England coach Fabio Capello is keeping an open mind over the possibility of a return to Real Madrid, according to The Sun newspaper.

Earlier this week, the Italian vowed he wouldn’t “close any doors” on offers to step back into club management after this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Current Bernabeu boss Manuel Pellegrini is under immense pressure having slipped behind Barcelona in the Primera Liga title race as well as an early exit from the UEFA Champions League.

Capello has managed Madrid for single seasons on two separate occasions, landing the league title on both, and has now emerged as a frontrunner to replace Pellegrini, who is expected to depart.

And a source close to Capello suggests the former Roma boss has not ruled out a third spell with Madrid, but remains focused on his task at hand with England.

“Anything can happen in football,” suggested the source to The Sun.

“Fabio is aware of the story [at Madrid] but he is concentrating only on the World Cup finals and his work with England.

“He has worked hard for two years to get the national team to this stage and nothing will distract him from the goal of winning the World Cup.

“Real can make all the noises they like but he will not listen while his work with England is ongoing.”

Capello is under contract with England until 2012.

Simultaneous hat-tricks from Gonzalo Higuain and Lionel Messi ensured Real Madrid and Barcelona kept up the pace at the top of La Liga.

Madrid remain on top on goal difference and a 4-1 win away to Real Valladolid saw Higuain enhance his strike rate to 18 goals in 21 games this term. Cristiano Ronaldo ensured he remains top scorer for the Bernabeu outfit with Madrid’s other goal in the game, maintaining his goal-a-game ratio of 21 in 21.

At the Nou Camp, meanwhile, a second-half hat-trick from Messi helped Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Valencia. The little Argentine has a goal record to be proud of himself as his treble took his tally to 24 goals in 30 games.

On Saturday night, UEFA Champions League hopefuls Sevilla were held by fellow top-four hopefuls Deportivo in a 1-1 draw. Mallorca’s chances of qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition also took a knock, however, as they went down to a surprise 3-0 defeat to Getafe.

Keeper Juan Pablo was the hero for Sporting Gijon as his penalty save earned his side a 0-0 draw with Athletic Bilbao. Elsewhere, Villarreal edged a step closer to qualifying for next season’s Europa League with a 2-0 win over bottom club Xerez.

Almeria crept into the top half of the table with a 1-0 win over Malaga while Racing Santander and Real Zaragoza shared the points with a 0-0 stalemate at the El Sardinero stadium. In the relegation zone, Tenerife gave themselves a lift with an impressive 4-1 win over Espanyol, which leaves them just three points off safety.

AC Milan have closed the gap on city rivals Inter to just one point at the top of Seria A after a 1-0 win over Chievo. The Rossanari grabbed all three points, despite a lacklustre display, courtesy of an injury-time winner from veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf.

However, the game was marred by injury to David Beckham, who is now expected to miss this summer’s World Cup after tearing his Achilles tendon in the second period. Milan boss Leonardo will take the injury on the chin, though, and can now set his sights on winning the club’s first Scudetto title since 2004, such is the dominance of bitter rivals Inter.

Jose Mourinho has aided Milan’s resurgence with a string of poor results domestically in recent months, letting a one-time eight point lead be reduced to a single one. The turnaround in fortune could prove a blessing for the Italian game as its popularity has suffered due to a combination of Juventus’ fixing scandals, Inter’s four consecutive titles and a general dip in quality of the top sides.

A head-to-head close season between two of the most successful sides in the history of the Italian game should now put Seria back into the limelight and, should Milan overhaul Inter completely, could re-ignite interest in the league in the long-term.

Meanwhile, the race for the last UEFA Champions League spot heated up as all three teams contending for fourth place dropped points on Sunday. A double from Alessandro Del Piero couldn’t provide victory for Juventus who were held 3-3 at home by Siena and they remain in fifth place.

Elsewhere, Palermo remain in the coveted fourth spot despite going down 3-2 away to Udinese. The other team in contention for the European spot is Sampdoria, and they were denied three points away to Bologna as an injury time equaliser from Andrea Raggi sealed a 1-1 draw at the Renato Dall’Ara.

Barcelona, Bordeaux, Sevilla and Inter Milan hold the upper hand in their UEFA Champions League second round ties after the second set of first leg games.

