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BASEL, Switzerland — Sepp Blatter says it was “not acceptable” to be accused at a public event Friday that he stayed silent while likely knowing that senior FIFA officials were corrupt.

“I am not guilty,” the visibly angry former FIFA president later told reporters at the University of Basel in his native Switzerland.

Blatter had been the key speaker in a two-hour debate with a mostly student audience on problems facing world football’s scandal-hit governing body. Two protesters briefly disturbed the event with an anti-FIFA banner, chants and a whistle.

After Blatter again blamed officials in the North and South American football bodies for corruption, the session closed with the claim made by former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.

Ocampo suggested Blatter had known about bribery which US federal prosecutors revealed last May in a sprawling indictment that rocked FIFA in its presidential election week.

Ocampo also said Blatter likely knew — and said nothing — about misconduct implicating long-time FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has denied any wrongdoing. Blatter’s right-hand man since 2007 was fired by FIFA in January, banned for 12 years by the ethics committee and is the subject of criminal proceedings opened last month by Switzerland’s attorney general.

When Ocampo finished the closing remarks, Blatter joined in applause and reached out to shake hands as his critic walked by.

Minutes later backstage, however, Blatter said he was “very unhappy” with the accusation by Ocampo, who is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University.

“It is not acceptable. It is not acceptable,” Blatter told reporters. “I was very surprised at Mr Ocampo invited here for this seminar and then to make such an accusation. Perhaps he is a little bit disappointed because he was the first candidate to be the chair of the ethics committee.”

In 2012, Ocampo was proposed to be FIFA’s first ethics prosecutor by a FIFA advisory group led by Swiss law professor Mark Pieth, who organised Friday’s event.

Ocampo’s appointment was blocked, reportedly due to the influence of then-FIFA senior vice president Julio Grondona of Argentina, who died in 2014 and has since been linked to the bribery conspiracy. Instead, FIFA picked Michael Garcia, the former US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“I am not responsible morally [for] what the others have done,” said Blatter, also distancing himself from the FIFA ethics judge who resigned this month after being linked to a Panama-based law firm which helped wealthy clients set up offshore clients.

Uruguayan lawyer Juan Pedro Damiani was appointed in 2006 by the Blatter-chaired FIFA executive committee to the ethics panel, and won election in 2013 by FIFA member federations to retain his place.

“Why should I have known it?” Blatter said of allegations that Damiani helped set up offshore accounts for three men, including a former FIFA vice president, indicted by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. “This is again a disappointment. You should not accept such an election.”

Blatter is a target of the widening investigations by American and Swiss federal prosecutors. 

Blatter is currently awaiting a hearing date at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal against his six-year ban.

When the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls set the former record of 72 wins in one season they coined an accompanying phrase: “72-10 don’t mean a thing without the ring”.

The Golden State Warriors are inclined to agree, and as the NBA play-offs open on Saturday they know their historic 73-win regular season will lose their lustre unless they end the campaign with championship jewellery.

Golden State have been compared to those Michael Jordan-led Bulls all season long, with many former greats proclaiming the Warriors could not have stood the test of past eras.

Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, for one, stated that his former Chicago team would sweep the current Warriors team in a mythical series match-up.

Shrugging off such a hypothetical, Golden State, whose coach Steve Kerr played on the 72-win Bulls team, have a chance to put their stamp on the current generation and will begin their title defence against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

“With Pippen coming out and saying what he said, that’s cool. We respect those guys [on that team],” Golden State forward Draymond Green told reporters. “We’ve got one of them in our locker room.”

The Eastern Conference’s Cleveland Cavaliers would love a return trip to the NBA finals and a rematch with the Warriors but must first steady their bumpy ride.

Cleveland’s LeBron James has been at the centre of the team’s drama beginning when they fired coach David Blatt midway through the season despite leading the Eastern Conference.

The standout trio of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have yet to reach the potential imagined when they teamed up last season and James has romanticised about joining forces with opposing All-Stars, bringing into question the Cavs’ chemistry.

Despite that, Cleveland are the heavy favourite to win the East and James, looking to reach a sixth straight NBA final, insists he is intently focused on leading these Cavs.

“It’s a mind switch. I’m going to the gym even more,” James said. “Dialling in even more to focusing on what I need to do for us to be better.”

