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News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid moved to within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona on Saturday, easing to a 2-0 home win over Getafe in an ill-tempered game which saw the visitors end the game with nine men.
Atletico top scorer Antoine Griezmann struck his 10th league goal of the season to give the home side a deserved lead in the 27th minute, collecting a pass from Thomas Partey then firing into the net from just outside the area.
Spain midfielder Saul Niguez marked his return from injury by doubling the lead 10 minutes later, pouncing on the rebound to net his first league goal of the season from close range after Croatian forward Nikola Kalinic had had a shot saved.
Getafe coach Jose Bordalas rested players in preparation for next Tuesday's Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg against Valencia after winning the first leg 1-0 and saw two players sent off in the closing stages for second bookings.
Defender Djene Dakonam was given his marching orders in the 88th minute and left back Leandro Cabrera followed him down the tunnel in added time, picking up his two yellows in the space of eight minutes.
Atletico, chasing a first title since 2014, are second in the standings on 44 points, two behind Barca who visit Girona on Sunday.
Sevilla go on the rampage against Levante for biggest win of the season
Sevilla roared back to life from a slump in La Liga by thrashing Levante 5-0 at home on Saturday, scoring all their goals in the second half for a first win in five league games which took them back up to third in the standings.
Pablo Machin's side had been boosted by a 2-0 victory over Barcelona in a Copa del Rey quarter-final, first leg on Wednesday but could not break down Levante until French forward Wissam Ben Yedder fired into the bottom corner from a tight angle in the 48th minute.
Levante, who had been hammered 6-2 by Sevilla earlier in the season, almost levelled a few minutes later when a shot from Enis Bardhi took a wild deflection and bounced off the post.
The home side quickly punished Levante by doubling their lead on the hour mark with a simple finish from top scorer Andre Silva, created by in-form Dutch winger Quincy Promes.
Levante appeared to give up after the second goal and Sevilla showed no mercy, further stretching their advantage with a goal from Franco Vazquez and a penalty from Pablo Sarabia.
They were awarded a second spot kick in stoppage time and Sarabia handed the ball to Promes, who had not scored a single league goal for the club.
The Dutchman saw his penalty saved but reacted quickly to knock the ball high into the net on the rebound, giving Sevilla their biggest win of the campaign.
Sevilla are third in the standings, level on 36 points with fourth-placed Real Madrid who visit Espanyol on Sunday. Barcelona, who play at Girona on Sunday, lead the table with 46.
Two sent off as Derby reach FA Cup fifth round
Championship side Derby County beat Accrington Stanley of League One 1-0 in a fiercely fought English FA Cup fourth-round tie in which both teams were reduced to 10 men on Saturday.
After Manchester United and Bristol City became the first sides through to the fifth round on Friday, second tier Derby survived a testing contest against a team 32 places below them in the English league pyramid.
Martyn Waghorn scored the only goal on 78 minutes, scrambling the ball home after the home side had failed to clear a short corner.
Accrington had already been reduced to 10 men when midfielder Daniel Barlaser, on loan from Newcastle United, was sent off on 59 minutes for a second yellow card after a rash challenge on Mason Bennett.
That tipped the game's balance in favour of the visitors, but Derby also finished with 10 men when Jayden Bogle cynically brought down Paul Smyth when he was free on goal.
That ensured a thrilling final few minutes with Derby keeper Kelle Roos saving superbly from Billy Kee.
Derby won the world's oldest cup competition for the only time in 1946 and are managed by Frank Lampard, who won it four times as a player with Chelsea.
Ten other ties take place later on Saturday.
Heartache for Shrewsbury as Wolves salvage draw
Wolverhampton Wanderers have bigger fish to fry than Shrewsbury Town these days having regained their Premier League status but on Saturday they avoided an FA Cup shock against the third-tier side by the skin of their teeth.
