..::Football III::..

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Ronaldo ban appeal rejected

Cristiano Ronaldo's appeal against his three-game suspension following his dismissal in Real Madrid's 1-1 La Liga draw against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend has been rejected.

The prolific attacker was shown a straight red card after an altercation with Carlos Gurpegui and Ander Iturraspe and was consequently handed a three-match ban by the Spanish football association (RFEF) - one for the incident itself and another two for his gesture after he was sent off.

The Blancos disagreed with the severity of the suspension and therefore opted to file an appeal, but the Appeal Committee has now rejected the Santiago Bernabeu's plea.

Ronaldo will miss this Saturday's home game against Villarreal as a result, while he will also have to watch the matches against Getafe (February 16, away) and Elche (February 23, home) from the stands due to his ban.

The 29-year-old has been in sublime form for Madrid this season, netting 22 goals in 21 La Liga appearances.

The absence of Ronaldo means Ancelotti is likely to field Jese Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale as his three-man attack until the Portuguese's return.

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.02.08 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2014.02.08 Fixtures

Liverpool Vs Arsenal

Aston Villa Vs West Ham

Chelsea Vs Newcastle

Crystal Palace Vs WBA

Norwich City Vs Manchester City

Southampton Vs Stoke City

Sunderland Vs Hull

Swansea Vs Cardiff City

​

 

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La Liga 2014.02.08 Fixtures

La Liga 2014.02.08 Fixtures

Valencia Vs Real Betis

Rayo Vallecano Vs Malaga

Real Madrid Vs Villareal

Almeria Vs Atletico Madrid​

 

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Serie A 2014.02.08 Fixtures

Serie A 2014.02.08 Fixtures

Fiorentina Vs Atalanta

Udinese Vs Chievo

Napoli Vs AC Milan​

 

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After 28th minute

Liverpool 4 Vs 0 Arsenal


​

 

[unicornx]

FT: Real Madrid 4-2 Villarreal. (7' Bale, 25, 76' Benzema, 64' Jesé). ‪

 

[unicornx]

Maicon has passed away

 

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Almeria 2-0 Atletico Madrid: Verza knocks Simeone's men off top spot

Almeria shocked Atletico Madrid 2-0 to enhance their bid for La Liga survival while knocking the visitors off top spot.

A tepid game only came to life in the closing stages when a cross from Verza beat goalkeeper Dani Aranzubia and ended up finding the top corner of the capital side's net.

Rather than provoking a reaction, more poor play from the shot-stopper saw him dismissed and from the resultant penalty Verza sent centre-back Diego Godin, who took over in goal for the closing stages, the wrong way.

The result leaves Atletico on 57 points, level with Real Madrid, who go top on goal difference.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone was without key trio Thibaut Courtois, Luis Filipe and David Villa for the trip to Andalucia, all of whom missed out with injuries.

Fresh from their 3-0 derby disappointment against Real on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey, Atletico looked determined from the off and 19-year-old right-back Javi Manquillo almost got his first La Liga goal with a chipped effort in the seventh minute, but Angel Trujillo got back to clear.

January signing Diego was the next to go close with a dipping 25-yard effort, but Esteban got his fingertips to it, turning it past the post.

With 28 minutes on the clock, Almeria were lucky to escape without conceding a penalty.

The lively Manquillo once again found himself in an advanced position and on-loan Liverpool midfielder Suso pushed him in the back while challenging the teenager in the air, but the referee ignored the Atletico protests.

Diego narrowly missed the target again early in the second half as he cut across the Almeria area after coming in from the right before unleashing a powerful low drive towards the bottom-left corner, but the left-footed attempt went just wide.

Almeria substitute Helder Barbosa somehow escaped a red card with 24 minutes left as the Portuguese midfield produced a callous two-footed stamp on Tiago's right leg, resulting in his compatriot being forced off on a stretcher.

The hosts almost snatched the lead as Aleix Vidal jolted past two defenders before seeing his side-footed effort hit both posts, but luck was on their side shortly after as Verza fortuitously found the top corner after Aranzubia misjudged his cross.

Verza completed the scoring four minutes from time as he confidently dispatched a penalty past Atletico captain Gabi, who was forced to go in nets after Aranzubia was harshly sent off for bringing down Zongo.

 

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Napoli 3-1 AC Milan: Higuain puts Rossoneri to the sword

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice to help Napoli record a 3-1 success over AC Milan to inflict a first defeat upon new Rossoneri boss Clarence Seedorf.

When Adel Taarabt opened the scoring for the visiting side, it seemed their rejuvenation under the ex-midfielder was going to continue, but Gokhan Inler drew Rafael Benitez's men level before the break.

In the second half Higuain grabbed a double to ensure the hosts ended a three-match winless streak.

Napoli, who were beaten by Atalanta in Serie A last weekend and Roma in semi-final of the Coppa Italia in midweek, dominated from start to finish and are now only three points behind second-placed Roma - who have two games in hand.

Defeat for Milan was their first in the league since Seedorf took over as coach last month, but the Dutchman may count his blessings that his side were not beaten by a more handsome margin.

Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam replaced the injured Anthony Reveillere and Dries Mertens came in for Jose Callejon, who started on the bench along with January signing Henrique.

Michael Essien and Taarabt made their Milan debuts, while striker Mario Balotelli returned from suspension as Seedorf made six changes to the side that drew with Torino last weekend.

Napoli made a bright start, but they were caught out after only seven minutes when QPR loanee Taarabt raced forward before placing a measured right-foot strike into the far corner of the net from just outside the area as the home defence backed off.

The goal was harsh on Benitez's team, but they were level three minutes later courtesy of a fine left-foot strike from Inler that took a deflection and looped over Christian Abbiati.

Milan struggled to cope with Napoli's attacking threat, and Higuain was inches away from putting the home side in front when his shot flashed wide of the far post.

Abbiati was lucky to escape with only a yellow card after 22 minutes when he rushed out of his area and upended Mertens after the winger had raced onto a through-ball and attempted to lob the veteran goalkeeper.

To add insult to injury, Abbiati kept out the resulting free-kick from the Belgium international, before Marek Hamsik's venomous left-foot volley flashed just wide.

Christian Maggio then hit the post from a tight angle and Lorenzo Insigne headed just wide as Milan somehow went in level at the break.

Kaka replaced fellow Brazilian Robinho at half-time, but his introduction failed to turn the tide as Napoli maintained the upper hand and Abbiati could only watch on as Insigne's strike flashed wide.

It was only a matter of time before the home side took the lead, and it was former Real Madrid man Higuain who put them in front when he headed home an inviting cross from Inler 11 minutes into the second half.

The Argentina striker was a constant menace and he ought to have given Napoli breathing space but missed his kick after evading the vulnerable Philippe Mexes.

Napoli could have been made to pay for not making their dominance count but Taarabt's strike was kept out by Pepe Reina and then Balotelli failed to capitalise after the Spanish goalkeeper had totally missed his kick.

Higuain sealed the points with eight minutes left, though, slotting home from close range after Callejon picked him out.

 

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Real Madrid 4-2 Villarreal: Bale and Jese shine in Ronaldo's absence

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez helped Real Madrid move top of the league following a 4-2 victory over Villarreal and Atletico Madrid's slip-up to Almeria on Saturday.

Bale returned to the starting line-up after missing the last three games with a leg injury, and put in a virtuoso performance at the Bernabeu, scoring the first and setting up the second for Benzema.

Mario reduced the arrears before half-time, but Jese and Benzema added further goals for Real either side of Giovani dos Santos' sublime free-kick, ensuring Real did not feel the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who started a three-match suspension.

It took just seven minutes for Bale to make his mark on the game as he robbed Dorado of possession before proceeding into the box and dinking delightfully over Sergio Asenjo.

Despite their superb start, Real were given a huge let-off soon after when Jonathan Pereira blasted over the crossbar having been left unmarked in the box.

Madrid were dealt a blow when full-back Marcelo limped off with an apparent groin injury, to be replaced by Fabio Coentrao.

Bale tormented the Villarreal defence once more when play resumed and created the second on 25 minutes, effortlessly skipping past Jaume Costa on the right and clipping a cross from the byeline to Benzema, who prodded home at the near post.

Villarreal could perhaps consider themselves unfortunate to be two goals adrift, but Mario halved the deficit in superb fashion three minutes shy of the break.

The full-back took one touch to burst into the hosts' box before unleashing a fierce right-footed strike into the far corner.

