..::Football III::..

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Juventus agree deal with Atletico for Siqueira

Juventus have agreed a deal with Atletico Madrid for defender Guilherme Siqueira, Goal can confirm.

The Brazilian still has three years to run on his contract at the Vicente Calderon but Bianconeri general director Giuseppe Marotta and sporting director Fabio Paratici struck a deal with Atleti officials on Tuesday.

Siqueira will join the Serie A champions on a year-long loan but Juve are obliged to make the deal permanent at the end of the 2015-16 campaign for a €10 million fee.

All that remains now is for the Bianconeri to agree personal terms with the 29-year-old, with the player expected to put pen to paper on a contract that will net him €2 million per annum.

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri made a new left-back one of his priorities this summer as he intends to use the versatile Kwadow Asamoah in midfield this season and wanted direct cover for Patrice Evra.

The Old Lady had set their sights on Alex Sandro but were repeatedly rebuffed in their efforts to sign the Brazilian by Porto.

Consequently, the Scudetto holders turned to Siqueira, who is expected to seal his move to Juventus Stadium inside the next 48 hours.

 

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Official: Porto sign free agent Pablo Daniel Osvaldo

Porto have completed the signing of striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo on a free transfer.Osvaldo, 29, joined Southampton in a club-record deal only two years ago, but was released by the Premier League club last month.

The Italy international proved to be a disruptive influence during his time on the south coast and will now aim to kickstart his career in Portugal.

Porto will be hoping the frontman is able to hit the ground running after they sold the prolific Jackson Martinez to Atletico Madrid.

Osvaldo was suspended for three games by Southampton following a touchline fracas with Newcastle United's goalkeeping coach in December 2013, before being banned by the club following a training-ground incident.

The ex-Roma forward was then loaned to Serie A champions Juventus for the rest of that campaign and spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Inter and Argentinian side Boca Juniors.

Porto gave no details over the length of contract Osvaldo has signed.

 

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Guardiola: Playing Madrid means nothing to me

Pep Guardiola has insisted Real Madrid matches are “nothing special” to him ahead of Bayern Munich's Audi Cup final on Wednesday.

The coach came through Barcelona's youth system, spent over a decade playing for their first team and subsequently coached the Catalans through the most decorated period in their history.

However, following Bayern's 3-0 defeat of AC Milan on Tuesday to set up the high-profile clash, Guardiola claimed facing Barca's arch-rivals Madrid does not ramp up the anticipation for him.

"Playing Madrid is nothing special to me," the Spaniard told reporters. "I'm very happy with the result against Milan.

"On Saturday we played a final [the DFL-Supercup against Wolfsburg, which they lost on penalties] and on Wednesday we have another game. I have two defences, we'll see who plays in the game against Madrid."Guardiola has endured a turbulent few days in the aftermath of weekend reports claiming he would be joining Manchester City next year – when his deal at the Allianz Arena expires – on a huge salary.

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus claimed Chelsea's Jose Mourinho is the better coach, while Borussia Dortmund chief Hans-Joachim Watzke suggested Jurgen Klopp would be Guardiola's perfect replacement.

Guardiola's frustrations became visible to the world at half-time against Milan when he ranted at Nigel de Jong for a first-half tackle on Joshua Kimmich, then after the match Mario Gotze insinuated his coach doesn't talk to him much.

 

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Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to look beautiful

Cristiano Ronaldo proclaimed he "wants to look beautiful" in a video message to his fans on Wednesday.

The Real Madrid forward is famed for caring deeply about the way he looks, though his detractors derive glee from mocking Ronaldo's renowned obsession with his image.

The 30-year-old underwear model has never let the criticism dampen his open attitude towards his perceived vanity and his latest video was taken while being preened by two male hair-stylists.

Referring to the line that has been shaved into the side of his hair, Ronaldo asked his Twitter followers for their opinion on how to make him look as handsome as possible.

"Hi guys, I'm cutting my hair here with my friends," the former Manchester United winger said in accompanying video. "What do you think with the line or with no line? Let me know because I want to look beautiful! Take care."

Ronaldo missed Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Tuesday due to a minor injury and will not feature on Wednesday when Rafa Benitez's men clash with Bayern Munich, too.

 

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De Bruyne: There is no Man City offer

Kevin De Bruyne has rejected rumours that Manchester City have lodged a £48 million bid with Wolfsburg.

