Uefa Cup: An inspirational performance from Brazilian playmaker Carvalho sealed CSKA Moscow's place in the UEFA Cup final with a dominant 3-0 win over Parma in the Lokomotiv Stadium yesterday.
After a 0-0 draw in the first leg the Russians overwhelmed Pietro Carmignani's men with Carvalho scoring twice and setting up the other goal for Vassili Berezoutski.
It was CSKA's first win over Italian opposition on home soil but they could find themselves facing stiff sanctions from UEFA after Parma goalkeeper Luca Bucci was forced from the pitch in the 20th minute after being hit by a flare thrown from the crowd.
A Miguel Garcia goal two minutes into added time at the end of extra-time gave Sporting Lisbon a dramatic victory on away goals in the night's other semi-final at Alkmaar. Having won the first leg 2-1, Sporting lost last night 3-2 but Garcia's goal was enough to see them through.
FA Cup: Thierry Henry has just 10 days to prove his fitness for the FA Cup final after the Arsenal striker was yesterday ruled out until the final match of the Premiership season.
The Frenchman has not featured since the win at Middlesbrough on April 9th because of a groin injury, and along with midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who has a hip problem, now faces a race against time for the showdown with Manchester United in Cardiff on May 21st.
While manager Arsène Wenger did not say whether he would consider the pair for the cup final if they had not featured against Birmingham a week on Sunday, the French coach said a warm-up would be "ideal".
Meanwhile, United's Argentinian full back Gabriel Heinze is losing his battle to recover from ankle ligament damage. The player suffered the injury in last month's 2-1 Premiership win over Newcastle.
Despite a fortnight of intense treatment, Heinze is showing no sign of making a swift recovery.
"He is continuing with his treatment and we are praying he will be OK, but it is not looking good," Alex Ferguson said yesterday.
FA Premiership: Middlesbrough have completed one of the first major transfers for next season by signing Portsmouth's 22-year-old Nigerian striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu for £6m, writes Michael Walker.
No official announcement of the deal has yet been made by either club and Yakubu will play for Portsmouth until the end of the season. But Middlesbrough have reached an agreement with Pompey and with Yakubu's former club Maccabi Haifa, who are entitled to 50 per cent of the transfer fee above the £1.5m they received from Portsmouth.
Yakubu is not eligible to join the Teesside club until the next transfer window opens in June.
Guardian Service
