..::Football III::..

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Luis Enrique trusts me - Sergi Roberto

Sergi Roberto is confident of playing a more important role at Barcelona this season, revealing that coach Luis Enrique has told him that he has the utmost faith in his ability.

The 23-year-old has shown promise over the last few years since his emergence from the Blaugrana youth system but has been unable to nail down a regular starting berth due to the presence of Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the first team.

While Xavi departed the Camp Nou side this summer to join Al Sadd, Arda Turan has been recruited from Atletico Madrid, though the Turkey international is unavailable to play until January because of the club's transfer ban.

Roberto thus believes that he will see more game time during the 2015-16 campaign, not least because of the unwavering support of his boss.

"Luis Enrique told me that he trusts me," he told reporters.

"What I want is to play more games and help the team. I hope to play more minutes than last year. Being versatile is good for me, but I don't know where I will play.

"Last year, Xavi was ahead of me, now this year it's Arda. But he can't play until January, so I have a chance.

"I played as a defensive midfielder last year to give Sergio Busquets a rest and this year I may get the chance to play in the side."

The midfielder is expecting a bright start to the season for Barca, as they prepare to add to last year's treble when they compete in the Uefa Super Cup and the Supercopa de Espana.

"We have two finals in the next week," he said. "Last season was a great season but now we have a chance to win two more titles.
"Then, if we win the Club World Cup [in December], we will have won six trophies, which would be great for the team."

Roberto played just 12 games in La Liga last season, but made 17 appearances in the top flight the year before.

 

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Immobile: I only broke my nose!

Sevilla summer signing Ciro Immobile has dismissed concerns over his welfare, revealing that he suffered nothing more than a broken nose in Friday's friendly against Watford.

The Borussia Dortmund-owned striker lasted just five minutes on his first outing for the Rojiblancos, after being involved in a sickening collision with Hornets goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.

Immobile was immediately given oxygen by the medics in attendance and had his head put in a neck brace before being carried from the field on a stretcher, prompting fears that the 25-year-old had suffered a serious injury.However, the former Torino attacker took to social media on Saturday to reassure his followers that there is nothing to worry about.

"Guys, thanks for all the messages," Immobile wrote on his Facebook page. "I took a heavy blow to the face that caused the broken nose, but the tests undertaken have not shown any further complications. Greetings to all!"Immobile joined Dortmund from Torino last summer but struggled during his debut season at Signal Iduna Park, registering just three goals in the Bundesliga.

Consequently, the Azzurri ace, who represented his country at Brazil 2014, has now been loaned to Sevilla for the duration of the 2015-16 campaign.

 

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I wasn't the only one who had problems at Manchester City, insists Jovetic

Stevan Jovetic has hit out at former boss Manuel Pellegrini and hinted that several Manchester City team-mates also encountered problems under the Chilean's management after completing a loan move to Inter.

The Montenegro international joined City in the summer of 2013 but, hampered by persistent injuries, he failed to overcome Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko in the battle for a regular starting spot up front.

Wilfried Bony's arrival in January pushed Jovetic further down the City pecking order and a summer departure looked inevitable from the moment Pellegrini chose to omit the 25-year-old from his reduced Champions League squad.

Jovetic believes he was never given a fair chance to prove himself at the Etihad Stadium but insists he is excited by the opportunity to re-establish Inter as the dominant force in Serie A.

"I had problems at Manchester City, but I wasn't the only one," he told Mediaset Premium. "Even when I was in good shape, the coach never let me play.

"I am very happy to become part of Inter and hope that this year we can get back to where we belong. I am here to win, we have a good team and we can do it.

"I spoke to Roberto Mancini and director Piero Ausilio, so they convinced me to come here. I am very happy with this choice.

"I had a few problems at Manchester City, but I wasn't the only one. In any case, I don't want to talk about City. I wish them all the best. In Serie A Juventus remain our strongest rivals, but we hope to beat them."

 

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Cech: I started as a winger

Arsenal new boy Petr Cech has revealed he never thought about becoming a goalkeeper until he broke his leg at the age of 10 - while playing as a winger.

