..::Football III::..

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Half Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 0 West Ham

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Manchester United!

Only possession no goalsattacking kiyala namayak nahateam 1kata mona welada manda

2nd half wath deyak kaloth hodai
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Real are banging drums!
4-0 only gone 40 mins!!!
Ronaldo is playing well!
Nice back header for bale's goal and superb goal from a nice through ball by kroos.
Benzema 2 goals
Form is back Barca bitches!

Okkomala pattata play karanawa. Kroos, Modric, Rodriguez patta
Loving the game
Ronaldo apahu team player kenek widihata play karanawa. me widihata january wenakan play karoth Ballon D'or dinanna puluwan.
Thawa hoda assists tikakui hoda free kick ekakui long shot marvellous goal ekakui gahuwoth aniwa ganna puluwan wei

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Full Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 0 West Ham

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Another goalless draw

2nd half nam improve wela play kala ath execution nam anthimaiset wena chances hariyata take karanne naha

meh widiyata Wolfsburg match 1ke play karalanam hoda result 1kak ganan bari wei
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Full Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 0 West Ham

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United need a striker. World Class kenek one ne. Hodata play karana kenek hitiyanam athi

 

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Stoke City 2-0 Manchester City: Arnautovic, Shaqiri & Bojan shine for stunning hosts

A first-half double from Marko Arnautovic led Stoke City to a well-deserved 2-0 victory over an abject Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes dropped Jon Walters to the bench, choosing to combine the lavish creative gifts of Ibrahim Afellay, Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri with Arnautovic – a switch that paid off to devastating effect.

Shaqiri supplied a pair of wonderful assists for Arnautovic to establish a decisive lead after 15 minutes as City's defence, again without injured captain Vincent Kompany, reprised the horrors of their thrashings to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool this season.

Although the scoreline did not match those 4-1 reverses, the manner of the performance arguably plunged further depths.

Manuel Pellegrini's team were fitful in attack, a far cry from the silken fluency demonstrated by Stoke as match-winner Arnautovic struck a post and passed up two further chances to claim the matchball.

The Premier League leaders could end the weekend in fourth place after a display that made a mockery of their lofty status.

They began the day by welcoming back goalkeeper Joe Hart, while David Silva made his first Premier League start since October 3 and Wilfried Bony deputised for the injured Sergio Aguero up front.

Geoff Cameron replaced Charlie Adam in central midfield for the hosts, but it was Hughes' forward reshuffle that caught the eye and it paid handsome dividends after seven minutes.

Shaqiri was the architect, skipping around a sprawled Fernando and engineering space for a low cross that Arnautovic dispatched from close range.

Kevin De Bruyne shot too close to Jack Butland in the Stoke goal before his team were left with a mountain to climb – Fernando again made to pay for over-committing on Shaqiri, who threaded a delightful throughball for Arnautovic to clip beyond Hart.

Arnautovic was twice agonisingly close to completing a first-half hat-trick as Stoke's quicksilver attacking play continued to cause the shambolic visiting defence countless problems.

First the Austria international flashed a header from Glenn Whelan's cross wide of the near post with Hart beaten before Shaqiri sent him clear of City’s blundering backline to rattle the upright two minutes from the break.
It was a similar story upon the resumption – fleeting moments of encouragement for Manchester City's attacking riches while Stoke appeared far more likely to contribute something of substance.

A firm hand from Hart prevented Bojan from adding a third having sashayed around Martin Demichelis with mocking ease and Arnautovic was unable to smuggle home the rebound.

Bojan's next piece of sorcery was a beguiling backheel that released Arnautovic, who flashed the ball across the face of goal when seeking to return Shaqiri's earlier favours, and Hart charged from his goal to deny the ex-Barcelona man once more before he departed to a rousing 71st-minute ovation.

Fernando's nightmare showing was cut short by a hamstring injury as Manchester City limped to the finish line with 10 men, Aleksandar Kolarov rippling the side netting in a fleeting display of defiance.

