..::Football III::..

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Mancini: Beating Juventus will make Inter's season

Roberto Mancini believes a good season awaits Inter if they manage to beat Juventus in Sunday's Derby d'Italia.

The San Siro side hold an eight-point lead over the reigning Serie A champions heading into this weekend's encounter.

And Mancini believes that victory against Juve - something they have not managed since November 2012 - will cement their spot in the title picture.

"It's the Derby d'Italia and I hope it will be a good match," Mancini told BBC . "If we're able to beat Juventus it will be a very good season for us.

"It's five years since Inter have beaten Juventus at San Siro and I hope our moment has arrived. We're second and they're in mid-table, so it's an important match for them too."

Inter had to settle for eighth place in the table last term, but Mancini has set his sights on Champions League qualification this term.

He added: "A club like Inter needs to be aiming for the top always. We've started the season well and we want to stay up there.

"Our objective is to stay in the top three but we don't know what is going to happen this season. We have to do our best."

 

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Memphis & Martial are Man Utd's biggest threats - Coleman

Everton defender Seamus Coleman has singled out Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial as Manchester United's main dangermen ahead of Saturday's encounter at Goodison Park.

Martial has been in impressive form since joining United from Monaco, while Depay has also shown flashes of brilliance following his move from PSV.

And Coleman feels Everton cannot afford to lose sight of the duo this weekend.

"They are obviously the new young crop of European talent. Martial has done brilliant in my opinion since he has come in and Depay has looked dangerous," the defender told Everton's official website.

"We have got to be on our guard to keep them out as well as Wayne Rooney, who as we know, has the ability to unlock a defence or score a goal at any time.

"But the squad has been confident going into the last couple of games. The lads are playing well and confidence is up. We are looking forward to Manchester United coming to Goodison."

Martial, 19, has netted four goals in seven appearances in all competitions for United so far, with Depay scoring four times in 13 outings.

 

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Coman and Costa far from matching Robben and Ribery - Guardiola

Pep Guardiola declared Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa have their work cut out to reach the level shown by Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery at Bayern Munich .

Coman arrived at the Allianz Arena on loan – with the option of a permanent transfer – from Juventus in August, while Costa was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in June.

The pair made impressive starts at Bayern, with the 19-year-old scoring twice in four Bundesliga appearances and the Brazilian supplying five top-flight assists in eight outings.

But Guardiola still feels the duo have a long way to go in order to match the quality of established wingers.

Robben and Ribery, who were part of Bayern's treble-winning side in 2012-13.

"Coman and Douglas Costa must eat a lot of soup if they are to reach the level of Arjen and Franck in this club," the Spaniard said on Friday.

Robben has made just three league appearances this season and Ribery is yet to feature, though they are nearing a return from the sidelines.

Guardiola also has to contend with injuries to Mario Gotze, Sebastian Rode, Medhi Benatia, Jan Kirchhoff and Holger Badstuber.

He believes that such issues could stop Bayern from challenging for trophies on all fronts.

"I only have 13 players and a lot of problems with injured players," Guardiola added.

"To win the title with 13 players is impossible.

"We need the players back, and then we can fight for all the titles."

 

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Griezmann: I am not Atletico Madrid's star

Antoine Griezmann has laughed off suggestions that Atletico Madrid are over-reliant on him.

The France international enjoyed a prolific debut campaign at the Vicente Calderon, netting 22 league goals following his move from the Basque country.
But after having netted five goals in nine appearances in all competitions, and setting up four others, the attacker remains humble irrespective of his fine form.

"My team-mates trust me and so does the coach," the 24-year-old was quoted as saying by AS.

"I know they expect goals and assists from me and that's what I try to do every game. But I'm not the star; the star is the team.

"I'm here to work every day and improve, to find my place. Hopefully I can give the team more and improve every aspect of my game.

"I've improved in every department, in my offensive and defensive play and also tactically. Now I'm a more complete player.

"This year I've started well so I hope the best is still to come, but I'm playing with more confidence and I feel more complete on the pitch."

 

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Monaco 1-1 Lyon: Rafael snatches point for Fournier's men

Rafael's first goal in Ligue 1 saw Lyon snatch a 1-1 draw away to 10-man Monaco on Friday.

Croatia youngster Mario Pasalic put the hosts ahead at the Stade Louis II but a straight red card awarded to Wallace for a tough tackle on Rachid Ghezzal gave Hubert Fournier's side hope.

