Barcelona and Chelsea Draw 1-1

Andres Iniesta's injury-time equalizer put 10-man Barcelona into the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw with a Chelsea side that felt it had been robbed of victory by the referee on Wednesday.

Chelsea led after Michael Essien's ninth-minute 20-yard drive and had a handful of penalty appeals turned down at Stamford Bridge against a Barcelona team which had defender Eric Abidal sent off in the 66th minute.

But Iniesta's goal, after a 0-0 draw in Spain last week, means that Barcelona goes through on away goals and will meet defending champion Manchester United in Rome on May 27.

"We fought. (Coach) Pep (Guardiola) rallied us well at halftime and we never gave up to the final whistle," said Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. "This is from a season's worth a work."

In a stormy end to the second semifinal, Chelsea players surrounded Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, convinced he should have awarded them at least two penalties -- one on a foul he gave outside the area instead of inside and another for a handball by Samuel Eto'o when he blocked a shot with his arm. Didier Drogba, who had also gone down twice inside the area, marched up to the official to complain and had to be pulled away by coach Guus Hiddink.

"Our players are both disappointed and angry," said Hiddink. "We felt disappointment that we didn't finish our chances and I can understand their feelings of being robbed and an injustice.

"Everyone can make a mistake, that's all in the game," he said of the referee. "But if you have seen three or four situations waved away I have to think a lot about whether I've seen worse."

Guardiola said he understood the Chelsea players' reactions to some of the referee's decisions.

"I can understand the Chelsea players' disappointment about the performance of the referee," he said. "I didn't see the penalties. It's possible but I didn't see.

"I can also understand their feelings. Until the last minute they had the world but, in the last minute, Iniesta got the (game-tying) goal."

Chelsea played top-quality football and appeared on the way to a second Champions League final in a row against United after last season's loss in a penalty shootout in Moscow.

But then came Barcelona's late equalizer.

The game was deep into injury time when Iniesta collected a ball from Lionel Messi and drove the equalizer past Petr Cech to start celebrations on the Barcelona bench. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola raced down the touchline towards the club's fans to celebrate and it was several minutes before the game resumed.

"The game was very difficult but we knew it would be," Eto'o said. "The most important thing was to keep our own style, wherever we play. Put us on any field and sometimes we can lose, but most of the time we win."

Barcelona will now send its star-filled lineup to face United in a final many neutral followers had been longing for. Barcelona will be chasing its third title after winning in 1992 and 2006 and United, which won in '68, '99 and last season, is after its fourth.

Barcelona should have Thierry Henry back in the lineup after he was ruled out of this game. The French star left the field with a knee injury despite scoring twice in the team's impressive 6-2 victory at Real Madrid on Saturday. Although the French star trained at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, he didn't even make the bench for the game.

The game started at an incredibly fast pace with Chelsea looking much more attack-minded than at Camp Nou, and the home side went ahead in the ninth minute with a stunning strike by Essien.

Cole fed Frank Lampard, whose pass came off a Barcelona defender and came loose well outside the area. Essien ran in and hit the ball with his left foot, the powerful 20-meter drive flashing past goalkeeper Victor Valdes and going off the underside of the bar.

As Chelsea kept up the pressure, Valdes prevented Barca from falling further behind when he raced off his line to beat Drogba to the ball. The home side then appealed for a penalty when Florent Malouda was brought down by Daniel Alves a meter inside the area, but the referee ruled it had happened on the edge.

Drogba's firmly hit free kick from an acute angle was kept out by Valdes' left leg. From the ensuing corner, John Terry's header flew wide of the far post.

Alves was shown a yellow card for a series of fouls -- his second of the competition, which rules him out of the final in Rome.

Drogba, who was having an outstanding game with surging runs and strong defensive headers, should have made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute when he collected a pass from Nicolas Anelka and turned past a defender, only for Valdes to block his shot with his leg.

Drogba was then frustrated when he went down under Barcelona challenges inside the area only to see the referee wave it off.

Messi had rarely threatened Chelsea by the 65th minute, but he weaved into a shooting position before firing too high. Barcelona's task became even harder when Abidal was harshly sent off in the 66th.

Anelka ran toward goal and tumbled to the turf just outside the area, and the referee sent the French fullback off for a professional foul even though he didn't appear to make contact with his countryman.

Chelsea defender Alex was showed a yellow card after tripping Messi just outside the area, but Alves' free kick cleared the crossbar.

Toronto FC Beats Vancouver Whitecaps 12-2

Toronto got the win but squandered more than a few chances Wednesday night, needing a great late save by Stefan Frei to preserve a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the opening game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

The game should not have been that close. Toronto outshot Vancouver 12-2 (9-2 in shots on target).

The contest pitted the defending USL Division 1 champion Whitecaps against Canada's lone side in the MLS. The Whitecaps will join Toronto in 2011 and have some work to do, judging from the night. The USL's Montreal Impact, who won the tournament last year, make up the three-team field.

Vancouver beat Toronto 1-0 at BMO Field in last year's competition but never looked capable of recreating the feat Wednesday in a scrappy game that lacked fluidity and, at times, entertainment value.

"We're obviously chuffed (pleased) with the result. We had a point to prove from last year," said Toronto coach Chris Cummins. "But I thought we should have gone on and won the game a little more comfortably than what we did."

The all-Canadian contest, which was free to Toronto's 14,000 season ticket-holders, drew a rare less-than-sellout of 16,011 on a wet night.

The home side struck quickly, punishing some loose defending in the third minute. Amado Guevara triggered the attack via a glorious ball from the midfield stripe, finding Dwayne De Rosario down the left flank. De Rosario sent over an accurate cross that found an onrushing Kevin Harmse, who beat his defender and headed the ball home at the far post.

"A dream start," was Cummins' assessment.

"We were a little bit unlucky getting this goal so early in the game and having to chase that all the way through. But all in all, I thought we played quite well," said Vancouver coach Teitur Thordarson, in an assessment that seemed overly cheery. "I'm quite happy with the way we tackled the game and the way we played, but of course not happy with the result."

Pressed on the issue, he did acknowledge his midfield did not provide much service to the strikers until late in the game when they pushed players forward.

Both teams gave the ball away too often, but the Whitecaps were more wasteful in a first half whose appeal dwindled as it wore on.

With De Rosario stationed on the left sideline and Pablo Vitti on the right, Toronto looked to stretch Vancouver. And buoyed by the early, clinical goal, Toronto tried to slice open the visitors' defence with long balls several times. And perhaps tried to get too cute on occasion.

