..::Football III::..

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Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City: Moyes' men outclassed as City keep up title hunt

Edin Dzeko bagged a double and Yaya Toure fired in a late third as Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League table with a comfortable 3-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

David Moyes' men were buoyed by good wins over Olympiakos and West Ham heading into the contest but City stung them instantly as Edin Dzeko scored after 43 seconds to register the fastest away goal at Old Trafford in Premier League history.

United proceeded to stagger their way through the opening exchanges and rarely threatened to stop City extending their present dominance of the fixture to five wins from six league meetings, although Juan Mata might have levelled matters six minutes before the interval.Dzeko finished precisely 11 minutes into the second half to give City breathing space and Yaya Toure added a third in the 90th minute, the Ivorian's fourth goal in two games.

Manuel Pellegrini's team are well-placed in the title race, three points behind leaders Chelsea with two games in hand ahead of Saturday's trip to Arsenal.It is a battle Moyes and champions United must watch from afar, having won just one of 11 matches against the six teams above them in the table this term
Moyes selected a three-man central midfield in the hope of giving United a more robust feel but they suffered a nightmare start.

City immediately drove into opposition territory and Rafael was forced into a superb last-ditch tackle to deny David Silva, but the ball was worked out to Samir Nasri and, in the United right-back's absence, he had time to pick out a low shot which hit the inside of the post, rebounded across goal and was turned in by Dzeko.

United struggled badly to gain an early foothold and Silva should have increased their anxiety when he scuffed a ninth-minute shot against a prone Rio Ferdinand - starting in place of the suspended Nemanja Vidic at centre-back.Ferdinand appeared to be struggling with the pace of the game and played Silva onside in the 18th minute, leading to Dzeko drawing an excellent stop from David De Gea.

Marouane Fellaini drove into Joe Hart's gloves but the former Everton midfielder was perhaps fortunate to remain on the field with half an hour played after pushing his elbow into Pablo Zabaleta's face. Referee Michael Oliver decided a yellow card was sufficient.United gradually worked their way into the half and Mata blasted over after Wayne Rooney’s 39th-minute air-shot.

Moyes sent on Shinji Kagawa for the ineffective Tom Cleverley at the start of the second half but City resumed on the front foot.Fernandinho could not adjust to convert Vincent Kompany's flick-on from Nasri's 52nd-minute corner and headed over.

Yet United did not heed the warning and, when Nasri produced a similar delivery four minutes later, Dzeko coolly planted a side-foot volley beyond De Gea, ultimately sealing a ninth consecutive away league game unbeaten - a far cry from City's early-season troubles on the road.The frenetic pace of the game subsided and Hart remained severely under-worked, with the exception of a sharp 71st-minute stop that kept out an impudent flick from England colleague Danny Welbeck.

A woeful evening for United was completed when a pass from substitute James Milner deflected into Toure's path, allowing the midfielder to drive home into the bottom corner in trademark fashion.

 

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Newcastle 0-3 Everton: Barkley wonder-goal helps steer classy Toffees to easy win

Everton ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Newcastle to keep their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish very much alive.

Ross Barkley stunned St James's Park with a fantastic run halfway up the pitch before a decisive finish in the first half, further pressing his England claim.

The Toffees doubled their lead early in the second half when Romelu Lukaku pushed home from Gerard Deulofeu's cross before Leon Osman put the game to bed in the late stages.

The victory marks the first time that Everton have completed a league double over Newcastle since 1999 but, more importantly, moves them within six points of fourth-placed Arsenal - whom they host on April 6 - with a game in hand after the Londoners drew 2-2 with Swansea City.

Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse almost picked up where he left off after his last-gasp winner against Crystal Palace on Saturday when he came close to breaking the deadlock early on. The Senegal international connected with a near-post corner from Paul Dummett but his shot was saved by Tim Howard before Yoan Gouffran's follow-up was blocked on the line.

But Everton quickly began to dictate matters and penned the hosts inside their own half for much of the opening stages.

The visitors' dominance looked set to pay dividends in the 16th minute as Osman played Lukaku through on goal, only for Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul to produce an outstanding save.

However, Everton's opener did soon arrive as Barkley lit up St James's Park with a contender for goal of the season. The 20-year-old picked up the ball from well inside his own half after a Magpies corner, sprinting all the way to the edge of the area before cutting inside past a string of recovering defenders and unleashing a thunderous left-footed strike into the top corner.

