..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Rooney: I need to play more games

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney says that he needs more game time after missing the majority of his club's pre-season through injury.

The forward started England's friendly with Scotland on Wednesday but had to make do with a place on the bench for United's opener against Swansea City on Saturday.

Rooney appeared as a second-half substitute at the Liberty Stadium and set up a goal as his side ran out 4-1 winners but feels that he still has further to go to hit his peak.

"You obviously need that sharpness," the Chelsea target told reporters. "I haven't had that many training sessions with the first team [at United] because they have been away.

"I might be lacking that bit of sharpness but hopefully that will come. I need to try and get a few more games in."

The forward, who has been the subject of two failed bids from the Blues during the transfer window, lamented the disruption of his summer through injuries.

"You always look forward to having a good pre-season," he added. "It's important you do that. Unfortunately I got the injury to my hamstring and then to my shoulder. It's been disappointing but you've got to deal with it."

Rooney also revealed his gratitude to England manager Roy Hodgson after playing 67 minutes in the 3-2 friendly victory against Scotland.

"I have been working hard on the training ground trying to get myself fit and I was just thankful to get the minutes in against Scotland. That's thanks to the manager," he enthused.

"I had a few painkillers for the shoulder injury. It was great to have the minutes and now I'm looking forward to hopefully getting a few games."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham: Soldado debut strike gets Spurs off & running

Roberto Soldado's debut goal gave Tottenham a winning start to the Premier League season, despite a spirited display from newly-promoted Crystal Palace.

The Spanish striker made no mistake from the penalty spot early in the second half after Dean Moxey had handled a cross from Aaron Lennon inside the area.

Soldado sent Julian Speroni the wrong way to claim his first competitive goal in a Tottenham shirt and give Andre Villas-Boas' side the perfect start to the season.

As well as Soldado, the Tottenham boss named two of his other new signings - Nacer Chadli and Paulinho - in the starting line-up while Etienne Capoue had to settle for a place on the substitutes bench.

Marouane Chamakh, signed from Arsenal a week ago, was not deemed fit enough to start by Palace boss Ian Holloway so he was named on the bench, with new signings Dwight Gayle and Stephen Dobbie given the job of leading the line alongside Aaron Wilbraham.

A frantic opening 10 minutes saw chances at a premium, and when the first serious effort arrived in the 13th minute, the frame of the goal denied Mousa Dembele.

Aaron Lennon combined neatly with the Belgian but his 25-yard strike clipped the top of the crossbar on its way over.

Gylfi Sigurdsson brought the first save from Julian Speroni in the closing 10 minutes of the half with Lennon again involved as he found the Iceland international on the edge of the penalty area with his back to goal.

He turned away from the Palace defence but his right-footed shot was well tipped over by the Palace goalkeeper.

After a frustrating opening period the visitors broke the deadlock early in the second half after Moxey's handball was punished by referee Mark Clattenburg.

Soldado immediately collected the ball and confidently converted the spot-kick to get his Spurs career off to a scoring start.

The visitors should have doubled their lead in the 69th minute after excellent build-up play between Kyle Walker and Soldado.

The England full-back rolled a perfect pass into the Spaniard’s stride, and his pull back to Sigurdsson gave the Iceland man a clear sight of goal, but he dragged his shot wide.

Chamakh and Kevin Phillips were both introduced late in the game by the hosts but neither was able to find a way through a resolute Tottenham defence, and Kagisho Dikgacoi was denied by superbly by an onrushing Hugo Lloris in the dying embers to preserve Spurs' three points.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Vertonghen hails Paulinho & Capoue impact

Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen believes summer signings Paulinho and Etienne Capoue can help the club secure Champions League football this season.

Spurs claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over newly-promoted Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, after Roberto Soldado netted a debut goal from the penalty spot.

Nacer Chadli, Paulinho and Capoue also made their first appearances for the north London club and Vertonghen feels this season's group are a force to be reckoned with.

"They're all strong lads, Capoue, Paulinho, Roberto and Nacer," he told Sky Sports after the game.

"We have a very strong, big team and we want to play for the prizes and Champions League qualification.

