..::Football III::..

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Celta 0-2 Atletico Madrid: Villa double sends Colchoneros top

Two goals from David Villa saw Atletico Madrid run out 2-0 winners over Celta and move to the top of La Liga.

The visitors struggled in the first half as Celta looked solid at the back and relatively threatening in attack, but the title chasers took over and began to dominate after the break.

Villa netted his first in fine fashion in the 62nd minute as he pounced on a dreadful backpass before coolly slotting into the bottom-right corner, and he doubled his tally a couple a couple of minutes later with a tidy finish.

Barcelona's defeat to Real Valladolid earlier in the day gave Atleti the chance to go top for at least one day, with Real playing Levante at home on Sunday.Following successive away defeats in the league, Atleti coach Diego Simeone conceded his side cannot afford to lose again if they are to continue their title challenge this season and they produced a professional display in Vigo, though they didn't have things all their own way early on.

Celta enjoyed an encouraging start as Nolito forced Thibaut Courtois to rush off his line and make a last-ditch challenge in the fifth minute, before captain Borja Oubina dragged wide from the edge of the area a few moments later.Alex Lopez was the next to go close for Celta as he fired just off target after cutting in from the left flank, but Atleti did finally wake up as Raul Garcia hit a half-volley on to the roof of the goal from 40 yards out on the right wing.

Soon after, Villa forced Yoel into a smart 25th-minute save, while Celta were unlucky not to get a penalty on the half-hour mark as Hugo Mallo's powerful strike hit Toby Alderweireld on the arm.

Although both sides appeared to be conservative at the start of the second period, Atleti did worry Yoel in the 51st minute as Garcia's 25-yard effort looked to have been deflected past the goalkeeper, but he reacted quickly to make the save.As the hour mark approached, Atleti began to look dominant and they deservedly took the lead 62 minutes in.Villa latched on to Jonny Castro's disastrous backpass attempt, raced through on goal and confidently stroked past the helpless Yoel.

The lead was doubled just two minutes later with Villa once again to thank as he latched onto Jose Sosa's well-placed cut-back and produced a composed finish.
The quickfire double killed off the spirited visitors who remain in mid-table after a first home defeat in eight outings.

 

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David Villa

 

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Ibrahimovic: Ligue 1 not over yet

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has insisted that Paris Saint-Germain still have work to do if they are to retain their Ligue 1 title this season.

Laurent Blanc's men went eight points clear of second-placed Monaco in the standings thanks to Saturday's 3-0 win over Bastia in Corsica.

However, despite their hefty lead in the table, the Swedish striker believes his team-mates still must work hard to ensure a Championnat triumph, but is delighted with their current form.

"To score 102 goals is fantastic. It proves that we have had an extraordinary season up until this point," he is quoted as saying by the club's official website.

"We play well, we know what we have to do. We have a big lead, but we still have a few matches to go. The next two months are going to be the most important. We have alternatives.

"Players come in and out of the squad, but the quality remains the same. That's what makes us a great team. We have 25 players, not 11."

Blanc, meanwhile, believes that his side coped well with an improved Bastia performance in the second half after Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi had given them a 2-0 lead at the break.

"It's a great victory. We took control of the match in the opening 45 minutes and we were able to turn that into a lead on the scoreboard.

"After the break, it was a little tougher because Bastia made some tactical changes and were more aggressive. The players, controlled things well and did what they had to do.

"We are very happy. Scoring more than 100 goals means we are creating a lot of scoring opportunities. But one mustn't forget that we are also very good in defence."

Lavezzi added a third late on as PSG wrapped up their 20th win in 28 Ligue 1 games.

 

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Terry rules out England return

John Terry has reiterated he will not come out of international retirement to help England in the World Cup in Brazil later this year.

Terry quit the national side after falling out with the Football Association in 2012 over a ban for racism, but his impressive form this season - alongside England centre-back Gary Cahill - has prompted some to suggest he may go back on his decision and make himself available for selection.

However, following Chelsea's 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham on Saturday, Terry moved to quash any speculation once and for all."My days are gone and it is down to Gary [Cahill] and the young boys to push on for our country," he told Sky Sports.

"He seems to get better every day, he is great in the air and reads it well. He is quick and he is the man for England going forward and has been excellent for Chelsea."We have struck up a great relationship, since he came from Bolton not only on the pitch but off it too.

