..::Football II::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Macheda set to depart Manchester United in January

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda is poised to leave the club in January in search of first-team opportunities, his agent has revealed.

The 21-year-old enjoyed a bright start to his career at Old Trafford - coming off the bench to grab vital goals against Aston Villa and Sunderland, but has failed to establish himself since then.

With Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck all currently ahead of him in the pecking order, another spell away from the club looks likely when the transfer window reopens in January.

His agent Giovanni Bia told Tuttomercatoweb.com: "Federico at this time is not finding space, and so it is clear that in January he will go away.

"But I don't think he'll be back again in Italy because usually in January clubs are looking for players that are already ready, unless there are teams with a quiet standing which wants to do a long-term project with him."

Macheda joined United in 2007 and has netted five times in 33 appearances in all competitions for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

He has also had two loan spells away from the club so far - at Sampdoria and last season at QPR.

 

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'Ronaldo signing would be great for PSG' - Pastore

Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Javier Pastore has admitted that he would love to see Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo sign for the club.

The Portuguese has been linked with a move to Carlo Ancelotti's side in recent weeks and the Argentina international believes the former Manchester United man would have an excellent effect on the squad.

"Ronaldo is one of the world's best players, he scores almost every game," he told L'Equipe.

"He knows how to make the difference on his own. If he signs for PSG, it would be great for the club, and for the players who are already here.

"So I would say yes to him coming!"

Ronaldo scored 46 goals in La Liga last season as Jose Mourinho's side was crowned champions.

 

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Walcott: I fully deserve a run in Arsenal's first team

Theo Walcott insist he "fully deserves" a place in Arsenal's first team after scoring in Tuesday's 2-2 draw against Schalke that keeps the Gunners in second place in their Champions League group.

Walcott has been in great form since his return from injury, scoring a hat trick in the north Londoners' 7-5 win over Reading, and has made it known in the past that he wants to be considered as a central striker, with Arsene Wenger intimating that he would get his chance.

However, with his contract running out at the end of the season and talks stalling over a new deal, Walcott has found himself restricted to starting from the bench for the majority of the campaign - but he says he just wants to get on the pitch and help the team try to win the Premier League.

"I just want to play, that's the main thing," Walcott told Sky Sports. "Hopefully I can just have a run in the team because I think I fully deserve it. I just want to play for this team and hopefully this team can win the Premier League this year."

When pressed on whether his contract situation had anything to do with his diminished role this year, he replied: "You have to ask the manager that question to be honest, I can't answer that."

Walcott had a chance to win the match for the Gunners in injury time, but couldn't quite get the ball under control, but said that he was happy with a point nonetheless.

"I did all I could to be honest," he added. "The ball got stuck between my feet and I couldn't get it out. It's just one of those things, it's a good point in the end. It would've been a fantastic victory, Schalke dominated the second half to be honest, but defensively we were quite strong. At the start of the game we would have been happy with a point.

"We'll just try and win our last two games, that's all you can do. As long as we do that we'll get into the next [round] and that's the main [thing]."

Mikel Arteta also reflected on the draw after the Gunners were pegged back from two goals up, stating that while he would have been happy with a draw ahead of the game, losing a two-goal advantage left him less than satisfied.

"Considering that we were 2-0 down, it can't be good for us," he said. "We had the last chance with Theo as well just before the end. We were unlucky to concede the first goal a minute before halftime. But before the game, a draw here? I don't know, it's not an easy place to come.

"[Huntelaar's goal before half-time] was [a hammer blow] because it's a completely different game. I think they have to start coming up earlier in the game and we could have started breaking in the second half, but as I said, that happened, it was another little mistake, but we'll take the point.

"It was tough, to be honest. They put a lot of pressure on us and we played a bit deep in the second half and we were really struggling. When we were on the break we had some chances to score, and we got a draw."

 

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Mata enjoying playing under Chelsea ‘legend’ Di Matteo

Juan Mata has revealed he is enjoying playing alongside Oscar and Eden Hazard in Chelsea's attacking style, and has praised Roberto Di Matteo as a club legend.

The Spanish playmaker was recently named October's Premier League Player of the Month after enjoying a fantastic run of form, and he is relishing the increased attacking freedom given to him this season.

Speaking to Absolute Radio about his new teammates Oscar and Hazard, he said: "We practice in the training as well, because I mean we're playing with freedom, Ed and Oscar and me, we all three love to play with the ball, and our relationship with each other is very good.