"Next time we have to score more goals. They were playing long balls to Chamakh and Phillips. We knew we needed to make it 2-0 but we didn't."

Chadli, who secured a €8.2 million move from Twente last month, impressed on his debut and also acknowledged Spurs will need to score more goals in order to kill games off.

The Belgian added: "We had a lot of chances and we needed to kill the game earlier. We got the three points today and I enjoyed it.

"It's quick in Holland but I like the way we played here today. Too bad it was only 1-0."

Next up for Villas-Boas' side is a trip to Georgia on Thuirsday for the first leg of their Europa League play-off against Dinamo Tbilisi.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Moyes hails Van Persie after Swansea double

David Moyes praised the quality of Robin van Persie after the striker scored twice in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Swansea on Saturday.

The Dutchman scored the first goal of the Moyes era in the Premier League with a perfectly executed volley, before adding the third goal of the game with an emphatic strike from the edge of the penalty area.Danny Welbeck also scored twice in United's victory - to eclipse his goal tally from the whole of last season - and Moyes also recognised the impact the England forward had on the game.

"I think his (Van Persie's) foot was seven feet high in the air when he hit it (for the first goal)," Moyes told MUTV. "It was great athleticism and a good pass by Ryan (Giggs) that got us in."But I was nearly as pleased by the goal Danny got. I like centre-forwards to score tap-ins inside the six-yard box. If you're ever going to get a lot of goals in the Premier League, you're going to have to get a few of those in the season so it's a good start for Danny.

"Obviously, he's got the fourth too, which he earned through his hard work throughout the game."They tell me Danny only got one (league goal) last year so he's got two now. It's a start and if we can get everybody chipping in, it's great but it'll do Danny's confidence a lot of good."

Moyes' United face a tough couple of games in the coming weeks with clashes against Chelsea and Liverpool.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chelsea 2-0 Hull City Tigers: Oscar & Lampard ensure Mourinho a happy homecoming

Oscar and Frank Lampard scored to ensure a happy return to Stamford Bridge for Jose Mourinho as Chelsea got their season off to a winning start against Hull City Tigers.


Lampard saw a penalty saved by debutant Allan McGregor on six minutes, but the Brazilian playmaker broke the deadlock seven minutes later after a fine pass from Kevin De Bruyne.

Chelsea's all-time top scorer then atoned for his earlier miss by rifling a stunning 30-yard free kick into the top corner and, though Hull rallied after the break, they never seriously threatened a comeback.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mourinho handed starts to two stalwarts of his first spell at the club, with John Terry and Lampard returning at centre-back and in central midfield respectively.

Steve Bruce, meanwhile, abandoned the 3-5-2 formation that served his side so well in Championship last season in order to deploy a 4-3-3 set-up with loanee striker Danny Graham leading the line.

The build-up to Sunday's game had inevitably focused on Mourinho's return to Chelsea, and the Portuguese's second stint in charge appeared set for a dream start when Hull goalkeeper McGregor needlessly wandered to the edge of his box to fell Fernando Torres with five minutes gone and concede a penalty.

But the Scot would earn himself an instant reprieve, diving low to his right to emphatically pound away Lampard's well-hit spot kick and keep the scores level.

However, it would take just under seven minutes for Chelsea to finally grab the breakthrough, when a fine exchange allowed De Bruyne to work space and the Belgian picked out a slide-rule pass that Oscar poked under McGregor's despairing dive.

Lampard went close with a drive inside the box in the immediate aftermath of the first goal, but he eventually also got on the scoresheet midway through the first half courtesy of a ferocious 30-yard free kick that dipped over the visiting goalkeeper.

The second was little more than Chelsea had deserved, and they began to play with a degree of comfort rarely seen in a season-opening fixture after carving out a two-goal advantage.

They even almost added a third just before half-time only for McGregor to somehow prevent a Branislav Ivanovic header from crossing the line - a fact confirmed by the use of the Premier League's new goal-line technology.

The second half started at a leisurely pace, with Chelsea happy to spend the opening 15 minutes keeping possession and stamping out any Hull hopes of a meaningful counterattack with some ruthless defending.

