The Uruguayan midfielder said he was furious at the Dutchman's tackle and admitted he wanted to slap the Nerazzurri star for the challenge, which did not earn a booking.

Napoli midfielder Walter Gargano has lambasted Inter's Wesley Sneijder for the latter's reckless tackle in Wednesday's fixture between the two clubs.

Sneijder seemingly went studs-first on Gargano's shin at the half-hour mark of Napoli's 2-0 Coppa Italia victory, an action which referee Domenico Celi failed to see.

"It was very wrong of him," Gargano told Sport 890. "I do not know if I could call it cowardice, but he could certainly have broken my leg with that challenge. At the time of the foul I was furious and I do not know how I managed to control myself.

"Instinctively, I would have given him a couple of slaps, but luckily I managed to remain calm. I could not hurt my team by being sent off.

"Sneijder knew what he had done, in fact he never got close to me again during the match. He knew he risked being slapped."

Napoli, which defeated the Nerazzurri thanks to an Edinson Cavani brace, will play Siena in the Coppa Italia semifinals.

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Jose Mourinho's men will be hoping to bounce back from their Copa del Rey exit with another league win against a side which is struggling to pick up points.

Real Madrid will be without Sami Khedira who is absent through an ankle injury, while Angel Di Maria is still missing with a knock. Jose Mourinho's men do not have any new absentees since their Copa del Rey exit midweek and Pepe looks set to continue to start in central defense.

The Portugal international will play alongside Sergio Ramos who is available for the game as his sending off versus Barcelona on Wednesday will only see him banned from the Copa del Rey.

Marcelo could come into the starting lineup at left-back while Jose Callejon may be given the nod ahead of Kaka in attack. Karim Benzema is expected to replace Gonzalo Higuain as Madrid's lone striker.

For Manolo Jimenez's side, there are no recent injury problems as Paulo da Silva is expected to continue at the heart of the defense after returning from a broken leg while Ivan Obradovic is set to feature at right back.

The visitors are expected to name three players on-loan at the club in midfield – Apono, Ruben Micael and Tomislav Dujmovic, while Helder Postiga looks set to lead the line with support coming from Luis Garcia.

• Real Madrid has been awarded nine penalties in the league this season, more than any other side.

• Los Blancos have scored at least three goals in 15 of their 18 home games this term in all competitions. The three games where they failed to score more than three were all against rivals Barcelona.

• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 30 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions this season.

• Real Zaragoza is winless in 12 games (nine defeats, three draws), the longest streak without a win in La Liga this campaign.

• In 57 previous visits to the Santiago Bernabeu, Zaragoza has only picked up four wins, although it did beat Mourinho's men 3-2 last season.

• Zaragoza's top goalscorer in the league is Helder Postiga with four goals, and the Portuguese forward previously played under Mourinho at Porto between 2003 and 2005.

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The Catalan side returns to La Liga duty and travels to El Madrigal days after its Copa del Rey progression against Real Madrid.

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona side picked up injuries to key players in its 2-2 Clasico draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday. Andres Iniesta has been ruled out for three weeks after coming off with a hamstring tear on his left leg, and Alexis Sanchez could also miss out too.

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The winter champion host Francesco Guidolin's men on Saturday night, knowing a victory would see it move six points clear of the visitors.

The Old Lady have a few concerns going into Saturday's clash, with both Claudio Marchisio and Simone Pepe doubtful. The midfield pair both limped out of the 2-0 victory over Atalanta last week, and will need to pass late fitness tests to take part on Saturday.

However the league leader has been boosted by the return of Fabio Quagliarella and Alex Manninger, with the duo returning to the squad which defeated Roma in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday, after recovering from fractured cheekbone and twisted ankle respectively.

Francesco Guidolin's troops will travel to Turin without two of their midfield enforcers in the form of Kwadwo Asamoah and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, with the pair both representing Ghana at the African Cup of Nations. Mehdi Benatia will also miss out, as the former Marseille youth is also at the tournament with Morocco.

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Herculez Gomez has his eye on more playing time with Santos, which has scored a goal a game this season.

