Pato rescues Milan against Chievo in Serie A match

AC Milan's Brazilian forward Pato celebrates at the end of the Serie A football match between Chievo vs AC Milan at Bentegodi Stadium in Verona. AC Milan won 2-1.

AC Milan maintained their grip on top spot in Serie A after Alexandre Pato scored a late winner to earn them a 2-1 success at 10-man Chievo on Sunday.
Robinho had given them a controversial first-half lead before Gelson Fernandes equalised in the second period, but Pato came off the bench to score the winner before Bostjan Cesar was dismissed for a second booking late on.
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri described the victory as a gift to club president Silvio Berlusconi, who was celebrating 25 years as club owner.
"The lads have given president Berlusconi a lovely present," said Allegri.
"I haven't spoken to him yet but he'll surely be pleased, as we all are."
Milan went in front in contentious fashion on 25 minutes.
Antonio Cassano stood the ball up to the back post and Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed it back into the danger zone where Robinho controlled it, spun and trickled a shot into the corner.
However, television replays showed that the Brazilian controlled the ball with his upper arm despite the referee appearing to have a clear and unobstructed view of the incident.
"Robinho's handball was obvious. From the bench I had a perfect view of it and I saw it straight away but even the referee was perfectly placed," complained Chievo coach Stefano Pioli.
Allegri concurred: "From the bench my feeling was that Robinho controlled it with his arm. But at the end of the day, referees' decisions balance themselves out and I don't think there was any bad faith but simply a mistake."
Chievo equalised just after the hour as Frenchman Kevin Constant sent a cross to the back post where Fernandes arrived from deep to head home, with Milan midfielder Alexsander Merkel reacting to his burst just a second too late.

AS Roma's Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Taddei reacts during his team's Serie A football match against Genoa at Marassi Stadium in Genoa. Genoa won 4-3.

Pato's winner eight minutes from time was a classy strike as he ghosted in between two defenders and shot home off the near post.
Napoli claimed back second place from Inter Milan with a laboured and nervy 1-0 win over Catania, just a week before their crucial trip to Milan.
Colombian Juan Zuniga scored the only goal of the game on 25 minutes as he pounced on a deflected shot from Edinson Cavani to shoot home at the near post.
Napoli trail Milan by three points with Inter just two points further back.
Roma's misery continued as they blew a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa, their fourth defeat in a row, with coach Claudio Ranieri promptly resigning after the game.
They seemed to be cruising early in the second half following goals from Philippe Mexes, Nicolas Burdisso and Francesco Totti but they fell victim to the defensive frailty that has blighted their season -- they have conceded 54 goals in 35 matches.
Rodrigo Palacios and substitute Alberto Paloschi both snatched second-half braces to turn the game around and make up Ranieri's mind.

Lecce boosted their hopes of escaping relegation while denting Juventus's chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a 2-0 victory.

Djamel Mesbah and Andrea Bertolacci scored for the southerners and Juventus had goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon sent off.

Hosts Lecce also had captain Giuseppe Vives dismissed in the second half.

The turning point came on 12 minutes as David Di Michele chased a ball over the top and reached it before Buffon, who instinctively stuck out a left hand to block his shot, but outside his box, earning him a red card.

Lecce took the lead just past the half-hour mark as Gianni Munari played a perfect ball over the top and Mesbah took it down on his chest before slotting between substitute goalkeeper Marco Storari's legs.

Lecce only had to wait three minutes after the restart for their second as they opened up Juve's creaking defence once again, with Vives chipping the ball to the back post for Di Michele to head across goal, where Bertolacci tapped home.

