D Wednesday, November 4, 2009 METROSPORT 23 Curbs wins Irons payout A multi-million pound pay-out for compensation could be facing West Ham after former boss Alan Curbishley won his claim against the club for constructive dismissal. A Premier league managers arbitration tribunal upheld Curbishleys claim after he resigned at the start of last season following the sale of Anton Ferdinand and George mcCartney to Sunderland against his wishes. the tribunal will now assess the level of compensation the Hammers must pay. A similar case brought by Kevin Keegan recently saw Newcastle ordered to pay 2million in damages plus 1.5m in legal costs. SOCCER (7.45 unless stated) UEFA Champions League Group E Fiorentina v Debrecen .............................................. Lyon v Liverpool ....................................................... Group F Dynamo Kiev v Inter Milan........................................ Rubin Kazan v Barcelona ..................................5.30 Group G Sevilla v VfB Stuttgart............................................... Unirea Urziceni v Rangers........................................ Group H Arsenal v AZ ............................................................. Standard Liege v Olympiacos .................................. Barclays Premier League West Ham v Aston Villa ............................................ HORSE RACING Chepstow, Kempton, Nottingham, Warwick, Fairyhouse TENNIS (all week) WTA Tournament of Champions (Bali) Drogbas dream return sends Chelsea through atletico madrid 2 chelsea 2 DIDIER DROGBA marked his return from a three-match European ban with a brace which sent Chelsea into the knockout stages of the Champions League last night. The Ivory Coast striker headed home eight minutes from time to cancel out Sergio Agueros goal and then slotted home six minutes later six months after his foul-mouthed tirade at referee Tom Henning Ovrebo following his sides semi-final exit in the same competition led to him being suspended. However, substitute Aguero had the final say for Atletico with an injury-time equaliser which denied the Blues a fourth straight victory in Group D. Carlo Ancelottis team had been superb in Drogbas absence, winning three from three without conceding a goal, but found the going tougher at the Vicente Cal- deron Stadium. Drogba had their best chance to open the scoring, seeing his second-half free- kick palmed on to the post by Sergio Asenjo. The home side made all the run- ning and could have led but for Petr Cechs fine save to keep out Jose Reyes early free-kick. The visitors fell behind on 66 minutes whenAgueros fine volley flew past Cech but Drogba levelled from Florent Malou- das cross and then followed up his own shot for 2-1, only for Aguero to fire in a leveller. Atletico Madrid: Sergio Asenjo, Perea, Pablo, Juanito, Antonio Lopez, Reyes (Maxi Lopez 72), Paulo Assuncao, Cleber Santana, Simao (Jurado 84), Sinama Pongolle (Aguero 53), Forlan. Booked: Reyes, Assuncao. Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Malouda, Essien (Ballack 59), Joe Cole (Deco 70), Lampard, Drogba, Kalou (Anelka 70). Booked: Essien. Ref: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland). MATCH FACTS Hes back: Drogba scored twice in Spain last night on his return from European suspension Picture: Reuters By MATTHEW NASH soccer CHAMPIONS LEAGUE fixtures uefa Champions league group a Bayern Munich .....0 Bordeaux ............... 2 Gourcuff 37 Chamakh 90 Maccabi Haifa ..... 0 Juventus ................1 Camoranesi 45 P W D L F A Pts Bordeaux 4 3 1 0 6 2 10 Juventus 4 2 2 0 3 1 8 Bayern Mun 4 1 1 2 4 4 4 Maccabi H 4 0 0 4 0 6 0 group b Besiktas ................0 Wolfsburg .............. 3 Misimovic 14 Gentner 80, Dzeko 87 Man United .......... 3 CSKA Moscow ......3 Owen 29 Dzagoev 25 Scholes 84 Krasic 31 Shchennikov 90 og Berezutsky 47 P W D L F A Pts Man Utd 4 3 1 0 7 4 10 Wolfsburg 4 2 1 1 7 3 7 CSKA Moscow 4 1 1 2 6 8 4 Besiktas 4 0 1 3 1 6 1 group C Milan .....................1 Real Madrid .......... 1 Ronaldinho 35pen Benzema 29 Marseille .............. 6 FC Zurich ...............1 Aegarter 3(og) Alphonse 31 Abriel 11, Niang 51 Hilton 80, Cheyrou 87 Brandao 90 P W D L F A Pts AC Milan 4 2 1 1 6 5 7 Real Madrid 4 2 1 1 11 6 7 Marseille 4 2 0 2 8 6 6 FC Zurich 4 1 0 3 4 12 3 group D Apoel Nicosia .......0 Porto ...................... 