Cech, who completed an £11 million move from Chelsea to the Gunners this summer, is widely regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the world after a decade at Stamford Bridge that saw him win four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and a Champions League crown.

But now the 33-year-old has revealed his life and career might have been very different had he not suffered a freak accident playing outfield as a youngster.

"I never thought of being a goalkeeper," Cech told Arsenal Magazine. "I was an ice hockey goalkeeper and when I started playing football, I was a midfielder or a left winger.

"Occasionally at the end of training sessions, when you had a free game with no 'keeper, where the deepest player acted as a goalkeeper, sometimes I went in goal because I wanted to see the difference between a big goal and a small ice hockey goal.

"My coach saw me a few times and one day, our goalkeeper didn't come for a game. We had no 'keeper and somebody had to play there, but nobody really wanted to. He pointed to me and said 'I've seen you a few times in goal and you've been doing quite well. You should try it.

"I said I would do it for one match and we ended up having a very good game. The next day, when I came for the training session, the goalkeeping coach took me and said that I should stay with him.

"But then my coach didn't want to listen to that. For about a year, I was playing outfield or in goal depending on the opponents. Then when I was about 10 I broke my leg quite badly and the recovery took time. I couldn't run and I had pain for quite a long time.

"Being in goal means you can sit, you can lie, you can catch balls and you can still work and train. That made the biggest difference in my life because that moment defined that I stayed in goal."

 

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Walcott predicts 'something special' at Arsenal this season

Theo Walcott is predicting "something special" to happen at Arsenal this season as the club look to challenge for a first Premier League title in 12 years.

The 26-year-old, who signed a new four-year contract on Friday, has just two FA Cup winners medals to his name during nine years at the club but heads into Sunday's Community Shield in confident mood.

Arsenal comfortably beat then-champions Manchester City 3-0 in last season's Wembley curtain-raiser only to suffer a worst start to a season in 32 years, but Walcott is excited by the ongoing growth in the squad.

"It's going to be very tight and I think both squads have improved," he told Arsenal Player.

"Chelsea will grow as well but I think the way that we ended the season, just the whole culture around the club now and everything about it, there's just something special that will happen this year.

"Some people will think it’s just another pre-season game but us players want to go out and win every game we can."

Walcott, who has 40 caps for England, does not take the opportunity to play at Wembley lightly and sees Sunday's stage as the ideal chance to showcase Arsenal's ability heading into the new campaign.

He added: "A lot of kids dream of playing at Wembley so you’ve always got to take it in, put 100 per cent in and I will, like all my team-mates will do too.

"We won't want to let our fans down because they’re going to make the game special for us, I’m sure.

“It’s important to actually put out a message to the Premier League that we’re ready this year, against the title champions. We did it last year against Manchester City so there’s no reason we can’t do it again."

 

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Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Real Betis: Ramos & Kirch on target as BVB build momentum

Adrian Ramos made a goalscoring return to action for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with the first goal in their 2-0 friendly victory over Real Betis in Wuppertal.

The Colombian missed the latter stages of the Bundesliga season as well as the Copa America with an ankle problem, but scored at the Stadion am Zoo against the La Liga new-boys.

Ramos - who struggled to make a regular impact at Signal Iduna Park last term - linked with Jakub Blaszczykowski to find the net before both were withdrawn at the break.

Thomas Tuchel named a strong side and, despite wholesale second-half changes, Oliver Kirch doubled the advantage late in the day.

Kevin Grosskreutz was also given a run-out amid his row with Tuchel over recent interviews in the press. The hosts are back in European action next week, while Betis continue to prepare for their La Liga return against Villarreal.

Like Ramos, Blaszczykowski was another to make his return from injury and the Poland international struck the post early on after being afforded time and space.

An injury forced the visitors to replace the highly-rated Dani Ceballos with Francisco Portillo prior to the half-hour mark.

And Dortmund duly got their breakthrough when Ramos latched onto an impressive pass from Blaszczykowski to open the scoring nine minutes before the interval.

On his first appearance since April, Ramos almost turned provider prior to the break when he combined again with Blaszczykowski only to see the Pole fail to convert.