 

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Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Bayern Munich: Guardiola's men stunned by clinical hosts

Bayern Munich's unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season came to shuddering halt as they were beaten 3-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

The defending champions had won 13 of their opening 14 matches, but came unstuck at Borussia-Park as Andre Schubert's revival stepped up a gear thanks to three second-half goals.

Gladbach have lost just one of their 14 matches in all competitions since Schubert took over from Lucien Favre in late September.

Bayern completely dominated the opening 45 minutes but found themselves frustrated by home goalkeeper Yann Sommer, while Kingsley Coman hit the post.

And the hosts made Pep Guardiola's side pay for their wasted opportunities after the interval – Oscar Wendt firing them in front, before Lars Stindl doubled the advantage.

Munich-born Fabian Johnson made sure of a second consecutive win over Bayern when he rounded off the scoring for Schubert's men in the 68th minute, before Franck Ribery – making his first appearance in nine months – scored a late consolation.

The result lifts Gladbach to third in the table with fourth-placed Wolfsburg set to face Borussia Dortmund later in the day. Dortmund could close the gap on leaders Bayern to five points with victory in that match.

Guardiola - without the services of David Alaba, Douglas Costa, Arjen Robben, Thiago Alcantara and Mario Gotze through injury - named an unchanged starting XI for the first time in 100 matches, although Ribery made a welcome return to the substitutes' bench having been out since March with an ankle problem.

Gladbach tested Manuel Neuer inside the opening two minutes as Raffael pulled the trigger from 20 yards, before Javi Martinez headed narrowly over from a Xabi Alonso corner in Bayern's first chance.

Bayern were starting to turn the screw and, with 18 minutes on the clock, Robert Lewandowski failed to apply the finish to a slick passing move, before an unmarked Thomas Muller saw his shot from inside the box punched away by Sommer.

Medhi Benatia should have done better when he headed straight at Sommer from an Arturo Vidal free-kick in the 24th minute, but the goalkeeper could take full credit for keeping the match goalless when he produced a double save soon after.

After initially keeping out Vidal, Sommer made an excellent diving stop to deny Lewandowski on the rebound, and Coman's follow-up hit the woodwork.

Bayern's profligacy in front of goal was eventually punished when Wendt, who initially flicked on a cross from the left to Raffael, received the return pass and curled an effort beyond Neuer.

Gladbach had Bayern on the ropes, Julian Korb seeing an effort deflect off Neuer's boot onto the crossbar, but Stindl acrobatically lifted the ball over the Germany number one following a Nico Elvedi flick on to double the advantage in the 66th minute.

And Johnson then delivered the knockout blow two minutes later, when he was given time to bring down a Korb ball over the top and pick his spot.

Ribery's introduction 15 minutes from time - along with his well-taken 81st-minute goal - were the only positives for Bayern on an otherwise disappointing day at the office.

 

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Blanc: Ibrahimovic doubters 'don't know a thing about football'

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc says doubters of record-breaking Zlatan Ibrahimovic's abilities "don't know a thing about football".

The Sweden international has been in sensational form this term, scoring 12 goals in as many Ligue 1 matches for the champions.

Two goals in Friday's 3-0 win against Nice made Ibrahimovic the club's all-time leading goalscorer in the French top flight on 87 and Blanc praised his striker.

"There is nothing more to say about Ibra," he told reporters. "When I see his stats and the records he is breaking - records were just a matter of time.

"When people ask me if I'm surprised he has scored so many goals, no I'm not. He is a player whos has always scored goals - in Spain, in Italy. His statistics are unbelievable.

"He is an incredible competitor. He wants to win everything, he wants to score more goals. And it's a good thing for us because the more he scores the more he wants to score.

"When I hear people questioning his abilities it means they don't know a thing about football.

"He can have difficult patches of form but when you see what he has done, and I don't think it's over, I think it's impressive."

 

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Torino 1-1 Roma: Last-gasp Lopez penalty piles more pressure on Garcia

Torino were grateful to a stoppage-time penalty from Maxi Lopez as they salvaged a 1-1 draw with Roma in a dramatic Serie A clash on Saturday.

The Argentine came off the bench midway through the second half and saw his side fall behind to Miralem Pjanic's free-kick seven minutes from time.

