..::Football III::..

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Del Bosque eyes Diego Costa Spain call-up

Vicente del Bosque has admitted he is hoping Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa will decide to play for Spain rather than Brazil.

With la Roja's coach set to announce his squad for October's round of World Cup 2014 qualifiers against Belarus and Georgia on Friday, all eyes are on the in-form striker as he mulls over his international future.

The 24-year-old has hit the back of the net eight times in just seven games this season, including a crucial winner in his side's 1-0 win over rivals Real Madrid on Saturday, but is yet to represent the Selecao, meaning he remains eligible to play for Spain having recently acquired citizenship.

“I can’t tell you anything yet," Del Bosque told Jugones. "We're seeing if he can play for Spain, it's in process. That’s the process we’re in at the moment. The squad announcement is on Friday. We'll see.”

Should Costa be called up for Spain, his inclusion could cast doubt over the selection of Fernando Torres or David Villa, with both players yet to find their top goalscoring form so far this term.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Costa hodai but discipline hadaganna wenawa

 

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Gerrard: I feared Suarez Liverpool exit

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted he feared the club would lose Luis Suarez this summer, adding that he did everything in his power to convince the striker to stay.

Suarez was linked with a big-money move away from Anfield in recent months, with Arsenal and Real Madrid both touted as possible destinations for the Uruguay international.

And while Liverpool ultimately refused to sell their star striker, Gerrard feared he would never see the former Ajax man play for the Reds again.

He told The Mirror: "Every day, I was waking up hoping nothing would happen and he would still be here.

"Nobody tried harder than me to keep him at Anfield and he knows exactly what I think of him.

"When you have a player as good as Luis, you know the big clubs are going to want him."

The 26-year old has returned to the side after serving a 10-match suspension and he made an instant impact in the 3-1 victory against Sunderland on Sunday, scoring two goals.

Gerrard believes Suarez looked hungrier than ever and deserves credit for the way he has bounced back from a difficult summer.

"A lot of players in his position might have come back and spat the dummy out and not tried," said Gerrard.

Liverpool are currently second in the Premier League and face Crystal Palace this weekend, with Suarez set to make his Anfield return.

 

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Moyes: Shakhtar will be a tough game for United

Manchester United manager David Moyes has warned his side are in for a tough night when they face Shakhtar Donetsk in Wednesday's Champions League group game.

The Red Devils travel to Ukraine on the back of two consecutive Premier League defeats following West Brom’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford on Saturday – their worst start to a campaign for 24 years.

Despite winning their first Group A game 4-2 against Bayer Leverkusen, Moyes believes qualification will be harder than expected and says he will field a very competitive side at the Donbass Arena.

"I think we need to go there with a strong team. Going to Ukraine is tough because Donetsk have a good record," Moyes told The Mirror.

"[The Champions League] has become a harder competition to win with the spending power of some of the big teams in other countries.

"The competition has become much more open than it was in years gone by. It’s been hard for Manchester United as well and progress is not something that is guaranteed."

United failed to progress from their group two seasons ago, and Moyes wants to ensure nothing is taken for granted this time round.

 

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Ramos: Players behind Ancelotti

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has dismissed reports of dressing-room unrest at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It has been reported that an emergency team meeting was called the morning after Saturday's disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Atletico Madrid - los Blancos' first loss to their city rivals in la Liga since 1999.

However, Ramos insists that there is no truth in speculation that the club's players are unhappy with the style of play new coach Carlo Ancelotti is trying to implement.

"The team is more united than ever," the Spain international told reporters on Tuesday. "There’s a great atmosphere, we’re very happy with the coach and the results will come.

"Let nobody be in any doubt that we’re going to be in there fighting for the three trophies."

The 27-year old Spaniard admits that there is concern about Madrid's stuttering form of late, but says everyone at the club is "pulling in the same direction".

"Nowadays, you don't win just by being Real Madrid and we have to work hard and demand the best from ourselves," he reasoned.

