Lille scored a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the Europa League round of 16.Eden Hazard scored what is described here as a fortuitous free kick.Unfortunately no fortuitous breaks seem to have come Liverpool's way at all this season.They have hit rock bottom and now look to be carving a hole to get a bit deeper.

Andrew McNaught and Guy Dawson are the Nomura bankers advising the Red Knights

Guy Dawson and Andrew McNaught were the bankers advising the Man Utd board members during the long drawn out negotiations with the Glazers which resulted in their £790m takeover in 2005.

The two at that time were partners in Tricorn, a corporate financial services company specializing in M&As.

In December 2009, the company was taken over by Nomura Holdings in their buying spree to bolster their British corporate presence. Dawson and McNaught joined Nomura as part of the restructuring, the former as the vice chairman of its European investment banking team and the latter as managing director of the bank's M& A services.

Fast forward to 2010 and Nomura today climbed on board as advisers to a Red Knights Man Utd buyout. The team of bankers responsible for planning the acquisition will be led by Guy Dawson and Andrew McNaught. This is being considered as a major coup and it elevates the Red Knights ambitions to a altogether different level.

A stumbling block towards a buyout could be the proposed non-renewal of season tickets as protest by thousands of supporters. Such bad faith tactics could backfire as the Glazers would be less likely to negotiate. Whatever the dynamics maybe, there appears to be no overnight resolution and it could take months to put together a meaningful bid.

As a starting point one should also shine a light on the incredibly clubby group of bankers that are spearheading these efforts. Sixty of them against a family run business. When it comes time for accountability, a smaller number is more manageable.

Free agency rights and a larger cut from guaranteed deals continue to be sticking points.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the agency mediating the dispute said that the two parties had agreed to meet again to resume negotiations.

The MLS season is set to being March 25th.

Stan Chelney of Soccerlaw explains why MLS will not accept free agency. Basically, if it does so, it undermines its own single entity structure by which the league, not the team decides, owns and negotiates player contracts. MLS has already been challenged by players in court which has upheld its single entity structure.

The vote is running almost two thirds in favour of keeping Manuel Pellegrini underscoring the Spanish tabloid disconnect. They hate Pelllegrini. At least the fans realize when they are being sold a bill of goods.

And it takes old hands like Guti and Sergio Ramos to accept responsibility that they did not play as a team.

But Kaka's reaction is shameful. This is quintessential Kaka using a third party to voice his displeasure. Pellegrini was right in substituting him as he did nothing except flop on the ground and complain all match long.

An unhappy Kaka was removed by Manuel Pellegrini to make way for Raul Gonzalez. He later twittered his unhappiness to his wife who showed it to Diogo Kotscho, his communications director.

Kotscho blasted his own twitter showing what he thought of Pellegrini. He called his decision a joke.

" The manager is a coward and changed the player to divert attention from his incompetence."

On has to fathom the implication of this loss.

A club boasting Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and Gonzalo Higuain cannot count themselves as Europe's elite. The salary and transfer fees of these players equals the annual pay packet of 4,000,000 Spaniards. It just boggles the mind.

But if you saw the match, it was built around the fragile hope of Cristiano Ronaldo's early goal. That is all they had. Manuel Pellegrini can get all the brickbats but what does he have to do with Gonzalo Higuain's criminal miss with an open goal waiting? How is a manager culpable for such a sin? In football, more than any other sport, the adage you are only as good as your players holds. The rest is relationship building.

Pellegrini does not deserve this and his players do not deserve him. Their performance in the second half was shambolic. He is being made a scapegoat. If Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo have an ounce of shame, they will own up to their responsibility for such a debacle and support their manager.

Full marks to Lyon. Their defense was iron clad when it needed to be and for that we can single out two players - Cris and Jeremy Toulalan. They were huge as they stopped pretty much every Real attack in their tracks. Hugo Lloris did the rest. On the attacking end Lisandro Lopez, Cesar Delgado, Kim Kallstrom, and Miralem Pjanic took a buzz saw to the Real back line. Delgado especially was a thorn in their side and it was his industry that set up Pjanic's goal.

In their place, Guti and Esteban Granero will make their start against Lyon in the second leg of their CL fixture.

Meanwhile a nervous expectation descends on the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain have been in cracking form and they go up against a superb Hugo Lloris. The Lyon custodian has gone 620 minutes without conceding a goal.

Champions League last 16 second leg
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Wednesday 10 March Kick-off: 1945 GMT

He wants them to lose.

If he does play it will be the first time in Old Trafford since he left seven years ago on the way to Real and now AC Milan. He is unlikely to start. But he can make an appearance, can't he? Even Leonardo is playing coy.

United have to fancy their chances to advance to the quarterfinals. Even a 1-0 win will not help Milan. Plus, Wayne Rooney is sure to make an appearance which could only mean more goals.

Arsenal for the first time overcame a first leg deficit in the CL. There were a couple of different looks how this was managed.

There was always someone to receive the outlet and a moment of genuine counterattacking skill where Arshavin finally managed to lay bare his speed for a rare breakaway.

Nicklas Bendtner was the beneficiary on both occasions as the ball sprang free in the box. The first time when Nasri's beautiful pass isolated Arshavin with the Porto defense reacting too late. As the protagonists collided, the ball rolled free to Bendtner who tapped the ball in.

The second time it was Arshavin at his most brilliant as he shimmied his way leaving a swarm of Porto defenders in his wake and laid a cross that Bendtner latched onto for his second goal. On both occasions Arsenal had a player in the box when it counted and Bendtner showed some well needed hustle.

