..::Football III::..

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Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona: Messi double gives Luis Enrique's men the advantage

Lionel Messi's late double secured a seemingly decisive first-leg advantage for Barcelona as the defending champions beat Arsenal 2-0 in an absorbing Champions League last-16 clash.

Messi and his forward colleagues Neymar and Luis Suarez headed to Emirates Stadium with 91 goals between them this season, but were initially starved of opportunities by an Arsenal side playing with impressive discipline and intensity.
Suarez headed wastefully wide in the final minute of the first half, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scuffed arguably the clearest chance of the opening 45 minutes for Arsene Wenger's men.

Buoyed by an eye-catching spell before half-time, Barca dominated with menace after the break, although they survived a scare when Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved superbly from Olivier Giroud.

Heeding that warning, Luis Enrique's men upped their level and Messi beat former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech for the first time in seven matches after 71 minutes.
Suarez then struck the post before Messi won and converted an 83rd-minute penalty to leave Arsenal with the steepest of uphill tasks in the Camp Nou return.

Aaron Ramsey had an early shot blocked by Javier Mascherano, the Arsenal midfielder collecting a return pass from Mesut Ozil following a wonderful backheel.

Full-back Hector Bellerin found himself in the opposition box in the 22nd minute when his deflected attempt fell invitingly for Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the England international could not beat goalkeeper Ter Stegen.

The visitors methodically tightened their grip on possession and saw Arsenal begin to flag on the stroke of half-time. Nacho Monreal was forced to clear Suarez's prod across goal after Ramsey gave away possession before the Uruguay star nodded wide as Dani Alves volleyed a cross from Sergio Busquet's raking pass.

Cech made his first save with his right leg in the 49th minute when Andres Iniesta sent Neymar scampering towards goal from the left, while the hosts were forced to bring on Theo Walcott as Oxlade-Chamberlain hobbled off with an apparent calf problem.Luis Enrique's men were beginning to turn the screw, but Giroud almost put Arsenal ahead in the 60th minute.

Shortly after an angry altercation with Alves earned him a ticking off from the referee, Giroud rose to steer Monreal's cross towards the bottom corner and force a fine right-handed stop from Ter Stegen.

Barcelona old-boy Alexis Sanchez then had a shot blocked when his former employers failed to clear a set-piece, with the visitors responding by bursting up field.Per Mertesacker stretched out a leg to stop a Messi strike and, with nerves jangling among the home support, Suarez flashed a shot across the face of goal.

The breakthrough came at the end of a clinical Barcelona counter-attack with all three of the main men involved.

Neymar found Suarez on the left, who delayed a return pass to send the Brazil star surging into the Arsenal box, where he picked his pass for Messi to dispatch a simple finish.

Suarez should have added a second, but struck the right post from close range, with Neymar the provider once more.Arsenal gamely sought an equaliser, with a sliding Ramsey failing to connect with a knockdown from substitute Danny Welbeck, but fellow replacement Mathieu Flamini gave the game away when he brought Messi down in the box.

Having missed a late first-leg penalty at Manchester City last season, Messi did not repeat the mistake and Arsenal will have to make Champions League history as they look to become the first side ever to overturn a two-goal deficit from their home match to progress.

 

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Juventus 2-2 Bayern Munich: Dybala & Sturaro seal brilliant comeback for hosts

Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro both scored their maiden Champions League goals as Juventus recovered from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in a see-saw first leg of their last-16 tie.

The visitors looked to be coasting to a fourth straight win over their Italian opponents when they went two goals up, Thomas Muller getting the first of them on 43 minutes when converting a cutback from Douglas Costa.A curling strike from Arjen Robben 10 minutes after the break was no more than Bayern deserved for their dominance.

Yet Juventus produced a dramatic recovery in the final half-hour, starting with Dybala halving the deficit with a cool finish following a defensive mistake by the German side.

The comeback was complete when substitute Sturaro scored just seven minutes after coming on, the midfielder turning home fellow replacement Alvaro Morata’s header across the face of goal.

