..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Moyes hints at transfer agreements following Manchester United's Champions League elimination

Manchester United manager David Moyes has hinted that agreements are already in place to bring new players to Old Trafford.

Moyes denied his job was on the line after the Red Devils were knocked out the Champions League by Bayern Munich, and suggested he already knows that players will want to join the club even without top-level European football.

"That's not a question for me because my job is to get on and do the job," he told Sky Sports. "My focus is to get a side which gets us back into the Champions League and that's the objective.

"The club have never had any problem [about the Champions League], they've always been looking to spend the right money on the right players if they are available, it had nothing to do with Champions League football, and any players we've quietly dicussed with are more than happy to join Manchester United.

"As I say, I think there are ones who have quietly... somebody might have had a word in their ear, they've all been keen to come here because [the European hiatus] will be a short thing, not a long thing, and they're all very keen to join such a great club."

United took the lead at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night through a Patrice Evra thunderbolt, but conceded just 22 seconds later and eventually lost the match 3-1, 4-2 on aggregate.

With the club currently seventh in the Premier League table it looks unlikely they will qualify for the Champions League next season, but Moyes is confident that he can rebuild his squad and make a comeback in 2015-16.

"We've not got Champions League football, that's the way it looks," he added. "I believe that it's not far away, hopefully it'll be one year where we go to rebuild.

"Our focus now is getting a team which can make sure we are back in this competition, because it's a great competition, we've really enjoyed it, there's no shame in going out in the quarter-finals to Bayern Munich, because they are a good side.

"The players have played really well, it shows the quality of the players we've got. We'll regroup and we'll start building towards being in the competition again."

 

[Yevon1992]

 

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Moyes danatamath Summer Transfers gana hithala iwarai wage​

 

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UEFA Europa League 2nd Leg Fixtures 2014.04.10

UEFA Europa League 2nd Leg Fixtures 2014.04.10

AGG
(1-0)

Benfica Vs AZ

AGG
(1-0)

Juventus Vs Lyon

AGG
(0-1)

Sevilla Vs Porto

AGG
(0-3)

Valanecia Vs Basel

​

 

[rcccc]

Cazorla ta yanna dunnoth aparadeArsenal team 1ken hodatama perform karana player kenek

cazorla yana ekak nae

 

[rcccc]

Atletico Madrid meh season 1ka play karana widiya niyamaiLast season BVB la wage thamai​

 

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UEFA Europa League 2nd Leg Fixtures 2014.04.10

AGG
(1-0)

Benfica Vs AZ

AGG
(1-0)

Juventus Vs Lyon

AGG
(0-1)

Sevilla Vs Porto

AGG
(0-3)

Valanecia Vs Basel

​

Bro juvi won 0-1.. It appears as if they are lost

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bro juvi won 0-1.. It appears as if they are lost

Affff sorry bro Juve 1st leg 1ka away play karapu nisa amathaka wela 0-1 add wela thiyenne Lyon walataMy bad

 

[Wolverine GTR]

cazorla yana ekak nae

Ow bro yanna dena 1ka padui.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Sevilla 4-1 Porto (Agg 4-2): Ten-man hosts secure stunning victory

A stunning first-half performance helped Sevilla thump Porto 4-1 on Thursday to secure a place in the Europa League semi-finals.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the home side wasted no time in overturning the deficit, stunning Porto with three goals in the opening 29 minutes.

Captain Ivan Rakitic stroked home an early penalty and Vitolo put Sevilla ahead in the tie with a composed left-footed finish.

Carlos Bacca, who delivered a fine individual display, then produced a smart turn and finish to increase Sevilla's advantage.

Although Porto threatened to fight back following Coke's dismissal early in the second half, with Beto making fine saves to deny Ricardo Quaresma and Hector Herrera, Sevilla held firm and grabbed a late fourth through Kevin Gameiro prior to an injury-time consolation from Quaresma.

The omens are good for Unai Emery's side, as they won Europe's secondary club competition on the last two occasions they made it past the quarter-final stage - in 2006 and 2007.

Porto's return to the city where they won the competition in 2003 was not a happy one and they have now lost their last four games in Spain.

Both sides made enforced changes due to suspensions, with Sevilla missing Alberto Moreno and both Fernando and top-scorer Jackson Martinez absent for Porto.

Emery spoke in the build-up to the game about a need for patience, but his team clearly had other ideas as they blew Porto away with a blistering first-half display.

Fabiano was forced into a super save with his foot to deny Bacca after three minutes, but the respite was brief as Sevilla were awarded a penalty when Danilo was adjudged to have brought down the forward.

Rakitic stepped up to coolly send Fabiano the wrong way and give the hosts a fifth-minute lead.

Fabiano was in action again to repel a crisp half-volley from Jose Antonio Reyes, while Quaresma registered Porto's first effort of note after 22 minutes with a ferocious shot that Beto palmed behind.

