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Saudis say crown prince will not buy Man United

Associated PressFeb 17, 2019, 9:47 PM EST
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The Saudi government confirmed its sovereign wealth fund held sponsorship talks with Manchester United but says Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman doesn’t want to buy English football’s most successful club.

[ FA CUP: Crystal Palace, Swansea reach quarterfinals (video) ]

British newspaper The Sun had reported the prince was stepping up a bid for United.

But Saudi media minister Turki Al-Shabanah posted on Twitter “reports claiming that HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman intends on buying Man United are completely false.”

United is owned by the Glazer family, who also own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Glazer family bought United in 2005 and maintained control after floating part of the record 20-time English champions on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.

Al-Shabanah tweeted that United held a meeting with Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund “to discuss sponsorship opportunity. No deal has been materialized.”

[ MORE: Emotional funeral for Sala held in his Argentine hometown ]

The crown prince faced international outrage last year following the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, who had written critically about the royal family, went missing in October after entering the building. After denying for several weeks that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, Saudi Arabia indicted 11 people in the killing, including several officials close to the crown prince. The kingdom denies the crown prince knew of the plot.

FA Cup: Chelsea, Man Utd set to battle for last QF place

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By Andy EdwardsFeb 18, 2019, 12:04 AM EST
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The eighth and final place in the 2018-19 FA Cup quarterfinals on line the line Monday (3:30 p.m. ET), when Chelsea host Manchester Untied at Stamford Bridge.

[ FA CUP: Crystal Palace, Swansea reach quarterfinals (video) ]

Following their 2-0 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last Tuesday, the FA Cup stands as Man United’s most only realistic chance at a trophy this season. Given the fact Chelsea are due to play Manchester City — the same Man City that just beat the Blues 6-0 a week ago — in the League Cup final in under two weeks’ time, and the number of rounds standing between the and the Europa League final, the same could perhaps be said for Chelsea as well.

To say this is an important one for both sides would be an understatement.

While their respective seasons have taken very different paths ahead of Monday’s showdown, a battle for fourth place — separated by one point in fourth and sixth — is where United and Chelsea, respectively, find themselves with just over three months left to play.

[ MORE: Emotional funeral for Sala held in his Argentine hometown ]

Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku‘s names could make a rare appearance when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer names his starting lineup, largely due to Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial missing out through injuries.

Chelsea were 1-0 victors when the two sides met in last season’s final. Their first meeting this season finished 2-2 at Stamford Bridge back in October, courtesy of Ross Barkley‘s 95th-minute equalizer.

La Liga: Real Madrid shocked again; Sevilla in freefall

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By Andy EdwardsFeb 17, 2019, 8:20 PM EST
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A roundup of all of Sunday’s action in Spain’s top flight…

[ FA CUP: Crystal Palace, Swansea reach quarterfinals (video) ]

Real Madrid 1-2 Girona — MORE

Madrid’s five-game winning streak is no more after Santiago Solari’s side suffered yet another embarrassing defeat on the season, this time at home to 15th-place Girona.

Sergio Ramos added yet another red card to his record tally — he now has 20 in La Liga play — with his side already 2-1 down after throwing away an early lead. Casemiro put Los Blancos ahead after 25 minutes, and win no. 6 appeared a foregone conclusion until it all fell apart in the second half. Cristhian Stuani converted from the penalty spot in the 65th minute — made possible by Ramos’ first yellow card — and Portu completed the comeback in the 75th.

The defeat sees Madrid slip below Atletico Madrid in the race for second place, now nine points back of leaders Barcelona. El Clasico is two weeks away, at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, March 2.

Villarreal 3-0 Sevilla

Once upon a time, Sevilla were the closest challengers to Barca’s crown. Now, following a third straight defeat — and having won just once in their last eight league games — Pablo Machin’s side is in an uncontrollable freefall.

18th-place Villarreal piled on the misery on Sunday, thrashing Sevilla to the tune of 3-0 and never letting the once-title hopefuls have a sniff of the game. Alvaro Gonzalez put the home side ahead after 20 minutes; Karl Toko Ekambi doubled the lead in the first minute following the halftime restart; Alfonso Pedraza completed the rout in the 86th.

Elsewhere in La Liga

Valencia 0-0 Espanyol
Real Betis 1-1 Alaves

Ligue 1: Mbappe keeps PSG rolling with superb winner (video)

AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Associated PressFeb 17, 2019, 6:57 PM EST
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PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe displayed his match-winning abilities once again Sunday, scoring off balance with a superb volley as Paris Saint-Germain beat Saint-Etienne 1-0 to move 12 points clear at the top of the French league.

[ FA CUP: Crystal Palace, Swansea reach quarterfinals (video) ]

Latching onto a clever lobbed pass from veteran Dani Alves over the defense, Mbappe was at full stretch yet still hooked a powerful shot into the top left corner while sliding forward to meet the ball in the 73rd minute.

He then sprinted to the bench to celebrate his league-leading 19th goal and 24th overall this season with coach Thomas Tuchel.

It was also Mbappe’s second important strike in the matter of days, where he has led the attack impressively in the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani .

The 20-year-old France forward netted Tuesday in PSG’s impressive 2-0 win at Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League.

After his clinical strike settled a tense match, Mbappe could even afford himself a moment of light relief.

[ MORE: Emotional funeral for Sala held in his Argentine hometown ]

Television cameras captured him laughing in the fifth minute of injury time after the referee showed him a yellow card for not standing back enough for a Saint-Etienne free kick.

Saint-Etienne boasts the second-best home record in the league — behind PSG — but offered little in attack as it dropped to fifth place behind an improving Marseille side boosted by striker Mario Balotelli’s arrival.

Instead, it was down to Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier to keep PSG at bay with saves from Mbappe and Angel Di Maria before Mbappe scored the only goal.

Serie A: Napoli let Juve’s lead get to 13; Inter win without Icardi

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By Andy EdwardsFeb 17, 2019, 6:16 PM EST
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A roundup of all of Sunday’s action in Italy’s top flight…

[ FA CUP: Crystal Palace, Swansea reach quarterfinals (video) ]

Napoli 0-0 Torino

It’s not as if Juventus need the rest of Serie A to make it any easier for them to collect their eighth straight scudetto, but that’s exactly what the last remaining challengers did on Sunday, as second-place Napoli slumped to a 0-0 home draw with ninth-place Torino. What was an 11-point lead for Massimiliano Allegri’s side when the weekend began, is now a 13-point advantage which would require inarguably the greatest collapse in sports history to throw away with just 14 games left to play.

Inter Milan 2-1 Sampdoria

Mauro Icardi remains out of the Inter Milan squad, but the side won its first game since the Argentine was stripped of his captaincy and his future at the club came under serious question.

Danilo D’Ambrosio and Radja Nainggolan bagged Inter’s goals just five minutes apart, either side of Manolo Gabbiadini‘s equalizer in the 75th. The victory kept Inter four points clear of AC Milan in the race for third.

“I really appreciated that Icardi came to the stadium but I would have appreciated it even more if he had come into the dressing room afterward to celebrate with his teammates,” Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said after the game.

“To get back to normal there are more steps to be made, more efforts. Icardi has to experience with the team the happiness of being part of this group.”

Elsewhere in Serie A

Genoa 2-1 Lazio
SPAL 1-4 Fiorentina
Udinese 1-0 Chievo
Empoli 3-0 Sassuolo

Monday’s Serie A schedule

Roma v. Bologna — 2:30 p.m. ET