Ramos and Blaszczykowski were among those taken off at half-time, with Grosskreutz handed a chance to impress following his public disagreement with Tuchel.

Betis' close-season signing Rafael van der Vaart tested Roman Weidenfeller from distance prior to the hour mark and the former Hamburg man should have threatened again soon after following a solo run at goal.

However, his final effort was tame, and Kirch added Dortmund's second following a strong run into the box - ensuring victory ahead of Thursday's Europa League third qualifying round second leg against Wolfsberger.

 

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Stuttgart 4-2 Manchester City: Pellegrini's side well-beaten in pre-season finale

Manchester City were humiliated in their final match before the start of their Premier League campaign as Stuttgart ran out comprehensive winners at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

A near full-strength City side conceded four goals by half-time in Germany, with a back four of captain Vincent Kompany, Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala and Aleksandar Kolarov ruthlessly exposed time and again.

Kompany and Mangala were too often drawn apart, while Stuttgart also found plenty of joy on the flanks with the City defence all at sea.

Filip Kostic's well-taken opener put the Bundesliga side on their way and David Didavi doubled the lead for Alexander Zorniger's men after combining well with Florian Klein.

Two goals in as many minutes from Daniel Ginczek then left the home fans buoyant and the visitors shell-shocked.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Edin Dzeko grabbed late consolations for City - who also lost 4-1 to Real Madrid on their tour of Australia last week - but manager Manuel Pellegrini has plenty of work to do with their Premier League opener against West Brom just nine days away.

Raheem Sterling tested Stuttgart goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton early on with a low 20-yard drive, but City were opened up the first time in the 15th minute.

Kostic ran between Sagna and Kompany to meet Ginczek's flicked header before slotting coolly past Joe Hart.

It was 2-0 just after the half-hour mark. Didavi combined excellently with Klein on the right, the former latching onto the latter's through ball in the penalty area and finished through the legs of Hart.

Ginczek scored his first in the 36th minute when City were again caught cold at the back, the forward prodding home Martin Harnik's low cross from the right.

A minute later Ginczek had his second and Stuttgart's fourth. Kompany completely mistimed an interception and the striker found space to calmly take Didavi's pass and dispatch clinically past Hart.

It was little surprise that Kompany was one of three City players - alongside Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony - substituted at half-time.

City improved after the break with Sterling curling wide of the far post from the left of the penalty area, while Tyton made a smart stop from Bruno Zuculini's close-range effort.

The visitors got on the scoresheet in the 84th minute when Iheanacho drilled into an unguarded goal after Tyton was left stranded from David Silva's cross, before Dzeko side-footed home Sterling's cross from the left in the closing stages.

 

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HJK 0-2 Liverpool: Origi and Coutinho on target as Reds win in Finland

Liverpool left it late to make the breakthrough on their way to beating HJK 2-0 in their penultimate last pre-season friendly.

The Reds dominated possession throughout but could not break the deadlock until the 73rd minute, when Divock Origi picked up on James Milner's flick to finish.

Philippe Coutinho then wrapped up the win for Brendan Rodgers's men six minutes later, the Brazilian finishing off a move from a short corner.

HJK, 21 games into their domestic season, top of the Finnish league and currently competing in the Champions League's qualifying rounds, created few openings in a low-key affair.

Liverpool's final friendly before they begin their Premier League season at Stoke City sees them take on Swindon Town on Sunday.

The visitors - who had 18-year-old midfielder Allan on the bench following his move from Internacional - could have found themselves behind in the sixth minute when Ousman Jallow headed Atomu Tanaka's left-wing corner over the crossbar.

Liverpool had a chance of their own 10 minutes later but Coutinho fired off-target from a tight angle inside the area.

After struggling to make many inroads in the first half, the Reds began the second period brightly as Adam Lallana fizzed a 25-yard effort narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

In the 50th minute, Jordon Ibe drilled in a low ball across the six-yard box which Ings could only divert over the bar under pressure.

Jallow threatened again six minutes later but his effort on the run lacked power and was easily gathered by Simon Mignolet.