Wenger stumped by Orient hero Tehoue

Arsenal's Sebastien Squillaci (left) gestures after Leyton Orient players confront the referee Kevin Friend over a possible handball in the penalty box during their FA Cup 5th round match at The Matchroom Stadium, Brisbane Road in London, on February 20. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted he had never heard of the player whose late equaliser earned Leyton Orient of League One (third division) a 1-1 draw in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Wenger's fellow Frenchman Jonathan Tehoue came off the bench on Sunday to score against the Premier League title contenders, who had beaten Barcelona in the Champions League just five days previously.
The 89th-minute goal earned Orient a lucrative replay at the Emirates Stadium on March 2, with both teams having discovered before kick-off that the winners will travel to Manchester United in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal will be huge favourites to come through the tie and move on to Old Trafford but the Gunners had no answer to Tehoue after Tomas Rosicky had headed the visitors in front early in the second half.
The Frenchman beat goalkeeper Manuel Almunia with a low drive from just inside the area that Wenger had not been expecting, even though the Arsenal manager is famed for his encyclopedic knowledge of the game.
"I don't know him," Wenger admitted. "I saw him when he came on but I never heard a thing before."
Wenger, who made 10 changes from the starting line-up that had come from behind to beat Barcelona, does not always lavish praise on the opposition but did so on this occasion.
"That is what football is about," he said. "I believed we played the game in the right spirit and I cannot fault our fighting spirit but you have to give credit as well to Leyton Orient -- they never gave up.
"And if you don't score the second goal then that kind of thing can happen. It is a disappointment, of course, but we are still in the competition.
"The most important thing is that we go through. Orient showed fighting spirit against a side that was technically superior but in a cup game, fighting spirit has a chance."
Orient manager Russell Slade was understandably delighted with Tehoue's contribution after replacing Scott McGleish just after the hour mark.
"To be 1-0 down to Arsenal and everything looking like it was slip-sliding away, to get that goal was great timing," said Slade.
"It meant they couldn't get Cesc Fabregas on or anybody else who might undo us. He (Tehoue) has scored all of his eight goals in the 85th minute onwards. He is our super-sub. He's our secret weapon -- brilliant!"
The player himself revealed why he was always on the bench instead of in the starting line-up.
"I am still overweight," he said. "I had a bad hamstring injury and was out for four months."
Orient owner Barry Hearn will now have to make good on a promise to take the players to Las Vegas if they avoided defeat.
"The lads had Elvis Presley on when he walked in the changing room, singing 'Viva Las Vegas'," Slade revealed.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have been left with an unwanted extra fixture and the realisation that they have acquired an unwelcome habit of being unable to dispose easily of teams from lower divisions.
"The most negative side of our result today is that it is one more fixture and that's not what we needed," said Wenger.
"We have had problems with teams from lower divisions to finish them off. We had that problem against Huddersfield, Leeds and Ipswich."

Arsenal held as Orient snatch late leveller in FA Cup

Leyton Orient's Captain Stephen Dawson (R) vies with Arsenal's Danish player Nicklas Bendtner during their FA Cup fifth round football match at The Matchroom Stadium, Brisbane Road in London. Arsenal were held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw by Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fifth round.

Arsenal were held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw by Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fifth round after the League One (third-tier) side snatched a last-gasp equaliser at Brisbane Road on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger's team had enjoyed a famous 2-1 win over Spanish champions Barcelona in their Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday, but they were brought back down to earth in east London as Orient substitute Jonathan Tehoue cancelled out Tomas Rosicky's opener.
Wenger made 10 changes from the line-up that beat Barca, with 18-year-old Spanish centre-half Ignasi Miquel making his debut, and Orient were never overawed against the understudies.
Arsenal midfielder Rosicky broke the deadlock with a header from Nicklas Bendtner's cross in the 53rd minute.
But Orient earned a money-spinning replay at the Emirates Stadium when French striker Tehoue skipped past two defenders and smashed a powerful shot past Manuel Almunia's weak attempted save in the 89th minute.
Whatever happens in the replay, the players are due a fortnight in Las Vegas at the invitation of Orient's flamboyant owner, snooker promoter Barry Hearn, who had promised them the trip should they either win or get a draw.
The winners of the replay will face Premier League leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals.
Wenger said: "We have played the game with the right attitude and could not fault our fighting spirit, but you also have to give credit to Leyton Orient because they never gave up.
"Overall it is a disappointment, but we are still in the competition. The most negative side of our result is one more fixture and in fairness, that is not what we needed."
Orient boss Russell Slade added: "I thought we were going to lose with a bit of dignity but that's our seventh game in the FA Cup.
"We nearly went out in the first round, and to hang in there... It's the same in the league, it's one defeat in 21. You have to be happy with that."
Elsewhere on Sunday, Patrick Vieira fired Manchester City into the fifth round as the French midfielder's double inspired a 5-0 rout of Notts County in a fourth-round replay.
Vieira, a four-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal, was on target in each half at Eastlands and Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards also scored late on as Roberto Mancini's side booked a home clash with Aston Villa.
Mancini's men took the lead in the 37th minute as Vieira's header from David Silva's corner deflected in off Krystian Pearce.
Vieira struck again in the 58th minute with another header, this time from Alexandar Kolarov's corner.
Tevez came on to score in the 84th minute, while Dzeko netted in the 89th minute and Richards completed the rout in the final moments.
"In the first half an hour Notts County played very well," Mancini said.
"It was an important win. I think for us it (the FA Cup) is important.
"We started the game so slowly because when you play every three days, it is difficult to play 100 percent in every game. But after we scored it changed the game."
Bolton beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage in the fifth round to secure a quarter-final clash at Birmingham.
Fulham were unbeaten in their last six games, but they fell behind in the 19th minute when Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic pounced on a poor clearance to drill a fine volley past Mark Schwarzer.
It capped a good day for Klasnic, who scored the winner against Wigan in this week's fourth-round replay, as the Bolton star also learned he would not face charges after he was arrested on suspicion of rape in October.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle said: "We knew from the outset he had done nothing wrong. Ivan was in a bad position because we couldn't really say anything because of the extent of what was involved.
"He has tried to deal with it with a smile on his face. He probably felt his family were hurt more than himself because he knew he had done nothing wrong.
"We are glad it is away and hopefully we can see the best of Ivan now in the run-in."