Newcastle looked to respond and demonstrated plenty of industry but their lack of creativity in the final third was their undoing as they struggled to test Howard.

The hosts' failure to break down the Everton defence was in stark contrast to the pace and guile of Martinez's men, who moved into a commanding position shortly after the interval.

On-loan Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu fired a warning shot by flying down the right and drawing a strong save from Krul.

Yet Newcastle did not learn from that close call and found themselves two behind in the 52nd minute as Deulofeu latched onto a clever ball from Osman and delivered a precise low right-wing cross for Lukaku to tap home.

And the hosts' disappointing evening was summed up 12 minutes from time, Vurnon Anita shooting wide with the goal gaping before Osman finished off another sweeping Everton attack to emphatically end their run of five away Premier League fixtures without a win.

 

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Hertha Berlin 1-3 Bayern Munich: Bavarians clinch Bundesliga title in record time

Bayern Munich clinched their 24th German title in stylish fashion with a comfortable 3-1 win at Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.

The Bavarian giants became the first Bundesliga club to win the title in March, defending their title with a record seven matches to spare thanks to goals from Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze and Franck Ribery.

Kroos and Gotze struck within the first 15 minutes, setting the tone in a match that Bayern controlled, and although Adrian Ramos scored a second-half penalty for the hosts, Ribery wrapped up his side's win with a delightful chip from a tight angle.

Much was made of Pep Guardiola's arrival in Munich but the Spaniard's side look on track to beat the 25-point margin Bayern won last year's league by under Jupp Heynckes.

Their latest triumph saw them go 25 points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund and that gap appears only likely to widen as the season goes on.

Bayern's latest piece of silverware may struggle to find a space in a creaking trophy cabinet that has been filled by six new items in the last year, including two league successes and last season's UEFA Champions League.

Their evolution under Guardiola was evident in the German capital, with long spells of possession and control giving Hertha little chance of an upset.

The coach neglected to choose an out-and-out striker, leaving the league's top scorer – Mario Mandzukic – on the bench, with Gotze operating in a false nine position.

The fluid structure to Bayern's attack was replicated across the pitch, as the players essentially did as they pleased in the German capital.

Bayern started brightly and it took them less than six minutes to assert their dominance. Thomas Muller got to the byline and although a deflection took his cross away from its intended target, Kroos was on hand to stroke it in from 12 yards at the far post.

Another cross into the penalty area led to Bayern's second, with Bastian Schweinsteiger's ball nodded in by Gotze at the near post.

An air of resignation swept through the stadium and despite a lull being inevitable, it only came because Bayern appeared happy to relax.

They flicked the switch again just before the break as Gotze prodded wide before Muller saw a header strike the crossbar after the former's clever cut-back.

Bayern played like a team who had victory secured in the early stages of the second half and Guardiola attempted to shake things up with the introduction of Ribery and Mandzukic.

The two new arrivals linked almost immediately, but ex-Bayern goalkeeper Thomas Kraft denied Mandzukic with his outstretched right foot, and Hertha then won an unlikely lifeline.

Rafinha needlessly shoved Ramos in the back after a ball in from the right and, clearly unaffected by the pressure, the forward cheekily chipped the resulting penalty down the middle to score.

Ribery made sure Bayern's fans would be celebrating at the Olympiastadion – where Bayern will hope to return in May for the DFB-Pokal final – though, finishing Gotze's excellent run with a finish that summed up his side's brilliant season.

 

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Congratulations Bayern!

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Dortmund 0-0 Schalke: Spoils shared in battle for second spot

Borussia Dortmund missed the chance to strengthen their grip on second spot in the Bundesliga after being held to a 0-0 draw at home to third-placed Schalke.

With the title on its way back to Bavaria following Bayern Munich's victory over Hertha Berlin, attention now turns to the race to secure Champions League qualification, with Dortmund and Schalke set to battle it out for second spot.

Jurgen Klopp's side dominated large spells of the Revierderby, but the likes ofRobert Lewandowski, Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were all denied by Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann to leave the hosts frustrated at the Signal-Iduna Park.