Ings glanced a header wide before Lallana saw his shot tipped over as Liverpool pressed hard for a breakthrough

The breakthrough finally arrived when Milner flicked Ibe's cross into the path of Origi, who turned and rifled home, before Coutinho's shot took a kind deflection which diverted the ball into the top-right corner.

 

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Marseille 2-0 Juventus: Alessandrini and Abdel sink Scudetto holders

Juventus endured a night to forget in the south of France as the Serie A champions slumped to a 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Marseille.

A mis-hit cross from Romain Alessandrini and a late volley from Abdel Barrada ultimately proved the difference between the two sides, but Juve also lost Sami Khedira to a hamstring injury and Stephan Lichtsteiner to a senseless red card.

Khedira, a close-season signing from Real Madrid, was carried off on a stretcher clutching his hamstring after just 25 minutes and the Germany international looks likely to miss next week's Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio in China.

The 28-year-old could also be a doubt for the start of the Serie A season at the end of the month, which would be a huge blow for the Turin club as they aim to retain their league title.

Moments after Khedira's premature departure, Alessandrini's ball in from the right eluded Gianluigi Buffon to give the hosts the lead and shortly before the break, Lichtsteiner managed to earn himself a straight red for dissent.

With the start of the Ligue 1 season just a week away, Marseille looked understandably sharper and fitter than the Italian champions and almost doubled their advantage early in the second half, Benjamin Mendy forcing a fine close-range save from the overworked Buffon.

Juventus, in contrast, created precious little in terms of clear-cut chances, although French star Paul Pogba did strike the frame of the goal with a stunning free kick on 68 minutes and received a standing ovation from the home fans when he was substituted moments later.

Barrada then sealed the win for the home side shortly before the end with a spectacular volley, much to the delight of the majority of the 60,000-plus crowd in the Stade Velodrome.

But if it was a grim night for Juve then it was an ideal final pre-season hit-out for Marcelo Bielsa's men, who will head into next week's Ligue 1 opener against Caen with a real spring in their step.

 

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Barcelona won't appeal Uefa flag fine

Barcelona have announced that they will not appeal Uefa's decision to fine them €30,000 over the display of pro-Catalan independence flags at the Champions League final.

Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu had previously stated that the club were determined to fight the ruling, which related to the 3-1 win over Juventus in Berlin on July 6, arguing that while they respected the European governing body's decision, they did not agree with it.

However, Barca released on statement on Saturday revealing that they have opted against an lodging an official appeal, after being granted a meeting with Uefa to discuss the matter further to ensure that they will not be sanctioned again if their fans continue to display Catalan flags at European games.

"When the club became aware of a possible sanction from Uefa, legal staff worked on an appeal but, once sent to the governing body, it became clear that closing Camp Nou was a possible sanction and that there was a latent threat to the club," the Blaugrana statement read.

"However, the club then received the minimum financial penalty in the Uefa regulations, with no future threat of a stadium closure.

"This change was considered by the FC Barcelona as an important step in this appeal process.

"Still, the club informed Uefa immediately that it did not agree with the punishment, in defence of the right to freedom of expression of its members and fans, and wanted to ensure that these events would be reviewed to prevent the same punishment occurring in the future, since the club considered them unjust and disproportionate.

"The club considered it appropriate to continue fighting, in the most appropriate way, and informed Uefa of this.

"Before the deadline for filing the appeal, the European body accepted the fact that FC Barcelona did not resort to an appeal, in exchange for a work meeting for a diplomatic solution at the highest level, at the earliest possible date, which has yet to be determined.

"FC Barcelona is convinced that it must preserve their rights and the collective rights of its members and fans with all the power but with the right strategy."

Barcelona have long supported Catalunya's bid for independence from Spain, with the club considered a key component in the region's cultural identity.

However, under Uefa rules, supporters are forbidden from display flags, banners or messages of a political nature.

 

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De Bruyne '99.9% staying', says Wolfsburg chief

Kevin De Bruyne is "99.9 per cent" certain to stay at Wolfsburg this summer, according to sporting director Klaus Allofs.

The Belgium international has been heavily linked with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City this summer, with the former Chelsea man himself admitting he is considering the prospect of leaving the club.

