Chelsea, Liverpool reach FA Cup semifinals

By ROB HARRIS AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) -- Fernando Torres ended a 26-game goal drought as Chelsea reached the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday, and Liverpool ensured a second trip to Wembley Stadium this season on a weekend overshadowed by concern over critically ill Bolton player Fabrice Muamba. Torres scored twice in a 5-2 win over Leicester and Chelsea will now face the winner of the Tottenham-Bolton quarterfinal, which was abandoned on Saturday after Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. The Bolton midfielder remained in critical condition on Sunday in intensive care and there was concern throughout the football community. After Gary Cahill opened the scoring for Chelsea, the defender raised his jersey to reveal a "Pray 4 Muamba" T-shirt in tribute to his former Bolton teammate. "It was a very difficult day for him and the whole football community, all our thoughts are with Fabrice," Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said. Liverpool, which won the League Cup last month, beat Stoke 2-1 to secure a potential semifinal derby if Everton can overcome Sunderland in a replay. In the Premier League, Manchester United thrashed 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0 to move four points clear of Manchester City, which has a game in hand. The Premier League is all the defending champions have left to win this season, while Chelsea -- languishing in fifth place -- is in the Champions League quarterfinals and now a domestic semifinal. The win over Leicester extended Di Matteo's winning run to four matches since replacing Andre Villas-Boas to become interim manager two weeks ago. And Torres finally scored for the first time in 25 hours, 41 minutes by squeezing Raul Meireles' pass into the corner of the net in the 67th minute at Stamford Bridge. The Spain striker added another goal in the 85th with a near-post header from Meireles' corner. After Cahill's opener, Salomon Kalou found the net in the 17th with a neat finish. Meireles rounded off the win in stoppage time after Torres' double. Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall grabbed consolation goals for second-tier club Leicester. At Anfield, Luis Suarez put the hosts ahead in the 23rd minute and, although former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch equalized quickly, Stewart Downing's second goal of the season in the 57th knocked out last year's runners-up. Downing collected the ball in the inside-right channel, and after fortuitously having it returned to him via Steven Gerrard's backheel, he continued to the edge of the area before drilling a fierce left-footed shot into the net. A cup double would make amends for Liverpool's league woes, with Kenny Dalglish's side seventh in the standings. Man United, though, appears to be on course for a record 20th league title. A fifth straight league win for the defending champions was started by Jonny Evans scoring his first United goal in the 21st minute as Wolves sunk to bottom place. After Wolves defender Ronald Zubar was dismissed in the 40th after receiving a second yellow card, Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck extended United's lead before the halftime. Javier Hernandez scored twice after the break. Newcastle strengthened its grip on sixth place with a 1-0 victory over Norwich, with Papiss Demba Cisse's 11th-minute strike securing a first win in five league games for the hosts. Kilmarnock beats Celtic to win first League Cup GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Kilmarnock won the Scottish League Cup for the first time by beating Celtic 1-0 at Hampden Park on Sunday. Substitute Dieter van Tornhout headed the winner from Lee Johnson's cross in the 84th minute to stun Scottish Premier League leader Celtic, which had been unbeaten in 26 matches. During the game, the father of Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Kelly suffered a suspected heart attack. Jack Kelly was given emergency treatment at the bottom of the main stand next to the Kilmarnock dugout. The Scotland Under-21 international was told of his father's condition moments after the final whistle and he then headed to the hospital. Struggling Inter held to 0-0 draw by Atalanta ROME (AP) -- Diego Milito failed to convert a penalty kick as Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Atalanta on Sunday, a result that is sure to draw more criticism in the wake of its Champions League elimination by Marseille. Atalanta goalkeeper Andrea Consigli blocked Milito's weak spot kick in the 23rd minute. He then also stopped a dangerous header from Walter Samuel on the ensuing corner, and Inter didn't come close again. It was the fifth consecutive league match Inter failed to win at the San Siro, despite a changing-room speech from club president Massimo Moratti at halftime. On Tuesday, Inter was eliminated from Europe by Marseille after allowing late goals in both legs, raising questions about whether manager Claudio Ranieri will last until the end of the season. Bilbao follows United win with loss to Valencia MADRID (AP) -- Athletic Bilbao followed up another emphatic victory over Manchester United with defeat in the Spanish league, the Basque team losing 3-0 to Valencia on Sunday thanks to a hat trick from Roberto Soldado. Soldado exploited a fatigued Athletic team that showed little of the intensity and combination football that carried it to a pair of Europa League wins over the Premier League leaders in the past 10 days. Bilbao, which was without striker Fernando Llorente, showed none of the verve or skill from its 5-3 win over United.

Log in to comment