Ancelotti's men dominated possession after the restart, and full-back Daniel Carvajal came close to restoring his side's two-goal cushion as he dragged a shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Shortly before the hour mark Benzema had legitimate claims for a penalty rejected when he appeared to be bundled over by Dorado.

It mattered little, however, as Jese made it 3-1 on 64 minutes.

A neat exchange between Angel Di Maria and Benzema led to the former slipping a neat throughball to Jese, who guided the ball past Asenjo with the outside of his boot.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Dos Santos bent home a sublime free-kick from 25 yards.

But on 76 minutes Benzema drove home from the edge of the box after more good work from Jese.

 

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Norwich 0-0 Manchester City: Visitors drop to third after frustrating draw

Manchester City drew a blank for the second time this week to lose vital ground in the title race with a 0-0 draw against Norwich City.

Manuel Pellegrini's previously free-scoring side – who last month reached 100 goals in all competitions faster than any team in the Premier League era - have run into unforeseen problems in their last two outings, losing the Premier League's top spot to Chelsea in the process.

A 1-0 loss at home to Jose Mourinho's side on Monday was compounded by another lacklustre display at Carrow Road – the absence of Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho due to a muscle strain once again keenly felt.

Alvaro Negredo headed a first-half corner against the crossbar but clear chances were in short supply as Norwich claimed an unexpected point in their fight for top-flight survival.

A win would have taken the 2012 champions top following Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing at Anfield, but Chelsea are now in the driving seat after easing past Newcastle 3-0.

On-loan Fenerbahce defender Joseph Yobo made his Norwich debut as a thigh injury ruled out Ryan Bennett.

James Milner returned from a groin complaint to bolster the visitors' injury-hit midfield, while Stevan Jovetic got the nod over Edin Dzeko to make his second Premier League start of the season in attack.

A prone Yobo scrambled the ball to safety as playmaker David Silva appeared poised to convert Gael Clichy's early cross for Pellegrin's men, but the recalled France full-back was caught out in the 16th minute.

Norwich winger Nathan Redmond burst into the box when Clichy failed to cut out Gary Hooper's pass but blazed high and wide.

Hooper had the ball in the net two minutes later but was lurking in an offside position after Joe Hart parried Leroy Fer's header from a Redmond corner.

Manchester City came close from a similar dead-ball situation in the 36th minute – Negredo heading onto the crossbar following a Martin Demichelis flick-on from Jesus Navas' delivery.

Negredo crashed a rasping long-ranger into the side netting and, by the time John Ruddy kept out a stinging 20-yard strike from Jovetic in the 43rd minute, Pellegrini's charges were showing signs of hitting their stride.

Their customary rhythm remained largely elusive as the second half got under way, but Norwich full-back Martin Olsson produced an excellent last-ditch challenge to thwart Navas.

Russell Martin then positioned himself well to stop Jovetic converting Milner's looping right-wing cross.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel arrived from the bench after 68 minutes in place of Hooper, who hobbled away from a robust Milner challenge, but Norwich had faded as an attacking force by that point, though their excellent organisation continued to confound the title hopefuls.

Dzeko, on for Jovetic, pulled a shot into the side netting at the end of another fruitless attack and Pellegrini was left to rue a golden opportunity missed, while Van Wolfswinkel and Anthony Pilkington were both agonisingly close to handing Norwich an unlikely triumph.

 

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Aston Villa 0-2 West Ham: Nolan double downs hosts

Kevin Nolan scored twice in three minutes as West Ham beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides were level at half-time but the Hammers skipper struck twice in quick succession after the break, as Sam Allardyce's side earned themselves an important win in their fight against relegation.

West Ham have now lifted themselves out of the relegation zone afer earning seven points from their last three games.

Villa, meanwhile, have won just one of their last eight home matches in all competitions and were twice denied by the frame of the goal as Marc Albrighton and Christian Benteke struck the woodwork.

The Hammers had only scored two goals in their previous six visits to Villa Park heading into Saturday's game and their chances of improving that statistic appeared diminished by the absence of the banned Andy Carroll, although Nolan filled the void as talisman.

The 31-year-old midfielder has now scored seven goals against Villa – more than he has against any other Premier League side – and has netted four times in his last two appearances.

Gabby Agbonlahor returned to Paul Lambert's Villa XI following injury, while Allardyce replaced suspended striker Carroll with Carlton Cole, who spent the 2004-05 season on loan at Villa.

