Real Madrid mourned today, Thursday, its former Colombian star, Freddy Rincon, who died at the age of 55, as a result of a tragic traffic accident, last Monday evening, in the Colombian city of Cali. Real Madrid issued an official statement saying: "Real Madrid CF, its president and board of directors deeply regret the death of Freddy Rincon, a Real Madrid player between 1995 and 1996." Former Real Madrid and Colombia midfielder Freddy Rincon has died at the age of 55 after a car crash. His vehicle collided with a bus in the city of Cali on Monday. Rincon won 84 caps for Colombia between 1990 and 2001, appearing in three World Cups.

Press reports revealed the date of the announcement of the young Norwegian star, the top scorer of the German Borussia forward Haaland on his next destination, after he decided to leave his team at the end of the current season, amid strong competition between the giants of European clubs to obtain his services. According to the English newspaper “Daily Mail”, Haaland will choose his new club within TWO WEEKS, with Man City confident they will beat PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona competing to sign the Dortmund striker. The newspaper added that the deal of the young Norwegian striker will exceed the 100 million euro barrier, of which 75 million euros is the value of the penalty clause in his contract with Dortmund, in addition to the rewards that his Italian agent, Mino Raiola and his father will receive.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola set a new record in the Champions League having the opportunity to finish the season with an equally historic treble, after Man City qualified for the semi-finals at the expense of the Spanish club Atletico Madrid. A high-octane goalless second-leg quarter-final encounter between Atletico Madrid and Manchester City ended in an ugly fashion at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. The match, which ended at 0-0, came to life in the most unwanted manners with a massive brawl breaking out on the field as well as inside the tunnel after the final whistle was blown by the referee. Manchester City eventually made it through to the semi-finals stage with a 1-0 aggregate owing to their win at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg.

The European Football Association (UEFA) announced the dates of the Champions League semi-final matches for the current season, after the conclusion of the quarter-final matches on Wednesday.  Real Madrid are through to the final four after a thriller against defending champions Chelsea, while fellow Spanish side Villarreal shocked the world by ousting German giants Bayern Munich. Liverpool, Manchester City from England reaches Champions League semifinals. The Reds pass Benfica with 6-4 aggregate; Man City eliminates Atletico Madrid with 1-0 aggregate in quarterfinals. The semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League will be purely Spanish and English, where Real Madrid will face Manchester City, while Liverpool will meet its rival Villarreal. The final match of the European Champions League this season will be held on Saturday, May 28, at the Stade de France in Paris, after UEFA decided to transfer it from Russia.

The winner of the first leg at home, Manchester City managed to qualify and snatch their ticket to the semi-finals after an exciting match at Wanda Metropolitano (0-0) in the second leg of the competition's quarter-finals. Kevin De Bruyne struck in the second half as Manchester City finally broke down a stubborn Atlético to claim a narrow lead in the first leg of their quarter-final. Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal to give Manchester City a slender first-leg win against a typically stubborn Atlético side in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between the champions of England and Spain. The two teams exchanged control over the course of the game during the two halves of the match, as City dominated possession in the first half – with 70% of the ball – but neither side registered an effort on target in the opening period. The home team had more clear chances after the break, De Bruyne's free-kick stopped by Jan Oblak, who then cleared the loose ball with Rodri closing in, before Aymeric Laporte headed over from a corner. Both sides made a triple substitution and City's had an instant impact as one of the replacements, Phil Foden, immediately played in De Bruyne for the opener.

Saudi clubs outperformed themselves during the first and second rounds of the AFC Champions League for the West of the Continent, which is currently being held in Saudi Arabia, according to the pool system. The four Saudi teams, Al Hilal, Al Shabab, Al Taawun and Al Faisaly, participating in the group stage of the AFC Champions League hosted by Saudi stadiums, scored 46 percent of the 51 goals scored in the first and second rounds. The four Saudi teams scored 16 goals, while the remaining 16 scored 35 goals. Al-Shabab tops the list of the most scoring teams with 6 goals, followed by Al-Hilal with 5, then Al-Faisaly with 3, and finally Al-Taawoun with two goals.

Real Madrid beat Chelsea in extra-time in Champions League quarterfinal, succeeded in eliminating the title holder of the last edition of the European Champions League. Chelsea's reign as European kings is over - the holders have been knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in one of the all-time. Real Madrid book their place for the semi-final of di Champions League after they fight back to win Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate despite they lost the clash 3-2 after extra-time. Real Madrid had won the first leg against Chelsea 3-1, before losing the second leg 3-2, to wait for the qualifiers from Atletico Madrid and Manchester City in the semi-finals.

Spain's sporting media focused on Real Madrid's difficult qualification to the semi-finals of the European Champions League. The Royal victory topped the covers of the Spanish press issued this morning, despite losing to its guest Chelsea, 3-2 at "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the competition.  Real Madrid managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of defending champion Chelsea, 5-4 in the total of the two legs, to wait for the qualifiers from Atletico Madrid and Manchester City in the semi-finals. Despite the fact that the Madrid was three scores behind, 15 minutes before the end of the match, they managed to score, extending the match to overtime, during which Benzema added the second goal that qualified for the semi-finals. In the following report, we review the headlines of the Spain's sporting media  on Wednesday:

The Spanish Villarreal's magical run through the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League continued Tuesday when they earned a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich, good enough for a 2-1 aggregate victory over the German giants in the two-legged quarterfinal round. The Yellow Submarine has taken down European giants in back-to-back rounds. Villarreal achieved the biggest surprises in the Champions League, qualified for the semi-finals, after the deadly draw it achieved away from home against Bayern Munich 1-1 at the Allianz Arena, in the second leg of the quarter-finals Final. The first-leg match, which was held last week at "La Ceramica" stadium, ended with the yellow submarine winning 1-0 and the Spanish team qualified 2-1 on aggregate. Villarreal dumped Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Tuesday, Samuel Chukwueze's 88th-minute strike at the Allianz Arena giving the Spaniards a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their quarter-final tie that took them through 2-1 on aggregate.