Bilbao demolish Mirandes’ wonder run to seal final berth
BILBAO: Athletic Club Bilbao assured their place in the final of the Copa del Rey football for the 36th time in the club's history with a comfortable 6-2 win at home to Mirandes.
The La Liga side, who had won the first leg 2-1 away from home, showed there is no time for false emotion in football, by stamping their authority on the game and racing into a 3-0 lead against a side that has captivated Spain this season. Mirandes play in the third tier of Spanish football and had knocked three La Liga sides out of the competition on their way to the semifinals of the Cup.
Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, Ion Autenetxe, Aitor scored one each while Fernando Llorente netted a brace for Bilbao .
BLACKPOOL, MILLWALL ADVANCE IN FA CUP
LONDON: Blackpool beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 while Millwall edged Southampton 3-2 in Tuesday’s FA Cup fourth round replays. Blackpool will now face Everton while Millwall gets an outing to Bolton in the fifth round.
REDKNAPP CLEARED OF TAX EVASION
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was cleared by a London court on Wednesday of tax evasion after a long investigation into allegations of financial corruption in British soccer. Redknapp, tipped to be the next England manager, was charged with cheating the public revenue in relation to payments totalling $295,000 made to his bank account in Monaco during his time as Portsmouth manager.
BERBATOV TO RETURN TO INTERNATIONAL DUTY
SOFIA: Dimitar Berbatov is considering a comeback to international football and is expecting an invitation from new national team coach Lyuboslav Penev who said he would be glad if Berbatov returned to the team.