Herculez Gomez has the same complaint that has plagued him his entire career in Mexico: not enough playing time.

Three games into the 2012 Clausura, the American forward has played 33 minutes spread over two appearances for Santos Laguna. In 62 appearances since he left Major League Soccer for Mexico in 2010, Gomez has played 2741 minutes, an average of 44.2 minutes per match.

He's bounced around as a supersub — a role perfected for Puebla FC during the 2010 Bicentenario when he tied the league lead in scoring with 10 goals despite his pithy 758 minutes of field time — from Puebla to Pachuca to Tecos and now to Santos.

Still, the 29-year-old knows that blaming anyone but himself won't earn him playing time.

"I haven't had the minutes I want, but that hasn't stopped me," Gomez said. "God willing, I'll get an opportunity — that's all I ask for. I have nothing left to do but keep working for my team to gain a place [in the starting XI]."

Santos takes on Tijuana Sunday looking to improve its seven points (two wins, one draw). But if the club wants to add to its three goals from three games, Herculez Gomez just might have a suggestion.

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The Argentine striker is over the moon with the transfer to San Siro and has vowed to repay the club's faith with hard work after joining on loan from Catania.

Maxi Lopez was overjoyed with his move to AC Milan, saying he is eager to repay the club's trust in him.

The Catania-owned striker has joined the Serie A champion on a six-month loan deal after it failed in its efforts to sign Manchester City's Carlos Tevez before.

"I am truly happy," Lopez told Milan Channel. "After all that happened, I am happy to join this great team.

"I want to salute all the fans of this great club and I hope to repay the affection with all my efforts."

The 27-year-old striker, who joined Catania in 2010, scored three goals in 14 appearances for the Sicilian club this season.
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Dutchman admits his side were poor against the Championship team, while Carlo Cudicini believes Spurs should be targeting a league and cup double

Rafael van der Vaart has conceded Tottenham didn't deserve to progress into the FA Cup fifth-round draw following their victory over Watford.

The Dutchman's fortuitous first-half strike was enough to secure the win at Vicarage Road on Friday evening but the hosts had plenty of chances to stages an upset.

"I think we played a bad game today," Van der Vaart told Sky Sports. "I think Watford deserved more, maybe a win because they were the better team tonight. Sometimes you have these days. The 100% sharpness is not there.

"I think it was a difficult game, the pitch was heavy and yes they played a great game. It was a lucky strike but I'm happy it caused the win."

Carlo Cudicini maintains his teammates were aware the tie would be tricky prior to the match but was pleased to progress into the next round.

"Once you've been in England for a while you know what the FA Cup is about," Cudicini said. "We knew it would be a difficult game and it was. So we're pleased to go through.

Cudicini's fingertip save from Sean Murray's curled effort in the second half denied Watford its best chance to equalize, and the Italian targets a league and cup double this term.

"Yes, sometimes you just need a little touch and the ball went onto the post," he said. "Lucky but at the same time it was what we needed at that moment. We have a great squad. We have shown that in the Premier League and we hope for a long run in the FA Cup as well."

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The midfielder has made three appearances since returning from retirement this month, and claims Sir Alex Ferguson was positive over his decision

Paul Scholes has admitted he missed playing for Manchester United 'more than he thought' following his retirement u-turn earlier this month.

The 37-year-old has signed a deal that runs until the end of the season and has made three  appearances for United since going back on his decision to quit football last summer.

Scholes conceded his day-to-day involvement at United, which included training with the reserve side, fueled his desire to return to playing.

"I missed it more than I thought. At the end of last season, I thought it was the right time to finish," Scholes told MUTV. "Ask any player who has finished, they will all miss it for a period of time. I missed it and decided to give it another go."

"After coming in to Carrington for the last three or four months and still seeing people and still doing a bit of training with the reserves, I was missing it more than I thought I would."

Scholes also felt his decision to return hinged on the thoughts of manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but the midfielder was buoyed by the United boss' response when he revealed his intentions.

"I went to see the manager and said that I wanted to come back playing. I didn't know what he would say. I didn't know what his reaction would be. Thankfully, it was a positive one," he said. "It's nice to be back. The first two or three days took a bit of getting used to but I'm back into it now and enjoying every day."

