Knockout time

The Premier League was given the weekend off to make room for the FA Cup while waiting for the European competitions to return in midweek. Troubled Portsmouth travelled to Southampton where they disposed of their bitter rivals 4-1 with all the goals coming in the last 24 minutes. Chelsea took a step closer to the final with a 4-1 win at home to Cardiff City while Manchester City will have to replay at Stoke after a 1-1 draw at home (a dress rehearsal in the Premier League at the Britannia on Tuesday also ended in a 1-1 draw) and Reading will travel to West Bromwich Albion after sharing 4 goals with the baggies. A last minute goal gave Birmingham a 2-1 win at Derby County. A late goal at Crystal Palace gave Aston Villa a 2-2 draw and a home replay, and Tottenham also gained a home replay with their 1-1 draw at Bolton Wanderes while Fulham eased 4-0 past Notts County at the Cottage.
In the Spanish league Barcelona lead the way despite losing 2-1 at Atletico Madrid.
Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester Untied returned from Italy with a 3-2 win over AC Milan in the first leg of the Champions League, while Real Madrid lost 1-0 at Olympique Lyonnais. Goalkeeping errors by Fabianski handed Porto a 2-1 home win against Arsenal, while a last minute goal in Munich gave Bayern a 2-1 win over Fiorentina.
Among Europa League matches Juventus returned from Ajax with a 2-1 victory while a single goal late on in the match gave Liverpool a home win over Unirea Urziceni of Romania. There were also 1-0 home wins for Twente against Werder Bremen, Brugge against Valencia and Hamburg against PSV. Everton and Fulham won 2-1 at home to Sporting Lisbon and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively.