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• Rumour Has It: Real Madrid track Liverpool forward Salah and in-form Hojlund

  Real Madrid need a transition plan as captain Karim Benzema heads towards his late thirties, and that could lead them to making a summer swoop for a new forward.

  There has been plenty of speculation about Mohamed Salah's future with Liverpool over the past few months, even with the 30-year-old Egyptian being contracted to the Reds until 2025.

  Rumours have continued to emerge about a possible move, but Madrid also reportedly have their eye on Victor Osimhen, Harry Kane and Rasmus Hojlund as they consider various options.

  TOP STORY – REAL MADRID WANT A NEW STRIKER

  Real Madrid might see Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah as an option for an off-season transfer, claims Defensa Central.

  The report claims Los Blancos could consider Salah while they also look at other possible acquisitions, including Napoli's Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen and Tottenham's ever-prolific Harry Kane.

  Karim Benzema turns 36 later this year, and Madrid will need other proven frontline options for when the Frenchman steps away from the spotlight.

  Rasmus Hojlund, who has settled in well at Atalanta this season, is also said to be admired at Madrid, no doubt helped by him scoring five goals in his first two starts for Denmark during the recent international break.

  ROUND-UP

  – The Guardian claims Mason Mount is open to a move to German champions Bayern Munich amid swirling rumours about their new boss Thomas Tuchel's interest in a reunion. Mount and Chelsea have reportedly reached a stalemate in their discussions on a new contract. Tuchel left Chelsea in September.

  – Manchester City have identified Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko as a target, reports Football Transfers. The report claims City are fearing Erling Haaland's exit but could use any incoming funds to facilitate a move for the Dortmund forward.

  – David de Gea has rejected Manchester United's initial new contract offer which he believes is not adequate, according to The Athletic. The 32-year-old Spanish goalkeeper is out of contract at the end of this season, with United proposing a pay cut in his new deal. The report states an agreement on new terms is expected to be reached.

  – Bayern are not interested in either of West Ham's Declan Rice or Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic, reports Sky Sport Germany's Florian Plettenberg.

• Robertson warns Liverpool cannot make any more mistakes in top-four pursuit

  Andrew Robertson warned Liverpool team-mates they cannot afford to make any more mistakes if they are to meet their minimum expectation of Champions League qualification.

  The Reds have endured a disappointing season, with Jurgen Klopp's efforts not helped by a string of significant injuries to key players.

  Last season, Liverpool won an EFL Cup and FA Cup double, reached the Champions League final, and finished just one point behind Premier League winners Manchester City.

  However, this term has seen them fail to defend either cup crown, they were eliminated from the Champions League at the last-16 stage, and are facing an uphill battle to finish in the top four domestically.

  Sixth-placed Liverpool are seven points behind Tottenham in fourth, and although the Reds have two games in hand on Spurs, so do Newcastle United, who only trail the north Londoners by a single point.

  The underwhelming nature of Liverpool's campaign is not lost on Robertson, who thinks they are on their last life if they want to pip Spurs and Newcastle – they now face consecutive games against City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

  "The motivations are the exact same," he told reporters ahead of Saturday's trip to City. "We want Champions League football, and so the motivation is the exact same as though we were going for trophies.

  "It is obviously a big week; we are playing against three big teams and it's going to be an intense week, but it's what you look forward to when you come to this club. These are the big games you want to be involved in.

  "We don't want to be in this position, and…we don't really have time to waste, we don't have any mistakes left in us if we want to achieve top four."

  He added: "[Expectations] have to be on the highest level when you play at this club – you don't get an option not to do that, the people around the club demand that. I think we do that, but we have just lacked a little bit of consistency this season.

  "In the last five or six years, consistency is the one word that would be put next to our name, as we always showed up and even when not at our best, we still managed to grind out results. We haven’t done that this season, and we have to fix that."

  Despite their issues this season, Robertson remains adamant Liverpool belong in the Champions League.

  But he accepts the Reds cannot take qualification for granted.

  "Going into April, not being in the Champions League, FA Cup or League Cup, and then not being in a title race is so disappointing – it's a position we don't want to be in.

  "We are out of every competition, but we still believe we are a team that can compete in every competition.

  "So to fix that, we have to be in these tournaments again next season, and the only way to do that is finishing in the top four.

  "So we've got 12 games to fix it, and we are determined to put our all into those next 12 games."

• Chelsea beat Lyon in dramatic penalty shoot-out, Wolfsburg fend off PSG to reach semi-finals

  Chelsea sealed a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Lyon to reach the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League, having rescued the tie through Maren Mjelde's last-gasp spot-kick in extra-time.

  Despite winning last week's first leg 1-0, Chelsea appeared destined for an exit when Sara Dabritz drilled into the bottom-right corner in extra time after Venessa Gilles' flick had levelled the tie.

  However, a trip on Lauren James gave Mjelde the chance to keep the game alive at the last, and the Norwegian made no mistake eight minutes into stoppage time, taking the contest to a shoot-out.

  James and Wendie Renard both saw their kicks saved before Jess Carter converted, meaning Lyon's Lindsey Horan had to score to keep the holders in the competition.

  Chelsea's Ann-Katrin Berger got down to her right to palm Horan's weak kick away, ensuring the Blues teed up an enticing semi-final tie against Barcelona – who beat Emma Hayes' team 4-0 in the 2021 final.

  Earlier on Thursday, two-time champions Wolfsburg clinched a 1-1 draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain, recording a 2-1 aggregate success to set up a semi-final tie with Arsenal.

  Having taken a first-leg lead through Dominique Janssen's penalty in the French capital last week, Wolfsburg found themselves with a two-goal cushion when Alexandra Popp fired home from outside the area 20 minutes in.

  That strike came somewhat against the run of play after Kadidiatou Diani had an effort chalked off for offside, but there was no denying the forward when she nodded in on the half-hour mark.

  Wolfsburg improved after the break and missed several chances to make the tie safe, but it was of little consequence as PSG failed to find a crucial second goal.