“I hope we can find out what the issue is quickly, because the results were good in pre-season under the coach’s system.

"Now is when we have to be more together than ever. It’s true that we’re not playing well, but we’ll be there because it’s our obligation and we have a great team."

After a disappointing domestic result, which has seen them fall five points behind Atletico and Barcelona, Madrid must now turn their attention to the Champions League and Wednesday's meeting with Copenhagen.

 

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Hinteregger confirms Manchester United interest

Red Bull Salzburg defender Martin Hinteregger has revealed Manchester United are interested in signing him.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Liverpool mooted as potential destinations, and the Austrian has confirmed that the Red Devils are ready to make a move for his services.

And while Hinteregger conceded he would be interested in moving to a top club, he will consider the amount of potential playing time he will likely get before deciding whether to leave.

“There is interest from Manchester United and a top Italian club,” he told the Austria Press Agency.

“It is a big honour, I would not have expected something like this so fast.

“Originally it was always my goal to stay in the Red Bull [Salzburg] family forever and one day play for Leipzig. But if a [club the] calibre like this is interested, that makes you think.

“In two or three days there will be a meeting with my manager Frank Schreier. We have to evaluate whether a move makes sense and whether I would have the perspective to play regularly.

“I am not a dreamer and I know that these clubs have many interesting players who have no space to play.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ahhh kawda meh?

 

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Pellegrini eyes victory over Bayern


Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is determined to attack Champions League holders Bayern Munich as he eyes all three points when the two sides meet on Wednesday.

Both clubs won their opening Group D games, but Pellegrini saw his side slump to a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday after twice leading the match.
And the 60-year-old is aware of the importance of bouncing back from that disappointment with a strong performance against the Bavarians.

Pellegrini told reporters: "I always expect a big response from the players. We have started very well in this Champions League and it's very important to continue.

"The game we are going to play at home is against the most difficult team in the group. We need a high level of performance and I'm sure we'll see a very good game.

"It was very important to win the first game against Viktoria Plzen. The second thing is to try and win points at home against a very strong team. We are in a very good moment, so we hope we can take the three points.

"We are not thinking of a draw. Of course, if we can't win, then it's better to draw than to lose but we aren't going to go on the pitch thinking of a draw. We will go from the first minute to win the three points.

"I think that tomorrow we need to play 90 minutes in the best way, knowing that every mistake we can lead to conceding a goal. It's very important we concentrate for the whole 90 minutes."

Goal exclusively revealed that David Silva and Sergio Aguero had been passed fit to face Bayern, and Pellegrini confirmed that the Spain international was in line to feature on Wednesday: "David is in the squad list. He can play at least some minutes."

 

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Arsenal 2-0 Napoli: Ozil opens account for comfortable Gunners

Mesut Ozil scored his first goal for Arsenal as an early onslaught saw off a surprisingly sloppy Napoli at the Emirates Stadium.

In a pulsating start, he German caressed home an Aaron Ramsey cross on eight minutes, having been found unmarked by the Welshman on the edge of the penalty area.

Ozil then capitalised on some slack Napoli defending from their own throw-in by surging to the byeline and squaring for Olivier Giroud to double the Gunners' lead, and the advantage proved

Arsene Wenger – celebrating 17 years in charge of Arsenal - welcomed back Rosicky from a thigh injury to replace Serge Gnabry, while Mikel Arteta came in as Jack Wilshere was rested.

Gonzalo Higuain - who was a transfer-window target for Wenger's side - was unable to shake off a calf injury in time to feature for Napoli.

Arsenal were at their free-flowing best right from the off and were soon two goals ahead.

The first came in just the eighth minute when Ramsey stormed down the right-hand side and cut back for Ozil on the edge of the box and the German hit a sublime first-time shot that nestled in the corner.