In an ill-tempered first half, the ball spent most of its time in midfield, although both teams' main strikers, Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Lewandowski, missed chances to break the deadlock.

Fahrmann was the star of the second half, though, as the 25-year-old made a string of fine saves to keep third-placed Schalke within a point of their neighbours with seven games remaining.

The visitors settled well and created the first sight of goal in the fourth minute as Sead Kolasinac escaped the attentions of Lukasz Piszczek on the left, before lifting a ball into the penalty area only for the usually lethal Huntelaar to balloon his shot over the crossbar.

Another surprising miss came two minutes later as Dortmund threatened on the counter-attack, and Erik Durm found space on the left wing and delivered onto the head of Lewandowski.

The unmarked Poland international rose to meet the cross on the penalty spot, but he uncharacteristically headed well wide of goal.

As is often the case during local derbies, both sides struggled to keep hold of the ball in a frenetic game that lacked cutting edge in the final third but featured plenty of robust challenges in the middle of the pitch.

With chances at a premium, the best opportunity of the half fell to Mkhitaryan on the half-hour mark. The Armenian received a pull back from Durm but his low drive was pushed away by Fahrmann.

Dortmund finished the half strongly and Reus wasted another opportunity in the closing minutes as he volleyed wide from the inside the penalty area.

Reus was again on hand at the start of the second half as Mkhitaryan and Kevin Grosskreutz worked an opening on the right, but the 24-year-old was unable to bundle the low cross past Fahrmann.

Dortmund were beginning to apply real pressure on the Schalke goal without being able to put a shot on target, and they were lucky not to be behind as Roman Neustadter headed straight at Roman Weidenfeller on the hour.

Klopp's men continued to push, but they found Fahrmann in fine form as he first denied Lewandowski with his feet before then denying Reus.

Even the return off the bench of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - who scored the opening goal in Dortmund's 3-1 win in the reverse fixture - could not unlock the Schalke defence, compounding a frustrating evening for the home side.

 

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Real Madrid’s Ramos red card appeal rejected

Real Madrid’s attempt to have Sergio Ramos’ red card overturned has been rebuffed by the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) Competitions Committee.

The 27-year-old centre-half, who has been handed a one-match ban, was shown the 19th red card of his career when he was adjudged to have felled Neymar as the Barcelona forward bore down on goal in Los Blancos' 4-3 Clasico defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The capital club had hoped to have the Spain international’s suspension quashed to allow him to participate in Wednesday evening’s encounter at Sevilla but the RFEF have decreed otherwise.

However, Madrid have indicated that they will make a last-ditch attempt to have the World Cup winner available for the trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, as they will lodge a case with the RFEF’s Appeals Court and could even go as far as the Spanish Sport Ministry’s Administrative Court, which would mean that the defender’s ban would be postponed to a later date.

Madrid, who are now second in La Liga behind Atletico Madrid on a head-to-head basis, have included Ramos in their squad for their must-win clash with in-form Sevilla.

 

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Cabaye wants Hazard at Paris Saint-Germain

Yohan Cabaye says that he would love to see Eden Hazard at Paris Saint-Germain, revealing that the winger is one of the best players he has ever played against.

The France international lined out alongside the Chelsea ace during their time together at Lille before discovering what it's like to go up against the 23-year-old Belgian during his spell in the Premier League with Newcastle.

Consequently, Cabaye is only too aware of just how big a threat Hazard is to PSG's hopes of progressing to the last four of the Champions League at Chelsea's expense.

"Hazard is a player that I would like to PSG," the midfielder told PMU ahead of next week's first leg at Parc des Princes. "He would do so well in Paris and in the championship.

"He's one of the best players I've played against. Eden Hazard is the Chelsea player. He will be the player that we will need to pay attention to; we will have to watch him.

"He can make the difference at any time; he can be dangerous with each acceleration. But then, the whole world knows that.

"And we will not focus solely on him, although we will have to be vigilant."

However, Cabaye suggested that Chelsea will be just as fearful of PSG's array of attacking talents, as he feels that Ligue 1 is now getting far greater exposure across Europe.

"It's started to arrive little by little, in England in particular," he mused.

"When Eden arrived at Chelsea and I at Newcastle, our team-mates didn't know us.

"Now, Ligue 1 is everywhere. Thanks to Paris and Monaco, the matches are now exported [on television]."

