..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Zidane: France can win the World Cup

Zinedine Zidane believes France are amongst the favourites to win the World Cup in Brazil.

Les Bleus booked their place at the finals via a play-off after finishing second in their qualifying group behind Spain, but Zidane insists Didier Deschamps' side have the ability mount a challenge at next year's tournament.

”They have a good chance. The players are already gearing up for it,” he told Fifa.com.

“They have what it takes: France have the players to make an impact.”

The former midfielder knows what is required to win claim the game's biggest prize, having scored twice in in the 1998 World Cup final as France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.

However, he has warned his compatriots that they must rise to the challenge.

“Like I have said before, [France] will have to be ready when the moment of truth arrives," he continued.

“We can speculate about how good they are now, but it's in six months' time that they will need to be firing on all cylinders and prepared to do something big.”

France have been drawn in Group E alongside Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras in what was viewed as a very favourable draw for Les Bleus but Zidane has warned Deschamps' men against complacency.

“There used to be a big gulf between the big guns and the rest, but that gap has really narrowed.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Reus: Dortmund will bounce back

Marco Reus is confident that Borussia Dortmund will bounce back from their recent run of poor results and return to winning ways against Hertha Berlin at the weekend.

Dortmund have won just one out of their last five Bundesliga games and have consequently dropped to third place in the table, trailing leaders Bayern Munich by 12 points.

However, Reus is not panicking just yet and has little doubt that they will soon be back to their usual best.

"The fans don't have to be afraid. We will get out of this stronger than ever before," Reus was quoted as saying by Bild.

"We want to give our amazing fans a nice gift in our last home game before the winter break by beating Hertha.

"We all know that we were in better form at the start of the season, when we were all much more consistent.

"It would be a real problem if we didn't create any chances at all, but we still create plenty of chances. We have just been unlucky."

Reus has been a key figure for Dortmund so far this season, scoring seven goals in 16 Bundesliga appearances.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho eyes defensive improvements for Chelsea

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has called for his side to improve defensively amid their difficulties in finding the net.

Mourinho's men have scored the fewest goals of the sides in the Premier League top four and were punished for their profligacy in Tuesday's 2-1 Capital One Cup defeat to Sunderland.

However, the Chelsea boss stated on Friday that if scoring proved a problem for his side, the best solution was to become better defensively.

"We can improve by having more security when we have possession of the ball," Mourinho told reporters.

"We are not punishing opponents by scoring goals and killing them when we have everything to do that.

"In every match, we are dominant and in the matches we lost, we had even more ball possession.

"We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact we are not scoring enough goals. This morning, we only worked on defensive aspects of the game."

Mourinho also confirmed that Cesar Azpilicueta will play in Monday's Premier League clash with Arsenal, having been taken off in the defeat at the Stadium of Light.

Ashley Cole will be "on the bench or at home", Mourinho explained, although he refused to be drawn on reports that Cole attended Arsenal's Christmas party this week.

"I have my opinion but I keep for myself," he said.

"It was a free day for them. I am not a father; I am a manager. I can control what they do with me but not what they do when not with me."

"I don't want to comment. Not even to Ashley have I given my opinion because I don't have to. I just have my opinion."

 

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Reus: Dortmund will bounce back

Marco Reus is confident that Borussia Dortmund will bounce back from their recent run of poor results and return to winning ways against Hertha Berlin at the weekend.

Dortmund have won just one out of their last five Bundesliga games and have consequently dropped to third place in the table, trailing leaders Bayern Munich by 12 points.

However, Reus is not panicking just yet and has little doubt that they will soon be back to their usual best.

"The fans don't have to be afraid. We will get out of this stronger than ever before," Reus was quoted as saying by Bild.

"We want to give our amazing fans a nice gift in our last home game before the winter break by beating Hertha.

"We all know that we were in better form at the start of the season, when we were all much more consistent.

"It would be a real problem if we didn't create any chances at all, but we still create plenty of chances. We have just been unlucky."

Reus has been a key figure for Dortmund so far this season, scoring seven goals in 16 Bundesliga appearances.

adath kawa

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Manchester United!!!

Manchester United 3-1 West Ham: Red Devils continue winning run

Manchester United ended a run of back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford by beating West Ham 3-1 on Saturday.