The Belgium international was named Bundesliga Player of the Year for his attacking exploits as the Volkswagen Arena side finished second behind Bayern Munich and won the DFB-Pokal.

Since joining Wolfsburg 18 months ago, De Bruyne's reputation has rocketed and the 24-year-old has attracted reported interest from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Man City.The Premier League side are now believed to be pursuing the former Chelsea winger as their final summer signing, but De Bruyne has insisted that he is in the dark about where he will call home at the end of the transfer window.

"I can't say what is going to happen," he told SID. "I don't know of any offer. If there is one, I will know about it. The clubs decide what will happen and we have to see what Wolfsburg say.

"I am not that kind of player who says he will stay and two weeks later he is gone. I have no idea what will happen."

Arjen Robben had called for the talented Belgian to stay in Germany because of his talent, and De Bruyne admitted he is flattered by such a compliment from a winger considered one of the best in the world."When a big player like Robben says something like that, it is huge for me," he added. "I have to prove I belong amongst the best."

Wolfsburg started 2015-16 in fantastic style, beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the DFL-Supercup on Saturday after a 1-1 draw, and De Bruyne hopes they can build on that result in the title race.

"If we start well, we'll maybe have the chance to get closer to Bayern," he continued. "We play a little different now, but we're learning more and more every day how to play this way."

 

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'Arsenal are one signing away from Champions League glory'

Arsenal are one marquee signing away from challenging for the Champions League, according to shareholder Alisher Usmanov.

Arsene Wenger has bolstered his squad for the signing of goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea for £11 million, while the club have not given up on a move for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

Theo Walcott has been preferred up front in recent months, with Olivier Giroud's form inconsistent and Danny Welbeck struggling with fitness, and Usmanov feels the squad need one more star to challenge Europe's elite.

"If there aren't [any] severe injuries, he's got a great chance to compete with teams like Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City," he told CNN.

"The championship will be decided between these four teams. With the team that Arsene has put together, except for one position, I think it's a club that's ready to successfully fight for European cups."

Goal understands Arsenal are prepared to spend up to £40m on Benzema as they look to make the striker their marquee summer signing following the arrivals of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the last two years.

Wenger is understood to have told confidants that, if he cannot land Benzema, he is happy to continue with Olivier Giroud, Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck as his options up front.

 

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Tottenham 2-0 AC Milan: Lloris returns as Chadli & Carroll down Mihajlovic's side

Nacer Chadli's stunner and Tom Carroll's strike helped Tottenham beat AC Milan 2-0 to clinch third in the Audi Cup, as Hugo Lloris made his return from injury.

Spurs, who lost 2-0 to Real Madrid on Tuesday, were good value for the victory at the Allianz Arena against lacklustre Milan.

Chadli opened the scoring with a fine long-range curling effort in the eighth minute and Mauricio Pochettino's men rounded off the win with Carroll's well-taken goal in the second half.

There was further good news for Tottenham as goalkeeper Lloris came on as a second-half substitute, marking his first appearance since breaking his wrist last month and offering hope that he will play in their Premier League opener against Manchester United on Saturday.

Chadli gave Milan an early warning with a fourth-minute free-kick that went just wide of the left-hand post.

There was better to come, though, as he broke the deadlock in superb style. Chadli received the ball on the right and jinked inside Davide Calabria before bending his shot into the top left-hand corner from 25 yards.

Alessandro Matri attempted an audacious lob over Luke McGee in the Spurs goal as Milan sought an equaliser, while at the other end Christian Abbiati made a smart stop low to his left to deny Carroll - who spent last season on loan at Swansea City - finishing a well-worked move.

Spurs fans were given a welcome sight in the 55th minute when Lloris made his return to replace McGee.

A deserved second goal duly arrived for Spurs in the 71st minute. Close-season signing Kieran Trippier played a clever throughball into the right of the penalty area and Carroll swept home first time into the far corner past substitute goalkeeper Antonio Donnarumma.

Lloris gave a timely reminder of his quality to parry away Rodrigo Ely's stinging half-volley in the closing stages, as Tottenham safely saw out the win.

Milan, meanwhile, failed to score in both Audi Cup outings, losing 3-0 to hosts Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and have plenty of hard work ahead of their first Serie A game at Fiorentina later this month.

 

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Man Utd & Barcelona agree Pedro deal

Manchester United and Barcelona have reached agreement over the transfer of Pedro, but the Champions League holders are keen to retain the player until after next week's Uefa Super Cup.