And the home fans celebrated a second after quarter of an hour. Giroud flicked to Ozil in the box and he stormed to the byline before laying back for the Frenchman to tap home from close range.

Napoli almost responded when Miguel Britos made a late run into the box from a Lorenzo Insigne corner and headed wide when unmarked.

Arsenal continued to dominate with Ozil and Ramsey producing a midfield masterclass. The latter twice saw shots blocked in the area by Raul Albiol.

The home side's lead was almost extended immediately after the restart when Giroud raced clear on the right and fed into the path of Rosicky six yards from goal, but he failed to make good contact when under pressure from Britos.

Napoli tried to come back into the contest and Insigne twice saw efforts go just wide, while Gokhan Inler blazed harmlessly over with 20 minutes remaining.

Laurent Koscielny then had a wonderful opportunity to add a third when he met Arteta's flick but from point-blank range he fired straight at Pepe Reina.

But Koscielny's miss made no difference to the final score as Arsenal moved to the top of the group. Their next Champions League fixture is at home to Borussia Dortmund on October 22.

 

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Zenit 0-0 Austria Vienna: Witsel off as hosts frozen out

Zenit St Petersburg suffered a setback in their quest to qualify from Champions League Group G as they were held to a 0-0 draw in Russia by Austria Vienna.

Hulk came closest to breaking the deadlock after seeing his low drive cannon off the post before Axel Witsel was shown a contentious red card in the 44th minute at the Stadion Petrovskij after Zenit had dominated the first half.

Witsel's dismissal allowed Vienna to have more of the ball in the second period and Marin Leovac had a goal ruled out with the goalkeeper adjudged to have been fouled in the build-up.

Luciano Spalletti named Andrey Arshavin among the Zenit substitutes after the former Arsenal forward featured in Saturday's 4-2 triumph over Spartak Moscow.

Zenit dominated the opening exchanges with Hulk particularly threatening.

The Brazil international controlled a throw-in in the 12th minute before turning sharply and flashing a first-time effort against the post.

And he continued to give the away side problems when he cut in from the left-hand side of the box and fired across goal to force Heinz Lindner into a smart save.

Vienna responded by nearly sneaking ahead on the 30-minute mark. Tomas Simkovic floated a corner to the back post and James Holland put a free header wide.

Aleksandr Kerzhakov then missed a golden opportunity for Zenit. In a two-on-two situation, Hulk drove at the defence and slipped a through ball to the Russia international who sliced his left-foot effort wide.

However, the visitors had a chance of their own as the Zenit defence retreated shortly after, allowing Philipp Hosiner to drag a 20-yard effort wide of the post.

The talking point of the half arrived on the stroke of half-time when Witsel was shown a controversial red card for a sliding tackle on Mader that looked to have caught his ankle.

Vienna looked to make the most of the extra man advantage after the break as Leovac had a goal ruled out in the 52nd minute following Royer's collision with goalkeeper Yuri Lodigin.

Nenad Bjelica's side continued to press and substitute Thomas Murg should have done better on the hour mark when he blazed over from the edge of the box.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hulk once more came close for Zenit, but his powerful free kick flew narrowly wide of the target.

Vienna nearly claimed a dramatic win late on when Hosiner headed Simkovic's cross wide, but the result leaves both sides still searching for their first win in this season's competition.

 

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Ajax 1-1 AC Milan: Dutch denied at the death by Balotelli

Ajax brought a run of three successive defeats in the Champions League to an end as they drew 1-1 with AC Milan in Amsterdam.

The Eredivisie side dominated large parts of the Group H encounter and were unlucky not to have taken all three points after scoring in the 90th minute through Stefano Denswil, but a stoppage-time penalty from Mario Balotelli earned the visitors a point.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Viktor Fischer both went close for the hosts early but they failed to stretch Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal.

Both teams came into the clash off the back of league victories at the weekend, but there were still changes from those games.