With the first four ties being played last week, the rest of the second round ties commenced this week in the new format introduced by UEFA authorities.

On Tuesday night, Zlatan Ibrahimovic spared Barcelona’s blushes in the Mercedes-Benz Arena as he cancelled out Cacau’s header in a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart.

The Germans took a half-time lead through Brazilian-born Cacau, but Sweden international Ibrahimovic evened up the tie soon after the restart and the Catalan giants will be overwhelming favourites ahead of the second leg.

Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Laurent Blanc’s impressive Bordeaux side took a creditable 1-0 win away from the Karaiskakis Stadium against Olympiakos.

Michael Ciani got a victorious head onto Yoann Gourcuff’s cross on the stroke of half time to send the French champions on their way to victory.

With home advantage and a slender lead, Bordeaux seem in complete control of their tie as they look to continue their surprisingly good form in the competition this season.

Meanwhile, at the San Siro, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan grabbed a 2-1 win over his former club Chelsea in a pulsating encounter.

Diego Milito got the hosts off to the perfect start when he grabbed a third minute opener with a neat finish. Five minutes after the restart, Salomon Kalou got the English side back in the tie with his effort, which Inter keeper Julio Cesar should have kept out.

The equaliser was short lived, however, with Esteban Cambiasso restoring the Italians’ lead four minutes later. Chelsea piled on the pressure late on but were unable to find a second, making interesting reading for the return leg at Stamford Bridge.

At the Luzhniki Stadium, Sevilla earned a 1-1 draw to hold the upper hand in their tie with CSKA Moscow. Alvaro Negreda gave the Spanish side a half-time lead with a tap in from Jesus Navas’ fiercely driven cross.

Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez got the Russian outfit back into the tie with a ferociously struck shot from all of 30 yards, which sailed right into the top corner.

The Spanish side should take nothing for granted ahead of the return leg, but bookies will make Sevilla favourites to progress to the quarter finals.

Tottenham, Stoke, Reading and Aston Villa each secured their passage to the FA Cup quarter final on Wednesday night after Wednesday night’s fifth-round replays.

On a night when all eyes were on Europe’s premier club competition the UEFA Champions League, there were four fifth-round ties to be settled in England’s premier cup competition.

Tottenham 4 Bolton 0

Bolton paid the price for not finishing off the job in the first meeting between these side as they were demolished 4-0 by a rampant Tottenham Hotspur.

The sides drew 1-1 in the Reebok Stadium first time out, but Harry Redknapp’s face proved too strong at White Hart Lane with in-form striker Roman Pavlyuchenko continued his new found confidence with his second brace in consecutive games.

The Russian opened the scoring after 23 minutes and, with a pair of own goals courtesy of Jussi Jaaskalainen (35) and Andy O’Brien (47) sandwiched in between, he rounded of the night with his second three minutes from full time.

Tottenham’s next task in the cup is to overcome Roy Hodgson’s Fulham, but they’ll have to do so at Craven Cottage.

Stoke City 3 Man City 1 (AET)

At the Britannia, meanwhile, Stoke and Man City met for the third time in twelve days and for the third time the pair were deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes. It took until the 79th minute for the opener through Dave Kitson, only for Craig Bellamy to grab an instant reply two minutes later.

Emmanuel Adebayor then received his marching orders for an apparent shove on Ryan Shawcross and with the full time whistle sounding soon after, extra time was required to decide the tie. Stoke took full advantage of the extra man in the extra 30 minutes, as first Shawcross headed the Potters into the lead on 95 minutes before Tuncay Sanli put the game beyond doubt four minutes later.

Stoke’s reward is a trip to Stamford Bridge where they will face holders, and tournament favourites, Chelsea.

Aston Villa 3 Crystal Palace 1

There were penalties galore at Villa Park as Crystal Palace’s cup run came to an end as they went down 3-1 to Aston Villa. The home side took the lead shortly before half-time through Gabby Agbonlahor’s well taken header.

In-form Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose got his 17th goal of the season from the spot on 73 minutes as the Londoners looked to be taking their Premier League opponents into extra time but it wasn’t to be as two more penalties spoiled their night.

