Soccer: Breaking Stories and all the Latest from The New York Times

Global Soccer: Andy Carroll’s Blitz Dashes Arsenal’s Title Hopes
Arsenal led 2-0 before Andy Carroll ignited with a hat-trick for West Ham United, though it did come back to score again in a 3-3 draw Saturday.

Global Soccer: Leicester City’s ‘Can-Do’ Spirit Is Spreading
Danny Willett’s victory in the Masters is like the improbable rise of Leicester City and Northampton Town in English soccer.

China’s Blueprint for Reaching Top Ranks of Soccer
China hopes to have one of the world’s leading national teams by 2050 under a plan that calls for introducing the game to 20,000 schools and having 30 million children participate.

Brave Liverpool Create ‘Special Moment’ at Anfield
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had spoken about bravery in the run-up to their Europa League clash with Borussia Dortmund, but even the ever-enthusiastic German must have doubted if his side had the stomach to produce their stunning fightback on Thursday.

Madrid Gets City, Atlético Faces Bayern, in Champions League
Friday’s Champions League draw sent Real Madrid to play Manchester City and paired Atlético Madrid with Bayern Munich in the semifinals.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Liverpool Reaches Europa League Semifinals
Dejan Lovren completed an exhilarating Liverpool comeback in stoppage time to beat Borussia Dortmund, 4-3.

Global Soccer: 2-2 Draw Is Good Enough for Bayern Munich
Bayern, the 2013 winner in the Champions League, advanced to the semifinals thanks to a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Munich.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Jurgen Klinsmann Rejects Reports of Possible Move to Everton Club
Klinsmann’s position as the United States coach has come under scrutiny after disappointing results, and Roberto Martinez is also under pressure at Everton.

Earthquakes 2, Red Bulls 0: Earthquakes Shut Out Red Bulls
Fatai Alashe and Chris Wondolowski scored for San Jose, and the Red Bulls remained scoreless in all five of their losses this season.

Atlético Madrid 2, Barcelona 0: Atlético Madrid Eliminates Barcelona in Champions League
The 3-2 loss on aggregate kept Barcelona from reaching the semifinals for the second time in nine seasons.

Lawyers in FIFA Corruption Case Discuss Possible Trial Date
Prosecutors have proposed an aggressive timetable, but the judge and some defense lawyers expressed concerns about the amount of information still streaming in in the case.

Global Soccer: Real Madrid’s Emergency Strategy: Leave It to Cristiano Ronaldo
It is impossible to imagine Real Madrid getting out of the hole it had dug for itself in the Champions League without its brightest talent, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Indicted Brazilian Back in Post
Marco Polo del Nero, who faces charges in the FIFA scandal, has returned to his job as president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

With Blistering Kick, Manchester City Rights a Choppy Season
City erased the French power Paris St.-Germain with a 1-0 home win, winning on aggregate, 3-2, and advanced to the cusp of the Champions League final.

Real Madrid 3, Wolfsburg 0: Cristiano Ronaldo Pulls Real Madrid Back From the Brink
Ronaldo scored all three goals in a win over Wolfsburg that overturned last week’s unexpected defeat and put Madrid in the Champions League semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.

Global Soccer: Leicester City’s ‘Can-Do’ Spirit Is Spreading
Danny Willett’s victory in the Masters is like the improbable rise of Leicester City and Northampton Town in English soccer.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Wayne Rooney Begins His Comeback
Rooney emerged unscathed when he played just over an hour for Manchester United’s under-21 team after having missed 12 first-team matches with a knee injury.

Wayne Rooney Plays With Under-21 Team in Manchester
Rooney, who has missed 12 first-team games with a knee injury, played just over an hour for Manchester United’s under-21 team.

Roma Earns a Draw in Serie A
Mohamed Salah hit the post three times before finally scoring to give third-place Roma a draw at home against Bologna.

Palermo Makes Eighth Coaching Change of Season
Walter Novellino was given his marching orders after four matches in charge, and the Italian news media said Davide Ballardini could return for a second spell.

