Scholes left out of United squad

Paul Scholes has been left out of Manchester United's travelling squad for their Champions League encounter with Real Madrid. Scholes has been sidelined by a knee injury since the FA Cup win over Fulham on January 26th but did train at the club's Carrington training ground on this morning.



However, when United left for Spain for their last-16 first-leg clash, Scholes was not part of Alex Ferguson's 22-man squad.



Although Scholes was unlikely to start anyway, his absence does rob United of some valuable experience for their meeting with the nine-time trophy winners.



The positive news was that Ashley Young made the journey after recovering from his knee injury. In addition, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones have overcome the niggles that forced them to be substituted during Sunday's win over Everton.



By opting to remain in Manchester for their final training session, as they have done all season, Ferguson was aiming to keep his plans for the game secret.



It has been predicted Jones will be handed a midfield holding role, after successfully shackling Gareth Bale and Marouane Fellaini in recent weeks.



Ferguson has plenty of alternatives though, which include Tom Cleverley and Anderson, even though Michael Carrick is amongst those virtually certain to start.



Real were hardly any more forthcoming, opting to do their stretching session on the furthest pitch away from the cameras and not doing any meaningful work until after the media had left.



Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to be fit and did train this morning despite doubts being expressed in the Spanish media about his participation.



Local reports also suggest up to 5,000 United fans will fly in for the game, a significant number of them without tickets.



And, whilst many observers believe Real are slight favourites, it appears the Spanish media are concerned as daily newspaper Marca has depicted Wayne Rooney as 'a freckled demon' who is 'built like a barrel packed with gunpowder' and on his way to 'blow up the Bernabeu'.



Not that Rooney has any great memories of the stadium, where he had to be hauled off for his own good by Sven Goran Eriksson in 2004 as he risked a first-half red card in a friendly against Spain which was marred by racist taunts at some of the visiting players.



"I've played at the Bernabeu once before for England against Spain, but it wasn't a good experience to be honest," Rooney said on his Facebook page. "I got subbed just before half-time, and didn't really get many touches because Spain kept the ball really well.



"Hopefully this time it will go a lot better."

Keane wants Lampard at Galaxy

Los Angeles Galaxy striker Robbie Keane believes the addition of Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard would bring a huge boost to the MLS club.



Lampard has yet to be offered an extension to his contract at Stamford Bridge - which expires at the end of the season - prompting speculation linking the 34-year-old with a move to the United States.



"Listen, we need players like that, and bringing in a Frank Lampard would obviously be good for the team," Keane told reporters.



"So hopefully, we will see him soon."



Former Tottenham striker Keane also commented on the future of Galaxy star Landon Donovan, who has previously indicated he was considering retirement in 2013.



The United States international, who has had two loan spells in the English Premier League with Everton, is expected to return to Bruce Arena's Galaxy squad ahead of the upcoming MLS season.



And Keane has insisted, although he has not spoken to his team-mate, any decision Donovan makes on his future should be respected.



"You have to respect someone's decision about what they want to do with their life," Keane said.



"For me, I enjoy being paid to do what I love. I can only speak on my experience, you have to respect someone's decision. If you need time off, you need time off."



Keane penned an extension to his LA Galaxy contract recently after reports emerged of a possible return to the Premier League with Queens Park Rangers in January.



The ex-Liverpool man said that it was an easy decision and expressed his happiness at being part of a growing league.



"I was happy here and there was no reason for me not to sign," Keane said.



"There's a lot of players in England that I speak to now even, younger players that want to come over here and play ... I was training with Tottenham for a couple weeks and a lot of the lads were asking how the league is going."

Tottenham striker Defoe arrested

Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe was arrested by police investigating alleged threats to kill two women following the disappearance of jewels and clothing worth £200,000 from his home.



Defoe's belongings went missing when two of his cousins invited the women to a party at his mansion in Hertfordshire in the player's absence and when the 30-year-old England player returned home to find his possessions missing, he allegedly told his cousins to get them back.



