News round-up/CHELSEA: Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has opened the door for the return of loan star Hernan Crespo by insisting AC Milan would have to pay a hefty transfer fee to make the move permanent.
The Argentinian striker joined Milan on loan last summer and has already hinted he would like to stay in Italy. But Mourinho, who admitted he wants a new striker for next season, hinted Crespo might turn out to the answer.
The Portuguese explained: "There is a big chance he will come back. He is having a good season and I want him to stay (at Chelsea). He is in a Champions League final now but AC Milan will have to pay a lot of money if they want to buy him."
In indicating he needed another striker, Mourinho also mentioned the name of Andriy Shevchenko. It is possible Crespo could be used as a makeweight if Chelsea do make moves to sign the Milan and Ukraine striker.
LIVERPOOL: Arsene Wenger last night declared that Liverpool are "lucky" to be in the Champions League at all this season as he cast doubts on their claims to be allowed to defend the title if they beat AC Milan.
Uefa look set to dash Liverpool's hopes of being granted a special place as winners if they finish outside the top four in the Premiership.
However, the Arsenal manager believes tomorrow's opponents Liverpool are already fortunate to be in a competition previously reserved for league winners, having finished only fourth in the Premiership last season.
"Normally they should not have played in this cup. They are already lucky to be in it because of the advantage this country has in having four qualifying places," he argued.
"Most countries have only three places, so they already had an advantage in qualifying last season after finishing fourth."
Wenger insists the English Football Association's professional game board were right to back Everton's claims for Champions League entry next season if they finish ahead of Liverpool in fourth place.
"I feel the rules were clear at the beginning of the season so it was very difficult to change. You cannot knock Everton out of it," he argued.
"If Uefa are happy to give a fifth place to England, I'm happy to support it, but I don't know how they can change it.
SERIE A: AC Milan's clash with Juventus at the San Siro tomorrow (ko 2pm, live on Eurosport) could finally separate the only two runners in this season's Italian title race.
With four rounds to play Milan and Juventus are tied on 76 points from 34 matches while third-placed Inter Milan lie a distant third on 62 points. If they finish level on points at the end of the season, the title will be decided in a two-leg play-off, scheduled for June 14th and 18th.