However, just when it seemed Roma would seal their first win in three league games, Kostas Manolas brought down Andrea Belotti inside the area and Lopez coolly converted the 94th-minute spot-kick.

In a game of few chances, the most notable action in the opening 80 minutes saw Roma attacker Gervinho - back after almost three weeks out with a thigh injury - limp out of the action with what looked to be a recurrence of the same problem.

All the drama arrived in the final 10 minutes, as Roma took the lead when Pjanic curled a free-kick into a dangerous area, which eluded Torino goalkeeper Daniele Padelli, bounced into the turf and into the top-right corner.

But Torino were not to be beaten and after Manolas felled Belotti, Lopez calmly sent Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to earn his side a draw that will pile further pressure on Roma boss Rudi Garcia ahead of their decisive Champions League clash with BATE.

 

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Real Madrid 4-1 Getafe: BBC first-half flurry seals vital win

Real Madrid's potent striking trio were all on target in the same match for the first time since April as the club cruised to a 4-1 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Not since last season's 9-1 triumph over Granada had the 'BBC' trio all notched on the same day, but they proved key to Rafael Benitez's side making eight straight wins at home against their city rivals.

Benzema broke the deadlock inside four minutes with his first Liga in over two months, and he added a second soon after with Madrid dominant.

Getafe were unable to take their chances on rare ventures forward and they paid the price as Bale and Ronaldo added to the score before the interval.

However, Madrid showed nowhere near the same adventure in the second half and failed to keep a clean sheet with Alexis netting a consolation header for Getafe, though the win was enough to put pressure on La Liga leaders Barcelona ahead of their meeting with Valencia later on Saturday.

Ahead of kick-off the home fans whistled the name of Denis Cheryshev, with the Russian's appearance in Madrid's midweek Copa del Rey match at Cadiz despite being suspended resulting in their expulsion from the tournament.

But Benzema ensured that – and the 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Barcelona in their last Bernabeu outing – was quickly put to the back of Madrid supporters' minds when he swept home Pepe's brilliant, low cross from the right at the back post inside four minutes.

Benitez's side continued to look dangerous, with Vicente Guaita turning a Ronaldo free-kick around the post before keeping out a header from Benzema with 11 minutes played.
It didn't take long for the Frenchman to add to his tally, however. Ronaldo was held back inside the box as he attacked Bale's header but Benzema collected the ball and fired into the back of the net – though the Portugal captain appealed for a foul while his team-mates celebrated.

Benitez's team eased off, but, after a pair of poor attempts from Getafe, Ronaldo cushioned a cross down to Bale who bent a fine finish inside the far post from the right-hand side of the box.

Ronaldo finally got on the scoresheet himself in the 38th minute, racing in behind Roberto Lago and picking out the opposite corner with a low drive.

Benzema curled over from edge of the box soon after the restart but, with a four-goal cushion, there was less urgency from Madrid in the second half.

Getafe grew in confidence through enjoying a greater share of possession and they pulled one back in the 70th minute when Alexis towered over Pepe to power a header home, prompting whistles from the crowd.

Fran Escriba's side were unable to build a late and unlikely comeback as their winless run away from home now extends to 11 Liga matches.

 

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Swansea City 0-3 Leicester City: Mahrez hat-trick compounds Monk's misery

Riyad Mahrez's hat-trick inspired Leicester City to a 3-0 victory over struggling Swansea City that sends them back to the top of the Premier League table, though Jamie Vardy's record-breaking scoring run came to an end.

After netting in an 11th straight top-flight game against Manchester United last Saturday, Vardy had his sights set on matching Jimmy Dunne's all-time Football League record of scoring in 12 consecutive matches.

While he was unsuccessful in his bid for more individual glory, Vardy had a hand in all three goals as Mahrez stole the show at the Liberty Stadium.

Mahrez broke the deadlock inside five minutes, inadvertently turning home a corner earned by Vardy that Swansea were unable to clear at the near post.

The winger's second was more aesthetically pleasing as he slotted home following excellent combination play between Vardy and N'Golo Kante, though he apperared to receive the latter's pass from an offside position.

