..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

West Ham 1-2 Leicester City: Payet strike not enough as Foxes win again

Leicester City's impressive start to life under Claudio Ranieri continued with a 2-1 Premier League victory at West Ham.

Building on their emphatic 4-2 opening-day win over Sunderland, Leicester took a deserved 27th-minute lead in east London as Japan international Shinji Okazaki scored his first goal for the club.

Riyad Mahrez scored two for the Foxes last time out and the Algeria winger was on target once more to give Ranieri's men breathing space at the interval.

West Ham were shock victors over Arsenal in their opening game but rarely threatened to scale the same heights on Saturday.

Close-season signing Dimitri Payet halved the deficit 10 minutes into the second half but could not prevent West Ham's final league campaign at their Upton Park home from getting off to an anti-climactic start, with a red card for goalkeeper Adrian in stoppage time compounding a miserable afternoon.

Having won numerous plaudits on his Premier League debut at Arsenal, Reece Oxford almost handed Slaven Bilic's team a perfect start when he headed Payet's free-kick against the top of the crossbar.

Jamie Vardy started in an unchanged Leicester side despite being fined by the club in midweek for an alleged racial slur, and the England forward was booked in the 11th minute for a rash challenge on Adrian.

The West Ham goalkeeper recovered sufficiently to thwart Mahrez at the end of a jinking run in the 26th minute and pushed Robert Huth's hooked effort from the resulting corner around the post.

But Leicester were rewarded for a promising spell when Okazaki volleyed Vardy's left-wing cross goalwards - Adrian saving brilliantly - and headed in at the second attempt.

Okazaki was involved in Leicester's well-worked second in the 38th minute, feeding Marc Albrighton who burst into the West Ham box and cut the ball back for Mahrez to sweep home.

The hosts had strong penalty appeals waved away in first-half stoppage time as Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel collided with the on-rushing Diafra Sakho.

Mahrez also had a claim for a spot-kick rejected in the 54th minute as his latest dribble caused further disarray among the West Ham defence, but Bilic's men had a lifeline shortly afterwards.

Payet's initial shot from Mark Noble's low cross was blocked but Cheikhou Kouyate teed up the former Marseille midfielder to clatter his second strike emphatically into the top-left corner.

The Upton Park faithful roared their team forward in search of the equaliser and an unmarked Sakho headed tamely at Schmeichel.

Danny Drinkwater passed up the chance to add a third following more excellent work by Mahrez before City were indebted to an excellent stop from Schmeichel.

A loose ball broke to Sakho in the penalty area but the forward was denied from point-blank range as he lost his footing and Leicester, who lost on all six of their visits to the capital last season, would suffer no further London heartache.

Schmeichel's opposite number Adrian endured a more forgettable conclusion to the contest, plunging his studs into Vardy's stomach, having come up for a stoppage-time corner, to receive his marching orders.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Borussia Monchengladbach: Reus & Aubameyang on target in Tuchel debut win

Borussia Dortmund marked Thomas Tuchel's first Bundesliga game in charge with a stunning 4-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach at Signal Iduna-Park on Saturday.

Dortmund put the troubles of last season well behind them as they raced into a three-goal lead inside 33 minutes in their opening league match of the season, leaving Lucien Favre's Monchengladbach, who finished third last term, shell-shocked.

After Henrikh Mkhitaryan had a goal disallowed for offside, quick-fire strikes from former Monchengladbach man Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were just reward for Dortmund's flying start.

Mkhitaryan then added Dortmund's third and fourth either side of half-time, with Shinji Kagawa then squandering a golden-opportunity to grab a fifth soon after.

With champions Bayern Munich having hammered Hamburg 5-0 on Friday, Dortmund served a reminder that they are ready to challenge the Bavarian giants once again after finishing last season in seventh place.

Tuchel announced on Friday that long-standing first-choice goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was to be replaced with new signing Roman Burki.

And although the Swiss got off to a shaky start when he made a hash of claiming Raffael's corner, he was mainly untroubled as Dortmund turned up the heat on a lacklustre Monchengladbach.

The in-form Mkhitaryan thought he had given Dortmund the lead with a superb curled strike, only for the celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag.

But Dortmund did not have to wait long for the opener when, following good interplay with Kagawa, Reus jinked inside from the right and smashed a shot into the near corner after 15 minutes.

The buoyant hosts wasted no time in increasing their advantage, with Marcel Schmelzer whipping in an inch-perfect cross for Aubameyang to nod in their second six minutes later.