Goals from Danny Welbeck, Adnan Januzaj and Ashley Young sealed a convincing win for David Moyes' side, although Carlton Cole converted a late consolation for the visitors.

Successive home defeats to Everton and Newcastle United ramped up the pressure on manager Moyes earlier this month but there was no repeat on this occasion as United coasted to their fourth win in a row in all competitions.

Welbeck gave the Premier League champions the lead in the 26th minute with his first league goal at Old Trafford in more than 14 months.

And the England forward turned provider 10 minutes later, setting up teenager Januzaj, who took his first home goal for the club with aplomb.

United substitute Young provided the only highlight of the second half when he curled home his second goal in four days with 18 minutes left.

However, Cole beat the offside trap to race clear and slot through the legs of David De Gea eight minutes from time to pull one back for the visitors, though it was too little, too late for the visitors.

The result was slightly soured for United as Welbeck limped off with what looked to be a muscle injury early in the second half.

United climbed to seventh in the table with their success, while West Ham – who looked sluggish after their 2-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final win at Tottenham on Wednesday – remain 17th.

Wayne Rooney returned from a minor groin problem for United to partner Welbeck up front but Nemanja Vidic (knock) and Marouane Fellaini (back) remained on the sidelines.

Spanish goalkeeper Adrian retained his place for West Ham while striker Modibo Maiga was promoted after scoring the winner at White Hart Lane.

Still missing suspended captain Kevin Nolan, the Hammers struggled to get a foothold in the game and only an excellent Adrian save denied Tom Cleverley from close range in the second minute.

Rooney then curled a free kick over the bar and Antonio Valencia forced a decent stop from Adrian, before United's pressure told.

A lovely flick from Welbeck released Rooney in space and he returned the pass, as the former burst into the penalty box to fire past Adrian from a tight angle.

The goalkeeper's positioning could have been questioned by manager Sam Allardyce but the keeper was not the only one left with egg on their face after Januzaj strolled through West Ham's defence to double United's lead nine minutes before the break.

The United starlet and Welbeck linked up before the 18-year-old sold James Collins a dummy, slid past him and curled in his first ever goal at Old Trafford.

Valencia blasted over just before half-time and four minutes after the break, Jonny Evans' towering header had to be turned wide by Mark Noble.

Collins went close with a header at the other end but United were still dominant – Javier Hernandez only denied by the offside flag after scoring in the 68th minute.

But Young finally sealed the result shortly after, capping a routine win for United by curling Rooney's pass into the top-right corner.

That meant Cole's late goal had little significance as United posted a comfortable victory.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Manchester United

meh widiyatama digatama play karanna one​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Fulham 2-4 Manchester City: Navas & Milner settle six-goal thriller

Vincent Kompany scored at both ends as Manchester City claimed a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.



Yaya Toure opened the scoring with a sublime 20-yard free-kick and Kompany doubled the advantage from close range before the break.Kieran Richardson then kick-started a Fulham fightback with his first Premier League goal since October 2012, and Kompany inadvertently levelled matters with a sliced attempted clearance in the 69th minute.

But Jesus Navas saved his team-mate's blushes 12 minutes from time, powering home from a tight angle after receiving the ball from David Silva, before James Milner made sure of the three points.

The win stretches City's unbeaten run to six and lifts them to second in the Premier League, above Chelsea and Arsenal who play on Monday, while Fulham remain in the relegation zone.

Fulham made two changes to the side that lost 4-1 at Everton last Saturday, with Adel Taarabt and Richardson coming in for Alex Kacaniklic and the injured Dimitar Berbatov.

Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, made three alterations to the XI that started last weekend's 6-3 victory over Arsenal, with Joe Hart making his return in goal and Aleksandar Kolarov and Edin Dzeko replacing injured duo Pablo Zabaleta and Sergio Aguero.

Two of the incoming players were in the thick of the action early on, as Hart got down well to his left to deny a well-struck Taarabt effort from the centre of the penalty area.At the other end, Silva went even closer to giving City the lead in the 14th minute, rattling the crossbar from 12 yards.

And City broke the deadlock nine minutes later, as Toure sent a superb curling free-kick into the top right-hand corner of the net off the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards.

