..::Football III::..

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Southampton 2-0 Crystal Palace: Osvaldo & Lambert seal victory

Southampton picked up their first league win at St Mary's this term after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 with two quick-fire second-half goals.

New boy Pablo Daniel Osvaldo netted his first goal for the club to give the hosts the lead just two minutes after the interval after an even first half.

And when Rickie Lambert curled in a sensational free-kick just two minutes later, they were on course for victory in front of a 30,699-strong crowd.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino made just one change from the side that sealed a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool last weekend with Steven Davis taking the place of the more attacking Jay Rodriguez.

Palace boss Ian Holloway, meanwhile, made four changes with Damien Delaney injured and Adlene Guedioura also not included, while the conditions of Jason Puncheon's loan deal meant that he missed out against his parent club. Jimmy Kebe, meanwhile, was handed his first start since joining from Reading.

The home side were the first to threaten, with Morgan Schneiderlin seeing a fine effort headed off the line by former Portsmouth player Joel Ward with just five minutes gone.

The south-coast side continued to press, though, and they began to dominate the possession before threatening again shortly afterwards through Lambert.

The England international came into the game with just one league goal so far this season, but he missed a chance to add another in the 23rd minute as he fired just over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

The visitors became increasingly frustrated as the half wore on, typified by a booking for Marouane Chamakh in the 29th minute as he was penalised for simulation when he went down in the area claiming a penalty.

Things looked set to get worse for Palace when Victor Wanyama teed up an effort a few seconds before half-time, only to fire way wide.

Whatever was said in the dressing room clearly served to reinvigorate the hosts, as just two minutes after the restart they went ahead through Osvaldo. The Italy international did not hesitate after being played in by Adam Lallana, firing home from the edge of the box.

And things got even better for Pochettino's side, two minutes later when Lambert smashed home a sensational free-kick, leaving goalkeeper Julian Speroni with no chance.

Palace manager Holloway made two substitutions in an attempt to gain a foothold back in the game, with Cameron Jerome and Jerome Thomas replacing Barry Bannan and Dwight Gayle. The switch-up did have an effect, but they could not get past a determined Southampton defence.

Their best chance went begging when Chamakh failed to connect with a cross from Thomas in the 63rd minute and Southampton looked to have added a third when Rodriguez tapped over the line in the 85th minute, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.

 

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Bayern Munich 1-0 Wolfsburg: Muller edges out die Wolfe

Bayern Munich extended their winning streak at the Allianz Arena to 12 Bundesliga matches as a Thomas Muller goal gave them a 1-0 victory against Wolfsburg.

Bayern were far from their best on Saturday, but Muller's 63rd-minute strike was enough, as Pep Guardiola's men kept pace with title rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Wolfsburg were resolute throughout and frustrated their more-fancied opponents in the first half, with Arjen Robben missing Bayern's best chance when he inexplicably poked wide from six yards.

But the hosts' quality eventually told, as Muller's smart finish following an excellent Franck Ribery cross saw them post their 10th win against Wolfsburg in their last 11 attempts.

Both sides rung the changes following DFB-Pokal wins in midweek, with Guardiola making five alterations to his squad as Ribery, Robben and Mario Manduzkic all started while Mario Gotze won a spot on the bench after recovering from his ankle injury.

Wolfsburg made three changes, as attacker Ja-Cheol Koo came in, while former Bayern players Luiz Gustavo and Ivica Olic also started.

Gustavo – who left the Bavarian giants in the close-season – almost made his old club pay in the seventh minute as his header forced Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into a diving save following a Ricardo Rodriguez corner.

Bastian Schweinsteiger then had a headed effort at the other end, but early chances were limited as Wolfsburg sat back and soaked up the pressure of the hosts.

They did a good job of frustrating Bayern, and goalkeeper Diego Benaglio did what he needed to keep out Muller's drive from an acute angle, before Robben inexplicably poked wide from six yards just before the break.

Robben went down twice in the early stages of the second half as he looked for a penalty, while Muller – who was consistently finding space - was denied by the onrushing Benaglio.