"He seems to get better every game, and we do love playing together and he made his debut for England with me."But a lot went on with myself and England and I love playing for my country, and I was very proud to do that and captain my country twice.

"Unfortunately things have changed and moved on and I am concentrating on playing well and hopefully keep us top of the league."

 

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Mourinho: Tottenham did not scare Chelsea

Jose Mourinho pinpointed Tottenham's failure to scare his Chelsea side as key in Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge.

Samuel Eto'o's 54th-minute opener, an Eden Hazard penalty and a late brace from substitute Demba Ba sent Mourinho's men seven points clear at the Premier League summit, although their nearest rivals retain games in hand.

Tottenham had Younes Kaboul sent off for the foul on Eto'o that led to Hazard's penalty, while the other three Chelsea goals came courtesy of shambolic defensive errors.But Mourinho pointed to a tightly contested first half and the significance of Tottenham's failure to capitalise when they were on top.

"We were prepared for a difficult opponent, so in the first half we were calm - no panic, no pressure, not surprised by the fact the opponent can come here and play the way they play," he told reporters.

"But the reality was that in the first half they had control but they didn't scare us.
"When you feel the opponent is in control but, even when they are in control, they don't scare you, you are calm.

"You control the situation and you wait for your best moment of the game because we know that the best moment for us will always come, especially at Stamford Bridge."In the second half we changed our structure a little bit. The game was much more connected, the distance between the midfield and the attacking players was smaller because [half-time substitute] Oscar was filling that space.

"You can say the first goal is a mistake but the way Eto'o read the mistake was fantastic."After that, no story. Complete control - easy to pass, easy to control, easy for our supporters to enjoy and easy for me to be calm."

Eto'o was a late inclusion in the Chelsea starting XI after Fernando Torres sustained a groin injury during the warm up and it was the former Barcelona and Inter striker's first start since Mourinho was unwittingly caught making disparaging comments about his age.

But Eto'o impressed throughout ahead of his 33rd birthday on Monday and made light of the controversy with a goal celebration where he mockingly held his back and hunched by the corner flag.Afterwards, Mourinho was happy to report that he was in on the joke.

He added: "We knew about it and we thought it was more than fine because the best way to defuse the situation is to make fun of a funny situation. It was good.
"Some newspapers, they did great with Photoshop. Now they don't need Photoshop, they just can put the real picture."

 

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Simeone applauds 'specialist' Villa

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone applauded the performance of "specialist" finisher David Villa in the 2-0 defeat of Celta Vigo.

The La Liga title-chasers were without the suspended Diego Costa for their trip to Vigo after his yellow card for simulation against Real Madrid was not overturned, but ultimately it did not matter as Villa starred.

After a disappointing first half, Atletico eventually started to dominate early in the second period and the striker latched on to Jonny Castro's terrible 62nd-minute backpass before beating Yoel.

The forward's second of the match arrived two minutes later as he converted from Jose Sosa's right-wing cross.Simeone said: "He (Villa) lives on goals. He is a specialist in that, and the more options you have about the goal, the better for all.

"His accuracy and the strength has marked his career. He has put in such good effort for the team and he is an important player for us."We need him. We need his goals, his experience and he is one of the few players who is used to fighting every Sunday for first place (in the table). His forcefulness in the area is worth having."

Villa was understandably content and urged his team-mates to treat their remaining matches as finals as they seek a first league title since the 1995-96 season.He added: "We are very happy with the victory in a complicated ground against a team which plays high-quality football.

"From now on until the end (of the season) all matches are finals and we must win them all."

 

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Mazzarri: Guarin can't go missing

Inter coach Walter Mazzarri has labelled Fredy Guarin "immensely talented" but says he cannot "go missing" in games if he is to become a top player.

The Colombia international came close to leaving San Siro for Juventus in a swap deal with Bianconeri striker Mirko Vucinic in January, as his stock continues to rise.

Reports have also linked the midfielder with moves to Manchester United and Chelsea and Nerazzurri boss Mazzarri has acknowledged his burgeoning talent, while highlighting the room for growth in his game.

He told reporters ahead of Inter's clash with Torino on Sunday: "Guarin is immensely talented. I've given him some advice to help him reach the top of his game. He mustn't go missing during the 90 minutes."