Two goals in the space of four minutes then left the visitors with a mountain to climb. Fabiano's ill-judged throw out was seized upon by Fernando Navarro and flicked on by Bacca to Vitolo, who controlled beautifully before slotting into the bottom-right corner.

Bacca got in on the act in the 29th minute when he was allowed to turn and lash home his 20th of the season, with the aid of a deflection, from 15 yards.

Porto coach Luis Castro was sent to the stands shortly after half-time for speaking out of turn to the referee but he almost had cause for celebration in the 52nd minute when Beto tipped Quaresma's cross-cum-shot onto the crossbar.

The Portuguese side were given more hope two minutes later when Coke hacked down Quaresma and received a second yellow card and Beto then made a terrific save to claw away Herrera's deflected effort.

Quaresma flashed a low volley wide with Beto stranded soon after and the same player's cross 15 minutes from time glanced off the bar.

However, Sevilla weathered the storm and rounded off a superb night when Vitolo's centre was parried by Fabiano and Gameiro reacted quickest to slot home from close range.

Quaresma did manage a late consolation with a stunning injury-time strike that flew into the top corner, but it wasn't enough to stop the Sevilla party.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia 5-0 Basel (AET, Agg 5-3): Alcacer hat-trick seals unbelievable comeback

Paco Alcacer's hat-trick helped Valencia make Europa League history by beating Basel 5-0 to seal a 5-3 win on aggregate in their quarter-final tie.

No side had ever come from three goals down to win a knockout tie since the advent of the Europa League, but Valencia did just that, triumphing after extra-time courtesy of a stunning second-leg win on an extraordinary night at the Mestalla.

Basel boss Murat Yakin had captained the Swiss side in a 6-2 defeat at the same venue 12 years ago and could only watch on in dismay as the visitors, who finished with nine men, imploded.

Alcacer produced a cool finish seven minutes before half-time to give Valencia hope and Edu Vargas made it 2-0 on the night with a powerful header four minutes later.

Both strikers struck the woodwork after the break as Valencia desperately sought to level the tie, eventually doing so in the 70th minute through Alcacer.

Alcacer should have scored again towards the end of 90 minutes, but couldn't convert a one-on-one chance, before Vargas struck the post with the rebound.

An under-pressure Basel then saw Marcelo Diaz and Gaston Sauro see red in the first half of extra-time, and Valencia took full advantage, with Alcacer completing his hat-trick after 113 minutes and Juan Bernat rounding off a remarkable win with a late fifth.

Valencia, who were without Diego Alves, Philippe Senderos and Victor Ruiz, initially struggled to find a way through a resolute Basel defence that had only conceded once in their last five Europa League games.

A frustrated home crowd were brought to life seven minutes before the break, however, when a nicely-weighted pass from Joao Pereira found Alcacer, who beat the offside trap before controlling the ball superbly with his chest and stroking home a cool finish from close range.

That strike clearly gave the hosts a fresh injection of confidence and the lead should have been extended four minutes later when Vargas' point-blank header was kept out by Yann Sommer.

Vargas made amends for that miss from the resulting corner, rising highest to meet Daniel Parejo's delivery with a towering header into the top-right corner.

The Chilean should have been celebrating again nine minutes after the break when he burst through the heart of the visitors' defence to force an inspired save from Sommer, before clattering the rebound off the post from a tight angle.

Sommer was called into action again on 66 minutes, tipping Alcacer's curling effort from 20 yards onto the crossbar.

But he was beaten four minutes later when a hopeful long ball was brought down by Vargas. He set up Alcacer on the edge of the area, who lashed home an unstoppable shot via the underside of the crossbar.

Alcacer should have completed the comeback in the 88th minute but was denied by Sommer, before Vargas slid in to strike the post yet again.

Basel were thanking Sommer once more within the first three minutes of extra-time, the goalkeeper this time denying Parejo after some good work down the left from Bernat.

The visitors then lost their composure and Diaz saw red for an off-the-ball incident before Sauro picked up two bookings in a minute.

Alcacer duly converted a low cross from substitute Pablo Piatti at the near post to give Valencia the lead with just seven minutes of extra-time remaining.

A famous win was then completed in style when Bernat found himself on the edge of the box, before producing a cool finish to secure his side's place in the semi-finals.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia lagen pattama comeback 1kak0-3 to 5-3

​

 

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Benfica 2-0 AZ (Agg 3-0): Rodrigo double eases Eagles into final four

Benfica remain on track to avenge last season's Europa League heartbreak as they moved into the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over AZ.

The Lisbon club - who dropped into the competition after elimination from the Champions League - were defeated 2-1 by Chelsea in the 2013 final, but moved a step closer to atoning for that disappointment as a double from Rodrigo secured a 3-0 aggregate success on Thursday.