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In the battle of the Americans, Donovan's Everton came up trumps.

Landon Donovan and Everton were able to outdo Clint Dempsey and Fulham in a very exciting FA Cup fourth round match on Friday at Goodison Park that ended 2-1 in the home side's favor.

Despite going down to the Cottagers early on in the first half thanks to a converted Danny Murphy penalty that beat U.S. international goalkeeper Tim Howard, Everton was able to fight back in the match thanks in large part to Donovan's contributions.

In the 27th minute, Donovan found some space along the flank and put in a deep left-footed cross that was met neatly by the head of Denis Stracqualursi. Directing it home confidently, the Argentine was able to tie the score, a fair result considering how the match was going.

Things stayed that way until midway through the second half in the 73rd minute when Donovan took the ball down the right side of the pitch. Playing in another lofted ball, he was able to reach the outstretched head of Marouane Fellaini who directed his header across goal and past Fulham keeper David Stockdale.

Fulham was unable to level the score in the match's remaining minutes despite the best efforts of Dempsey, who didn't get into the match the way he may have hoped.

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Sloppy Londoners experienced enough to see off lower division opponents despite the Hornets having plenty of chances at an equalizer they and their fans probably deserved.

Tottenham has reached the fifth round of the FA Cup after Rafael van der Vaart's first-half strike secured a 1-0 victory over Watford.

Spurs could do little more to contain the Hornets on the night as the home side frantically searched for a goal throughout.

Watford ended up with over 20 shots with 12 on target but ultimately lacked the conviction and composure to seal a deserved replay.

Neither side was played much defense as the match began.

Both teams exchanged carefree attacks at the other's goal throughout the first quarter hour, though only the home side mustered shots on target during the spell.

The Hornets had much joy down Spurs' left flank as the match continued. Left winger Rafael Van der Vaart offered little help to overwhelmed youngster Danny Rose as Watford coursed up and down the touchline at will.

After 20 minuets, the home side had managed 10 shots at Spurs keeper Carlo Cudicini while Tottenham had none.

harry Redknapp's men finally mustered their first shot after a half-hour. It was tame but on-target from Jermain Defoe after quick buildup from the visitors.

Tottenham's class in the middle of the park wasn't translating into the final third of the field, but the Premier League club began to control the midfield and thus possession over its Championship opponents.

Just before halftime, after a spell of unfruitful Spurs' possession, Watford had a then rare foray into the visitor's half which Tottenham immediately countered from.

Right winger Kyle Walker strode down the right side and fed inside to the hitherto dormant Van der Vaart.

The Dutchman curled low from 25 yards, his dipping shot befuddling Scott Loach completely as it nestled into the Watford net to give Spurs the 1-0 lead into the tunnel.

Redknapp brought in Aaron Lennon for the second half at the expense of Luka Modric, but it was the Hornets who struck first.

Spurs center backs Michael Dawson and Stan Livermore got in a muddle in their own box, ultimately gifting possession to a wide-open Sean Murray.

The composed 18-year-old curled around Cudicini but his finessed shot could only strike the post on his team's best chance of the match.

The visitors finally forced a decent save from Loach minutes later when Luke Walker headed a Rose cross from close range and the keeper parried over.

For the next 20 minutes Spurs clung to their narrow advantage while the home side outhustled the bigger club.

Headers and shots came from every virtually Watford player but each lacked conviction and arrived tame or off target.

The inspired home side and their boisterous support deserved an equalizer but Tottenham had all hands at the pumps at the back.

Watford had two more brilliant chances with just over 10 minutes remaining. Mark Yeates sent in a long free kick which bundled around the area.

Nyron Nosworthy fired the loose ball inside the loose ball from point-blank but Dawson desperately blocked it on the line.

Spurs managed to pass the ball around the back for much of the final 10 minutes to maturely see out the result.

Watford deserved a replay on form and desire but lacked the conviction throughout to equalize against the London club.

Redknapp and company continue their stellar season to enter the fifth round of the FA Cup while sitting in third place on the Premier League table.

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