Bundesliga: Borussia Moenchengladbach's hopes of playing in Europe next season suffered a blow when they were beaten 2-0 away to VfL Wolfsburg yesterday. Wolfsburg took the lead at the end of the first half with an emphatic finish from Diego Klimowicz and German international Mike Hanke grabbed the second in the 64th minute. Gladbach, who could have gone up to fifth with a win, drop to eighth place with 25 points after a second straight league defeat. With 19 games played, Bayern lead the standings with 50 points. Hanover '96 drew 1-1 with Nuremberg in yesterday's other game.
Butragueno: Real Madrid have found the winning formula under new coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro and are hitting peak form at an important stage of the season, according to vice-president Emilio Butragueno. "The team are playing with great enthusiasm and are getting into the opposition area a lot," Butragueno said. After a shaky start to the season under Brazilian coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Real have rediscovered their form under his successor Lopez Caro. Real play Real Zaragoza in the first leg of a King's Cup semi-final on Wednesday and have league games against struggling Athletic Bilbao and Alaves before meeting Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Czech plans: The Czech Republic has added friendlies against fellow World Cup qualifiers Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago to round out its pre-tournament warm-up schedule, the Czech FA said. The Czechs will play Costa Rica in Jablonec on May 31 and Trinidad in Prague on June 3. The Czechs also face Turkey in Izmir on March 1 and Saudi Arabia on May 26. The latter match will be a part of the team's preparation camp in the Austrian town of Seefeld. The Czech Republic will play their first match in the World Cup finals in Germany on June 12 against the United States. Ghana and Italy are the other two teams in Group E.
Toldo: Francesco Toldo is set to sign a new contract at Inter. The 33-year-old has been offered a new deal and Toldo is expected to sign in the next few days. Despite being second choice, Toldo has seemingly decided to end his career with the club. "I've signed nothing yet," Toldo said. "But I think everything is okay, I'm satisfied as Inter showed me a big respect."
Lampard: Midfielder Frank Lampard says Chelsea's Champions League tie against Barcelona is just too close to call. "It's really difficult to predict the result of a game like this," he said. "Both teams are capable of scoring a lot of goals and both are very strong in their own stadiums. I swear that I have no idea who is the favourite and who is going to win as the pitch will be full of players who are capable of changing the course of the game." Chelsea knocked Barcelona out of the 2004/5 Champions League in the first knockout stage 5-4 on aggregate after a 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge in the second leg. The first leg of this season's first knockout round tie takes place in London on February 22.
In Scotland: Scottish Cup fourth round - Spartans vs St Mirren 0-0.
Ligue 1: Troyes vs Marseille 0-1; Lyon vs Bordeaux 0-0.
Handball - Men's European Championship Final: France vs Spain 31-23. Third place play-off: Denmark vs Croatia 32-27.