..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Wenger accepts full responsibility for 'good hiding' by Chelsea

Arsene Wenger accepted “full responsibility” for Arsenal’s humiliating 6-0 defeat to title rivals Chelsea in his 1000th match in charge of the club on Saturday.

The Gunners boss described the loss as one of the worst days of his managerial career after his side found themselves 3-0 down and reduced to 10 men after just 17 minutes.

"This defeat is my fault, I take full responsibility for it,” Wenger told the BBC before declining to speak to the rest of the media at the traditional post-match press conference.

“I don' t think there's too much need to talk about the mistakes we made. We got a good hiding today.

“It's how we respond now on Tuesday night [against Swansea] and the best way is not to explain too much the mistakes.

"Yes, of course it's one of the worst days [in my career]. It's over after 20 minutes and it's a long game after that. You don't prepare all week to experience that kind of experience."

The game included a hugely controversial incident at 2-0 when referee Andre Marriner awarded Chelsea a penalty for a handball committed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the official mistakenly sent off left-back Kieran Gibbs.

Wenger claimed Marriner did not see the incident but refused to use the red card as an excuse for a result that leaves Arsenal seven points behind the league leaders.

He added: “I believe it was handball but the referee hasn't seen it. The ball went out and I think it's Chamberlain who touched the ball.

“I don't know who gave indication to the referee that it was handball but he has certainly not seen it. Of course it's a huge disappointment today but we want to win the next game now."

 

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Arsenal game over after seven minutes, says Chelsea boss Mourinho

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says his side were "too strong" for Arsenal following the 6-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese says he sent his players out to press high up the pitch in the early exchanges, and it paid dividends as the Blues went two goals up inside seven minutes through Samuel Eto'o and Andre Schurrle.

"I think we started in an incredible way, seven minutes in, 2-0 and the game is over," Mourinho told BT Sport.

"I think we started very, very strongly. We really wanted to try to make Arsenal feel not comfortable in the way they play, we tried to press immediately and recover the ball quickly.

"We managed to do that and at 2-0 after seven minutes the game is over, because we were too strong for them.

"After that comes the penalty and the red card, even worse for them, but I think the game was resolved in 10 minutes."

The penalty incident saw Kieran Gibbs shown a red card, although it was actually Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who handled Eden Hazard's shot in the area.

Referee Andre Marriner was roundly criticised for getting the wrong man, but Mourinho says he can sympathise with the official and that, ultimately, the decision to award a penalty and red card was correct.

"There were lots of people in the box, I think it was Eden with the shot," the two-time Champions League winner mused.

"From the dug-out we see one player diving like a keeper and touching the ball with his hands, but from the bench we couldn't say which.

"My assistant was saying [Mikel] Arteta, the other one was saying Chamberlain and referee or the linesman said Gibbs.

"It's a difficult decision and if the fourth official says Gibbs ... the penalty was a penalty, the red card was a red card, and unfortunately the wrong boy came off."

The Chelsea boss also hopes victory against Arsenal will get his side back on track after they were beaten at Aston Villa last weekend.

"We had momentum, but for some reason last Saturday the momentum stopped," he continued.

"Now we are trying to build another momentum and the victory against Galatasaray was important, and against Arsenal ... as Arsene Wenger was saying before the match, it was the most important game of the season for them.

"We don't say that, but we say it was a very important match for us because Arsenal are always an important rival, they are a rival also in the fight for the top four.

"When we get the top four we want to finish in the top three and qualify automatically for the Champions League and not have to qualify, so it was important to beat them."

After again complaining that he is treated differently by the Football Association, Mourinho was asked if his side can win the Premie League title.

"If they let us," he joked.

 

[රජ්ජුරුවෝ]

football is always enjoyable than cricket, but we rarely get a chance to play

 

[unicornx]

This is it..Its El Classico

 

[unicornx]

"I'll never reject a picture, autograph, or a hug. I was once a football fan too."

-Cristiano Ronaldo-

 

[unicornx]

Mainz 0-2 Bayern Munich: Bavarians leave it late to edge ever closer to title

Bayern Munich struck two late goals to edge ever closer to the Bundesliga title with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Mainz.

Pep Guardiola's men were made to work hard for the victory at the Coface Arena, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes as the Bavarians racked up an 18th straight league triumph.

