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Today's other stories in brief

Guardiola stays at Barcelona

PEP Guardiola (39) has ended speculation by agreeing a one-year contract extension with Barcelona.

Guardiola’s deal was due to run out this summer but will now stay at Barcelona until the end of the 2010/11 season.

The new contract will not be signed until this summer, when Barcelona will be holding presidential elections.

“Nowhere am I going to be as comfortable as I am here,” Guardiola said yesterday.

Soccer round-up

Yesterday’s results

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS – Group C: Egypt 2 Benin 0; Nigeria 3 Mozambique 0.

ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP – Semi-final, second leg: Aston Villa 6 Blackburn 4 (Villa win 7-4 on aggregate).

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – Arsenal 4 Bolton 2; Liverpool 2 Tottenham 0.

INTERNATIONAL MATCHES: Singapore 1 Denmark 5; Thailand 1 Poland 3; Oman 0 Sweden 1.

ENGLISH LEAGUE ONE – Oldham 0 Tranmere 0. League Two: Macclesfield 0 Northampton 2.

ITALIAN SERIE A – Bologna 2 Atalanta Bergamo 2; Genoa 1 Bari 1.

SCOTTISH CUP – Fourth round: Livingston 0 Dundee 1; Fourth round replay: Stirling 3 Albion 1.

JP TROPHY SOUTHERN AREA FINAL – First Leg: Milton Keynes Dons 1 Southampton 0.

IRISH LEAGUE – Premiership: Newry 4 Dungannon Swifts 0.

IRISH CUP - Fifth round replay: Ballymoney Utd 0 Institute 1.

COPY DEL REY – Quarter-final, first leg: Real Mallorca 1 Getafe 2.

ITALIAN CUP – Quarter-final: Fiorentina 3 Lazio 2.

Today’s Fixtures

(7.45 unless stated)

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS - Group D: Cameroon v Tunisia (4.0); Gabon v Zambia (4.0).

IRISH CUP – Fifth round replay: Bryansburn Rangers v Nortel (1.30).

COPA DEL REY – Quarter-finals, first legs: Racing Santander v Osasuna (7.0); Atletico Madrid v Celta Vigo (9.0).

Campbell sues Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH’S financial woes have increased after the club confirmed yesterday they are being sued by Sol Campbell for fees and bonuses their former defender claims he is owed.

Campbell, now back at Arsenal, has issued a writ through his lawyers for €1.9 million he says he is owed in image rights and bonus payments.

Portsmouth yesterday confirmed the receipt of the writ and a club spokesman said: “The matter is being dealt with by our lawyers.”

The writ comes as Portsmouth prepare to appeal against a High Court judge’s decision to dismiss their application to have a winding-up petition from the Revenue and Customs struck out.

The club have argued the VAT portion of its massive tax bill is too high by €8.6 million.

Villa reach League Cup final after 10-goal thriller

ASTON VILLA finally ended an agonising 10-year wait to appear in a showpiece final following an astonishing 6-4 win on the night in their semi-final League Cup showdown with Blackburn.

A brace from Niko Kalinic inside 26 minutes rocked Martin O’Neill’s side, only for former Rovers defender Stephen Warnock to haul Villa level on aggregate before Chris Samba’s dismissal turned the tie on its head.

After James Milner converted the penalty for Samba’s challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor, Villa swept into the final with three goals in nine second-half minutes.

An own goal from Steven Nzonzi, a James Milner strike that deflected off Agbonlahor and an Emile Heskey header saw Villa home, although they still conceded two more as Martin Olsson and Brett Emerton restored some pride, only for Ashley Young to round off a 6-4 win – and 7-4 aggregate success – in injury-time, finishing a run from the halfway line with a curler into Robinson’s bottom left-hand corner.

Senderos back on Everton's radar

EVERTON’S manager, David Moyes, has renewed his interest in Philippe Senderos as he searches for defensive cover in the wake of Lucas Neill’s unexpected move to Galatasaray. Arsenal’s Swiss defender was linked with a transfer to Goodison Park last summer and he is now considering a loan deal with Celtic as he looks to secure first-team football ahead of the World Cup. Moyes is believed to have offered Senderos a deal until the end of the season.

Moyes is also believed to be monitoring Jermaine Beckford’s situation at Leeds but manager Simon Grayson says bigger teams than Everton may yet move for the striker, whose current Leeds contract expires in the summer. It was suggested that Beckford has already agreed a pre-contract with the Mersyside club but there was no comment from Everton yesterday.

MANCHESTER City are interested in signing Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu, according to the player’s agent. Mutu has scored four goals in 10 league appearances this season.

Egypt maintain unbeaten run

SIX-times champions Egypt maintained their perfect record at the Africa Cup of Nations when they beat Benin 2-0 in their final Group C game yesterday.

Egypt, gunning for an unprecedented third title in a row, had already secured top spot in the group after victories over Nigeria and Mozambique.

Nigeria went through with a 3-0 win over Mozambique who were sent packing along with Benin.

Defender Ahmed Al Muhammadi opened the scoring for Egypt with a long-range cross that caught Yoann Djidonou off guard and Emad Motaeb doubled the tally on 23 minutes, slotting home after a superb save by the Benin goalkeeper.

Peter Odemwingie scored twice to help Nigeria advance while Obafemi Martins got their third.