..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Van Gaal: I have to speak French with Martial!

win over Southampton - especially as they have to communicate in French.
The summer signing from Monaco made it three goals in three games for his new club as United came from behind at St Mary’s to secure their fourth Premier League win of the season.

The victory propels Manchester United into second place in the table, just two points behind leaders City, and Van Gaal thinks Martial has proven he has the talent to succeed at Old Trafford.

"He cannot speak English so I have to speak French with him which is difficult for me, I have to have help from Marouane Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin,” he told reporters.

“But he'll learn to speak English and he's adapting to the English culture. He has had a great start - three goals in three games."

"When you are a 19-year-old you cannot expect consistency, normally you have dips so I also expect that from him.

“In three matches he has shown his talent is at a high level and he has shown he can play in our system. He has shown he wants to do that and he can do that."

Martial’s double followed on from last weekend’s debut goal in the 3-1 win over Liverpool and when asked about the best thing about his new signing, Van Gaal responded: "That he scores goals of course!"

"He's talented. He can improve I think, but he has a high level of talent and he shows it, and he shows it also under great pressure."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Pogba: Juventus more of a team without Vidal, Tevez & Pirlo

Paul Pogba feels Juventus are not missing summer departures Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo this season because they play more as a team without them.

The trio departed in the transfer window as the Serie A champions underwent many changes ahead of the current campaign.

Pogba struggled to find his best form in the opening weeks of the season, but had a hand in both of his side's goals as they beat Genoa 2-0 on Sunday and he feels the team work has increased this term.

"With Carlos, Arturo and Andrea we could rely on individual moments of brilliance. Now we play more as a team," Pogba told the club's official website.

The 22-year-old took over the number 10 shirt from Tevez following the latter's return to Boca Juniors, thus following in the footsteps of compatriot Michel Platini, and he is determined to honour the jersey.

"Taking on the number 10 is to follow in the footsteps of Michel Platini and several other Juventus greats. It's very important that I honour the shirt on the pitch, the club has shown a lot of faith in me," he added.

"I need to keep working on my game, both in terms of build-up play and my runs off the ball. I need to put in strong performances both for the benefit of myself and that of the side."

Juve's win over Genoa was their first in Serie A this campaign and the France international has urged his team-mates to keep it up in the weeks to come.

"We haven't achieved anything yet. Until today we had just one point in the table, now we've four. We're happy with the win, but we need to keep picking up results.

"We're just concentrating on ourselves right now. There's a long way to go between now and May."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tuchel praises Dortmund players' sharpness after Leverkusen win

Thomas Tuchel praised the performance of his Borussia Dortmund players after they dominated Bayer Leverkusen for the entire 90 minutes of their 3-0 win at Signal Iduna Park.

Jonas Hofmann's first-half goal gave Dortmund a deserved lead, but when Leverkusen threatened to force their way back into the contest, Dortmund shut their visitors out and added further efforts through Shinji Kagawa’s cool finish and a penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The win took Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga on goal difference, and extended their winning streak under Tuchel to 11 consecutive games in all competitions, just three days after a 2-1 win over Krasnodar in the Europa League.

"We knew beforehand that we needed an absolute top performance. We have displayed a great sharpness," he told reporters.

"Our initial phase was very good. After 1-0, it was a more open game. With the last 30 minutes I am very satisfied.

"It was not an easy match, Bayer play very good football, but we were very concrete. We are here also to inspire our audience. We succeed at present."

Attacking midfielder Marco Reus had hoped to return from a toe injury against Leverkusen but was an unused substitute and Tuchel explained why he kept him on the bench.

"He has missed 17 days, during which time he could only ride a bike. You lose too much," he said. "The risk of a subsequent injury was too big."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Martial better than expected, admits Neville

Anthony Martial has impressed former Manchester United defender Gary Neville with his goal-scoring impact following his transfer from Monaco.

The 19-year-old moved to Old Trafford for an initial sum of £36 million and added to his debut strike against Liverpool last weekend by netting a double in United's 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday.

His early performances have impressed Neville, who admitted he was sceptical over whether the Frenchman had the potential to become a clinical finisher.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the former United defender said: "Could he step up from being a 15 [goals] in 70 [appearances] man to a one in two man? Can he get to that level? Difficult.

"I never thought he'd even be close to that but he's shown in the first couple of weeks he's got the composure to score goals.