The two sides have settled on a transfer fee of £18.1 million (€26m) initially, with a potential further £4.2m (€6m) to be paid in variable bonuses.

But the European champions face Europa League winners Sevilla in the traditional season curtain-raiser in Tbilisi on Tuesday, and want to be able to call upon Pedro to play a part.

Lionel Messi and Neymar have only recently returned from an extended break following their Copa America commitments, and neither is likely to play a full 90 minutes in the Super Cup clash.

As a result Pedro is likely to play a significant role before finalising a move to Old Trafford, meaning United will begin the Premier League season against Tottenham on Saturday without the 28-year-old in the squad.

The Spain international signed a new four-year deal in June, with the club announcing publicly that his €150m release clause remained in effect. However, a gentlemen’s agreement was made allowing the player to leave for a lower fee should the buying club suit both parties.

While Pedro has yet to agree personal terms with United, he is keen on a switch which would allow him greater playing time than he has experienced since Luis Suarez’s arrival at the Camp Nou last summer.

United boss Louis van Gaal admitted recently that the 28-year-old is just the type of player his team has been lacking.

"Barcelona have the speed of Neymar and Messi - and they have Pedro behind them. We have to compete with that," he told The Sun.

"We can win the title if we can buy players with speed and creativity. We have to improve our selection in that way."

Pedro has scored 98 goals in 318 appearances for Barcelona, and head coach Luis Enrique insisted recently that he wanted the forward to remain with the club.

"Pedro is a high-level player and as a coach I want him to stay here, but is his decision," he said.

 

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PSG to unveil Di Maria on Thursday

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the signing of Angel Di Maria from Manchester United and will unveil the Argentine on Thursday.

The 27-year-old had been linked to a move to the French capital for weeks and passed a medical in Qatar on Tuesday after agreeing personal terms.

The former Real Madrid winger said he is "very happy" to be joining the Ligue 1 champions after a poor season at Old Trafford as he makes the €60 million (£44.5m) move.

And PSG have announced that a press conference will be held in Paris on Thursday to present the attacker to the media at 18.30 CET.

PSG player Benjamin Stambouli spoke of his delight at the news, telling RMC: "Di Maria is an extraordinary player who will make the difference for us, a star status.

"This is a very good thing."

 

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Draxler patta

eka aththa machan.issarata wada EPL title ekata fight ekath wadyi.
anith eka M City wage teams money spend karana hatiyata anik team walatath spend karanna wenawa fight 1k denna nam.

Arsenal director th kiyala thibbe Messi,CR7 nathuwa wena onama player kenek ganna puluwan kiyala

Aniwa aniwa bromath kiyanne 1kama thamaiLeague 1ke play karana hama team 1kakama(Specially Top 5 teams) hope 1ka thamai title 1ka win karana 1ka.So 1ka wenuwen karanna thiyana palaweni de thamai hoda playersla set 1kak ganna 1ka.1kane ithin hariyatama gatthoth Foundation 1ka

So mehsare kalin tath wada fight 1ka wadi.1ka gana nam loku sure 1kak thiyanawaChelsea,City,Liverpool danatamath prepared,Manchester United thawa stength karaganna one places thiyanawa(CB + Di Maria replacement + Striker kenek one). So awage situation 1kaka gemak denna nam gana wadi kiya kiya inne nathiwa spend karannama wenawa bro

Ow ow bro mamath dakka a news 1kaMoney thiyana 1ke karanna thiyenne Benzema or alternative striker kenek ta hoda bid 1kak thiyana 1ka bro.thamath Arsenal la Benzema chase 1ka give up karala naha so thamath chance 1ka thiyanawa bro & DM kenekuth ganna wenawa Arsenal lata​

 

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Shakhtar 3-0 Fenerbahce (agg 3-0): Hosts stroll to victory over Van Persie-less visitors

Shakhtar Donetsk booked their place in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Fenerbahce.

The two sides headed into the clash level, having played out a goalless draw in the first leg in Istanbul the week before.

However, Shakhtar made easy work of the visitors in the end, with Olexandr Gladkiy, Dario Srna and Alex Teixeira making the difference in Ukraine to win the tie for Mircea Lucescu's men.

While there was no Robin van Persie in the Fener side, Vitor Pereira's men boasted the likes of Diego, Raul Meireles, Nani, Simon Kjaer and Bruno Alves, but they were second best to their hosts from the beginning.