However, speaking prior to Wolfsburg's DFL-Supercup clash against Pep Guardiola's side, Allofs made it clear that the club are under no duress to accept a big-money bid for De Bruyne."We are not a club that needs income from transfers," he told ZDF. "Still, we would deal with an offer out of respect for the player. But the probability of him staying is at 99.9 per cent."

De Bruyne was in sensational form for Wolfsburg last season as they finished second in the Bundesliga and clinched the DFB-Pokal, with the 24-year-old notching 16 goals and 28 assists in all competitions.

 

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Roberto Martinez: Lukaku will be fit for Premier League opener

Everton manager Roberto Martinez is confident that striker Romelu Lukaku will be fit for the start of the Premier League campaign, despite suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season.

Lukaku has four goals to his name in five pre-season outings, though the last of those saw him limp off against Dundee.

A youthful Everton side were beaten 2-0 by Leeds United on Saturday, with a more senior line-up expected when Martinez's men round off their pre-season campaign against Villarreal.

Lukaku is unlikely to feature against the Primera Division side on Sunday as Martinez looks to build his star forward's fitness for the visit of newly promoted Watford on the opening day.

"We'll assess him [ahead of the game against Villarreal]," the Spaniard told the club's official website.

"I don't think we're going to take any risks with him on Sunday.

"I would say, from a medical point of view, he is fully fit. It is just a case of making sure we give him a good introduction to work with the group because he's not had a chance to do that yet.

"I wouldn't risk him in a pre-season game but Rom will be fully fit for the start of the season against Watford at home."

 

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New Manchester United signings can bring trophies, says Jones

Manchester United defender Phil Jones has backed the club's new signings to bring trophies back to Old Trafford.

Manager Louis van Gaal has already splashed out more than £80 million to secure the services of Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay, Sergio Romero, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger this summer.

"They're all top players," Jones told Sky Sports News, "that's why the manager has signed them. They've all got their own attributes.

"Memphis is a skilful player who can change a game and score goals.

"Schweinsteiger has got class, he's won the World Cup, he's won everything in the game and he's got experience and that's massive, especially at Manchester United.

"Darmian is a terrific right-back. He's quick and he's sharp and we've seen that in pre-season.

"Morgan as well had a terrific season with Southampton and he'll be a great addition to the squad, definitely."

United will discover their Champions League qualifying play-off fate when the draw is made on Friday and Jones added: "Hopefully we can progress and make it to the group stages. It will be a tough game home and away but we're more than capable of doing it and having a good season.

"Hopefully we'll win some trophies."

 

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Wolfsburg 1-1 Bayern Munich (5-4 pens): Bendtner the hero as Guardiola loses Supercup clash again

Nicklas Bendtner was the hero as Wolfsburg clinched the German Supercup with a penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich following a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Bendtner - who has struggled to establish himself with the DFB-Pokal holders - made his case for a starting berth with a well-taken equaliser followed by the crucial spot-kick amid a dramatic finale as Wolfsburg were 5-4 victors in the shootout.

Arjen Robben - featuring for the German champions for the first time since April after a muscular injury - had given Bayern the lead early in the second half following an action-packed opening period in which both sides spurned opportunities.

For much of the second it seemed a lack of cutting edge would haunt Wolfsburg - who named Kevin De Bruyne in their XI following injury concerns.

However, substitute Bendtner was on hand to convert the Belgian's pinpoint cross following a sweeping counter-attack down the right to take Bayern to penalties.

Debutant Arturo Vidal got Bayern off to a good start in the shootout, but team-mate Xabi Alonso was the only one not to score - Wolfsburg's reserve goalkeeper Koen Casteels saving well with his foot in Diego Benaglio's injury-enforced absence.

It allowed Bendtner to convert the winning penalty and give Dieter Hecking's men a confidence boost as they seek to run Bayern closer in the Bundesliga this term.

Bayern handed a competitive debut to Douglas Costa and the Brazilian showed electric pace early on to set up a sight on goal for Alonso.