Daley Blind and Sigthorsson came in for the hosts, while Massimiliano Allegri made three changes, with Balotelli, Ignazio Abate and Riccardo Montolivo all starting.

Frank de Boer's side began the game in the ascendancy as they controlled possession and went closest to opening the scoring.

Sigthorsson was the first to test Abbiati in the fifth minute after receiving a pass from Lerin Duarte, the Iceland international fired low towards the bottom corner but the goalkeeper saved well with his legs.

Milan were struggling to get hold of the ball and they were let off again 13 minutes later as Fischer sent a drive just wide of Abbiati's left-hand post.

The Dane received the ball from Blind after neat work from the full-back, but his effort never worried the Milan goal.

Niklas Moisander should have opened the scoring with nine minutes of the half remaining, but he fired over the bar after Milan had failed to clear a corner properly.

Montolivo had the first chance after the break but he could not break the deadlock as he forced Cillessen into his first save of the match. The midfielder met a low pull-back from Kevin Constant but his shot was punched away by the Dutch goalkeeper.

Ajax were far from out of the game though and Abbiati was again called into action just before the hour. Sigthorsson got himself in front of Abate to meet a Fischer cross but he headed straight at Abbiati, who did not have to move to make the save.

Balotelli had been anonymous in attack for the visitors but he burst into life in the 63rd minute as he saw a curling crash against the crossbar.

The striker cut inside Moisander on the left-hand side of the penalty area and fired a shot that looked destined for the top corner, but Cillessen got his fingertips to it and turned it onto the bar.

Both sides pushed for a late winner and the hosts thought they had one when Denswil evaded the Milan defenders to power a header home from six yards out.

However, Balotelli was brought down inside the penalty area in stoppage time by Mike van der Hoorn and the striker made no mistake from the spot, sending Cillessen the wrong way, to seal a point.

 

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Celtic 0-1 Barcelona: Fabregas fires to down 10-man hosts

A second-half header from Cesc Fabregas gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory in a fiery Champions League clash against 10-man Celtic on Tuesday.

Fabregas found the net 14 minutes from time in the Group H encounter as the Liga champions took advantage after Scott Brown had been sent off in controversial circumstances just before the hour mark.

Celtic - who overcame Barcelona 2-1 in last season's competition - created the better chances for much of the encounter, but they were left to rue Brown's dismissal, which came following a clash with Neymar.

They were ultimately made to pay as former Arsenal man Fabregas struck to end their hopes of a repeat of last year's heroics.

Celtic made just one change to the side that beat Kilmarnock 5-2 at the weekend, midfielder Mikael Lustig coming in for Teemu Pukki.

The visitors, meanwhile, had to cope without talisman Lionel Messi, who missed out due to a hamstring injury, with Neymar replacing him at the head of the attack. Xavi came back into the side in place of Alexis Sanchez.

Barcelona dictated possession in the early stages, but it was Celtic who created the game's first chance, Georgios Samaras forcing a near-post save from Victor Valdes after being played through by Anthony Stokes.

Despite their dominance, it took Barca 16 minutes to craft their first opportunity as Neymar fired wide from range.

Andres Iniesta and Adriano then both saw chances go begging, although Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster still had little to do in the first half as Gerardo Martino's men laboured to try and find a way through.

However, the Catalan club went close to taking the lead five minutes before the break when Neymar turned Dani Alves’ right-wing cross narrowly wide of the post.

The hosts made the better start to the second half as they pushed to try and take an unlikely lead, but their hopes were dealt a huge blow when midfielder Brown was sent off in the 59th minute for appearing to kick Neymar in the back after the 28-year-old had brought down the Brazilian following his surging run into the Celtic half.

Barcelona unsurprisingly seized control once again from there as they looked to make their numerical advantage count.

Still, Celtic defended resolutely, with Barca reduced to speculative efforts from Marc Bartra and Fabregas.

Neil Lennon's men did look dangerous on the break despite Brown's dismissal and James Forrest forced a fine diving save from Valdes after 73 minutes before Charlie Mulgrew headed wide from the resulting corner.