Later on, the women claimed they were threatened, although not by Defoe or his two cousins. An 18-year-old is facing trial later this year after being accused of threats to kill.



Defoe was released without charge after being questioned by detectives. Tottenham Hotspur did not comment on the incident.



Defoe has previously won a compensation payout after being wrongly held in a police cell for five hours.



The footballer was pulled over while driving his £75,000 Land Rover at 2.40am in Loughton, Essex, on July 27, 2009, because officers believed he was serving a drive ban.



He was taken to Harlow police station where he was held for several hours despite telling officers the disqualification had been lifted pending appeal.



But the player was only released after 9.00am when court officials in Chelmsford confirmed he wasn't banned from driving.



Police agreed to a four-figure payout and apologised to Defoe last year after a three-year legal fight.



Essex Deputy Chief Constable Derek Benson confirmed an inputting error meant Defoe’s records were wrong.



His solicitor Nick Freeman said: "This was always about principle and never about money. The damages will be donated to charity.



"This was a needless error which should not have occurred, but once it did the police should have accepted our assurances in the early hours of the morning that they had got it wrong."



Days after the wrongful arrest, Defoe also accused Essex Police of harassment when he was stopped in a black Ferrari in Chigwell as part of an operation to tackle the theft of luxury motors.

Henderson turns attention to Russia trip

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson believes Thursday's Europa League tie in St Petersburg provides a chance to put their surprise defeat to West Brom behind them.



The Reds dominated at Anfield - Steven Gerrard having a penalty saved by Ben Foster - but were stung by goals in the last nine minutes from Gareth McAuley and Romelu Lukaku.



That ended a run of three successive home victories, in which they had scored 12 and not conceded, and came after encouraging back-to-back draws against Arsenal and Manchester City in their previous two matches.



With the confidence bubble burst and hopes of a top-four finish in tatters, trailing Tottenham by 12 points with a dozen games remaining, Henderson believes a return to European action can provide an important boost.



"We just have to keep going, keep our heads up and bounce back from this," the England international said ahead of tomorrow's trip to face Zenit St Petersburg.



"We just have to stay positive and think about the next game now which is Zenit in the Europa League on Thursday night.



"We know the European game is important as well but I think every game is important to be honest.



"We will keep improving and make sure we keep going in the right direction.



"Hopefully we can improve, get some better results in the league and look to close that gap.



"We have to take each game as it comes and play well every week and hopefully we will get better results than last night."



West Brom arrived at Anfield with a gameplan to press and stifle and they achieved that to a greater extent, although they were indebted to Foster for a string of saves to keep the scores level.



Liverpool missed the cutting edge provided by £12million January signing Daniel Sturridge, who was sidelined with a thigh injury after scoring four goals in six appearances.



"Daniel is a quality player and everyone has seen that since he's come in," added Henderson.



"You obviously miss good players and that was the case.



"We're all very disappointed. We had a few chances in the game but we just couldn't take them.



"We just have to stay positive and concentrate on the next game.



"The manager didn't have much to say after. We all know we didn't play particularly well but we have to move on.



"I don't think we passed the ball as well as we could have done. We didn't play particularly well.



"We had a lot of the ball but we didn't create as much as we have been doing.



"It's a game we could have won but it just wasn't our night.



"It's frustrating but that's football. You have to take these things on board and learn from it."



Forward Fabio Borini is looking for a personal boost from the Europa League having struggled to get up to match sharpness after his return from a broken foot in recent weeks.



The Italian has made just one start - in the shock FA Cup defeat at Oldham - and three substitute appearances but is likely to be given a chance in Russia.



His only goal in 15 appearances since arriving for £10.5million from Roma in the summer came in August's Europa League qualifier against Gomel.



Borini feels he has benefited from gaining European experience and hopes to build on that further.



"It has been very helpful to my career," he told Press Association Sport.



"I played a couple of games in the Europa League before I got injured and it has been really good because it is a different way of football to the Premier League.



"You have to be organised. You have to take care of not conceding first and then you think about scoring because not to concede away goals is important."