Even better was how the fourth goal was set up with Arshavin busting loose and then passing onto a galloping Eboue who reminded me of Rooney in his counterattacking glory in his desire for the ball. Eboue slipped past Helton and finished off smartly. Bendtner completed his hat trick after Eboue was brought down in the box following some neat ball skills.

This was exactly what was missing from Arsenal's attack during those miserable losses against Chelsea and Man Utd. Arshavin was often isolated far ahead of players who seemed to lack that extra step to receive the ball from him. Arsenal also had virtually no counterattacking punch to trouble their opponents.

The match provided some redemption for all concerned:

Samir Nasri: The French midfielder stepped out of Fabregas shadow stamping his creative imprint on the match. We can celebrate his magic carpet ride in the 63d minute as the peak but even before that he positioned himself emphatically as the fulcrum of the attack. His discipline on the line also saved a sure Porto goal. There was nothing soft about Nasri yesterday.

Nicklas Bendtner: He scored a hat trick silencing his critics for a while (yours truly included) but did you see how he won almost every ball down field, flicking it on or bringing it under control. Using his height to great use and a more deft first touch saw Bendtner retain more meaningful possession of the ball. He even threw in a curling effort that saw Helton scramble for a save.

Andriy Arshavin: By now we have to take the desultory with the brilliant. The second goal was all Arshavin and so was the point blank miss as Nasri cut the ball inside. But the Russian owned the piece of territory from the center to the left embankment. Fucile was futile. The body count was high as he stretched the Porto defense to breaking point.

Manuel Almunia: Short of self confidence, long on the stubble. Almunia has managed a sleep deprived look. But against Porto he looked sharp on the few occasions they looked dangerous. He was decisive punching the ball away, on corners, and he saved Falcao's down the pipe shot.

Emmanuel Eboue: Usually vertically challenged at his worst but this time he stayed upright enough to hopscotch around the Porto defense to administer the coup de grace after Nasri's sublime goal. And he did not have to play aggrieved victim as Fucile brought him down for Bendtner's penalty.

Gael Clichy: The left back literally lost his head challenging Hulk but was saved when the Brazilian went for self glory. Apart from that he looked solid fending away the hulking Brazilian whose finish was rusty. Clichy seems to have regained some of his speed and cross making abilities.

Bacary Sagna: A scary moment when the Frenchman lay hobbled with pain after a tough challenge but he shook it off and managed to neutralize Silvestre Varela and Ruben Micael quite effectively.

Sol Campbell: The big question was how Big Sol would manage Radamel Falcao, Porto's in form Colombian import. The question was quite easily. He was fouled more by Falcao than the other way around.

Thomas Vermaelen: A nice block by the Dutchman Belgian on Raul Meirelles and a typically feisty performance continues his excellent first season. Both Vermaelen and Campbell weathered a torrid 15 minutes of the second half after Cristian Rodriguez was introduced.

Abou Diaby and Alexander Song: The backfield was manged by some robust interventions between these two gentlemen. They pulled off quite a number on Meirelles and Ruben Micael, Porto's first leg heroes. Song playing clean up and Diaby managing a higher line acting as a conduit between the deeper reaches and the attacking line. He was unfortunate as Helton denied him a goal pulling off a spectacular save.

Theo Walcott and Denilson: The former launched a few ambitious attempts and the latter came on late for a quiet interlude.

In the end the win gave us another memorable moment when Wenger broke out in a delighted jig. Lord of the Dance, yeah!

Let us first remind ourselves at the outset that if it was not for Miroslav Klose's ridiculously offside goal in the first leg, Bayern would not have progressed to the quarterfinals.

This was a game played with great intensity with some brilliant moments. It will be one of the more well remembered matches and for Viola fans, it will be one of pride as well as heartbreak.

At the Stadio Artemio Franchi, it was Fiorentina that looked the more attractive attacking team. Juan Vargas gave them the lead with a tightly angled shot after Butt spilled Marco Marchionni's rasping shot straight to the Peruvian. It was 1-0 and things were looking good for the Violas on a 2-2 aggregate and an away goal advantage.

In the second half Gilardino's exquisitely timed back heel found Stefan Jovetic whose smart finish gave Fiorentina a 2-0 lead as the Viola fans erupted in raucous celebration. They could taste the quarterfinals. Surely nothing could take it away now.

But Franck Ribery on the left who had a swarm of Fiorentina players descend down on him every time he touched the ball managed to wriggle free and pass it square all the way to the middle of the pitch. It arrived at the feet of an arriving Mark Von Bommel who lashed a nicely placed grounder to the right of Sebastian Frey. Parity was restored.

It was Jovetic, a livewire in attack who again gave Fiorentina the aggregate advantage. After a Gilardino header found him, he took off for goal managing to shoulder aside the heavier Daniel Van Buyten and place the ball past Butt.

But even before the fans had time to catch a breath, Robben who so far had been contained with great difficulty broke free moving inside and whipped in a 30 yard screamer with his left foot that seems to have caught a thermal on its way to goal. It capped a frenetic exchange of goals as Fiorentina redoubled their efforts to find another goal to no avail.

In the end it is Bayern going through and Fiorentina left behind undone by a travesty.

Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli:

(Reflecting on Miroslav Klose's goal from the first leg) "We gave up a goal that shouldn't have counted for anything, and instead we're here talking about getting eliminated by a goal that was two metres offside."