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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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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.

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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.