 

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Neuer: Guardiola has made Bayern better

Manuel Neuer says Bayern Munich are lucky to have Pep Guardiola, arguing that the Catalan coach has actually made the Bavarians better this season.

When he arrived at the Allianz Arena last summer, the former Barcelona boss had the unenviable task of trying to improve a side that had just completed a treble.

However, with Bayern took a significant step towards successfully defending their three titles by winning the Bundesliga with a record seven games to spare, one more than they managed last season.

Neuer freel admits that he has been taken aback at just how well Bayern have performed in Guardiola's first season in charge.

"We know he is a great coach," Neuer told Sky. "And, of course, we picked up momentum from the treble win; you clearly have to say that.

"But nobody expected that it would continue so seamlessly. We are happy to have this coach and he develops us."

Meanwhile, Bayern winger Arjen Robben admitted that he is now looking forward to enjoying the benefits of wrapping up the title before the end of March, namely a couple of days off to celebrate their success.

"I don't know what follows now," the Dutch winger mused. "We will see. If Schweini [midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger] plans a party, he usually does that well. There will be a beer shower!"

After concluding their title celebrations, Bayern will have to quickly turn their attentions to the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester United next week.

 

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Manchester United had no clear chances - City boss Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini was pleased to see his Manchester City side stop rivals United from creating a single goalscoring opportunity in their 3-0 derby win at Old Trafford.

The visitors opened the scoring just 43 seconds into the game as Edin Dzeko followed up to tap home from close range after Samir Nasri hit the post.

Dzeko scored a second after the interval before Yaya Toure wrapped up the comprehensive win in stoppage time, much to the delight of the Chilean.

"I think that we did a really good performance," Pellegrini told Sky Sports. "We scored three goals, we had three or four more clear chances to score.

"I don’t remember a clear chance United had. We were a compact team, an aggressive team from the beginning.

"For me, it’s very important to keep our clean sheet. We know we can score a lot of goals but today we were very compact as a team.

"I think we were complete in attacking and defending."

Pellegrini also believes the derby victory will give his side a psychological boost in the title race, with City having moved three points behind Chelsea with two games in hand thanks to their derby success.

He added: "It was very important psychologically for us. We had to play away against a great team like Manchester United.

"It’s important we continue recovering points against Liverpool and Chelsea. We are four points up from Arsenal. It's important to keep adding points."

 

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Guardiola joy at title triumph: I didn't think Bayern would be so good

Pep Guardiola claimed after Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title in record-breaking fashion that they are now an even better side than they were last season.

The Bavarians won a treble under previous coach Jupp Heynckes and were crowned champions of Germany with six rounds of the season remaining.

However, Tuesday's win at Hertha Berlin saw Bayern seal the title with seven games to spare much to the delight of Guardiola, who freely admitted that even he did not expect things to go swell in his first season at the Allianz Arena.

"I am satisfied that we have done it," the former Barcelona boss told Sky. "It's another title for this club and that's important.

"We've had a great season and now we will enjoy it. The Bundesliga is our bread and butter.

"In the cup competition it is enough to win four, five games to reach the final. In the league you have to work and work every day, every weekend.

"If you see how the boys worked under Jupp Heynckes already last season, they have got even better. That is the result of hard work.

"At the start of a season, you always hope that everything will be good - but I wouldn't have thought that it would be this good.

"In the first four, five months, we had a lot of problems and a lot of injuries. Our level wasn't good, but the individual quality of the players led to our wins.

"But we became better day by day. We will eat together now and celebrate together. If you have a bit of time, you should enjoy it. Today and tomorrow we are going to celebrate."

Bayern are also on course to win a second successive treble, as they are already through to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

 

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'Unstoppable' Manchester City & Chelsea are title favourites, concedes Wenger

Arsene Wenger believes that "unstoppable" Manchester City and Chelsea are title favourites, and concedes that Arsenal's chances have diminished following Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Swansea City.

Jose Mourinho's side are three points clear of City at the top of the Premier League, although Manuel Pellegrini's men have two games in hand following their 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Arsenal, meanwhile, lost more ground in the title race after failing to see out a 2-1 lead against Swansea and are now six points adrift of top spot.

"Everton won so we have to focus and prepare well for the next game," Wenger told the club's official website.