"But we know that when we are defending we have to be in those free positions to defend, so attacking, we play with freedom, but talking about defend we have to be very, very straight with the team."

Despite winning the Champions League last season, the Blues were criticized for their style of play, but Mata has enjoyed playing under Di Matteo after his took over from Andre Villas-Boas.

"I mean it's not changing a lot of things from Andre, they were working together, so they know each other very well. I think when you're a manager you play or the way that you play, is because of the players that you have," he explained.

He added, "This year we have more midfielders, more quality players, and we are playing different from the last year. But I think because of the new signings, talking about manager Di Matteo he is a very, very good manager, he's so clever, he knows very well how is playing and managing for Chelsea.

"He used to be a legend here. So it's very important for us to have a manager like him."

The former Valencia man is also relishing facing Liverpool in Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge, as the west London club now sits a point behind Manchester United following last weekend's results.

"Playing against Liverpool is always a tough game, and I realized last season when we lose in the Capital One Cup, in league as well, playing in Anfield, and I think we have to be strong at home," he said.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Walker: I want to win the Europa League with Tottenham

Kyle Walker insists Tottenham is serious about winning the Europa League - and the young defender has revealed he would personally love to win the trophy.

Spurs go into Thursday's clash against Maribor with three draws from three games in the competition, but a shock 1-0 home defeat to Wigan on Saturday means they are low on form.

However, the 22-year-old right back feels it is a privilege to feature in a European competition, and thinks boss Andre Villas-Boas would also like to win the trophy he first claimed with Porto.

"Some people aren't even on Channel Five on Thursday nights, so [the Europa League] is definitely something I want to win on a personal level and I am sure the lads and the gaffer want to do as well," he told reporters.

The group is finely balanced with Lazio, Panathiniakos, Spurs and their Thursday night Slovenian opponents all separated by just three points in Group J - but Walker believes all of the club's opponents are beatable.

"No disrespect to them, but these are all winnable games," Walker insisted. "With the players we have in our team - we have world-class internationals - we can win this one, go to Lazio and give them a good game, and beat Panathanaikos and the table will look good come the end of it."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Everton striker Mirallas wants to hit double figures this season

Everton forward Kevin Mirallas admits he would be delighted with a tally of 10 goals in the Premier League this season.

"If I can manage 10 goals that would be decent," Mirallas told reporters. "I think at the moment I have more assists than I have goals."

The 25-year-old, who signed from Olympiakos this summer, is part of a recent influx of Belgian talent in England and has made a flying start to life in England.

But despite his impressive form, Mirallas has only notched one league goal so far this campaign and has underlined his desire to score more.

"I've provided one or two decent passes for my colleagues to score, but at the same time I'm hoping to continue to improve in front of goal and I think 10 goals is a reasonable target for my first season," Mirallas said.

Having played a part in the creation of six goals already this season, the Belgian admits he is happy with his ability to help teammates out up front.

However, Mirallas has also praised the ability of those around him, suggesting that his assists would count for nothing were it not for Everton's quality in front of goal.

"It's a part of the game I'm not bad at and my delivery is quite good," he said. "Sometimes it's easier to supply the pass for a goal than to add that finishing touch, especially when you have lads in the middle of the quality of Nikica Jelavic and Marouane."

"It encourages you to put crosses in when you have players like that in the middle."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Drogba committed to Shanghai Shenhua stay

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has vowed to stay at Shanghai Shenhua next season amidst constant speculation over his future.


The Ivorian won the Champions League with his last kick for the Blues back in May, but left Stamford Bridge after eight years to embark on a new journey in China.The 34-year-old has endured a difficult start to life in the Chinese Super League, with his new club changing manager three times, but he insists he is preparing for next season.

“I hope next season I can start again from the beginning with Shenhua.” Drogba told the Shanghai Morning Post.Despite the arrival of Drogba and his former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka this term, the Shanghai outfit finished a lowly ninth in the CSL.

Rumors of a return to England for Drogba subsequently intensified, especially as reports came to light of alleged boardroom trouble which would force owner Zhu Jun to withdraw funding from the club.But Drogba offered his explanation on why the team had underperformed this season, stating: "Because I joined Shenhua relatively late, I didn't prepare with the team early in the season, so our results this year were not very good.”

Drogba has scored eight goals in 11 games since his free transfer to Shenhua, earning himself the nickname "Devil Beast" amongst Chinese fans.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal ready for ‘tough month’, says Walcott

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has expressed his belief that the Gunners are ready for the challenging month which lies ahead.