But it was another former Villa player who had the first half's best chance. Matt Jarvis sprung the hosts' offside trap and slid the ball across goal for Stewart Downing, who somehow failed to connect with the ball when he would have had a tap-in.

And Downing's composure deserted him again when he was well-placed, before Jarvis fired the ball into the side-netting from close range.

Villa, however, offered very little in the first 40 minutes, with Benteke's touch letting him down when he was through on goal, though Ashley Westwood's fine volley went narrowly wide just before the break.

It took West Ham just 18 seconds to take the lead after the restart. Downing tricked his way past Ryan Bertrand down the right and crossed for Nolan, whose cheeky flick took a deflection and looped over goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

And Nolan made it 2-0 on 48 minutes. The midfielder did superbly to rob Fabian Delph of possession on the edge of the West Ham box before carrying the ball into the area and slotting calmly past Guzan.

Albrighton was quickly sent on by Lambert and the winger smashed the ball against the post with a vicious 66th-minute strike. The rebound struck Adrian and went out for a corner, which came to nothing.

Substitute Albrighton then crossed for Benteke, whose first-time attempt hit the crossbar.

West Ham were camped inside their final third for the remainder of the game and had to defend a series of corners. They held on, however, for a morale-boosting victory - and one that could prove vital come the end of the season.

 

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Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle: Hazard hat-trick sends Blues top

Eden Hazard scored his hat-trick in English football as Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho's men took advantage of Arsenal's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool and Manchester City's goalless draw with Norwich City to leapfrog their title rivals.

Hazard was the hero, the 23-year-old producing a virtuoso performance and taking his goal tally for the season to 14 with an impressive treble. The Belgian opened the scoring midway through the first half with an emphatic finish and his second quickly followed as he rounded off a superb Chelsea breakaway after 34 minutes.

That ended the game as a contest but the former Lille man applied the gloss to a fine display with a penalty just after the hour mark.

Captain John Terry was left out for the Blues, who had the better of an open start to the game, Hazard's tame effort drawing a save from Tim Krul and Frank Lampard firing a free kick just wide.

Chelsea quickly began to dominate proceedings and perhaps should have taken the lead after 25 minutes when Oscar lashed a shot narrowly off target but, just two minutes later, they did make the breakthrough as Hazard curled into the bottom corner,having collected a pass from Branislav Ivanovic.

Newcastle wasted a glaring chance just after the half-hour mark, Moussa Sissoko - captain in the absence of the injured Cheikh Tiote - denied by Cech following a superb through-ball from Davide Santon.

The visitors were punished almost immediately as Hazard finished off a marvellous counterattack by surging into the box before playing a one-two with Samuel Eto'o and coolly slotting beyond Krul.

Mourinho's men continued to look fallible in defence and were grateful to Cech once more when the Czech goalkeeper scrambled to prevent Luuk de Jong from scoring on his full Newcastle debut with a close-range header.

But the visitors' problems mounted further five minutes before the half-time interval when Mathieu Debuchy limped off to be replaced by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

Chelsea almost extended their lead in bizarre fashion early in the second half as Krul lost his footing in an attempt to claim David Luiz's long ball forward, which bounced over the Dutchman's head before eventually rolling wide of the goal despite Oscar's determined chase to keep the ball in play.

Mike Williamson prevented Eto'o from scoring a third with a fine block before Krul kept out a stinging free kick from Lampard.

However, the third goal finally arrived on 63 minutes, Hazard converting from the spot in confident fashion after Yanga-Mbiwa had hauled down Eto'o in the area.

The Belgian then came off to a rousing standing ovation prior to a flurry of late chances, Krul denying substiute Mohamed Salah a first goal for Chelsea before Sylvain Marveaux somehow shot wide following a Newcastle counter at the other end.

 

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Nurnberg 0-2 Bayern Munich: Mandzukic and Lahm on target as leaders cruise to victory

A goal each for Mario Mandzukic and Philipp Lahm were enough for Bayern Munich as they saw off Nurnberg 2-0 on Saturday.

It took Pep Guardiola's side 15 minutes to get into their stride, but only after the defending champions survived an early scare when Hiroshi Kiyotake struck the woodwork before Mandzukic opened the scoring with his 12th league goal of the season.

The Croatia international striker then turned provided three minutes after the break with a perfect pass to find Philipp Lahm and the midfielder fired past Raphael Schafer to end a 95-game goal drought.