Mathew Lawrence was the guilty player as he brought down John Carew inside the area and the big Norwegian picked himself up and scored from the resulting penalty to send Villa on their to the quarters.

There was still time for another penalty, however, as Lawrence once again brought down the Villa striker for a second time and for a second time Carew rose to his feet to find the back of the net.

Villa will now travel to Reading, who also won on Wednesday night, for their quarter final tie.

West Brom 2 Reading 3 (AET)

Elsewhere, Reading’s remarkable FA Cup run continued as they once again dumped out higher ranked opposition, this time West Brom were the victims in a 3-2 defeat at the Hawthorns.

Robert Koran gave the Baggies an early lead before Jimmy Kebe levelled for Reading just three minutes later. Koran restored the lead for West Brom, who are riding high in the Championship as opposed to Reading’s relegation fight in the same division, but they were be denied by a late equaliser.

That came via the right foot of Brian Howard, sending the away section in the Hawthorns Stadium wild. Extra-time beckoned and a deflated Baggies side struggled in the extra half hour with Gylfi Sigurdsson grabbing his tenth of the season with an emphatic long range drive to seal progression.

Manchester United, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Porto each take a lead into the UEFA Champions League second round second leg after in an intriguing return of Europe’s premier club competition.

With the playing format of the tournament altered this season, just four of the eight second round ties took place this week, with the other four commencing next week, and it was United who gained the most impressive result.

AC Milan 2 Manchester United 3
A brace from in-form Wayne Rooney helped them to a creditable 3-2 win over Seria A giants AC Milan in the San Siro. The rejuvenated Ronaldinho handed the Italian outfit a third minute lead with a deflected volley before veteran midfielder Paul Scholes equalised for Alex Ferguson’s men ten minutes before the break.

The match turned into the Rooney show in the second half, as a pair of headers moved United into control of the tie as Milan’s unfavourable average age began to show as their performance waned. Veteran Dutchman Clarence Seedorf ensured Leonardo’s men hold a glimmer of hope in the second leg with his sublimely taken goal five minutes from time.

United will be without midfielder Michael Carrick for the return leg, however, as he received a foolish second yellow card for kicking the ball away in stoppage time. The English side will no doubt remain overwhelming favourites to progress, with the Old Trafford meeting pencilled in for the 10th of March.

Porto 2 Arsenal 1
Meanwhile, Arsenal have given themselves plenty of work to do as they must overcome a 2-1 deficit after going down away to Porto in a game riddled with mistakes. Lukasz Fabianski was the centre of attention after he gifted the Portuguese side an 11th minute lead after fumbling Silvestre Varela’s cross.

Veteran defender Sol Campbell, making his first Champions League appearance since Arsenal’s 2006 final defeat to Barcelona, popped up with an equaliser soon after but he was at the forefront for Porto’s second in a bizarre phase of play.

Goalkeeper Fabianski was penalised for picking up a backpass from Campbell, before the pair stood aimlessly as the hosts got on with the indirect free-kick, leaving Radamel Falcao the simple task of tapping into an almost empty net with the Arsneal goalkeeper stranded when he perhaps should have been more alert.

The Gunners remain favourites to progress to the quarter finals despite the defeat, with an impressive home record at the Emirates this season leaving them confident the tie is far from over. Manager Arsene Wenger’s injury list should have lessened by then, with his beaten side heavily weakened through injury in Wednesday night’s encounter.

Lyon 1 Real Madrid 0
Elsewhere, Real Madrid have also given themselves an uphill task after they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Lyon. Jean Makoun’s screamer was the only goal of the leg, with Madrid’s star-studded side unable to break down the resilient French side.

The Spanish giants have an added incentive in reaching this year’s final as it takes place in their very own Bernabeu stadium, not to mention spending in excess of £250million in the summer in president Florentino Perez’s latest ‘Galacticos’ era.

But they must come from behind in the second leg if they are to continue their quest towards a tenth European Cup. Should they fail to progress, however, manager Manuel Pellegrini’s job could well be on the line.

Bayern Munich 2 Fiorentina 1
The week’s only other Champions League game took place at the Allianz Arena where Bayern Munich took a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in an evenly balanced tie. Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben opened the scoring from the spot on the stroke of half-time, his sixth consecutive match in which he has scored.