The Toronto Raptors, powered by an All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, are the main threat to Cleveland while the third-seeded Miami Heat are an intriguing bunch who were bolstered by the acquisition of sharpshooter Joe Johnson in February.

The health of Miami All-Star Chris Bosh remains a critical mystery, however. He has been sidelined since February due to a recurring blood clot issue and his return remains in question.

Atlanta will attempt to build on last season’s run to the conference final, while the scrappy Boston Celtics will not be a pushover opponent.

In the West, the San Antonio Spurs remain the experienced model of consistency and are ready to chase a sixth championship banner with a reloaded roster.

Veterans LaMarcus Aldridge, David West and Kevin Martin will attempt to mesh their talents with coach Gregg Popovich’s proven game plan.

Oklahoma City are facing their first postseason with new coach Billy Donovan along with the pressures of prevailing in the final year before star Kevin Durant becomes a free agent.

Durant and triple-double machine Russell Westbrook are a battle-tested duo but the clock is ticking on a partnership that has not reached the Finals since 2012.

The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping the return of forward Blake Griffin can ignite their championship hopes.

Griffin missed 45 straight games due to injury and suspension and his return makes the Clippers a dangerous foe.

The spotlight will be on the Warriors as they look to again walk in the footsteps of those old Bulls who inevitably closed the season with “the ring”.

AMMAN — Jordan’s table tennis stars have missed out on their bid to qualify to the Olympic Games being held in Rio de Janeiro this summer, according to the Jordan Rally Media Service.

The team was competing in the West Asian qualifiers where Zeyad Abu Yaman lost 4-2 in the semifinal to Qatar’s Ping Li, this was after winning two matches against Qatar’s Mohammad Abdulwahhab (4-0), and Saudi Arabia’s Akram Al Ghamdi (4-1).

Bara Al Wedian won matches against Syria’s Souzan Mohammad (4-1) and Heba Allejji (4-1), but lost her semifinal to Lebanon’s Mariana Sahakian. Zeyad Aziz and Sewar Abu Yaman left the competition in the first round, while Taimmaa Abu Yaman lost in the second round to Sahakian. Only the gold medal winners advanced to the Olympic Games.

MADRID — Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all failed to deliver as holder Barcelona was dumped out of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday in a stunning 2-0 defeat by Spanish rival Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona’s star trio was kept in check by some tough defending from the home side, and France striker Antoine Griezmann scored a goal in each half as Atletico overturned a 2-1 loss at Camp Nou in last week’s first leg to win 3-2 on aggregate.

The result sent Diego Simeone’s team, which had played most of the first leg match with 10 men, to the semi-finals for the second time in the last three seasons.

And it shattered the hopes of favourite Barcelona, which had reached the semi-finals seven times in the last eight years.

“It wasn’t our best day,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “We weren’t lucid and we struggled to create chances. After they scored, they did what they do best — which is defend. They did that very well and delivered a complete performance.”

The defeat ended Barcelona’s hopes of repeating the treble of Champions League, Copa del Rey and Spanish league titles.

Its performance was summed up by another disappointing display from Messi, who again failed to score his elusive 500th career goal.

The playmaker is enduring his worst scoring slump with Barcelona in five years and hasn’t scored since a win over Arsenal in the round of 16 of the Champions League on March 16.

Only twice Barcelona had failed to advance after winning the first leg in its previous 40 attempts in UEFA competitions.

“The players wanted to retain the trophy, the fans too, but today it was not to be,” Luis Enrique said.

It was Atletico’s first win over Barcelona since Luis Enrique took over the Catalan club after the 2013-14 season. Luis Enrique’s team had won the previous seven games against Simeone.

“We never stopped believing,” Simeone said. “We worked, knowing the situation, knowing what we can do. They had individuals who could break the game open, but we stayed together and stayed strong.”

Simeone succeeded by keeping in check Barcelona’s offensive trio, who didn’t threaten until late in the game, and even then couldn’t create many clear chances.

Atletico Madrid left the Camp Nou infuriated with the refereeing last week after its striker Fernando Torres was sent off in the 35th minute. On Wednesday, it was Barcelona that had reason to complain after a hand ball by Gabi Fernandez that appeared to be inside the area — but was judged by the referee outside the box in second-half injury time.

Messi’s ensuing free kick sailed over the crossbar in his team’s last chance.