Messi to the rescue as Barcelona go five clear in Spanish league

Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates his goal during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. Messi scored a vital 77th-minute winner as Barcelona laboured to a 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to restore their five-point lead over Real Madrid at the Spanish first division summit.

Argentine Lionel Messi scored a vital 77th-minute winner as Barcelona laboured to a 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to restore their five-point lead over Real Madrid at the Spanish first division summit.
Barcelona looked set to drop two more points after Andoni Iraola's penalty had cancelled out David Villa's third-minute opener, however, Messi popped up with his 25th league goal of the season to clinch the points at Camp Nou.
"We couldn't afford another slip-up as Real Madrid were close," said Messi. "We won a very important match. There isn't that much left of the league to go now and every game is vital."
It was Pep Guardiola's 100th league match in charge of Barcelona and the manager was a relieved man as his side bounced back from their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Arsenal in midweek.
Real Madrid had closed to within two points of Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Levante and the Catalan club responded with a hard-fought victory.
With their 2-1 defeat at Arsenal still fresh in their minds, Barcelona were keen to get off to a good start and took the lead after just three minutes through Villa.
A diagonal pass from Xavi picked out the run of right back Dani Alves and the Brazilian laid the ball back for Villa to stroke home his 16th league goal of the season.
Bilbao could have equalised in the 10th minute with Fernando Llorente tricking Gerard Pique with a great drag back before crossing for Markel Susaeta, who headed just wide.
Villa was looking increasingly threatening and almost scored his second on 26 minutes but his brilliant chip came back off the crossbar.
The visitors had their chances though and stand-in goalkeeper Jose Pinto, deputising for the injured Victor Valdes, was forced to produce a fine diving save to stop a Llorente header in the 35th minute.
Barcelona then pressed the self-destruct button to allow the visitors to equalise four minutes after the interval.
French full back Eric Abidal sold team-mate Sergi Busquets short with a misplaced pass and the midfielder lunged in to take down Llorente and concede a penalty, which Iraola converted.
Messi came to life in the 58th minute, racing past three defenders before Fernando Amorabieta stopped him in his tracks in the box and Barcelona were furious as their penalty claims were turned down.

Villarreal's Brazilian forward Nilmar (L) vies for the ball with Malaga's midfielder Eliseu (R) during the Spanish league football match Villareal CF vs Malaga CF at El Madrigal stadium in Villareal. Villarreal missed the chance to close the gap on Champions League rivals Valencia, squandering more points in a 1-1 home draw against basement boys Malaga on Sunday.