And, after an improved start to the second half from the hosts, Mahrez completed his treble by capitalising on more fine build-up work from Kante and Vardy by firing in from 12 yards.

The win sends Leicester two points clear at the top and heaps more pressure on under-fire Swansea manager Garry Monk, whose side are four points above the bottom three.

Vardy's pressure on centre-back Ashley Williams won Leicester an early corner which Marc Albrighton whipped in and Mahrez, pouncing on Swansea's indecision, deflected home.

Williams was struggling and his inability to cope with a Leonardo Ulloa through ball allowed Vardy to advance towards Lukasz Fabianski, but the goalkeeper saved to prevent the 28-year-old from doubling the lead in the 17th minute.

Fabianski could do nothing to prevent Mahrez from doubling his tally five minutes later, however.

Mahrez was a yard behind left-back Neil Taylor but the linesman's flag stayed down and he latched on to Kante's cross-field ball to beat Fabianski with a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.

Only another strong Fabianski stop prevented the Algeria international from completing his hat-trick following more good work from Ulloa.

Ulloa - introduced for Shinji Okazaki in Claudio Ranieri's only change - failed to capitalise on another Williams error, curling wide of the far post in the 39th minute after Mahrez had beaten the Swansea captain to the ball on the halfway line.

Monk replaced Wayne Routledge with Jefferson Montero at half-time and only the crossbar stopped Swansea from getting back into the game when Ki Sung-yueng's header from a Gylfi Sigurdsson free-kick clattered against the woodwork.

But the game was put beyond doubt when Mahrez netted his third, the 24-year-old again the beneficiary of a surging run from Kante and Vardy's excellent turn and pass.

Vardy spurned two late chances - responding to the Swansea fans with a gesture to remind them of the scoreline after his second miss - before Sigurdsson hit the post at the other end on another frustrating day for Monk.

 

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Mahrez​

 

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Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland: Giroud scores at both ends as Gunners win

Olivier Giroud scored at both ends while Aaron Ramsey was also on target as Arsenal picked up a 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger saw his side labour at times en route to a first win in four Premier League matches - the Arsenal boss having faced difficult questions this week after Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla joined a lengthy injury list in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Norwich City.

Joel Campbell and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were therefore handed starting spots and it was the former who opened the scoring 33 minutes in when he converted Mesut Ozil's delightful pass from inside the area only for Giroud to score at the wrong end before half-time.

Wenger's men were given a stern test by a Sunderland side now resolute and organised under Sam Allardyce but the visitors were denied a point as Giroud atoned for his earlier error.

Giroud glanced Ramsey's delivery past Costel Pantilimon before the Welshman made sure of maximum points late on for Arsenal who move second in the table after Manchester City and Manchester United failed to win on Saturday.

Allardyce remains winless against Arsenal since May 2010 but saw Sunderland turn in another display that suggests they stand every chance of retaining their Premier League status.

While Wenger was forced into two changes, Allardyce introduced Fabio Borini, Ola Toivonen and Duncan Watmore into his starting XI for the injured trio of Jermain Defoe, Seb Larsson and Lee Cattermole.

Borini spurned a golden opportunity four minutes in when he shot straight at Petr Cech when clean through before Ramsey fired wide, having been handed a start in his favoured central position in Cazorla's absence.

Midfield partner Mathieu Flamini almost diverted an attempted clearance past Cech as Sunderland sought to press home their early superiority.

However, Ozil - who boasted 11 assists in his 12 previous league games prior to Saturday - cut the Sunderland defence open with his side's first moment of real quality.

The German produced a beautifully-weighted pass for Campbell to slot under Pantilimon, although Sunderland deservedly drew level before half-time.

Shortly after Giroud saw a penalty appeal waved away after he tangled with Younes Kaboul, the France striker diverted Yann M'Vila’s inswinging free-kick past Cech, following a Laurent Koscielny foul on Watmore.

Arsenal almost hit back before the break when Ramsey's shot found the side-netting, with the Welshman having a sight on goal ruled out early in the second half due to the offside flag.

