Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 50th goal of the season to help Real Madrid beat Malaga and move to within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona. Ronaldo crossed for Sergio Ramos to put Madrid ahead but then hit the post with a second-half penalty. Ronaldo was involved again as James Rodriguez made it 2-0 before Juanmi pulled a goal back for Malaga. Ronaldo, 30, made it 3-1 from Javier Hernandez’s low cross and has now hit 50 goals in his last five seasons.

Lionel Messi scored his 400th goal for Barcelona as Luis Enrique’s team beat Valencia to stay clear of title rivals Real Madrid. Messi set up Luis Suarez’s opening goal after 55 seconds before scoring his landmark goal in stoppage time. The Argentine scored his 46th goal of the season at the second attempt after Valencia goakeeper Diego Alves saved his initial effort.

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) says it is terminating the contract of head coach Mariano Barreto. The Portuguese, a former Ghana coach, took charge of the Walia Antelopes last year, signing a two year contract. But a disappointing reign saw Ethiopia finish bottom of their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group. An official statement, sent to BBC Sport, says the EFF will pay an undisclosed amount of money to Baretto for ending the contract early. Local media have reported on deep divisions between Barreto and the EFF’s technical department. Ethiopia are drawn with Algeria, Lesotho and Seychelles in their 2017 Nations Cup qualifying group. They kick off their campaign against Lesotho in June. The EFF have declined to suggest who may be in the frame to take charge of the national side for the qualifiers.

Saturday 18 April 2015:

Crystal Palace v West Brom 3 pm

Everton v Burnley 3 pm

Leicester v Swansea 3 pm

Stoke v Southampton 3 pm

Chelsea v Man Utd 5:30 pm

Sunday 19 April 2015:

Man City v West Ham 1:30 pm

Newcastle v Tottenham 4 pm

FIFA will hand out up to more than half a million dollars in cash to officials who attend next month’s annual congress. Officials from all 209 associations are entitled to receive an allowance of $1,000 (£666) for their five-day attendance around the FIFA Congress. FIFA has confirmed the allowance, for personal expenditure, is distributed in cash in US dollars from a FIFA administrative office, ’upon proof of identity and official accreditation’. A FIFA spokesperson has told Sky Sports News HQ: “The payment is made in cash as, from an administrative point of view, it would be extremely difficult to organise bank transfers for so many people (almost 700 people, with some of them who change at the last minute) and in 209 different countries and because the transfer fees would be too high in proportion to the amount of the allowance.” Each association is entitled to receive a maximum allowance of $3,000 (£2,000) for three officials, which means a total of more than $627,000 (£417,000) can be claimed in cash. FIFA also offers to pay basic accommodation and travel costs for all associations. The cash allowances are within FIFA rules, and there is no suggestion of any improper payments. The 65th FIFA Congress will be held on 28-29 May in Zurich

Bayern Munich’s club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt and three of his assistants have resigned from the club after claiming they were blamed for the shock Champions League loss to Porto. Muller-Wohlfahrt, who had been with the German champions for almost four decades, said in a statement that the “relationship of trust has been damaged”. The 72-year-old, also involved with the German national team for several decades, felt his team had been “made responsible for the defeat (to Porto) for inexplicable reasons,” sport1.de reported. The other three members who walked out were Muller-Wohlfahrt’s son, Kilian, as well as Peter Ueblacker and Lutz Hansel. It has been reported that coach Pep Guardiola is not completely satisfied with Dr Muller-Wohlfahrt’s work, although he has not publicly pointed the finger at him. Last year, Guardiola advised Thiago Alcantara to seek treatment in Spain at his own preferred doctor rather than follow Dr Muller-Wohlfahrt’s advice, with Bayern sending one of their own doctors along to observe the work being carried out. Muller-Wohlfahrt has been Bayern’s club doctor since 1977, although he did resign once in 2008 when Jurgen Klinsmann was in charge. As soon as Klinsmann was sacked, he returned to the club and has been responsible for their medical department since. He is a trusted doctor with high-profile clients such as Usain Bolt regularly seeking his advice and treatment for their injuries. It is believed he will be continuing in his role as doctor for the Germany national team.

UEFA president Michel Platini hits back at FIFA president Sepp Blatter in a row over World Cup places. Blatter told football executives from North and Central America and the Caribbean yesterday their confederation “should” be awarded another World Cup place for the 2018 tournament in Russia given their success in Brazil last summer. “If Blatter wants to give one more slot to a confederation that reaches one time the quarter-final, what will he give to us, who have [the last] three world champions?” says Platini.

