Mikel Arteta was the star of Everton’s 5-1 victory over Hull City in the Premier League, scoring twice in a crucial win for David Moyes’ side. Landon Donovan and Jack Rodwell also hit the net while Hull’s Richard Garcia added an own goal.
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Hull keeper Boaz Myhill saved a penalty from Yakubu and tennager Tom Cairney scored with a fine volley but overall it was a disappointing day for Phil Brown’s side. The result leaves Everton eighth in the table and Hull in the bottom three.
Coventry City defender Marcus Hall says he is happy to play ugly football if it means the club continue their push up the Championship.City's win at Peterborough at the weekend was their fifth in six matches, pushing them up to eighth in the table."The manager's said it hasn't got to be pretty and I think the supporters were happy we came away with a 1-0 win," Hall told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.
"It's another three points and keeps us in the mix."City's long-serving defender made his first start since December at London Road and helped Chris Coleman's team keep a 10th clean sheet of the campaign.The 33-year-old added: "We're not going to get carried away but it's another good performance."
Aaron Ramsey said today that the double fracture of the right leg he suffered at Stoke City last weekend had been "hard to take" but he was "determined and focused on overcoming this injury". He was speaking for the first time about the injury sustained in a challenge with Stoke's Ryan Shawcross, who was sent off for the offence.
"I remember what happened clearly," Ramsey said in quotes released by the club, "and after the tackle went in I saw that my leg was broken and hanging at an angle.
South African President Jacob Zuma sought Thursday to allay concerns about security at the 2010 World Cup, saying crime had already been cut and visitors would be protected. "The fact is we have brought down crime already. We are therefore very confident on this. And when we say we are ready now for the World Cup, we include security in that," Zuma said during his state visit to Britain.
"We are ready to protect those who come. If there are those who are sceptical or feel concern, they must know this matter has been addressed. "They will come to South Africa safely and leave safer," he added.
World Cup veterans Rafael Marquez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco will lead Mexico against New Zealand Wednesday in a friendly football match that will serve as a World Cup tuneup for both. For Mexico the match is the second in a series of six friendlies in the United States as they prepare to open their World Cup campaign against hosts South Africa on June 11.
Their first-round group also includes France and Uruguay. "I think this is the moment for us to do something big, something historic," said defender Marquez, who says the 2010 World Cup will be his last. "We have players with lots of experience and young people who have the hunger to win.
Fabio Capello has never given the impression that he regards Peter Crouch as anything more than an impact substitute but the Italian appears to be warming to Tottenham's beanpole striker.
Crouch's second-half double was instrumental in England coming from behind to beat African champions Egypt 3-1 at Wembley on Wednesday evening and the 6' 7" (2.0m) forward may just have put himself in pole position to be Wayne Rooney's partner in attack when Capello's men start their World Cup campaign against the United States, in Rustenburg on June 12. Related article: Crouch shows good form Capello has, in the past, often appeared dismissive of Crouch's prolific scoring record for his country – Wednesday's sharply-taken brace made it 20 goals in 37 appearances.
Michael Owen has hinted for the first time at the true depth of his frustration at being cast into the shadows by England manager Fabio Capello. Owen has been consistently ignored by Capello since the Italian took charge and will once again be at home in Cheshire when England play Egypt in Wednesday's World Cup warm-up.
For nearly two years Owen has maintained a dignified silence over his international exile, but the mask slipped for just a moment in the aftermath of Sunday's bittersweet 2-1 League Cup final win against Aston Villa.
After spending much of the season as a bit-part player with United, Owen was handed a rare moment in the spotlight as he started ahead of Wayne Rooney at Wembley.
With 100 days to go until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the favourites begin their final preparations in a series of friendly matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pre-tournament form is a notoriously fickle indication of how a team will perform at the quadrennial football showpiece, but some of the sides bidding for glory are already beset by problems and controversies.
England's chances of a first World Cup success since 1966 were hyped to the hilt in the aftermath of their near-flawless qualifying campaign, but Fabio Capello's side has since become tainted by scandal.
Jose Mourinho got one over his former employers as Inter Milan beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League last 16, first leg clash at the San Siro here on Wednesday. It's a slender advantage but a crucial one for Inter ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 16th and also represented a milestone as it was the first victory for the Italians against an English team since 2003 and a 3-0 win over Arsenal in London.
For Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti it was an unhappy return to the stadium where he served AC Milan for eight years with such distinction, winning two Champions League titles and one scudetto. Mourinho did not gloat over taking a slender advantage to London in three weeks time.
Liverpool survived a big scare against Romanian underdogs Unirea Urziceni on Thursday night before securing a 3-1 victory that takes them into the Europa League round of 16.
Serie A giants Roma, however, crashed out of the competition after losing 3-2 at home to Greek side Panathinaikos, while defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk were eliminated by English Premier League side Fulham.
Fulham will play Juventus in the next round after the Turin side drew 0-0 in a drab game at home to Ajax to see out a 2-1 aggregate success.
German champions Wolfsburg thrashed Villarreal 4-1 for an aggregate 6-3 win, while Valencia needed two extra-time goals from Spain midfielder Pablo Hernandez to achieve a 3-1 victory against Belgian side Club Brugge.
Liverpool led 1-0 on aggregate following a tense first leg at Anfield and fell behind on the night to a 19th-minute header from Joao Bruno Fernandes, before goals from Javier Mascherano, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard took them through.
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