..::Football III::..

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Liverpool 4-1 West Ham: Suarez on target again for Reds

In-form striker Luis Suarez scored again as Liverpool beat West Ham 4-1 at Anfield and went second in the Premier League table.




A Guy Demel own-goal put Brendan Rodgers' side in front just before half-time and France defender Mamadou Sakho scored his first Liverpool goal just after the break.Martin Skrtel's own goal gave West Ham hope, but Suarez struck 10 minutes from time for his 14th league goal of the season.


The Uruguayan's shot then deflected in off Joey O'Brien to seal Liverpool's fifth successive home win, a run in which they have scored 20 goals.

West Ham also had skipper Kevin Nolan sent off for a late challenge on Jordan Henderson as their wait for a first win at Anfield for 50 years continues.
Liverpool were without Daniel Agger due to illness, so Sakho made his first Liverpool start for over a month.


West Ham boss Sam Allardyce reacted to his side's midweek defeat at Crystal Palace on Tuesday by bringing in Demel, George McCartney, Modibo Maiga and Matt Jarvis.
Maiga nearly opened the scoring in the 20th minute for West Ham, when Jarvis picked him out with an inviting cross.


The Mali striker's powerful header was bound for the back of the net, only for Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to produce a fine fingertip save.


Liverpool dominated the first half, but struggled to break West Ham down, with Raheem Sterling wasting a golden opportunity five minutes before the break.

The lively Suarez picked Sterling out with an incisive through ball but the winger lacked composure and his right-foot finish rolled tamely wide, but Liverpool did get the breakthrough in the 43rd minute as West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen palmed Suarez's shot against the unfortunate Demel and into the net.


Suarez should have doubled the home side's lead soon after, but the in-form striker blazed wildly wide with only Jaaskelainen to beat after great work from Sterling.

The home side doubled their advantage just a minute into the second half as Steven Gerrard's free-kick was met by Sakho and although the defender scuffed his shot, James Collins was unable to keep it out as he desperately attempted to clear.


Gerrard was forced off due to injury 10 minutes into the second half, but the home side were in complete control as West Ham struggled to cope with their passing and movement.


Sterling somehow fired over from six yards after Jordan Henderson picked him out 61 minutes in, and then less than a minute later Jaaskelainen made an outstanding reflex save to deny the winger.


But West Ham were given a life-line as Jarvis headed across goal and Skrtel turned the ball into his own net with 24 minutes to play.

Suarez gave Liverpool breathing space with a header 10 minutes from time though, and then Nolan was given a straight red card for a poor challenge on Henderson.

A miserable afternoon for West Ham was rounded off when Suarez's shot deflected in off O'Brien in the 84th minute.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Inter deserve to be higher than fourth - Mazzarri

Inter boss Walter Mazzarri believes that the club deserve to be higher than their current fourth place in Serie A this season.

The Nerazzurri have enjoyed a solid start to the current campaign but have drawn their last two league clashes against Bologna and Sampdoria, though they won in the Coppa Italia in midweek against Trapani.

Mazzarri has called for his players to step up their game if they want to reach the Champions League places prior to the winter break, as well as warning of the potential pitfalls that facing Parma will provide on Sunday.

"I expect us to take our game up another level and my players to give 100 per cent at all times," he told reporters on Saturday. "I want us to win every game in style.

"We've collected fewer points than our performances deserve, we still have to mature.

"There are lots of dangers lurking in this game against Parma, we have to make sure we get our approach right."

Inter have been linked with a January move for Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ezequiel Lavezzi, but Mazzarri insisted that the Milan-based club are not in trouble up front despite being without the injured Diego Milito and Mauro Icardi.

"At the moment we have the best attack in Serie A," the former Napoli coach continued. "I don't think we have an emergency up front.

"Before we talk about what to expect from us in the January transfer market, we still have three important games before the winter break."

Inter kick-off their clash with Parma at 20:45CET on Sunday at the Giuseppe Meazza.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ozil: I can handle Arsenal pressure thanks to Real Madrid spell

Mesut Ozil is confident he can live up to his price tag and guide Arsenal towards the Premier League title.

The German moved from Real Madrid for a club-record €50 million fee on transfer deadline day to much fanfare, and has since notched three goals and six assists as the Gunners moved four points clear at the top of the table.

And Ozil insists he is unfazed by any pressure to perform after spending three seasons at Liga giants Real Madrid, where a similar must-win attitude was prevalent.

"I've played for Real Madrid, where the pressure is so huge because you have to go and really win absolutely every game," he told the Daily Mirror.

"So after having played there for three years, pressure doesn’t scare me. That’s why I don’t really feel the pressure. The second thing is that what I do on a daily basis is what I love.

"I love playing football so I go out to play football and I don’t really feel ­pressure. Of course, there are some days when things don’t work out as well as on other days but that doesn’t have anything to do with pressure."

Ozil also hailed Arsene Wenger, adding that he hopes the Arsenal manager extends his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

"He was the one who convinced me to come here and now I can say that I couldn’t be any happier than to be here," added Ozil. "He really loves ­football. I hope he will stay here for many more years and be successful.