Fulham pushed for an equaliser, and Taarabt had Hart sprawling once again as the England goalkeeper tipped a driven effort around his right-hand post just after the half-hour mark.Taarabt continued to look Fulham's biggest threat and had another long-range strike deflected wide by Kompany six minutes from the interval.

Kompany added the second in the 43rd minute, prodding home from close range after Maarten Stekelenburg had parried a Martin Demichelis header from a Silva free-kick.

Fulham made a dream start to the second half as Richardson tapped in from six yards to reduce the deficit after some good work by Taarabt down the left wing.
And City were punished for their failure to put the match to bed 10 minutes later as Fulham equalised in bizarre fashion. Kompany swiped at a clearance, only to see the ball loop over the head of goalkeeper Hart and into the back of the net.

But the visitors recovered from that embarrassing episode, as Navas found the net in the 78th minute to put City back in the lead, before Milner got on the end of a superb Alvaro Negredo pass to make certain of maximum points.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Dortmund 1-2 Hertha Berlin: BVB lose third straight home game

Borussia Dortmund lost their third straight home game in the Bundesliga as they were beaten 2-1 by Hertha Berlin.

It is the first time Dortmund have lost three consecutive home league games since March 2000 and they have now claimed just one win in six Bundesliga outings, with the result leaving them 12 points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich going into the winter break.

Marco Reus looked to have set the hosts on their way to a much-needed three points when he slotted home in the seventh minute, but the visitors struck back midway through the half when Adrian Ramos swept in a cross from close range.

A catastrophic error from Marian Sarr, making just his second league start of the season, then let in Sami Allagui in the final minute of the first period as the visitors turned the match around.

Dortmund made four changes from last week's 2-2 draw against Hoffenheim, with goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan among those to return, while the visitors made three alterations, including a first team debut for 18-year-old goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck.

Reus gave his side the perfect start, running on to Sebastian Kehl's lofted pass to slot the ball under the advancing Gersbeck from an angle, with the goalkeeper needlessly rushing from his line as Reus ran wide of goal.

Gersbeck went some way to redeeming himself five minutes later, though, by brilliantly denying Robert Lewandowski.

Weidenfeller had to be alert at the other end to charge from his line and block Ramos' effort following a poor backpass from Kevin Grosskreutz.

Hertha pulled level in the 23rd minute as Allagui robbed Erik Durm near halfway, advanced forward and delivered a perfect cross that Ramos was able to tuck home from six yards for his 11th Bundesliga goal of the season and his fourth in three matches.

On the stroke of half-time, a piece of disastrous defending from Sarr handed the visitors the lead.

The 18-year-old dallied on the ball 40 yards from goal and was robbed by Allagui, who was composed in rounding Weidenfeller and slotting the ball into an empty net.

Sarr was replaced by Lukasz Piszczek at the interval but Dortmund continued to struggle to break down the Hertha defence in the second period, Sokratis Papastathopoulos heading into the ground and over the crossbar in the 55th minute.

Substitute Jonas Hofmann forced a flying save from Gersbeck 10 minutes later with a rasping effort from the edge of the box as the hosts looked to exert greater pressure.

Despite dominating possession in the closing stages, they could not break down a resolute Hertha outfit, who claimed their third successive victory.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff City: Suarez caps perfect week by sending Reds top

Luis Suarez celebrated his new contract by firing Liverpool to the top of the Premier League as a first-half blitz saw off Cardiff City at Anfield.


Suarez volleyed in Jordan Henderson's dinked cross to put the home side ahead on 25 minutes, then unselfishly squared when put clean through for Raheem Sterling to double their advantage.

The Uruguayan latched onto Henderson's backheel to curl a superb third past David Marshall just before half-time and, though Jordon Mutch pulled one back for the visitors after the break, the damage was done.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brendan Rodgers made no changes to the Liverpool side that beat Tottenham 5-0 on Sunday. Suarez retained the captaincy after scoring eight goals in his previous three games.

The visitors made just one change from their 1-0 success over West Brom, with Aron Gunnarsson replacing Fraizer Campbell, who dropped to the bench.Suarez was first to threaten with a shot that clipped David Marshall's side netting after two minutes as the hosts applied early pressure.

Craig Noone had Cardiff's first effort, forcing a save from Simon Mignolet following a quick counter after 16 minutes.However, Suarez eventually broke Cardiff's resolve when he produced a superb volleyed finish to Henderson's cross, capping off a magnificent team goal.

