Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Liverpool and Manchester City are both through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Liverpool drew 3-3 with Benfica at Anfield to progress 6-4 on aggregate, while City drew 0-0 at Atletico Madrid to win 1-nil on aggregate.

The Reds will now play Villerreal in the last four, while City play Real Madrid.

Liverpool remain on course for an historic quadruple, having won the League Cup, they meet City in the FA Cup this weekend and are just a point behind City in the race for the Premiership.

They started the day with a 3-1 lead, but were made to work by the Portugese side.

Manchester City produced a mature and disciplined performance to hold off the challenge of Atletico Madrid.

Knowing a clean sheet would be enough to seal the tie, City kept their cool in the face of a hostile home crowd and intimidation from a physical Atleti side showing far more ambition than in the first leg.

Real Madrid, who edged past Chelsea in a thrilling quarter-final tie on Tuesday, now stand between City and a second successive appearance in the final of Europe's premier club competition.

Manchester City have never won the Champions League, while the last of Liverpool's six itles was in 2019.

Vettori promoted at Birmingham

Former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori has been appointed men's coach of Birmingham Phoenix after Andrew McDonald was named Australia coach.

Vettori, 43, led the Hundred side last year when McDonald did not travel to the UK because of Covid-19.

Birmingham reached the final of the inaugural competition under Vettori's guidance but lost to Southern Brave.

Vettori recently worked with McDonald for the limited-overs leg of Australia's tour of Pakistan, acting as a spin-bowling consultant.

The second season of the men's Hundred begins on 3 August with the women's event starting on 11 August.

McDonald has been appointed head coach of Australia in all three formats for the next four years after overseeing their test series victory in Pakistan in a caretaker role.

McDonald had served as an assistant under Justin Langer since 2019 and took the reins in Pakistan after Langer declined the offer of a short-term contract extension and resigned.

The 40-year-old former test all-rounder had been widely expected to take the head coach role on a permanent basis.

He will also sit on the three-man selection panel for all formats along with chairman George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide.

-BBC/Reuters

Ten Hag set for United

Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is on the brink of being confirmed as Manchester United's new manager.

United say no deal has been done but sources in the Netherlands suggest an agreement in principle is in place.

The Dutchman, 52, will replace Ralf Rangnick, who was appointed interim manager in November following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal.

Paris St-Germain's former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino had been the other leading candidate.

Official confirmation of Ten Hag's appointment is not expected before Ajax's Dutch Cup final against PSV Eindhoven this weekend.

Ajax lead the Eredivisie by four points from PSV as they aim to win their third Dutch league title under Ten Hag.

United will be relieved when Ten Hag's appointment is made official, on what is expected to be a three-year contract with the option of an additional year. It will bring a sense of certainty to a club whose season is slipping away alarmingly as Rangnick wrestles with a mounting number of problems.

Amid numerous suggestions of splits in the dressing room, United now seem unlikely to secure a place in next season's Champions League after a run of one win in seven games in all competitions, their worst sequence of results since 2019.

-BBC

Carr staying with Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension worth $180 million, NFL Network has reported.

The reported deal includes a no-trade clause for Carr, who had one season remaining on a five-year, $185 million extension he signed in 2017. He will be tied to the Raiders through the 2025 season.

Carr will be reunited with offseason acquisition Davante Adams, who was acquired from the Green Bay Packers on March 18. The two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl wideout played with Carr at Fresno State.

The Raiders finished 10-7 in 2021 and lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-19, in an AFC wild-card game. On the season, Carr completed 428 passes for 4,804 yards, both career highs, and threw for 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Now 31, Carr was the No. 36 overall selection (second round) of the 2014 NFL Draft.

In eight seasons as the Raiders' starter, Carr has a 57-70 record and has thrown for 31,700 yards with 193 touchdowns and 85 interceptions. He has been named to the Pro Bowl three times.

-Reuters

Pagliuca announces partners in Chelsea bid

American investor Stephen Pagliuca says NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum and former Chelsea captain John Terry have joined his bid to purchase the Premier League club.

Pagliuca said that Tanenbaum, who is owner of the Canadian company Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, had become 'co-managing partner' of the bid.

MLSE owns the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA's Toronto Raptors and Major League Soccer's Toronto FC.

Pagliuca also said that the 'True Blues Consortium', which includes fans and former players including Terry, were also behind his bid.

Chelsea were put up for sale by owner Roman Abramovich following Russia's invasion and before sanctions were imposed on the oligarch by the British government.

Tanenbaum said he and Pagliuca planned to improve on the club's current Stamford Bridge stadium.

Pagliuca, who is a co-owner of the Boston Celtics, would have to relinquish his stake in Italian club Atalanta if he was to aquire Chelsea.

There are at least three other groups interested in buying Chelsea.

-Reuters

Football coach apologises for comments

Northern Ireland women's football coach Kenny Shiels has apologised after drawing intense criticism for suggesting that women are "more emotional" than men, therefore making them more likely to concede two goals in quick succession.

The comments came after England's Lauren Hemp and Georgia Stanway netted twice each while Ella Toone also scored as Northern Ireland were beaten 5-0 in a 2023 Women's World Cup qualifier this week.

"I wish to apologise for my comments made in the post-match press conference last night. I am sorry for the offence that they have caused," Shiels said in a statement.

"I am an advocate for the women's game and passionate about developing opportunities for women and girls to flourish."

There were eight minutes separating the second and third goals, and nine minutes between the last two.

Shiels, 65, was criticised by former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain as well as Arsenal great Ian Wright, who responded by posting a picture of himself crying while playing for the Premier League club.

-Reuters