"I wouldn't have imagined that he would have had the composure that he's had, because his goal-scoring record before he came to Manchester United was 15 goals in 70 games, which doesn't suggest he's got that level of composure."

Neville added that Martial has made a statement by hitting the ground running despite the question marks over his signing.

"There's huge pressure on him, he'll be aware of that - the expectation, the price tag," the 40-year-old said.

"To be redundant in the game for 30 minutes and then show that composure and class at that moment says a lot about him. He's made a big impression on all of us."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Martial & De Gea prove their value to soft-centred Manchester United

Had Manchester United’s transfer window ended even slightly differently, days like Sunday would not have been possible.

On September 1 they held on by their fingernails as David de Gea, who had previously looked destined for Real Madrid, stayed on their books by luck more than judgement. Less than 24 hours later they added Anthony Martial to their ranks as their final bit of business. Already they are reaping significant rewards for their deadline day dealings.

Their 3-2 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s was the perfect showcase for the two stars, with Martial’s double turning a convincing deficit into a 2-1 lead and De Gea doing everything humanly possible to keep the home side from getting back on level terms thereafter.

“What a waste of money” came the sarcastic chants from the away end as the £36 million teenager pounced on Maya Yoshida’s horror back-pass to slide United in front. He’d earlier turned Virgil van Dijk inside out to bring parity to a scoreline that on another day might have weighed heavily in Saints’ favour.

But whereas Graziano Pelle hit the post moments after his opening goal, and Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse both failed to work De Gea, Martial was supremely clinical. His first three shots on target in the Premier League have yielded three goals.“When you are 19 years old you cannot expect consistency, normally you have dips, so I also expect that from him,” reiterated his manager Louis van Gaal after the game.

“But in three matches he has shown his talent is a high level and he has shown he can play in our system. He has shown he wants to do that and he can do that.”
“[What’s the best thing about him?] That he scores goals of course!”

But they still needed to keep them out at the other end too.Enter De Gea. First he made an astonishing one-handed save at his near post from Jose Fonte’s header which had seemingly already passed him. Then after Juan Mata and Pelle had exchanged goals he was at it again, stretching full length to keep out Victor Wanyama's 20-yard strike late on which would have earned the home side a point many will suggest they deserved.

United have hit the target only six times in their last two Premier League fixtures but have netted from all six. It is quite the economy rate, but one wonders how much longer they can keep up such a rate.

You also have to wonder how long De Gea can keep delivering such heroics.Once more, United often looked shabby defensively, and once more their goalkeeper dug them out of a hole. It was something we saw constantly last season, and it looked like another solution would have to be found as the 24-year-old sat waiting in Spain with his fingers crossed on deadline day.

But, to the chagrin of the rest of the Premier League, he has come back for more and signed a four-year contract to boot. He said when putting pen to paper that Old Trafford was the perfect place for him to develop, and it is fair to suggest he will get more than enough opportunities to show his qualities behind a United side this lacking in structure. The weak underbelly remains, but De Gea does a great job of hiding it.

Football is such that not everyone has to play superbly for a team to earn a victory. Normally, a side looks for seven or eight players to turn in a good performance in order for them to gain the maximum points. United are getting by on two right now.
De Gea's quality is shining through at one end, while Martial’s clinical edge is paying instant dividends at the other.Louis van Gaal has plenty still to do, but the form of two star men is ensuring that work can continue from a position of strength.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona 4-1 Levante: Messi on target but misses penalty as Barca cruise

Second half goals from Marc Bartra, Neymar and Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to a 4-1 La Liga win over Levante at Camp Nou on Sunday, with the Argentine superstar's penalty miss not proving decisive.

The Catalans created numerous chances in the opening 45 minutes, yet sloppy finishing prevented them from opening the scoring.

They more than made up for it after the interval, though, as Bartra, Neymar and Messi all found the net within the space of 11 minutes to effectively put the match to bed.

Victor Casadesus did pull one back for Levante, but they were never able to really threaten Barca in the remainder of the game.

Messi, having already netted from 12 yards, blasted a second penalty over the crossbar in the 75th minute but did double his tally with a trademark finish right at the end.

The victory sees Barcelona leapfrog Real Madrid and three others to the top of the table again with a maximum 12 points from four games.

Barca did not need long to open up the Levante defence as Messi found Munir after a quick combination with Neymar, but the young attacker only hit the side-netting in the sixth minute.