Indeed, Shakhtar almost took the lead within 40 seconds when Marlos received the ball on the right side, cut into the middle and smashed it towards goal, only to see it hit the side netting.

Fenerbahce's first real chance came 10 minutes into the clash, with Fernandao leaping up to head a cross towards goal, but it went over the bar.

Teixeira then had an opportunity at the other end, finding himself in space in the box but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

The deadlock was broken after 25 minutes when a neat passing move saw the ball sent out wide to Dario Srna, who sent a cross into the six yard box for Gladkiy to tap home.

Raul Meireles threatened to tie things up 10 minutes later when a deflected shot bounced in his favour. The midfielder smashied it first time to send it curling towards goal, but it was saved by Andriy Pyatov.

Meireles was at the centre of another Fenerbahce opportunity as his cross found Moussa Sow at the front post, though Pyatov was able to flap the dangerous header out for a corner.

Shakhtar found themselves in trouble in the early stages of the second half as the visitors piled on the pressure. A golden opportunity was opened up when Nani's deadly cross towards the back post was nodded back into the middle from Bruno Alves, but it rolled past Simon Kjaer, who would have needed just a minor touch to level the score.

The job got tougher for the Turkish side, though, as a scuffle broke out on the touchline, leading to coach Vitor Pereira being sent to the stands.

Moments later, Shakhtar had secured their place in the play-off round. Marlos broke through on goal and shrugged off the challenge of Kjaer, rounding goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, who subsequently brought the attacker down. Srna then stepped up and doubled his side's lead from the resulting penalty.

A brilliant counter attack from the hosts saw Teixeira make it 3-0 after 68 minutes. The winger burst down the left side to take on a long Taison pass and slotted into the back of the net.

Taison thought he could increase his side's lead even further with a shot from distance, but had no luck. Then, Fener almost netted a consolation goal 87 minutes in, but Caner Erkin's attempt did not bother Pyatov.

Kjaer's poor performance ended in disaster when he received a second yellow card in injury time, but the game had already been killed off and the referee's whistle shortly afterwards brought an end to a dismal display from the Turkish team.

 

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Bayern Munich 1-0 Real Madrid: Late Lewandowski strike sees Guardiola's men lift Audi Cup

Robert Lewandowski scored two minutes from time as Bayern Munich won the Audi Cup courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

The Bundesliga champions outclassed Milan on Tuesday but were made to work harder for their win against an under-strength Real, who started without Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez.

Bale and Rodriguez scored for Rafael Benitez's side in the victory over Tottenham a day earlier and, in the absence of that duo and the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, the likes of Jese Rodriguez, Lucas Vazquez and Denis Cheryshev struggled to muster much attacking threat.

Thomas Muller's deflected effort was Bayern's best chance of the first half while substitute Lewandowski missed a sitter early in the second.

But just when the final was set to go to penalties, Lewandowski showed his poaching instincts to turn home Douglas Costa's wonderful cross and see Bayern into Sunday's DFB-Pokal meeting with Nottingen off the back of a win. Real complete their pre-season at Valerenga on Sunday.

After Real's Toni Kroos fired wide against his former club, David Alaba unleashed a powerful effort at goal for the hosts - Philipp Lahm heading the rebound wide after Keylor Navas' save 13 minutes in.

It proved the main event of a low-key opening half-hour as Real's much-changed XI kept Bayern at bay - a poor final ball from Vazquez cutting short a potential break from the visitors.

Sergio Ramos almost deflected Muller's wayward strike in prior to the break - the Bayern man finding the post - before Navas saved from Mario Gotze following clever play down the left from Costa.

Kroos had the first effort of the second half, forcing Manuel Neuer into a smart save with a free-kick, before Lewandowski spurned a golden opportunity to open the scoring.

Having registered with a stunner against Milan, the Polish striker inexplicably turned the ball wide from close range shortly after the hour mark.

As Bayern cranked up the pressure, Pierre Hojbjerg brought an impressive save out of Navas before Lewandowski made amends for his miss.

The former Borussia Dortmund man prodded home Costa's inch-perfect delivery after losing his marker as Bayern eventually sealed the win and the Audi Cup.

 

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Chelsea 0-1 Fiorentina: Mourinho's men end pre-season with disappointing home defeat

Chelsea squandered the chance to bounce straight back from their Community Shield setback after finishing pre-season with a 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina in the International Champions Cup.