Premier League clubs and players have received more than 130,000 abusive posts on social media this season, according to a study by anti-discrimination group Kick It Out, BBC reports. The research found Chelsea were the most targeted club, while Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli suffered more abuse than any other player. Kick It Out now wants to form an expert group to tackle internet trolls. “The level of abuse is truly staggering,” director Roisin Wood said. “We must do all we can as a collective to protect those who are on the receiving end of discriminatory abuse.” The group says it is exploring forming a group made up of representatives from football, social media platforms and police to address the level of football-related racist, sexist and homophobic abuse. Wood said: “This research shows the true extent of the issue we are dealing with. So far this season, we have received 140 complaints relating to football-based hate crime on social media, yet we can see from these findings that over 134,000 discriminatory posts have occurred just in relation to the Premier League. “It is a huge volume to be looking at addressing but we must confront the problem head on.”

Fernando Torres has hailed former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard as the best player he has ever played with, putting him ahead of a host of Spanish World Cup winners. Torres won back-to-back European Championships as well as the 2010 World Cup with Spain, playing alongside the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. But the 31-year-old says Gerrard, who he shared a successful spell with at Liverpool between 2007 and 2011, is his ideal player. “It is very difficult to choose because I have had the luck to play with a lot of great footballers. For me, the best is and has been Gerrard,” Torres said in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca. “I would chose him above all if I had to have him in my team, if I had him behind me. Steven Gerrard is the best player I have played with throughout my career, therefore my ideal player would be very like him.” After leaving Liverpool for a disappointing four-year stint at Chelsea, Torres is now back where his career began at Atletico Madrid. And the striker hinted that he could be involved in coaching at Atletico’s youth academy once the time comes to hang up his boots. He said: “For me it would be nice to work with the kids. I think it is important that they have the right coaching and the club is doing a good job in that aspect at the moment. “I compare it to when I started and now they have a lot more facilities and can develop much better.”

David Seaman claims Thibaut Courtois has the edge on David De Gea as the two goalkeepers prepare to meet this weekend. Chelsea’s Courtois and De Gea of Manchester United – widely regarded as two of the world’s best young keepers – line up on opposite sides at Stamford Bridge on Saturday Night Football. The Belgium No 1 has helped Chelsea to the brink of the Premier League title in his first season in England, while De Gea’s form has improved steadily since his arrival at Old Trafford in the summer of 2011. The Spaniard has been linked with Real Madrid and is a candidate for the PFA Player of the Year shortlist but Seaman, who won nine major trophies with Arsenal and was capped 75 times by England, told Sky Sports News HQ: “For me it’s Courtois. “He’s been solid and shown his class. At Chelsea you don’t get a great deal to do (as a goalkeeper), but when he’s been called on he’s been fantastic. “De Gea had a really dodgy start, but he’s shown his character and he’s now showing everybody why Manchester United bought him. He’s a quality keeper who makes some fantastic saves.” The one blot on Courtois’ recent copybook came against Stoke this month when he was beaten by a 60-yard Charlie Adam strike. It was a goal which bore comparison with the famous Nayim goal conceded by Seaman during Arsenal’s Euroepan Cup Winners’ Cup final defeat to Real Zaragoza in 1995. Seaman said: “Going back to Courtois – apart from the goal he let in against Charlie Adam he’s had a great season. I’d tell him: don’t worry, it happens to the best of us!”

Chelsea are expected to confirm a deal to sign Brazilian midfielder Nathan Allan de Souza within the next 24 hours, according to Sky sources. Nathan underwent a medical at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday after the Premier League leaders reportedly agreed a deal worth £4.5m to beat off interest from Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. The 19-year-old youth international broke through the ranks with Atletico Paranaense but has become embroiled in a legal battle with the Brazilian Serie A side and as a result is out of contract at the end of the month. Nathan burst on the scene in the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2013 when he scored five goals to help Brazil reach the quarter-finals. He has since progressed to the U20 side and has notched up five appearances. The teenager is expected to return to Brazil before becoming the seventh Brazilian player at Chelsea full time in June.

