Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (L) is congratulated by his teammates Barcelona’s midfielder Xavi Hernandez (C) and Barcelona’s midfielder Andres Iniesta after scoring. -Photo by AFP

MADRID: Lionel Messi came off the substitute’s bench to score twice and help Barcelona to a 4-2 win at home to Real Betis that moved them to within striking distance of the La Liga title on Sunday.

The World Player of the Year had missed Barca’s humiliating Champions League semi-final exit to Bayern Munich on Wednesday as he recovered from a hamstring problem, but came on in the 56th minute at 2-2 to score the goals that sealed the victory.

The Argentine’s 16th double of the season took his league tally to 46, just four short of last season’s record breaking total.

Barca have 88 points with four games left to play, 11 ahead of second-placed Real Madrid who triumphed 4-3 at home to Real Valladolid on Saturday.

Tito Vilanova’s side, who need two more points to secure a fourth league title in five years, could claim the trophy on Wednesday if Real fail to win at home to Malaga.

“We have to think we will need two more points because Madrid will probably collect all theirs,” Vilanova told a news conference.

Pep Guardiola’s former assistant went on to defend his management of Messi’s injury after not using him against Bayern during the week.

“If we hadn’t managed it this way he might not have made the Betis game to help us,” he said. “He lacks fitness because he hasn’t trained much in the last month and a half.”

CASUAL DEFENDING

Barca were behind from the second minute after some casual defending allowed Dorlan Pabon to burst through and fire past Jose Manuel Pinto, who was deputising for the injured Victor Valdes.

The hosts reacted quickly with Andres Iniesta dancing to the byline and crossing for Alexis Sanchez to bullet in a diving header in the ninth.

Betis are a team who like to attack opponents and as a result chances fell to either side in an open encounter.

An out-of-sorts David Villa could have had a hat-trick before halftime, his worst miss a volley over after wonderful approach play from Andres Iniesta and Xavi, while Pinto denied Salva Sevilla from close range.

Barca’s Cristian Tello lashed a shot against the crossbar which bounced down on the line, and almost immediately Betis were ahead again when Ruben Perez thundered a 30-metre shot into the top corner in the 43rd.

Villa made amends for his earlier misses with a far-post header from Dani Alves’s cross to level in the 56th and immediately made way for Messi, who entered to a huge roar.

He had barely touched the ball before he struck the third, curling a superb freekick over the wall and beyond Betis keeper Adrian.

A second Messi freekick struck the crossbar but he crowned the night with the goal of the game, tapping in from an Alexis pass to the back post after a clever backheel from Iniesta.

Adrian denied Messi a hat-trick with a couple of saves in the closing stages.

FLUKE GOAL

Three goals inside the opening 23 minutes earned Sevilla a comfortable 3-0 home win over mid-table Espanyol, that kept them in the hunt for a place in Europe next season in eighth with 46 points.

Jesus Navas forced a fluke opening goal when Espanyol defender Joan Capdevila headed his cross downwards only to see the ball bounce over his keeper and into his own net in the 11th minute.

Navas fed Coke to smash a rising shot into the top corner in the 19th, and soon after a howler from visiting keeper Kiko Casilla when he failed to collect a cross, allowed Alvaro Negredo to slide in at the back post and volley the third.

Real Zaragoza, who won their first game of 2013 last weekend, notched a second successive victory beating Rayo Vallecano 3-0 with two goals from Apono to haul themselves out of the relegation places.

Zaragoza climbed to 16th on 33 points, ahead of Osasuna in 17th due to their superior head-to-head record.

The bottom three, who all drew this weekend, were Deportivo La Coruna with 32 points, Celta Vigo with 31 and Real Mallorca with 29.

Depor drew 0-0 at home to Atletico Madrid, Celta 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca 1-1 against visiting Levante.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (R) celebrates his goal against Real Valladolid with teammates Pepe and Kaka (L). -Photo by Reuters

MADRID: Real Madrid forced Barcelona to delay their title celebrations as two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo helped them to a 4-3 win over Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

The result cut Barcelona’s lead at the top to eight points and although they can’t now mathematically seal the title with a win over Real Betis on Sunday, they can restore their 11-point lead with just four games remaining.