De Rosario brought his full bag of tricks to the game, marauding down the left flank or cutting inside to torment the Vancouver defence.

At the other end, Vancouver's ponderous strike force of Charles Gbeke and Marlon James offered little by way of threat. Vancouver had its one gilt-edged chance in the 86th minute when James got behind the defence, only to be stopped by a stellar hand save from Frei.

"Whether we deserved a draw, I don't know," said Thordarson. "Especially in the first half, they had quite a lot of chances."

Striker Chad Barrett had a chance to extend the lead in the 49th minute when a long pass found him behind the Vancouver defence but his weak shot was stopped by Jay Nolly.

Barrett beat a defender down the right in the 55th and raked a cross over to a lunging De Rosario, who only managed to get a hand on the ball. He was yellow-carded for the offence. De Rosario shot high in the 64th minute off a corner.

De Rosario, after another incisive run, picked out Barrett in the 69th but he could not convert a shot from a tight angle.

While the game was outside of league play, both coaches promised to field their best sides.

Cummins made just three changes to the 11 that tied Columbus 1-1 on Saturday. Canadians Nana Attakora, Harmse and De Rosario came in for Adrian Serioux, Sam Cronin and Danny Dichio, all three of whom were nursing knocks. De Rosario, recovering from a hamstring injury, was a second-half substitute against the Crew.

Cummins said the performances by Attakora and Harmse had given him food for thought in his future team selection.

Thordarson made four changes from the side that beat Minnesota 3-2 on Saturday, introducing Canadian Marco Reda, Vincente Arze, Justin Moose and Mason Trafford. Arze, Moose and Trafford all came on as subs against Minnesota.

Reda was forced off in the 14th minute after a clash of heads with Attakora, forcing a reorganization of the Vancouver backline. He was diagnosed with a concussion.

Toronto (1-1-2) only lost once -- 1-0 at home to Vancouver -- in last year's tournament but finished two points behind Montreal (2-1-1). Vancouver (1-2-1) placed third.

The Impact, who visit Toronto next Wednesday, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League by virtue of the tournament win. They mounted a charge to the Champions quarter-finals, drawing 55,571 spectators to Olympic Stadium for a game against Santos Laguna of Mexico in February.

Barcelona Beats Real Madrid 4-0

Barcelona shrugged off Real Madrid's dogged title challenge by edging closer to the Spanish league crown with a 4-0 pounding of third-placed Sevilla on Wednesday.

Real has won 17 of its last 18 league games in defence of the title to put some pressure on Barcelona, but the latter kept a six-point gap in the standings with an impressive performance at Camp Nou.

Barcelona has 81 points through 32 games, and Real 75.

Meanwhile, Malaga beat Osasuna 3-2 in a stormy encounter in which four players were sent off, David Villa scored twice to give Valencia a 2-1 win against Real Betis, and Deportivo La Coruna won 2-0 against Almeria.

Andres Iniesta scored early for Barcelona then set up the other three goals.

"Things went well for me tonight," Iniesta said. "There were good sensations for us during this match."

Playing without defender and captain Carles Puyol and forward Lionel Messi, who had a stomach complaint, Barcelona scored after only three minutes. Thierry Henry stole the ball in midfield and fed Iniesta, who fired from long range into the top right corner.

Samuel Eto'o increased his league-leading season tally to 27 goals in the 17th minute.

Midfielder Xavi Hernandez connected sweetly with a pass by Iniesta in 49th minute, then Henry posted his 16th goal of the season in the 54th minute.

Iniesta was substituted in the 61st minute by Alexander Hleb and received a standing ovation from the fans, including actor Antonio Banderas.

Xavi was substituted by coach Pep Guardiola in the 75th by 18-year-old Bojan Krkic.

Sevilla captain Enzo Maresca suffered a cut and had to play from the 27th minute with a large bandage around his head.

Valencia's Villa took his goalscoring tally to 25 with two goals against Betis, the first after controlling a pass from David Silva in the 65th minute and the second from forward Joaquin Sanchez's cross in the 78th minute.

Ricardo Oliveira pulled one back for Betis three minutes from time.

At Osasuna, Antonio "Apono" Galdeano earned Malaga the lead with four minutes gone after appearing to fall in the area and then converting the penalty.

Jaroslav Plasil then tied the game for Osasuna with a shot past Malaga goalkeeper Inaki Goitia. Javad Nekounam got Osasuna's second from a free kick in the 33rd minute.

Osasuna's Francisco Punal was ejected in the 42nd minute and three minutes later Malaga's Jesus Gamez was also sent off, leaving each team with 10 men.

Osasuna lost another player when defender Josetxo Romero was ejected in the 70th.

Malaga tied the game two minutes later when Manuel "Lolo" Ortiz scored with a header and Osasuna coach Jose Antonio Camacho was ejected by the referee.

Malaga's Salva Ballesta scored the winner, heading in Iban Cuadrado's cross in the 77th minute.

Osasuna were reduced to just eight men when Krisztian Vadocz was ejected in the 90th minute.

Werder Bremen Beats Hamburger SV 3-1

Goalkeeper Tim Wiese stopped three penalties in the shootout to lead Werder Bremen into the German Cup final past Hamburger SV on Wednesday.

After the two northern rivals played to 1-1 after extra time, with Hamburg down to 10 men, Bremen won the shootout 3-1.

Wiese stopped shots from Jerome Boateng, Ivica Olic and Marcell Jansen and made a key save at the end of extra time to help Bremen reach the final for the ninth time. Claudio Pizarro, Mesut Oezil and Torsten Frings all scored for Werder.

"What a great evening," Wiese said.

Werder will play Bayer Leverkusen in the final in Berlin on May 30.

Visiting Werder went ahead after 11 minutes from a free kick by Diego from 18 metres. Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost parried the shot with his hand, but defender Per Mertesacker collected the rebound and tapped in.

Hamburg striker Ivica Olic drew even in the 67th. Wiese blocked the striker's shot, the ball bounced back to Guy Demel and Olic deflected his shot inside the post.

Hamburg captain David Jarolim was sent off in injury time for hacking down Oezil, who had an open path to the goal, leaving the home team to play with 10 men for the entire extra time.

Wiese ran outside his penalty box to kick the ball out in front of Jonathan Pitroipa, as Hamburg came close to winning the game in the final minute of extra time.