Needing a victory, Atletico pushed forward early on and had a few decent scoring chances before Griezmann finally broke through with his header from near the penalty spot. After a ball recovered near the sideline, youngster Saul Niguez used the outside of his left foot to make a well-placed cross to the France striker, who headed past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

His second came after a dangerous counterattack started by Filipe Luis, whose cross into the area was blocked by Andres Iniesta with his arm — giving Atletico a penalty that was calmly converted by Griezmann in the 88th.

“We’ve worked really hard defensively. We deserve it,” Griezmann said. “The team has made a great effort to be among the best four teams in Europe.”

Griezmann has scored six goals in this season’s Champions League, and 10 in the last 10 Atletico games in all competitions.

Barcelona had also been eliminated by Atletico in the quarter-finals of the 2013-14 season, when the rival eventually reached the final and lost to Real Madrid. Last season, Atletico fell to Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona and Atletico remain in a close fight for the Spanish league, where Barcelona’s lead has been cut to only three points with six rounds to go. The Catalan club is winless in three consecutive league games, while Atletico won six of its last seven.

In Wednesday’s other game, Bayern Munich advanced 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at Benfica.

Real Madrid and Manchester City, which reached the last four on Tuesday, will also be in Friday’s draw for the semi-finals.

AMMAN — Jordanian women rally drivers are making a comeback just in time for the Jordan Rally, the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), on May 5-7 at the Dead Sea area.

With Jordan joining other neighboring countries such as the UAE and Lebanon in launching the careers of several women drivers who have a passion for rallying, the Kingdom’s own female drivers have already made a name for themselves locally and regionally.

“I have learned everything here in Jordan and if it was not for the encouragement of my parents and friends and my unlimited passion for cars I would not have done it and reached this level,” Nancy Majali, who is teaming up with Husam Salem for Jordan Rally, told The Jordan Times.

“This year, I will be driving in my 15th Jordan Rally to date and this is an achievement for women in Jordan. Auto sports in the Kingdom needs more women drivers and I have seen a comeback by some and that is a good sign,” she added.

Last year, Majali as the co-driver of Salem came third at the Jordan Rally.

“It is never easy, but this means that we are doing fine and on the right track. This year we are more prepared than ever and we are looking for another advanced position,” she said.

According to Majali, people in general are sometimes doubtful of what a woman can do.

“In the past, my friend Nadia Shnoudeh and I faced a lot of challenges from some people who saw us as a lowly all-female team. We were determined to overcome all the challenges we faced and became a good team that made a difference,” she said.

According to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body for many auto racing events, Majali ranks 10th out of 12 in the drivers classification of the 2011 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, the only woman in the list.

Majali will face a many opponents in this year’s edition of the Jordan Rally.

The young medical student Lina Hadidi, who is walking along the path of her mother Abeer Batikhi, who reigned the Speed Test events in the past, said: “I am teaming up with my co-driver Barkev Shadian in a Subaru Impreza Prodrive and we believe that we have a good chance for an advanced position.”

Hadidi, who won the Women’s Cup at Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb, the Jordan Rally Champion and MERC Jordan Rally in 2015 believes that her skills have been developed due to her continuous participation and passion.

“This will be my second participation in a MERC round in Jordan and I am looking forward to achieving, with Shadian, a good position especially that we have been preparing for such a long time for this opportunity. As a woman driver representing the Kingdom I believe we have a good chance to have the first woman on the podium as a driver,” she said.

Meanwhile, Habaybeh is expected to be driving or of being a co-driver for her father Raed Habaybeh to provide a strong family flavour in Group S, just as she did last year.

Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Naseef encourages more participation from Jordanian female drivers saying: “We always cheer any participation from any enthusiastic female driver and we encourage them to be part in the auto events whether here or outside the Kingdom because we know that there are many who want to try but may lack the proper support.”

With big names registering for the May Jordan Rally headed by the 12-time regional rally champion Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, and only 22 days left the challenge is even bigger for the young women drivers and others who still have until April 19 to be part of the most challenging round of MERC.

The Jordan Rally will see drivers tackling 10 special timed stages covering 115.5 kilometres on May 6, while May 7 presents eight more tricky stages covering 105.54km.

MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo came through for Real Madrid again, scoring a hat trick to lead his team back to the semifinals of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

Ronaldo netted goals in the 16th and 17th minutes, and then added a decisive third with a remarkable free kick in the 77th as Madrid overturned a 2-0 loss in last week’s first leg to win 3-2 on aggregate.