"I think this really has been the perfect step for me to come and join this club. We have some very talented players here and this is why I think we can achieve something great. We have to develop further to achieve this, but we can do it."

 

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Arsenal consider Morata loan if Suarez joins Real Madrid

Arsenal are weighing up a January loan move for Alvaro Morata - but will only get him if Real Madrid sign Luis Suarez in the winter window.

Arsene Wenger has turned his attention to striker Morata as he prepares to reinforce his front line next month.

The Frenchman is an admirer of Morata, a Spain Under-21 international, but sources have said that he will only be loaned out by Real in January if the Spanish giants can clinch the sensational signing of Suarez.

Goal revealed on Friday that Real will make a move for Suarez in the forthcoming window after making the in-form Liverpool man their marquee target for 2014. It is understood Real will pay up to €71 million to prise the Uruguayan from Anfield.

A side effect of what is likely to develop into one of next year's principal transfer sagas is the future of Morata.

The 21-year-old has only started one Madrid match this season, but he has come off the substitute's bench on 13 occasions, scoring two goals.

Head coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted on Friday that the forward could be loaned out next season but ruled out the possibility of a move in the second half of this campaign, describing the subject as "closed".

However, that would change if Real are successful in what is expected to develop into a concerted push for Suarez.

Wenger’s priority remains to capture a top striker after moves for Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and Wayne Rooney all fell through last summer, while the Gunners were also unable to agree a last-ditch loan deal for Chelsea’s Demba Ba.

Wenger is well aware of the difficulties in landing A-list options in the notoriously difficult January window, when the big clubs are reluctant to sell their best players.

Arsenal accept that Liverpool will not sell Suarez to them in the new year and, despite receiving encouragement that Rooney is still unsettled at Manchester United, have turned their attention to more realistic alternatives.

The Gunners are also keeping close tabs on a second Serie A forward, Stephan El Shaarawy, although any move for the AC Milan player is expected to be delayed until next summer.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Hamann: €71m not enough for Suarez

Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann feels €71.5 million is not enough to prise striker Luis Suarez away from Anfield.

Real Madrid are preparing a January move for the Uruguay international and are willing pay over €70m to capture the forward.

However Hamann, who spent seven years at Anfield, feels Suarez is worth far more, particularly after his impressive form this season that has seen him net 13 goals in nine outings.

"No, absolutely it's not enough," he told Goal when asked if €70m was a fair figure. "I think €65-70m was the figure they would have wanted at least in the summer, and you see how he's playing now, I don't think €70m would be enough."

The former Germany international also believes the striker is content at Anfield but has warned his former club he could leave if they do not secure a top-four finish this season.

"Well he seems to be happy. You can't play that kind of football [performance against Norwich] if you're not happy, so he's seems very happy to be where he is at the moment," he added.

"I don't think he'll leave in January - I don't think that's an option - Liverpool have to keep him if they want to finish it in the top four. But that remains to be seen.

"If they don't finish in the top four then there might be a chance for him to leave. He's given his service now, done his utmost to get Liverpool into the top four and unfortunately they haven't managed it so far.

"If they don't [qualify for the Champions League] then I think it's a similar situation [to last summer].

"It would take a ridiculous bid, and then there might be a chance he'd leave. I don't think you can blame the boy.

"If he wants to leave in June, if he wants to play in the Champions League - and Liverpool weren't to finish there - then I think there's a chance he will leave."

 

[hacker T]

thank you machan good post

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Rodgers: Suarez is priceless to Liverpool

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says he does not feel you can put a price on Luis Suarez after the striker again got on the scoresheet at Anfield.

The Uruguay international headed in his 14th Premier League goal of the campaign as the Reds climbed to second in the table with a 4-1 victory over West Ham United, and Rodgers does not believe a move away from the club is in Suarez's interest.

"I don't think you can put a price on him at this moment, and I wouldn't want to," he told reporters.

"He's been here for two-and-a-half years and if you look at his consistency now and how he is playing, you can see he is really enjoying being at Liverpool.

"At this moment in time he is up there with the best players in the world and whatever price people put on him then that's what they'll do. It isn't of interest to me or him because he's very happy here."

Despite not being at their best for periods, the Reds were still able to create a number of opportunities throughout the match at Anfield, and Rodgers was especially pleased with his team's attacking play after their 0-0 draw against the same opponents last season.

"I'm delighted with the victory. There were a lot of elements to the performance that I was pleased with. Last year we didn’t create any chances whereas today we had 29," he said.

"I thought the players worked their socks off. Our response to the [Martin Skrtel] own goal was brilliant and we regained control.

"We’re a team that's still growing and evolving, and I want to focus on the positives. We’re scoring goals, and when I came in that was the big issue.

"These were the games that were tough last season and credit to the players because they are making it look a lot easier this year."

Meanwhile, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who described the sending off of captain Kevin Nolan as "irresponsible", believes his side's missed chances cost them a chance of victory.

"In the first half I don’t think we deserved to be 1-0 down and I don’t think we recovered from that goal going into the second half," he said.