Sunderland saw Steven Fletcher's close-range effort kept out on the line by Cech following a flick-on from Toivonen as both sides pressed forward in an absorbing spell prior to the hour.

Ozil dragged an effort wide before Giroud found the target at the right end with a well-taken header from inside the box 27 minutes from time.

Theo Walcott made his return from injury off the bench after over five weeks out although Arsenal were given two let-offs with Watmore and Patrick van Aanholt failing to finish when in on Cech.

After Ramsey shot straight at Pantilimon, the Wales international made no mistake when prodding home from inside the six-yard box soon after as Wenger's men picked up an important win ahead of Wednesday's crucial Champions League trip to Olympiacos.

 

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Manchester United 0-0 West Ham: Van Gaal’s men frustrated by Hammers

Manchester United were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by West Ham at Old Trafford with Louis van Gaal's side managing just one shot on target during the entire 90 minutes.

In a familiar performance from Louis van Gaal's side, the hosts enjoyed most of the possession without creating many clear goalscoring chances, as Marouane Fellaini provided their main threat.

Indeed, it was the visitors who came closest to finding a breakthrough when Winston Reid thumped a first-half header against the post, while Mauro Zarate ought to have scored when a chance presented itself inside the six-yard box.

United's fourth draw in their last seven league games sees them drop to fourth in the table, while West Ham – who end a run of seven successive defeats at Old Trafford – move up to sixth.

One of three United changes, Fellaini was central to United's early play, shooting just wide before heading narrowly off target after a deep cross from Paddy McNair.

But it was West Ham who should have taken an early lead. A careless pass from Daley Blind allowed returning captain Mark Noble to send Victor Moses through on goal, but the winger's poor finish was saved by the legs of David de Gea.

United responded when Anthony Martial was denied by a close-range Reid block after Fellaini's knockdown from Jesse Lingard's delivery had provided the opportunity.

An astonishing period followed as West Ham hit the woodwork twice in quick succession. First, a rare mistake from De Gea saw him fumble Aaron Cresswell's cross, with Chris Smalling's attempt to clear rebounding off Zarate before hitting the post.

Then, a corner from Zarate was powerfully headed down by Reid but United were relieved to see it bounce off the foot of the post.

West Ham looked more likely to score despite the hosts having more of the possession, but they suffered a blow when an injured Moses had to be replaced by Michail Antonio.

Fellaini had a penalty claim turned down going down under pressure from Reid in a crowded goalmouth, before United were forced to reshuffle their pack as Michael Carrick replaced Morgan Schneiderlin.

De Gea had to get down sharply to deny Zarate early in the second half, before the Argentine missed a golden chance.

Andy Carroll perfectly flicked Antonio's cross into his path inside the box, but he somehow lashed his finish well wide.

The visitors were almost punished as United finally had their only shot on target in the game on the hour. Lingard fed Martial, whose cutback found Fellaini, but the Belgium international's close-range left-footed effort was impressively saved by Adrian.

United were starting to up the tempo as Juan Mata shot wide after a one-two with Martial and Bastian Schweinsteiger flashed a shot over.

Van Gaal brought on Memphis Depay in his final attempt to influence the outcome and good wing play from the Dutchman set up Martial to shoot just wide, before Lingard also lashed a decent chance off target in the closing stages as West Ham held on.

 

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West Brom 1-1 Tottenham: McClean header earns Baggies deserved draw

Tottenham extended their unbeaten run to 14 Premier League matches but missed out on all three points as West Brom came from behind to avoid defeat for the third successive game.

Dele Alli put Tottenham in front with a sharp run and tidy first-time finish from Toby Alderweireld's long ball after Salomon Rondon had missed a great early chance to open the scoring.

West Brom were level before half-time when smooth passing led to Darren Fletcher picking out James McClean with a cross, the winger heading home his first Premier League goal for the club.

Chances were rare at both ends in difficult conditions with defences well on top for most of the game and neither team able to force a deciding goal.