The breakthrough finally came in the 77th minute with Alves crossing for Messi to side-foot home with his weaker right foot.
Earlier, Villarreal missed the chance to close the gap on Champions League rivals Valencia, squandering more points in a 1-1 home draw against basement boys Malaga.
Valencia's 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon on Saturday meant Villarreal could have gone third with victory, but Uruguayan Sebastian Fernandez scored an 82nd-minute equaliser to cancel out Marco Ruben's first-half opener.
Villarreal stay fourth, two points behind Valencia, after collecting just one point from the last nine.
"We have let two points get away and we are not happy," said Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido. "We could and should have won this match.
"In the build-up to their goal, it looked like there was a penalty for a foul on Nilmar, but it wasn't awarded and the subsequent counter-attack ended with their goal."
It was a satisfactory return to El Madrigal for Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini, who spent five successful years at Villarreal before leaving to become Real Madrid coach, although his side continue to prop up the table four points from safety.
In other matches, new Osasuna coach Jose Luis Mendilibar enjoyed a dream first match in charge as his side routed Espanyol 4-0 in Pamplona.
It was a fourth successive league loss for Espanyol, who stay sixth but have fallen nine points off the top four.
Sevilla took advantage of Espanyol's slip-up with a 1-0 home win over promoted Hercules to move to within three points of the top six.
Sevilla had failed to win any of their last six matches in all competitions, but Croatian Ivan Rakitic, signed from Schalke in the January transfer window, struck on 21 minutes to end that run and boost the club's European hopes.

Ranieri resigns as Roma coach

AS Roma's coach Claudio Ranieri looks on during the Italian Serie A football match AS Roma versus Genoa at the Marassi stadium in Genoa. Ranieri has resigned as Roma coach following Sunday's disastrous 4-3 defeat at Genoa, despite having led 3-0.

Claudio Ranieri has resigned as Roma coach following Sunday's disastrous 4-3 defeat at Genoa, despite having led 3-0.
It was the club's fourth defeat in a row and Ranieri then told Italian news agency Ansa he had decided to quit.
"After the final whistle of a vibrant game I went into the changing rooms to thank the team for their performance and I decided to hand in my resignation," he said.
"I've always thought about the good of Roma, both the club and the team.
"Today we began with the desire to fight for the victory for all those who love this shirt and this city.
"Every minute of my day is dedicated to Roma and I've always said that for me a defeat is especially painful.
"But seeing my lads fighting to the end and losing shook me to the core.
"I want to thank all the fans and the president (Rosella) Sensi. Together, despite the difficulties, we did a great job last year and this year.
"I am and always will be a man of the pitch and after a game such as today's I believe it's right to give a signal for the love of these colours and I hope that my decision will help spur on the team.
"Sport and football have values that for me and for those work hard and with passion are life itself."
Roma have lost three league games in a row leaving them eighth in the table and nine points off the last Champions League qualification position, which, just to make matters worse, is currently being held by their bitter city rivals Lazio.
They also crashed 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Dontesk in the Champions League in midweek meaning they need a stunning result in the away leg in Ukraine in three weeks time to progress to the quarter finals.
After that match fans staged a violent protest outside the club's Trigoria training complex the following day, with four Ultras being arrested.
They seemed to have turned things around in Genoa when Francesco Totti gave them a 3-0 lead after 51 minutes, following first half strikes from centre-backs Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso.
But within a minute their defence had started to crumble and they continued to collapse as both Rodrigo Palacios and Alberto Paloschi grabbed a brace.
After Ranieri's announcement, Sensi said the club would make a decision on the coaching situation on Monday.
"We will act on what he's said," she said, apparently perplexed by the news.
"We won't do anything tonight, we will decide something following a meeting tomorrow morning at which I, the directors and players will be present."
That didn't calm fans, though, 50 of whom waited for the team's return to Trigoria and pelted the team bus with eggs and bottles while shouting: "mercenaries".
Ranieri, a Roman who supported Roma as a child and began his playing career with the club, spent less than two years in the job having taken over two games into the start of last season.
Despite a difficult start to life as Roma boss he took the side on a 23-match unbeaten run to overhaul a 14-point deficit to Inter last season.
With four games to go in the season they led the table by one point but a 2-1 home defeat to Sampdoria handed back the initiative to Jose Mourinho's side, which they never relinquished again.
Roma struggled again at the beginning of this season but seemed to have battled back into title contention until the last three matches.
They had also struggled to qualify in their Champions League group in part due to a 3-1 home defeat to minnows FC Basel, and they needed a 1-1 draw at CFR Cluj on the final matchday to ensure their progress to the knock-out stages.