Lloris aiming for top three

Hugo Lloris believes Tottenham have the ability to challenge for a place in the top three of the Premier League.



Spurs are currently fourth in the table, just a point behind Chelsea, although they trail runaway leaders Manchester United by 17 points with 12 games remaining.



But goalkeeper Lloris believes his side are closing in on the likes of United, Manchester City and Chelsea, although he is also wary of slipping up in the race for fourth place this season.



"Today, there's United, City and Chelsea who are a cut above, and who have more financial means. But Tottenham is just behind," said Lloris, who joined Spurs from Thursday's opponents Lyon last summer.



"The club has been trying to establish itself in the top four for some years now.



"For the minute, the season has been promising, but the hardest part is yet to come because there are still a number of key matches to be played and we'll have to be ready for that.



"For the moment, we're well-placed, though we're not beyond a possible charge by Arsenal."



Lloris had to be patient after initially making the move to England due to Andre Villas-Boas keeping faith with Brad Friedel.



Now established as the first-choice goalkeeper at Spurs, Lloris reckons the experience of challenging Friedel for the position has made him stronger.



"Things were very clear, that I was coming to Tottenham as the number one," he told RTL.



"But the manager made a decision at the start, and then made a different one a few weeks later. The negotiations over the move were with the chairman, but it was also the choice of the coach. I also had talks with him during that time.



"It's not easy, because I came in after the start of the season, and he was already under pressure because the results were not good at that point in time. It's the sort of situation which helps you grow, it's a personal challenge."

The top stories from papers and websites - 12 February 2013

• Former Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel claims Jose Mourinho will never be manager at Old Trafford.


• Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer last night admitted he dreams of managing United.


• Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has threatened to quit Fulham at the end of the season if he is not given assurances that he remains the club's No 1.


• Striker Rickie Lambert insists he wants to finish his career at Southampton despite being linked with several Premier League rivals.


• Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda has criticised the club for excluding him from the first team squad.


• Defender Alex Pearce is set to snub West Brom and Sunderland and sign a new deal at Reading.


• West Brom are eyeing a summer move for Leeds United full-back Sam Byram, 19, who is also being tracked by Liverpool and Everton.


• Wolves are keen to sign Reading defender Kaspars Gorkss, 31, on loan for the rest of the season.


• Championship side Huddersfield are closing in on Coventry City's Mark Robins as their new boss.

• Gary Neville has warned Manchester United that Cristiano Ronaldo is a "monster" who "bullies" teams out of games.


• Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez claims he is not bitter towards the Stamford Bridge boo-boys.


• Brighton boss Gus Poyet is the shock name in the frame if West Ham do not renew Sam Allardyce's contract at the end of the season.


• Hull City boss Steve Bruce wants to sign Peterborough striker George Boyd on loan - but will have to pay a hefty 'rental' fee.

• Roberto Mancini will wield his axe as he looks to save his job and crumbling season.


• Rio Ferdinand fears the only way to stop Cristiano Ronaldo is to turn him into an emotional wreck.

• Manchester United's pursuit of striker Robert Lewandowski has suffered a double setback due to interest from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund's £25.5m price tag.


• Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham are on alert after 21-year-old Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen rejected a new contract with Dutch champions Ajax.


• Gary Neville has warned Manchester United they cannot beat Real Madrid unless they tame the 'monster' that is Cristiano Ronaldo.

• Liverpool are considering a summer move for Malaga's 28-year-old Chilean playmaker Manuel Itarra, who could be available for £3m.


• Rio Ferdinand geared up for Manchester United's reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo here tomorrow by suggesting the club will smother him with love.


• Arsenal have offered a short trial spell to Portuguese youngster Indio, who plays for Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.


• Manchester United are thought to be lining up a move for Juventus forward Mirko Vucinic.


• Monaco look set to test Manchester City's resolve by launching a double bid for Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri.

• Roman Abramovich's search for his 10th Chelsea manager in 10 years suffered a setback when Jurgen Klopp, one of Europe's best young coaches, pledged his future to Borussia Dortmund.