Hugo Lloris made a top-class save from Jonas Olsson's point-blank header late on as the hosts sought to record what would have been only their third home win of the season.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino recalled Alli after the 19-year-old had served a one-match ban, with the teenager replacing the injured Ryan Mason, while Tony Pulis continued to leave Saido Berahino, the subject of considerable interest from Tottenham in the off-season, on the bench.

Despite early Spurs pressure the first chance fell to the hosts on six minutes. Rondon chased down a long ball from James Morrison and got in front of Jan Vertonghen, but the Venezuela striker shot off target with his left foot.

The returning Alli put the visitors in front on 14 minutes. Alderweireld split Olsson and Gareth McAuley with a ball over the top and Alli poked a volley through Boaz Myhill's legs for his third Premier League goal of the season.

West Brom wasted numerous set-pieces as Pulis' men tried to get back on level terms before the break, with Tottenham seeking to equal the 14-game unbeaten top-flight run they achieved in 1985.

The finest move of the match saw the Baggies equalise on 37 minutes. Flowing passing fed Stephane Sessegnon, Fletcher got in behind and McClean powered in the header.

Craig Dawson and McAuley made terrific interventions to deny Tottenham early in the second half as West Brom's resolute defence held firm, before Danny Rose had to make a superb last-ditch challenge to stop Craig Gardner playing in Rondon.

Tottenham were looking more likely to find a winning goal and Moussa Dembele should have done better with a well-worked opening from 20 yards, but the midfielder went for placement over power and Myhill made a comfortable low save.

With just 15 minutes to go Lloris preserved Tottenham's point with a wonderful save. West Brom kept a set-piece alive and Olsson turned the ball toward goal but the France international made a brilliant stop to keep the scores level.

Lloris was called into action again three minutes later as Rondon shot from 20 yards out, but the goalkeeper saved easily.

Next up for West Brom is a daunting match away to Liverpool, while Tottenham are at home to Newcastle next weekend.

 

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Southampton 1-1 Aston Villa: Garde's men hold on for a point

Aston Villa staved off a Southampton fightback as the Premier League's bottom side earned a valuable 1-1 draw at St Mary's on Saturday.

A first-half goal against the run of play from Joleon Lescott put Villa on course for what would have been an unlikely victory, but Oriol Romeu's equaliser 17 minutes from time ensured Ronald Koeman's side a share of the spoils.

The hosts won last season's corresponding fixture 6-1, but this time they wasted a string of chances before substitute Romeu eventually made the breakthrough following a corner.

Lescott’s goal - also from a corner - was his first in almost a year and came after the visitors had survived wave after wave of pressure from a quick-starting Southampton side.

Koeman's men have now gone four games without a win in all competitions, including their 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in the League Cup in midweek.

And although the result saw Villa set a new club record of 14 league games without a win, Remi Garde will have taken plenty of positives from his side's gutsy display.

With Ciaran Clark suspended and Micah Richards injured, Villa were forced to field a new-look back four and they quickly found themselves under pressure as Southampton created two excellent chances inside the opening five minutes.

Dusan Tadic was involved in both, firing over from close range with the first and then supplying a fine cross from the left that top-scorer Graziano Pelle just failed to convert.

Victor Wanyama was next to threaten the visitors' goal, heading Tadic's corner wide of Brad Guzan's right-hand post.

The one-way traffic continued as Rudy Gestede, back helping out his side's beleaguered defence, cleared Jose Fonte's goalbound toe-poke and from the resulting corner, an unmarked Sadio Mane somehow failed to guide his header past Guzan.

The visitors did finally manage to mount a meaningful attack just before the half-hour mark, but Gestede produced an air-shot as he attempted to meet Jordan Veretout's cross and moments later normal service was restored as Guzan was called upon to keep out a header from Pelle.

It seemed only a matter of time before the hosts made the breakthrough, but instead it was Villa who took a shock lead a minute before the break.

Veretout's corner was allowed to flash all the way across the six-yard box, eventually finding Lescott who claimed his first goal for the club with the simplest of tap-ins.

If they were stunned to go in trailing at the break, Southampton were clearly fired-up at the start of the second half and came close to equalising almost immediately as Mane rolled Lescott only to shoot narrowly wide.