The Portugal striker delivered when Madrid needed a goalscorer, sending a curling shot in-between a couple of defenders in the Wolfsburg wall to earn his team a place in the semifinals for the sixth straight season and avoid a major upset to the German side.

“He scored three goals when the team needed him,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “He is special.”

Ronaldo took his tournament tally to 16 goals from 10 games this season, one shy of the Champions League record he set in the 2013-14 season. He remains the all-time leading scorer in the Champions League, now with 93 goals.

“For those who doubted Ronaldo, he has vindicated himself again,” Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said. “We need him.”

It was Ronaldo’s 40th hat-trick for club and country, and the sixth this season.

Several minutes after the final whistle, Ronaldo and the rest of Madrid players returned to the pitch to show their appreciation to the fans who were still celebrating at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

“It was a special night, we started with tremendous intensity and showed our rival how much we wanted this,” Zidane said. “The fans were phenomenal today. We can only thank them for how they supported us.”

An elimination by Wolfsburg would have been embarrassing for 10-time champion Madrid as the German club was considered the weakest of the quarter-finalists and was making only its second appearance in the Champions League.

In Tuesday’s other match, Manchester City reached the semis for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain, advancing 3-2 on aggregate.

Madrid hadn’t reversed a first-leg loss in the Champions League since the 2001-02 season, when Zidane was still playing. But the 10-time European champion came into the return match with high hopes thanks to an impressive home record — having won 12 of its last 13 games at the Bernabeu with an average of nearly five goals per match.

“It was sensational, from the first minute to the last. When the fans really get behind the team they are like another player,” Ramos said. “There were people who thought the comeback was not possible, but we managed the rhythm of the game well.”

Needing at least two goals to stay alive, Madrid started all-out on attack under steady rain, and it didn’t take long for Los Blancos to erase the first-leg deficit.

About 10 minutes after Ramos struck the top of the crossbar with a header from a corner, Ronaldo opened the scoring from close range after Dani Carvajal finished a long run through the right flank with a low cross into the area. The ball appeared to deflect off a defender before reaching the striker for an easy finish from close range.

The home fans among the crowd of nearly 80,000 were still on their feet when Ronaldo added the second, a header from the near post after a well-taken corner by Toni Kroos.

The pace slowed down after the second goal and Wolfsburg, playing in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time, had two good chances to get back into the game just before half-time.

A long-range shot by Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo forced Keylor Navas to make a difficult save in the 34th, and Bruno Henrique missed a great chance from inside the area in the 37th when his shot was blocked at the last moment.

“Today, we were just a little bit off,” Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking said. “We deserved to get here, people will remember our games. We improved as a team this season. I’m really proud.”

Karim Benzema could have scored Madrid’s third just before half-time but the France striker wasn’t able to get a shot away after receiving a pass from Carvajal in front of the goal.

Ramos nearly found the net in the 66th, but his header hit the post and bounced back to goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, who just kept the ball from crossing the line.

Benaglio had no such luck, though, with Ronaldo’s free kick about 10 minutes later.

Wolfsburg had lost an important piece of its midfield when Julian Draxler had to be replaced because of an apparent muscle injury in the 32nd.

SHANGHAI — Lewis Hamilton has had more success in Shanghai than any other Formula One driver, which makes Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix the ideal location for the triple world champion to end Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg’s winning streak.

While Rosberg has started the season with a perfect 50 points from two races, and a run of five successive victories dating back to last November, Hamilton is ready to turn the tables.

The Briton has won four times in Shanghai and is on for three in a row after last season becoming the only driver to win the race in successive years.

“It’s not been a smooth start to the season for me, so to be in the championship position I’m in right now is actually pretty positive,” said Hamilton, who lies second in the standings after a second and a third place.

“Now we go to China for the next battle. It’s a track that’s been good to me over the years... so hopefully this race can be the turning point.”

Hamilton has not won since he took his third world championship in Austin, Texas, last October but the 31-year old has started both races this season on pole position.

The decision to abandon a failed new live elimination qualifying format and revert to the 2015 version from Shanghai onwards is unlikely to make much difference to Mercedes’ domination of the Saturday session.

While Hamilton is still the bookmakers’ favourite, Rosberg has reasons of his own to be confident.

First win

His first Formula One victory came in Shanghai in 2012 and he stands on the cusp of history with only three other drivers ever putting together a run of six or more wins in a row — two of them also Germans.