Victory sees Bayern extend their unbeaten run against their Bavarian rivals to 13 games in all competitions and make it 45 games without defeat in the Bundesliga, while also extending the team's lead over Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the table.

Gertjan Verbeek's Nurnberg side drop into the bottom three after their seventh defeat of the season, with Freiburg moving ahead of them following a draw with Hoffenheim.

Bayern, who were without Franck Ribery following surgery, started slowly and were unfortunate not to fall behind in the opening minutes as Japanese midfielder Kiyotake clipped the crossbar with an acrobatic volley.

Nurnberg looked lively, but their profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt them as Mandzukic opened the scoring with Bayern's first chance of the game in the 18th minute.

Mario Gotze released David Alaba down the left and he delivered a perfect cross into the six-yard box that the Croatian striker fired past Schafer, despite close attention from Marvin Plattenhardt.

Arjen Robben went close to doubling Bayern's lead with a 25-yard free kick just after the half-hour mark that struck the post with Schafer well beaten and Thomas Muller should have converted the rebound, only to see his header crash against the crossbar.

Bayern were starting to exert real pressure on Nurnberg, but, moments after Mandzukic saw a header easily saved by Schafer, the hosts spurned a decent chance to level.

Substitute Tomas Pekhart, who replaced Daniel Ginczek in the 22nd minute, was unmarked on the edge of the penalty, but he fired wide after good work down the left.

Three minutes into the second half the visitors, Bayern did double their lead through Lahm, with Mandzukic turning provider with a neat square pass from inside the penalty area that the Bayern captain made no mistake with from six yards.

Robben went close to adding a third in the 55th minute after a reaching a throughball from Lahm, the Netherlands international did not fully connect with his volley and that nearly caught Schafer out at his near post.

Muller and Robben were both withdrawn from the action with the result beyond doubt as Bayern comfortably recorded an 18th league win of the season.

 

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Werder Bremen 1-5 Borussia Dortmund: Lewandowski scores twice as Klopp's side run riot

Robert Lewandowski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both scored twice as Werder Bremen were thumped 5-1 by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Robin Dutt's men threatened early on, but third-placed Dortmund rarely looked in danger of dropping points and Lewandowski's first league goal since November 30, after excellent work by Marcel Schmelzer, sent the visitors on their way in the 26th minute.

Mkhitaryan doubled Dortmund's lead just before the break, demonstrating quick feet on the edge of the area prior to a clinical finish.

Centre-back Manuel Friedrich then latched on to a corner early in the second half and tapped in at the back post for his first Bundesliga strike since January 2012, while Mkhitaryan grabbed his second after a sumptuous assist from Marco Reus.

Lewandowski got a second with five minutes remaining, and Levent Aycicek netted a consolation in the 89th minute for Bremen, who are in danger of being drawn into a relegation battle.

The hosts gave a debut to Ludovic Obraniak following his January arrival from Bordeaux, while Dortmund were without the services of Mats Hummels due to a foot injury.

After a cagey opening, Schmelzer robbed Theodor Gebre Selassie of possession near the corner flag before cutting a pass back to Lewandowski, and the Poland star confidently caressed a finish into the bottom-right corner.

Mkhitaryan should have finished a well-worked move in the 37th minute as he diverted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's header into the side netting, but made amends four minutes later.

The Armenian jolted past Assani Lukimya on the edge of the area and, having been afforded space by the home side's defenders, drove a low shot past Raphael Wolf and into the bottom-left corner.

Jurgen Klopp's side effectively wrapped up the three points three minutes into the second period as Hunt inadvertently flicked on a Dortmund corner and the unmarked Friedrich prodded home.

Things were in danger of getting embarrassing for Bremen and the visitors added a fourth just after the hour mark.

Reus produced a devilish back-heel into the area after receiving a pass from Mkhitaryan, and the former Shakhtar Donetsk man continued his run to collect the loose ball before delicately clipping past Wolf.

Lewandowski rounded Wolf and slotted through Sebastian Prodl's legs with composure to grab his second, but it was Bremen who completed the scoring as substitute Aycicek converted at the back post.

 

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Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal: Skrtel and Sterling strike twice as rampant Reds humiliate Wenger's men

Liverpool spectacularly enhanced their Premier League title credentials with a remarkable 5-1 home victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday.