However, Bayern will have to wait for at least another round before they can be crowned champions as second-placed Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, who sit third, both won.

Bayern remain 23 points clear of Dortmund, who beat Hannover, with Schalke a further point behind following their success against Eintracht Braunschweig.

The first-half failed to yield much in terms of goalmouth action as Bayern were met by a stubborn Mainz defence, while Christian Heidel's charges were keen to break quickly on the counterattack.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting went close to putting Mainz ahead shortly after the break with an effort that cannoned against the crossbar.

Goalkeeper Loris Karius then made a string of fine saves to frustrate the visitors, but there was nothing he could do to prevent Schweinsteiger's free header in the 82nd minute, before Gotze added a second with a close-range finish.

Bayern showed their intent as early as the fourth minute when Christoph Moritz's poor headed clearance fell kindly for Arjen Robben but his right-foot shot was beaten away by goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Mainz responded well, however, and their willingness to attack quickly on the break yielded arguably the best chance of the opening exchanges as Nicolai Muller cut inside David Alaba from the right only to shoot tamely at Manuel Neuer.

The visitors began to predictably control possession, though Mainz's resolute defence continued to frustrate Bayern.

It took until the 35th minute for Bayern to test Karius again, Robben once more the architect as he created space to send a curling shot straight at the goalkeeper.

A rare Mainz attack came to nothing eight minutes before the interval when Shinji Okazaki was flagged for offside as he raced on to Park Joo-Ho's long pass before striking the post.

Bayern were searching for greater penetration in the final third after the break, but Guardiola's men survived a huge scare in the 47th minute when Choupo-Moting charged at Philipp Lahm before unleashing a fierce strike that beat Neuer but crashed off the underside of the crossbar.

At the other end Mainz were thankful to Karius for keeping the scores level as Mario Mandzukic leapt to meet Alaba's cross and his powerful header seemed destined for the top corner but the keeper produced a superb stop.

Bayern's attacking improvement continued just after the hour mark with Robben once again teasing the Mainz defence and forcing Karius into a low near-post stop.

Karius was proving to be essential in Mainz's plucky resistance, the goalkeeper making a fine stop with his left leg to deny Franck Ribery's strike across the face of goal with just under 20 minutes remaining.

Bayern finally made the breakthrough with eight minutes left as Xherdan Shaqiri's superb cross was headed home by Schweinsteiger at the back post.

Cruelly for Mainz, Gotze added a second in the 86th minute, the Germany international keeping his composure to slide past Karius.

Munge Finishingnan anthimai Mainz had 2 open chances

 

[unicornx]

Jese: I'll come back stronger

Real Madrid youngster Jese Rodriguez insists he will “come back stronger” from his cruciate ligament injury.The player was stretchered off in his side’s 3-1 win over Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday and underwent surgery on his knee on Thursday.

And the 21-year-old is remaining positive in the wake of his injury and says he is completely focused on recovering and wants to return in even better shape than he was before.

“I really appreciate all the displays of affection I’ve received,” the forward told Real Madrid’s official website.“I’m taking all the encouragement to make me stronger and return with more determination and do what I know, which is play football. I have to take it easy to recover.

“[The operation] went well and I’m already thinking about recovering, which is the important thing and the only thing I can change from the bad stuff that happened.
“Now I’m not going to play for some time, but I’m going to come back stronger.”
The youngster says he is wishing his team the best as they prepare to take on fierce rivals Barcelona in a crucial league clash this weekend.

“I’ve spoken to my team-mates and the gaffer on the phone and I’ve given them my full support to go and win the Clasico. I’ve told them that what’s happened to me is extra motivation and they’ve said they’re going to be strong and dedicate the win to me.”He then went on to discuss his side’s Champions League quarter-final opponents, Borussia Dortmund.

“Dortmund are a great side; they’ve changed a few players from last year but at the end of the day it’s down to us.”

Next Ronaldo

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester City keen on Moyes target Carvalho

Manchester City have joined rivals United in the race to land Sporting Lisbon starlet William Carvalho.

City have scouted the powerful 21-year-old defensive midfielder on several occasions in the last month and are aware of United having registered official interest in the player.

It is City’s understanding that the Portugal international has no firm preference in terms of his next club but is keen to move to a side playing Champions League football next season.