Bayern had to field David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich as an unlikely centre-back pairing due to injuries, but they worked out that the best way to keep the pressure off their makeshift defensive line was to dominate possession.

Muller should have given the visitors the lead in the 13th minute, as Robert Lewandowski teed up his colleague for a chance from six yards out that seemed easier to score than miss.

But, after taking an initial touch of the ball, the Germany international was unable to get enough force on his poked finish as he fell backwards when losing his balance.
Gianluigi Buffon needed to get down low to his right to keep out a drive from full-back Juan Bernat, while the veteran goalkeeper was fortunate that Lewandowski’s flicked header from a deep free-kick went straight at him.

However, Bayern's dominance eventually led to an opening goal before the break.
A deep cross from the right was volleyed back into the centre of the area by Douglas Costa, allowing Muller to make amends for his earlier miss with a side-footed finish when left all alone from 12 yards out.

Juventus were caught short of numbers in conceding a second. It seemed Lewandowski’s pass had pushed Robben too wide on the right, but he cut back onto his favoured left to bend a shot beyond Buffon.

Needing a lifeline to stay alive in the tie, Juventus were gifted a chance to halve the deficit when Kimmich failed to clear the ball just outside his own area.Mandzukic’s first-time pass slipped in Dybala, who coolly slotted home.

Juan Cuadrado had a shot beaten away by Manuel Neuer before Sturaro popped up in the box to slide in and convert Morata's nod into the danger area.
The second leg takes place in Munich on March 16.

 

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Furious Wenger slams 'naive' Arsenal


Arsene Wenger accused his Arsenal players of naivety after they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday and suggested they had failed to learn from past mistakes.

Lionel Messi struck twice in the second half for the defending champions to secure a significant advantage going into the second leg at Camp Nou in a month's time.

Arsenal had chances of their own to take the lead at the Emirates Stadium, however, and Wenger was left to rue the way his side were subsequently caught on the break.

"We were naive," he told BT Sport. "Similar to Monaco [in last season's last 16], when it looked like we could win this game we gave it away.
"That [second goal] makes it realistically very difficult, if not impossible [to come back]. We have to go there and fight.

"It is difficult because I thought in the last 20 minutes there would be room to score. We had the chances but didn’t score.

"They are lethal. One thing we couldn’t afford to give them was counter attacks because they are very dangerous. That’s exactly what we did. We pushed too far in their half and got caught. That’s down to their quality as well.

"It’s too easy to blame I think you have to respect the effort the players put in. What is frustrating is that it looked like they might tire.

"I knew in the last 20 minutes we would have a chance to win the game if we don’t make any mistakes and that’s the frustration of the night."

 

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Messi: Barcelona aren't through yet

Lionel Messi insists Barcelona still have work to do to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite their 2-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Argentine scored twice in the second half to put the Catalans in control of the tie ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou, opening the scoring after latching onto Neymar's pass before sending the second past Petr Cech from the penalty spot.

Speaking after the game, Messi credited his side for a great result but insisted there was still a long way to go in the last 16 clash.

"The tie isn't over," he told TV3. "We know what sort of things Arsenal are capable of and nothing is decided despite the fact we achieved a great result with two goals as visitors."

Messi's two goals also broke an eight-game drought against Cech, a fact which pleased the Argentina captain.

"Luckily it happened today. But above all the fact we played a great game and got a big result, against a very good team, is the most important thing," he said.

"[Arsenal] marked very hard because they are very strong players. But we knew in the second half they would slow down, it is difficult to keep up such a high rhythm.

"And that is how it went. We had more space, which is how we prefer to play. We broke away several times, the first goal arrived and then the game opened up."

 

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Dybala confident Juventus can see off Bayern despite home draw

Paulo Dybala insists Juventus can still knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, even if a 2-2 result in Turin has left the Italian side facing a tough task in the return leg on German soil.

After Thomas Muller broke the deadlock just before the interval, Arjen Robben’s left-footed curler on 55 minutes put Bayern in complete control in the first leg of the last-16 tie.

However, Juventus rallied to get back on level terms and extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games.