1 Falcao 84 Atletico Madrid ... 2 Chelsea ..................2 Aguero 66, 90 Drogba 82, 88 Att 45,000 P W D L F A Pts Chelsea 4 3 1 0 8 2 10 Porto 4 3 0 1 5 2 9 Atletico Madrid 4 0 2 2 2 8 2 Apoel Nicosia 4 0 1 3 1 4 1 CoCa-Cola Championship QPR ...................... 1 Crystal Palace .......1 Buzsaky pen 19 Ambrose pen 62 P W D L F A Pts Newcastle 15 9 3 3 22 9 30 West Brom 15 8 4 3 29 13 28 Cardiff 15 8 3 4 31 16 27 Leicester 15 7 6 2 18 12 27 Bristol City 15 6 7 2 18 14 25 QPR 15 6 6 3 27 16 24 Blackpool 15 6 6 3 22 16 24 Middlesbrough 15 7 3 5 22 16 24 Preston 15 6 6 3 23 20 24 Nottm Forest 15 6 6 3 17 14 24 Swansea 15 5 7 3 11 10 22 Watford 15 5 6 4 22 26 21 Crystal Palace 15 4 7 4 15 17 19 Sheff Wed 15 4 5 6 22 23 17 Sheff Utd 15 4 5 6 23 26 17 Coventry 15 4 5 6 17 23 17 Barnsley 15 5 2 8 18 26 17 Scunthorpe 15 5 2 8 19 28 17 Doncaster 15 2 9 4 18 20 15 Derby 15 4 2 9 17 26 14 Reading 15 3 4 8 14 24 13 Plymouth 15 3 3 9 14 26 12 Peterborough 15 2 5 8 18 25 11 Ipswich 15 1 8 6 16 27 11 results liverpool duo face surgery wait Doubt: Torres P W D L F A Pts Lyon 3 3 0 0 7 1 9 Fiorentina 3 2 0 1 6 4 6 Liverpool 3 1 0 2 2 4 3 Debrecen 3 0 0 3 3 9 0 LIVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez insists no decision has been taken over whether Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard need operations to cure their groin injuries. Spain striker Torres is in the Liverpool squad for tonights crucial Champions League game in Lyon but is struggling with his fitness, while Gerrard did not even travel to France. Benitez insists a decision on whether they need surgery will not be taken until Liverpool return to Merseyside. He said: We do not want either player to have an operation, we will hope that they continue to improve. It is too early to say just yet. Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani is on the verge of starting his first game for the club, while a late decision will be taken on Daniel Aggers back problem. Benitez added: Two years ago we also needed to win our final three group matches and we succeeded. We can do that again. The players here are strong enough. The mentality of the group is good and they are determined to win. They know this result is important for the club, for everyone. Losing would be bad for us, bad for the club, but we will keep going. But we are not thinking that way, we are only thinking of winning. group e Im back at my peak at last, says Didi DiDier DroGbA acknowledged he is in the best form of his career after helping Chelsea reach the last 16 of the Champions league last night. Drogba returned from a three- match european suspension to fire two goals in the last eight minutes as the blues drew with Atletico madrid. And the ivory Coast international striker, who took his seasons tally to 12 with the double, was asked afterwards if he was in the form of his life and said: i think so. A few years ago i was playing with the same confidence. its always easier when you are playing injury-free. Wenger fine with Kroenke share move ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger insists he has no problem with Stan Kroenkes investment in the club so long as it never affects the way he runs the team. The American billionaire edged closer towards the takeover threshold of 29.9 per cent after buying another 427 shares in the Gunners parent holding company for 4million. He is the largest individual shareholder with 29.6 per cent but Wenger claimed it P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 3 2 1 0 6 3 7 Olympkos 3 2 0 1 3 3 6 AZ Amaar 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 S Liege 3 0 1 2 4 6 1 group h was business as usual ahead of tonights Champions League game with AZ Alkmaar. Inside the club, on a daily basis, it does not change anything, he said. As long as I am not told I have to change the way I see the vision for the club, then I do not see what kind of impact it could have on me. Defender Gael Clichy has been ruled out for up to a month with a broken back. Nicklas Bendtner is also out tonight with a groin injury but Tomas Rosicky (knee) will return. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html