The Spaniard sent a scruffy shot wide, but Bayern continued to threaten, Jerome Boateng rattling the crossbar after Thiago Alcantara's header fell to him inside the penalty area.

Vieirinha - given a torrid time by Costa early on - asked questions of his own at the other end when he blasted Wolfsburg's first effort narrowly off target from distance.

Costa wasted a great opportunity when he passed to Robert Lewandowski instead of shooting when through on goal and, as the chances flowed, Manuel Neuer was required to keep out a wicked deflection off Medhi Benatia.

The final chance of a gripping half fell to De Bruyne - the in-demand Belgian shooting wide with an open goal at his mercy after Neuer and Benatia made a mess of clearing a bouncing ball.

Somehow, the sides were level at the break, but Bayern needed just four minutes of the second half to take the lead, Robben snaffling up his chance after Lewandowski's close-range effort was spilled by Casteels.

The energetic Costa was again pivotal down the left and, while Wolfsburg continued to threaten, Bas Dost latched onto De Bruyne's incisive pass only to shoot straight at Neuer.

Eventually, Wolfsburg were rewarded one minute from time when Bendtner converted De Bruyne's cross and his evening got better when he sealed the win.

Alonso's saved penalty proved costly as Bendtner followed Ricardo Rodriguez, De Bruyne, Andre Schurrle and Max Kruse in beating Neuer to ensure Wolfsburg's first Supercup success.

 

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Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Lyon: Cavani on target as Blanc's men seal Trophee des Champions

Edinson Cavani was on target as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lyon 2-0 in the Trophee des Champions showdown on Saturday.

Laurent Blanc's side clinched the domestic treble in 2014-15, winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France to further assert their dominance in the French game.

And Saturday's triumph at the Stade Saputo in Montreal means PSG have now won the traditional season opener in each of the last three years.

Serge Aurier headed in the first goal from close range following a set-piece, before Edinson Cavani lashed a half-volley high into the net as PSG took complete control inside 20 minutes.

Any faint Lyon hopes of a comeback were effectively ended when captain Maxime Gonalons was sent off midway through the second half for two bookable offences.

For PSG, however, it was the perfect warm-up for the defence of their Ligue 1 title, which gets under way at Lille on Friday.

Lyon finished eight points behind the champions back in May, and they struggled to live with Blanc's men, who went two up in the opening exchanges.

The deadlock was broken with the first action of note in the 11th minute as Lyon failed to deal with a free kick into the box.

Adrien Rabiot reached it first and the ball fell to David Luiz, who fired back across goal for Aurier to head in from three yards.

Six minutes later the lead was doubled as Zlatan Ibrahimovic's initial effort was saved by Anthony Lopes, only for Cavani to hammer in the rebound.

Lyon almost presented PSG with a third in the 35th minute, but, after Christophe Jallet lost possession to Rabiot on the edge of the area, the midfielder dragged his shot wide.

It ought to have been 3-0 a minute before the break when Lopes saved from Ibrahimovic once more and Blaise Matuidi hacked his effort over the gaping goal from eight yards.

Ibrahimovic was also profligate after half-time, sending his shot wide when one-on-one with Lopes on the hour.

Five minutes later, Lyon saw Gonalons dismissed after the midfielder picked up a second caution for a foul on Ibrahimovic and PSG comfortably saw the game out to make another addition to their burgeoning trophy cabinet.

 

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Simeone: Atletico growing in strength


Diego Simeone is confident his Atletico Madrid side are showing encouraging signs ahead of the start of the Liga season.

The 2013-14 Spanish champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Sagan Tosu in their latest pre-season clash, before ultimately triumphing 4-1 on penalties.Despite not beating relatively modest opposition, Simeone believes his new-look side - who began the game using an unfamiliar 4-3-3 formation - are looking good ahead of the new campaign.

"I'm happy because the team is growing. They combined well," the Argentine coach said after the match."The feeling is good, we intend to try a different system to what we've been used to using before. It cost the team at the start, but then we had a good first half.

"We know that the team can improve a lot with Luciano Vietto, Angel Correa, Oliver Torres or Yannick Ferreira Carrasco. They have to grow a lot with us.
"They have to improve their tactical game, but never lose their talent. We need that talent to win games."