• Midfielder Stephen Ireland, 26, has been frozen out at Aston Villa and forced to train with the club's youth team.

• Roberto Mancini has vowed to make widespread changes for Manchester City's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Leeds United on Sunday as the rift between him and his squad widens.


• Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra are hopeful Cristiano Ronaldo will be overcome with emotion as they plot a way to thwart their formidable former team-mate.

• Manchester United must avoid the "nightmare scenario" of Cristiano Ronaldo going one-on-one against a former team-mate, the club's former captain Gary Neville said.


• The rift between Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and his players is widening.

• Real Madrid have already hatched a £38m plan to bring Tottenham star Gareth Bale to the Bernabeu in the summer.

• Chelsea are prepared to allow Thibaut Courtois to permanently join Atletico Madrid in a bid to bring the Liga side's Colombian superstar Radamel Falcao to Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool 0-2 West Bromwich Albion

West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster included a Steven Gerrard penalty among a string of saves which laid the platform for the Baggies to record their first league win since St Stephen's Day.



The former England international denied the Liverpool captain twice, once from the spot, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Agger, Stewart Downing and Fabio Borini.



And when Gareth McAuley headed home West Brom's first effort on target in the 81st minute it set up their first league double over the Reds - having won 3-0 on the opening day of the season - since 1966-67, with substitute Romelu Lukaku's 90th-minute striking giving the scoreline an unbalanced look.



All the promise of performances in draws against Arsenal and Manchester City was wiped away in 90 torturous minutes as Liverpool suffered their first home defeat since mid-December.



West Brom are not supposed to like Mondays. They had not won any of their previous 18 top-flight away matches on this day, a run stretching back 44 years to March 1969.



However, they appeared more than comfortable in a disappointing first half which saw both teams manage just two shots on target between them.



Both of those were registered by the hosts as the Baggies were not intent on showing much adventure but with Liverpool not clicking into any sort of gear they were not in much danger either.



With Daniel Sturridge's thigh problem not being risked the Reds were shorn of the pacy, incisive running which caused the Premier League champions so many problems in the 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.



Replacement Jonjo Shelvey was given his first league appearance since 26 December, playing in the hole as Luis Suarez was restored to the out-and-out striker role but he pair failed to get in the way Sturridge has.



The 20-year-old did put the ball in the net early on but was well offside, which sort of set the tone for the half which was briefly enlivened by Suarez producing a brilliant behind-the-leg cross.



Agger had a header tipped over by Foster, who also caught Stewart Downing's stinging drive at the second attempt.



The closest Liverpool actually came to scoring in the first half was when Steven Reid's attempted left-footed clearance of Shelvey's low cross cannoned off his standing leg and looped over the crossbar from four yards.



A lack of fluidity and crispness was noticeably absent in Liverpool's passing game as the Baggies harried and hassled and tried to stifle as much of their opponents' movement as possible.



Every pass from the hosts seemed half-a-yard too short or long and their control of the ball wasteful.



Improvements were made by Brendan Rodgers for the second half as Downing had a shot blocked and Gerrard's follow-up was crowded out before Henderson's cheeky close-range backheel from Glen Johnson's pass was stopped by Foster.



With an hour gone more work was required and Raheem Sterling and Borini were sent on for the ineffective Shelvey and the tiring Henderson.



Borini was denied by a fully-stretched West Brom goalkeeper after lashing Downing's lay-off goalwards, McAuley slid in to block Suarez's shot and the wrong-footed Foster stuck out a hand to stop Gerrard's drive.



But having dominated proceedings Liverpool were hit with the sucker punch nine minutes from time.



Chris Brunt swung over a right-wing corner and McAuley had a free run in the area to power home a header.



Liverpool went chasing the game and were exposed even later on when Lukaku, having originally been dropped to the bench, stroked home their second.



Having picked up just one point from a possible 18 the victory was vital in halting the Baggies' slide down the table.



It also extended Liverpool's unwanted record of still not having beaten a team in the top half of the Premier League this season as they saw West Brom leapfrog them into eighth.