And at the other end, Marcel Schafer wasted a golden chance, unable to direct his diving header on target following an excellent Christian Trasch cross.

That chance served a warning to Bayern, and Guardiola quickly introduced Xherdan Shaqiri and Toni Kroos for Robben and Schweinsteiger in a bid to change things, but it was two of his other stars that finally gave the European champions the lead.

Ribery broke down the left and played a superb ball across the face of goal, and although Mandzukic was unable to meet it, Muller powered home a far-post finish from a tight angle.

Bayern almost scored a second, but Mandzukic saw his effort cleared off the line by Naldo, while the Brazilian defender forced Neuer into a smart save at the other end with a powerful header.

But Bayern did just enough for victory as Wolfsburg lost their fourth away match in as many outings this term.

 

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Borussia Dortmund 5-0 Freiburg: Lewandowski & Reus at the double

Borussia Dortmund continued their fine start to the season with a comfortable 5-0 home win over 10-man Freiburg on Saturday.

Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski both scored twice before Jakub Blaszczykowski added a fifth as Jurgen Klopp's side made it six wins and a draw from their opening seven matches.

Freiburg lost Fallou Diagne to a straight red card a minute before the break, the defender pulling down Lewandowski inside the area for the penalty that gave Reus his second goal.

The hosts made three changes from the side that needed extra time to defeat 1860 Munich in the DFB-Pokal in midweek, with Roman Weidenfeller, Nevan Subotic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replacing Mitchell Langerak, Sokratis and Jakub Blaszczykowski.

Freiburg coach Christian Streich made two alterations from Wednesday's 2-1 win over Stuttgart, Diagne and Sebastian Freis coming in for Pavel Krmas and Mike Hanke.

Subotic had the game's first chance in the third minute, heading narrowly wide from a corner as the hosts applied some early pressure.

Lewandowski was the next man to threaten the Freiburg goal 15 minutes later, making space for himself in the box before firing over the crossbar from an angle.

Aubameyang should have given Dortmund the lead in the 25th minute when he was afforded a free header 10 yards from goal, but his effort lacked power and was comfortable for Oliver Baumann to collect.

Aubameyang was in again four minutes later, running onto Reus' through-ball, but Baumann rushed from his line to smother the shot as the hosts stepped it up a gear.

The pressure eventually told in the 35th minute when Reus gave Dortmund the lead with a scrappy goal.

Baumann parried Sven Bender's long-range drive and Lewandowski's follow-up but the rebound eventually fell to the feet of Reus, who tucked the ball into the empty net from six yards.

Reus went close to a second moments later, fizzing his volley a yard wide of the left-hand post as a half-cleared corner dropped to him on the edge of the box.

Freiburg were dealt a double blow in the final minute of the first period when Diagne was shown a straight red card for hauling down Lewandowski in the box and Reus stepped up to send the resulting penalty in off the post.

The hosts continued to pour forward after the break and Lewandowski made it three with a moment of real quality in the 58th minute.

The Poland international brought down Reus' lofted pass inside the box, escaped the attentions of two defenders and scooped the ball up and over Baumann for his fifth league goal of the season.

Baumann denied Aubameyang 10 minutes later with a fine save, but there was no let up from the hosts, who made it four in the 70th minute, Lewandowski stretching to convert substitute Jonas Hoffman's cross from the right.

Blaszczykowski added the fifth nine minutes later, taking advantage of some hesitant defending to round Baumann and slot the ball home from a tight angle as Dortmund cruised to victory.

 

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Marchisio not afraid of Pogba competition

Claudio Marchisio insists that he is not in the least bit perturbed by the prospect of having to compete for a place in the Juventus starting line-up with Paul Pogba.

The Italy international has only just returned to action after a month out of action with ligament damage sustained in the Supercoppa Italiana success over Lazio in August.

Pogba, who proved one of the revelations of last season following his arrival from Manchester United, has thrived in Marchisio's absence and the 27-year-old Turin native now has the unenviable task of trying to displace the French youngster from the Bianconeri midfield.