Dybala and substitute Stefano Sturaro both scored their first goals in the Uefa competition during a rousing finish from the hosts, although Bayern will still be favourites to progress in Munich when the teams meet again on March 16.

"We were aware it was going to be very difficult, but we made them respect us in the end. We put our heart into it and did well to get a draw. We can do it," Dybala told Mediaset Premium."We gave everything we had and never gave up. In the first half we allowed Bayern too much room, but did better in the second half by pressing high.

"It will be tough in the second leg, few teams can beat Bayern on their own turf, but if we play with this heart and determination then we can do it."Juventus will now have to score in Germany to have a chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

 

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Mertesacker: Arsenal deserved nothing against Barcelona

Per Mertesacker felt Arsenal were punished for missing their chances in the 2-0 Champions League defeat to holders Barcelona and did "not deserve anything".

Arsene Wenger's men played a full part in an absorbing Emirates Stadium encounter but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud were unable to capitalise on their clearest opening.

The Premier League men were then given an object lesson in ruthlessness from Lionel Messi, who crowned a glorious 71st-minute counter-attack before winning and converting an 83rd-minute penalty.

Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Germany centre-back Mertesacker dismissed the notion of Arsenal deserving any sympathy.

"It's tough for us now," he said. "We had to score at one point there, so that is why we do not deserve anything. You would never keep them quiet for 90 minutes, that is for sure.

"We had a good period of time with a couple of chances and we had to score.Then we could drop back but we took more risks and they scored."That is why we don't deserve it because you have to score."

No side has ever progressed in a Champions League knockout tie after suffering a two-goal defeat in a home first leg, and Mertesacker is holding out little hope for the prospect of Arsenal making history.

"I think we have to concentrate on the Premier League now and I think in one month we face Barcelona with the same courage and the same bravery," he added. "We still have a little chance."Aaron Ramsey, who nearly netted an equaliser shortly before Messi's penalty, was similarly downbeat.

"I thought, especially in the first half, we did well," he said. "We created a few opportunities and we didn't manage to take any."It's obviously going to be tough for us now but we will go there and try our hardest."

 

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Robben: Bayern should have killed Juventus off

Arjen Robben admitted Bayern Munich paid dearly for not staying calm as they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with Juventus.

Thomas Muller and Robben scored either side of half-time to put Pep Guardiola's side on course for a repeat of their 2-0 triumph over the same opponents in Turin in 2013.

However, the Italian side hit back to grab a draw and give themselves a glimmer of hope ahead of the return fixure in Munich."We all are a bit disappointed," Robben is quoted as saying by Uefa's official website.

"When you are two goals up you have to finish off the match. We should have played calmer."Even after a second goal you must stay focused."

Paulo Dybala made the most of an error from Joshua Kimmich - playing alongside David Alaba in a makeshift pairing at the centre of Bayern's defence - to cut the deficit in half before substitute Stefano Sturaro completed the Juventus comeback.

However, Bayern's Philipp Lahm was not overly concerned by his side's inability to hang onto their advantage."That was a very good game," the defender said after completing his 100th Champions League appearance.

"Juventus is a strong team that fought back because of our faults. But we can definitely build on the first 60 minutes."We controlled the game, had a lot of chances and didn't give anything away."

 

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Luis Enrique 'liked everything' about Barcelona win at Arsenal

Luis Enrique praised his Barcelona players as "spectacular" in their 2-0 Champions League victory at Arsenal.

An absorbing first leg of the last-16 tie remained goalless until the 71st-minute, when Lionel Messi crowned a wonderful counter-attack involving Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Messi added a second from the penalty spot seven minutes from time after being fouled by Mathieu Flamini and Luis Enrique was pleased by how his team were patient in the face of dogged Arsenal defending, while also crediting their efforts in quelling the attacking talents of Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and substitute Theo Walcott.

"I liked everything, the whole game. Nothing has upset me," he told a post-match news conference. "The players have been at a spectacular level individually and I think we are the deserved winners."The result is great but I do not think it closes the tie. There will be time to close it with our people at home.

"In first half they defended with all their players behind the ball, but we were able to tire them out so that chances came.

