Sheffield Wednesday pulled off a stunning comeback to book their place in the Sky Bet League One play-off final with a 5-3 win on penalties after overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit to win 5-1 after extra time.
Hillsborough needed early goals to set this tie alight and got two in the first 25 minutes courtesy of a Michael Smith penalty and Lee Gregory, although Peterborough had chances through Ephron Mason-Clarke and Kwame Poku to put the tie to bed but Cameron Dawson stood strong to deny them.
Reece James pulled the hosts to within one of Peterborough’s aggregate lead with 20 minutes to go and Hillsborough’s roof came off when Liam Palmer made it four with the last kick of normal time.
WE BELIEVED!!!!!
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc)
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French newspaper that Saint Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier is set to quit les Verts in the summer transfer window.
The 27-year-old is widely regarded as one of league s top goalkeeper and he has seen his name linked with a number of high-profile sides in the past.
And with his current deal due to expire in June 2015, chances are that he will be leaving Saint Etienne for greener pastures in the summer.
Ruffier has revealed that he has not been offered a contract extension, which is enough to suggest les Verts plan to cash in on him at the end of the current campaign.
The experienced shot-stopper joined Saint Etienne from Monaco in the summer of 2011 and has since made a total of 100 Ligue 1 appearances.
He is now heavily linked with a return…
FC Schalke 04 ace Julian Draxler has refused to rule out a future move to Bayern Munich, citing the example of Manuel Neuer, who joined Bayern from Schalke in a deal worth €22 million in the summer of 2011.
The Germany international, 20, is under contract at the Veltins-Arena until 30 June 2018 after penning an extension last year but has a buy-out clause of €45.5 million in his current deal.
Draxler remains undecided regarding his long-term future in Gelsenkirchen. However, he feels the release clause in the deal is a good thing for both sides, himself and the club, and reasonably so.
I extended my contract because I feel fine here and the long-term deal shows the appreciation and popularity I enjoy at Schalke, said Draxler.
It s no secre…
Davide Zappacosta admitted he may seek a return to Italy to secure first-team football less than a year after making his dream full debut for the club.
The 26-year-old defender made just 12 Premier League starts for the Blues under Antonio Conte last season following his £23million transfer from Torino, and has been an unused substitute in all three of the club s league games this term.
It seems clear that Zappacosta is second choice to fellow right-back Cesar Azpilicueta in current head coach Maurizio Sarri s eyes, and the former Torino and Atalanta defender said he was aware of interest in him back home.
Could I return to Italy? Yes, Inter Milan had been after me, Zappacosta told the Evening Standard.
— Davide Zappacosta (@DZappacosta)
Real Madrid made it three wins from three in LaLiga this season with a 4-1 victory over Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Karim Benzema scored twice in between goals from Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos to secure the three points, despite a scare when Guido Carrillo made it 1-1 when he fired a penalty past debutant goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The victory puts Julen Lopetegui s side top of the table, two points above Celta Vigo, who beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 at Balaidos.
Bale stretched his scoring run to seven consecutive league games 17 minutes in, volleying in Dani Carvajal s header from 12 yards out, although goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar should arguably have done better to keep it out.
Leganes went into the game having failed to win any of their 10 …
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Turning their attention back to Europa League duties on Thursday night, Arsenal will welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Emirates.
Arsenal
Starting with the hosts, marking their return from the international break with another stellar display at the Emirates, Arsenal are in the midst of what has been a real purple patch. Eventually claiming north London bragging rights as they picked up a 3-1 victory at home against bitter rivals Tottenham, Mikel Arteta s young squad have only continued to gain a string of plaudits. Still holding a one-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table, some have even tipped the Gunners to mount a genuine title charge this season. With it looking like the mood in their camp is at the highest it has been in rec…
Lionel Messi set another Champions League record but it was not enough for Paris Saint-Germain to beat Benfica, who clinched a 1-1 draw.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe cleverly combined in the 22nd minute to allow Messi to curl home and become the first player to score against 40 teams in the Champions League.
However, Danilo Pereira awkwardly sent Enzo Fernandez cross into his own net to restore parity at Estadio da Luz.
Though PSG had the better second-half chances, boss Christophe Galtier missed the chance to become the third coach in club history to win his first three Champions League games, though his side remain top of Group H on goals scored.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was the busier of the two goalkeepers early on, making important stops to deny Goncalo Ramo…
Everton manager Roberto Martinez lamented his side s set-piece frailties after their thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool on Saturday.
The hosts were denied a first Merseyside derby win since October 2010 thanks to Daniel Sturridge s header from a Steven Gerrard free-kick a minute from time at Goodison Park.
Liverpool had previously taken the lead twice, first through Philippe Coutinho following a knockdown from a corner after five minutes and then courtesy of a brilliant Luis Suarez free-kick and Martinez was unhappy at how his side conceded in the game.
The two teams played in the right manner, created a lot of chances, he told BT Sport.
But conceding two goals from set pieces is very disappointing. We were (trailing twice) when Liverpool didn t even have a shot …
Former Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg are set to stretch their salary budget in a bid to sign Brazilian playmaker Diego, reports said Thursday.
Bild newspaper said the 2009 German league champions have already agreed on a 17 million transfer fee with Juventus for Diego, one million less than the Italian club s asking price.
However the report added the deal could falter if Wolfsburg fail to meet Diego s pay demands. Diego s father, who is also his agent, was set to arrive in Turin Thursday for negotiations with representatives from Wolfsburg.
The German Bundelisga is not unfamiliar to Diego, who played three seasons with Werder Bremen in 2006-2009. The Brazilian failed to light up the Serie A in his first season in Italy with Juventus.
Wolfsburg, who fin…
Leicester City are ready to offer Riyad Mahrez an improved contract, .
The Premier League leaders are keen to tie down their prize asset, who has been linked with a move to some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The twenty-four year old has been one of the stand out performers for the East Midlands outfit this season, with his ten assists and fourteen goals in the league helping them pull five points clear at the top of the table.
Since signing from Le Harve in the summer of 2013, the Algeria international has played seventy-seven times, scoring twenty-two goals and was part of the squad that won the Championship in 2014.
He has been capped twenty-two times by his country, scoring four goals and was part of their squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.