Manuel Pellegrini is a keen admirer of Carvalho, who made his full international debut in last year’s World Cup play-off against Sweden, while City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain has been told the player would be available for a fee of €38 million.

The player himself has admitted to being flattered by the interest of United, who Goal understands will have around £180m to spend on squad reinforcements in the summer.

Speaking after Sporting’s 2-1 win over Braga earlier this month, Carvalho said: “It’s nice being praised and to know there are some big clubs interested in me.

“[My future could be with] Manchester United or Real Madrid. It’s just nice to have a great European club after me, but at the moment I’m just totally focused on Sporting and doing my best until the end of the season. At the end of the campaign, we will see what happens.”

City are focusing much of their transfer activity on Portuguese-based talent and maintain an interest in Porto pair Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando.

Although currently well stocked for midfield options, City are expected to lose Gareth Barry at the end of the season, who could make his move to Everton a permanent one, while Jack Rodwell is also likely to be made available.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chievo 0-2 Roma: Destro and Gervinho tighten grip on second spot

First half goals from Gervinho and Mattia Destro saw Roma tighten their grip on second place in Serie A with a 2-0 win over Chievo on Saturday.

The Giallorossi dominated the opening 45 minutes and enjoyed two early sights of goal as Francesco Totti and Nadja Nainggolan both had efforts blocked from distance.

Unsurprisingly the deadlock was broken soon after. On 17 minutes Gervinho found himself in space inside the area and duly took advantage, finishing into the bottom right-hand corner.

The visitors continued to press as they looked to double their advantage, with Totti dragging a right-foot shot wide of the left post with 23 minutes gone.

It was then the turn of Destro to strike fear into the hearts of the Chievo back four when he went agonisingly close from an acute angle on the left hand side of the box.

But the striker was not to be denied with his next sight of goal. Rodrigo Taddei slid a fine through ball into his path three minutes before the break, which the 23-year-old slid home with the minimum of fuss.

The home side did at least briefly threaten in the second period as they looked for a way back into the game.

On 54 minutes Gennaro Sardo drilled wide from the edge of the box from a Simone Bentivoglio cross, but just seconds later Destro shot wide for Roma after being played through by Nainggolan, in yet another example of their offensive threat.

Victor Obinha then went close for Chievo with a 74th minute shot from the edge of the box that was saved Morgan De Sanctis, while Michael Agazzi got down well to keep out a late Gervinho header, as Roma saw out a 2-0 win with relative ease.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Moyes hails Rooney after West Ham wonder strike

Manchester United manager David Moyes hailed Wayne Rooney after the striker's two-goal display and spectacular opening strike against West Ham.

Rooney lobbed Hammers goalkeeper Adrian from just inside the opposition half in front of former United star David Beckham, who scored from similar distance in 1996 against Wimbledon.

"It was a great goal by a top, top player," Moyes told reporters. "His technical ability, his awareness to know where the goalkeeper was and then to actually execute it, to drift the ball in the way he did, the only worry was whether it would bounce under the bar or not.

"I actually quite enjoyed his second goal! I wouldn't comment on whether it was better than Beckham's or not.

"I thought his second goal, because he was getting in the box and leading the line today, it was a bit fortunate but all the top centre forwards get fortunate because they get in the right place to score goals."

United could have scored more goals during a first half in which they counter-attacked at will, and Moyes expressed his delight with the amount of chances they created in the absence of Robin van Persie.

"The goal will maybe take centre stage but I thought our performance today was very good," he added. Shinji [Kagawa] was excellent, [so was] Juan Mata.

"The disappointment was that we didn't score more from the good football we played. Before we scored we had really threatened and considering we were a bit makeshift defensively there was some really good football."

The 50-year-old was quick, however, to deny the suggestion Rooney could benefit from Van Persie's absence.

"I don't think anyone profits from Robin van Persie's injury," he insisted. "He's a top player and he'll be a massive miss to us in the coming month or so."

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce complained that Rooney had fouled James Tomkins in the build-up to his stunning first goal.

"Such a wonderful goal from Wayne Rooney so early on was a bit of a sickener," he said. "I thought it was a blatant foul on James Tomkins, who was easily going to head the ball away.