Premier League champions Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal on Sunday and went into Wednesday's clash seeking a positive response ahead of Saturday's league opener against Swansea City.

However, manager Jose Mourinho made 10 changes to the side that started at Wembley - handing loan signing Radamel Falcao a first start - and that played a part in a disjointed showing at Stamford Bridge as the home team failed to register a shot on target in the first half.

Visitors Fiorentina, who start their Serie A campaign against Milan later this month, were rewarded for a sustained spell of pressure in the opening period when Gonzalo Rodriguez forced home the opener after Marcos Alonso's original shot was saved.

That proved enough for Paulo Sousa's men and it marks another impressive win for Fiorentina after defeating La Liga champions Barcelona 2-1 on Sunday.

Fiorentina were quick out of the blocks and Asmir Begovic had to make a fine save low to his right to keep out Matias Fernandez's edge-of-the-box drive in just the second minute.

Chelsea responded and Ruben Loftus-Cheek showed great footwork in the area to beat two men before seeing his shot well blocked by Facundo Roncaglia.

As the half wore on Fiorentina enjoyed a good spell of possession and Matias Vecino was desperately unlucky to see a thunderous 25-yard effort cannon back off the crossbar, before Khouma Babacar also went close.

The pressure told in the 34th minute as Alonso found space on the left and his low shot was saved by Begovic and sat up kindly for Rodriguez to tap in the rebound.

Branislav Ivanovic was one of four Chelsea players brought on at half-time and the Serbian's blushes were saved by an offside flag after putting a free header wide from eight yards from Oscar's free-kick.

A series of substitutions from both sides meant there was little flow to the game in the second half, although Josip Ilicic saw a 20-yard shot deflected wide when the Chelsea defence sat off the midfielder.

Chelsea started to play on the front foot as the clock wound down and Gary Cahill twice headed straight at goalkeeper Luigi Sepe when in a promising position.

Loic Remy then curled wide of the right-hand post after working space in the penalty area, as time ran out for Mourinho's side.

 

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Tuchel: I won't enjoy first Dortmund home game

Thomas Tuchel has admitted that it will be tough for him to enjoy his first home game in charge of Borussia Dortmund, though he expects a near-capacity crowd for the Europa League qualifier.

The Bundesliga side welcome Austrian club Wolfsberger to the Signal Iduna Park on Thursday holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg.

Despite the advantage, Tuchel feels he will have no time to enjoy his first competitive home fixture because of its importance.

"It will be hard to enjoy it. I haven't really been at the stadium for a long time so far," he told reporters. "But the pitch is in great condition.

"We will have 60,000 spectators tomorrow and we will be pushing right from the start, to delight our fans.

"Neven Subotic and Eric Durm are very likely to miss the game. Kevin Großkreutz isn't in the squad, he has a training deficit. Adrian Ramos instead has trained, he made it into the squad."

The former Mainz boss has called for a more efficient performance from his side from their first leg win.

"We need to defend better at set plays, this could be improved. But I wouldn't say that we've been under pressure.

"We had enough chances to go for the second we simply haven't been clinical enough."

 

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Furious Messi headbutts Yanga-Mbiwa in Roma friendly

Lionel Messi was lucky not to receive a red card in Barcelona 's friendly against Roma when he headbutted Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa .

With Barca leading 1-0 through Neymar's strike, the pair began to tangle during the first half in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou.

The Argentine attacker has a reputation for keeping a cool head in intense situations, but his temper flashed through when he came face-to-face with the France international.

Messi lashed out at Yanga-Mbiwa with a headbutt before grabbing at his throat.

The referee then separated the pair and gave both a yellow card, though Messi in particular was perhaps lucky not to be dismissed.

Moments later, Messi went on to double his side's lead, finishing off a sound team move to send his side 2-0 up at half time.

 

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Barcelona 3-0 Roma: Messi & Neymar on target in Gamper Trophy

Barcelona turned in a classy performance as they rounded off their pre-season programme with a dominant 3-0 victory over Roma in the 50th Trofeo Joan Gamper.The Catalan giants controlled the fixture from start to finish, dancing through the Roma defence with ease time and again.

Neymar broke the deadlock following a period of sustained Barca pressure, rounding Wojciech Szczesny to leave himself with a simple tap-in.