Former Everton defender Per Kroldrup got the Italians back in the contest shortly after the break but the Germans ensured they take a slender lead to Stadio Artemio Franchi thanks to a controversial goal from Miroslav Klose.

It is debateable whether the Germany international should still have been on the pitch after escaping with a yellow for a lunge on Cesare Natali earlier in the match, but there was no debating his equaliser should not have stood.

The 31-year-old, a second half substitute for Thomas Muller, was clearly yards offside when he nodded in a minute from time, leaving the Viola coach Cesare Prandelli livid with the decision and no doubt determined to gain justice in the return leg.

Arsenal secured their place in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for an impressive seventh consecutive season thanks to goals from Samir Nasri and Denilson.

In reality it was a contest that the North Londoners rarely looked in any danger of losing and the victory meant top spot in Group H with one more game to go.

It’s a result that sees them go six points clear of Greek Champions Olympiakos after their goalless draw against AZ Alkmaar.

Both goals were scored inside the first forty-five minutes to stop Liege in their tracks and forget any hope of causing an upset. A slip by Liege defender Landry Mulemo allowed Nasri to slip in for the opening goal after 35 minutes and Denilson fired home a wicked 30 yarder at the end of the first half.

Nasri and Fabregas were outstanding in the centre orchestrating Arsenal’s play from the very beginning as Arsenal took complete control of the game.

Fabregas was picked out by Nasri after only five minutes but his effort was saved by Standard goalkeeper Sinan Bolat, while Felipe was forced to make a block as Carlos Vela closed in on goal.

Standard had been second best by some distance, but they wasted a chance to give themselves hope six minutes after the break when Axel Witsel could only turn a tame effort into the arms of Almunia from six yards after Arsenal failed to clear a free-kick.

The score could have been much higher if it was n’t for some lax play by the Gunners. None more so than when Arshavin saved from Vermaelen during a goal mouth scramble.

The hosts were almost in cruise control and Wenger gave England starlet a chance to get in on the action for the last thirty minutes coming on for the superb Nasri.

Walcott almost made it three himself, with a shot that had Bolat beaten before Cyric hit the post for the Belgians to wake the English team up.

Standard did offer some resistance themselves and twice hit the woodwork through Dieudonne Mbokani and Gohi Bi Cyriac once in each half.

The Belgian’s disappointment was compounded in the closing stages as Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez saw red for a needless altercation with Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fabregas.

The downside on the night were the injuries to Gallas and Gibbs both of whom had to leave the field of play with Arsene Wenger very concerned.

Yossi Benayoun says he has already accepted that he probably won’t play in the UEFA Champions League opening group match for Liverpool later this week. This is despite the fact he hit a hat trick at the weekend to give Rafael Benitez further options ahead of the start of Liverpool’s European campaign for this season.

Classically, Benitez will always chop and change his side and despite the form that the Israeli international showed at the weekend, he may not get a starting place. Pepe Reina, came out in the media just the other day and said that one of the main reasons he thought that Liverpool were not able to win the Premier League or Europe in recent times was owing to the manager’s squad rotation.

The point is that when looking at all of the successful teams in recent years, they have all had settled sides that play together over long periods of time. This is not something that Liverpool always have the benefit of and it is a shame that a player like Benayoun, who is so clearly in form may miss out.

He said: “Everyone wants to play all the time – I don’t know anyone who is happy to sit on the bench. But at Liverpool that can happen because there are so many good players. You have make sure you take the chance when you are on the pitch.”

The one thing that Liverpool fans have been complaining about in recent times is the fact that the side is so inconsistent. Again a lot of this can be put down to the squad rotation that seems to happen on a weekly basis but when Liverpool do play well they are the best side in the country to watch and very rarely any teams will even get close to them.

Benitez is a frustrating manager to sometimes watch but more often than not he gets the big decisions right. He knows the right combination of players to link together and all players such as Benayoun can do is play well and hope that they do enough to become one of the few players that does not get rotated every week when the team sheet goes up on the wall.

Liverpool can win something this season but what remains to be seen is who will be in the team that eventually achieves something. Benayoun has done his chances no harm at all.