Shrewsbury, managed by former Wolves player Sam Ricketts, had led 2-0 after 70 minutes with goals by Greg Docherty and Luke Waterfall but Matt Doherty broke their hearts with a stoppage-time equaliser for Wolves.
For a club tucked away on the English-Welsh border, a home clash with Wolves counts as a 'derby' with only 30 miles separating them -- and a visit from Nuno Espirito Santo's cosmopolitan side, ensured a sizzling atmosphere at New Meadow.
It looked like being party time in the quaint market town with a second fifth-round appearance in three years within touching distance.
But after Raul Jimenez halved the deficit in the 75th minute, smashing home a cross from fellow substitute Ivan Cavaleiro it was backs to the wall for the Shrews.
A collective groan rang out when six minutes of stoppage time were added on, to the obvious annoyance of Ricketts, and it proved decisive as Doherty's header spared Wolves's blushes.
"It's real mixed emotions. I base myself on performances and that was very, very good but I am disappointed not to win the game," Ricketts, who won the League One title as a player with Wolves in 2014, told the BBC.
"We were comfortable at 2-0 up, yes we are going to concede chances but we were comfortable. They are an excellent side, let's not hide behind anything.
"Our players can take a lot from that. Neither side will have wanted a replay but we will have another game. Don't write us off yet, we went to Stoke and won in a replay."
It was the first FA Cup meeting between the sides since 1979 when Wolves won a quarter-final replay and only the 11th time the clubs had met in competitive action.
Shrewsbury, 54 rungs below Wolves in the English football ladder, took the lead just after the halftime interval when Docherty converted from a tight angle after good work by Fejiri Okenabirhie and there was pandemonium in the ground when Waterfall nodded in a corner after 70 minutes.
Espirito Santo, whose side knocked out Liverpool in the third round, said it had been an "emotional" finish.
"Sometimes the games can be like this and require extra effort," he said. "They were well organised, they fought and were really competitive.
"The schedule is tight and the replay will be tough."
AFC Wimbledon humble West Ham in FA Cup shock
AFC Wimbledon delivered an FA Cup fourth-round shock as the League One strugglers humbled Premier League West Ham United 4-2 in a gripping tie in south-west London on Saturday.
Wimbledon, bottom of England's third tier, took full advantage of a lacklustre West Ham display with Kwesi Appiah putting them ahead before Scott Wagstaff's expertly-taken double, the first a cool finish and the second a volley, either side of halftime put them 3-0 up against Manuel Pellegrini's side.
West Ham, who made six changes from their last Premier League game against Bournemouth, finally responded with Lucas Perez firing home and then Brazilian substitute Felipe Anderson curling home a free kick.
With 20 minutes remaining it seemed West Ham would overhaul their modest hosts but AFC Wimbledon absorbed some intense pressure before substitute Toby Sibbick headed past Adrian in the 88th minute to send them into the fifth round for the first time since the club was formed in 2002.
West Ham are 58 places higher than AFC Wimbledon in the English football pyramid.
AFC Wimbledon were formed by fans of former FA Cup winners Wimbledon who controversially uprooted from London to Milton Keynes in 2002 and became MK Dons.
After working their way through the minor leagues they rejoined the Football League in 2011 but Saturday's victory revived memories of the club's roots.
It was the only time that AFC Wimbledon have progressed from an FA Cup tie against a side from a higher division.
Manager Wally Downes, part of the original Wimbledon who won the 1988 FA Cup but 14 years later moved to Milton Keynes, said his side had been hanging on desperately.
"When you are 3-0 up against a Premier League side you can't think you will be better than them and you have to combat the period you know they will have," he said.
"Luckily enough we got the fourth. It happens in all games -- at 1-0 up it is human nature to try and hang on to what you have. Players want to sit back and stick with what they've got.
"We were running short of legs at the time and Toby Sibbick is a terrific athlete and managed to get himself right up there to get the fourth."
West Ham boss Pellegrini criticised his side's attitude.