Hamburg and Bremen will play against each other three more times within the next three weeks -- twice in the UEFA Cup semifinals and once in the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen beat second-division Mainz 4-1, also in extra time on Tuesday.

Manchester United Beats FC Porto 1-0

Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliant goal in the sixth minute was enough to lead Manchester United to a 1-0 win over FC Porto at Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday, giving the defending champions a 3-2 aggregate win in the Champions League quarterfinal matchup.

Porto entered the match with an 11-game unbeaten streak at home against English opposition, but Ronaldo struck from 35 yards out early in the game, and the hosts were unable to break down the United defense despite a number of good chances.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men extended their unbeaten streak in the Champions League to 23 games with the win, and they will now meet Arsenal in the semifinals after the Gunners recorded a 3-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday.

Theo Walcott scored 10 minutes into the game and Emmanuel Adebayor added a second goal on the hour mark before Robin Van Persie converted from the penalty spot nine minutes later to give Arsenal a 4-1 aggregate victory.

The first leg saw Porto take the game to United and seize an early lead, but the Red Devils reversed things on Wednesday and went in front after six minutes.

Anderson played the ball to Ronaldo 40 yards from goal, and after taking one touch, the reigning World Footballer of the Year fired a laser into the upper left corner of the net, leaving goalkeeper Helton with no chance to keep it out.

It was a stunning blow to the home side, but they almost answered in the 20th minute as Bruno Alves sent a free kick over the wall from 30 yards but saw it curl wide of the left post.

Porto suffered another blow in the 29th minute when Lucho Gonzalez had to be taken off with a leg injury, while United almost doubled its lead one minute later.

Dimitar Berbatov sent a cross to the back post from the right wing and Ryan Giggs was on hand to send a low half-volley on goal. However, Helton got down to make a good stop.

Another set piece provided an anxious moment for the visitors in the 41st minute as Bruno Alves got his head on a free kick from Raul Meireles and sent it wide with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar left standing in the middle of the goal.

Nemanja Vidic then had a glorious chance to put his side up two goals right before the break from a corner kick, but squandered the opportunity.

Giggs played the ball to the near post and it was flicked into the six-yard box by John O'Shea. Vidic was positioned in front of goal and lunged to get a foot to the ball, but he managed to put it over the net from a few yards out.

Porto started brightly in the second half and they had a good chance from a free kick with Hulk getting plenty of pace on his shot from 25 yards, but it was hit straight at Van der Sar.

The United keeper then allowed a corner kick to sail over his head and to the back post for Rolando, who headed over the net, while United's first good look at goal in the second half didn't arrive until the 83rd minute as Wayne Rooney blazed a shot over from 20 yards.

Porto continued to look like the more dangerous side, and they almost found the equalizer five minutes from time as Mariano Gonzalez found Lisandro Lopez inside the box with a pass and he turned and shot at the keeper from 10 yards.

Helton kept his team alive in stoppage time with a diving stop on Ronaldo, but there were no last-minute heroics this time around and United held on for the win.

Seattle Sounders Beat Toronto FC 2-0

A third straight shutout win and some more history for the Seattle Sounders.

Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg scored a goal and helped set up another as Seattle continued its dream start in the MLS with a 2-0 win over Toronto on Saturday.

A win in their first foray on the road improved the Sounders to 3-0-0 while a disappointing Toronto slipped to 1-1-1 in its home opener before a sellout crowd of 20,658 who braved raw conditions at BMO Field. Seattle 'keeper Kasey Keller has yet to give up a goal.

Asked if he ever thought his first-year team would be in such a position after three games, coach Sigi Schmid said: "In my dreams, I was hoping we'd be 3-0. Sometimes dreams come true.

"We said all through pre-season if we start off well, and we can get our confidence, we think we can be a good team."

Down the corridor, Toronto coach John Carver was living up to his name as he dissected a poor Toronto performance.

"There's still an awful lot of work to be done," added Carver, who apologized to Toronto fans for his team's showing. "And everybody keeps talking outside about playoffs this and playoffs that. You perform like that week in, week out and you'll finish bottom of the league again."

"I need to get to the bottom of it," the English native added. "The good thing is it's only three games into the season. We've had our backsides kicked. I've got no excuses, none whatever -- beaten by the better team. And now I've got to roll my sleeves up with them lot in there and put in right."

Ljungberg showed his class in the 15th minute, slashing through the defence on a nice one-two with Nate Jaqua before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Greg Sutton with his right foot. Schmid had reminded him prior to his game that one of his best qualities was getting behind the defence and he did it beautifully with the one-two.

"Normally when you have that movement, the goalie comes out and if you hit it first time, it's difficult for them to react," Ljungberg said. "So I took it first time and luckily it went in."

It was a first MLS goal in the first Sounders start for the former Arsenal player, who is earning US$1.3 million as Seattle's designated player.

Ljungberg had a hand in Seattle's second goal in the 45th minute, finding Sebastien Le Toux in the penalty area with a short ball from the right. Le Toux tapped the ball over to Jaqua and Steve Zakuani got to his blocked shot before Sutton did.

Both goals came into the teeth of a fierce wind howling through Toronto's lakefront home.

Ljungberg started for Montero, playing up front with Jaqua but with licence to roam. The Swede also did his bit without the ball, tracking back to defend.

"He's a clever player, he's a big-time player," said Carver.

Ljungberg needed treatment in the 72nd minute after going down in the box but came back on, perhaps a little wetter. A drink was tossed in his direction from the stands as the physio looked him over on the sideline. The Swede was substituted shortly after.

Ljungberg did not hold a grudge, joking afterwards it's the first time he's had a beer at a game. He could have had a cigarette as well. A nearby fan said a lighter was thrown his way as well.

While Toronto's defence was ripped apart on both first-half goals, Seattle showed itself to be a well-organized unit with good ball movement. When Toronto did threaten, there was always a Seattle player to get in the way or break it up.

"I can't say enough about our defensive effort, our willingness to throw basically bodies in front of shots and do whatever it takes to stop people from scoring," said Schmid. "This is a tough place to play, windy conditions today. We got a couple of timely goals and everything went our way in that regard."

The Sounders handled the conditions better, sticking to short, precise passes.

"They're a good side, but we made them look even better than they are," Carver lamented.

Carver, meanwhile, said he couldn't think of a Toronto player who performed adequately. But he singled out returning internationals Amado Guevara and Carl Robinson for criticism, saying the two midfielders "didn't look like they had any legs."

