I don’t think we are an overly aggressive team which some people have said and I

I don’t think we are an overly aggressive team, which some people have said, and I watched the Barcelona game on TV on Sunday night and I don’t think they are the most aggressive team in the world.”We certainly don’t have any grudges going into the game and I doubt if they have People have spoken like that before about us after games Now we just have to wait and see. I don’t think it has ever affected the way we have approached our games.”Thompson, along with Chris Sutton and Stanislav Varga, was winning his fitness battle last night. The Celtic manager, Martin O’Neill, is already without the suspended duo of Douglas and Bobo Bald?nd only has teenage goalkeepers David Marshall and Michael McGovern at his disposal.Thompson (hamstring), Sutton (ankle) and Varga (hip) have been back in training this week and O’Neill will select them if they feel no adverse effects this morning.Paul Lambert (dead leg) and Didier Agathe (ankle) are also expected to be fit after picking up knocks in the recent win at Hibernian. Joos Valgaeren is struggling to shake off a hamstring injury but Johan Mjallby and Liam Miller are on stand-by despite being short of match practice.Thompson added: “If we go through into the next round, I think it will be one of the best results we have had at the club since I have been here. If you don’t go through, then the first-leg result means nothing, but we are aware of just how demanding it is going to be.”We want to approach it in a positive manner and it would be nice to get a goal over there. We have to try and prevent them from scoring, especially early on, and what we are looking for is to produce another big performance.”Probable squad: Sylla, McNamara, Valgaeren, Larsson, Thompson, Sutton, Pearson, Lambert, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Marshall, Varga, Wallace, Mjallby, Beattie, Smith, Miller, McManus, McGovern.. Ivan Helguera, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo scored second-half goals here last night as Real Madrid fought back to beat Monaco 4-2 in a pulsating Champions’ League quarter-final first leg.

The winner will face either Arsenal or Chelsea.Madrid, who had Ronaldo playing his first game since pulling a thigh muscle early in the month, recovered from a poor start to gain their first victory in four matches.Carlos Queiroz’s team, who were without the suspended Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos, lacked fluidity before half-time and were repeatedly beaten to the ball by Didier Deschamps’ hungrier-looking side.Monaco gave a hint of their threat in the 19th minute when Morientes headed to Ludovic Giuly. The midfielder turned his shot past Iker Casillas and it required a desperate clearance by the right-back Michel Salgado to keep Madrid level.Madrid, whose striker Raul was playing a record 86th Champions’ League match, then briefly gained the ascendancy. However, Ronaldo, when unmarked, headed wide from Luis Figo’s right-wing cross.Monaco regained control again with Giuly bursting through the Madrid defence in the 42nd minute only for Casillas to parry the goalbound shot. Madrid’s relief was short-lived as Monaco took the lead from the corner. The Argentinian midfielder Lucas Bernardi sent the ball across goal and Squillaci evaded a lunge by Alvaro Mejia before turning the ball past Casillas.Madrid came out for the second half in much better shape and took only six minutes to level when David Beckham’s corner landed in a cluster of players and rebounded off Helguera’s back and over the line. The home side took the lead in the 70th minute when Zidane fired past Flavio Roma after the Monaco goalkeeper had parried Figo’s volley. Their third goal arrived seven minutes later when Ronaldo was brought down by Squillaci in the area.

Roma blocked Figo’s spot-kick but he headed home the rebound.Ronaldo grabbed Madrid’s fourth goal in the 81st minute when he shot past Roma after taking a pass from Zidane.The goal rush continued two minutes later when Morientes headed home a cross from the left. The Spaniard pointed upward after scoring as a mark of respect to the victims of the recent Madrid train bombings.Beckham, who was shown a yellow card in injury time, will miss the second leg because of the infraction.. Sheffield United have followed Rangers in unveiling plans for the development of a casino at their ground to try to help ease their debts. Yesterday, the Blades signed an agreement with the same company to build a complex behind the Laver Stand at Bramall lane, subject to planning consent and deregulation of the gaming laws, with the prospect of a hotel to follow.The announcement comes on the day the Blades revealed their half-yearly figures to 31 December, 2003, which show an increase in revenue from ticket sales, merchandise and other business ventures.

“The results demonstrate the progress being made,” said plc chairman Kevin McCabe.”Prospects for the second half of our season remain exciting. We continue to carefully manage the difficult financial problems that face the football industry and utilise our resources to compete both on and off the pitch.”* Portugal plans to use military air bases to help cope with the massive increase in passengers during the European Championship in June. The military airfield of Cortegaca, about 170 miles north of Lisbon, will be used for extra capacity in the north of Portugal, where Porto is the main airport.The air base at Beja will double for Lisbon 110 miles away, while the military air base at Figo Maduro near Lisbon will also be upgraded.. Having comprehensively beaten their London rivals West Ham United on Sunday, Millwall moved ahead of them in the First Division table with a less impressive – but none the less comfortable – victory over doomed Wimbledon last night. Wise, the one-time Wimbledon icon now has his team in both the last four of the FA Cup and the top six in the First Division, although the watching Mick McCarthy, manager of their Cup and league rivals Sunderland, witnessed a below par performance. He can be assured Millwall will be more fired up for the Cup semi-final at Old Trafford on Sunday week.”Mentally you can take your foot off the pedal and maybe we did that after coming through a massive game last Sunday,” Wise’s No 2, Ray Wilkins, said “But we are grateful for small mercies. “And that is because they know we’ll ask them questions they weren’t asked in the first four rounds of the tournament It will be interesting, I reckon Very interesting.”.