World number two Roger Federer and defending champion Stan Wawrinka both suffered third-round defeats at the Monte Carlo Masters. World number nine Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, beat fellow Swiss Federer last year to win his first and only Masters 1000 title. But he lost 6-1 6-2 to Bulgaria’s world number 11 Dimitrov in 54 minutes. Second seed Federer was beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-5) by Frenchman Gael Monfils, the world number 18 and 14th seed. It was a second consecutive win on clay for Monfils over the 17-time Grand Slam champion after his straight sets victory during last year’s Davis Cup final. Federer, 33, four times a beaten finalist in this event, was competing for the first time since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Indian Wells final nearly four weeks ago. He was broken in the ninth game of the first set and then squandered a 5-3 lead in the second set tie-break, losing four successive points. Wawrinka had won two of the previous three meetings with Dimitrov, including a clay court encounter at the 2013 World Tour Masters in Madrid. But the 30-year-old Swiss made 41 unforced errors and had just four winners against the ninth seed. He was guilty of 13 of those unforced errors as Dimitrov raced 4-0 ahead, and failed to convert four break points in the sixth game of the second set.

Here are the shortlists for the PFA’s women’s awards:

Women’s Players’ Player of the Year:

Eniola Aluko, Chelsea; Lucy Bronze, Manchester City; Jess Clarke, Notts County; Karen Carney, Birmingham City; Kelly Smith, Arsenal; Ji So-Yun, Chelsea.

Women’s Young Player of the Year:

Freda Ayisi, Birmingham City; Hannah Blundell, Chelsea; Aoife Mannion; Birmingham City; Nikita Parris, Manchester City; Leah Williamson, Arsenal.

Eniola Aluka (pictured above) is sister to Sone Aluko who plays for Super Eagles of Nigeria and Hull City FC. We wish her luck.

Chelsea captain John Terry should still be playing for England, according to former national boss Fabio Capello. Capello resigned in February 2012 after Terry was stripped of the captaincy by the Football Association over allegations of racial abuse following an incident with QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. Terry, 34, was acquitted after a trial in July 2012 but was banned for four games and fined £220,000 by the FA. “It’s better to have a player like John Terry than not,” said Capello. “England haven’t got a lot of defenders but they sometimes have problems. He is one of the best.”

The American city of Eugene will host the 2021 World Athletics Championships, the IAAF has announced. It will be the first time the event has been staged in the United States. The IAAF say they awarded their premier competition to Eugene without a bidding process “in response to what was seen as a unique strategic opportunity to host the IAAF World Championships for the first time in the USA”. Eugene, in Oregon, staged the World Junior Championships last year.

Manny Pacquiao says the timing is right for his long-awaited fight with American Floyd Mayweather. Welterweights Mayweather, 38, and Pacquiao, 36, are considered two of the best boxers of their generation and the Las Vegas unification bout on 2 May is set to generate £162m ($250m). “It’s a good thing it is happening now because more people are informed about it than before,” Filipino Pacquiao said. “What I feel right now is motivation, inspiration and determination. The killer instinct is there, I love it.” Pacquiao’s WBO belt and Mayweather’s WBC and WBA welterweight titles will be on the line.

Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis has been ruled out for between three to four weeks with a hamstring injury. Gomis, 29, limped off during Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Everton. The club says the French forward underwent scans which revealed a grade two hamstring strain. Gomis has scored just five goals in 29 Premier League appearances for the Swans, but three of those goals have come in his last three matches.

Fenerbahce will play on Thursday after almost a two-week absence following the gun attack on their team bus, which led to the suspension of Turkey’s SuperLig. The club, who have agreed to face Mersin in the cup after receiving security assurances from the government, had initially stated they would not play until the crime was solved. Turkish football chiefs claimed the 4 April attack was “terrorist” related. The SuperLig resumes on Friday. Fenerbahce will play its next league match on Monday against Bursaspor. Nigeria’s Emmanuel Emenike was in the team bus when it was attacked.

Former QPR boss Harry Redknapp says he would consider another managerial job if the right offer came his way. The 68-year-old handed in his resignation at Loftus Road in February, citing knee problems, although he later claimed “people with their own agendas” had a hand in his departure. “It is difficult to know whether you want to go back in again, but if the right offer came along for the right job then I would consider it, because I do love the game and certainly do miss it,” Redknapp told Press Association Sport. “It has got to be something which I really wanted to do. It would not be a case of the money. I had an offer earlier this week to go and work abroad where the money was incredible, a mind-blowing offer, but at the moment it did not interest me.”

Brown Ideye is doubtful for this weekend’s game due to a knee injury he picked up in training this week. The Nigerian striker will undergo a late fitness test ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park. “Browny has got a little bit of a knock so we’re not sure if he will be fit to start or not,” manager Tony Pulis said. “We’re hoping that he will be.”