"We were disappointed that we were down but the second goal killed us.

"When we got the goal we had players running at their defenders who needed to make that one final pass. That’s where we don’t have the quality and Liverpool do.

"It shows you how ruthless this league is when you miss opportunities."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester City let down by ball control against Southampton - Pellegrini

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini lamented his side's failure to keep better hold of the ball as they drew 1-1 with Southampton on Saturday.

The visitors started ominously and took the lead through Sergio Aguero, threatening to hand the Saints a fourth consecutive loss, but the hosts recovered impressively and capitalised on their majority of possession when Pablo Daniel Osvaldo equalised with a magnificent goal shortly before half-time.

"Southampton played very well but the most important problem that we had was that we lost the ball too easily," Pellegrini told reporters. "Southampton have good players so they could keep it and they tried to play."

Aguero badly scuffed a chance for a second while his side were still leading but the Chilean was reluctant to label that the decisive moment.

"Maybe – 2-0 would have been an important score and, in the first 25 minutes, we played quite well but just one action can't explain this result," he remarked. "After 25 minutes we lost too many balls and that allowed Southampton [back in].

"I think it's a good result for us, a good point, and not a result where we lost two points. I think the draw was a deserved result.

"It was not an easy goal for Osvaldo but it was not the only chance they had. It's not the reason why we haven't got a better result.

"We dropped another point but, maybe, to draw with Southampton here, the way they play, it's normal."

His opposite number, Mauricio Pochettino, felt that the result was a vindication for his side’s persistence during their recent troubles.

"We did well," he enthused. "We've been through a bad run of results but the thing about this team is we keep on believing and we did again [here].

"There have been a few factors in our recent struggles and we've been unfortunate in some of these games but we always try to play the same way and today we beat City on possession, the team with the best possession in the league, so I'm very happy."

 

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Moyes confident on United title hopes

Manchester United manager David Moyes remains confident his side can challenge for the Premier League despite their defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.

The 1-0 loss ensured the champions were beaten twice in a row at home in the league for the first time since 2002, after falling to Everton on Wednesday, with Yohan Cabaye scoring the all-important goal.

It leaves United well off the pace in the title race but Moyes remains bullish over his side's chances of success this season.

"I stand firm that we'll be very close (to the title race)," he told BT Sport, before adding that he remains calm on his own position at the club. "It's the job, when I came here I knew it was never goiung to be easy."

Moyes will consider his side hard done by after Vurnon Anita appeared to use his hand to deny a goal with the scores at 0-0, while Robin van Persie later saw an effort chalked off due to offside.

"(I'm) disappointed with the result," he said."There were bits of the game where we needed a bit of luck and that didn't happen.

"We've lacked a little bit of creativity at times. We've lost the two games (Everton and Newcastle) 1-0 and both have perhaps been a bit against the run of play.
"(Manchester) United fans have been great and I think they understand it's about transition. We'll work and try to improve and try to get better."

 

[hacker T]

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[Wolverine GTR]

Confident?magula thamai confident

SAF retire wenakota kiwwe Moyes gana wishwase thiyanna kiyalameh yana widiyata puluwanda Moyes gana wishwase thiyanna​

 

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Monada meh wenne......thawath defeat 1kak

Title hopes thiya adumagane Top 10 finish karai kiyalawath hopes thiyaganna bari wei wage

What have you done Moyes

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own goal 3k

 

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Ozil: I can handle Arsenal pressure thanks to Real Madrid spell

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[Wolverine GTR]

Olimpic Xativa 0-0 Real Madrid: Blancos left blunt by absences of Bale & Ronaldo

Real Madrid were sensationally held to a 0-0 draw by Olimpic Xativa at La Murta on Saturday.

Free-scoring winger Gareth Bale missed the Copa del Rey first-leg clash due to a bout of flu, while Cristiano Ronaldo sat out the game through suspension, so coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for an attack consisting of Alvaro Morata and Jese Rodriguez alongside Angel Di Maria.

Casemiro could have opened the scoring early on but he headed a Di Maria cross straight at Xativa custodian Francis, who collected comfortably.

The Brazilian midfielder's attempt was Madrid's only shot on target despite a dominant first period, as Los Blancos were comfortably contained by their spirited hosts.

Marcelo was introduced after the break to inject more impetus, but Isco missed a golden opportunity to fire his team into the lead when he sliced Di Maria's pass wide.

Isco was then thwarted by Francis on the hour-mark as the 30-year-old flew full-stretch to deny the former Malaga attacker.

Madrid's defence had been relatively untroubled by their opponents up until that point, but Xativa reminded Iker Casillas they were still in the match when Pepin next fired a rasping shot just over the bar.

Jese then saw his strike creep agonisingly past the post as Madrid sensed a breakthrough, but they just could not find a winner, with substitute Karim Benzema missing a gilt-edge chance to nick it for the visitors when as he toe-poked past the post late on.

Ancelotti's side may now have to call upon the likes of Bale and Ronaldo for the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on December 18 to seal their place in the next round.