The former Napoli boss then moved to quash talk of a dispute between himself and Mateo Kovacic after the 19-year-old admitted his displeasure at only playing a bit-part role this season.

Mazzarri had previously hit out at the midfielder for his performance in the defeat to Juventus in February, but insists the pair remain on good terms.

"Kovacic's comments during the week? I watched the whole match when he played for Croatia the other day. I don't think he meant to say what got reported.

"I think he meant that he has to improve the defensive side of his game. He believes in what I tell him, I've spoken to him about it."

 

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Villa: It's Atleti's duty to win

Atletico Madrid striker David Villa has claimed that his side are duty-bound to win every match after their 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo.

The former Barcelona star fired Diego Simone's men to top spot in La Liga with two second-half goals in Galicia as the capital club made the most of the Blaugrana's slip up against Valladolid.

And the Spain international has urged his team-mates to keep getting positive results as they go in search of an unlikely title win.

"We have to follow up these three points," he is quoted as saying by AS.

"Every point is important and we have to go from week to week, but everything will go down until the end and it's our duty to win them all.

"We took our chances. I'm glad to help the team by scoring and keeping working."

Atletico Madrid will looking to follow up their win over Celta by booking a quarter-final berth in the Champions League against AC Milan on Tuesday, having already beaten the Rossoneri 1-0 in the first leg.

 

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Title race not over, claims defiant Martino

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino remained defiant about his team's title hopes after their dismal 1-0 defeat at Real Valladolid on Saturday.

The champions slumped to a second consecutive away Liga defeat, with Fausto Rossi pouncing on a ricochet to net the game's only goal 17 minutes in.

Lionel Messi saw a host of chances saved by Valladolid keeper Diego Marino, while Neymar missed a great opportunity in the second half as Barca were consigned to their fourth league loss of the season.

The result leaves the Catalans one point behind leaders Real Madrid at the top of the table, with Carlo Ancelotti's men hosting Levante on Sunday, but Martino is refusing to write off his team's chances of retaining their crown.

"Whilst we still have a chance mathematically, we will keep fighting for the title," the Argentinian said.

"We struggled with our mobility, especially in the final 20 metres of the pitch. We couldn’t find the space. We had a lot of the ball, but lacked any depth.

"It is clear from today that we are not at our best. And we need to be at our best against Real Madrid."

Midfielder Xavi was under no illusions about how poor the result and performance were, admitting that he could see no plus points.

He told Carrusel Deportivo: "We can't draw any positive conclusions from that result and performance.

"We have to try and improve ahead of Wednesday (against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League).

"It just wasn’t to be today. It's a very painful loss - definitely a step back for us."

 

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Guardiola not satisfied despite Bayern rout

Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola says his side were not "dominant" despite a 6-1 hammering of Wolfsburg on Saturday.

The Bavarian giants racked up a record 16th straight Bundesliga victory at the Volkswagen Aren and opened up a 23-point gap at the top of the table. Things started badly for the visitors, however, as Naldo volleyed home Kevin De Bruyne's teasing cross.

Xherdan Shaqiri ensured the sides went in level at the break before two goals apiece from Thomas Muller and Mario Mandzukic, as well as a strike from Franck Ribery on his comeback from injury, sealed the victory.But despite the ease with which Bayern eventually collected three points, Guardiola was not fully satisfied with their performance.

Speaking to the club's official website, he said: "We were not as dominant as in recent games."Wolfsburg had super organisation and were very aggressive.

"In the first half we had problems, even in the first 15 minutes of the second half. But in the end we have scored the goals."

 

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'Fans who don't trust Barca can get off the boat' - Dani Alves

Dani Alves has told non-believing Barcelona fans to "get off the boat" following the team's timid 1-0 defeat at Valladolid on Saturday.

Fausto Rossi's goal ensured that Gerardo Martino's men sit one point behind Real Madrid having played a game more and with arguably a tougher fixture list, but the Brazilian full-back was defiant that the Catalans should not be written off just yet.

"We will fight as long as there's a chance of us winning La Liga," Alves told reporters. "Those who cannot trust in us should get off the boat.

"Our feelings are like those of having lost La Liga in the dressing room. It impacts our chances very negatively, but we will continue to fight.

"Valladolid simply took advantage of their chances and we did not get any luck.

"There is no time for regret though. We have a very important game on Wednesday, against Manchester City in the Champions League, and we will be eliminated if we fail in that."