Seattle's feel-good start in MLS was tarnished somewhat by the absence of Fredy Montero, the young Colombian star who was named the league's player of the month after scoring three of the Sounders' first five goals.

The team said Montero did not travel because of the flu. Back home, however, prosecutors were reviewing a woman's sexual assault allegation against Montero.

"Obviously it's something the team didn't want to deal with," Keller said, "but nobody's been charged with anything. I think it's in control. We just have to play our game. Obviously we support our teammate. At the same time, we understand that they've got to figure out what's right and hopefully it all goes away here really quickly."

The game started in chilly, windy conditions more suitable to ice fishing than soccer. Temperature at kickoff felt a lot colder than the official four degrees Celsius with biting winds gusting to 70 km/h.

Keller won the toss and elected to face the wind in the first half, explaining teams sometimes perform better into the wind because they have to tailor their game to accommodate it.

Conditions improved in the second half and Toronto had a few good chances, only to be denied by Keller or the woodwork.

UEFA Charges Macedonian Soccer Club with Match-Fixing

UEFA has accused the president of Macedonian football club FK Pobeda and one of its players with fixing a Champions League game five years ago.

UEFA said Thursday that the pair were accused of "manipulating the outcome . . . to gain an undue advantage for themselves and a third party."

The charge relates to a Champions League first-round qualifying match between Pobeda and Armenian club FC Pyunik on July 13, 2004.

The visiting Armenian side won 3-1 in Skopje after scoring three first-half goals. The teams drew the second leg 1-1, with Pobeda going out 4-2 on aggregate.

The UEFA charge suggests the Macedonian club lost the first leg deliberately.

UEFA refused to name the pair accused of fixing, but Pobeda club secretary Vlatko Dimoski told The Associated Press that Acule Zabrcanec was the club president in 2004. The player was not immediately identified.

Zabrcanec, who is still club president, was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

UEFA said it received reports from bookmakers of irregular betting patterns and has taken statements from several witnesses.

UEFA's control and disciplinary panel will hear the case on April 17. It has the power to ban Pobeda -- the champion of Macedonia twice in the past six seasons -- from European competitions.

"We do not have an official position on this," Dimoski said. "Only the president is authorized to give a statement."

The Macedonian football federation said it would obey UEFA's verdict.

"Our position is that UEFA must completely investigate the case, with all the relevant facts they have," federation spokesman Zoran Nikolovski said.

UEFA has once before charged and punished a club for fixing the outcome of a match.

Greek club Egaleo FC was fined 31,800 euros (C$53,010) in 2006 for "violation of the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship" and "creating favourable conditions for illegal betting practices."

Egaleo fielded a weakened team at home against Lithuania's Zalgiris Vilnius in the first leg of an Intertoto Cup match played on July 16, 2005. Egaleo lost the match 3-1 and later was knocked out 5-4 on aggregate.

The Pobeda case is not the first time that a European match involving a team from Macedonia has come under suspicion.

UEFA is still investigating bets made on an Intertoto Cup match between Bulgarian side Cherno More and Makedonija in July 2007.

The visiting Bulgarians won the first leg 4-0 in Macedonia and went through 7-0 on aggregate.

Thursday's charges come a day after UEFA president Michel Platini said match-fixing was the greatest problem facing European soccer.

"Illegal betting can kill our sport," Platini told delegates from the continent's 53 football nations at their annual congress in Copenhagen. "If the results are fixed in advance, football has no reason to exist."

Earlier this week UEFA stepped up its fight against corruption by agreeing to appoint two more inspectors to its investigation unit.

UEFA has also involved Interpol, the 187-member international police agency, in its ongoing investigations.

In 2007 the football body handed over a dossier containing details of 15 matches it believes may have been fixed.

They included qualifying matches for the 2008 European Championship, Champions League and UEFA Cup.

Sevilla Beats Valladolid 4-1

Frederic Kanoute's 13th, 14th and 15th goals of the season helped Sevilla defeat Valladolid 4-1 and stretch its unbeaten Spanish league run to six matches on Saturday.

Luis Fabiano also netted for Sevilla at Ramon Sanchez de Pizjuan Stadium, with Henok Goitom replying for visiting Valladolid with his ninth goal of the campaign.

Third-place Sevilla, which has 54 points from 28 games, stayed six points clear of fourth-place Villarreal, which beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 courtesy of second-half goals by Santi Cazorla and Matias Fernandez.

On Sunday, leader Barcelona, which has 66 points, welcomes the season's surprise package Malaga. Second-place Real Madrid, with 60, entertains Almeria.

Also on Sunday, it's: Getafe vs. Recreativo Huelva; Osasuna vs. Espanyol; Deportivo La Coruna vs. Real Betis; Numancia vs. Sporting Gijon; Mallorca vs. Atletico Madrid; and Racing Santander vs. Valencia.

Valladolid, which arrived on the back of three straight wins, fell behind in the eighth minute when Kanoute used his left foot to sweep midfielder Ndri Romaric's pass into his path, enabling him to rifle home with his right foot.

Goitom levelled in the 22nd with a downward header from Fabian Canobbio's floated free kick which evaded advancing Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop. Kanoute restored Sevilla's lead 21 minutes later by swivelling to volley home Jesus Navas's low cross from the right.

Striker Luis Fabiano added Sevilla's third goal in the 57th by breaking Valladolid's offside trap to receive Adriano Correia's pass and then evading goalkeeper Justo Villar.

Kanoute completed his hat trick in the 70th with a powerful header from an outswinging cross from the left by defender Fernando Navarro, taking the Mali striker's tally to 10 goals in seven games.

Villarreal, which was paired with Arsenal in Friday's draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, was well-placed for another appearance in Europe's top club competition next season.

Villarreal dominated the first half at El Madrigal Stadium although goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who received a first call-up to the Spain squad on Friday, was forced to make a diving save from Bilbao midfielder Igor Gabilondo in the 14th minute.

Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi, who was at the heart of most of his team's attacks, spurned a chance for his 13th goal of the season in the 54th when he lobbed the ball wide with Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz stranded.

However, Spain midfielder Cazorla gave Iraizoz no chance with a fierce drive from the right of the goal in the 68th following Rossi's incisive run and pass.

Two minutes after the goal, Villarreal substitute Joseba Llorente angled his shot narrowly wide after more good work by Rossi.

Lopez was again called into action in the 77th when he tipped Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente's shot over the bar, moments before Rossi wasted another clear chance by blazing wide with only Iraizoz to beat.