 

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Casillas vows to impress Porto faithful after penalty heroics


Iker Casillas was Porto's hero as they defeated Valencia on penalties in the Colonia Cup.

The two sides had been locked at 0-0 after a forgettable 90 minutes in the RheinEnergie Stadion in Cologne and could not be separated in the ensuing shootout either, until Bruno Martins Indi put Porto 5-4 up and Casillas produced a fine save to deny the luckless Joao Cancelo."The team did well defensively, we had control of the ball and we're pleased with the performance," Casillas told the club's official TV channel after the match.

"It's good to get a win in pre-season to create a winning mentality."I'm very grateful to the fans. I can only try to return the support with good performances and by keeping winning with Porto."

Head coach Julen Lopetegui, meanwhile, hailed the Spain veteran's enthusiasm following his arrival from Real Madrid.

"He is a player that comes with experience. He has arrived at the club with the enthusiasm of a 20-year-old lad," he said.

"He has come to a big club and we are all going to benefit from his enthusiasm."
Porto were good value for their win having created the better of the chances during normal time, with Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar striking the crossbar after just two minutes and firing wastefully wide later in the first half following excellent approach work by Maxi Pereira.Lopetegui's men looked similarly lively after the break and should have taken the lead with 71 minutes gone when Martins Indi somehow managed to head over from close range.

Valencia duly rode their luck and held on to force the shoot-out, only to be undone by the man who had denied them so often in La Liga for Real Madrid over the years before his move to Porto last month.

Neither side will have long to reflect upon the game, however, as each return to action on Sunday, with Valencia facing hosts Koln and Porto taking on Stoke City.

 

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Neuer hails slick Bendtner finish in Supercup defeat

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer offered praise to Nicklas Bendtner following his decisive finish in Wolfsburg's DFL-Supercup win.


The former Arsenal striker came off the bench to fire his side level in the 89th minute on Saturday, rifling high into the roof of the net from close range following Kevin de Bruyne's low cross.


Bendtner then stepped up to convert the final penalty in the shootout after Xabi Alonso had missed, ensuring another Supercup loss for Pep Guardiola's side.


"You have to admit that the cross was superb and Bendtner hits it great in the middle," Neuer said after the match. "This does not happen every day, so it is even more annoying it happened in the 90th minute."


Centre-back Jerome Boateng added: "We were by far the better team. It shouldn't happen that we concede a goal that stupid at the end of the match.
"We should have decided the game earlier. We are unlucky and this is upsetting. We played the game and they had more luck in the end."Despite the defeat, head coach Guardiola saw plenty of positives in his side's display ahead of the start of the 2015-16 season.


"Titles are titles and we want to win them. Of course the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League are more important, but still, it's a title.
"We played well and had many chances in the opening 25 minutes. In the end we conceded one goal, and Wolfsburg did well."I am very satisfied. The performance, the passion, our attack. Now we recover and move forward. Always moving forward."

 

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Ronaldo: I never thought I'd be a professional

Cristiano Ronaldo admits he never truly believed he would become a professional footballer when he first began to play the game as a child.


The Real Madrid and Portugal sensation began to train with Andorinha on his home island of Madeira in his youth, but says he never considered himself a special talent."In my family, we all love football. I remember that one day I was playing in the street and my father told me: 'Why don't you train at the club when I go to work?'. I said yes, why not? So I started to play," Ronaldo told Herbalife.


"I went to train every day and I enjoyed being part of the team. My father was always there for me."At first I felt I was different to the other children. I never thought I was going to become a professional or go to Manchester United, Real Madrid or Sporting.


"At that time I just wanted to enjoy it and it wasn't going through my head that I had talent. At first I didn't think that."However, the former Old Trafford ace admits it took just a few short years of training before he began to visualise a career at the very top.


"After three or four years I started to think: 'I want to play there'. I got to watch all of the matches and I dreamed of wearing the shirts."Ronaldo and Madrid face Tottenham in their latest pre-season outing in the Audi Cup in Munich on Tuesday.

 

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