"It will be open until the end but you can still have surprises as well. Man City had a good result [on Tuesday] - they look a bit unstoppable.

"They are favourites as they have two games in hand; them and Chelsea are favourites now for the title.

"We have not too much room to come back into it,but we have to get some players back. It is difficult to fight with half the team out."

Wilfried Bony had given Swansea the lead after 11 minutes at the Emirates Stadium before two swift goals from Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud put Arsenal on course to bounce back from Saturday's 6-0 defeat to Chelsea.

But Mathieu Flamini's own goal in the 90th minute kept Wenger's side in fourth spot, with Everton, who beat Newcastle 3-0 on Tuesday, six points behind with a game in hand - and a match between the two still to come.

“We have to look behind us and, of course, try to look in front of us," said Wenger. "The result is very disappointing but the spirit we put in and the effort we put in was great and we have to take it on the chin.

"We made the most difficult [part] by coming back to 2-1 and after that you could see that maybe we were too focused to keep the result and maybe too conservative because of confidence level had been affected certainly by Saturday.

"We just wanted to win the game without pushing anymore forward and a mistake happened, unfortunately, and it created a result we didn't want but overall I have to give credit to the fighting spirit and the desire we put into that game."

 

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Monk livid after final whistle cuts off chance to beat Arsenal

Swansea City manager Garry Monk was livid with the timing of the final whistle in his side's 2-2 Premier League draw at Arsenal on Tuesday.

Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud found the net in the space of one second-half minute to turn the game on its head after Wilfried Bony had given the Swans an early lead but Mathieu Flamini scored an own goal to pull the visitors level at the death.

However, referee Lee Probert then blew for full-time with Swansea's Jonathan de Guzman clean through on goal just inside the Arsenal half, with Monk fuming to reporters that it was a "very poor decision".

"First half, they added two minutes on because of our goal - fair enough," he continued, "so they told us it was going to be four minutes at the end of the game - OK.

"We score in that period so they add an extra minute on so that's five minutes minimum - I'll stress the word 'minimum' - and then we're clean through on goal, 99 per cent a goalscoring opportunity is going to come and they blow up 30 seconds short.

"A very poor decision, as simple as that. I'm not going to say whether he's going to score the goal or not - I can't predict that - but it's definitely going to be a shot on goal."

Probert was surrounded by Swansea players at the final whistle but Monk concedes that he was ultimately happy to have registered an important point, which lifts them five clear of the relegation zone.

"If you offered us a point before the game we would have said yes," he accepted. "Every point is vital.

"I had more belief in this team than a lot of other people and I know what they can do and they showed that.

"My final word before they went out was to be together and do it for each other because, at the end of the day, when you're out there, that's all you've got and they did it to a man."

 

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Barcelona could spend €120m on transfers, says Bartomeu

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has suggested that the Catalans could spend up to €120 million on transfers ahead of next season.

The Catalans are in the market for a new goalkeeper and a centre-back due to the departures of Victor Valdes and Carles Puyol at the end of the current campaign and the club chief has insisted that their financial situation will not hold them back this summer.

"Each year we have an EBITDA [Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] of about €120 million," Bartomeu told El Periodico.

"We generally use half of that to fund transfers and the other half to reduce our debts.

"But there could be a year where we spend the entire €120m on transfers."

Barcelona are expected to announce Borussia Monchengladbach's Marc-Andre ter Stegen as their new goalkeeper shortly, while they have been linked with players such as David Luiz, Jan Vertonghen and Eliaquim Mangala to strengthen their defence.

 

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Fifa working with Brazil to complete stadiums in time for World Cup

Fifa is determined to ensure Estadio Beira-Rio will host matches at the World Cup amid concerns over the venue's readiness.

The mayor of Potro Alegre, Jose Fortunati, recently expressed his fears that stadium renovations would not be able to be completed in time for the showpiece tournament, which starts in June.

Fortunati warned that the city in southern Brazil may miss out on hosting matches if a bill to allow tax breaks for companies investing in temporary structures for the competition is not voted in.

"This is the point which matters in terms of holding the World Cup in Porto Alegre,” he told Radio Gaucha.

"If the bill is not voted, we will not have the World Cup in Porto Alegre. This is because we will not have the resources to do it. We have no plan B. The only alternative is this."