The north London side face Fulham, Tottenham and Montpellier at the Emirates Stadium before trips to take on Aston Villa and Everton.

But the 23-year-old says Arsene Wenger's side are prepared for these tests, as they look to overcome a mixed start to the campaign.

“It is going to be a tough month for us now,” he told Arsenal Player. “It is going to test us all, not just physically but mentally as well, and I think we are ready for it.”

The England international also declared his happiness with earning a draw from Tuesday's clash with Schalke, despite having held a two-goal lead.

“Schalke came at us in the second half and we found it difficult to be honest," he explained. “But we dug deep and before the game we probably would have taken a point.

“When you come to a difficult place with a difficult atmosphere, against a good team who beat us at home, [it was great] to get the two early goals. It is just a shame we couldn't kill it off, but it was a good point in the end.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bayern Munich 6-1 Lille: Pizarro hits hat trick as brilliant Bavarians send feeble French packing

Bayern Munich knocked Lille out of the Champions League with a resounding 6-1 victory, thanks in no small part to Claudio Pizarro's 15-minute hat trick.

It was the fourth fastest treble in the competition's history and added to early free kicks from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben to send the Bavarians in at halftime with a five-goal lead.

Salomon Kalou replied with a fine individual goal after halftime, but substitute Toni Kroos steered in another for die Roten to add to the French side's misery.

Thomas Muller had an opportunity to put the hosts ahead after three minutes but goalkeeper Mickael Landreau held his nerve to save well, yet a foul on Schweinsteiger in the immediate aftermath meant that les Dogues could not rest on their laurels.

And indeed they were made to pay when Schweinsteiger majestically swept in the dead ball from 20 yards.

Muller again wasted a gilt-edged opportunity two minutes later when he blazed well over the bar, and then Lille had a chance when Nolan Roux sent a header over the crossbar from Mathieu Debuchy's cross.

But Bayern soon put the game to bed when Pizarro exchanged a sharp one-two with Franck Ribery on the edge of the area and fired low into the bottom corner, before a Robben free kick deflected in off Florent Balmont.

Pizarro got across his man to turn home Philipp Lahm's low cross at the near post after 28 minutes, and after a five-minute period of brief respite for the Lille defense it was 5-0 when Pizarro nodded home another right-wing cross from Lahm to wrap up his 15-minute treble.

Robben broke through on the counterattack and looked set to add the sixth goal, but Landreau was equal to his delicate chip. Despite the threat of that Bayern counter, Lille went forward again three minutes before the break, but Roux's shot was deflected wide.

Out of nowhere, Kalou burst past Javi Martinez and lashed a fierce strike in off the underside of the crossbar 13 minutes into the second half to make the score 5-1.

The disappointing Muller was withdrawn just after the hour mark and replaced by Toni Kroos, who wasted no time in getting die Roten back to scoring ways.

Lahm again burst into space in an advanced position down the right and cut the ball back for the Germany international to slot the ball home from the edge of the area.

Robben was gifted three superb opportunities to add to the scoreline as the game drew to a close, but each time he was thwarted. First his shot was blocked following a fine Xherdan Shaqiri flick, before he was twice denied by the out-rushing Landreau, who stood up well as the Dutchman bore down on goal.

Bayern's performance was a signal of intent to the rest of Europe, who will no doubt be wary of last season's beaten finalists on this showing. Lille, on the other hand, showed exactly why it has been knocked out of the competition with no points to its name.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Celtic 2-1 Barcelona: Wanyama and Watt on target in historic Bhoys victory

Celtic clinched a famous and shock 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Parkhead on Wednesday night courtesy of a goal in each half to hand the Catalan giants their first Champions League group stage defeat in three years.

The hosts took a shock lead in the first half through a Victor Wanyama header after a beautifully curled in Charlie Mulgrew corner, getting the better of left back Jordi Alba in the air to nod home.

Despite its pressure throughout, it was Celtic that grabbed that crucial second goal late in the second half with forward Tony Watt latching on to the long ball, outpacing Javier Mascherano before coolly slotting home into the far corner.

Barcelona managed to grab a late goal back through Lionel Messi after Fraser Forster turned away a Pedro strike from close range, before the Argentina international followed up to lash home.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon made four changes to the team that drew with Dundee United in the club's last outing, drafting in Efe Ambrose, Mikael Lustig, Miku and Georgios Samaras into the side for Emilio Izaguirre, Tony Watt, Thomas Rogne and Scott Brown. Striker Gary Hooper missed out altogether after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.

Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova also made four changes to the side that beat Celta Vigo over the weekend, with Daniel Alves, Marc Bartra, Alex Song and Alexis Sanchez coming into the side for Adriano, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa.

In a cagey opening, the visitors struggled to create anything of note and Celtic took the lead in the 20th minute through a Wanyama header at the back post after an excellent in-swinging Mulgrew corner from the right, beating fullback Alba in the air.

This prompted a response from Barcelona and Messi struck the bar from just inside the area shortly afterwards after a period of sustained pressure in the final third, only to see it fly over the bar on its way, while Alexis struck the foot of the post with a header from an Alves cross 10 minutes before the break.

After halftime, though, the game began to open up more with Barcelona peppering the Celtic area with wave after wave of attack and Alexis brought a terrific save out of Fraser Forster low to his right on the hour mark.

The constant probing and movement of Barcelona saw the Spanish club carve open the defense in the 70th minute and Messi forced another fantastic stop out of Forster after latching on to Alba's cut-back down the left before hitting a sweet strike towards the bottom right corner only to see the goalkeeper claw it away.

With the visitors piling on the pressure, it was Celtic which struck next in the 83rd minute when a long punt down field by Forster was missed by Xavi and Watt was through in on goal past Mascherano before rifling his strike into the bottom left-hand corner to hand his side a two-goal lead.

Barcelona wasn't finished there, though, and grabbed a goal back in the 90th minute through Messi after Forster parried a Pedro shot inside the six-yard box following an intricate, flowing move, leaving the forward to smah home high into the goal.

Nevertheless, despite some nervy moments late on with Barcelona flooding forward, Celtic was able to clinch the historic win in front of its own fans in what will go down as the team's best European result since winning the European Cup final back in 1967 against Inter Milan.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar: Late Moses magic pulls Blues back from brink

Chelsea always seems to find a way in the Champions League and Victor Moses was the hero as he headed a last minute winner against Shakhtar Donetsk to leave the defending champion joint top of Group E.

The substitute rose high in the last minute of added time to head home Juan Mata’s corner after a thrilling encounter in which the Blues twice took the lead but made poor defensive errors as they were pegged back by the swift attacking movement of the Ukrainian champion.

Shakhtar playmaker Willian - a transfer target for Chelsea and Tottenham - twice equalized for the visitors to cancel out Fernando Torres’ sixth minute goal and a wonderful 45-yard strike from Oscar.

But Moses had the last say with a goal that leaves Chelsea alongside Shakhtar on seven points, a step closer to the promised land with two games to play, at home to Nordsjaelland and away to Juventus as it looks to progress to the knockout stages.

It was a victory Chelsea did not deserve against a lively, creative Shakhtar side that continually took advantage of the hosts’ sloppy defending, which will prompt questions over whether manager Roberto Di Mattero should have recalled captain John Terry to the side. The Italian cited the defender’s lack of match sharpness following his racism ban for the decision to start with Gary Cahill and David Luiz as the hosts’ central defensive pairing.

Shakhtar named the same side that won the reverse fixture 2-1 last month and the game burst into life from virtually the first kick, with both teams mixing swift attacking play with almost comical defending.

Given the rarity of goals for Torres in his Chelsea career, the Spaniard would have been more than grateful for the gift that opened the scoring in the sixth minute.

Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov received a routine backpass from Yaroslav Rakitiskiy, but Torres read the clearance and opportunistically stuck out a leg for the ball to ricochet straight into the back of the net.

Three minutes later, however, the Ukrainian visitors were level as Willian - a transfer target for Chelsea and Tottenham - scored his first of the night. Fernandinho burst past Chelsea defenders into the right side of the penalty area and cut the ball back for his fellow Brazilian to slot through a crowd of bodies, with Petr Cech diving the wrong way.

The game then settled down but never lost its ebb and flow as both sides continually created chances. Torres could only find the side netting from a tight angle before Alex Teixeira zipped an effort just wide of the post following a flowing Shakhtar move.

Five minutes before the break, Chelsea once again took the lead thanks to a wonderful strike from Oscar and another woeful clearance by Pyatov.