"We defended very well, watching Ozil and his ability between the lines. We kept close to Giroud, Alexis and Walcott when he came on."We could open spaces and make chances. We also did very well stopping them from countering on us.

"We were very good, pressing in every moment, helping each other out. They created very little danger."Luis Enrique appeared set to lose one of his key players during the match, as Sergio Busquets became troubled by a sore knee.

But the coach asked his holding midfielder to remain on the field and was delighted by his efforts."Busquets is a super player," he said. "If [his knee] is only half stiff, I do not change him. For us he is a vital and a key player.

"He wanted to come off, I asked him to stay. He's important."There was a moment of controversy following Messi's second goal, when Gerard Pique hacked down Danny Welbeck to earn a booking that will rule him out of the second leg.

Pique was in discussion with Luis Enrique shortly beforehand, raising suspicions that the caution was taken tactically to free the centre-back up for Barca's likely quarter-final tie – a theory the coach was quick to dismiss."It was not deliberate," he added. "Anyone who saw the foul knows it."

 

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Guardiola: Bayern could not have expected to beat Juventus 7-0!

Pep Guardiola declared himself satisfied despite seeing Bayern Munich surrender a two-goal lead to draw Juventus 2-2, stating they could not have expected to be "dominating or winning 7-0".

The Bundesliga leaders dominated for the first hour in Turin, as goals from Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben either side of half-time put them in a commanding position in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

However, Juventus halved the deficit through Paulo Dybala just after the hour mark before substitute Stefano Sturaro scored from close range on 76 minutes to bring the home side level.

And Guardiola praised the Italian champions for the spirit they showed in their comeback - and warned his own players that the second leg in Munich will be just as tough."I'm satisfied with our game, we did very well over 90 minutes and not just 60," he told reporters after the match.

"We knew that Juventus would get their chances. A win would have been better, of course, but we must not forget that Juventus are Italian champions and reached the [Champions League] final last year.

“Juventus had three shots and scored two goals, but you cannot think of coming to this marvellous stadium in Turin and not conceding. We couldn’t think of coming here and dominating or winning 7-0.

"They have good players and a great mentality. They defended in large numbers but attacked in small. We defended in small ones but attacked in large.
"The second leg will be as difficult."

Xabi Alonso was rested in favour of former Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal who started, while Joshua Kimmich was deployed in an unconventional centre-back role and was culpable when the Bianconeri pulled their first back.The Chilean's performance in front of his old fans drew praise from Guardiola, who also flew to Kimmich's defence.

“Arturo played the last two games very well. Physically he is very strong. We needed a player with his characteristics back there," the Catalan concluded.
"Naturally I was not afraid, because I know his character and it was my decision.
"Joshua was perfect. Perfect."

 

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Arsenal vs Barcelona 0-2 All Goals & Highlights

 

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Juventus vs Bayern Münich 2-2 All Goals & Highlights

 

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Furious Wenger slams 'naive' Arsenal


Arsene Wenger accused his Arsenal players of naivety after they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday and suggested they had failed to learn from past mistakes.

Lionel Messi struck twice in the second half for the defending champions to secure a significant advantage going into the second leg at Camp Nou in a month's time.

Arsenal had chances of their own to take the lead at the Emirates Stadium, however, and Wenger was left to rue the way his side were subsequently caught on the break.

"We were naive," he told BT Sport. "Similar to Monaco [in last season's last 16], when it looked like we could win this game we gave it away.
"That [second goal] makes it realistically very difficult, if not impossible [to come back]. We have to go there and fight.

"It is difficult because I thought in the last 20 minutes there would be room to score. We had the chances but didn’t score.

"They are lethal. One thing we couldn’t afford to give them was counter attacks because they are very dangerous. That’s exactly what we did. We pushed too far in their half and got caught. That’s down to their quality as well.

"It’s too easy to blame I think you have to respect the effort the players put in. What is frustrating is that it looked like they might tire.

"I knew in the last 20 minutes we would have a chance to win the game if we don’t make any mistakes and that’s the frustration of the night."

