Chelsea 3 Basle 1 (5-2 on agg)

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG

Basle 1 Chelsea 2

Left-back Ashley Cole returned from a hamstring injury for Chelsea in tonight’s Europa League semi-final first leg with Basle at St Jakob Park.

FC Basle 2 Tottenham 2 (Agg: 4-4) Basle win 4-1 on pens

Basle 2 Tottenham 2 (Basle win 4-1 on penalties, 4-4 on aggregate)

Andre Villas-Boas’ hopes of lifting the Europa League for a second time hang in the balance thanks to a woeful defensive performance and a serious-looking injury to Gareth Bale.

Tottenham 2 FC Basel 2

Andre Ayew scored with the last touch of Marseille’s Champions League clash to inflict a fourth straight defeat on Inter Milan and pile the pressure on coach Claudio Ranieri.

MANCHESTER UNITED crashed out of the Champions League following defeat in Basle last night.

Basle 2 Manchester United 1

ALEX FERGUSON has rejected fears that Wayne Rooney may be distracted from Manchester United’s Champions League mission by UEFA’s disciplinary hearing into his three-match international suspension later this week.

ASHLEY YOUNG rescued Manchester United from an embarrassing defeat by Basel in a match which exposed worrying defensive shortcomings for Alex Ferguson’s men.

FT Manchester United 3 Basle 3

Switzerland 4 Wales 1

ENGLAND captain Steven Gerrard was in bullish mood after seeing his side “tear apart” Switzerland in last night’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Basle.

ROY HODGSON hailed Bobby Zamora’s match-winning performance after Fulham booked their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League with a 3-2 win at Basle last night.

DANNY MURPHY stressed the importance of the Europa League to Fulham last night after their 1-0 defeat of Basle at Craven Cottage.

Fulham 1 Basle 0

CZECH REPUBLIC captain Tomas Ujfalusi is confident his team’s class of 2008 have enough quality to make a serious impact at this year’s European Championships. The Czechs face hosts Switzerland in the opening match today (kick-off 5pm).

Scotland 1 Switzerland 3

Ireland’s bogey team Switzerland booked their place in the World Cup finals by edging out Turkey in a dramatic match in Istanbul tonight.

STUTTGART striker Marco Streller looks set to end a year-long absence from international football after being recalled to the Switzerland squad for today’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

Switzerland coach Kobi Kuhn is determined his team will retain their focus on tomorrow’s final Euro 2004 Group B match against table-toppers France - irrespective of the controversy which has surrounded Alexander Frei.

ARGUABLY the happiest man in European football this weekend is not even taking his team to the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal.

Newcastle 1 FC Basle 0 (aggregate 4-2)

Basle 2 Newcastle 3

Switzerland 2 Ireland 0

SWISS manager Köbi Kuhn has voiced concern that several players are lacking match practice ahead of Saturday’s crucial Group 10 showdown against the Republic of Ireland in Basel.

SWITZERLAND coach Koebi Kuhn has said he is prepared to drop two of the country’s most senior players in a bid to qualify for next year’s European Championship.