Bilbao's hopes of drawing level were hit by the 79th-minute ejection of midfielder Markel Susaeta after he received his second yellow card for a high tackle.

Fernandez, who had replaced Ariel Ibagaza 10 minutes earlier, feinted then avoided a diving challenge before firing home in injury time to ensure his team's tally of 16 points from its past six home games.

Bilbao's defeat at Villarreal continued its recent league slump despite reaching the Copa del Rey final for the first time in 24 years. The Basque team has taken just two points from the past seven league games and has a total of 31, only five points clear of the relegation zone, ahead of Sunday's matches.

AC Milan Beats Atalanta 3-0

Filippo Inzaghi scored three goals as AC Milan earned a 3-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday while Serie A scoring leader Marco Di Vaio also found the net three times as Bologna beat Sampdoria 3-0.

Milan was ousted from the UEFA Cup by Werder Bremen last week and was also beaten by Sampdoria.

Inzaghi put Milan in front seven minutes in, doubled the lead in the 71st and then scored again three minutes later.

David Beckham performed well as a playmaker, directing Inzaghi and fellow striker Alexandre Pato. Milan and the Los Angeles Galaxy announced before the game Beckham has extended his loan with the Italian club through June 30.

Milan solidified its third-place position in the standings with 51 points. Inter Milan leads with 63 points and Juventus is second with 56.

Fourth-place Fiorentina (46 points) was beaten 2-0 at home by Palermo, which got goals from Fabio Simplicio and Fabrizio Miccoli.

Di Vaio boosted his season tally to 19 goals with strikes in the 45th, 87th and 90th minutes against Sampdoria, which was coming off wins over Milan and Inter.

In Sunday's other games, it was: Catania 0, Siena 3; Chievo Verona 1, Cagliari 1; Lecce 0, Reggina; and Napoli 0, Lazio 2.

Tommaso Rocchi scored twice for Lazio.

Italy's three clubs playing in the Champions League this week were each in action Saturday.

Inter won 2-0 at Genoa, Juventus beat Torino 1-0 in a derby and 10-man AS Roma was held to a 1-1 tie at home by Udinese.

West Ham Beats Manchester City 1-0

West Ham moved up to seventh in the English Premier League after a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Upton Park on Sunday.

The Hammers were the better side in the first half and their stylish play finally produced a goal in the 71st minute, when City keeper Shay Given could only parry Savio's shot and turned in the rebound.

Blackburn moved out of the relegation zone on goal difference with a 2-1 win at Hull, a fiery game that saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

Blackburn took a 2-0 lead in the first half, with two goals in three minutes.

In the 34th Stephen Warnock swept Roque Santa Cruz's pass into the top corner and Warnock then set up Keith Andrews for Blackburn's second on 36 minutes.

In the second half Hull manager Phil Brown decided to replace Brazilian midfielder Geovanni, provoking a chorus of booing from the home fans and their team was then reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute.

Dean Marney and Morten Gamst Pedersen clashed in the air and as Marney got to his feet he aimed a kick at the Norway international, earning a straight red card from referee Martin Atkinson.

Pedersen, who was booked for his role in the challenge was then sent off in the 70th minute when he was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Kamil Zayette.

Hull pulled one back in the 78th minute when Iain Ashbee turned in Bernard Mendy's cross, but the Tigers have now gone 11 league games without winning. They stay 13th in the standings.

Bolton is 10th after a 1-0 win over Newcastle at the Reebok.

The best chance of a goalless first half came in injury time, when Sweden international Johan Elmander dragged a shot wide.

Half time substitute Ricardo Gardner made an instant impact for the home side, as his 47th minute effort found the top corner, after an assist from Matthew Taylor.

Newcastle had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down when Fabricio Coloccini's shot was blocked by Jlloyd Samuel's arm in the area.

Newcastle remains 15th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Aston Villa was playing Stoke in a late game, while the day's big match was the League Cup final being played at Wembley between Manchester United and Tottenham.

Ajax Beats Feyenoord 2-0

Ajax earned its first win in five matches Sunday by beating 10-man Feyenoord 2-0 in the Dutch league.

Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen converted Kennedy Bakircioglu's free kick in the 52nd to put Ajax in front. Midfielder Urby Emanuelson, who had hit the post with a free kick in the 73rd, added the second in the 90th after taking a pass from Luis Suarez.

Dwight Tiendalli was sent off in the 82nd after picking up a second yellow card.

On Saturday, league leader AZ Alkmaar was held to a 2-2 draw by PSV Eindhoven, while FC Twente maintained its title challenge with a 2-1 comeback win over FC Volendam.

AZ leads with 57 points, ahead of Steve McClaren's Twente in second at 48. Third-place Ajax has 45, three more than PSV.

Later Sunday, it's: NEC Nijmegen versus SC Heerenveen; Sparta Rotterdam versus Vitesse Arnhem and FC Groningen versus Heracles Almelo.

Arsenal Beats Cardiff 4-0

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva had a dream return to club football nearly a year after breaking his leg, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Cardiff in their FA Cup replay Monday night and ensuring the Gunners advanced to the tournament's fifth round.

Eduardo scored in the 20th minute with a header after fellow forward Carlos Vela struck a cross from the left and later from the penalty spot in the second half after drawing the foul.

The first goal was an emotional moment for the Croatia international, who ran towards the corner and fell to his knees and smiled before being enveloped by his teammates. Arsenal fans erupted into celebrations and sang Eduardo's name after the goal.

The 25-year-old striker was also very active in the preceding minutes leading up to his first goal, trying to chip Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who came off his line, but the shot was well over the bar.

In the 60th minute, Cardiff midfielder Gavin Rae brought down Eduardo in the penalty area and referee Mark Halsey pointed to the spot. Eduardo then drilled the ball past Heaton, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Eduardo nearly had a hat trick a few minutes later but Heaton saved his shot. That was his last touch of the game and Arsenal fans gave him a standing ovation when Robin van Persie replaced him in the 67th minute. Van Persie scored Arsenal's fourth goal in the 88th minute after Nicklas Bendtner's throughball found the Dutch international who blasted the ball past Heaton with his right foot. He nearly made it 5-0 in the dying moments of injury time when a cross from Bendtner was headed onto the post by Van Persie.

Eduardo has had a long road to recovery since his left fibula was fractured and ankle dislocated after a tackle by Birmingham's Martin Taylor on Feb. 23, 2008. The injury was so horrific that broadcasters refused to show the replays, and it sparked a debate at the time about dangerous challenges.

