Holders Bayern Munich will host Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup semi-finals and third-tier Arminia Bielefeld will play VfL Wolfsburg.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who advanced on penalties against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and will now face last season’s finalists, are chasing a treble of titles, including the Champions League.
“We cannot control the draw,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. “Ok, we play at home but Dortmund are a strong team.
“If you want to win the Cup you have to beat the best team.”
The semi-finals will be played on April 28 and 29.
Chelsea bid for Japan striker Muto
Chelsea have bid for FC Tokyo’s Japanese international striker Yoshinori Muto, the J-League side said yesterday.
The 22-year-old, who has scored once for his country in 11 appearances, has “not made any decision yet” on a possible move, Kyodo News reported.
The new J-League season started last month and Muto has impressed, notching three goals in his first four appearances to help Tokyo sit third. He struck 13 goals in his rookie year last term and was named in the J-League’s best eleven.
Deportivo sack coach after draw
Deportivo La Coruna have fired coach Victor Fernandez after a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Cordoba on Wednesday left the Galician club hovering just above the La Liga relegation places.
“The board of directors has informed Victor Fernandez that from tonight he is no longer the first team coach,” Deportivo said on their website.
Fernandez, who has also had stints in charge at clubs including Real Betis, Real Zaragoza and Porto, was appointed in July but a run of eight La Liga games without a win forced the board’s hand.
PSG boss Blanc hails ‘incredible’ Zlatan
Head coach Laurent Blanc has asked Zlatan Ibrahimovic to “keep on scoring” after the Swedish striker brought up a century of goals for Paris St Germain.
The 33-year-old scored his 100th goal for the capital club and went on to add two more, notching a hat-trick in a 4-1 French Cup win over St Etienne.
The Ligue 1 leaders are well-placed to complete a domestic treble after booking a cup final meeting with Auxerre just days before they tackle Bastia in the final of the League Cup.
Blanc knows Ibrahimovic’s contribution will be particularly vital over the run-in, with the small matter of a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona also on a busy schedule. He told psg.fr: “Zlatan? He’s an unbelievable player and will keep scoring goals.”
Ronaldo reaches 300 goals for Real
Cristiano Ronaldo headed his 300th goal for Real Madrid in a laboured 2-0 La Liga victory at neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night that kept the gap on leaders Barcelona down to four points.
Fresh from thrashing Granada 9-1, when Ronaldo hit five, the European champions needed a win at Rayo’s Vallecas stadium after Barca strolled to a 4-0 home win over Almeria to open a seven-point lead over their arch-rivals.
The Portugal forward, five clear of Barcelona rival Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring chart, is the third player after Raul (323) and Alfredo Di Stefano (307) to reach 300 goals for Real, but has needed only 288 matches, compared with Raul’s 741 and Di Stefano’s 396.
Lucas excited by Wembley chance
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva is relishing the prospect of a long-awaited Wembley appearance after injury robbed him of the chance three years ago.
Having played his part in the 1-0 quarter-final win at Blackburn, Lucas is hoping to get his chance in the last-four encounter with Aston Villa on April 19.
“Unfortunately I got an injury before we got to Wembley so I missed (the chance to play there in 2012),” he said.
“Hopefully I’ll be fit and be able to play at Wembley. I’ve never played there, so it will be a very good experience and after many years here, to have that chance is amazing.”
Croatia to appeal against fan ban
Croatia will appeal against UEFA’s decision ordering them to play their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy behind closed doors in June after crowd trouble last month, the national FA (HNS) president Davor Suker said.
“We will appeal to UEFA. We’re simply devastated by this decision.
“This is a huge (financial) loss for us, for our tourism, for promotion of Croatia,” Suker said.
“We have to find the culprits and punish them. We know what (UEFA’s) next moves will be: deduction of points and a ban from international tournaments,” added Suker who was elected to UEFA’s Exco last month.
UEFA’s disciplinary panel lost patience with Croatia after racist behaviour and the setting off and throwing of missiles and fireworks by their fans during the Group H home match against Norway on March 28.