"Rooney took him off his balance when he jumped and he missed the header. The referee, in the end, has made a big error as far as I'm concerned because the opposition has scored from that error."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League 2014.03.23 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2014.03.23 Fixtures

Tottenham Vs Southampton

Aston Villa Vs Stoke City

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

La Liga 2014.03.23 Fixtures

La Liga 2014.03.23 Fixtures

Osasuna Vs Sevilla

Real Betis Vs Atletico Madrid

Velncia Vs Villareal

Real Madrid Vs Barcelona​

 

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Serie A 2014.03.23 Fixtures

Serie A 2014.03.23 Fixtures

Parma Vs Genoa

Bologna Vs Cagliari

Inter Vs Atalanta

Sampdoria Vs Hellas

Udinese Vs Sassuolo

Napoli Vs Fiorentina

Catania Vs Juventus

Lazio Vs AC Milan​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Madrid Vs Barcelona

Real Madrid Line-up

Diego Lopez
Pepe
Sergio Ramos
Marcelo
Daniel Carvajal
Xabi Alonso
Luka Modric
Ángel Di María
Cristiano Ronaldo
Karim Benzema
Gareth Bale

Barcelona Line-up

Victor Valdés
Gerard Piqué
Javier Mascherano
Jordi Alba
Dani Alves
Xavi
Andrés Iniesta
Sergio Busquets
Cesc Fábregas
Lionel Messi
Neymar

Good Luck for both teams!

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Real Madrid 2 Vs 2 Barcelona

Pattama gemak yanne

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Full Time

Real Madrid 3 Vs 4 Barcelona

Real Madrid Goal(s)

Benzema 20',24'
C.Ronaldo 55(PEN)'

&

Barcelona Goal(s)

Iniesta 7'
Messi 42',65(PEN)',84(PEN)'


Pattama match 1ka7 goal thriller

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Monaco 1-1 Lille: Ranieri's men fall further behind in title race

Monaco were held to a 1-1 draw by Lille in Sunday evening's Ligue 1 encounter at the Stade Louis II.

Mounir Obbadi gifted Claudio Ranieri's men an early lead, but Divock Origi restored parity before the interval with a good finish.

Monaco started the match brilliantly and needed only four minutes to open the scoring. Valere Germain set up Obbadi inside the area and the 30-year-old calmly slotted home from 12 yards out to make it 1-0 for the home side.

Jeremy Toulalan then came close to making it two with a shot from just outside the area, but the experienced midfielder aimed just wide.

Lille first threatened at the half-hour mark when Idrissa Guaye tried his luck after some sloppy defending from Ricardo Carvalho, but his acrobatic attempt failed to trouble Danijel Subasic.

There was little the Monaco goalkeeper could do about Origi's attempt in the 38th minute, though. The Belgian midfielder received the ball from Ryan Mendes before finding the net with a fine finish.

Lille started the second half lively and Salomon Kalou in particular caused the hosts all kinds of trouble. The former Chelsea man found Jonathan Delaplace in a dangerous position, yet his lobbed effort was kept out by Subasic.

Monaco then took over the initiative again and young midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia nearly restored his side's lead with a superb long-range strike after a corner, but his shot went just over the crossbar.

With 10 more minutes to play, Kalou cut inside from the right after a quick counterattack and hit a powerful shot from a narrow angle, but the forward failed to get his attempt on target.

Monaco currently sit second in Ligue 1 with 63 points from 30 games, trailing leaders Paris Saint-Germain by 10 points, while Lille remain third in the table on 54 points.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Lazio 1-1 AC Milan: Gonzalez denies Seedorf's men the victory

A second-half goal from Alvaro Gonzalez saw Lazio deny AC Milan a much-needed win as the sides drew 1-1 in Rome on Sunday.

Abdoulay Konko turned into his own net in the closing minutes of the first half to put Clarence Seedorf's side in front but the Biancocelesti midfielder levelled in the second period to ensure a share of the spoils.

Milan went into Sunday's game at the Stadio Olimpico on the back of three consecutive Serie A defeats, a slump in form that has caused unrest at San Siro to the point that head coach Seedorf and his players have spoken to the club's demonstrating Ultras in recent weeks.

And it looked as if the weight of pressure was easing on his beleaguered side when Milan took the lead just before half-time in fortuitous circumstances after Kaka's cross deflected off Konko before finding its way into the near corner.