Messi tried his luck himself just minutes later after a mazy dribble, but his first attempt was blocked by a defender, while his second lacked the power to trouble Ruben between the sticks.

The hosts continued to push for the opener as Neymar, Munir and Sandro were all guilty of wasting opportunities.

Barca were fortunate not to concede after they were hit on the counter-attack, with Nabil Ghilas losing his cool after racing past Javier Mascherano, blasting his shot wide from close range.

But the deadlock was finally broken in the 50th minute and, unsurprisingly, Messi was right at the heart of it as he sent in an inch-perfect cross for Bartra and the defender chested it down before tapping home from close range.

In celebration, Bartra held up the shirt of team-mate Rafinha, who suffered a serious knee injury in the midweek Champions League draw at Roma.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors after the opener and Neymar soon made it 2-0. Ruben failed to punch clear Dani Alves' cross and the former Santos man added his name to the scoresheet after his initial attempt was blocked by a defender.

All that was missing for Barca was a goal from Messi, but the 28-year-old righted that wrong at the hour-mark when Neymar earned a penalty after he was brought down by Angel Trujillo, allowing Messi to hammer home from 12 yards.

The away side refused to give up, however, and reduced the deficit in the 65th minute as Marc-Andre ter Stegen misjudged a cross from the left and Casadesus had little trouble finding the empty net.

After earning a second penalty, Messi was unable to hit the target this time but he did clinch his brace in the 90th minute with a crisp low finish into the bottom-left corner to cap a resounding success.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Napoli 5-0 Lazio: Higuain at the double in easy victory

Napoli brought an end to their poor run of form in the first weeks of the season on Sunday when they hammered Lazio 5-0 in the Stadio San Paolo.The Partenopei were on top from start to finish to record their first Serie A win of the campaign, having picked up just two points from their first three games.

While Gonzalo Higuain netted two and was a threat throughout, it was Lorenzo Insigne who was the star of the show. As well as his deadly dribbles and excellent passes, he set one up for Allan and scored another as he tormented the Lazio defence.Substitute Manolo Gabbiadini capped off a fine team display later with a goal to compound Lazio’s misery.

The visitors’ back line was too easily stretched, but they offered nothing in attack as Napoli ran rampant from the opening stages.

The home side almost took the lead just five minutes in when Higuain found his way behind the back three to meet an Insigne through ball, but his attempt was knocked wide by Marchetti.

A few minutes later, Insigne caused havoc down the left flank, and sent a cross into the Napoli box. It was then flicked back to Allan whose shot was deflected past the post.After some bright moves, Insigne almost carved out a chance for himself when he tore through the middle and unleashed a shot but sent it sailing over the bar.

Higuain made the inevitable breakthrough after a quarter of an hour when he beat Wesley Hoedt to the ball with his strength, taking it on and firing past Marchetti from outside the box.

Insigne continued to tear Lazio apart and he carved them open with a beautiful through ball for Allan, catching out the sluggish and poorly organised home defence. The midfielder collected it and blasted it home.

Moments later, Insigne was at it again. He collected the ball inside the box and was surrounded by three Lazio defender, but skipped past a challenge and hit a shot, only to see it diverted wide.

Insigne finally got his goal after just two minutes after the restart. Higuain stormed through Lazio and fired towards goal. Marchetti did well to save the Argentine’s effort, but Insigne was there to slot the rebound into the net.

Higuain added another goal for his side jut before the hour mark when he charged through and knocked it in for his second of the game.

The game slowed down afterwards, with Higuain and Insigne being withdrawn midway through the half. However, substitute Gabbiadini latched onto a nice Allan pass and knocked it home for the final goal of the game.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic almost grabbed a consolation goal for his side as he headed down a corner, only to see it strike the post.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Higuain: More to come from Napoli

Gonzalo Higuain says Napoli are capable of even more than they showed in Sunday's 5-0 win over Lazio.

The Argentine scored two in a solid performance from the Partenopei as they demolished the visitors to collect their first Serie A win of the season.

And the striker insists that there is more to come from his side and believes they can finish in the Champions League places this term.

"I try to do well in every competition, we don't always do well but today we had a great match," he told Mediaset Premium. "This is just the beginning and we still have to give our best.

"I am thinking about the future. I am here to take Napoli to the Champions League.