Arsene Wenger's men came into this fixture having not lost a league game at Anfield since March 2007, but were ruthlessly exposed in a scarcely believable opening 20 minutes.

Martin Skrtel was the unlikely scorer of Liverpool's first two goals, the centre-back twice converting Steven Gerrard set-pieces, before Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge found the net with Arsenal in total disarray.

There was no way back for the shell-shocked visitors and Sterling added his second early in the second half as Liverpool hit five against Arsenal for the first time in 50 years.

A Mikel Arteta penalty reduced Arsenal's arrears with 21 minutes remaining, but provided precious little in the way of consolation.

Brendan Rodgers' men now lie just five points behind the London club, who face a stiff task to bounce back from a first defeat since they were beaten 6-3 at Manchester City on December 14 in a similarly eventful match.

An unchanged Liverpool moved ahead inside the first minute, Skrtel converting a left-wing free-kick with his knee after Gerrard's inswinging delivery appeared to brush the boot of Arteta.

Skrtel made a crucial clearance at the other end when Simon Mignolet charged from his goal, and then doubled his side's advantage in the 10th minute.

After Jon Flanagan had been denied at the near post by Wojciech Szczesny, Skrtel met the resulting corner with a looping header that beat Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, stationed on the far post.

With Liverpool rampant, Sturridge sent a lobbed finish wide having been played through by Luis Suarez, who subsequently struck the post with a thunderous 25-yarder on the turn before Kolo Toure prodded the rebound wide with an open goal gaping.

Per Mertesacker headed wide from a corner, but Arsenal, who welcomed Jack Wilshere back from injury, remained second-best and fell further behind after 16 minutes.

Mesut Ozil was dispossessed by Jordan Henderson and a swift break resulted in Suarez laying on a simple finish for Sterling.

A sublime throughball from Philippe Coutinho provided Sturridge with another one-on-one four minutes later, and this time the England international made no mistake, scoring for the seventh game in succession across all competitions.

Although Arsenal belatedly checked Liverpool's momentum, the hosts retained control and pulled further clear seven minutes after the break.

Sterling was given time to cut in from the left and scored at the second attempt after his initial tame strike had been kept out by Szczesny.

Wilshere was booked for a petulant foul on Sterling that summed up Arsenal's frustration before Wenger made a triple change in the 61st minute, introducing Kieran Gibbs, Tomas Rosicky and Lukas Podolski.

Arteta pulled one back from the penalty spot after Gerrard had brought down Oxlade-Chamberlain, and also tested Mignolet with a low free-kick, but by then the game was effectively over as a contest.

Sturridge, Gerrard and Suarez were all substituted to sum up Liverpool's dominance, while Sterling spurned a chance to complete his hat-trick in the closing stages.

 

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Almeria loss not due to Madrid defeat, says Simeone

Diego Simeone refused to make excuses for Atletico Madrid's 2-0 defeat at Almeria on Saturday, which sees them surrender top spot in La Liga.

Verza's double, courtesy of a pair of Dani Aranzubia errors, condemned the title contenders to their second defeat this week following Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey.

But Simeone denied that his men were exhausted by the derby clash and refrained from blaming windy conditions or the referee for a controversial penalty awarded to the hosts.

"Almeria played as they planned to. We had our own chances. Football is like this. We won't look for excuses. Well done to Almeria," the Argentine boss told reporters after the match.

"I don't think we were tired [following the Copa game versus Madrid]. We were prepared for this game. We won't blame the referee, the wind or anything."

Midfielder Tiago could face a spell on the sidelines following a rugged challenge from Helder Barbosa and Simeone admitted his concern: "The thing I'm most worried about today is Tiago."

The extent of the Portuguese's injury is unknown, but he could be out of the Copa return leg clash versus Madrid as well as the Champions League tie with AC Milan.

Local rivals Madrid are now level on 57 points and sees them move to first in La Liga. Barcelona travel to Sevilla on Sunday.

 

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Ancelotti talks up Jese-Bale combination

Carlo Ancelotti has tipped Jese Rodriguez and Gareth Bale to blossom at Real Madrid after they combined to sink Villarreal 4-2 on Saturday.

Bale opened the scoring and then proceeded to assist Karim Benzema's first strike before Jese followed his Welsh counterpart's lead, stroking home next and then laying on Benzema's second.