"The internal competition with Pogba doesn't scare me," Marchisio told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's fundamental and Paul's growth is very important for us.

"The squad is large and the constant turnover of players is right. The players must understand this, even if they all want to play in the important games."

Carlos Tevez has also shone during the opening five rounds of the new season but Marchisio says that he is not in the least bit surprised by just how well the Argentine attacker has settled at Juventus Stadium and is looking forward to playing alongside him in Sunday's derby against Torino.

"I expected him to be like this: gritty, mean, with a huge desire to win," the Azzurri ace enthused. "Carlitos is like the Juve of Conte's first year - always angry.

"I explained to him what the derby is all about. I told him that in terms of the level of history, it is more important than the Manchester derby."

Juve's eagerly awaited meeting with the Granata at the Stadio Olimpico is set to get under way at 12:30CET.

 

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Mourinho wants action taken against Vertonghen

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has called for Jan Vertonghen to be banned for his role in Fernando Torres' red card against Tottenham.
Gylfi Sigurdsson gave the hosts a first-half lead at White Hart Lane, but John Terry hit back in the second period and that proved to be enough to earn a point for the Blues.

However, there was controversy when Torres was sent off for two bookings on Vertonghen, and Mourinho was left angry about the second, with the Belgian going down holding his face despite apparently little contact from the forward.

The Chelsea boss called on the Premier League to take retrospective action against the defender and clear Torres of any wrongdoing.

He told BT Sport: "The team was very, very strong until the moment the referee made a mistake, a big mistake that had a big influence on the result. The referee is not guilty -- the player (Vertonghen) is guilty.

"He pretended that Fernando had a big contact on him and the referee went on trust. At that moment we were much better. They were in big trouble.

"We were winning everything in midfield and going in waves of attack - (Andre) Schurrle had just had a chance that normally he has to score. It leaves a bad taste because we should win.

"If I was boss of the (Premier League) committee I would give a one-match suspension to the Tottenham defender and nothing to Fernando."
Mourinho felt that a draw was also harsh on his side.

He added: "I don't think it was (fair). I think they were better in the first half but not much better, they didn't create so many chances. In the second half, there was only one team."

 

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Moyes admits 'concern' after Manchester United humbled by West Brom

David Moyes has admitted that he is concerned by Manchester United's start to the season after they went down to their third loss of the campaign against West Brom.

The former Everton manager, who took over from Sir Alex Ferguson after the veteran's retirment at the end of last term, has come under increasing pressure, and he revealed the home defeat to the Baggies has left him worried about his team.

"I'm concerned after today but only because we didn't play well," he told reporters.

"There's a lot of games to go and we'll try put it right in the games coming up.

"It was a poor result and a poor performance. We never really got going.

"We had a lot of the ball in the first half but we didn't create any chances from it. They always looked a threat on the break, especially in the second half."

Moyes made seven changes to his side that lost their last league match in humiliating fashion at local rivals Manchester City, and he admitted that he is yet to work out his best team due to the large squad he has at his disposal.

"I don't think there is one best team. I think there are lots of best teams at Manchester United," he added.

"We look to play all the players and I think we did that today. We changed it in midweek and gave the bulk of them another chance today to make sure it wasn't just one good game.

"I'll get to know them a lot better and the more I see them the more I'll get to know them."

West Brom head coach Steve Clarke was understandably thrilled with his side after their first league win at Old Trafford since December 1978, and he praised his players for following his gameplan to a tee.

"I think anybody that listened to me before the game will know I was coming here to be positive and would try to play. Thankfully my players were listening because they did that." he said.

"I thought we were tremendous from start to finish. We did everything almost perfectly, and when you come to a place like Old Trafford you have to almost play the perfect game. I think we did that."

