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Andre Villas Boas is on the brink of becoming Chelsea's new manager after tendering his resignation as Porto coach.

Porto confirmed the news to the CMVM (Portuguese stock market) following reports from the Lusa news agency that the 33-year-old quit via fax.

Villas-Boas will officially leave his position once the terms of his release clause, 15 million euros, are met by prospective employers, Chelsea.

The statement reads:

"Porto Football Club, under the terms of article 248, number 1 of the Securities Law, informs the market that Porto Football Club was today notified of the intention of its coach, Andre Villas Boas, to rescind, with no just cause, his sporting contract of employment with this company, activating the respective release clause, with immediate effect.

"Therefore, the employment contract will be considered, by this company, rescinded, with the deposit of the amount specified (in the release clause)."

Chelsea has been searching for a manager since relieving Carlo Ancelotti of his post at the end of the season after he failed to build on his double-winning first season at the club.

Villas-Boas won a treble in his first year of management at the club last season.

He managed to break multiple records in his short time there, including highest number of consecutive wins in the Portuguese league and the biggest margin of points over the second-placed team.

He became the youngest coach to ever win a European competition when he guided the Portuguese league champions to victory in the Europa League just over a month ago.

Prior to Porto, Villas-Boas was manager at Academica in Portugal for the 2009-10 season, which was the catalyst for being hired as Porto head coach.

The young Portuguese coach also worked with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter during his respective stints at the clubs.

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Labels: Andre, Become, Chelsea, Goalcom, Manager, Porto, quits, VillasBoas

SEVILLE, Spain (AP)—Fredy Guarin’s late score gave FC Porto a 2-1 win at Sevilla to put the Portuguese club in control of their Europa League last-32 series on Thursday.

Guarin took advantage of a defensive slip-up to roll in the 85th-minute winner. Sevilla’s defense let Cristian Rodriguez race onto a through ball that goalkeeper Andres Palop could only tip wide onto the path of the Colombia midfielder.

Rolando opened for Porto in the 58th as he stabbed James Rodriguez’s free kick past Palop in an ill-tempered match at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

Sevilla equalized in the 65th when Frederic Kanoute got high to turn Ivan Rakitic’s free kick into the top corner out of the reach of goalie Helton with a well-guided header.

The return leg is at Porto next Wednesday.

Luis Fabiano threatened for Sevilla twice inside the first 20 minutes but the Brazil striker saw a chance cleared in the 18th after taking too long to line up his shot then Rolando blocked another try along the goal line.

Palop punched a cross onto the path of Rodriguez in the 24th but recovered to stop the volleyed shot from outside the area.

That was one of Porto’s few first-half chances while Sevilla settled for long-range chances to the 48th when Kanoute’s shot swerved wide.

An ugly spell of tough tackles and hard challenges boiled over in the 53rd with three yellow cards brandished. Sevilla was bothered by the incidents and the Portuguese club took advantage to score as the Andalucian side’s defense was slow to take up positions for Rodriguez’s free kick.

The goal spurred Sevilla’s attack as Kanoute had a headed chance deflected out just before the Mali striker scored his fifth of the competition.

Porto ‘keeper Helton was well-placed in the 67th to deny Luis Fabiano’s hard header from inside the box as the hosts pressed. Sevilla has scored nine of its 11 goals in the last half hour.

Palop was equally ready at the other end as the Spanish goalie tipped Hulk’s 74th-minute riser over the bar.

But Helton cut down the angle to stop substitute Alvaro Negredo’s strike in the 77th, and Kanoute somehow misguided Negredo’s headed on ball for Helton to gather with the empty goal beckoning.

Labels: Guarin, Porto, Sevilla, winner

* South Americans on target for Porto, Benfica

* Ajax thrash Anderlecht, Twente beat Rubin

* Zenit St Petersburg lose to YB, Spartak beat Basel

By Brian Homewood

BERNE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Substitute Fredy Guarin gave former European champions Porto a late 2-1 Europa League win at Sevilla on Thursday while their old rivals Benfica beat VfB Stuttgart by the same score.

Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, who won all their group stage games, lost to a stoppage time goal at Young Boys in another round of 32 first leg tie.

However, their compatriots Spartak Moscow were on the right end of a comeback away to Swiss opponents as they bounced back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at FC Basel.

Ajax won 3-0 at Anderlecht while fellow Dutch side Twente Enschede were among several teams who endured freezing conditions in eastern Europe, beating Rubin Kazan 2-0 in Moscow where the temperature hovered around minus 15 Celsius.

Lille were held 2-2 at home after a late rally by PSV Eindhoven in a meeting of the French and Dutch league leaders.

Porto, beaten only once in 34 outings in the Portuguese League and Cup and Europa League this season, went ahead in the 58th minute when Rolando stabbed home after a free kick.

Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute levelled in the 65th, also from a free kick, before Colombia midfielder Guarin stole the win with five minutes left as Porto made a happy return to the scene of their 2003 UEFA Cup final win over Celtic.

Stuttgart’s impressive European form has been in marked contrast to their shaky Bundesliga performances this season and Martin Harnik gave them a first-half lead in Lisbon.

But Benfica hit back as Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo, one of eight South Americans in the team, equalised in the 70th and Argentine Franco Jara got the winner with nine minutes left.

ZAMBIAN HERO

Zambian striker Emmanuel Mayuka was the Young Boys hero, scoring in the third minute of added time on the Stade de Suisse’s artificial pitch to snatch a 2-1 win over 2008 UEFA Cup winners Zenit. The 20-year-old only came on in the 83rd.

Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts had given Zenit a first-half lead with a header from a corner.

Senad Lulic levelled with a solo effort within a minute of the restart and the Russians had substitute Vladimir Bystrov sent off for a second bookable offence 20 minutes from time.

It was the other way round at FC Basel where Alex Frei and Marco Streller gave the Swiss champions a 2-0 halftime lead against Spartak Moscow in a clash of two sides parachuted into the competition after being knocked out of the Champions League.

But Dmitri Kombarov, Artem Dzyuba and substitute Jano Ananidze scored for the Russians in the last half hour while Basel had forward Xherdan Shaqiri sent off.

Ajax made light of Luis Suarez’s absence—the Uruguay forward having been sold to Liverpool in the January transfer window—as Tony Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Mounir El Hamdaoui shared the goals at Anderlecht.

Marcin Wasilewski squandered a 55th minute penalty, one of several opportunities wasted by the hosts, when they were only 1-0 behind.

NO CLASSIC

Liverpool could not field Suarez under UEFA regulations, with his former club also playing in the competition, and failed to find the target as they drew 0-0 at Sparta Prague.

“It wasn’t a classic,” Kenny Dalglish told Britain’s Channel Five television after managing Liverpool in Europe for the first time.

“The onus was on them to try to put us under a wee bit of pressure. We made a couple of opportunities as well. On the night, 0-0, fair enough. I’m happy with that.”

PSV’s Ola Toivonen set up an 83rd minute goal for Wilfred Bouma against Lille before scoring the equaliser himself one minute later as the Dutch side came from behind after Idrissa Gueye and Tulio De Melo gave the French a 2-0 halftime lead.

Peguy Luyindula scored an 89th minute equaliser to give Paris St Germain a 2-2 draw at BATE Borisov in Minsk, another match played in temperatures well below freezing.

Bayer Leverkusen also had to contend with bitter conditions in Ukraine as they thumped Metalist Kharkiv 4-0.

Eren Derdiyok and Gonzalo Castro scored either side of halftime before Sidney Sam got two more for the Bundesliga side.

Metalist’s compatriots Dynamo Kiev enjoyed contrasting fortune as they won 4-1 at Besiktas with former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko among the scorers.

(Editing by Ken Ferris; To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: Benfica, Europa, league, Porto, Reuters, steal