Bendtner scored Arsenal's second goal in the 33rd minute, outjumping three Cardiff defenders to head past Heaton off a corner to the near post from midfielder Samir Nasri. But the Denmark international had a glaring miss right in front of goal just before halftime, striking the ball with his left foot and hitting the post after Heaton had parried a shot by Vela.

Cardiff, who nearly pulled off an upset in the final minutes of the first match at Ninian Park on Jan. 25, rarely ventured into Arsenal's territory in the first half Monday. The Bluebirds' played marginally better in the second half and their best chance of the match came in the 57th minute when Jay Bothroyd struck a powerful shot from distance, but Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski saved it.

The replay was initially scheduled for Feb. 3, but was postponed because of a snowstorm.

Arsenal now has a chance for revenge against Burnley, which knocked the Gunners out of the League Cup in December. Their FA Cup fifth-round match will be played March 7 or 8 at the Emirates. The winner goes on to face Sheffield United or Hull in the sixth round, depending on which team wins their fifth-round replay Feb. 26.

Bremen and AC Milan Draw 1-1

Diego's goal in the 84th minute helped Werder Bremen salvage a 1-1 draw against AC Milan at Weserstadion on Wednesday in the first leg of a UEFA Cup Round of 32 contest.

Filippo Inzaghi handed the Italian side the lead in the 36th minute, and although Bremen was the more dangerous side, it took until six minutes from time for Diego to get the German club on the scoreboard.

The two teams will play the return leg at the San Siro on Thursday, February 26.

The home side started well with Hugo Almeida getting two good chances in front of goal, only to miss the target with both attempts.

Mathieu Flamini then forced Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese into action before a hard shot from Clemens Fritz made Milan keeper Dida come up with a good stop.

The Rossoneri went in front after 36 minutes when Flamini picked out Inzaghi inside the area, and after his initial effort was stopped, the striker found the back of the net on his second attempt.

Bremen responded well and came close on a number of occasions with Almeida barely missing from a free-kick and then sending a header inches wide of the post.

Milan sat back and defended well while looking for chances on the counter- attack and they nearly found a second goal when Inzaghi smacked a shot off the crossbar in the 66th minute.

The breakthrough finally came for Bremen with six minutes to play as Almeida flicked a header on to Diego and he brought the ball down off his chest and hammered it past the keeper to level the match.

Bremen then almost won the game in the final minutes when Milan's Massimo Ambrosini headed the ball against his own crossbar while under pressure.

Valencia left Dynamo Kyiv with a 1-1 draw as David Silva scored eight minutes into the game but the hosts pulled level in the 63rd minute as Valencia's Raul Albiol scored an own-goal.

Defending champions Zenit St Petersburg grabbed a 2-1 win over Stuttgart as Anatoliy Tymoschuk scored right before halftime to put his side ahead while French side St Etienne took a major step towards the last 16 with a 3-1 away win at Olympiakos.

Aston Villa needed a goal from John Carew in the 69th minute to claim a 1-1 draw at home against CSKA Moscow, Galatasaray and Bordeaux finished 0-0 at Chaban-Delmas, Metalist Kharkiv snatched a 1-0 win against Sampdoria in Italy as Denis Oliynyk scored the game's only goal in the 45th minute and Guillaume Hoarau scored twice in the last 10 minutes as PSG secured a 2-0 home win over Wolfsburg.

Hamburg has all but put itself in the next round by beating NEC 3-0 in the Netherlands, while AaB and Braga scored 3-0 wins at home against Standard Liege and Deportivo respectively.

Valenciennes Beat Caen 2-0

Valenciennes beat Caen 2-0 to move out of the relegation zone in the French league on Tuesday.

In other games, Nice beat Nancy 2-1 and Lille drew with Le Mans 0-0.

Jonathan Lacourt put Valenciennes ahead in the 10th minute with a low shot.

Gael Danic doubled the lead in the 90th minute after some fine work on the right flank from Guinea international Amara Bangoura.

Valenciennes moved into 17th place with 24 points from 24 matches in a match from the 20th round that was rescheduled because of a frozen pitch.

David Hellebuyck gave Nice a 2-1 victory over mid-table Nancy in stoppage time. The Nice midfielder took a pass from Tunisia international Chaouki Ben Saada and chipped one past goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano.

Mali international Mahamane Traore opened the scoring for Nice in the 49th minute with a long-range strike that deflected off a Nancy defender.

But Pascal Berenguer levelled for Nancy in the 57th minute, volleying home a cross from Morocco midfielder Youssouf Hadji.

Nice remained in eighth place with 39 points.

Meanwhile, Lille's draw with Le Mans cost it an opportunity to narrow the gap on fifth-place Bordeaux. Lille was in sixth place with 40 points.

Lyon tops the standings with 49 points, followed by Paris Saint-Germain with 45 and Marseille with 44.

Barcelona Beats Racing Santander 2-1

Lionel Messi scored two goals after coming on as a second half substitute on Sunday as Barcelona rallied for a 2-1 victory against Racing Santander to maintain its 12-point lead in the Spanish league.

Barcelona, which finished the game with only nine players, fell behind to a 56th minute penalty converted by Nicolas Zigic at the El Sardinero stadium.

But Messi scored with his first touch in the 65th minute, slotting home a loose ball at the near post, and the Argentina midfielder then volleyed the winner past goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez in the 81st. The goal was also the 5,000th in Barcelona's history.

Rafael Marquez and Gerard Pique were dismissed in the final minutes, after both men received a second yellow card.

Barcelona, which has won nine games on the trot in a 20-match unbeaten run, leads with 56 points from 21 games. Real Madrid is second with 44 and Sevilla has 38.

"Another three points and another small step forward," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said.

Guardiola will now be without Marquez, Pique and fellow defender Daniel Alves for next weekend's league match with Sporting Gijon due to suspensions.

"Against Sporting we'll see what we do. We'll use what we have and look to the second team," Guardiola said.

Raul Gonzalez joined Alfredo di Stefano as Madrid's all-time leading scorer when he struck the winner for the Spanish champion in a 2-0 victory at Numancia on Saturday.

Valencia is fourth with 37 points after beating Almeria 3-2.

Joaquin Sanchez gave Valencia a sixth minute lead but Alvaro Negredo equalized before Spain striker David Villa struck twice for the home team, either side of halftime. The goals moved Villa up to second in the goalscoring charts with 17 - two behind Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.