Liverpool came close to doubling their advantage seven minutes before the interval when John Flanagan almost turned a Glen Johnson cross past Marshall from a tight angle.

Sterling added the second with his third goal in four games, tapping Suarez's pass into an open net, before the Uruguay international again struck to put the game beyond Cardiff.After a neat backheel from Henderson, Suarez curled an effort past Marshall and into the right-hand corner of the net for his 19th goal in 12 matches.

Following a low-key start to the second half, Mutch pulled a goal back for the visitors - heading home unmarked from Peter Whittingham's delivery after 58 minutes.

It ended a run of 498 minutes without an away Premier League goal for Cardiff, who were much improved after the interval.

But a comeback never looked likely and Suarez was only denied a hat-trick by the width of a post as the hosts climbed to the top of the Premier League.

 

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Fulham 2-4 Manchester City: Navas & Milner settle six-goal thriller

Vincent Kompany scored at both ends as Manchester City claimed a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.



Yaya Toure opened the scoring with a sublime 20-yard free-kick and Kompany doubled the advantage from close range before the break.Kieran Richardson then kick-started a Fulham fightback with his first Premier League goal since October 2012, and Kompany inadvertently levelled matters with a sliced attempted clearance in the 69th minute.

But Jesus Navas saved his team-mate's blushes 12 minutes from time, powering home from a tight angle after receiving the ball from David Silva, before James Milner made sure of the three points.

The win stretches City's unbeaten run to six and lifts them to second in the Premier League, above Chelsea and Arsenal who play on Monday, while Fulham remain in the relegation zone.

Fulham made two changes to the side that lost 4-1 at Everton last Saturday, with Adel Taarabt and Richardson coming in for Alex Kacaniklic and the injured Dimitar Berbatov.

Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, made three alterations to the XI that started last weekend's 6-3 victory over Arsenal, with Joe Hart making his return in goal and Aleksandar Kolarov and Edin Dzeko replacing injured duo Pablo Zabaleta and Sergio Aguero.

Two of the incoming players were in the thick of the action early on, as Hart got down well to his left to deny a well-struck Taarabt effort from the centre of the penalty area.At the other end, Silva went even closer to giving City the lead in the 14th minute, rattling the crossbar from 12 yards.

And City broke the deadlock nine minutes later, as Toure sent a superb curling free-kick into the top right-hand corner of the net off the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards.

Fulham pushed for an equaliser, and Taarabt had Hart sprawling once again as the England goalkeeper tipped a driven effort around his right-hand post just after the half-hour mark.Taarabt continued to look Fulham's biggest threat and had another long-range strike deflected wide by Kompany six minutes from the interval.

Kompany added the second in the 43rd minute, prodding home from close range after Maarten Stekelenburg had parried a Martin Demichelis header from a Silva free-kick.

Fulham made a dream start to the second half as Richardson tapped in from six yards to reduce the deficit after some good work by Taarabt down the left wing.
And City were punished for their failure to put the match to bed 10 minutes later as Fulham equalised in bizarre fashion. Kompany swiped at a clearance, only to see the ball loop over the head of goalkeeper Hart and into the back of the net.

But the visitors recovered from that embarrassing episode, as Navas found the net in the 78th minute to put City back in the lead, before Milner got on the end of a superb Alvaro Negredo pass to make certain of maximum points.

Kompanyge Own goal ekanan

 

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Congratulations Manchester United

meh widiyatama digatama play karanna one​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Cagliari 1-1 Napoli: Partenopei held in controversial clash at the Sant'Elia

Napoli missed the chance to draw level with second-placed Roma after being held to a controversial 1-1 draw with Cagliari on Saturday.

The Partenopei fell behind to an early goal from Nene but quickly levelled matters courtesy of a Gonzalo Higuain penalty.

Napoli thought that they had forced a winner with just over 15 minutes to go when Jose Callejon fired home from the edge of the box but the Spaniard’s strike was disallowed for an alleged offside, much to the frustration of Rafa Benitez and his players.

The Partenopei had arrived at the Sant’Elia brimming with confidence after an impressive 4-2 victory over Inter last weekend but they found themselves a goal down inside nine minutes, with Davide Astori teeing up Nene for the opener after Cagliari had ruthlessly exploited a slip by Napoli right-back Christian Maggio in the build-up.

