Thursday’s briefing: PM sends Abramovich a message and Nancy loses again

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered a warning for former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Celtic’s misery continued since naming Wilfried Nancy as manager while Chelsea secured direct qualification for the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals.

And Manchester City and Newcastle both won to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final showdown.

Starmer tells Abramovich ‘clock is ticking’

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Roman Abramovich that “the clock is ticking” for him to donate the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister told MPs on Wednesday that ministers have issued a license allowing the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea to be transferred to a new foundation for humanitarian causes in Ukraine.

He said: “My message to Abramovich is this: the clock is ticking.

“Honour the commitment you made and pay up now, and if you don’t, we are prepared to go to court so every penny reaches those whose lives have been torn apart by Putin’s illegal war.”

Abramovich sold the club in May 2022 after he was sanctioned following Vladimir Putin’s invasion earlier that year.

The oligarch had pledged to donate the proceeds from the sale to the people of Ukraine, but he has so far failed to reach an agreement with the Government on a way forward and the funds remain frozen.

Celtic nightmare continues for Nancy

Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic nightmare intensified as Dundee United’s second-half comeback consigned the Hoops to a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time since 1978.

Two goals in three minutes from Krisztian Keresztes and Zac Sapsford saw United claim their first win in eight William Hill Premiership games as they beat the champions 2-1 at Tannadice.

Daizen Maeda had opened the scoring early on and Celtic could have had the game out of sight in the first quarter of an hour as they missed a series of chances.

But United turned the game on its head in the second half and some of the visiting fans turned their anger towards Nancy during the latter stages, as well as chief executive Michael Nicholson following the resignation of chairman Peter Lawwell.

They also chanted for Martin O’Neill, who won seven out of eight games in interim charge before the Frenchman’s arrival from Columbus Crew sparked a dramatic collapse in form.

Chelsea reach Champions League quarter-finals

Chelsea secured direct qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals with Lucy Bronze and Sam Kerr on target in a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.

Boss Sonia Bompastor said: “It’s never easy to come here so it’s a great result, especially because we wanted to qualify directly for the top four. We did that.”

They could yet be joined in the last eight by both Arsenal and Manchester United, who will both be seeded for the play-off round.

The Gunners finished fifth after beating OH Leuven 3-0 while Manchester United impressively won 1-0 at Juventus to secure sixth.

Cherki shines as Man City march on

Pep Guardiola called Rayan Cherki an “exceptional player” after the Frenchman’s first-half strike inspired Manchester City to a 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford.

Cherki has endured an injury-impacted start to life at City since his £30million summer move from Lyon, but the 22-year-old has impressed in recent weeks, with four assists in his last four Premier League appearances and now a superb goal for his fourth of the campaign.

“Close to the 18-yard box of the opponent he is an exceptional player,” Guardiola said.

“It was a fantastic goal, a blind guy, a blind woman can realise, it is not necessary to be a journalist or a manager to realise he is a fantastic, fantastic player.”

City’s win set up a semi-final meeting with Newcastle, who beat Fulham 2-1 thanks to 19-year-old Lewis Miley’s stoppage-time winner.

What’s on today?

Crystal Palace host KuPS in the league stage of the Conference League and Aberdeen travel to Sparta Prague in the same competition.