AC Milan's forward Andriy Shevchenko (r) vies with PSV Eindhoven's defender Alex during their first leg Champions League semifinal football match at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

MILAN, Italy, April 27--AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged his team had suffered in their 2-0 Champions League semifinal, first-leg win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“I think at the highest level, like this, you have to expect to suffer like we did. PSV are a good team and it is a good result but we shouldn’t be too self confident, the second leg won’t be easy,“ said Ancelotti.
“We performed well in the first half but not in the second.
After the break we were far too focused on defending and counter attacks. Luckily we managed to get a really great result out of the game,“ he added.
After Andriy Shevchenko had put Milan ahead, a last minute strike from Dane Jon Dahl Tomasson gave the Italian champions some breathing space for next week’s return after PSV had gone close to an equalizer on several occasions.
“Playing against PSV is above all a question of rhythm. They don’t have many dynamic players but when they brought the pace of the game down then they had us in some trouble,“ said Ancelotti.
Ancelotti was much more positive about the way his team put PSV under pressure in the first half, eventually taking the lead in the 42nd minute through Ukraine striker Shevchenko. “In the first half we performed some of our best football of the season but at this point of the campaign we can’t start celebrating yet,“ he said.
“We are under intense pressure and we have to think about Fiorentina on Saturday in Serie A,“ added Ancelotti, whose side are joint leaders in Italy along with his old club Juventus.
“We’ve baked the cake now we need to put the icing on it. We have to prepare well for the return leg and we need to weigh up how they caused us those problems in the second half.“ Milan’s Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf, who battled with PSV captain Mark van Bommel all night, admitted his side rode their luck at times. “Without luck you don’t get anywhere in this game,“ he said.
“We created a lot of chances in the first half but they did well and then even better after the break. They showed they can play.“
Substitute Tomasson’s 90th minute goal could be vital but the Denmark forward, whose last gasp strike against Ajax in the quarterfinals two years ago helped Milan to a sixth Champions League triumph, was generous in his assessment of the game.
“PSV played an excellent game, both teams had a lot of opportunities, we didn’t play as well as we could today but in general Italian teams have a problem against Dutch teams. “You saw that against Ajax two years ago--we beat them but we struggled,“ said Tomasson.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 27--FIFA said Tuesday it will increase total prize money for the finalists taking part in the World Cup in Germany next year by 38 percent to 332 million Swiss francs (279.6 million dollars, 215 million euros), AFP reported.
The move came after world football’s governing body announced it had bolstered its finances last year, building up previously fragile cash reserves and also achieving a profit of 158 million Swiss francs.
The 2006 World Cup winners will pocket 24.5 million Swiss francs, while each finalist in Germany will receive at least seven million Swiss francs, FIFA Secretary General Urs Linsi said.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter claimed the governing body was turning its back on massive financial problems in 2001-2002, when its contracted marketing and television rights partners collapsed.
FIFA has now built up cash reserves of 439 million Swiss francs and equity of 238 million Swiss francs to guard against future risks.
“We have taken another significant stride towards our goal of having equity of between 350 million and 450 million Swiss francs by the end of 2006,“ Blatter said.
“That equity, together with the results we have already posted from marketing, will further strengthen FIFA’s solid financial foundations,“ he added.
The sudden financial deterioration four years ago contributed a short-lived challenge to Blatter’s presidency and internal tensions that almost ripped world football apart.
“We have always been comfortable. Perhaps we also made a mistake by not being fully transparent, that was the old system,“ Blatter told journalists.
FIFA has been revamping its financial and marketing structure, maintaining a four year-budget period until each World Cup but trying to spread its revenue sources more evenly over the whole period. It also now publishes its accounts more widely.