The Shakhtar goalkeeper rushed off his line to clear Juan Mata’s through ball with his head, only for the ball to fall to Oscar. The Brazilian playmaker still had so much to do but he made it look effortless, controlling with his chest before pinging his finish into an empty net from 45 yards.

The fluid, end-to-end pattern continued after the break and Willian again leveled the score in the 47th minute as he poked in Dario Srna’s cross to finish a wonderful Shakhtar move.

The Ukrainian champion - which came into the game having won 17 out of 18 fixtures in all competitions this season - nearly took the lead seven minutes later but Razvan Rat saw his swerving strike from 30 yards rattle the post.

At the other end, Chelsea had a huge shout for a penalty when Ramires appeared to be brought down in the area by Srna as he shaped to shoot, only for referee Carlos Velasco Carballo to wave away the appeals to the home players’ astonishment.

Then, with the last touch of added time, Moses rose in the box to head home Mata’s corner to send Stamford Bridge into delirium.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia 4-2 BATE: Los Che beat Belarusians to edge closer to qualification

Valencia continued its push towards the Champions League Round of 16 with an entertaining 4-2 victory over BATE Borisov at the Mestalla on Wednesday.

Both teams as well as Bayern Munich were level on six points in Group F at the start of play, but the significance of the match never fazed the hosts, who outclassed their Belarusian opponents on the night.

Jonas fired Valencia into the lead in the 26th minute, with Roberto Soldado adding a second from the penalty spot shortly after. Sofiane Feghouli made it 3-0 five minutes into the second half, but Renan Bressen pulled one back for the visitors within minutes.

Dmitri Mozolevski scored after an awful error from Fernando Gago to make matters tense with seven minutes to go, but Feghouli popped up with his second goal minutes later to seal victory, which moves Los Che onto nine points, level at the top of the standings with Bayern, which thrashed Lille 6-1.

Valencia quickly got into its stride, and with seven minutes gone, a crucial block from Yegor Filipenko denied Jonas, who had done well to bring a tricky pass under control inside the area.
However, controversy would rear its head about a quarter of an hour into the match. Replays clearly showed Soldado lashing out at Maksim Bordachev, but the officials missed the incident and the Valencia vice-captain went unpunished.

Valencia was knocking on the door, but could not find a finishing touch to any of its attacking moves. But midway through the first half, a whirlwind three-minute spell saw the Spanish side stun its Belarusian opponents with a pair of quickfire goals.

Jonas broke the deadlock in the 26th minute after volleying home a cross inside the area, though replays suggested that the Brazilian may have gotten away with using his hands to help control the ball.

BATE felt hard done by, and moments after the restart, had more reason to be aggrieved after Andres Guardado won a penalty after going down under pressure from Artyom Radkov, despite the contact occurring just outside the box. Soldado stepped up to bury low into the left corner to put the hosts further ahead.The visitors were devoid of ideas, and a moment of inspiration from Feghouli nearly carved them apart moments before the break, as the Algerian flicked the ball over Bordachev, but sidefooted wide of the target.

But Feghouli would get his goal five minutes after the interval, latching on to a Fernando Gago feed to finish comfortably after a slick move from the home side.However, in the 53rd minute, BATE was able to pull one back. Renan Bressen took charge of a free kick on the left side of the box, and his delivery went unmet by anyone, and bent in at the near post.

The tempo of the match died down shortly after that, with Valencia unwilling to commit huge numbers forward in order to avoid conceding again, and BATE simply unable to conjure up anything meaningful in attack.But the visitors were gifted a lifeline in the 83rd minute by Gago, who was caught napping on the ball and robbed of possession in a dangerous area, from which Mozolevski was able to pounce and slot home.

Any hopes of a miraculous comeback were dashed two minutes later by Feghouli, who sent a fine half-volley into the back of the net at the far post to seal the win for Valencia, which now look to be in a straight shootout with Bayern for first place in Group F.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Juventus 4-0 FC Nordsjaelland: Bianconeri break duck to boost qualification hopes

Juventus gave their hopes of making the next round of the UEFA Champions League a big boost after a commanding victory over FC Nordsjelland, running out a 4-0 winner at home to record the team's first victory in Group E. Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Giovinco and Fabio Quagliarella all hit home against the hapless visiting side, which never looked like getting into a game against a Bianconeri outfit with a point to prove.

Juventus went into the game still hurting after seeing its 49-game unbeaten run in Serie A ended by Inter at the weekend. However, the healing process began almost instantaneously with Claudio Marchisio slotting home from close range just five minutes in after stealing a march on Jores Okore to get on the end of Mauricio Isla’s low cross from the right.