The visitors had taken a shock lead early on as Oscar Gonzalez slotted past Diego Lopez from a narrow angle.

However, Marc Valiente’s own goal and a Ronaldo header put Madrid 2-1 in front before Javi Guerra finished off a flowing Valladolid move to ensure they went into half-time on level terms.

Kaka restored the hosts’ advantage just after the break and Ronaldo looked to have sealed the points when he again found the net with his head 21 minutes from time.

Valladolid were given a late lifeline though when Oscar scored his second of the evening with a sensational long-range volley that found the bottom corner.

But Real held on to ensure a disappointing week given their failure to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday did end with some consolation.

Defender Pepe said it is important to keep going until the end of the season just in case Barca, who were also dumped out of the Champions League in midweek, struggle to get across the line.

“We need to do our job and then see what happens,” he told Canal Plus.

“We are representing a very big institution that is Real Madrid and we need to have respect for that. Therefore, we need to face every game like this even if theoretically it doesn’t matter.

“We conceded a lot of goals, we didn’t start the game well and I think we have to pressure a little more, but in any case we managed to react.”

The hosts had been caught cold early on when a slack crossfield pass from Angel Di Maria was intercepted by Oscar and he galloped clear behind the Real defence before slotting past Lopez at his near post.

The goal seemed to spark Madrid into life though and after Kaka had forced Jaime Jimenez into a fine flying save, they were level on 26 minutes when Di Maria cut inside and saw his goalbound drive deflected into his own net by Valiente.

Jose Mourinho’s men continued to force the pace after drawing level and went in front six minutes later as Ronaldo rose highest to meet Di Maria’s in-swinging cross to flick home his 32nd league goal of the season.

Just three minutes later Valladolid were level again though as a wonderful pass from Oscar released Omar Ramos down the left and his low cross was turned in at the far post by Guerra.

The hosts were back in front just three minutes after the restart as Karim Benzema played in Kaka and Jaime couldn’t keep the Brazilian’s shot out despite getting a hand to it.

Ronaldo then just failed to get over Fabio Coentrao’s cross as another headed effort drifted over before Mourinho introduced Mesut Ozil and Xabi Alonso in a bid to finish the game off.

And just two minutes later from Ozil’s corner Ronaldo again leapt highest to nod his second of the afternoon into the far corner.

However, some late slackness from Real allowed Valladolid back into the game and after Patrick Ebert could only turn Antonio Rukavina’s cross onto the roof of the net, Oscar did half the deficit with a sensational volleyed strike from fully 30 yards into Lopez’s bottom left-hand corner.

“I don’t know but I want to be where people love me to be.” -Photo by AP

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho lashed out at his critics and suggested he was not being given enough credit on Friday amid widespread expectation he is poised to abandon the La Liga club at the end of this season.

The outspoken Portuguese, who has hinted he may be on his way back to Chelsea despite having a contract with Real until June 2016, reiterated that he will decide his future at the end of the La Liga campaign in a month’s time.

Desperate to win the 10th European Cup that has eluded Real since 2002, club president Florentino Perez hired Mourinho from Inter Milan three years ago, but under his guidance the Spanish giants have been knocked out in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition three times in a row.

If Mourinho leaves, he will have won one La Liga title — with a record points haul — and two King’s Cups should Real beat city rivals Atletico Madrid in the final in two weeks.

“The record league title is mine, you (journalists) will want to erase it but you won’t be able to,” Mourinho, who has a testy relationship with the Spanish media, told a news conference previewing Saturday’s La Liga match at home to Real Valladolid.

“We won the King’s Cup for the first time in 20 years and you won’t be able to erase that either,” he added.

“The three Champions League semi-finals, which personally speaking do not leave me satisfied, can’t have been easy to achieve because with 18 coaches in 21 years (Real) only got to five semis.

“That’s the poor record of Mourinho: three years and three semi finals. For me it is a source of pride to have been the Real Madrid coach that ended Barcelona’s hegemony in Spain.”

After Tuesday’s Champions League elimination by Borussia Dortmund, when Real narrowly failed to overturn a 4-1 deficit in their semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu, Mourinho dropped his strongest hint yet that his time in the Spanish capital is drawing to a close.

Asked after the game if he would stay on next term he told ITV Sport: “Maybe not. I don’t know but I want to be where people love me to be.”