However, the hosts then lost Nene to an injury and things went from bad to worse in the 19th minute when Astori undid all his good work at the other end of the pitch by felling Goran Pandev in the box.

Higuain confidently strode up to take the subsequent spot-kick and sent Vlada Avramov the wrong way to rack up his ninth Serie A goal of the season.

Napoli bossed the rest of the half without creating any clear-cut openings and they were rocked by the loss of Pepe Reina to a suspected hamstring injury just before the break. The on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper looked devastated as he left the field to be replaced by Rafael Cabral given the Spain international had only just returned from a muscular problem.

Reina's frustration was nothing, though, compared to that of Callejon when he thought that he had put Napoli ahead with his second-half strike, after Cagliari had failed to fully clear a free kick.

However, the officials appeared to feel that one of the Partenopei players standing in an offside position when Callejon had let fly had either touched the ball or being standing in the eye-line of goalkeeper Avramov.

Napoli went close again in the dying minutes through Dries Mertens but the Belgian dragged his shot wide after looking set to punish some slack defending from Daniele Dessena.

Consequently, Napoli could only draw to within two points of Roma, and seven of leaders Juventus.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bayern Munich 2-0 Raja Casablanca: Bavarians cruise to Club World Cup triumph

Bayern Munich racked up their fifth title of 2013 by coasting to a 2-0 victory over Raja Casablanca in the final of the Club World Cup.

The German side dominated proceedings throughout and had little difficulty in dispatching Casbalanca - who surprised the likes of Monterrey and Atletico Mineiro en route to the final - to end a magnificent year on a high as world champions, adding the trophy to their Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup titles.

Pep Guardiola's men broke the deadlock inside the first 10 minutes, with defender Dante turning home from Jerome Boateng's knock down in Marrakech.

And their advantage was quickly doubled midway through the first half as Thiago Alcantara netted with a fine strike from just inside the area.

Casablanca provided more stern resistance in the second half, but Faouzi Benzarti's team never looked like mounting a comeback, with Bayern comfortably holding on to secure their first triumph in an inter-continental competition since their 2001 success in the Intercontinental Cup.

Guardiola made three changes to the side that beat Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 in the semi-final, with Dante, Xherdan Shaqiri and Thomas Muller all coming in against Casablanca, who named an unchanged team.

Bayern's superiority took only seven minutes to surface as Dante's powerful close-range effort was allowed to stand despite suspicions of offside, the goal coming just after Mouhssine Iajour had gone close at the other end.

The gulf in class was evident throughout the first half, and Bayern should have doubled their lead when David Alaba's tame finish was saved by Casablanca goalkeeper Khalid Askri following excellent build-up play with Muller.

Casablanca proved a threat on the counter but their task was made even harder in the 22nd minute, as Thiago met Alaba's pull-back with a sumptuous finish that flew past Askri and into the top corner.

The Bavarians spurned chances to extend their advantage further as Dante headed over from a corner, before Shaqiri forced Askri into another strong save.

Casablanca almost pulled a goal back in bizarre fashion when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cleared the ball straight to Chemseddine Chtibi.

However, the midfielder failed to capitalise with a poor effort that flew well wide.

Bayern were denied a penalty shortly before the interval, despite Ismail Benlamalem appearing to bring down Franck Ribery.

Fortune continued to keep Casablanca's faint hopes alive just after the hour as the crossbar kept out Shaqiri's close-range effort.

Casablanca captain Mohsine Moutaouali somehow fired over after Neuer had saved from Vivien Mabide's effort, but that proved to be the last chance of a largely uneventful second half, with Bayern closing the game out to seal the world title 37 years to the day of their maiden inter-continental cup triumph.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratzzzzzzzzzz Bayern!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Atletico Madrid 3-2 Levante: Diego Costa at the double as Rojiblancos go top of La Liga

Atletico Madrid pulled three points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga courtesy of a battling 3-2 victory over Levante at the Vicente Calderon.

Andreas Ivanschitz put the visitors ahead after just a minute of action but the Rojiblancos levelled matters through Diego Godin on the half-hour mark.