Sergio Busquets did not try to defend the performance and thinks that the loss at the Jose Zorrilla will definitely harm Barca's hopes of retaining their Spanish league title.

"We did not have the right attitude," the midfielder said. "We made things very difficult for ourselves. We did not show up in the way we needed to if we wanted to win.

"The first half was very poor. In the second half we tried but we just could not score. It's a very tough loss. We're now in a difficult situation in La Liga."

Barca will hope to return to winning ways at Camp Nou when Manuel Pellegrini's men visit in midweek, with the visitors needing to win by at least two goals to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals of Europe's elite competition.

 

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Rooney: Man Utd must show we mean business

Wayne Rooney says Manchester United want to show that "they mean business" after beating West Brom 3-0 at the Hawthorns.

Rooney scored the second goal and laid on the third for Danny Welbeck after Phil Jones had given David Moyes' men an early lead.

Moyes has been under pressure since United lost 2-0 to Olympiakos in the Champions League, but Rooney says it is now up to the players to fight for the club.

"We were hurt after the Olympiakos game, of course we were, we wanted to come and show everyone we're a good team and fight for the shirt and for our place in the team," he told BT Sport. "I think that showed today, we played with great energy and we were exciting and we always looked a threat.

"The 3-0 win was deserved and maybe it could have been more."

The Red Devils welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford next Sunday before taking on Olympiakos and Manchester City at home before the end of March, and Rooney says it is a perfect opportunity to remind the rest of the Premier League of the club's quality.

"Liverpool next and then Olympiakos, where we're two goals down, then West Ham away and City," he added. "It's a big challenge for us and it's up to us to us to take that challenge, show everybody we're a good team and that we mean business."

Michael Carrick was also pleased with his team-mates' performance on Saturday, particularly when going forward.

"It was all about the result today," he said. "We were ready for today, we knew it was important, but the performance was exciting, we looked good going forward.

"We looked promising at times, it's up to us to perform. We've got the players to do it, and when it comes together we look good. It's up to us to do it again."

 

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Ancelotti: Isco is my Seedorf

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has compared Isco to Clarence Seedorf due to the struggles he has had finding a place for the attacking midfielders in his line-ups.

Seedorf was part of the Italian coach's Champions League-winning AC Milan side a decade ago, while one of his current dilemmas is finding a place in the Blancos for Isco to thrive after a relatively muted first season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ancelotti says he has tried to help Isco adapt to the 4-3-3 system he is favouring with La Liga's leaders and believes the young Spaniard is edging his way towards the first team.

"We have spoken for a month about how he can adapt," he told reporters. "We haven't been able to play with him in his usual position.

"He played very well against Schalke and Atletico Madrid. He is closer to starting. I had a similar case: Seedorf was an attacking central midfielder who, with sacrifice, played in a different position. Isco can do what Seedorf did."

The coach praised striker Karim Benzema, who has 11 goals in the 13 games since 2014 began, and he believes the Frenchman found a renewed vigour due to a better focus.

"Benzema is comfortable in the side and with our play," Ancelotti added. "That's the reason. He's concentrating on his work, and this is what pays off."

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss also admitted centre-back Pepe is a doubt to face Levante on Sunday due to a stomach bug which he had in midweek.

 

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FA Cup Fixtures 2014.03.09

FA Cup Fixtures 2014.03.09

Sheffield Vs Charlton

Hull City Vs Sunderland

Manchester City Vs Wigan​

 

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La Liga 2014.03.09 Fixtures

La Liga 2014.03.09 Fixtures

Espanyol Vs Elche

Almeria Vs Sevilla

Real Madrid Vs Levante

Valencia Vs Athletic Bilbao​

 

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Serie A 2014.03.09 Fixtures

Serie A 2014.03.09 Fixtures

Juventus Vs Fiorentina

Bologna Vs Sassuolo

Chievo Vs Genoa

Inter Vs Torino

Lazio Vs Atalanta

Parma Vs Hellas

Sampdoria Vs Livorno

Napoli Vs Roma​

 

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Arsenal 4-1 Everton: Late Giroud double books semi-final spot

 

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Cardiff City 3-1 Fulham: Magath's men dealt survival blow

Fulham relegate weyi wage

 

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Title race not over, claims defiant Martino

 

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