Sebastian Vettel managed nine with Red Bull in 2013 and Michael Schumacher seven with Ferrari in 2004. The other was Italian Alberto Ascari in the 1950s.

Mercedes have won the last eight races but Hamilton, 17 points behind Rosberg, is not the only threat to the championship leader.

Rivals Ferrari have yet to show their true pace, and might have won earlier without mishap, but Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen can count on plenty of local support in a country where red is a lucky colour.

In Bahrain Vettel did not even start, his Ferrari engine coughing out plumes of smoke on the formation lap, but there will have been plenty of work back at the factory since then.

“We are pushing very hard and we know that we can still improve,” Vettel said after Bahrain.

Ferrari’s most recent winner was Fernando Alonso, in 2013.

Now at McLaren, the Spaniard’s participation depends on him passing a medical on Thursday after being forced to sit out the race in Bahrain on doctors’ orders following his horrific accident in Australia.

“While I hope I’ll be back in the cockpit on Friday [for practice], until I get the all-clear from the doctors to race, whenever that may be, we cannot assume anything,” Alonso said on Tuesday.

Belgian reserve Stoffel Vandoorne, who scored a point on his debut in Bahrain, remains on stand by.

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs got an unexpected push in their final home game of the season Tuesday but still found a way to win, just as they have in all but one game this season.

Kawhi Leonard had 26 points as the Spurs rallied to beat Oklahoma City Thunder 102-98 in overtime and finish 40-1 at home this season, matching the NBA record set by the Boston Celtics in 1985-86.

“You know, it’s one of the legendary teams with Larry Bird, [Kevin] McHale and [Robert] Parrish,” Spurs point guard Tony Parker said. “So it’s pretty good. It’s not easy to lose one game the whole season [at home].”

San Antonio suffered its only home loss of the season to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday while the Thunder, who were without stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, were the first team to force overtime in San Antonio this season with four players finishing with 17 points apiece.

Facing a historic game to end the regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies struggled against the Los Angeles Clippers, losing 110-84.

Chris Paul had 12 points and 13 assists for the Clippers, as the Grizzlies lost for the ninth time in 10 games as they prepare to finish the season on Wednesday at Golden State, where the Warriors will be going for their NBA-record 73rd victory.

“Yeah, the emotional tank is a little bit empty right now,” Memphis Coach David Joerger said. “You also know that sitting out there 24 hours you’ve got a chance to be the answer on every Trivial Pursuit card for the next 75 years. We’ll see what we’re going to do with that tomorrow.”

Dwyane Wade finished with 14 points to help the Miami Heat beat the Detroit Pistons 99-33.

Miami will win the Southeast Division and earn home-court advantage in the first round of the play-offs if it closes the regular season Wednesday night by beating Boston on the road.

The Celtics will have something at stake, too, trying to avoid slipping to the sixth spot that would set up a series with the Heat.

“It comes down to one game,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And both teams have something to play for.”

The Pistons’ loss sealed their spot as the eighth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, setting up a matchup with top-seeded Cleveland.

Paul George and George Hill each scored 19 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 102-90 to win their final home game of the regular season.

Trailing 64-62, the Pacers finished the final seven minutes of the third quarter with a 17-6 run that gave Indiana a 79-70 lead heading into the final period.

The Pacers are now locked into a playoff match-up with the second-seeded Toronto Raptors.

Rookie Norman Powell had 18 points while Jonas Valanciunas had 17 and 11 rebounds as the Raptors easily beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-98.

AMMAN — The Jordan Rally is set for a thrilling Amman city centre launch on May 5 with an afternoon and evening of thrills and spills at the new Abdali, according to a statement by the Jordan Rally Media Service.

An agreement has been signed between organisers Jordan Motorsport and Abdali marking a return to the same venue which hosted the start in 2014, and organisers expect thousands of spectators to once again turn up to make it an evening to remember.

The launch evening will feature the ceremonial start and a specially constructed spectator stage held in the shadows of the state-of-the-art constructions taking shape on the development site which is changing the face of Amman.

Nicolas Saba, CEO of Abdali Investment & Development PSC, was quoted in the statement as saying: “We are delighted to host the Jordan Rally for the second time, which is widely recognised as a leading event on the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and an important event to Jordan as well as the region.”