This prompted visiting manager Bruce to make a double substitution, with close-season acquisitions Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone replacing David Meyler and Graham as Hull desperately searched for a way back into the match.

Both teams had credible penalty shouts soon after - with Robbie Brady bundling Torres over in the box before Lampard's arm appeared to block a Hull shot - but referee Jon Moss waved both claims away.

A chipped effort from substitute Andre Schurrle was the closest either side came to scoring again in the final moments, with Chelsea squeezing all life out of a match that ended in comfortable circumstances.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Eintracht Braunschweig: Late rally seals points for BVB

Borussia Dortmund ran out 2-1 winners over Eintracht Braunschweig thanks to late goals from Jonas Hofmann and Marco Reus.


BVB had to wait until the 75th minute to break the deadlock when Hofmann put his side in front and a Reus penalty five minutes from time ensured Kevin Kratz's late strike was nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.

Roman Weidenfeller was back in goal for last season's runners-up, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan made his German top-flight debut and fellow close-season signing Sokratis came into defence for Neven Subotic.Ilkay Gundogan missed out after injuring his back while on international duty for Germany on Wednesday.

There was also a change in goalkeeper for the visitors as Daniel Davari replaced Marjan Petkovic, while Marcel Correia came in for Deniz Dogan in defence.
Braunschweig had the first opportunity after just three minutes when Dennis Kruppke turned his effort past Weidenfeller's far post.

Dortmund then had two good chances as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jakub Blaszczykowski were both played in behind the Braunschweig defence before the away side cleared.Former Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Mkhitaryan then had his first sight of goal, shooting over after 23 minutes, before Nuri Sahin curled a free-kick over 13 minutes later.

With neither side able to force a breakthrough in what was a low-key half, the scores were level at the break.Five minutes into the second half, Sven Bender fizzed a strike past Davari's right-hand post before Sahin struck a loose ball well over from inside the box.

Dortmund continued to apply pressure with Aubameyang forcing a good close-range save from Davari 58 minutes in.Six minutes after the hour mark, Aubameyang again had a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead but blazed over after being unmarked in the box.Robert Lewandowski was the next to spurn a chance for the home side as the Poland international failed to get a strong enough connection on his effort from inside the six-yard box.

Eventually though, Dortmund got their breakthrough courtesy of substitute Hofmann, who had come on for Aubameyang.

The 21-year-old played a well-worked one-two with Mats Hummels before slotting home to give the home side a deserved lead on 74 minutes.

Hofmann was again involved in the second goal 11 minutes later when he was brought down by Ermin Bicakcic in the area, with Reus slotting home the resulting penalty.Kratz pulled a goal back for the visitors from a corner a minute from time, but this proved to be merely a consolation as Dortmund wrapped up a hard-earned three points.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Casillas dropped by Real Madrid

Iker Casillas has been overlooked for Real Madrid's opening La Liga match of the season against Betis, with Diego Lopez preferred to him in goal.

New coach Carlo Ancelotti, who will oversee his first Spanish league fixture on Sunday, revealed yesterday that he had not made up his mind on which goalkeeper would start.
Casillas, who was ousted by Lopez last season while Jose Mourinho was still in charge, was widely expected to get the nod over the former Sevilla shot-stopper.

However, Ancelotti has shown faith in Lopez, who made a number of fine performances for Madrid following his move in January, and kept his position in the team till the end of the campaign despite Casillas returning to full fitness.

Meanwhile, new signing Dani Carvajal has been given a start ahead of Alvaro Arbeloa, midfielders Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi miss out while Pepe replaces the injured Raphael Varane.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Southampton sign Osvaldo from Roma

Southampton have completed the signing of Pablo Osvaldo from Roma.

The 27-year-old striker, who worked under Mauricio Pochettino At Espanyol, has signed a four-year deal with the Premier League club.

Goal reported on Friday that Southampton had offered Osvaldo £60,000 per week after agreeing a £17 million fee with the Italian side.

Osvaldo, an Argentine-born forward who has been capped nine times by Italy, scored 16 goals in 29 Serie A appearances last season.