Indeed, had Keisuke Honda headed in a fantastic cross from Kaka just before half-time, it may have pushed the visitors on to the victory they badly needed.

But Edoardo Reja's side put in a spirited second-half performance and Lazio got their rewards when Gonzalez reacted quickest to instinctively head home just after the hour.

Substitute Mario Balotelli was denied by the frame of the goal late on as Lazio extended their unbeaten home run in the league against Milan to four games, with Seedorf's men wedged in the bottom half of the table.

Both sides were without their first-choice goalkeepers, with Christian Abbiati suspended and Federico Marchetti ill, so Marco Amelia and Etrit Berisha deputised.

Seedorf has been in the spotlight after the club's recent Champions League elimination coupled with poor league results and all Milan had to show for their early endeavours was a wild long-range effort from Honda that flew over.

Lazio had the ball in the net just before the break when Diego Novaretti's header squirmed under Amelia, but it was ruled offside as Giuseppe Biava challenged for the ball when coming back from an offside position.

And fortune favoured Milan again two minutes before half-time as Seedorf's men took the lead in fortunate circumstances when Kaka's left-wing cross deflected off Konko, wrong-footed Berisha and nestled in the net.

It should have been two in first-half injury time when Kaka's wicked delivery found Honda 12 yards out, but he ballooned his header over with the goal gaping.

Lazio were looking to avoid a second consecutive home defeat and showed signs of life early in the second half when Balde Keita forced a save from Amelia.

And Lazio were level after 61 minutes when Gonzalez showed great anticipation to react to Lucas Biglia's flick-on to bury a bullet header past Amelia.

Seedorf responded by bringing on Balotelli and he almost repaid his manager, but his thunderous 20-yard drive cannoned back off the post with Berisha beaten.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Catania 0-1 Juventus: Tevez tightens champions' grip on the title

Juventus took a step closer to the Serie A title on Sunday as Carlos Tevez scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Catania.

In a scrappy, turgid affair devoid of any pattern or fluency, Tevez's 16th Serie A goal of the season just before the hour mark was enough to separate the two sides at Stadio Angelo Massimino on Sunday.

Midway through a first half littered with fouls and scuffles on the field, both Antonio Conte and Rolando Moran were dismissed by referee Antonio Damato seemingly for disagreeing with a number of the official's decisions.

The breakthrough arrived in the 59th minute, when Pablo Daniel Osvaldo knocked down Andrea Pirlo's long pass into the stride of Tevez, who powered low into the bottom left-hand corner from just inside the area.

Catania, struggling desperately at the bottom of the table, had Gonzalo Bergessio sent off midway through the second half for a second bookable offence after leading with his arm in an aerial challenge with Giorgio Chiellini.

The red card seemed to demoralise the struggling home side, who up until that point had fought hard to combat their illustrious opponents.

The win, Juventus' sixth Serie A success in a row, leaves the Turin giants 14 points clear of Roma as they continued their seemingly inexorable charge to a third-successive Scudetto.

Their beleaguered hosts, meanwhile, remain rooted to the foot of the table, four points adrift of safety.

The opening to the game saw three bookings inside the first 15 minutes, with Pirlo's off-target free-kick the closest either side came to a goal.

Alexis Rolin headed wide for the hosts from close range, then Damato sent both coaches from the touchline midway through the half.

Conte appeared incensed with a decision made by the official, who jogged over to the technical area and dismissed the Juve coach before also sending his opposite number Maran to the stands.

Osvaldo came close to opening the scoring 12 minutes after the break, sending an acrobatic effort narrowly over the crossbar, before providing the chance for his strike partner Tevez to break the deadlock two minutes later.

The Italy international nodded Pirlo's raking pass perfectly into Tevez's path, and the Argentina international burst forward before unleashing a shot that crept in at the far post despite a strong hand from Mariano Andujar.

The goalkeeper faired better 15 minutes from time, tipping behind another dangerous set-piece from Pirlo, before Tevez ought to have put the game beyond doubt six minutes from time.

After robbing Norbert Gyomber on the halfway line, he raced clear on goal but sent his effort wide of the post with only Andujar to beat.

It mattered not as Juve held on for the win to take a step closer to the title and simulataneously deepen Catania's relegation fears.