 

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Ramsey patta

 

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Barclays Premier League 2013.09.29 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2013.09.29 Fixtures

Stoke City Vs Norwich City

Sunderland Vs Liverpool

​

 

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La Liga 2013.09.29 Fixtures

La Liga 2013.09.29 Fixtures

Osasuna Vs Levante

Celta Vigo Vs Elche

Espanyol Vs Getafe

Real Betis Vs Villareal​

 

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Serie A 2013.09.29 Fixtures

Serie A 2013.09.29 Fixtures

Torino Vs Juventus

Atalanta Vs Udinese

Cagliari Vs Inter

Catania Vs Chievo

Hellas Vs Livorno

Sassuolo Vs Lazio

Roma Vs Bologna​

 

[prabo22]

mama baluwa umba kohomada post wadiyen damme kiyala,, baladdi meke thyenne umbe ewa witharai

 

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Roma 5-0 Bologna: Gervinho helps rampant Giallorossi to table-topping win

Gervinho's excellent double helped Roma thrash Bologna 5-0 to return to the top of Serie A with their sixth win in as many 2013-14 games.

Alessandro Florenzi opened the scoring with just eight minutes on the clock and Gervinho grabbed his first of the game with a well-taken solo strike not long afterwards, before Mehdi Benatia hammered home past a ragged Bologna defence.

The hosts eased off the gas following their third goal but Gervinho and Adem Ljajic added insult to injury to Stefano Pioli's men with superb finishes and, in the process, propelling Roma above Juventus and Napoli to the top of the table.

Rudi Garcia's men started in style in the pouring rain at the Stadio Olimpico with an eighth-minute goal. Miralem Pjanic's powerful free kick was palmed poorly by Gianluca Curci, allowing Florenzi to shake off his marker and nod into an empty goal.

The Giallorossi almost doubled the lead soon after as Francesco Totti's deft, lobbed through-ball was met by Federico Balzaretti, but the wing-back's first-touch shot skidded inches wide of the right post from an acute angle on the left edge of the six-yard box.

However, Gervinho continued his impressive form since joining from Arsenal in the summer by charging towards goal from 30 yards, outsmarting a couple of the opposition defenders with his pace and movement then striking hard into the bottom corner.

The visitors looked like they had fewer men on the pitch for the opening half an hour and their struggle showed as, in the 26th minute, Benatia volleyed in from a whipped cross on the right flank, thumping in from eight yards to make it 3-0.

Bologna playmaker Alessandro Diamanti skewed a low effort marginally wide with not long left in the half, which left Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis flat-footed, in a rare goalscoring opportunity from the visitors.

With a comfortable goal cushion, Roma's relentless attacking was halted and they focused - successfully - on keeping the likes of Diamanti, Diego Laxalt and Jonathan Cristaldo at bay.

One of the few times that Roma did create a goalscoring foray forwards resulted in Gervinho converting in style. The Cote d'Ivoire international cut in from the left, caused defender Mikael Antonsson to slip due to his pace and thrashed in past a hapless Curci.

The Ivorian was withdrawn following the goal to an ovation from the home fans and his replacement, Ljajic, added an exquisite goal for himself with five minutes to go, chipping in off the crossbar from a very tight angle deep inside the right half of the box.

Totti had a chance to add the cherry on to the icing on the cake, unmarked in a similar position to where Ljajic had scored, but he dragged his effort well wide.

 

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Roma elata play karanawa

 

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Sunderland 1-3 Liverpool: Suarez strikes twice on winning Premier League return

Luis Suarez struck twice on his Premier League return to help Liverpool record a 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, a result which sees the Reds move up to second place in the table.


Just moments after Sebastian Larsson had hit the bar for the hosts, Daniel Sturridge controversially gave the away side the lead, appearing to use his arm to nudge the ball goalwards, before Suarez doubled the advantage just eight minutes later.

Emanuele Giaccherini netted immediately after half-time as Sunderland hinted at a comeback, but, in pushing forward for an equaliser, they were stung on the break as Liverpool's Urguayan frontman grabbed his second goal late on.

Liverpool named an unchanged team from their narrow defeat against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, with Rodgers choosing to stick with the 3-5-2 formation that served his side well at Old Trafford.