Dortmund were on fire, and Aubameyang turned provider for their third on the half-hour mark when he raced onto Ilkay Gundogan's pass and squared to Mkhitaryan, with the Armenian duly prodding home from close range.

Monchengladbach's nightmare half could have been even worse had Raffael not cleared Mats Hummels' looping header off the line shortly before the break.

Tuchel's side picked up where they left off after the interval, with Mkhitaryan notching his second with a cool finish after being teed up by Reus in the 50th minute.

Kagawa, excellent throughout, then carved through Monchengladbach's defence with a fantastic one-two with Aubameyang, but the Japanese playmaker then drilled his low shot wide when free on goal.

The home team took their foot off the pedal late on after a breathless display, although Gundogan forced Yann Sommer into a save low down to his left with a curling long-range strike as Tuchel enjoyed an ideal start to life at Dortmund.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Blanc: Ibrahimovic and Di Maria will return soon

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc says he expects Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel Di Maria to be available for selection very soon.

Les Parisiens kicked off their Ligue 1 campaign with a 1-0 win at Lille last Saturday despite being without the talismanic Swede as well as their €63 million signing Di Maria, who moved to Parc des Princes from Manchester United in the first week of August.

And while the pair will still be absent for Sunday's match against Ajaccio, Blanc assures that they could well return next week in order to help PSG defend their league title.

"Zlatan is following his recovery programme, he is still not 100 per cent healed yet," the trainer told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "He is making good progress in his recovery and we hope that he can return next week.

"Di Maria is still undergoing a physical programme but could also take part in full training with the group next week. He arrived late and was injured when he came, but he's been doing a good job in double sessions each day and has not felt problems in his thigh."

Blanc also confirmed left-back Lucas Digne is on the verge of a transfer to Serie A side Roma, while opening the door for Thiago Motta to remain at the club as he looks set to sign a new contract, despite multiple stories linking the midfielder with a departure this summer.

"Digne is not going to be in the group for the game on Sunday. We are waiting for a player to replace him before we let him go to Roma," the 49-year-old continued.

"The uncertain future of some players can affect the balance of the team, but we will do everything to ensure that this is not the case. We are focused on the games ahead because it is more important than the transfer window.

"I'm looking forward to September 1 when the transfer window closes. You know the situation regarding Motta - if he still here after August 31, I will be happy."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Robben: I miss Ribery

Arjen Robben is eagerly anticipating Franck Ribery's return to action for Bayern Munich, stating he is eager to rekindle his partnership with the French winger on the pitch.

Ribery featured sporadically for the Bavarian side last season due to injury and has been kept out of action since March with persistent ankle injuries as his club bowed out of the Champions League and DFB-Pokal semi-finals.

However, the club have confirmed the 32-year-old is on the mend and expected to return to action in September, with Robben stating his old partner-in-crime can give Bayern a big hand this term.

"It is a difficult moment for him, especially mentally," Robben, who has endured his share of injuries throughout his career, told reporters after the Bundesliga champions' 5-0 trashing of Hamburg on Friday.

"We support him, we hope that he will soon be able to play again. I miss him already, and our time together on the pitch. It was either him, or I, who was injured in the past. For a long time we could not play together.

"Our partnership has to come back."

Summer arrival Douglas Costa has been shining in Ribery's absence, with the Brazilian assisting twice and getting his name on the scoresheet in Friday's rout of Hamburg.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Sevilla still behind Europe's elite, admits Emery

Unai Emery has warned that Sevilla are far behind the top teams in Europe following their 6-4 loss to Roma on Friday.

The consecutive Europa League winners found themselves 6-0 down to the Serie A runners-up with just over an hour gone, although they did manage to pull four back by full-time.

Their spirited response was reminiscent of their Uefa Super Cup fightback against Barcelona, when they came back from being 4-1 down to draw level before conceding a late winner in extra time.

However, Emery explained that the matches were very different to each other and believes the Roma defeat illustrates the fact that a significant gap still exists between his outfit and the rest of Europe's top sides.

"The match will serve for us to learn from situations, to know our opponents and our own difficulties. The defence needs to be more convincing," the 43-year-old told reporters.

"It was a game from which we have drawn many conclusions about what it means to play at this level and what we are currently lacking to build the team that we want.

"We partly demonstrated it against Barcelona. The team was competitive in the Super Cup in Tbilisi; we weren't satisfied because we lost, but it gave us a glimmer of light in terms of the continuity of last season.

"There is a lot of work still to do, but we also have a lot of work under our belts. Now it's all about performance. The league starts now and there are no more rehearsals."