Aparade!!! Possession nathi unath first hour hodata chances create kara. eth finishing waladi hadissi una.
Goals dekama mistakes walin gahuwa ewa

 

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UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Fixtures 2016.02.24

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Fixtures 2016.02.24

PSV Vs Atletico Madrid

Dynamo Kyiv Vs Manchester City

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Memphis: Mistakes are part of the learning process

Memphis Depay insists mistakes are a key part of any player's learning process as he comes to terms with a difficult start to life at Manchester United.

The 22-year-old arrived at Old Trafford last summer with big expectations following his 28 goals in all competitions for PSV the previous season, but has struggled to adapt to the Premier League.

Speaking at an event in London to launch Under Armour's Rule Yourself campaign on Tuesday, Memphis was confident the travails of his first six months at United will help him in the long run.

“You cannot make always the right decisions, you are going to make mistakes,” he said. “I think that is important, you are going to make mistakes and you are going to learn from them.

“That is what makes you a better player I think, and gives you more experience. It’s not always nice to make mistakes, but that is something that gives you more experience.”

The Netherlands international has only recently been recalled United's starting XI on the back of an injury crisis and netted his sixth goal of the season in the 2-1 defeat to Midtjylland.

Memphis revealed, however, that he has been working hard on the training pitch - when United’s busy fixture list allows - with assistant manager and former winger Ryan Giggs in a bid to regain his place.

"I train with the ball doing quick turns," he explained. "If I train with Giggsy, he’ll play me the ball, I turn quick and use the outside or inside of my feet.

"That kind of stuff with the ball is an extra motivation to get a good first touch out of your feet so you can actually get a good shot on target."
Memphis was a starter in United’s 3-0 victory at Shrewsbury Town on Monday and is likely to make the first XI again when his side look to overcome Europa League opponents Midtjylland at Old Trafford.

"I prefer to have back-to-back games," he said. "The game is all about those 90 minutes to show what you did on the training ground and to put it into the game. I’d prefer to play a game every single day if I could.

"You have to keep confidence and believe in yourself, because if you don’t believe in yourself you have got to stop."

 

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Juventus can play the football to qualify – Pogba

Paul Pogba believes Juventus will take a positive attitude to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash next month.

The Italian champions had to fight from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw in Turin on Tuesday evening, and the France international midfielder believes the tie is in the balance despite Pep Guardiola’s men boasting two away goals.

"The most important thing in the second leg will be to not concede a goal, to play in a forward-thinking way, like we did in the second half," he told beIN Sports. "Then we’ll see what happens.

"We believe we can do it. We can play the football for it."

Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro got Juve back into the game after they trailed to strikes from Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben, but Pogba insisted it did not feel like a win for the Italians.

"It’s not a draw that has the taste of a victory, but we never gave up against a very good side.

"Bayern are really strong technically and they made us run. We were able to come back to 2-2, so we’ll start again at 0-0 in the second leg, which we can thing about now.

"They tired a little towards the end of the match and we played on the counterattack. They made two little errors and we’ve scored two goals. That’s football at the highest level, that’s the Champions League."

 

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Wenger: Barcelona are 95 per cent through

Arsene Wenger admits Barcelona are 95 per cent likely to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat on Tuesday.

Two second-half goals from Lionel Messi have left the Gunners on the brink of an early exit from the competition, and Wenger admits his side’s chances of an upset in the return leg at Camp Nou are slim.

"Barcelona are certainly through, 95 per cent, but we want to go there and play,” said the Arsenal manager.

"We are Arsenal Football Club and we will not go there to just have no chance.

"Our failure is that the chance was there to beat them, that is the biggest regret I have. Sometimes you can lose against a team and you can do nothing about it, but there was room to beat them.

"They are better than us, everybody knows that, but we could've won the game if we kept the discipline until the end. Once again, like against Monaco, exactly the same thing happened. We were caught in exactly the same way.
"We had two or three opportunities to stop the first goal which we didn't do because I don't think we had the right response to the situation that our players faced.

"We were impatient in the build-up, we lost balls that we usually don't and that's not because Barcelona forced us to do it, but just because we were not precise enough in our passing.