Sunderland, meanwhile, made four changes from their midweek exploits, with Liverpool loanee Fabio Borini the most notable omission, unable to play against his parent club, as Jozy Altidore returned to the attack.

Suarez was handed his first league start after serving his 10-match ban, and he made an instant impression on the match as he drove narrowly wide from the edge of the area early on.

Liverpool had the ball in the Sunderland net in the first 10 minutes, but Martin Skrtel saw the linesman's flag rightly raised for offside after he had side-footed the rebound from a Steven Gerrard free-kick into the roof of the goal.

An entertaining midfield scrap ensued after that disappointment for Liverpool, but Sunderland were the next to go close to scoring amid the melee as Larsson curled a brilliant effort onto the bar with former team-mate Simon Mignolet stranded.

The visitors had ridden their luck to remain level, and were the recipients of yet another slice of good fortune at the other end of the pitch moments later. Gerrard found Sturridge from a corner and, having misjudged his attempted header, the England international used his arm to prod the ball over the goalline and give Liverpool the lead.

Just eight minutes later, Rodgers' side had their second, and it came - perhaps inevitably - from returning forward Suarez. A fabulous cross-field ball from Gerrard allowed Sturridge to make ground on the right-hand side, and the striker's pass across goal provided his Uruguayan colleague with a tap-in from close range.

Liverpool had little trouble in taking their two-goal lead into the break, but the away side received a rude awakening early in the second as Sunderland pulled one back. Mignolet failed to keep hold of a Ki Sung-Yueng effort from the edge of the box, and Giaccherini reacted quicker than the visitors' defenders to poke the ball home.

The goal buoyed Sunderland's fans, with the increased noise inside the Stadium of Light adding vigour to the hosts' counterattacks.

But Liverpool looked the bigger threat, and they came close to doubling their lead on two occasions as Victor Moses' inswinging cross drifted narrowly wide before Suarez should have done better in getting onto a cross from the left.

The 26-year-old eventually got his second, however. With Sunderland committing men forward, Liverpool were able to break; Sturridge darted into the box and unselfishly squared the ball to Suarez, who passed the ball into the back of the net to wrap up the victory.

 

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Cagliari 1-1 Inter: Nainggolan nets to keep Mazzarri's men off top spot

Inter extended their unbeaten start to the Serie A season but could only manage a 1-1 draw away to Cagliari on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri came into the match on the back of four wins and a draw from their opening five games and the fourth-placed side had only lost to Cagliari twice since 1995.

Half-time substitute Mauro Icardi scored the game’s first goal with 15 minutes remaining, but Radja Nainggolan struck even later to earn the home side a point at the Stadio Nereo Rocco.

The hosts made only two changes from Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Livorno as Albin Ekdal and Nene missed out in favour of Matias Cabrera and Mauricio Pinilla.

Inter picked up a commendable win over Fiorentina in their last fixture, but coach Walter Mazzarri still opted to rotate his players. Jonathan, Hugo Campagnaro, Saphir Taider and Rodrigo Palacio all took places on the bench, while Rolando, Alvaro Pereira, Mateo Kovacic and Ishak Belfodil started.

The share of possession in the opening exchanges was even, but Inter looked considerably more dangerous going forward.

Belfodil did well down the right just before the 10th minute as he cut a pass back to Fredy Guarin, but Agazzi tipped his deflected effort over the bar.

Agazzi was Cagliari’s saviour again 23 minutes in as he got down to keep Belfodil’s header out after the Algerian connected with Yuto Nagatomo’s cross.

There was little Agazzi could do moments after the half-hour mark as Ricky Alvarez cut in from the right and fired a dipping shot towards the far corner, but the Argentinian’s effort flew just over the crossbar.

The second period took a while to get into a steady flow, but Inter were convinced they had taken the lead in the 61st minute.

Half-time substitute Icardi headed Pereira’s cross back across goal, with the Uruguayan turning home after David Astori had cleared the initial effort, but the referee ruled it out for a foul by Kovacic.