Having survived that early scare, however, Garde's men started to assert themselves, creating several decent chances of their own which Jordan Ayew and Lescott were unable to take.

But they had looked vulnerable from set-pieces all afternoon and finally conceded in the 73rd minute when James Ward-Prowse's corner found Romeu and he steered the ball home from close range.

Koeman's side then piled on the pressure in the final stages, but the visitors showed huge character to hold firm and claim a potentially vital point.

 

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Manchester City defeat at Stoke is unacceptable, says Hart

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart says his side's 2-0 defeat to Stoke City is "unacceptable" after Manuel Pellegrini's men suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.

Marko Arnautovic gave the hosts a deserved two-goal lead after 15 minutes and England goalkeeper Hart, making his return to action following a hamstring strain, was called upon regularly to help keep the margin of defeat down at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

City again without the injured Vincent Kompany have struggled without their captain, slipping to defeats to Tottenham, Liverpool and West Ham but Hart says his absence was not the reason for their defeat.

"Vincent Kompany is a massively important part of our squad but we have a good squad here," he told reporters.

"After a 2-0 loss it is easy to say, but we will stick together as a squad. Conditions were tough but that's English football.

"Nobody was able to walk off the pitch with an excuse, both teams played on it and Stoke deserved to beat us. We can't accept how we played."

City ended the game with 10 men after midfielder Fernando suffered a hamstring problem to add to an injury list that includes Pablo Zabaleta, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasiri and Sergio Aguero and Hart says City must improve.

"It was a disappointing start and we could not recover from it," he added. "We didn't play well.

"A few of the lads are feeling it from the games we are playing but that is not an excuse.

"We need to put in at least a seven out of 10 performance every game and we are not doing that."

 

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'I was more nervous than usual' - Wenger

Arsene Wenger admits he was “more nervous than usual” during Arsenal’s 3-1 win against Sunderland on Saturday.

The Gunners had failed to win any of their three previous Premier League fixtures but secured a hard-fought victory thanks to goals from Joel Campbell, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey.

“I was more nervous than usual today because it was a very important game for our season after three disappointing results,” Wenger said.

“It was important for psychological reasons. We have lost some players to injury and we were edgy and nervy in the first-half against a well-organised team that was impressive on the counter-attack.”

However, Wenger was impressed by his side’s response in the second half and believes that his players showed a strong mentality to secure three points that put them second in the table, two points behind leaders Leicester.

“In the second-half we showed intensity, desire… We showed great mental strength,” Wenger added.

“I thought it was important to keep our nerve. If we rushed forward, they could have exposed us on the counter-attack.”

 

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Van Gaal: I don’t understand why fans shout ‘attack, attack’

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says he does not understand why the club’s fans are urging his side to attack after their 0-0 draw with West Ham at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils dropped to fourth in the table after Saturday’s stalemate, with fans left frustrated after witnessing their fourth goalless draw in the Premier League this season.

However, Van Gaal says that while he is disappointed at not being able to break down West Ham, the fans must remain patient with his team.

"I don't understand that they shout 'attack, attack' because we are the dominating team and not West Ham," he told reporters after the game.

"The fans are disappointed, I know that, but so am I and so are the players. They want to score every minute and you cannot.

"I think when we have scored a goal they are very pleased, and they were supportive more than ever I think, so we have to score that goal and we did not do that.

"When you have a lot of ball possession, you have a lot of ball possession to create chances, not to play the ball around and not score."

Van Gaal’s side were jeered at full time by a some sections of the support but the Dutchman says the way his team plays should be no surprise and insists he has the full support of the fans.

"When they don't like the style of play for Manchester United, everybody knows in advance that all the teams of Louis van Gaal plays like that,” he added.

"In Barcelona, or Bayern Munich or AZ we have played like that. But when I meet fans on the streets they are very happy with Manchester United and with me.

"But you have to score, and when you don't you lack points and we are now three points behind Leicester because we don't score.

"Today the team that had to score was Manchester United and not West Ham, but they also could have scored, we could have lost also, and this is the wonderful game of football."