Their performances impressed Ancelotti, who believes los Blancos can only improve further once Cristiano Ronaldo returns from suspension.

"Bale had a good game, like everyone else. He scored the first goal and gave an assist," the trainer told reporters after the match.

"Jese is in a good moment, he helped the team a lot, he worked hard. Everyone loves him, he is playing really well. At his age, this is a really good thing for everyone."

Asked which wing Bale or Jese would play on Ancelotti added: "It depends on who is centre forward, but with Benzema there, either are comfortable coming inside.

"Today we wanted Benzema ready in the area. We planned our game around getting crosses to him. Other times he plays deeper. He is a very complete player.

"Cristiano is an indispensable player for us. Without him everyone else works more."

The six-goal thriller puts Madrid top of La Liga and Ancelotti was pleased with the effort his men put in after seeing off Atletico Madrid just days earlier.

"We suffered a lot in the game as Villarreal played well with ball on ground. We had difficulties covering sometimes," he continued.

"It was not an easy game after the work done versus Atletico, but we took our chances really well on the counter-attack."

Title rivals Atleti lost 2-0 to Almeria on Saturday, while Barcelona travel to Sevilla on Sunday.

 

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Manchester United to make £20m summer Shaw bid

Manchester United will make a £20 million bid for Luke Shaw this summer, with the Premier League champions increasingly confident of tempting the Southampton star to Old Trafford.

The left-back, a boyhood Chelsea fan, is keen to speak to the Blues ahead of the summer but Old Trafford sources have also received indications that the 18-year-old would be open to joining David Moyes's side.

Goal revealed in January that initial talks over a move for Shaw had begun but the England Under-21 international was happy to see out the rest of this season at St Mary's Stadium before evaluating his options in the summer.

Moyes has been promised a staggering war chest of £150m this June after he broke the club's transfer record to sign Juan Mata for £37m in January and the manager sees overhauling the club's defence as a key priority.

United announced on Thursday that Nemanja Vidic will leave the club at the end of the season, with Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra - the man whom Shaw would immediately replace in Moyes's side - also set to see their contracts expire. Rafael and Alexander Buttner will also be told that they can leave the club should United receive acceptable offers.

Moyes has privately made clear to United officials that he remains unconvinced by Rafael and is pursuing options at both right-back and centre-back, as well as Shaw, with Benfica's Ezequiel Garay, Seamus Coleman of Everton and Porto star Eliaquim Mangala having all been considered as defensive recruits by the Scot.

Valencia sporting director Francisco Rufete also confirmed on Friday that the Premier League champions had pulled out of a deal to sign Nicolas Otamendi from Porto in January, with the Argentine having moved to Mestalla late in the window.

United are set to face competition for Shaw directly from Chelsea and Tottenham, who have both shown an interest in the youngster since he emerged as the brightest English prospect in his age group.

The left-back's future is complicated by the fact that his management team, Stellar Group, also represents Ashley Cole, who wants a new Chelsea deal when his current contract expires in the summer.

United insiders are confident that they would be able to guarantee Shaw first-team football should he opt for a move to Manchester, with Moyes's other recent left-back target, Leighton Baines, having committed his long-term future to Everton in January.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Klopp: Dortmund were as strong as a bear

Borussia Dortmund head coach Jurgen Klopp has urged his team to replicate their performance in the 5-1 win over Werder Bremen.Despite struggling Bremen threatening early on, Dortmund powered to a resounding triumph at Weserstadion on Saturday, with Robert Lewandowski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sending them on their way with a goal apiece before half-time.

Manuel Friedrich netted his first goal since January 2012 to open up a three-goal lead just after the break before Mkhitaryan and Lewandowski both doubled their respective tallies for the match to make it 5-0.

Levent Aycicek added a late consolation for the hosts, but it did not spoil Klopp's mood as he challenged his side to make a habit of such dazzling displays.

"It was a great game by my team," he said.

"That's what we want to see every week and will hopefully see again.
"We were strong as a bear in the counter pressing and there is to complain about very little."

Midfielder Nuri Sahin admitted he and his Dortmund team-mates revelled in an emphatic win that kept the pressure on second-placed Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He said: "The game has been great fun and if we have fun then such results come of it around. This big victory is extremely important to us.

"We had to keep going until the end and we played really confidently.
"This is good for our self-confidence."