At a later news conference he added: “I am loved by some clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different, some people hate me, many of you in this (press) room.”

FALLING OUT

Mourinho had another dig on Friday at Iker Casillas, the club captain and goalkeeper who he has sidelined since he returned after breaking a bone in his hand.

Real bought Diego Lopez from Sevilla as cover while Casillas was out and Mourinho has stuck with Lopez even though Casillas is fit again, prompting speculation the pair have fallen out.

“Problems exist when someone thinks he is above the rest,” Mourinho said.

“With players who feel like they are all at the same level I have no problem,” he added.

“I should have brought Diego Lopez in at the end of my first season here but perhaps I didn’t do enough.”

Asked repeatedly about his future, Mourinho said he had still not decided whether to stay or move on.

“I can confirm that I have five league matches and a Cup final to play and afterwards I will sit down with the president… and we will talk about my future.

“I have always left clubs well. There are no lists of negative words or criticisms that I have made towards my former teams, quite the opposite.

“The day I leave here it won’t be any different.”

Real are 11 points behind La Liga leaders Barca ahead of the Valladolid game.

If they lose or draw to Valladolid and Barca win at home to Real Betis on Sunday, the Catalans will wrap up their fourth domestic league title in five years.

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho lashed out at English referee Howard Webb after they were denied a place in the Champions League final on Tuesday and dropped another hint he was considering his future at the club.

Real came within a whisker of pulling off a remarkable comeback after losing their semi-final first leg 4-1 away to Borussia Dortmund last week, but came up just short with a 2-0 win at the Bernabeu to exit 4-3 on aggregate.

Mourinho, who knows Webb well from his days as Chelsea manager, said the official should have dismissed Dortmund’s Mats Hummels for handball in the second half and accused him of not doing so to allow the centre back to play in next month’s final.

“It’s incredible and I continue to say the same that he is a fantastic referee,” Mourinho told Spanish television.

“But it’s incredible that he didn’t give Hummels a red card,” added the outspoken Portuguese, who is a regular critic of match officials and has clashed several times with soccer authorities.

“I have spoken to him (Webb) already and he didn’t give Mats Hummels a red card so that Mats Hummels can play in the final.

“There were 18 minutes left in the match. I come to the conclusion that in the end Webb is as good a referee as he is a person, with a big heart.

“Because he let a player off a red card to the detriment of the other team.”

MOURINHO’S FUTURE

A third exit in succession at the semi-final stage prompted further questions on his future at the Madrid club.

The former Porto and Inter Milan boss has been surrounded by rumours that he might leave the Spanish giants at the end of the season with England his most likely destination despite having a contract until 2016.

“I know I am loved in England, I am loved by the fans and the media,” Mourinho told a news conference.

“They treat me fairly. They give me credit when it is due and criticise when it is deserved.

“I am loved by some clubs, especially one,” he added referring to Chelsea. “In Spain it is different, some people hate me, many of you in this room.
“It is a difficult decision. I like the club (Real) the president, we have a good team. I need to be honest and fair.

“We will sit down and talk at the end of the season.”

Dortmund will play Bayern Munich or Barcelona, who meet on Wednesday with the Bundesliga champions holding a 4-0 advantage from the first leg, in the May 25 final at Wembley stadium.

MADRID: Borussia Dortmund qualified for their second ever Champions League final on Tuesday, beating Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg of their semi-final 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Needing a huge turnaround from the first leg last week, Real seemed to have run out of steam after Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil had passed up early opportunities.

However, after Robert Lewandowski had smashed the underside of the bar and Diego Lopez prevented Ilkay Gundogan with an incredible save from close range, Madrid were given a lifeline in the 83rd minute when substitute Karim Benzema swept home Ozil’s low cross.

And six minutes later they had real hope of an incredible comeback as captain Sergio Ramos rifled a shot into the roof of the net.

But Dortmund withstood the onslaught in an agonising five minutes of stoppage time to seal their place at the final at Wembley next month.

Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said Real may have been the better side on the night but it meant nothing as his side had achieved their goal of reaching the final and he was immensely proud of his players.

“It isn’t too hard to reveal what I thought during those last 10 minutes: if God wished it then we would qualify for the final,” said Klopp.