"It's very easy to explain what happened -- it was one team who wanted to win and another team who played without any desire or any ambition to win or continue in this cup," he said.
"In the first 45 minutes, we didn't fight."
Morata passes medical ahead of loan move to Atletico
Spain striker Alvaro Morata said on Sunday he has passed a medical with Atletico Madrid, with his loan move to the La Liga side from Chelsea expected to be confirmed imminently.
"Everything went well, thank God," Morata told reporters as he left the Clinica Universidad de Navarra medical centre in Madrid, having flown to the Spanish capital from London on Saturday.
Morata, who passed through Atletico's youth academy before switching to local rivals Real Madrid, is to sign an 18-month loan deal Spanish media reports said, with an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season.
Morata, who also spent two years at Juventus, joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2017 for a reported 80 million euros ($91.30 million).
Despite a promising start to his career in the Premier League, with 10 goals in his first five months, Morata has had a disappointing year with the London club, starting fewer than half their league games under coach Maurizio Sarri.
"I'm very happy, I've spent days waiting for this," Morata added, also addressing his spell with Real, where he won one La Liga and two Champions League titles.
"I began my career at Atletico and the people who know where I come from and know my history know what this means for me. The past is the past, and it cannot be changed, and I'm very proud of it. I am looking forward to everything being completed so I can start training with my team mates."
Morata joins an Atletico side who are second in La Liga and in the last 16 of the Champions League but have struggled to find a suitable strike partner for talismanic forward Antoine Griezmann.
Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic has struggled for form since joining last year, making only two league starts and scoring twice.
Diego Costa, meanwhile, has had an unhappy return to Atletico since rejoining the club from Chelsea, scoring one league goal this season, and is currently recovering from foot surgery.
Palace sign Sako on short-term deal from West Brom
Crystal Palace have signed winger Bakary Sako from West Bromwich Albion until the end of the season, the Premier League team said on Sunday.
The Malian spent three seasons at Palace before his contract expired at the end of the last campaign and the 30-year-old joined Championship side West Brom in October.
"I'm delighted that we've managed to bring Bakary back to Palace," manager Roy Hodgson said in a statement.
Sako scored three league goals in 16 appearances for Palace in his final season at Selhurst Park before breaking his ankle.
"He's a player with a huge amount of talent and as he showed when he was fully fit last year, he is able to provide a boost to our attacking options," Hodgson added.
"It's a particularly pleasing signing, because... he knows the club inside out and was such an immensely popular figure amongst the squad with his positive and upbeat attitude."
He is the second player to join Palace in January, following the arrival of goalkeeper Lucas Perri on loan from Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
Sako will be unavailable for Sunday's FA Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur, having played for West Brom earlier in the competition but could feature against Southampton on Jan. 30.
Palace are 14th in the league with 22 points from 23 games.
Quagliarella strikes for 11th Serie A match in a row
Veteran forward Fabio Quagliarella scored for a record-equalling 11th Serie A match in a row as he converted two penalties to lead Sampdoria to a 4-0 win over Udinese on Saturday.
The 35-year-old took his tally for the season to 16 as he matched Gabriel Batistuta's feat, which the Argentine achieved for Fiorentina in 1994.
Sampdoria made a slow start but took control after Valon Behrami tripped Gregoire Defrel and Quagliarella rifled the penalty into the bottom left corner in the 33rd minute.
Behrami's unhappy evening ended when he was substituted eight minutes later in what appeared to be a tactical switch, the Swiss directing an angry look at Udinese coach Davide Nicola as he left the pitch.
The home team were awarded another penalty when Nicholas Opuko blocked Nicola Murru's shot with his hand in the 56th minute and Quagliarella again went left, firing his shot into the roof of the net this time.
Karol Linetty turned in Riccardo Saponara's pass for the third in the 68th minute before Manolo Gabbiadini scored his first goal since his move from Southampton, meeting Quagliarella's low cross first time at the far post.
The win lifted Sampdoria to sixth in the table with 33 points while Udinese are 16th with 18 points.