When contacted by Perform on Tuesday, Fifa stated that they will do all they can to ensure work on all of the 12 stadia is complete for the eagerly awaited finals, and that the situation should be made clearer later this week.

A Fifa spokesperson said: “As said previously, the Fifa World Cup will be played in 12 venues. Fifa, the Local Organising Committee (LOC), the federal government and the respective host cities are working together this week in Rio de Janeiro to find solutions to the remaining challenges.

"There will be a detailed update on Thursday at approximately 12:30 Brasilia time following the Local Organising Committee meeting at a media briefing in Maracana."

France and Honduras are due to meet in the first game at Estadio Beira-Rio in Group E on June 15, with a further three group matches scheduled for the stadium, as well as a last-16 encounter.

 

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Manchester United 'a couple of levels' below City, admits Moyes

Manchester United boss David Moyes admits that his side are "a couple of levels" below Manchester City after being beaten 3-0 at home in Tuesday's derby.

Edin Dzeko scored after just 43 seconds to throw the hosts' game-plan into disarray and the Red Devils were unable to offer a convincing fightback as they fell 15 points behind their local rivals, having played two games more.

"I think we've played a very good side," Moyes told Sky Sports after the game. "It's the standard we need to aspire to at this moment in time.

"I think we need to play better. We need to come up a couple of levels ourselves; at the moment we're not there.

"We didn't start the game well, that's for sure. In the first 15 minutes they were very good.

We grew into it in the first half - up until the second goal we were in with a fighting chance – but, on the night, we didn't do well enough.

"In the opening part of the game we found ourselves under real pressure. They scored after 30 seconds or so, which made it an uphill task."

He added in his post-match press conference: "The key to it was not to lose a second goal to give ourselves a chance of getting in there.

"We didn't start the second half well, we brought pressure on ourselves. It was poor marking [for Dzeko's second] and we should have done much better.

"We never came out of the blocks. You have the players warmed up and ready but they never started well enough. I said after half-time we needed to play in their half of the pitch but we never really got that."

The Scot accepted the blame for his side’s performance but warned that, while "disappointed" in their poor season, he will need plenty of time to whip the club back into shape.

“I take responsibility for the team and always will do," he continued. "We came into the game in pretty good form ourselves [but] conceding early put us on the back foot. It was nothing to do with lack of commitment or lack of effort.

"I'll take responsibility. I'm the one who plays them, picks them. There's a lot of really good players in the squad.

"Everybody knows this is going to be a job that will take a bit of time to get where we will like it. That's the job and I recognise that.

"It's disappointing. I thought it would be a tough year for us but I hoped it would be much more competitive and closer to the top than we are at this moment in time.

"The rebuilding is underway in its own way. A lot of other clubs have had to do rebuilding jobs; it's going to be a period of time to get to that level."

 

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Ronaldo and Ramos did not disrespect the ref, insists Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos did not disrespect referee Undiano Mallenco in the aftermath of Sunday's 4-3 La Liga defeat against Barcelona.

Ronaldo and Ramos both heavily criticised Mallenco after Madrid's loss at the Santiago Bernabeu, accusing the referee of deliberately favouring Barcelona.

Nevertheless, Ancelotti feels his players only gave their personal opinions and sees no reason for disciplinary action.

"I think that in this context, Cristiano and Sergio Ramos were not disrespectful toward anyone," Ancelotti said at a press conference.

"They only gave their personal opinion and I understand how they felt.

"I have always said that, unfortunately, referees can always make a mistakes in a game."

The Madrid coach then went on to discuss the incident where Sergio Busquets seemingly stamped on Pepe's head and feels there would have been more uproar about the incident had things been the other way around.

"Just think about what would have happened had Pepe been the one stamping on Busquets' head. I don't know what would have happened..."

Ancelotti decided to withdraw Karim Benzema in Sunday's Clasico after Sergio Ramos' dismissal, despite the Frenchman's two first-half goals, but he has made it clear the striker understood his substitution.

"I spoke to Karim about his substitution. He put in a great performance and there's no problem at all. He understood the reason behind my decision."

Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways on Wednesday when they travel to Sevilla.

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.03.26 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2014.03.26 Fixtures

West Ham United Vs Hull City

Liverpool Vs Sunderland

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