“But it has to be said that it was a crazy match, from start to finish.

“From the first second the Real players were doing everything they could to get the referee on their side.”

Ramos, who wouldn’t have played in the final anyway because he picked up a booking meaning he would have been suspended, said it was a pity Real hadn’t played the same way in the first leg.

“It is a shame,” Ramos told TVE afterwards.

“You can lose but it is better to do it like this. Football is like this.

“If we had done half of what we have done today in Dortmund, it would have been different.

“The fans have roared us on and it was a shame that we didn’t take the chances we had in the first-half.”

For Real and coach Jose Mourinho it meant going out at the same stage for the third successive year.

The intense atmosphere created by the home fans before kick-off was matched by their team’s energetic start and Higuain missed a great chance after just four minutes as he was slipped in by Ozil but Roman Weidenfeller stood up well to block his effort.

Angel Di Maria and Ronaldo then saw efforts fly over and Dortmund suffered a big blow on 12 minutes when Mario Goetze pulled up with an injury after hitting a routine ball forward.

However, whilst still playing with 10 men, they had their best chance of the opening period as Lewandowski controlled a long free-kick from Gundogan but placed his shot too close to Lopez.

Seconds later Ronaldo had an even better chance as he too chested down a long ball before volleying straight into Weidenfeller’s body before Kevin Grosskreutz could even come on to take Dortmund back up to their full compliment.

Ozil then had the best opportunity of the first half as a lovely reverse ball from Di Maria put him clean through on goal but he pulled his shot wide of the near post.

After a chastening first 15 minutes Dortmund settled admirably as their patience in possession made an increasingly desperate Madrid chase shadows at times.

The Germans could even have gone into half-time ahead on the night when Jakub Blaszczykowski fluffed his attempt from Lukasz Piszczek’s intelligent cutback.

Dortmund’s ascendancy continued after the break and Lewandowski was desperately unlucky to see a fierce drive from a narrow angle come back out after striking the underside of the bar.

Mourinho threw on Benzema and Kaka as a last throw of the dice 10 minutes into the second half but it seemed to be a fruitless move as Madrid lost their shape against a Dortmund side flowing with confidence.

Another lovely move from the visitors saw Marco Reus tee up what seemed like a certain goal for Gundogan only for Lopez to somehow repel the ball with his trailing arm.

The hosts were then given a glimmer of hope eight minutes from time when Kaka released Ozil and his cross was turned home by Benzema.

And they were soon rampant when Benzema set up Ramos to crash home a second five minutes later.

However, a Ramos header that sailed wide in stoppage time was the closest they came to sealing a remarkable comeback as Dortmund booked their place to face either Barcelona, or more likely, Bayern Munich at Wembley.

Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Thomas Muller (L) and Bayern Munich’s German Bastian Schweinsteiger (R) give a press conference in a Barcelona hotel. -Photo by AFP

BARCELONA: Bayern Munich are anticipating Barcelona’s bid to overturn their 4-0 deficit to be led by an inspired Lionel Messi rather than the subdued version that turned up in last week’s semi-final, first leg.

Bayern take on the Catalan giants at the Camp Nou in Wednesday’s Champions League second leg with one foot in the final after the drubbing meted out to Messi and his men in Munich.

World Footballer of the year Messi produced an uncharacteristic limp performance in Munich, but Bayern striker Thomas Mueller believes the Argentine star will be back to his brilliant best on Wednesday.

“In the first leg we barely saw him,” reflected Mueller, who scored twice and set up a third in the surprisingly lopsided first leg.

“That was down to us even if we know he was limited with an injury.

“We are going to see another Messi on Wednesday, even if we hope we don’t. I think we’ll have more work to do with him than the last time.

“Messi is a talisman for them. He’s a player who scores 50 goals in the season.”

The Germans, intent on atoning for last year’s final defeat on home turf to Chelsea, are mindful of letting any hint of complacency scupper their attempt to make it to the Wembley climax.

“We opened the door (to the final) but we haven’t gone through it yet,”cautioned midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger at the eve-of-match press conference on Tuesday.

“It’ll be hard on Wednesday, few teams can offer resistance to Barcelona here,” he added.

“We know they’ve got a lot of pride and we have to be concentrated as we were in the first leg.”