"Of course you have to aim high, we deserve to be in the Champions League.

"I am happy for us and for the fans, we have to rest because Wednesday we have the Coppa Italia game against Carpi."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Luis Enrique: Messi is still doesn't seem human to me

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique says Lionel Messi remains in a league of his own even after he missed a penalty in his side's 4-1 La Liga win over Levante at Camp Nou .

The Argentine set up his side's opening goal for Marc Bartra, before making it 3-0 from the spot after Neymar's strike.

However, he then missed a second spot-kick as he blasted his attempt over the bar, only to make up for it with another goal in the dying minutes of the game and Luis Enrique has nothing but praise for his star man.

"The fact that he missed a penalty does not make Messi any more human," Luis Enrique stated at a press conference.

"Messi still scored twice and set up another goal. He does not really seem human to me."

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was at fault for Levante's goal after previously conceding from 50 yards in the 1-1 Champions League draw with Roma on Wednesday, yet Luis Enrique continues to back the Germany international.

"Another goalkeeper might start having doubts about himself after such a moment," the Barca boss added.

"Not Ter Stegen, though. Confidence is flowing through his body at all times."

The coach decided to rest Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta as Munir and Sandro got the chance to prove their worth and he is confident both youngsters have a bright future ahead of them.

"I am pleased with the performance of Munir and Sandro," he said.

"They are important players for the future. They are still young and will get plenty of playing time. We need them and they will help the team forward."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Wenger calls for FA to take action over Costa incident

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called for the Football Association (FA) to review Gabriel's sending off against Chelsea and consider taking retrospective action against Diego Costa.

Gabriel's dismissal for kicking the Chelsea striker incensed the Arsenal manager, who said after the game that he felt Costa deliberately provokes angry reactions from his opponents.

Wenger told reporters: "Yes, of course [the FA should take action]. They do it for everybody.

"Especially I would like [referee] Mike Dean to look at the whole action that happened during the game and see if he stands for his decision.

"They [the match officials] can tell you and they know Diego Costa. He is not a newcomer. He was here for a year now."

Wenger questioned Dean's decision to leave Costa on the field, before laying some blame for the incident at the feet of his defender.

He said: "It is surprising. I tell you something, if I am a referee and I referee Diego Costa, I do not send somebody off quickly if he responds to it because you know he has been well provoked.

"We warn them not to get involved and I don't understand Gabriel because he usually looks a calm boy.

"You have to be above that. That's part of the game sometimes. To be professional, to me, is to deal with that.

"You can spit in my face and if it's in a game then I will not respond. I do not guarantee that outside of the game. What I mean is that the desire to win has to be above all of that."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Garcia hails 'incredible' Totti after 300 goal milestone

Roma coach Rudi Garcia was full of praise for Francesco Totti after his 300th goal for the club in Sunday's 2-2 Serie A draw with Sassuolo.

The 38-year-old scored his first Roma goal in 1994-95, two seasons after making his first-team debut, and has since scored in every season for the capital club.

Totti featured from the start against Sassuolo for only the second time this campaign and he proved Garcia right when he levelled the scoring in the 36th minute.

"Totti? 300 is an incredible number. We were waiting for it, but we'd all have preferred to celebrate a win," Garcia stated at a press conference.

"Mohamed Salah scored a great goal, like Totti.

"It's just a shame their goals weren't enough to get us the win."

Garcia was by no means satisfied with the final result, though, as he feels Roma made too many mistakes.

"We made some mistakes today. We got stretched at times and let them have too much space up front.

"There was more quality to our play after the break but unfortunately we weren't able to get the three points."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mata dedicates Southampton win to Shaw

Juan Mata has dedicated Manchester United's 3-2 Premier League win over Southampton to injured defender Luke Shaw.

The left-back faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after fracturing two bones in his right leg in United's Champions League defeat to PSV and Mata has stressed that the entire squad supports the left-back as he looks to recover before the end of the season.

Mata scored United's third goal at St Mary's Stadium to secure victory.

"We are all very sorry for Luke," the Spain playmaker told Sky Sports.

"Obviously what happened to him was very unlucky, but he knows we are all with him and this victory is for him."

Manchester United endured a difficult game against Southampton and Mata acknowledged that Louis van Gaal's men were second-best in the opening stages of the encounter.