The Italy international was nearly celebrating again moments later but after deftly controlling Arturo Vidal’s through ball on his knee, his subsequent snap volley was well saved by Jesper Hansen.

The Bianconeri kept coming, though, and Vidal made amends for skying the ball over the bar when well placed in the area by making it 2-0. The Chilean beat Hansen at the near post with a tackle-cum-shot, after Kasper Lorentzen had dallied on the ball in the area.

There was no respite for the Danes, who were completely outclassed in a one-sided first half. A perfect corner from Andrea Pirlo found Alessandro Matri waiting, but his header could only find the crossbar. Moments later it was Hansen who once again came to the rescue when he fended away a storming effort from Marchisio, but Juve would not have to wait long to record the third.

Giovinco was given space to move on the right side of the box, and the striker released a beautifully-executed looping shot that gave the goalkeeper absolutely no chance. Up 3-0 going into the break, the Bianconeri were already closing in on what would be a crucial Champions League victory in front of their own fans.

Just three minutes after the restart, the vibrant home side was already on the march looking to add to its tally. Vidal had the chance to let loose with a volley from the edge of the box, but Hansen was equal to the challenge and held to keep Juve at bay. There followed, however, a noticeable drop in the match's intensity, as Angelo Alessio withdrew goalscorers Giovinco and Vidal and the Italians began to cruise to three points.

With an hour played FCN had its best effort of the match, finally forcing a save from Gianluigi Buffon after a decent effort off the boot of Patrick Mtiliga. Going straight back on the offensive, Alessandro Matri was left clean through against Hansen and should have added a fourth, but the striker hesitated in going round the keeper and saw his chance evaporate.

There was to be one more flourish for Juve. Pirlo's corner was headed across the goalmouth by Matri, and Quagliarella was on hand to complete the rout.

 

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Braga 1-3 Manchester United: Van Persie inspires late turnaround as visitors progress with perfect record

Manchester United came from a goal down in Portugal to beat Braga 3-1 and secure their progress into the knock-out round of the Champions League.Braga dominated the first hour of the game and went ahead early in the second half when Alan converted a penalty for the hosts.

But, following a power cut just before the hour mark, United returned to the pitch and turned the match around in the final ten minutes thanks to goals from Van Persie, a spot kick from Wayne Rooney and a late strike from Chicharito.

Chris Smalling made his first appearance of the season as United made six changes from the weekend win over Arsenal. Van Persie dropped to the bench with Sir Alex Ferguson opting for the front pairing of Danny Welbeck and Chicharito, while Antonio Valencia played as a make shift right-back. Braga coach Jose Peseiro selected the same side which lost the return fixture at Old Trafford.

The hosts had the first sight on goal in the fifth minute when Eder flashed a shot across David De Gea from a wide angle after Johnny Evans allowed the Braga forward to skip into the area unopposed.

United managed to settle into the match following the early scare, but it was Braga who again came closest to scoring when Ruben Michel was invited to shoot by United's retreating defence, but the midfielder could only curl his shot a yard wide of the top corner.

Michel continued to find space in the visitors’ half and Braga almost reaped the rewards when Eder's low diving header, from Michel's cross, hit the post with De Gea beaten.

The hosts began the second period how they ended the first and were awarded a penalty only three minutes after the restart when Evans blocked off Custodio's run into the box. Alan stepped up and emphatically converted to give Braga a deserved lead.

A power cut in the 57th minute delayed the game temporarily, with both sets of bemused players leaving the field of play while officials worked on the stadium's floodlights.

Rio Ferdinand replaced Evans when the game resumed, with Van Persie also coming on for Welbeck shortly after, as United pressed for an equaliser. Braga began to sit deep in their half after going ahead but continued to pose a threat on the break.

Sir Alex's charges began to show signs of life as the match edged into the final ten minutes and had opposition goalkeeper Beto to thank for levelling the scores when he rashly ran out of his area to halt Van Persie, only for the Dutchman to whip the ball out of his reach and into the empty net.

And moments later the turnaround was complete. United were awarded a penalty after Rooney was brought down in the area, a spot-kick the forward dispatched with ease.Chicharito added a late third for the visitors in injury time with a close-range finish to seal United’s progression to the next stage with a 100 per cent record.