And former Manchester United defender Rafael salvaged a result, stabbing home the equaliser with just six minutes left to play to keep Lyon two points above Monaco in the table.

Elderson Echiejile brought a good save out of Anthony Lopes early on, but Pasalic put Monaco ahead with six minutes of the first half remaining, powering a header into the unguarded net after Lopes had failed to punch Thomas Lemar's cross clear.

Monaco were good value for their lead and felt they should have had a penalty when Fabinho went down under pressure from Samuel Umtiti, before Lopes saved superbly to keep out Lemar's free-kick.

Leonardo Jardim's side lost Wallace to a red card on 66 minutes after an over-zealous challenge on Ghezzal and, though Lyon began to pile on the pressure, the hosts looked likely to hand on for maximum points.

But Rafael proved the unlikely hero for the visitors, poking the ball home from point-blank range after Ghezzal kept the ball alive following Umtiti's shot.
Lyon are now seven points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain prior to their trip to face Bastia on Saturday.

 

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Mainz 0-2 Dortmund: Reus and Mkhitaryan score on Tuchel return

Marco Reus ended his Bundesliga goal drought before missing a penalty as Borussia Dortmund beat Thomas Tuchel's former club Mainz 2-0 at the Coface Arena on Friday.

Reus netted for the first time in the league since August to put the visitors ahead in the first half but missed the chance to double the lead when he saw his penalty saved on 47 minutes.Roman Burki twice denied Yoshinori Muto from close range but Mainz rarely looked like finding an equaliser in a largely scrappy encounter.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan put the result beyond doubt eight minutes from time, sloppy play in the Mainz defence allowing the Armenian in to score as it had for Reus' opener.

Victory cements Dortmund in second place in the Bundesliga, as well as moving them back to within four points of league leaders Bayern Munich ahead of the champions' trip to Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Muto could only flick straight at Burki when given a glorious early chance and only a well-timed sliding challenge from Niko Bungert denied Mkhitaryan a clear sight of goal on the counter-attack.Reus was denied by Loris Karius after some good link-up with Shinji Kagawa, but the Germany international was gifted the opening goal on 18 minutes.

Mkhitaryan found Aubameyang on the edge of the area after pouncing on Bungert's slack pass out of defence and the Gabon striker fed Reus, who fired low left-footed past Karius.

Dortmund's intense attacking continued to force Mainz mistakes and Mkhitaryan fired narrowly over from 20 yards after Reus had pinched possession from Daniel Brosinski.

Burki got a fingertip to a Jairo Samperio free-kick which clipped the crossbar, but Mainz struggled to create many meaningful openings despite some sustained pressure before the break.

Mainz were furious when the referee pointed to the spot after Bungert brought down Aubameyang just outside the area shortly after the interval, but Karius made a smart save to his right from Reus' penalty.

Mats Hummels had to be bailed out by Burki's quick reactions after Muto turned away from him inside the area and Kagawa clipped a shot beyond the far post when played through by Matthias Ginter as the game opened up.Dortmund began to drop deeper and look to exploit Mainz on the break and both Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang came close with efforts from the edge of the box from quick counters.

And the attacking duo combined to secure the points in the 82nd minute, with Aubameyang capitalising on another poor defensive pass - this time from Brosinski - before laying the ball off to Mkhitaryan, who calmly rounded Karius before slotting home.

Park-Joo ho fired straight at Karius from a tight angle on another break forward but Dortmund saw out the victory in comfortable fashion.

 

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Aduriz signs new Athletic Bilbao deal

Aritz Aduriz has signed a new deal with Athletic Bilbao that will keep him with the club until the end of the 2016-17 season.

The 34-year-old's contract was due to expire at the end of the campaign, but the club have confirmed he will now remain at San Mames for another year.

Aduriz has led the way in the club's scoring charts in La Liga for the past three seasons, scoring 48 times in 98 appearances.

The striker has continued that fine form this term, totalling four strikes from seven top-flight appearances.

Aduriz scored four times in Athletic's 5-1 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup in August.

 

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Mourinho: I won't be sacked even if Chelsea finish in mid-table

Jose Mourinho is confident he will not be sacked as manager of Chelsea even if the champions finish the season in mid-table.

The Blues have made a poor start to the campaign, taking just eight points from their opening eight matches, and sit in 16th place in the Premier League standings.

Mourinho has come under pressure in recent weeks, with parallels drawn between the current situation and the 2006-07 campaign, when Mourinho was dismissed in September.