Pereira soon had another chance, however. Belfodil crossed excellently to the back post and the former Porto man met it with his head, but he could only put it wide.

Agim Ibraimi missed a glorious chance to break the deadlock with a volleyed effort from close range, and he was punished soon after as Inter took the lead.

Nagatomo cleverly got behind the Cagliari defence and played the ball across the face of the goal for Icardi to head home, giving the home side less than 15 minutes to find an equaliser.

Inter looked destined to leave Sardinia with three points for the first time since 2010 but, with less than 10 minutes to play, Nainggolan cut in from the left and saw his powerful strike deflect past the helpless Samir Handanovic, rescuing a point for Cagliari.

 

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Stoke City 0-1 Norwich City: Howson strike gets Hughton back to winning ways

Johnny Howson's first-half strike was enough to earn all three points for Norwich City as they recorded a 1-0 win over Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The 25-year-old midfielder netted the only goal of the game, latching onto Anthony Pilkington's lay-off and rifling a shot past Asmir Begovic from the edge of the area, with the Potters unable to mount a response.

Both sides headed into Sunday's game without a win in their previous two top-flight contests, with Norwich boss Chris Hughton under pressure following his side's home defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Ryan Bennett replaced the injured Sebastien Bassong in the centre of defence, while Martin Olsson, Alexander Tettey and Pilkington came in for Javier Garrido, Nathan Redmond and Johan Elmander respectively.

Norwich started quickly, and should have taken the lead after nine minutes, Bennett crashing a strike against the crossbar after meeting Olsson's corner.

The visitors dictated the game from midfield throughout the first half, but Stoke were solid in defence and did not allow Hughton's men much in the way of attacking openings.

It took Stoke over half an hour to create their first goalscoring opportunity, Austrian attacker Marko Arnautovic lashing over from the edge of the area.

However, less than a minute later, Norwich took the lead their play deserved, Howson finding space in midfield before firing home with a swerving low effort that deceived a despairing Begovic.

Jermaine Pennant replaced Jonathan Walters at the interval as Stoke searched for a way back into the game, and the hosts were aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty after Kenwyne Jones was pulled back in the area by Leroy Fer.

Still it was Norwich who continued to create the better opportunities, with Pilkington firing wide with a speculative effort from range before Robert Snodgrass curled a left-footed effort over the bar.

Jones went close for Stoke as the Trinidad and Tobago international began to cause the Norwich backline problems but, despite his best efforts, Hughes' side were unable to truly threaten John Ruddy's goal.

The game became more open in the closing stages as Steven N'Zonzi tested Ruddy from distance, before Snodgrass forced Begovic into a fine save with a curling effort from the edge of the area.

Howson's strike was to be enough, however, as Norwich comfortably held on to ensure a much-needed victory that sees them leapfrog the Potters in the Premier League table.

 

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Torino 0-1 Juventus: Pogba pounces to maintain Old Lady's derby dominance

A controversial Paul Pogba goal settled the Derby della Mole as Juventus secured a 1-0 triumph over Torino at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

The France international headed home a rebound from close range after Carlos Tevez had nodded Leonardo Bonucci's flick onto the bar, with replays suggesting that the Argentine striker was in an offside position when he met the ball.

Juventus dictated the tempo in a drab first half, with Claudio Marchisio coming closest on the stroke of half-time with a low drive, but in the second half they turned their possession into a decisive goal thanks to Pogba's intervention, moving them level with Napoli at the top of Serie A on 16 points prior to Roma's game with Bologna.

Torino started with the league's joint-top scorer Alessio Cerci leading their line, while Juventus restored Tevez to the starting XI after he was rested for the 2-1 victory over Chievo on Wednesday.

The Bianconeri controlled the early possession but failed to create any clear-cut chances.

They almost found a breakthrough in the 14th minute when Sebastian Giovinco wriggled through several challenges on the right before delivering for Tevez, but the danger was snuffed out by a last-ditch clearance from Danilo D'Ambrosio.