But the hosts’ strong resistance was finally broken by a superb Barcelona counter-attack a few moments later as Fabregas met substitute Alexis' pin-point cross with an excellent header that looped beyond Forster and into the net.

Forster produced a fine double save to deny Neymar and Alexis in quick succession, before again preventing Neymar from adding a second, as one proved to be enough for Martino's men.

 

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Porto 1-2 Atletico Madrid: Arda Turan strikes late Atleti winner

Arda Turan’s late winner saw Atletico Madrid come from a goal behind to end FC Porto's eight-match unbeaten run at home in the UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 win on Tuesday.

The Portuguese champions found it difficult to get through their visitors’ defence for much of the evening, but Jackson Martinez did gave them a 16th-minute lead with an excellent header.

Chelsea were the last side to defeat Porto at Estadio Dragao in November 2009 and that run came to an end in the second half thanks to Diego Godin and Turan.

Atletico followed up their first league victory over Real Madrid since 1999 at the weekend and Diego Simeone unsurprisingly made few changes.

Koke and the suspended Diego Costa came out of the starting XI, with Raul Garcia and Leo Baptistao taking their respective places.

The first 15 minutes saw Porto struggle to break Atletico down in open play, but all Paulo Fonseca’s side needed was a free-kick, and in the 16th minute they got their breakthrough.

Tiago fouled Josue on the left and the 23-year-old curled an inviting delivery into the area which Martinez knocked past Thibaut Courtois with a diving header, holding off Godin in the process.

Atletico's best opportunity of the half came in the final five minutes when Porto goalkeeper Helton flapped at Gabi's corner and pushed the ball onto the crossbar.

Simeone’s team looked significantly more motivated at the beginning of the second period and eight minutes in Luis Filipe narrowly missed the target with a shot from 30 yards.

After their encouraging start, Atletico equalised in the 58th minute as Godin atoned for his role in Martinez’s opener.

The Uruguayan rose highest to nod Gabi’s free kick past Helton, who needlessly rushed out in an attempt to punch the initial delivery away.

A few seconds after replacing Lucho Gonzalez, Juan Fernando Quintero fired a free-kick just past Courtois’ left-hand post as Fonseca looked to make his side more dynamic in attack.

Helton denied Garcia in the 76th minute, but he could not nothing to prevent Turan with just four minutes of normal time remaining.

A neat free kick routine saw Gabi pass through the Porto wall and the Turkey international smashed his effort past Helton from close range, completing Atletico's first away win against Portuguese opposition in eight attempts.

 

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Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Olympique de Marseille: Lewandowski leads BVB to comfortable success

Borussia Dortmund picked up their first points of this season's Champions League courtesy of a 3-0 win over Olympique de Marseille on Tuesday.

Robert Lewandowski, who netted a double, and Marco Reus were the men on target as the hosts - beaten finalists last term - got their first-ever win in the competition against the French side.

Poland international Lewandowski put the finishing touches to a well-worked team goal after 19 minutes before Reus' free-kick found its way into the back of the net seven minutes after the break.

Lewandowski then added a third from the spot late on to wrap up the victory.

The home side - who were watched by coach Jurgen Klopp from the stands as he served a one-match touchline ban for his protests in the defeat against Napoli - were without goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller following a red card in the Group F opener, while Eric Durm replaced the injured Marcel Schmelzer.

Marseille were once again without striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has been sidelined with a toe injury.

Both sides came into the game off the back of domestic wins at the weekend – against Lorient and Freiburg respectively - but it was Dortmund who began the brighter, with Reus firing narrowly over in the second minute before forcing a save from Steve Mandanda.

However, Marseille had strong claims for a penalty turned down shortly afterwards when Saber Khelifa went down under a challenge from Durm.

