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Chelsea's unbeaten start under Thomas Tuchel rolled on as Oliver Norwood's own goal and a late Hakim Ziyech strike sent the Blues into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.

Appearing in their 15th FA Cup quarter-final since the turn of the century – the most of any side – Chelsea were not at their sharpest at Stamford Bridge on Sunday but, as they have done in many of their 14 matches under Tuchel so far, managed to grind out a result.

Norwood's own goal put Chelsea ahead, with David McGoldrick missing a golden chance to restore parity when he headed wide from five yards out.

Chelsea made their fortune count, holding firm in rather nervy fashion before hitting the Blades on the break and securing their progression thanks to Ziyech, reaching the semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

Playing at the end of a difficult week personally following the death of his brother, Phil Jagielka might have put United ahead early on but failed to generate enough power on his header to trouble Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Yet United's bright start ultimately proved fruitless – Chelsea striking first when Norwood diverted Ben Chilwell's effort beyond Aaron Ramsdale.

Norwood was almost at fault for another goal before half-time when his stray pass was intercepted by Christian Pulisic, though Ramsdale rushed out to spare his team-mate's blushes.

Displaying some terrific footwork, Pulisic engineered another chance straight after the restart, but Ramsdale again stood firm.

McGoldrick should have built on Ramsdale's save, only to head wide of a gaping goal from point-blank range.

Kepa had work to do soon after – McGoldrick's strike partner Oli McBurnie forcing a smart save out of the Spaniard.

Rhian Brewster then saw a strike deflected into the side netting, yet for all United's pressure, Chelsea dealt the knockout blow when substitute Ziyech drilled in from close range at the end of a sweeping counter to ensure the Blues progressed.

Ronaldo presented with 'GOAT 770' commemorative Juventus shirt after breaking Pele's goal record

Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with a commemorative ‘G.O.A.T 770’ shirt by Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli to celebrate his 770th career goal.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in last weekend’s 3-1 win at Cagliari to move clear of Pele’s disputed record of 767 career goals.

The murky world of historical football statistics means the game's greatest goalscorer remains disputed - Josef Bican is recorded to have scored 805 goals between the 1930s and 1950s, while some sources count Pele's tally at over 1200 - but surpassing the Brazilian's widely recognised count of 767 was an achievement worth marking.

Ronaldo’s 770 goals by club

The majority of Ronaldo's goals came for Real Madrid, as he became their all-time leading goalscorer with 450 for the club.

He had previously scored 118 for Manchester United and had 95 to his name for Juventus prior to their game with Benevento on Sunday.

Ronaldo has also scored 102 goals for Portugal, and is closing in on the Iranian Ali Daei's record of 109 - the most ever in men's international football.

Pele and Ronaldo's mutual respect

Ronaldo made clear his admiration for Pele in a post on Instagram: “The last few weeks were filled with news and stats considering me the world’s top scorer in football history, overcoming Pele’s 757 official goals,” he wrote.

"Although I’m thankful for that recognition, now it’s time for me to explain why I didn’t acknowledge that record until this moment.

“My everlasting and unconditional admiration [for Pele] led me to take into account his 767 score, assuming his nine goals for Sao Paulo State Team, as well as his single goal for the Brazilian Military Team, as official goals.

“The world has changed since then and football has changed as well, but this doesn’t mean that we can just erase history.”

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CAF Champions League

AS Vita Club coach Florent Ibenge has said in order for the team to advance to the quarter-finals of the Caf Champions League they need to emerge victorious in their remaining two matches, including the one against Simba SC of Tanzania.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo outfit will next face the Msimbazi giants in their fifth match of Group A and are placed third on the table with four points from four matches.

On the other hand, Simba are sitting top of the group with ten points from four matches while Al Ahly of Egypt are second on seven points from four outings.

Ibenge has rallied his players to make sure they win the two remaining matches starting with Simba, whom they will face at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, knowing very well the home team is yet to lose a match on their home ground.

“We need to win both of our remaining games against Simba and Al Merrikh of Sudan in order to advance to the quarter-finals,” Ibenge said as quoted by Sokalabongo.

“The results we have achieved have not been very good for us, but this is not the time to blame each other, all we have to do is make sure we move forward by winning the remaining matches.”

The match against Simba will be played on April 2 with their final match against Al Merrikh lined up for April 9 in Kinshasa.

Ibenge’s sentiments come just a day after Simba coach Didier Gomes Da Rosa explained his main target with the team in the Caf competition is to make sure they reach the semi-finals.

“Getting the team to that stage [semi-finals] is very possible thanks to the cooperation I get from the leaders, my assistants, and the players who are thirsty for success,” Gomes said on Saturday.

“If you look we are leading the group standings and we have two games left - one we will play at home against AS Vita and the other one away against Al Ahly, if we do well we can obviously finish at the top in the group stage.”

Thomas Tuchel has warned his Chelsea stars they must not develop a fear of losing as they bid to extend their unbeaten run under his leadership.

Former Paris Saint-Germain head coach Tuchel believes having an obsession with avoiding defeat can peck away at the appetite to win, and he pointed to discussions with a top cycling boss as reinforcing his views.

Tuchel did not name the Team Sky leader with whom he once spoke about the mentality needed to be a champion in sport.

That individual was likely to have been Dave Brailsford, the long-time manager of the cycling squad which has since been rebranded as Team INEOS.

"I spoke many years ago here in London to the leader of the cycling team of Sky, and he was very, very concerned about the feeling, not to enter a state of mind where you fear the loss more than the hunger, than the adventure to maybe win," Tuchel said.

"To refocus is always at the process. If we look too much at what we have achieved... maybe you step back and want to protect it, but I want us always to be brave and go for the next win and not to avoid the loss."