Mueller suggested Barca would try to upset their visitors    “with their ball possession”.

“We’ve got to defend well, and leave the ball far away from our goalkeeper.”As for last week’s surprise result, Mueller maintained that Barcelona had not played as poorly as the scoreline suggested.

“They didn’t play a catastrophic match,” he reasoned.

“We made the difference physically and mentally. We exploited the set pieces, and our size. And it was thanks to our good defensive work that Barca had few chances.”

Mueller added that if anyone was in any doubt as to Barcelona’s aptitude as escapologists then they only had to look back on what happened in the round of 16.

Barca looked down and out after losing the first leg 2-0 to AC Milan but ultimately sailed through to the quarter finals with a Messi-inspired 4-0 second leg success.

“I watched that match live. We know Barcelona can cause us harm if we don’t turn up. We also saw that Milan had a great opportunity but they weren’t able to capitalise on it.”

Jose Mourinho. -Photo by AP

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho expects to take the blame instead of his players if they fail to overturn a 4-1 deficit against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday.

Mourinho was hired from Inter Milan three years ago to help Real win the 10th European crown that has eluded them since 2002 but the La Liga side are on the brink of a third straight failure at the last-four stage under his stewardship.

“In practically all football clubs success belongs to everyone but failure is always the fault of the coach,” the Portuguese told a news conference on Monday.

“I am perfectly calm because I know that is the situation.

“There are fantastic coaches in football who have never won the Champions League, I have won two, for which I must thank God. But I will continue to fight for a third.”

Mourinho, who won Europe’s elite club competition with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010, again had to answer a host of questions about his future amid speculation he will leave Real at the end of the season despite having a contract until 2016.

He has so far refrained from committing to staying beyond June and said this month a decision on his future would be taken at the end of the campaign.

Some reports have said he is poised to rejoin Chelsea, where he failed to win the Champions League, and that Real had lined up Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti as a replacement.

“If you want to know about contacts between Real Madrid and Ancelotti you have to ask Madrid not me,” Mourinho said.

Asked whether Tuesday’s game could be his last home match for Real in the Champions League, he added: “I feel that this could be the most important match for Real Madrid in the last 10 years.

“But I felt the same thing before we played in Dortmund and we played there as if it was a friendly.”

He also shot down a report that he had told Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp he was moving to Chelsea at the end of the season.

Klopp has also said the report, in Germany’s Bild newspaper, was untrue.

“The truth is that I did not speak to Klopp about my future, and Klopp can only speak the truth, nothing more,” he said.

“It’s a shame that people read the newspapers and then don’t listen to what Klopp said.”

BRIGHT FUTURE

Mourinho said he was not surprised that Dortmund, who won the Champions League in 1997, were challenging for another European crown.

He predicted a bright future for the club despite the imminent departure of midfielder Mario Goetze for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and the possible exit of striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored all four of Dortmund’s goals in last week’s first leg.

“I have thought Dortmund were a candidate to win the competition from the beginning of the season,” Mourinho said.

“Last season they had a year of adaptation when they were not successful in the group phase but it’s not a surprise to me that they are where they are.

“They are going to lose Mario Goetze and it is said they are also going to lose Lewandowski.

“But it seems to me that they have a great team structure and a great set up to allow a coach like Klopp to do his work in a very calm atmosphere.

“I am sure they will find replacements to ensure continuity because the team is extremely good and so is the coach.”

Atletico Madrid’s Colombian forward Radamel Falcao (L) reacts during the match against Real Madrid. -Photo by AFP

MADRID: Barcelona must wait at least another week to wrap up the La Liga title after conceding a late goal to draw 2-2 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday before second-placed Real Madrid won 2-1 at city rivals Atletico.

Victory for Barca at the San Mames and defeat for Real in the Madrid derby at the Calderon would have given the leaders an unassailable 16-point advantage with five matches left.

Real’s comeback win meant Barca’s lead was cut to 11 points and they also pulled six points clear of Atletico, who are third and almost assured of a Champions League place for next season.

Barca must wait until after their likely elimination from Europe’s elite club competition at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday for another chance to secure a fourth Spanish crown in five years.

