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AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has challenged his side to continue their push for the Champions League, after their 3-0 win over Lazio.

A double from Giampaolo Pazzini and a Kevin-Prince Boateng strike sealed the victory against the Italian capital club - who had Antonio Candreva sent off in the first half - with Milan leapfrogging the visitors into third spot.

"The team deserves to be in third place, as they are playing well," he told reporters after the game. 

"We must remember to stay focused in our fight for Europe. These days we are more organised as a side, which makes it easier to win.

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said they were not given a fair rub of the green from referee Jonathan Moss in their 1-0 loss to West Ham.

Guy Demel appeared to use his hand while attempting to control the ball inside his own area before Ryan Shawcross tumbled to the ground under pressure from Andy Carroll in the lead up to Jack Collison's winner.

And, while Pulis believes his side should have been awarded a penalty, he was left more aggrieved by the perceived foul on his captain.

"Their goal is really hard to take - Carroll actually pulls Ryan down and we are disappointed with that and we could have had a penalty in the second half," he told reporters.

Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup lauded the attitude of his squad after they overcame a resilient Newcastle United 1-0 on Saturday.

Luke Moore broke the deadlock with five minutes remaining, with his neat finish moving Swansea to eighth place in the English Premier League.

Laudrup was particularly pleased with his players' growing maturity in their first fixture since lifting the Capital One Cup with a 5-0 victory over Bradford City last Sunday.

"I spoke in the week about the fact you sometimes see a negative reaction after a big win, but our reaction was an excellent first half where we showed lots of good touches, movement off the ball, and we created chances," he said.

Assistant coach Aitor Karanka admitted Real Madrid face an uphill battle in the Champions League after tough matches against Barcelona.

Real followed Tuesday's 3-1 Copa del Rey win over Barcelona at Camp Nou with a 2-1 La Liga triumph against the same opponents at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho's side take on Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday, with their last-16 tie delicately poised at 1-1.

"Obviously we are very happy after these last five days and these two matches," Karanka said.

"We believe that we did something incredible, (but) we take the risk of paying for it on Tuesday. 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said Shinji Kagawa will be 'far better' next season, after his hat-trick against Norwich.

The summer signing, who has struggled with injuries this term, opened the scoring just before half-time before coolly adding his second and third in the latter stages of the contest as he became the first Asian player to score a Premier League treble, as United claimed a 4-0 win.

And Ferguson cited persistent setbacks as the reason behind Kagawa's slow start at the club, before promising the fans that the best is yet to come from the Japan international.

"It was a brilliant day for him, he is a good finisher. His second goal was composed and intelligent, his last was brilliant," he told reporters.

Jupp Heynckes' side go into the weekend 17 points clear in the Bundesliga, and will be confident of victory against the hosts, who sit in the drop zone

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes could face a lengthy ban for verbally abusing referee Miguel Angel Perez Lasa in Saturday's El Clasico.

Valdes was furious at the official's decision not to award a late penalty in their 2-1 loss to Real Madrid, following a challenge from Sergio Ramos on Adriano.

Although further from the action than any other player on the pitch, Valdes protested more vehemently than any of his team-mates and had to be restrained by a member of the club's staff.

Shouting angrily in the referee's face, Valdes was shown a yellow card but continued to protest until Perez Lasa produced a red moments later.