"Southampton are a very difficult team, which changes the situation because in the first 30 minutes we played badly. They were the better team and created even more chances to score more goals but with the first goal we changed that," he added.

"In the second half we started to play well and Anthony Martial got his second goal. I scored the third goal for the team and from then we kept good possession and managed the game. Obviously in the Premier League you have to go to the last minute to get the points."

Mata's goal came from a rebound after Memphis Depay hit the post and he hailed the Dutchman's contribution.

"Memphis is a fantastic player for the team and we tried to keep the ball and find the space to shoot on goal,” Mata said.

"Luckily the ball came back to me, good finish and at that moment we played fantastic.

"It was a great move. The way we passed the ball was the way we want to play."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chiellini: Juventus desperate to catch Inter

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini has indicated that the reigning Serie A champions remain confident they can successfully defend their league title.

Massimiliano Allegri's men have struggled to get going in 2015-16 and Sunday's 2-0 win over Genoa was only their first league victory of the season.

Juventus have already fallen eight points behind leaders Inter in the Serie A table, but Chiellini is determined to keep fighting until the very end.

"This win will add to our growing confidence and we'll see where we are come May," Chiellini told the official Juventus website.

"Inter lead the way at the moment but the league doesn't finish in September.

"That tenacious streak has never left this side, it's still there for all to see.

"We'll take each game as it comes. After this week we have plenty of belief going forward for the rest of the campaign."

Juventus already recorded a 2-1 Champions League win over Manchester City in midweek and Chiellini was pleased to see them build on that win versus Genoa.

"Before Tuesday, we knew that a good start in the Champions League would get us going and rekindle that spark that was lacking in our first three league games," he said.

"We've come to what is a very difficult place to play against a typically fired-up Genoa side and left with an important three points. We read the game well and grew into it after the first goal."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho: I would sign every Arsenal player

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed Arsenal's squad should be champions and insisted he would sign every player in Arsene Wenger's squad.

Mourinho has developed a frosty relationship with Wenger over the years and he has now put the spotlight on the Frenchman's record, suggesting that Arsenal have the squad to be champions every season.

"I like every player from Arsenal," Mourinho told reporters.

"I tell you, if one of their players is a free agent and they don't want him there, I get every one. I like all of their players."

"I think Arsenal have the squad to be champions. And every season I feel that."

Wenger's men have not won the Premier League title since 2003-04, yet Mourinho believes they have what it takes to go all the way this campaign.

Arsenal currently sit fifth in the Premier League table with 10 points from six games, trailing leaders Manchester City by five points.

They were beaten 2-0 by Mourinho's Chelsea at the weekend, yet still hold a three-point advantage over the reigning champions.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho th welawakata mona kiyawanawada manda​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

ow machan koscielny eka red thamai.anika Gabriel ta red denawa nam etanath eta kalin Costa ta red denna one.
Costa oya wage seen walata patalachchia palaweni parath nemeine.mata mathkai last season eketh me wage seen una anik teams ekka.
anika mikal dean ne hitiyeth pora ref enna godak matches arsenal lata awasi decision denne

AniwaGabriel ta RED nam ita kalin RED wenna one Costa.

Ow bro matath mathakai last season 1keth oya wagema case giya Diego Costa nisa & Wenger kiyala thiyanawa Diego Costa gana action 1kak ganna kiyala.

Costa ge discipline nam anthimai bro​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Yesterday Southampton match 1ke MATA ge goal 1kata passes 45k

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Southampton Vs Manchester United 2-3 All Goals

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona vs Levante 4-1 All Goals

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Martial is an amazing talent - Schneiderlin

Morgan Schneiderlin has no doubt Anthony Martial will be a star for Manchester United after the in-form forward inspired a come-from-behind victory at St Mary's.

Martial scored twice as United prevailed 3-2 against Southampton on Sunday, the Frenchman taking his tally to three goals in two Premier League matches.

Fans and pundits baulked at the initial sum of £36million forked out by United for Martial on transfer-deadline day, but the composed 19-year-old has silenced the doubters from the word go.

Speaking to reporters after his return to former club Southampton, United midfielder Schneiderlin said: "It's like you see in the game – he is very calm, very relaxed. He is an amazing talent.

"He came to the Premier League and he scores and he wants to do his best.

"He's a very intelligent guy, very calm. Today he showed great composure and great skill and power. He will be a great player for the future of Manchester United."