Lionel Messi could, and possibly should, have seen red when he went head-to-head with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, but he responded by doubling the home side's advantage four minutes from the break.Ivan Rakitic made it 3-0 shortly after the hour-mark and that would be the end of the scoring, despite Barca looking likely to add a fourth.

Messi wore the captain's armband in the absence of newly appointed skipper Andres Iniesta – named among the substitutes – and the Argentine flyer was involved from the off as Barca made a blistering start.

The 28-year-old poked an effort straight to Szczesny before Neymar shouldered wide a Dani Alves cross from the right which had been deflected out of the Brazilian's path, preventing what looked set to be a certain headed goal.

Alves and Messi then combined brilliantly down the right and the latter drew an excellent save from Szczesny, while Neymar's shot from the rebound was blocked by some desperate Roma defending.

Radja Nainggolan pulled a half-chance wide from 25 yards at the other end, but the onslaught continued and the visitors had Szczesny to thank once again in the 16th minute, when the Poland international kept out a fierce Rakitic strike after more neat build-up play.

Szczesny saw Rafinha blaze over from close range soon after, but he was finally beaten in the 26th minute – Neymar applying a cool finish after Jeremy Mathieu had sent a first-time pass into his path from a delightful Messi ball over the top.

Messi could arguably count himself lucky to be on the pitch after appearing to drive his head into that of Yanga-Mbiwa and, after escaping with a yellow card, he doubled Barca's advantage with a driven effort from the edge of the box in the 41st minute.

To Roma's relief, Barca took their foot off the gas somewhat at the beginning of the second half and a flurry of substitutions disrupted the flow of a match that had been played at a rapid pace.

However, it was not long before the home side clicked back into gear - Rakitic rifling an effort into the top left-hand corner of the net from 25 yards.

 

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Mourinho: I never know if Costa is fit to play or not!

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Diego Costa's continual hamstring problems are becoming a concern for Chelsea.

The striker missed Sunday's Community Shield loss to Arsenal before sitting out Wednesday's home defeat to Fiorentina as the Premier League champions pre-season preparations ended with a whimper.

Costa made just seven league outings from February onwards after suffering niggling setbacks to a long-standing injury, but Mourinho has revealed even scans do not show any damage.

"Costa is not ready. It is not a good feeling for him, it is not a good feeling for me," Mourinho told reporters. "I have to be honest and say that it is a bit of a concern. A player that didn't finish the season and [then] doesn't start the season obviously doesn't make me happy.

"The boy is trying hard but he has a problem against Barcelona [last Tuesday]. The scans show there is no injury so next day he trains, but the next day he is not comfortable. Then, 24 hours before the [Community Shield], we don't know if he plays or doesn't play.

Mourinho added: "I won’t risk my reputation again. You asked me before last weekend and I told you he was ready to play. He wasn’t. I don’t know. I don’t risk saying yes, and I don’t risk saying no. On Friday at the next press conference I think I will tell you again that I don’t know."

Chelsea host Swansea City to Stamford Bridge on Saturday as they start the defence of their league crown, with Radamel Falcao or Loic Remy expected to lead the attack.

 

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Benitez calms Pepe and Bale injury fears

Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez has sought to allay any fears over the fitness of Pepe and Gareth Bale following Wednesday's defeat to Bayern Munich.

The centre-back was forced off 16 minutes into the Audi Cup final defeat at the Allianz Arena while Bale did not feature, having played in the win over Tottenham a day earlier.

With Madrid's La Liga opener against Sporting Gijon just over two weeks away, Benitez played down any fears over the pair's fitness.

"Pepe already had a niggle and to avoid an injury we brought him off," he explained.

On Bale, Benitez continued: "Playing two games in two days - we didn't want to risk him.

"It wasn't advisable to play the players who played yesterday. We put Danilo on to have a bit more pace on the right but the main thing is the players and the aim is to keep working, while protecting the squad.

"The great thing about the players up front is that they can swap positions and each one knows what they have to do.

"I think it was positive for the experience of the young players and the work we did as a team, but I'm sad about the defeat.

"They had an extra gear over us and it showed. We lacked a little bit of possession and didn't have the ball high up the pitch enough to be able to create danger.

"And without that, the team little by little moved backwards. We had a few counters, but not enough to win."

 

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Leo Messi headbutted Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa during Barcelona v Roma

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Messi ta ban 1kak set weida mandaMessi ge react 1ka echchara hari naha.​