But the Portuguese believes that Roman Abramovich's attitude has changed since then and has faith that he will remain in charge even if Chelsea finish the season in mid-table.

"It’s different for many reasons. I don’t think it’s different just now, but since the moment I came back in 2013. When I had my first conversation with the owner and board in 2013.

“I met the owner before dinner so, when I left [after the Southampton defeat two weeks ago], I knew [there was no threat of the sack],” Mourinho said.

“But, even before that, I knew what brought me here. I know the conversation we had two years ago. I know what made me sign a new contract, and the reasons the owner and board decided to give me a new contract over the summer. They didn’t have to. I still had two years to run on the previous deal, so they didn’t have to give me a new contract. So what I know is what I know from them.

“Obviously, after a bad result – and that was not the first bad result of the season – I was far from happy. Far from it. But I never felt [concerned] about my future."

"For me the important thing is the owner and the board’s message to myself and, before the statement came out, I’d had the feedback from the owner and the board. So the statement [that Chelsea released in support of Mourinho] was not something new for me. That support I’d got before.

"Why did the statement come out? Maybe to stop the rumour that I could be on my way. The support to myself was not made by the statement, but by a normal conversation that we’ve had many times. This time it was to support and to make me completely aware of the club’s intentions.”

Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday looking to climb up the table against Tim Sherwood's strugglers.

Branislav Ivanovic is set to miss out for the Blues, but Diego Costa is available again after his three-game suspension.

Costa was left out of Spain's squad for their final two Euro 2016 qualifiers, and recently conceded that he had turned up to pre-season training "slightly overweight" at the start of the summer.

"He's an honest guy, and a guy that says that is not, for sure, the leader of any ‘mutiny’,” said Mourinho. “He’s the kind of guy who assumes his own responsibility.

“His weight was a consequence of a bad approach, but also of a difficult last third of the season: suspension; injury; re-injury; not playing; disappointment; not participating in the best period of the season, when you become champions; go on holiday; go to Brazil. The food is much better than here. For a Brazilian, the food in Brazil is divine.

"He stayed there at home and came back in bad condition. He could have used many excuses for our bad moment, but he chose himself and his condition as one of the factors. So respect.”

Chelsea appealed against the £50,000 fine and suspended one-match stadium ban that was handed to Mourinho by the Football Association following his post-match comments after the loss to Southampton.

Mourinho, who had suggested that referees were "afraid" to give decision in his side's favour, confirmed that it was his choice to contest the charge.

"I want to appeal because I disagree totally, and not just partially, but totally with the decision,” he said. “It’s obviously my decision, but I don’t want to say anything else. Other than I disagree totally.”

 

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Moreno: Klopp's style perfect for me

Liverpool full-back Alberto Moreno is confident he will flourish under Jurgen Klopp as he feels the German's style of play suits him perfectly.

Klopp is renowned for his desire to play high-intensity football, and Moreno is already enjoying working for the former Borussia Dortmund boss.

"He has said to us that he wants an intense team - a team in which everybody has to run. He doesn't want individualism and I like this way of thinking," the Spaniard told Liverpool's official website.

"He wants us working together, he wants us to be a team all of the time, and I like this idea. I think it matches my way of playing. I am always aggressive, energetic and give my all, so it matches Klopp's style of playing.

"Above all, we need to keep working - to keep working hard to make a place for myself in the team and keep working under his orders."

Klopp previously enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Dortmund and Moreno is confident he can do equally well at Anfield.

He added: "I knew he was very intense, very smart and someone who analyses the opponent very well. That has been reflected in what Borussia Dortmund have achieved, which has been incredible. It caught the attention of Europe.

"He had so many great players but you need a good coach to manage those players. Klopp did it very well during the time he was there and I hope he will do as well here as he did in Dortmund."

 

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Pellegrini warns Kompany may be dropped

Vincent Kompany may be dropped from Manchester City's starting XI despite being fit for Saturday's clash against Bournemouth, according to manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Pellegrini is not happy with the City skipper after he played for Belgium in their Euro 2016 qualifier win over Israel on Tuesday.

The City boss said Kompany was advised not to play in order to continue his rehabilitation from a calf injury he sustained a month ago.

"I was not pleased because we sent Vincent with a medical report that he was not able to play but as the manager of Belgium says, he can do what he wants in the international break," Pellegrini said.

"He wanted to use the player and he used him. For me, if a player does not play the last three games for his club, they cannot play for their national squad but there are also rules.