"We had an unbelievable chance in the first half. The way we finished our chances is a problem because I felt that we missed something in the final third."

 

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Memphis admits Man Utd failings: I haven't lived up to expectations

Memphis Depay is aware he has failed to live up to expectations at Manchester United but is confident of justifying his price tag soon.

The 22-year-old arrived at Old Trafford last summer for around £25 million after scoring 22 goals in 30 matches for PSV during 2014-15, but has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League.

Depay has only started 12 of his 20 Premier League appearances this season, with Louis van Gaal recently preferring Jesse Lingard, and is under no illusions he must improve while wearing the iconic No.7 shirt.

"No. Not yet. I know that. I will continue to fight for it," Depay said when asked if he had lived up to expectations at Under Armour's Rule Yourself campaign launch in London.

"I have a lot of expectations on myself. That's important. The club is busy and I am busy to improve it.

"I don't want to put a date on it or say when but it will come. Confidence will help and experience. You learn from your mistakes. Those moments they will come and I will work and focus on it."

 

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Mourinho reveals his 'right move' amid Manchester United link

Jose Mourinho admits he would prefer to start his next job at the beginning of the new season amid reports linking him with a move to Manchester United.

The former Chelsea boss, who was sacked in December, has been tipped to replace Louis van Gaal this summer.

Mourinho concedes that he would step back into management before the end of the campaign if required, but would prefer a full summer to prepare for the new season.

"It's quite a funny career. I am the English champion, and I still have no job,” Mourinho said at an event in Singapore.

"I read so many different things. One day it says I go to China, another day it says I go to Italy, and people say I'm back to Inter Milan. I'm here - I'm sure someone will say I am going to the Singapore national team!
"But the reality is I have no job, and at the moment I'm happy not to have a job.

“If I have to return tomorrow, I’ll return tomorrow,

“But I always feel it is better to wait, not to rush, to be calm, wait for the right move, and I think starting the next season with a new club is probably the best thing for me.”

 

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Mourinho the man to take Manchester United back to the top – Deco


Jose Mourinho is the man Manchester United need to get them back fighting at the top of the Premier League, according to Deco.

Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils have failed to win a trophy and are languishing outside of the Champions League spots in the Premier League, with the pressure very much on Louis van Gaal.

Reports suggest the Dutchman will be replaced by Mourinho imminently and Deco, who was a fulcrum of the Porto side that won the Uefa Cup and Champions League under the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss, believes that the out-of-work manager would allow the Old Trafford club to regain their former status.
“United need to be back at a high level and Mourinho is the man to do that,” he told Squawka.

“He will bring their confidence again, for the players, for the fans, for the people. You cannot win something without it.

“He will change them a lot.”

 

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Chelsea flop Falcao could return to Monaco, Vasilyev confirms

Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev has said that the Ligue 1 outfit are open to bringing striker Radamel Falcao back at the end of the season.

The Colombia international striker has spent successive seasons in the Premier League on loan, first at Manchester United and now at Chelsea, but has failed to make an impression at either club.

Despite his on-field struggles, persistent injury problems and high salary, Vasilyev has admitted the former Atletico Madrid and Porto ace could return.

“We thought about bringing him back in January, but he was injured,” he admitted to RMC.

“We’ll see what happens at the end of the season. We won’t exclude the possibility of him coming back to the club in the summer.”

On the subject of transfers, the Russian admitted that Monaco could invest in their squad in the summer should they finish second in Ligue 1 and qualify for the Champions League.

“We’re not going to do anything crazy, but if we’re back in the Champions League, I want a competitive team,” he said.

“If we’re there, it’s not to earn money, it’s to get points and victories.”

Youngster Kylian Mbappe made headlines at the weekend when he broke Thierry Henry’s long-standing record and became Ligue 1’s youngest scorer. However, he is still not tied down to a professional deal and there are numerous sides said to be chasing him.

“There’s no better club for young players in Europe than Monaco,” Vasilyev argued. “Mbappe is part of this project. We want to promote players from our academy.

“We’ve made an offer and the ball’s in his camp. It’s up to him and his parents to make a decision.”