Los Rojiblancos will travel to Malaga next Friday for the start of their league campaign.

 

[King GBN]

anyone play top eleven football manager?

 

[rcccc]

Swansea City 2-0 Newcastle United: Gomis & Ayew on target again as Janmaat sees red

Swansea lage attacking patta .Ayew,Montero,Sigurdsson..

 

[rcccc]

Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Borussia Monchengladbach: Reus & Aubameyang on target in Tuchel debut win

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Atletico Madrid 3-0 Real Betis: Martinez makes mark in Rojiblancos late show

Atletico Madrid thrashed Real Betis 3-0 in their final tune-up for the La Liga season.

Diego Simeone's men claimed the Carranza Trophy for a record 10th time overall, and the second year in succession, with late goals at the Ramon de Carranza Stadium in Cadiz.

Two 20-year-olds combined for Atletico's opener - Argentine defender Jose Gimenez heading home from an Oliver Torres corner in the 73rd minute.

A cross in from Juanfran saw Jackson Martinez add a second in the 87th minute, and the result was assured for Atletico when second-half substitute Angel Correa was the second Argentine to score on the night.

Correa's goal - another header - finished off a cross in from Filipe Luis in the first minute of additional time.

Atletico open their Spanish league season at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Depay WILL come good for Manchester United, insists Blind

Daley Blind believes it’s only “a matter of time” before Memphis Depay starts to shine for Manchester United.

The 21-year-old, a £22.3 million summer signing from PSV, was subdued in United’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Friday and missed a one-on-one chance against Brad Guzan in the second half.

But Blind is backing his Dutch team-mate to open his account for United soon.

“I think it’s a matter of time for Memphis,” Blind told MUTV.

“You’ve seen how much quality he has and how strong he is. We can see some nice things from him.

“He’s just got to keep going, he tries very hard and the goals will come for sure.”

Annan Januzaj’s first-half strike was enough to secure a second Premier League victory for Louis van Gaal’s side and Blind has praised the winger’s mentality.

“I’m very happy for Adnan,” said the Netherlands international.

“He tries very hard in the training sessions and now we’ve seen how skilful he is with the goal, so I’m very pleased for him.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho aims swipe at Wenger over Arsenal reign

Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at Arsene Wenger by suggesting that Arsenal supporters are “disappointed” with the Frenchman’s lengthy reign.

The Chelsea manager has been criticised this week over his treatment of club medics Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn during the 2-2 draw with Swansea City last Saturday.

Carneiro and Fearn will not be on the bench on Sunday as Chelsea travel to Manchester City - last season’s runners-up in the title race.

But when asked whether he is surprised that Manuel Pellegrini remains at Manchester City following their disappointing campaign, Mourinho replied: “Why? Some other clubs are disappointed for 15 years and the manager is the same.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tuchel: Dortmund didn't expect to maul Monchengladbach

Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that even he was taken aback by Saturday's 4-0 rout of Borussia Monchengladbach.

BVB went into their Bundesliga opener on the back of a disappointing 2015-16 campaign that saw them finish seventh in the standings.

Gladbach, by contrast, secured automatic qualification for this season's Champions League courtesy of a fine third-placed finish.

However, it was BVB who looked like a member of Europe's elite at Signal Iduna Park, with the hosts racking up three goals inside the opening 45 minutes alone through Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, before the latter put the seal on a stunning victory.

"Such a start was, of course, unexpected, as we were playing against the best team of the second half of last season," Tuchel told Sky.

"We know how difficult it is to score against Gladbach, how tough it is to play against them and how hard it is to deal with their counterattacks.

"So, we had play to the absolute limit - and we did. It was a great performance with which I'm very satisfied.

"We were good all over the pitch. We very alert, had a good mentality, created lots of chances and scored great goals.

"We wouldn't have dared think that the first half would go so well but what was really good was that we did not ease off in the second half.

"On the contrary, we continued to attack and maintained our intensity. I liked that a lot. I was delighted that we also 'won' the second half."

Reus had another excellent game for Dortmund before being withdrawn with 12 minutes to go.

There were rumours that the Germany attacker had suffered a minor injury but Tuchel assured BVB fans that there is nothing to worry about.

"I don't think it is something serious," the former Mainz boss stated. "Otherwise our doctor would have spoken to me already."

Julian Weigl also played a starring role and Tuchel insisted afterwards that he was not in the least bit surprised by the 19-year-old's excellent showing in midfield.

"I congratulated him on his performance," the BVB boss added. "We knew he could do well; otherwise he would not have started.