"It is not my duty to do it and I think in some days, club will protest about that."

Pellegrini could not guarantee Kompany would play against Bournemouth, admitting the skipper may be dropped.

"There is not a problem with Vincent," he said. "I think that after one month without playing, it was important for Vincent to work for at least one week completely at high intensity.

"He couldn't do it because he played for Belgium, so he had to recover here Wednesday and Thursday.

"We will see in the future when he can return to his position."

 

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Klopp will win Premier League with Liverpool, says Hummels

Jurgen Klopp will win the Premier League title with Liverpool, according to Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels.

Liverpool haven't been crowned champions since 1990, but the Germany international expects his former boss to lead the Reds to their 19th league title following his arrival at Anfield.

Klopp lifted two Bundesliga titles and finished as runner-up in the 2012-13 Champions League final during his seven year spell in charge of BVB and Hummels predicts further success in England.

“I am convinced Klopp can win the league at Liverpool," he said. “He has shown he doesn’t need the biggest transfer budget or the biggest name to win the biggest trophies."

“Of course there are teams in England that have no financial restrictions when it comes to buying players, but he showed at Dortmund that he has the intelligence to combat that. Perhaps not immediately, but in time I am sure that he can.

“He is a winner, I know him. His long term goal won’t just be to qualify for the Champions League, and settle for that.

“It will be to challenge Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Arsenal for the title, and he is absolutely capable of doing that.”

 

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Wenger: Walcott form vindicates no big-name signing

Theo Walcott's form so far this season has vindicated the decision not to sign a big-name striker in the transfer window, according to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners were unable to sign reported targets Karim Benzema and Edinson Cavani in the off-season, leaving Walcott and Olivier Giroud vying for the role of first-choice centre-forward.

And Wenger believes that Walcott's form this season - which has seen the England international net two Premier League goals - has justified his decision not to spend big.

"At the start of the season, I faced questions from everybody: 'why don't you buy a central striker?' So sometimes you have to have strong beliefs and show the players as well that you believe in them in that position," he said.

"I always said that he will play through the middle. It took him a while to come back after his knee injury, I must say.

"But now in the last few games, he always looks dangerous in this position.

"The quality of his movement is outstanding and he has found his finishing again. Now against Man United he has also found his commitment back.

"What you want from Theo is the commitment he showed against Man United in the challenges. If he adds that to his game then he will be difficult to stop."

Walcott has scored seven goals for club and country so far this season and Wenger has backed him to continue finding the back of the net.

"Thierry Henry arrived here and he had not scored goals before and scored plenty here," Wenger added.

"There are very few examples of players who left us and scored more elsewhere than here. We know how to develop strikers quite well.

"You score goals because you get in the right positions and you work on the field. Let's not forget how our strikers developed well here."

 

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Ranieri: Leicester would only sell Vardy for mega money

Claudio Ranieri has warned that it would take "a lot" of money to prise Jamie Vardy away from Leicester City.

Vardy has been a revelation since Leicester were promoted to the top flight last season, and the England international has continued his good form this term with seven goals to top the Premier League goalscoring charts.

The 28-year-old's exploits have alerted rival clubs, but Leicester have no plans to part ways with the former Fleetwood Town forward.

When asked how much Vardy would cost ahead of Leicester's trip to Southampton on Saturday, Ranieri said: "If I am the owner, a lot, a lot, a lot. Do you want Jamie? Give me a lot of money.

"We want to keep him and we want to keep hold of all our best players but if there are some teams who want to spend money 'OK', we'll re-start and we'll see another good player. At this moment we'll enjoy with Jamie.

"Our project is very, very good. I understand players want to achieve something early.

"I think for Jamie, not only for Jamie but all of the players, it's important to do what they feel, what their heart, soul and brain says.

"I can say 'you stay here' or 'you go' - no. I want only happy players, that is my philosophy. I don't want to keep somebody who doesn't want to stay. Jamie is so happy."

 

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Van Gaal challenges Rooney to end Everton drought

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has challenged Wayne Rooney to end his goal drought against Everton on Saturday.

The England captain has failed to score at Goodison Park since 2007 and has only one goal in the Premier League so far this season, which came on the opening day against Tottenham in August.

Rooney is set to start on Saturday after recovering from an ankle problem and Van Gaal wants his captain to improve his tally against his former club.

"So maybe against Everton he can change but his average is not so good [against them]. So it's time that he changed that pattern," he said.