Spain's Carlos Moya returns the ball to compatriot Felix Mantilla during their first round tennis match at the Estoril Open in Portugal, Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)

ESTORIL, Portugal, April 27--Top seed Carlos Moya suffered a late wobble against fellow Spaniard Felix Mantilla before clinching a 6-0 7-6 victory in the first round of the Estoril Open claycourt tournament on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Moya will now play fellow Spaniard and another former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero in a heavyweight second round clash after Ferrero saved a match point to beat dangerous Cypriot youngster Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 2-6 7-6.
Reigning champion and ninth seed Juan Ignacio Chela failed to get past the first hurdle as the Argentina suffered a shock 6-1 6-2 defeat by lucky loser Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica.
Moya, who briefly topped the rankings in 1999 after winning the 1998 French Open, blazed through the first eight games and served for the match at 5-4 but lost his serve.
It proved only a minor blip, however, as he sealed his progress to the second round in the tiebreak.
“It’s a little bit a matter of confidence,“ the 28-year-old world number nine said. “I was against the wind and it was not easy in those conditions.
“I wanted to finish it there and then but I couldn’t. I didn’t get frustrated and when it went to a tiebreak I thought I could win. It was a difficult match in the second set.“
Ferrero, who is playing himself back into form after a terrible 2004, was feeling the effects of a tough week in Barcelona, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final, as he laboured to beat Baghdatis.
The 2003 French Open champion saved two break points at 5-5 in the third set and then Baghdatis dumped a forehand into the net on match point before double faulting to hand Ferrero victory.
Ferrero said: “I’m tired from the last two weeks because I played a lot of matches and it is just two days since the final in Barcelona which was a really tough match.“
Seventh seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic joined Chela as a seeded casualty, losing 7-6 6-1 to Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Women’s top seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy was also packing her bags after a surprise 6-3 7-6 defeat by qualifier Olga Savchuk of the Ukraine.

PARIS, April 27--An air of change is pervading the European peloton ahead of this year’s big rendez-vous, when Lance Armstrong puts his yellow jersey up for grabs in his last ever race, AFP reported.
The Tour de France, which survived arguably sport’s biggest ever doping scandal, in 1998, is set to provide drama of epic proportions when the 33-year-old American puts his champion’s credentials on the line on July 2-25.
Armstrong has won the Tour six times--a record which has already surpassed the five won by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain--and some would argue that a seventh title would be something of a formality.
Some of the latter chose not to aim for six or more victories for various reasons but, crucially for Armstrong, nearly all of them experienced the day when the head told the legs to stop turning the pedals.
And French former winner Laurent Fignon is among those who feel the Texan is going a step too far.
“Well he’s nearly 34, so it’s logical he’s retiring--above all if he wants to go out on a high,“ said Fignon, who was famously beaten by Greg Lemond when the American won the yellow jersey by eight seconds in a final day time trial in 1989.
“If his aim was to beat the record of five Tour victories, he’s done it. I don’t see how he can motivate himself enough to stay in the peloton.“
Armstrong’s current rivals are being very respectful of the man known in France as ’Le Boss’--although none are likely to wait for him if he slips up on the race and gives them a sniff of victory this summer.
Only one opponent, his eternal rival Jan Ullrich, has openly welcomed the news--but the German’s bid to finally get the Armstrong monkey off his back will not be so easy.
The 1997 winner has also been a five-time runner-up in the Armstrong era, but his relative failings each year have also gone hand in hand with the emergence of a bunch of younger yellow jersey contenders who could give him concern in the future.
“I am not interested in finishing second,“ Ullrich, who last year finished off the Tour podium for the first time ever, said last week.
“I couldn’t be more motivated. I’m working like mad to be in top condition and I suspect it’ll be the same for him in his last Tour.“

Miami Heat guard Eddie Jones (6) and New Jersey Nets forward Brian Scalabrine fight for a rebound during the second period of Round 1 of the NBA playoffs in Miami, Florida, Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)