“We are leaving with a bitter taste in our mouths but feeling satisfied with the job done,” Barca forward Alexis Sanchez, who netted his side’s second goal, told reporters.

With an eye on the Champions League semi-final second leg, when Barca need to overturn a 4-0 deficit against the Germans, coach Tito Vilanova initially left league top scorer Lionel Messi and playmaker Andres Iniesta on the bench.

Bilbao, without a home win in six La Liga games against Barca, took a surprise 27th-minute lead when Markel Susaeta finished from close range from an Aritz Aduriz cross.

Barca huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser but were fortunate not to fall 2-0 behind when Susaeta struck a free kick against the crossbar 10 minutes into the second half.

Only when Argentina forward Messi, who had missed the last three league games with a hamstring strain, came off the bench on the hour did Barca find their cutting edge.

The World Player of the Year brilliantly weaved his way through a crowd of defenders to equalise in the 67th minute and Alexis, who had earlier struck a post, made it 2-1 two minutes later from a Messi assist.

Messi’s goal, his 44th in 33 league matches this season, set another record as it took his tally away from home to 24, one more than Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo got last term.

The Argentine has also scored at least one goal in his last 20 league appearances while Barca equalled their La Liga record by scoring for the 26th consecutive away match.

They looked to have another three points safely in the bag before Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera rifled a low shot into the corner of the net after 90 minutes to send the home fans into raptures on a wet and chilly night in the Basque Country.

SLIGHT DEFLECTION

“The Athletic stadium is a very difficult place to play and you saw that as we had the match won,” Barca assistant coach Jordi Roura told a news conference.

“We are closing in on our goal bit by bit.”

Real Madrid, 4-1 down to Borussia Dortmund after Wednesday’s semi-final first leg, also face Champions League elimination but coach Jose Mourinho fielded a second-string side at Atletico.

He was also missing Portuguese compatriot Ronaldo, Real’s top league scorer with 31 goals, who damaged a thigh muscle at Dortmund.

Atletico, who began the game three points behind Real in third spot and seeking a first win in 22 meetings with their city rivals, took the lead in the fourth minute when Colombia striker Radamel Falcao nodded his 26th league goal this season.

Real were level nine minutes later when Angel Di Maria’s inswinging free kick took a slight deflection off defender Juanfran and flew past keeper Thibaut Courtois into the net.

After Real repelled some intense Atletico pressure, Di Maria struck a 63rd-minute winner after running on to Karim Benzema’s pass and firing a low shot past Courtois into the far corner.

It was a rare moment of quality in a scrappy game littered with play acting, fouls and yellow cards that was a poor advert for next month’s King’s Cup final when the two teams will meet at the Bernabeu.

“We haven’t given up on the league,” Di Maria said in an interview with Spanish broadcaster Gol Television.

“The coach picked the players he thought were needed and we did things well,” he added. “We got a good result and we are still in the fight.”

Barca host Real Betis next weekend while Real Madrid take on Real Valladolid.

Also on Saturday, Celta Vigo boosted their chances of avoiding the drop when they won 1-0 at Levante.

Real Zaragoza came out on top in a relegation battle with Real Mallorca when Ruben Rochina’s 88th-minute strike secured a 3-2 home win to put them on 30 points with Deportivo, who visit Betis on Monday, and Celta who are both in the safety zone.

“I will take my decision after having spoken with the club when the title has been won.” -Photo by AP

PARIS: Carlo Ancelotti moved Saturday to deny reports in Friday’s Le Parisien newspaper he had told French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint Germain he would be leaving his post at the end of the season.

The 53-year-old Italian – who has been at PSG since January 2012 – also denied he had held talks with other clubs such as Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Ancelotti – a Champions League winner both as player and then coach with AC Milan – has been allowed to spend freely by the clubs’ Qatari owners.

Apart from taking them to within sight of their first Ligue 1 title since the 1993/94 season they also reached the Champions League quarter-finals – where they were narrowly beaten by Barcelona – and the French Cup quarter-finals, beaten by Evian on penalties, this season.

“I will take my decision after having spoken with the club when the title has been won,” he told reporters Saturday.

“However, we have not spoken yet about the matter. We have time. It is not true that I told the club that I want to leave PSG.”