Osvaldo is Southampton's third signing of the summer transfer window following the arrivals of Dejan Lovren from Lyon and Victor Wanyama from Celtic.

Pochettino's latest acquisiton could make his debut next Saturday in Southampton's Premier League fixture against Sunderland at St Mary's.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Osvaldo to Southampton wei kiyala hithuwewath nathi sign 1kak

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona 7-0 Levante: Stunning debut win for Tata Martino

Barcelona started their La Liga campaign in stunning fashion as they recorded a 7-0 win over Levante.

The Catalan side took less than three minutes to open the scoring through Alexis Sanchez and before half an hour had been played Lionel Messi, Dani Alves and Pedro were all on the scoresheet too.


By half-time Messi had bagged a double from the penalty spot and Xavi had struck, too.

Barca eased off in the second period, with Pedro completing the scoring midway through the period.

Gerardo Martino's first competitive Barcelona team selection included no new signings as Neymar started on the bench, but Adriano was preferred to Jordi Alba at left-back and Sanchez featured on the right flank.

Levante, meanwhile, were able to include three new faces from the start as Jordi Xumetra, David Barral and Sergio Pinto all came into the starting XI for Joaquin Caparros' new side.

It took the hosts just three minutes to carve open their visitors' backline. Pedro slipped a clever reverse pass into the area for Cesc Fabregas who in turn squared to Alexis for the easiest of finishes from close range.

Barcelona were in complete control and extended their lead when Fabregas diverted a long ball into Messi's path with his chest, allowing the Argentine to play Pedro into the area before tapping in the wideman's low cross from the left.

Levante could hardly register a touch and found themselves 3-0 down before the 30-minute mark. After robbing possession from David Navarro, Messi slid a pass into the area for Fabregas and despite Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas' best attempts to cut out his squared pass, Alves was on hand to stroke into an empty goal.

Pedro added his name to the scoresheet a few moments later as he latched on to Adriano's scooped pass before caressing a shot into the bottom-far corner after coming in from the left.

Barcelona added two more just before the break as Messi buried a penalty after Pedro Lopez's clumsy tackle on Adriano and then Xavi poked the ball through Navas' legs after the Argentina star's lobbed pass.

Martino's men started the second half in a more relaxed fashion, but that did not stop them from creating chances as Messi almost beat Navas to a chipped pass and Gerard Pique had two attempts within close proximity of the goal area.

With just over an hour on the clock, the moment that Barcelona fans had been waiting for arrived as close-season acquisition Neymar came off the bench to replace Alexis and the Brazilian was celebrating with his team-mates 10 minutes later as Pedro dispatched a loose ball after Navas challenged Fabregas near the penalty spot.

The final period of the match resembled something similar to a training exercise for Barcelona. Neymar went close following a smart off-the-ball run into the area, but the champions slowed the pace of the game and coasted over the line to collect the three points in a comfortable manner.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

few hours away for the whistle to start LA LIGA!! and soldado strikes on his debut ....................................football please tell me why u are so awesome......

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona 6 - 0 Levante(half time)

Patta gahillak gahalaFull time 7-0

Niyama start 1ka

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Real Madrid 1 Vs 1 Real Betis

 

[rcccc]

Patta gahillak gahalaFull time 7-0

Niyama start 1ka

 

[unicornx]

FT: Real Madrid 2-1 Betis (26' Benzema, 86' Isco | 14' Molina). ‪#‎halamadrid‬

 

[unicornx]

 

[unicornx]

Neymar's Debut For Barcelona : 1 Yellow Card

 

[panchaz]

FT: Real Madrid 2-1 Betis (26' Benzema, 86' Isco | 14' Molina). ‪#‎halamadrid‬

Neymar's Debut For Barcelona : 1 Yellow Card

 

[unicornx]

When Neymar came to the field, a Levante defender made a tackle and threw him few feets away from the ball just when Neymar got the first touch, then the commentator said "Welcome to La Liga Neymar!" xD LOL

 

[unicornx]

SHOTS ON TARGET:

PSG 34 - 1 AJACCIO

SCORE: 1-1.