaliser which sent the Catalans through on away goals.

Barcelona had hoped not to need him but Javier Pastore's strike forced their hand and, although they progressed to a unique sixth consecutive semi-final, this was not the way they would have wanted it.The sense of vulnerability was palpable throughout a game in which they were never safe and improvements must be made if they are to reach a third final in five years. Barcelona were unable to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the two clashes and there may yet be a price to pay: Messi was called upon ahead of time and he finished the game limping slightly, while the converted centre-back Adriano was taken off with cramp. Another defender injured. Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol may not return until the final weeks of the season.

Messi started on the bench, with Cesc Fábregas taking his place as the false No9 alongside Pedro and David Villa in the front three. For Fábregas, it is the position in which he probably feels most comfortable. In his last match there, four days ago, he had scored the first hat-trick of his career. In the opening minutes, it appeared that the alternative could be an effective one here too, with a flurry of approaches, but the momentum soon drained away and this was not his night.

Barcelona lacked the speed of passing that has characterised them in recent years; even Sergio Busquets, arguably their second most consistent performer this season, appeared off the pace. Until Messi came on, the home side looked like they lacked confidence and the final whistle was greeted with relief. The best chances fell PSG's way and Barcelona had only one more shot on target than the visitors. But, when they needed him, they had Messi. The problem really was that they did need him.

Champions League: Borussia Dortmund dash Málaga's hopes with two injury-time goals

Borussia Dortmund scored twice in stoppage time, including through a controversial goal that looked to be offside, to beat Malaga and reach the Champions league semi-finals in dramatic fashion on Tuesday.

Málaga appeared to be heading into the last four in their debut season in the Champions League but their hopes were dashed when goals from Marco Reus and Felipe Santana in the four minutes of added time sent the Germans through in a stunning encounter. The match ended 3-2 in favour of Dortmund with goals from Lewandowski, Reus and Santana for the Germans, Joaquin and Eliseu for the Spaniards.

Champions league: Bayern Munich seals imoressive win over Juventus

  Bayern Munich, edgiest of all-conquering Euro-giants, may yet wilt again in the Champions League. But not just yet, it seems, after a dominant first-leg display from Jupp Heynckes's wonderfully mobile and muscular team brought a 2-0 defeat – as close to a 2-0 thrashing as one is likely to see at this stage – of a disappointing Juventus.

Bayern arrived on the back of a 9-2 swatting aside of Hamburg and there was much talk in Munich of the need to avoid self-immolating complacency. They did not disappoint with the end goals from David Alaba and Thomas Müller

Bayern's home ground remains one of Europe's more arresting out-of-town super-stadia, befitting one of Europe's powerhouses. It was a boisterous home crowd throughout, the noise in the opening exchanges rising a notch whenever Andrea Pirlo had the ball as Juve's playmaker drew the whistles and jeers befitting one of German football's recent bogeyman.

It is safe to say that they got the job done but Juventus cannot be written off just yet.