Sporting Lisbon ended Newcastle’s hopes of UEFA Cup glory as they produced a stunning fightback to book their place in the semi-finals tonight.

Newcastle continued their march towards the UEFA Cup quarter-finals as Olympiacos collapsed in Greece, but Middlesborough's cup dreams hang on a thread tonight after a 3-2 defeat to Sporting Lisbon.

CHELSEA have made a last-minute bid to snatch Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes away from Serie A club Roma.

AUXERRE defender Philippe Mexes is set to move to Roma on a four-year contract after turning down Manchester United.

Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes is set to move to Roma on a four-year contract after turning down Manchester United.

Monaco boss Didier Deschamps returns to his former club Chelsea on Wednesday with the plaudits of his fellow coaches ringing in his ears and lucrative job offers reportedly in his in-tray.

Vladimir Smicer believes Liverpool are making life difficult for themselves as they struggle to stay in the Champions League hunt.

AUXERRE chief Jean-Claude Hamel insisted last night that Djibril Cisse will be a Liverpool player next season.

Auxerre president Jean-Claude Hamel today insisted that Djibril Cisse will definitely be a Liverpool player next season.

French striker Djibril Cisse plans to sign for Liverpool in the summer despite reported interest from Manchester United.

Djibril Cisse has claimed in a leading football magazine that he is almost certain to join Liverpool after this season.

Auxerre coach Guy Roux has made clear he wants to keep his star players Djibril Cisse and Jean-Alain Boumsong who have both become Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier’s targets for next campaign.

Gerard Houllier is planning a meeting with Auxerre boss Guy Roux “at the end of the month” as he steps up his chase to sign Djibril Cisse and Jean Alain Boumsong.

Liverpool 2 Auxerre 0 (Liverpool won 3-0 on aggregate)

DEFIANT Danny Murphy insists it is time for Liverpool’s stars to stand up and be counted — and if they cannot handle the pressure, they should not be there.

Liverpool know they must replace European achievement with Premiership points - and fast – as they prepare for tomorrow’s confrontation with relegation-haunted Birmingham City.

Gerard Houllier believes Liverpool’s European experience will be the key factor in tonight’s UEFA Cup crunch against Auxerre.

MICHAEL OWEN may well be a domestic pussycat when it comes to scoring goals at present, but Gerard Houllier has returned to his homeland praying Liverpool's young star will roar like a lion again in Europe.

THE UEFA Cup draw has thrown up the enticing prospect of a quarter-final meeting between Liverpool and Celtic but before that Gerard Houllier must face a heart-to-heart in the fourth round with Auxerre and their veteran coach Guy Roux.

Gerard Houllier is relishing a return to France when Liverpool tackle Auxerre in the fourth round of the UEFA Cup.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has insisted the club can rise to the challenge of recovering lost momentum after suffering the shock of back-to-back defeats.

Liverpool are locked in talks to tie up two of France’s brightest young stars on permanent deals, but have been snubbed by a third.