Ancelotti was reported by Le Parisien to have told PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Wednesday of his desire to leave while sports daily L’Equipe claimed he was very close to signing terms with Real Madrid, who look certain to dispense with the services of Jose Mourinho at the end of the season.

“The press has talked about Real Madrid and other clubs, but I haven’t spoken to anyone at another team,” he said.

“That is because I want to be transparent with the club for whom I work.”

“It is a choice I alone must make, and it is not an easy one, but I am calm about it, serene even.

“I have a contract, therefore my hands are tied, as I have to take into account I am contracted till June 2014.

“I spoke to the players yesterday (Friday) because of all the rumours, but there is no hard news. I already told them before: I want to finish the championship as agreed with the club and we will speak afterwards so we can come to a decision.”

PSG are presently nine points clear of Marseille with five matches remaining and are away at their French Cup conquerors Evian on Sunday.

Lewandowski’s quartet betters both Ivica Olic’s hat-trick in Bayern’s 2010 Champions League semi-final win at Lyon in 2010 and Alessandro Del Perio’s triple for Juventus in 1998. -Photo by AP

DORTMUND, Germany: His four goals in the Champions League rout of Real Madrid and expiring contract make striker Robert Lewandowski a hot target for Europe’s top clubs but Borussia Dortmund now face a fight to keep their Poland star.

His record haul against Real at Signal Iduna Park in Wednesday’s 4-1 first-leg win made him the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final and left Dortmund on the verge of their first Euro final since 1997.

The 24-year-old’s Dortmund deal expires in June 2014 and he has already said he will not be signing an extension, having joined Borussia in 2010, but his advisor, Maik Barthel, has said Lewandowski will be gone by the close season.

“We are in agreement with a club and have the right to change this summer,” Barthel told Sport Bild online.

“There is a very interesting offer for Robert, which corresponds to the obligations imposed by BVB in full and satisfies Robert’s demands.

“BVB has assured us that Robert can change clubs at the end of the season, under these conditions.

“We will adhere to the agreement, now the clubs must provide clarity.”

After Tuesday’s announcement that Germany star Mario Goetze will join rivals Bayern Munich in July, Dortmund are especially eager to keep “Lewo” and halt the dismantling of the team which won the Bundesliga for the last two seasons.

Goetze has actioned a clause allowing him to join Bayern for a reported 37 million euros ($48.2 million, #32 million) but Lewandowski’s contract has no such condition.

Lewandowski’s manager, Cezary Kucharski, has told Polish television that the forward will soon “play at a bigger club”, but Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke denied there was any deal to let the Poland star go at the end of the season.

“No, that’s not true. We have neither made him an offer, nor received one from any club,” Watzke assured the German sports news agency SID — an AFP subsidiary — with the final year of Lewandowski’s contract reportedly worth 20 million euros.

“We will discuss everything with Robert.”

Lewandowski himself remained tight-lipped on the matter.

“We still have a few Bundesliga games left and hopefully two in the Champions League,” he said.

“That is the most important thing. For anything else we have to wait. I won’t comment further.”

In the event of his departure, Dortmund will have their work cut out to find a replacement who can match the 34 goals he has scored this term.

The haul includes 23 in this season’s undesliga, where the Poland star has scored in each of his last 12 league games, setting a new club record, and he now has 10 in the Champions League.

Lewandowski’s quartet betters both Ivica Olic’s hat-trick in Bayern’s 2010 Champions League semi-final win at Lyon in 2010 and Alessandro Del Perio’s triple for Juventus in 1998.

He finished one short of Lionel Messi’s Champions League record of five in a single match, against Leverkusen in 2012, while he matched Bayern’s Mario Gomez four goals, in last season’s 7-0 rout of Basel in the last 16.

A footballing nomad, the 24-year-old has already played for five clubs, working his way up from Polish fifth-tier side Delta Warsaw in 2004.

He proved his goal-scoring mettle at first division side Lech Poznan in 2008-09 with a table-topping 20 goals, then 18 in 2009-2010, as Lech won their first title in 17 years.

In June 2010 he signed a four-year deal with Dortmund for a Polish record fee of 4.5 million euros (US$5.8m).

After a first season in the shadow of Paraguay’s Lucas Barrios, he took his chance when injury ruled the latter out and the nickname “Lewangoalski” was born.