As the hosts began to settle they won a series of set-pieces and they almost capitalised in the 26th minute when Cerci curled his 25-yard free-kick into the side netting.

Antonio Conte's side continued to look more threatening on the ball, however. Stephan Lichtsteiner's effort from distance curled wide before Juve could have stolen ahead in first-half injury time when Marchisio's 20-yard driven effort went narrowly wide of Daniele Padelli's post.

The visitors' pressure did not let up in the second half and Giovinco should have put Juventus ahead when a neat touch by Tevez left him one-on-one with the goalkeeper but he hit a tame effort straight at Padelli.

But Juventus deservedly took the lead in the 54th minute.

Bonucci headed a corner goalwards and Tevez somehow managed to head against the crossbar from two yards but the resultant rebound was nodded home by Pogba. However, television replays suggested that Tevez may have been in an offside position when he met the defender's flick on.

Marchisio was lucky not to receive his marching orders 10 minutes later when he lunged into a tackle on Giuseppe Vives when already on a yellow card as the match began to spark a litte more into life.

The hosts had a penalty shout waved away when Ciro Immobile went to ground under Giorgio Chiellini's challenge but referee Paolo Mazzoleni was unmoved.

Juventus almost grabbed a second in the 84th minute when Mirko Vucinic guided a back-post volley goalwards but Padelli parried away the danger, while substitute Alexander Farnerud came close to meeting a cut-back for the hosts in the final ten minutes.

Despite a late flurry of pressure, Torino were unable to find that elusive equaliser, meaning their 18-year wait for a win against their city rivals goes on.

 

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'Roma are not a perfect team' - Garcia

Roma coach Rudi Garcia has rejected any notions that his team are playing "perfect" football and played down Scudetto expectations following his side's 5-0 win over Bologna on Sunday.

Goals from Alessandro Florenzi, Mehdi Benatia, Adem Ljajic and a double from Gervinho saw the visitors trounced at the Stadio Olimpico, but the trainer is adamant that his side stay grounded.

"There is no such thing as a perfect team in football, as there is always something to improve," Garcia, 49, told Sky Sport. "The players went out there with joy and enthusiasm. We know there are talents in this squad and we saw them tonight."

"I haven’t changed my mind. Our objective is to get back into Europe and at most to get into the final sprint with the other favourites like Napoli and Juventus.

"We’ll see when we play against them what level we’re at. They are only two points behind us and that’s nothing."

Garcia believes that Gervinho, who has scored three goals in the two Serie A clashes, has the players alongside him and positive atmosphere to thrive like he could not do at Arsenal.

"He is a lad who needs confidence and we must understand that scoring opportunities he creates don’t exist without him there," he added. "He can get some things wrong, but I prefer to have him there because I know he’ll create those opportunities.

"Gervinho has more experience now, is happy with his Roma team-mates and it’s easier for him to play with such talented players by his side.

"Francesco Totti is a wonderful player with the ball at his feet, so he needs to touch the ball as much as possible, then we have two other strikers coming up from various angles, including Alessandro Florenzi.

"It is important that we have options at our disposal. Adem Ljajic came on and scored today, while Marco Borriello has different characteristics to the other strikers."

 

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Mancini arrives in Istanbul to finalise Galatasaray deal

Roberto Mancini has arrived in Istanbul to finalise a deal with Galatasaray to replace Fatih Terim.

The Italian coach emerged as the leading candidate to replace the legendary Turk over the weekend following his dismissal from the club last week.

Negotiations between the two parties are at an advanced stage, with the only sticking points being Mancini's desire to install his own assistants and have the option to negotiate with an international team.

He will reportedly earn a salary of over €5 million per year in the Super Lig across the course of a three-year deal, with official confirmation of his arrival expected on Monday.

Terim led Galatasaray to two Turkish titles during the most recent of his three spells in charge of the club, but a falling-out with president Unal Aysal led to his dismissal.

Mancini, meanwhile, has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester City at the end of last season.