Negredo pulled another goal back for Almeria in the 64th minute but it was not enough to prevent defeat for Hugo Sanchez's side.

Coach Javier Aguirre's job could be on the line after Atletico remained winless in 2009 after a 2-1 loss to Valladolid.

Valladolid went ahead in the 51st through Luis Prieto before Atletico equalized two minutes later, Diego Forlan's errant volley deflecting off Jose Garcia Calvo and into the goal.

But Victor Fernandez's penalty in the 78th meant Atletico are winless in five games.

"We played a bad game and we ended up with a bad result," Aguirre said. "The players know that a good result can give us some motivation moving forward."

In Sunday's other games, it was: Deportivo La Coruna 3, Villarreal 0; Espanyol 1, Recreativo Huelva 1; Real Betis 2, Getafe 2; and Osasuna 1, Mallorca 0.

Sevilla played at Sporting Gijon in Sunday's late game.

Teams observed a minute's silence in honour of former Spanish football federation president Pablo Porta who died on Wednesday.

Barcelona's midfield controlled the game but failed to create chances inside the goal area without Messi.

Santander broke through first from the penalty spot after Marquez was booked for taking down Jonathan Pereiro inside the area and Zigic scored his fourth goal in as many games since joining from Valencia.

Xavi Hernandez headed Thierry Henry's cross off the bar and Messi was there to slot in the rebound five minutes after coming on for Sergio Busquets, and the FIFA Player of the Year runner-up sealed the win with his 16th of the season - and 25th in all competitions.

Barcelona finished the match with nine players after Marquez - who returned from injury to replace the injured Carles Puyol - and Pique both picked up second yellow cards late in the match.

Betis nearly lifted some of the pressure off under-fire coach Pacos Chaparro as Juan Manuel Gomez and Mark Gonzalez scored within 10 minutes.

But Getafe striker Ikechukwu Uche took advantage of the extra space after Juan Prados' 33rd-minute sending off to score twice, with Betis goalkeeper Ricardo Soares saving a penalty from Robert Soldado in the 79th.

At El Riazor, Ivan "Riki" Sanchez scored one and set up both of Angel Lafita's goals as Deportivo snapped a five game losing streak in all competitions to go sixth with 33 points, one less than opponent Villarreal which has only two victories in its past 11 league games.

Walter Pandiani's third-minute header allowed Osasuna to switch positions with Mallorca, moving into 18th, in a heated match between two teams battling to avoid relegation that saw three players sent off.

Espanyol also stayed in the drop zone in 19th after Marco Ruben scored an injury-time penalty.

Nicolas Pareja, who scored for Espanyol in the 62nd, couldn't save the spot kick after being forced to replace goalkeeper Carlos Kameni with Espanyol out of substitutions. Kameni was sent-off for taking Ruben down inside the area.

Athletic Bilbao twice rallied from one-goal deficits to beat Malaga 3-2 on Saturday.

Bayern Munich's Willy Sagnol Retires

Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol has announced he is retiring from football because he has been unable to recover from a persistent Achilles' tendon problem.

The 31-year-old France defender told Canal Plus television on Sunday that he has pain in his tendon every day and that not even further surgery will cure the problem.

The decision was expected. Sagnol has hardly played for Bayern in the last season and a half because of various injuries.

Sagnol is the only member of Bayern's team that won the Champions League in 2001 still on the roster.

Liverpool Beats Chelsea 2-0

Liverpool beat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday to cut Manchester United's Premier League lead to two points and Newcastle hit back to draw 1-1 with Sunderland.

Fernando Torres scored with an 89th minute glancing header and tapped in the second after a blunder by Ashley Cole after Chelsea had Frank Lampard sent off in the 60th minute at Anfield.

The victory enabled Liverpool to leapfrog Chelsea into second place behind Manchester United, which beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday and has a game in hand on both its rivals.

United now has 53 points from 23 games, Liverpool has 51 from 24 and Chelsea 48 from 24.

"It's true they were playing with 10 men but I think we were better through the whole game," said Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who came under fire when the team slipped from first to third in the standings.

"It's always important to win, to score goals and to play well. We were in a fantastic position before and much better now. We have to keep going and have confidence in ourselves."

Lampard was sent off for a sliding, feet-first challenge on Xabi Alonso in a game littered with fouls. Referee Mike Riley also showed seven yellow cards, four to Liverpool, including captain Steven Gerrard for diving to try and get a free kick on the edge of the Chelsea area.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said referee Riley was wrong to send Lampard off and hoped that the decision would be overturned.

"I want the referee to look at this on television and maybe change this card for Lampard," Scolari said. "When I look at it I see it as a foul by the other player. Maybe when he looks on TV he will change the red card, and we will have Lampard for the next game."

But Scolari accepted Liverpool was the better team on the day.

"Liverpool were better than us all game," the Brazilian said. "We need to look again, to try again, we have many games but we are behind two clubs. It is more difficult than before but we have to fight to the end."

The game appeared to be headed for a draw which would have delighted United manager Sir Alex Ferguson when Torres guided home a leftwing cross from Fabio Aurelio with a top-quality glancing header.

Two minutes later, Cole lost the ball to Yossi Benayoun inside the Chelsea area and the ball broke to the unmarked Torres who tapped it home.

Shola Ameobi scored an equalizing penalty to earn Newcastle a 1-1 draw with neighbour Sunderland in their northeast derby and edge a point further away from relegation trouble.

Djibril Cisse gave Sunderland a 32nd-minute lead at St. James' Park and Newcastle appeared headed for another defeat until it was fortunate to get a penalty in the 69th minute.

Steed Malbranque was harshly judged to have brought down Steven Taylor as the Newcastle midfielder dribbled into the area but referee Howard Webb blew for a foul. Ameobi drove the spot kick into the roof of the net for his 50th goal in a Magpies shirt.

The draw moved Newcastle up two places to 15th, but the failure to win at home leaves it only one point above the relegation zone. Sunderland stayed 13th.

Lyon and Saint-Etienne Draw 1-1

A free kick from Juninho salvaged a point for ten-man Lyon against fierce local rival Saint-Etienne on Sunday and kept his side at the top of the French league.

Lyon's 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne means that after 22 matches they have 43 points, one more than second place Bordeaux.

Bordeaux drew 2-2 with Lille earlier on Sunday, while Marseille slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Sochaux.

"In a situation of numerical inferiority, we showed our character," Lyon manager Claude Puel told Canal Plus television. "We were very tired at the end of the match but we remained united."

Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas collected a pass from Dimitri Payet to beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 50th minute and put Saint-Etienne ahead.

But playmaker Juninho tied the game for Lyon in the 53rd minute, converting a free kick from the edge of the box.

Lyon was down to ten men a minute later as Frederic Piquionne received a second yellow card for a tackle on Mouhamadou Dabo.

The defending champion also had some luck when Lyon defender Jean-Alain Boumsong tripped Araujo Ilan inside the area in the 63rd minute but the referee dismissed Saint-Etienne's penalty claims.

Saint-Etienne forward Bafetimbi Gomis then had a goal disallowed in the 70th minute for an offside.

In Bordeaux, France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff headed in a free kick from Geraldo Wendel in the 60th minute to earn his team a share of the points. After the match he lamented Bordeaux's failure to get the win.

"If we had won this evening, we would have put the pressure on Lyon and built a gap with the three or four teams behind us," Gourcuff told Canal Plus television.

David Bellion opened the scoring for Bordeaux in the 15th minute, robbing Lille defender Adil Rami of possession and going through to slip the ball past goalkeeper Gregory Malicki.

Ludovic Obraniak volleyed an equalizer for Lille in the 48th minute after the Bordeaux defence failed to properly clear a free kick from Yohan Cabaye.

Rami made amends for his mistake on the first goal by putting Lille in front with a long-range strike in the 57th minute, just before Gourcuff made it all square.

Marseille suffered its first defeat on the road this season and slipped to fourth place with 38 points.

Romain Pitau set up the winner for Turkey forward Mevlut Erding, who chipped goalkeeper Steve Mandanda in the 24th minute.

"We conceded that goal and Sochaux could then play with eight or nine players behind the ball," Marseille coach Eric Gerets told the club's Web site. "That's their right. We couldn't find the solution to put them in danger."

Paris Saint-Germain beat Caen 2-0 Saturday to move into third place with 39 points.

Also Saturday, it was: Rennes 0 Toulouse 0; Valenciennes 1 Nice 0; Auxerre 0 Lorient 0; Le Havre 2 Nancy 3; Nantes 2 Le Mans 0; and Monaco 1 Grenoble 0.

Shay Given Joins Manchester City

Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given joined Manchester City on Sunday after 12 years at Newcastle.

The 32-year-old Given signed a 4 1/2-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

"We need the experience of a keeper like Shay," manager Mark Hughes said. "I am delighted that we have been able to acquire such an accomplished keeper, and one who is so highly regarded by everyone in the Premier League.

"We are getting a very good keeper, and the experience he has will help the two outstanding young keepers that we have here in Joe and Kasper. I am looking for them all to grow as a group, and it's important that we have that influence of a senior keeper."

Shay made 354 league starts for Newcastle and has appeared 91 times for Ireland.

He is City's fourth signing in the transfer window, joining Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong at Eastlands.

But City defender Tal Ben Haim is set to join Sunderland on loan until the end of the season after passing a medical.

Spurs Re-Sign Robbie Keane

Tottenham has reached a deal to re-sign Robbie Keane just six months after his transfer to Liverpool.

Keane would be the third former Spurs player manager Harry Redknapp has brought back to White Hart Lane.

The agreement was announced on Liverpool's website shortly before the close of the month-long winter transfer window.

The Ireland international has failed to establish himself as a regular in Rafa Benitez's side despite the club paying 20 million pounds (C$35 million) for his services.

Redknapp said he is "thrilled and delighted" Keane is coming back.

Toronto FC Signs Danny Dichio

Toronto FC announced Monday the signings of midfielders Rohan Ricketts and Carl Robinson, and forward Danny Dichio for the 2009 season. As per team and league policy details of the deal were not announced.

Ricketts, 26, scored four goals and added four assists in 27 games played last season.

Robinson, 32, will begin his third season with the club. He finished the 2008 season with a goal and an assist.

The 34-year-old Dichio finished with five goals and three assists in 2008.

Tottenham's Jermain Defoe out with Foot Injury

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will be out for up to 10 weeks with a stress fracture to his right foot, ruling him out of the Carling Cup final against Manchester United.

The 26-year-old England international missed Tottenham's win in the competition last February because he joined Portsmouth. He then missed his new club's FA Cup final triumph in May because he was cup-tied.

"Following further scans and examination, Jermain Defoe will undergo surgery tomorrow after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot," Spurs said Monday. "Early detection has allowed the club to opt for the best long-term treatment."

Defoe, who rejoined Spurs early in January from Pompey, picked up the injury, to his fifth metatarsal, during an indoor training session on the eve of Saturday's 3-2 loss at Bolton.

Manager Harry Redknapp brought Robbie Keane back to Spurs on Monday from Liverpool to bolster the strike force. But the Ireland striker is also cup-tied for the Carling Cup final on March 1 after playing just three minutes in the League Cup for Liverpool in September.

Tottenham is 14th in the 20-team Premier League, just one point above the three-team relegation zone.

Aston Villa Beats Hull 1-0

Aston Villa moved back into the top 4 of the English Premier League with a fortunate 1-0 win at Hull clinched by Kamil Zayatte's late own goal on Tuesday.

The match ended in confusion after referee Steve Bennett appeared to award Hull a penalty deep into injury time when Villa winger Ashley Young looked to have handled Ian Ashbee's header on the line.

But TV replays, which showed that the crossbar had denied Hull an equalizer, vindicated Bennett's apparent change of heart after consulting his assistant.

''I didn't touch it with my hand, you can clearly see it was going over,'' Young said. ''I was just seeing it out and we got our reward at the end of the day.

''It's clear, I think, that it's hit the bar and gone over. The referee has given the penalty then changed his mind and he deserves credit for that.''

Hull deserved a point for their tenacity against a Villa side creating little and struggling to find the target, but the third loss in a row left Phil Brown's side with a sense of injustice.

And Villa got its goal only in the 88th minute on the counterattack when Zayatte inadvertently volleyed Young's cross beyond his own goalkeeper while under pressure from Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Aston Villa was fourth with 38 points, below defending champion Manchester United, which has two games in hand, on goal difference. Liverpool has 45 points and tops the standings from Chelsea by three points.

While it was the same Villa lineup that recovered a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Friday, Brown ditched 5 players from the side that was embarrassed 5-1 at Manchester City.

Hull had a goal disallowed after 5 minutes when Nick Barmby challenged Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel in the air, making him spill the ball, and enabling him to bundle it over the line.