Following the high profile launch, the Jordan Rally will continue over May 6 and 7 with the region’s best drivers competing alongside the leading speedsters from Jordan for one of motorsport’s most sought after titles. It will be the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship which has already visited Qatar and Kuwait this year.

MADRID/LISBON — Barcelona can redress their stuttering domestic form by sealing their passage to the Champions League semifinals when they visit Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Last season’s treble winners Barca are in their worst run of form in La Liga since coach Luis Enrique took charge in August 2014, losing their last two games to Real Madrid and Real Sociedad and drawing with Villarreal.

Although those results have seen their La Liga lead over second-placed Atletico cut to three points, Barca are still on track to become the first Spanish team to win the treble two years in a row, with the King’s Cup final against Sevilla coming up next month.

The visitors take a 2-1 lead from the first leg into the return match at the Vicente Calderon, Luis Suarez’s double having cancelled out Fernando Torres’ opener after the former Chelsea striker was sent off in the 35th minute.

“There’s no time for apologies or excuses, we need results. It’s not the time to sink low and think that we’re on a horrible run,” said Luis Enrique.

“There are reasons to be optimistic although the results have not been what we want.”

Thomas Vermaelen is out and Rafinha doubtful due to injury but Barca top scorer Suarez returns after the Uruguayan served a suspension.

Luis Enrique is also likely to recall Jordi Alba, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic after starting them on the bench in the 1-0 defeat by Sociedad at the weekend.

The plan to rest those players ahead of the trip to Madrid backfired when 18-year-old Mikel Oiarzabal headed Sociedad in front in the fifth minute and Barca struggled to break down the opposition for the remainder of the game.

Despite having seven shots, Lionel Messi could not find a way through and the Argentine talisman has now gone 362 minutes without scoring, his longest drought with Barca since 2011.

Atletico are dreaming of a repeat of their 2014 quarter-final second leg against Barca when an early goal by Koke delivered a 1-0 win and 2-1 aggregate victory.

“The stadium will be buzzing. I’m sure it’s going to be a great night,” said midfielder Koke.

“The other day we couldn’t win because of circumstances but at home we’re going to turn it around.”

Atletico defenders Jose Gimenez and Stefan Savic are doubtful while Tiago Mendes is definitely out and Torres suspended following his dismissal at the Nou Camp.

Another test

Benfica coach Rui Vitoria faces another test of his powers of improvisation as he tries to patch up a team without topscorer Jonas against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The Portuguese champions and league leaders were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final last week, a narrow enough margin to give them a chance of producing a major upset at the Stadium of Light.

But with Brazilian marksman Jonas suspended following three yellow cards, the likelihood of beating Bayern for the first time after seven failed attempts and ending a 26-year wait since Benfica’s last semifinals appearance looks more remote.

The 31-year-old has scored 30 goals in only 29 Portuguese league appearances this season, plus two in his nine Champions League outings including a crucial stoppage-time winner at home to Zenit St Petersburg in the previous round.

But Vitoria, in his first season at Benfica, has already proved he can produce a winning team from a squad which lacks the strength-in-depth of elite European teams such as Bayern.

Mexican forward Raul Jimenez, who usually starts on the bench, might get a chance to finally partner Kostas Mitroglou on Wednesday, although Vitoria could move midfielder Nicolas Gaitan into attack and reshuffle his midfield.

But Vitoria was not fretting.

“We’re not going to sit here and cry over something we cannot control,” he said. “This is just an opportunity for someone else and whoever plays will certainly do a great job.

“We are going to put out a competitive team to face them on equal terms, hand for hand, centimetre by centimetre.”

Vitoria responded to an injury crisis in the centre of Benfica’s defence by bringing in the previously untried Victor Lindelof. The 21-year-old Swede has responded with superb play, helping Benfica win 20 of their last 22 games.

Vitoria also gave midfielder Renato Sanches his professional debut in October with media reports saying that the 18-year-old now has a 35-million-euro price tag and is attracting interest from some of Europe’s top clubs.

He also had no hesitation in giving 22-year-old goalkeeper Ederson his Champions League debut away to Zenit St Petersburg after Julio Cesar was injured.

Bayern, who have reached the semifinals for the last four seasons, remain the clear favourites.

Pep Guardiola’s side have been typically dominant this season with a seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga and only three defeats all season.

The Bavarians’ record also bodes badly for Benfica. They have faced Portuguese sides nine times in European knockout ties and won them all.