"I don't know [why his record is poor]. That you have to ask Wayne but I'm a manager who analyses opponents and gives him advice as to how we can disorganise Everton's defence and then maybe he can score.

"That is what I'm doing, not only for Wayne but all the players, especially from the view of the team tactics rather than the individual tactics."

Van Gaal refused to criticise Rooney's all-round form this season despite the 29-year-old adding just one assist to his solitary Premier League goal so far.

"You cannot answer that because he's part of the team," he said. "He's scored for us in the Champions League. So for me it is not so important who is scoring. We have scored a lot of goals.

"In the beginning your criticism was we don't score goals but now we've scored a lot of goals and you're picking up on an individual player and I don't like that.

"He's our captain so that's very important because his influence is bigger than every other player in our group. He's a very important player for me, his colleagues, everybody.

"Have we created enough chances? Yes, I think so. I think we have chances to score in every game. Also against Arsenal, after the first 20 minutes we have created a lot of chances. And also after [going behind] 3-0. So I think the spirit in the team is very good.

"It's not a given in every team that you can create a lot of chances at 3-0 down and we did it, so that's the positive thing. But of course it's very important that out of your chances you score and against Arsenal we didn't."

 

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Rooney ge peformance anthimai pahugiya tikemaform 1kata awoth hodai danwath.​

 

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Mancini tips Chelsea to finish in the top four

Chelsea can still make the top four and qualify for the Champions League, according to Inter coach Roberto Mancini.

The Premier League champions have endured a horrendous start to their title defence and are already 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City after eight games.

Manager Jose Mourinho has come under fire for Chelsea's poor start, but Mancini believes the Londoners will come good.

"I think Chelsea are like [Serie A champions] Juventus [who are sitting in the bottom half of the table]," Mancini said.

"They had problems at the start of the season, but, for me, they will come up in two or three months.

"They have a good team and a good manager. I don't think they will have a problem to get a Champions League position."Mourinho's side return to Premier League action on Saturday when they welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge.

 

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Arsenal star Bellerin excited by 'special' Watford return

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin says it will be a "special moment" to return to Watford on Saturday for the first time since his loan spell at Vicarage Road.

Bellerin spent six weeks on loan with Watford in the Championship during the 2013-14 season and will face the Hornets on Saturday after establishing himself as Arsenal's first-choice right-back in the last year.

"It will be such a special moment for me," Bellerin told Goal. "It was a short loan but I met a lot of people and players and made some friends.

"It will be great to hopefully play against them and hopefully they can stay in the Premier League.

"I think to play first-team football at such a young age is really important, it's something you need to have before you play for the Arsenal first-team.

"I'm really thankful that Gianfranco [Zola] gave me that opportunity and I think it was a really positive experience. I learned a lot."

Bellerin, 20, has become a regular fixture in the Spain U21 side over the last year.

However, the Spaniard, who joined Arsenal from Barcelona at the age of 16, is targeting a place in the full squad for the tournament in France next summer and is delighted with his progress since forcing his way into the Gunners' team.

"The aim is definitely to be in the squad for Euro 2016," Bellerin added.

"For me, my first season was a big one and the fact we got the FA Cup was a big thing, to feel and taste what it's like to win a trophy makes you want it more.

"It's definitely been a hard journey, one with lots of ups and downs. Moving to London, for example, was a really hard thing for me, but I had a lot of support from family, friends and the club and I'm really happy that I made that step and came here.

"Arsenal is a club that likes to bring through young players, that's something that always gets the fans excited, to see someone from home come and play for the first-team. I think that's something that every team should do. The fact that Arsenal does it a lot and that I'm one of them, I'm really proud."

 

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Barclays Premier Legaue 2015.10.17 Fixtures

Barclays Premier Legaue 2015.10.17 Fixtures

Tottenham Vs Liverpool

Chelsea Vs Aston Villa

Crystal Palace Vs West Ham

Everton Vs Manchester United

Manchester City Vs Bournemouth

Southampton Vs Leicester City

WBA Vs Sunderland

Watford Vs Arsenal

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Ada Everton match 1kath lesi wena 1kak naha

Good luck Manchester Unitedkohomahari win karamu

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LA Liga 2015.10.17 Fixtures

LA Liga 2015.10.17 Fixtures

Real Madrid Vs Levante

Eibar Vs Sevilla

Barcelona Vs Rayo Vellecano

Valencia Vs Malaga

Real Betis Vs Espanyol​