Chelsea face Sheffield United in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, looking to go deeper into the competition as Tuchel looks for a trophy from his first half-season at the helm.

By racking up 13 games unbeaten since taking over, Tuchel has established a club record for the longest run of games without defeat by a new Chelsea boss.

"The record is already history and the next game is Sheffield. This one game, this is the most important," Tuchel said.

"I demand from myself and the team and everybody the maximum and then we will see. If we have all this, it is possible to have big records, but I hope we don't enter into situations where we are more afraid of losing a record than winning the next game."

The Blues are also through to the Champions League quarter-finals and are chasing a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Ronald Koeman has addressed the ongoing rumours of a potential transfer to Barcelona for Erling Haaland.

Barca are one of several top European clubs being linked with a summer swoop for Haaland, who has been in prolific form for Borussia Dortmund this season.

Koeman was asked to weigh in on the speculation ahead of his side's Liga clash with Real Sociedad this weekend, but gave nothing away with regards to the possibility of the Norwegian moving to Camp Nou in the near future.

What's been said?

"Haaland? This is not a time to talk about a player who is not ours out of respect for his club," the Barca boss told a press conference.

"There is talk of signings but I don't like it and I need to focus on tomorrow's game and the players we have.

"We'll talk in the next few weeks on where we can improve but I will not respond to players who are not ours."

Who else is in the market for Haaland?

A number of potential next destinations have been mooted for Haaland as his stock continues to rise with each passing game.

Bayern Munich have been tipped to try and lure the Norway international away from Westfalenstadion, while Italian giants Juventus have also been credited with an interest in his services.

Premier League giants Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have also reportedly identified Haaland as a target, along with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

However, recent reports in Spain have suggested that the 20-year-old's preference would be to join Real Madrid, who could engage in a bidding war with arch-rivals Barca when the market reopens.

Haaland's record in 2020-21 & market value

Haaland is in such high demand because of the staggering numbers he is producing at Dortmund this season across both domestic and European fronts.

The talented young frontman has hit 31 goals in 30 games across all competitions to date, including 19 in the Bundesliga and 10 in the Champions League.

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Watch Erling Halaand Vs Robert Lewandowski

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Real Madrid are hatching a plan to land former star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Los Blancos' transfer priorities this upcoming off-season appear to be Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Madrid's financial might but Ronaldo remains on their radar.

TOP STORY - REAL PLOT 'SYMBOLIC PRICE' FOR RONALDO

Real Madrid are considering a one-year contract for Cristiano Ronaldo for a "symbolic price", according to Cuatro.

The 36-year-old appears set to leave Juventus in the off-season after three years in Turin.

Madrid have reportedly started working on an economic plan to land Ronaldo should their other priorities not eventuate.

Pep Guardiola insists he has no regrets over Manchester City's loss of England international Jadon Sancho.

Sancho, a product of City's academy system, has flourished since quitting the Premier League club for Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

The 20-year-old is now set to face his old club next month after City were drawn against the Bundesliga outfit in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

"I've said many times, it is not a regret," Guardiola said. "He decides. He's doing really well. Congratulations, he's an exceptional player.

"He is a national team player with huge quality, doing really well in Dortmund. We wanted him to stay but he decided to leave, and when people decide to leave all we can do is (let them) leave.

"I wish him all the best, except when he plays against us. No regrets at all. If he's happy, I'm happy."

1:10

Nedum Onuoha and Neil Harris discuss whether Manchester City can win the Champions League this season as the club remain in contention to win the quadruple

Sancho, who was 17 at the time and had not made a first-team appearance at City, was sold for £8m after rejecting the offer of a new contract at the Etihad Stadium.

He was reportedly valued at £108m by Dortmund when Manchester United were linked with a move for the player last summer.

Guardiola does not wonder what might have been.

1:56

Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland is one of the best strikers in the world as he hailed the talent within the Borussia Dortmund squad

"Nobody knows," he said. "Maybe he stays and we don't play good or better. The life of every person decides what life they lead.

"We will face him, try to control him. We know the quality he has, everyone knows. The quality in Dortmund is from all departments. They are a strong team."

Sancho is currently sidelined with a calf injury but is expected to be fit for the games against City on April 6 and 14.

Hristo Stoichkov says that Barcelona president Joan Laporta won't be able to convince Lionel Messi to stay with the club as the Argentinian star will make the decision all on his own.

Messi's contract is set to come to an end this summer, leaving the Barcelona legend free to move on should he so desire.

Last summer, Messi told Goal that he wanted to leave the club due to his unhappiness with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu but, even with Bartomeu gone, his future remains uncertain.

What did Stoichkov say?

"Nobody is going to be able to convince Messi of anything if he is clear about what to do," the Bulgarian legend told Goal. "I will always support the decision Leo makes, and Laporta has done it too. It seems to me that this is what to do with a legend, who has made us laugh and even cry."

He added: "It is true that Laporta had a brilliant time at Barca. He has made big decisions, like trusting [Pep] Guardiola, and that established a time when great football was played, excellent and mature. But today you don't have Xavi or [Andres] Iniesta or Deco or Ronaldinho or Eto'o or those who made it possible.

"This was a team born to win, and that must be assumed. You have other types of players. You have a generation of the future, but that is not going to give you the maximum of its possibilities from today to tomorrow. And that's what Messi must believe in and Laporta must convince him."

Stoichkov backs Koeman and Barca's young stars

Stoichkov and current Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman were team-mates with the club from 1990 to 1995, and the Bulgarian says the two still enjoy a friendship today

And Stoichkov says that he believes that his former team-mate is the right person to lead Barcelona through this generational switch headlined by young stars like Ansu Fati and Pedri.