LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Holders Atletico Madrid were sent spinning out of the Europa League by Russian outsiders Rubin Kazan on Thursday while Champions League winners Chelsea scored with almost the final kick to scrape into the last 16.

Another Russian club, Zenit St Petersburg, knocked out five-times European champions Liverpool on the away goals rule while little-known Czech side Viktoria Plzen surprisingly won their tie against Napoli who are riding high in Serie A.

LONDON (Reuters) – Radamel Falcao’s 25th goal of the season was in vain as holders Atletico Madrid were ousted from the Europa League on Thursday while a last-gasp goal by Moussa Dembele set Tottenham Hotspur up for a clash with Inter Milan.

Atletico slumped to a shock 2-0 home defeat by Rubin Kazan in Madrid last week and were bundled out 2-1 on aggregate even though Falcao’s 84th-minute strike earned them a 1-0 win in the return match in Russia.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Radamel Falcao’s 25th goal of the season was in vain as holders Atletico Madrid were ousted from the Europa League on Thursday while a last-gasp goal by Moussa Dembele set Tottenham Hotspur up for a clash with Inter Milan.

Atletico slumped to a shock 2-0 home defeat by Rubin Kazan in Madrid last week and were bundled out 2-1 on aggregate even though Falcao’s 84th-minute strike earned them a 1-0 win in the return match in Russia.

LONDON (Reuters) – Cesar Azpilicueta has taken time to settle in at Chelsea but the Spain defender affectionately known as ‘Dave’ by the fans is beginning to make a name for himself at Stamford Bridge.

Azpilicueta, who joined the club from Olympique Marseille for a fee of 7 million pounds in August, produced his best display for the European champions as they brushed aside Wigan Athletic 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Cesar Azpilicueta has taken time to settle in at Chelsea but the Spain defender affectionately known as ‘Dave’ by the fans is beginning to make a name for himself at Stamford Bridge.

Azpilicueta, who joined the club from Olympique Marseille for a fee of seven million pounds ($11.09 million) in August, produced his best display for the European champions as they brushed aside Wigan Athletic 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Evergreen Frank Lampard notched his 198th Chelsea goal and Marko Marin grabbed his first for the club as the European champions returned to winning ways with a 4-1 rout of Wigan Athletic in the Premier League on Saturday.

It was the 34-year-old England international’s fourth strike in as many league games and he is inching closer to Bobby Tambling’s all-time Chelsea record of 202 goals.

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Evergreen Frank Lampard notched his 198th Chelsea goal and Marko Marin grabbed his first for the club as the European champions returned to winning ways with a 4-1 rout of Wigan Athletic in the Premier League on Saturday.

It was the 34-year-old England international’s fourth strike in as many league games and he is inching closer to Bobby Tambling’s all-time Chelsea record of 202 goals.

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Former U.S. Masters and British Open champion Sandy Lyle can once again dream of leading Europe’s Ryder Cup team, having given up two years ago on the prospect of being named skipper.

Lyle, the only member of ‘big five’ in the 1980s to miss out on the captaincy, had the bounce restored to his 54-year-old step following a phone call last month from Players’ Committee chairman Thomas Bjorn.

LONDON (Reuters) – Twice major champion Sandy Lyle is hoping world number one Rory McIlroy’s decision to switch golf clubs does not result in the same sort of “kamikaze dive” in form that David Duval suffered when he made a similar move.

Duval appeared to have the world at his feet when he was flying high at the top of the rankings in 1999 and won the British Open two years later.

By Tony Jimenez

(Reuters) – Henrik Stenson is slowly returning to the sort of form that took him to fourth in the world in 2009 and believes he will compete regularly with golf’s elite again as long as he can successfully juggle his membership of two tours.

The 36-year-old Swede has a hectic time honoring his commitment to the European Tour and the U.S. Tour where he secured a five-year exemption thanks to his victory at the 2009 Players Championship in Florida, the event dubbed golf’s ‘fifth major’.