Ex-FIFA Official Becomes 17th Defendant to Plead Guilty
Alfredo Hawit of Honduras agreed to pay $950,000 to the United States and could face decades in prison.

Roundup: Leicester Captures Coveted Berth for First Time
Jamie Vardy’s double at Sunderland sealed a 2-0 victory that guaranteed a coveted top-four finish in the Premier League.

Essay: Carli Lloyd: Why I’m Fighting for Equal Pay
The co-captain of the United States women’s national team writes about why she and four teammates filed a wage-discrimination complaint against U.S. Soccer.

For U.S. Soccer, Pint-Sized Crystal Dunn Reaches New Heights
Dunn, the last U.S. player cut before last year’s World Cup, has become a prolific scorer and looks like a lock to play in the Olympics.

Roundup: West Ham Gets Tie With Arsenal, Sharpening Title Picture in Premier League
West Ham striker Andy Carroll scored an eight-minute hat trick Saturday to dampen Arsenal’s slim Premier League title hopes in a game that finally ended, 3-3.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Lyon in Battle for Second
The teenage forward Maxwell Cornet scored twice as Lyon won, 2-0, at Montpellier to bolster its bid to finish second in the French league.

After Bombing, Iraqi Player Hopes Soccer Holds the Power to Heal
Yaser Kasim, who plays for a club in the third tier of English soccer, visited the site of a deadly attack on a youth tournament in Iskandariya, Iraq.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Klopp Held to Tie in Return
Liverpool was held to a 1-1 tie at Borussia Dortmund, Coach Jürgen Klopp’s former club, in the first leg of a Europa League quarterfinal.

Liverpool Hold Dortmund to a Draw on Klopp’s Return
Liverpool Manager Juergen Klopp enjoyed a satisfying return to Borussia Dortmund as his new side frustrated his former charges and claimed a valuable away goal to draw 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday.

Global Soccer: Wolfsburg’s Hard Work Earns Upset Over Real Madrid
Five days after a hard-fought win over Barcelona, Real Madrid is nearly humiliated in a Champions League quarterfinal match in Wolfsburg.

United States 7, Colombia 0: U.S. Women, Fighting for Equal Pay, Win Easily as Fans Show Support
As they continued to make their case in a suit demanding compensation similar to male players’, the Americans whipped outclassed Colombia while drawing another large audience.

Manchester City 2, Paris St.-Germain 2: A Champions League Matchup of Elites Ends in an Ugly Tie
The most memorable goal of a first-leg draw between Paris St.-Germain and Manchester City was so ugly, so bizarre, that it was difficult to imagine anyone repeating it.

After Panama Papers Leak, a Raid and New Questions for FIFA
The Swiss authorities raided UEFA headquarters on Wednesday, seizing information on media rights deals signed by FIFA’s new president, Gianni Infantino.

Global Soccer: Narrow Loss to Bayern Gives Benfica Hope for Lisbon Rematch
Bayern Munich struck early, but not often, and defeated Benfica 1-0, in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal in Munich.

On Soccer: Flashes of Cards and of Brilliance as Suárez’s Barcelona Edges Torres’s Atlético
Luis Suarez scored twice in the second half to rally Barcelona in the Champions League.

Global Soccer: New Chelsea Coach Antonio Conte Has One Way: His
Conte will take over at the English club this summer and will be tasked with rebuilding a team that imploded in the first half of the season.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Yaya Touré Plans to Leave Manchester City
Touré, 32, joined City, a Premier League club, from Barcelona for $34.2 million in 2010 but has not been offered a new contract, his agent said.

Cesare Maldini, Who Led A.C. Milan to Italy’s First European Cup, Dies at 84
The stalwart player won four Italian league titles and was also a national coach for Italy and Paraguay.

New Chelsea Coach Comes With Wins and Baggage
Antonio Conte revitalized Italy’s national team in the last two years, but he is facing sports fraud charges from a match-fixing scandal in Italy.

Sports Briefing | Soccer: Leicester Closing on Premier League Title
A fourth successive 1-0 victory, this one over Southampton, sent Leicester to a 7-point lead in the Premier League on Sunday.