Sporting briefs

King’s Cup: Luis Suarez had the Barcelona fans chanting his name after he set up Lionel Messi to score the opening goal in a 3-1 victory for the record winners in their King’s Cup semi-final, first leg at home to Villarreal last night. Barca squandered a series of chances before Villarreal levelled three minutes into the second period. Andres Iniesta put Barca back in front and Gerard Pique made it 3-1 in the 64th minute from a Messi corner.

Wilhelmsson: Winger Christian Wilhelmsson has ended a nomadic career during which he scored nine goals in 79 appearances for Sweden and played for a slew of clubs in Europe, the Middle East and the US. The 35-year-old said a persistent toe injury was the reason for his retirement.

PRotest: Alianza Lima, whose players were attacked by fans after last week’s 4-0 home defeat by Huracan, protested by standing still for the first 20 seconds when the teams met again in Buenos Aires. Tuesday night’s match, the second leg of their Libertadores Cup preliminary tie, ended 0-0. Huracan kicked off, passed the ball back to their defence and kept passing it among themselves waiting for a reaction from the Alianza players until they began to move 20 seconds later.

Van Gaal: Man United manager Louis van Gaal has denied a charge of misconduct in relation to media comments and requested a personal hearing on a date to be confirmed. The Dutchman said following United’s surprise fourth-round goalless draw at Cambridge last month that “every aspect of the match” had been “against” his team, including referee Chris Foy.

All Whites: New Zealand will begin their countdown to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with a friendly against Asian Cup runners-up South Korea in March. The All Whites, who did not qualify for last year’s World Cup in Brazil, will play the Koreans in Seoul on March 31.

Results

The Championship: Nottingham Forest vs Wigan 3-0.

Scottish Premiership: Partick Thistle vs Celtic 0-3.