Nother CarGuy

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone is refusing to give up on his side's Champions League hopes despite a crushing 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their semi-final tie with city rivals Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo thrilled the Santiago Bernabeu with another hat-trick to follow the treble that downed Bayern Munich in the previous round. It means next week's second leg, a match that will be the last European match played at Atletico's Vicente Calderon, should be a formality for Zinedine Zidane's men. However, despite the weighty deficit leaving Atletico staring at heartache to go with the 2014 and 2016 final defeats to Madrid – their neighbours also prevailed in a 2015 quarter-final – Simeone retained a steely determination in the face of his team's famed defensive resilience falling apart. "The second leg is still to come," he said. "Many people will believe it's not possible, but for me it is. "Football is marvellous, as un...

Chelsea have qualified for next season's Champions League after a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday afternoon following a year of no European football. Pedro's stunning goal set Chelsea on their way at Goodison Park as they earned more than the point they needed to clinch a return to the Champions League. Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink's Chelsea failed to secure any European football last season after a disastrous season saw the Blues finish in 10th place only a year after winning the title. Chelsea remain favourites to win the Premier League title but Roman Abramovich's minimum expectation for his side this season was to qualify for the Champions League again. Qualification is financially important for Europe's top clubs and Chelsea will compete for a share of the €1.3 billion prize fund for clubs. Chelsea will earn a least €12.7 million from UEFA for their participation next season, but that could rise to a maximum of €57.2 million if they win the competitio...