Pellegrini: Man City still have title hopes

MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini refused to accept Manchester City's title hopes ended with their 2-2 draw against Sunderland and vowed to fight to the end.

But the City manager accepted his side, who have only taken one point from their last two games and are six behind leaders Liverpool, have a much slimmer chance after failing to beat the relegation-threatened Black Cats.

And Pellegrini took heart from City's title-winning campaign in 2012, when they were six points behind Manchester United with half a dozen games to go and ended up topping the league.

"The chances are less than before the match," the Chilean said in his news conference. "It was very important for us to win the three points. For different reasons we couldn't but we continue fighting to the end.

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The holy hitchhikers: Francis delights two Italian schoolboys by taking them for a spin in the Pope-mobile

The Pope greets two Italian schoolboys before offering them a lift in the Pope-mobile

Being Pope can get lonely sometimes. 

But Francis found some young friends to keep him company yesterday,  when he picked up two hitchhikers in his Pope-mobile. 

Pope Francis, is joined by 11-year-olds Livio Bastianelli, right, and Davide Maria Bianchi, left, as he blesses faithful during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square

Delighted 11-year-old schoolboys Livio Bastianelli and Davide Maria Bianchi toured St Peter’s Square in Francis’ white jeep, waving to the crowds.

At the end of his regular Wednesday Angelus prayer as Francis began his tour of the square he saw a group of Italian children.

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Carlo Ancelotti: Real Madrid deserved to win the Trophy

Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid "deserved" to win the trophy after guiding his side past Barcelona 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday.

With Cristiano Ronaldo watching from the sideline, Real took an early lead through Angel Di Maria before being pegged back by Marc Bartra's header. Gareth Bale scored a dramatic winner in the 85th minute.

"We played at our maximum level," Ancelotti said. "We performed very well for a huge part of the game. I think we deserved it.

"All the players delivered tonight. Ronaldo's injury was an additional motivation for us."

Ancelotti called Bale's goal "surely the most important" of Bale's career, which took a major turn last summer when Madrid broke their own spending record to secure his transfer.

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