Diego Costa then volleyed Atletico into the lead early in the second half and although Pedro Rios restored parity, the Brazil-born forward took his Liga tally for the season to 19 goals with a penalty.

The Rojiblancos had gone into the game level on points and goal difference with Barcelona, meaning that by bettering the Catalans' result against Getafe on Sunday, they would reach the winter break on top of the table. Consequently, the target was another resounding victory.

However, an expectant Vicente Calderon was silenced with less than 60 seconds of the game elapsed, with Ivanschitz slotting home left-footed after making a wonderfully-timed run into the area and then taking a through-ball in his stride.

One would have anticipated an immediate Atletico backlash but Diego Simeone's men appeared stunned by an incredibly adventurous start from their visitors, who looked set to deservedly double their advantage 11 minutes in until Thibaut Courtois pulled off a stunning save to deny David Barral.

However, Atletico slowly but surely began to take control of the game and it was a sign of just how far forward that they had advanced when centre-half Godin rose at the near post to head home a floated cross from Juanfran right on the half-hour mark.

The hosts could have taken the lead five minutes later but Keilor Navas did wonderfully well to get to save at the feet of Diego Costa.

Levante then lost Ivanschitz to injury as Atletico continued to pour forward, with David Villa going close with a deflected effort.

The Rojiblancos were unable to find a way through before the break, though, and could even have conceded right on the stroke of half-time, but Barral fired wide after beating Courtois to a through-ball.

It proved a costly miss because Atletico moved in front just over a minute after the restart, with Diego Costa appearing at the back post to beat Navas with a low, left-footed volley from Gabi's deep free kick.

Atletico seemed poised to coast to a comfortable win at that point but Rios levelled matters in sensational style in the 56th minute, pouncing on a mistake by Koke before driving past Filipe Luis and then unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard drive past Courtois.

The home side pressed for a winner but they didn't look like they had run out of ideas when Ruben Garcia clumsily felled Juanfran in the area, thus allowing Diego Costa to decide an enthralling encounter in Atletico's favour with a penalty that Navas will feel he should have saved.

Levante's frustration at being denied a deserved point spilled over in the dying seconds when Juanfran, who had been struck by Tiago during an off-the-ball incident in the first half, was sent off for lashing out at Filipe Luis.

Diego Costa then missed a great chance to complete his hat-trick but there was no taking the shine off a win that will send them into the winter break at the very least level on points with reigning champions Barca.

 

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Lahm hails 'incredible' Club World Cup success

Philipp Lahm hailed Bayern Munich's Club World Cup triumph as an "incredible" way to cap a record-breaking year for the German outfit.

The Bavarians followed up their Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Uefa Super Cup triumphs by defeating Raja Casablanca 2-0 in Morocco on Saturday to make it five titles in 2013.

Lahm was enthused by Bayern's achievement, though he did admit that they had cruised through the game after scoring twice inside the opening 22 minutes through Dante and Thiago Alcantara.

"To finish off such a year with a title is incredible," the versatile full-back told ARD.

"We made life a little difficult for ourselves and it's a pity that we eased off somewhat before the end. But we had wanted to score early and we succeeded again in that regard.

"It was sometimes difficult and they were playing on the break but we always had everything under control."

 

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Manchester City boss Pellegrini praises Navas & Milner impact

Manuel Pellegrini hailed the impact of substitutes Jesus Navas and James Milner following Manchester City's 4-2 win at Fulham.

City went ahead with goals from Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany before Kieran Richardson pulled one back for Rene Meulensteen's men. Kompany then netted a bizarre own goal to level an absorbin Premier League clash.

Navas came off the bench to restore City's lead 12 minutes from time and fellow substitute Milner made sure of the points five minutes later.

"It was a hard victory," said Pellegrini. "Fulham is not in a good position and they play an intensive game.

"Before they scored the first goal that was a counterattack, we had at least three clear chances to score goals.

"The second goal was bad luck. It's impossible to repeat it, but these things happen in football.

"At 2-0 I think we were playing well. At 2-2 I thought we had to change something.

"The creative players were tired. We had other options, players with a different style of play, and I had to change something.

"Navas and Milner made a huge contribution to the team with two goals."

Asked for his opinion on Kompany's own goal, Pellegrini joked: "Maybe he didn't remember that we changed sides.

"After you win, maybe you can laugh, but he was not happy."