TORONTO, April 27--Alonzo Mourning nailed a season-high 21 points and snared nine rebounds as the Miami Heat thumped the New Jersey Nets 104-87 on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal, Reuters reported.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to New Jersey for Game Three on Thursday, with the Nets in desperate need of win.
It was a frustrating night for the Nets, who did a solid job controlling the Heat’s two all-stars, holding Shaquille O’Neal to 14 points and Dwyane Wade to 17.
But an inspired Mourning, who began the season in New Jersey before demanding a trade, stepped in to take up the slack, making several big baskets and keying pivotal runs.
“I have been working my whole career for one goal and that’s to win a championship,“ the 35-year-old Mourning said.
As in Game One, the Nets made a quick start in racing to a 7-0 lead before the Heat gained control and led 48-39 going into the intermission.
After the break, the Heat turned up the pressure, with Mourning hitting the final eight points in a 19-8 third quarter run as Miami extended their advantage to 72-52.
Eddie Jones and Damon Jones contributed 14 points each to the Heat cause while Nenad Krstic paced the Nets with a playoff career-high 27 points for New Jersey.
Vince Carter chipped in with 21 points for the Nets with Richard Jefferson adding 14 and Jason Kidd 10.
In Auburn Hills, Richard Hamilton poured in 23 points and Chauncey Billups added 20 as the defending champions Detroit Pistons rolled to a 99-84 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, taking a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
In Seattle, Ray Allen had 26 points and Jerome James added 19 points and nine rebounds as the SuperSonics held off a late comeback bid by the Sacramento Kings to claim a 105-93 win and a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference best-of-sevenquarterfinal.

TORONTO, April 27--Vijay Singh hopes to achieve back-to-back title defenses this weekend with a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and launch a repeat of his brilliant run of victories last year, Reuters reported.
It would be difficult to imagine the world number two having a more enjoyable time in the ’Big Easy’ than he did at the Houston Open last week.
He began the week by being elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame and ended it with an extra-hole playoff win over John Daly for his second title of 2005.
But the smooth-swinging Fijian says the best is yet to come and that could mean a long week for rest of the field at the $5.5 million tournament in New Orleans, which includes only five of the world’s top 20.
While Masters champion Tiger Woods and world number four Phil Mickelson continue to take time off since Augusta three weeks ago, other members of the top 10 are slowly returning to work.
Number seven Padraig Harrington of Ireland, who is making his New Orleans debut, Chris DiMarco, back in action for the first time since losing the US Masters in a playoff to Woods, and 2001 winner David Toms round out the top-10 entries.
“I think I’m playing better this year than I’ve done in the past,“ the 42-year-old Singh told reporters after retaining his Houston crown. “Last year I had great results obviously, but to me I feel this year I’m more together.
“My whole game is more together. If I just start making a few more putts, I’ll probably win a lot more events.“

SAO PAULO, Brazil, April 27--Former World Cup striker Romario says he is still playing professional football in Brazil at 39 because the rest of the players are not up to much, Reuters reported.
“Something that motivates me is that, technically, the gang (other players) are really weak,“ he told reporters in a media conference on the eve of his official farewell international.
Romario, who was apparently referring to the standard of domestic football, has been picked as the 23rd player in the squad for Brazil’s friendly at home to Guatemala on Wednesday.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said the former PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Valencia striker is likely to play the first few minutes before being substituted.
“This is definitely my last game for Brazil,“ said Romario, adding he would rather the match had been held at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium rather than Sao Paulo’s Pacaembu.
“It would not be true to say that this is the ideal place for my farewell. I’ve always told the truth and I’m not going to stop today,“ said Romario. “The ideal would be the Maracana because Rio de Janeiro is my home.“
Wednesday’s game could provide the chance for Romario to line up, albeit briefly, alongside Robinho, considered the best of Brazil’s latest generation of players.
The Santos striker, 18 years Romario’s junior, avoided comparisons. “Romario is Romario, Robinho is Robinho,“ he said. “I don’t think there’s any similarity apart from the color. He’s as black as I am but he’s shorter, I’m taller, he’s stronger and I’m a bit more frail.“
“Romario is a player who can’t be compared to anyone else,“ added Robinho. “He has always scored goals, he has always decided matches. I’ve still got a lot to learn in football.“ Brazil have picked a squad of home-based players for Wednesday’s game, which has been arranged to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a television network.
Guatemala were the fourth choice opponents after Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador all turned down the invitation.