Earlier, Sassuolo ended a run of seven home matches without a win by thumping Cagliari 3-0.
Manuel Locatelli gave them an early lead and Khouma Babacar converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time. Alessandro Matri tapped in the third from Alfred Duncan's cross three minutes from time as Sassuolo (29 points) climbed to ninth.
Hapless Monaco lose again in 2-0 defeat by Dijon
Managerless Monaco crashed to another defeat on Saturday, going down 2-0 away to Dijon the day before their former coach returns to the club to try and save them from relegation.
Leonardo Jardim will take charge again on Sunday, just three months after he was replaced by Thierry Henry who was himself sacked on Friday.
The club from the principality are one from bottom of Ligue 1 and desperately wanted points at the side immediately above them in the table.
But they were no match for a team that had won only once in their previous 17 league games.
South Korean Changhoon Kwon put the home side ahead after 24 minutes with his first league goal of the season and Monaco’s task grew even harder after centre back Naldo was shown a straight red on the hour mark for a bad tackle.
Naim Sliti then doubled Dijon’s lead nine minutes later to seal the points.
The result takes Dijon on to 20 points, five ahead of Monaco, who are a point above bottom club Guingamp, who lost 1-0 at home to Stade de Reims.
Strasbourg, who got a 90th-minute goal to beat Bordeaux 1-0, are in fifth, while Nice, who beat Olympique de Nimes 2-0, are sixth.
Paris St-Germain lead the table by 10 points from Lille, with three games in hand on their nearest rivals.
Napoli frustrated in 0-0 draw at Milan
Second-placed Napoli dominated the second-half but left San Siro frustrated after failing to break down AC Milan in an 0-0 Serie A draw on Saturday.
Napoli should have snatched a win when they had four men against two on the break late in the game but they took one pass too many and the move ended with Piotr Zielinski's shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Zielinski had two other efforts saved by the 19-year-old goalkeeper and the Polish midfielder also rifled another effort centimetres past the foot of the post.
Napoli, with 48 points, closed the gap on leaders Juventus to eight points, ahead of the Turin side's visit to Lazio on Sunday, while Milan are fourth with 35 points.
Napoli ended with 10 men after Fabian Ruiz was given a second yellow card for handball in stoppage time although the ball appeared to hit his chest.
Shortly afterwards, Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti was ordered from the touchline for dissent.
Milan had two good chances in the second half but Franck Kessie's effort from six metres was deflected over the crossbar and Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina denied Mateo Musacchio with a brilliant reflex save on the line.
"We allowed them too many counter-attacks in the first half, we played with too little intensity and not enough pressure on their defence," said Ancelotti.
"In the second half, we had plenty of chances, we tried to win and it was a positive performance", he said, adding that he "let slip a bad word" when he was sent off.
Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso was frustrated at the way his team's moves broke down in the final third.
"We played against a fantastic team and did well in the first half," he said.
"If we made fewer mistakes, we’d create a lot more chances. We often lose our way in the final third, getting the final ball wrong, and that is a real problem."
Milan brought Krzysztof Piatek on in the 70th minute for his debut following his move from Genoa. The Pole had one chance but a poor first touch let him down and the danger was cleared by Ospina.
The teams meet again on Tuesday at the same venue for a Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Cedric joins Inter on loan from Southampton
Inter Milan have signed Portugal right back Cedric Soares on loan from Southampton, the Serie A club said on Saturday.
"I have dreamed about this for a long time, it's an unbelievable team and club and I'm very happy to be here," Cedric told Inter's TV channel.
"I think my style of football is totally adapted to Inter."
The 27-year-old has won 33 caps for Portugal and was in the team which beat France 1-0 to win Euro 2016. He also played in three matches at the World Cup last year although has since lost his place in the side to Joao Cancelo.
Born in Germany to Portuguese parents, Cedric was raised at Sporting where he played until 2015 before joining Southampton.
