LONDON (AP) ― Fernando Torres ended a 26-game goal drought as Chelsea reached the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday, and Liverpool ensured a second trip to Wembley Stadium this season on a weekend overshadowed by concern over critically ill Bolton player Fabrice Muamba.
Torres scored twice in a 5-2 win over Leicester and Chelsea will face the winner of the Tottenham-Bolton quarterfinal, abandoned on Saturday after Muamba went into cardiac arrest on the field. The Bolton midfielder remained in critical condition in intensive care.
After Gary Cahill opened the scoring for Chelsea, the defender raised his jersey to reveal a “Pray 4 Muamba” T-shirt in tribute to his former Bolton teammate.
“It was a very difficult day for him and the whole football community, all our thoughts are with Fabrice,” Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said.
Liverpool, which won the League Cup last month, beat Stoke 2-1 to secure a potential semifinal derby if Everton can overcome Sunderland in a replay.
In the Premier League, Manchester United (22-3-4) won 5-0 at last-place Wolverhampton (5-17-7) to move four points head of Manchester City (21-4-3). United also cut City’s goal-difference advantage to three.
At Stamford Bridge, Torres scored off Raul Meireles’ pass in the 67th minute for a 3-0 lead, his first goal in 25 hours, 41 minutes of action since scoring twice against Genk in the Champions League on Oct. 19.
Spain
Santi Cazorla scored on a spectacular free kick that beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the second minute of stoppage time, giving Malaga a 1-1 tie at Real Madrid on Sunday that cut the host’s Spanish league lead over second-place Barcelona to eight points.
Karim Benzema marked his first start back from a leg injury with a goal on a 35th-minute header off a cross from Cristiano Ronaldo. But Real Madrid’s eight-game league winning streak ended along with Ronaldo’s streak of scoring in seven straight matches overall.
Scotland
Kilmarnock won the Scottish League Cup for the first time by beating Celtic 1-0 at Hampden Park, a game marred by the death of a player’s father.
Substitute Dieter van Tornhout scored on a header from Lee Johnson’s cross in the 84th minute, ending Celtic’s unbeaten streak at 26 matches. The father of Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Kelly suffered a suspected heart attack just after the final whistle. The Scotland under-21 national team player headed to a hospital, and police announced Jack Kelly died 50 minutes later.
Italy
Diego Milito failed to convert a penalty kick as Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 tie at home by Atalanta.
Goalkeeper Andrea Consigli blocked Milito’s weak spot kick in the 23rd minute. He then also stopped a dangerous header from Walter Samuel on the ensuing corner kick, and Inter didn’t come close again.
It was the fifth consecutive home league match Inter failed to win, and it followed a halftime locker from speed by club president Massimo Moratti. On Tuesday, Inter was eliminated from the Champions League by Marseille.
Third-place Lazio struggled in a 1-0 loss at Catania, which won on a volley by former Juventus defender Nicola Legrottaglie in the 80th.
Germany
Schalke came from behind to win 4-1 at Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga and stay in the chase for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Last-place Kaiserslautern is winless in 16 matches is three points behind Hertha Berlin and six points from safety.
Hannover, like Schalke a quarterfinalist in the Europa League, beat Cologne 4-1 in Sunday’s other match after Mame Diouf came off the bench to score twice.
Schalke remained fourth, one point behind Borussia Moenchengladbach. Hannover climbed one place past Stuttgart to seventh.
France
Eden Hazard scored his 12th league goal and set up two more from corner kicks as Lille routed Valenciennes 4-0 to strengthen its hold on third place in the French league.
Lille is seven points behind second-place Montpellier and nine behind French leader Paris Saint-Germain, but has a three-point cushion over fourth-place Toulouse.
Toulouse beat Rennes 1-0 with an own goal from defender Romain Danze to climb to fourth place, while Sochaux moved from last to 19th by beating Nice 2-0.