 

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Celtic 2-1 Barcelona: Wanyama and Watt on target in historic Bhoys victory

Celtic clinched a famous and shock 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Parkhead on Wednesday night courtesy of a goal in each half to hand the Catalan giants their first Champions League group stage defeat in three years.

The hosts took a shock lead in the first half through a Victor Wanyama header after a beautifully curled in Charlie Mulgrew corner, getting the better of left back Jordi Alba in the air to nod home.

Despite its pressure throughout, it was Celtic that grabbed that crucial second goal late in the second half with forward Tony Watt latching on to the long ball, outpacing Javier Mascherano before coolly slotting home into the far corner.

Barcelona managed to grab a late goal back through Lionel Messi after Fraser Forster turned away a Pedro strike from close range, before the Argentina international followed up to lash home.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon made four changes to the team that drew with Dundee United in the club's last outing, drafting in Efe Ambrose, Mikael Lustig, Miku and Georgios Samaras into the side for Emilio Izaguirre, Tony Watt, Thomas Rogne and Scott Brown. Striker Gary Hooper missed out altogether after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.

Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova also made four changes to the side that beat Celta Vigo over the weekend, with Daniel Alves, Marc Bartra, Alex Song and Alexis Sanchez coming into the side for Adriano, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa.

In a cagey opening, the visitors struggled to create anything of note and Celtic took the lead in the 20th minute through a Wanyama header at the back post after an excellent in-swinging Mulgrew corner from the right, beating fullback Alba in the air.

This prompted a response from Barcelona and Messi struck the bar from just inside the area shortly afterwards after a period of sustained pressure in the final third, only to see it fly over the bar on its way, while Alexis struck the foot of the post with a header from an Alves cross 10 minutes before the break.

After halftime, though, the game began to open up more with Barcelona peppering the Celtic area with wave after wave of attack and Alexis brought a terrific save out of Fraser Forster low to his right on the hour mark.

The constant probing and movement of Barcelona saw the Spanish club carve open the defense in the 70th minute and Messi forced another fantastic stop out of Forster after latching on to Alba's cut-back down the left before hitting a sweet strike towards the bottom right corner only to see the goalkeeper claw it away.

With the visitors piling on the pressure, it was Celtic which struck next in the 83rd minute when a long punt down field by Forster was missed by Xavi and Watt was through in on goal past Mascherano before rifling his strike into the bottom left-hand corner to hand his side a two-goal lead.

Barcelona wasn't finished there, though, and grabbed a goal back in the 90th minute through Messi after Forster parried a Pedro shot inside the six-yard box following an intricate, flowing move, leaving the forward to smah home high into the goal.

Nevertheless, despite some nervy moments late on with Barcelona flooding forward, Celtic was able to clinch the historic win in front of its own fans in what will go down as the team's best European result since winning the European Cup final back in 1967 against Inter Milan.

 

[charitha chandi]

Celtic 2-1 Barcelona: Wanyama and Watt on target in historic Bhoys victory

Niyamaiiii....!!!!!!!

 

[charitha chandi]

Chelsea 3-2 Shakhtar: Late Moses magic pulls Blues back from brink

ohoma yan...! ma sarath champions league eka ussanwa naiwaa..!

 

[rcccc]

Niyamaiiii....!!!!!!!

real madried th kanwa Borussia Dortmund genyantham berune

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Javier Hernandez surpasses Nery Castillo to become second-highest scoring Mexican player in Champions League history

Mexican national team star and Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez scored his seventh career goal in the UEFA Champions League, moving him past Nery Castillo into second on the all-time list. Only El Tri legend Hugo Sanchez has scored more, finding the net 17 times during his Real Madrid career.

Chicarito scored a stoppage time goal to settle the 3-1 game against Braga, the same opponent he scored two against last month, and preserve Manchester United's 100 percent record in the Champions League group stage, with four wins from four.

Hernandez scored his first Champions League goal on Sept. 29, 2010, against Valencia.


All-time top-scoring Mexican players in the UEFA Champions League:

1. Hugo Sánchez, Real Madrid: 17

2. Javier Hernandez, Manchester United: 7

3. Nery Castillo, Olympiakos / Shakhtar: 6

4. Carlos Vela, Arsenal: 2

5. Rafael Marquez, Monaco / Barcelona: 1

5. Pavel Pardo, Stuttgart: 1

5. Guillermo Franco, Villarreal: 1

5. Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona / Tottenham: 1

5. Efrain Juarez Celtic: 1

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congartzzzzzzzzzz Chicharito!