Dortmund eventually went ahead through a goal of the highest quality after 18 minutes, with Lewandowski netting his third goal in four days.

After a quick break, Reus played in Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He fired across goal to Durm, who in turn put the ball on a plate for the Pole to cap off a wonderfully worked team goal.

While Dortmund continued to enjoy plenty of possession, they struggled to create too many further clear-cut chances before the break.

However, they were two goals ahead six minutes after the interval after a Reus free-kick forced Mandanda into a costly error.

The visitors' goalkeeper flapped at the inswinging delivery and, while he tried desperately to claw the ball out, his efforts proved futile as the ball crept in and Dortmund doubled their lead.

Mandanda then went some way to atoning for his error,, producing a smart stop to deny Durm from close range after 58 minutes.

But Lewandowski made it three 10 minutes from time from the penalty spot after Reus had been pulled down by Khelifa in the area to cap off a comfortable victory for Klopp's men.

 

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Steaua Bucharest 0-4 Chelsea: Ramires rampant as Blues cruise in Romania

Chelsea got off the mark in this season's Champions League with a comfortable 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in Romania on Tuesday.

Ramires gave Jose Mourinho's side the lead after 19 minutes before Daniel Georgievski's own goal just before half-time gave them breathing space.

The Brazilian then netted his second 10 minutes into the second period before Frank Lampard rounded off the scoring in the final minute to give Chelsea their first points in Group E.

Steaua coach Laurentiu Reghecampf made just one change from Saturday's 3-0 win over Poli Timisoara, with Adrian Popa replacing Gabriel Iancu.

Meanwhile, Mourinho made two alterations to the side that drew 1-1 with Tottenham as Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle came in for John Obi Mikel and Eden Hazard.

The two replacements combined in the fourth minute as Mata found Schurrle inside the area, but his effort was cleared off the line by a covering defender.

However, the visitors were dealt a blow in the 10th minute when Fernando Torres was forced off with what appeared to be a knee injury, to be replaced by Samuel Eto'o.

The early change did little to upset Chelsea, as 10 minutes later Ramires put them in front.

Schurrle broke free down the left before finding Eto'o, whose scuffed effort ran perfectly for the Brazilian to prod home from six yards.

On the half hour, the visitors threatened again, Eto'o and Mata combining on the edge of the box before the latter's weak shot was straight at Ciprian Tatarusanu.

Chelsea were looking increasingly dangerous on the counter, and they duly doubled their advantage a minute before half-time with another rapid break.

Eto'o surged forward before cutting in from the left, with Tatarusanu parrying his effort straight into the path of the onrushing Georgievski, who could do little to avoid diverting the ball into the empty net.

Ten minutes after the break, Ramires got his second and Chelsea's third to put the visitors in total control.

Schurrle turned past his man brilliantly down the left before slipping the ball inside to Oscar, who fed Ramires, the Brazilian taking a touch before firing beyond Tatarusanu.

It was almost a fourth three minutes later, Mata striking the post after collecting Oscar's backheel inside the box.

The hosts responded immediately with their best effort of the game, Cech back-pedalling sharply to tip over Cristian Tanase's chip.

Chelsea were on the offensive again, Schurrle wasting two presentable chances midway through the half as the game became stretched.

There were some signs of life from the hosts in the 73rd minute, Nicolae Stanciu being denied by Cech before blazing the rebound over the bar.

But in the final minute, substitute Willian fed Lampard on the edge of the box, who swept the ball in off the left-hand post to complete an excellent night for Chelsea.

 

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UEFA Champions League 2013.10.01 Group Stage Results

Zenit 0 Vs 0 Austria Wien

Basel 0 Vs 1 Schalke

Dortmund 3 Vs 0 Marseille

Ajax 1 Vs 1 Milan

Steaua 0 Vs 4 Chelsea

Arsenal 2 Vs 1 Napoli

Porto 1 Vs 2 Atletico Madrid

Celtic 0 Vs 1 Barcelona

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