"He is very diligent and he gives 100 per cent in every training session.

"He's a good learner and very attentive, well-mannered young man on whom you can rely."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Clean sheet for Casillas on Porto debut

Iker Casillas kept a clean sheet on his competitive Porto debut as Julen Lopetegui's side got their Primeira Liga season up and running with a routine 3-0 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes.

Casillas, who brought the curtain down on a 26-year association with childhood club Real Madrid during the close-season, watched on untroubled for much of Saturday's match at the Estadio Do Dragao.

Vincent Aboubakar opened the scoring after just eight minutes, and it looked like the visitors were in for a long night as Cristian Tello went close to a second midway through the first half.

Lopetegui had to wait until the hour mark for a two-goal cushion, though, as Aboubakar netted again shortly after three-time Champions League winner Casillas made a good save.

Silvestre Varela then added a third late on for Porto as their bid for a first Primeira Liga title since 2013 got off to a solid start.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

My Arsenal stars can be too nice, admits Wenger

Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal can be “too nice” and admits his side lacked enough aggression in their season-opening defeat to West Ham.

The Gunners were unable to follow up their victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield and slipped to a 2-0 loss to Slaven Bilic’s side last Sunday.

Wenger admits his players may have been “too confident” following their win at Wembley and insists his team need to be at their best to beat Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"Sometimes, we are maybe too nice," admitted the Arsenal manager.

"If you want to say our aggressive level last Sunday was not big enough, then I would agree with you.

"It's maybe linked with the fact we were too confident and that we thought we would win the game anyway and maybe you have to look at West Ham as well.

“They were advanced on the competitive level to us as they had competitive games in the Europa League. That might have given them a small advantage.

"It's not an excuse and we know that Palace will look to make it difficult for us. That should not be a surprise for us. We just need to be at our best and produce a different performance on Sunday. If we are not ready, we know what will happen."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League 2015.08.16 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2015.08.16 Fixtures

Crystal Palace Vs Arsenal

Manchester City Vs Chelsea

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Muller ta Manchester United join wenna onelu.Atthak nam kochchara hodada

Thanikarama boruwak wage​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Swansea lage attacking patta .Ayew,Montero,Sigurdsson..

​

 

[rcccc]

My Arsenal stars can be too nice, admits Wenger

Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal can be “too nice” and admits his side lacked enough aggression in their season-opening defeat to West Ham.

The Gunners were unable to follow up their victory over Chelsea in the Community Shield and slipped to a 2-0 loss to Slaven Bilic’s side last Sunday.

Wenger admits his players may have been “too confident” following their win at Wembley and insists his team need to be at their best to beat Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"Sometimes, we are maybe too nice," admitted the Arsenal manager.

"If you want to say our aggressive level last Sunday was not big enough, then I would agree with you.

too nice neme too soft.e nisa thama hoda powerful DM kenek ganna one & paulista CB gassanna one

 

[rcccc]

Muller ta Manchester United join wenna onelu.Atthak nam kochchara hodada

Thanikarama boruwak wage​

Muller ei kiyala hithanna amarui.habai Douglas Costa gattha nisa gotze ge future 1ka nam sure nae .

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Tired' Kane still not up to speed, admits Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino revealed that he substituted Harry Kane in Tottenham's draw with Stoke City because the striker was tired and admitted they are still in the market for more players.

Kane was replaced by Erik Lamela after 64 minutes with Spurs leading 2-0 at White Hart Lane and could only watch as Stoke fought back to salvage a point courtesy of Marko Arnautovic's penalty and a Mame Biram Diouf header.

Tottenham head coach Pochettino defended his decision to bring Kane off, stating that the striker's participation in the European Under-21 championship for England has taken its toll.

"He was tired," said the former Southampton boss. "He came later into pre-season but this is normal. He needs time.

"Last season we spoke a lot about Harry Kane and the consequence [of playing for England Under-21s] you can see now. At 2-0 after 65-70 minutes I thought that was enough for him. Don't take risks with his body."

Clinton N'Jie was in the stands to watch his new Tottenham team-mates on Saturday after completing his move from Lyon shortly before kick-off.

Pochettino stated his intention to add more new faces following the arrival of the Cameroon international, with Spurs short of attacking options following Roberto Soldado's switch to Villarreal on Friday.

"N'Jie can play in different positions. Centrally? He can play there but I think we need another centre forward," added the Argentinian.

"We need to add some more players to the squad but don't worry, I think today we deserved to win - it wasn't a problem about the strikers."