Benfica's misery last term was not confounded to the Europa League, losing the league title by a point following a last-minute defeat to champions Porto before succumbing to a shock defeat against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Taca de Portugal final.

Jorge Jesus' men are in a position to make amends for those setbacks, though. They lead the Portuguese top flight by seven points with four games to go, while semi-finals against Porto in the Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga are still to be decided.

And Rodrigo kept Benfica on course for an impressive quadruple, finding the net in each half to seal the hosts' place in the last four and condemn a meek AZ side to elimination.

Nicolas Gaitan and Maximiliano Pereira missed out through suspension for Benfica, who suffered an early blow inside two minutes as full-back Silvio sustained an apparent serious injury in a collision with team-mate Luisao.

Both players were trying to tackle Roy Beerens but Silvio had to be taken off on a stretcher and was replaced by Andre Almeida.

The early blow did not prevent Benfica from making the better start, with only a flying save from AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado keeping out Oscar Cardozo's curling strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Chances proved few and far between in a largely disappointing first half, but Cardozo was presented with a glorious opportunity just after the half-hour mark, only to see his left-foot effort superbly turned behind by Alvarado after Rodrigo's cut-back.

Paraguay international Cardozo then fired wide following more good work from Rodrigo, who finally broke the deadlock six minutes before the interval, popping up at the far post to slot home Eduardo Salvio's excellent right-wing cross from close range.

AZ finally crafted a chance midway through the second half, with defender Mattias Johansson forcing Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes into action with a long-range drive.

But any hopes of a fightback from the visitors were killed off in the 71st minute, when Rodrigo turned home another fine Salvio delivery with a well-executed volley.

Benfica nearly added a third in the closing stages, with Salvio – scorer of the winner in the first leg – denied a deserved goal by Alvarado.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Juventus 2-1 Olympique Lyonnais (Agg 3-1): Pirlo & Marchisio on target as Bianconeri seal semi-final spot

Juventus kept their dreams of a domestic and European double alive with a 2-1 Europa League victory over Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday.

After a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final first leg in France last week, the Turin giants secured a 3-1 aggregate victory to progress to the last four of a European competition for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign.

Inspirational midfielder Andrea Pirlo struck the opening goal after four minutes with an exquisite free kick from just outside the penalty area, but the visitors levelled when Jimmy Briand placed a header beyond Gianluigi Buffon before the close of an exciting opening quarter.

The Italian champions were not to be denied, though, and sealed victory on the night thanks to a long-range Claudio Marchisio strike that took a wicked deflection off Samuel Umtiti and gave goalkeeper Anthony Lopes no chance.

The victory extends Juve's unbeaten home record to over a calendar year, with their last defeat at the Juventus Stadium against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last April.

Leading scorer Carlos Tevez, who has been nursing a thigh injury but was passed fit, missed a third-minute effort as Antonio Conte's side wasted no time in stamping their authority on the game.

Then just a minute later Corentin Tolisso ended a typical bustling run from the Argentine striker on the edge of the penalty area and the midfielder was punished when Pirlo fired a trademark free kick into the back of the net.

Juve's lead only lasted quarter of an hour, though, as Briand caught them out when he levelled with a close-range header.

From a quickly taken corner Arnold Mvuemba lifted a high ball to the back post, where Briand shrugged off a challenge from Marchisio and placed his header out of Buffon's reach.

Lyon were slowly getting into their stride and created the next opening just before the half-hour mark, with Maxime Gonalons meeting a cross on the edge of the area but Buffon parried his low strike away to safety.

A lacklustre start to the second half saw the hosts control possession without threatening the Lyon goal, in fact they had to wait until just after the hour mark to test Lopes again.

The evergreen Pirlo whipped a cross into the penalty area for Tevez, who flicked a header into the top corner but saw his effort ruled out for offside.

Mvuemba tested Buffon with a free kick in the 67th minute, but Lyon otherwise struggled to fashion goalscoring opportunities in the second half and a minute later they fell further behind in the tie.

Marchisio was given far too much room 25 metres from goal by the Lyon defence, and he made them pay by unleashing a strike towards goal that Lopes looked to have covered until the ball struck Umtiti and flew in the opposite direction and into the net.

Substitute Sebastian Giovinco wasted an opportunity to extend the hosts' lead further, but that never looked like being costly.

Conte's men now progress to the semi-finals and continue to dream of reaching the final, which will be held in their own stadium next month.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chiellini: Juventus one step away from dream final

Giorgio Chiellini and Juventus are now dreaming of playing in the Europa League final at their own stadium after Thursday's victory over Olympique Lyonnais.

Already a goal to the good after last week's first leg in France, the Serie A leaders secured their progression to the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory in Turin on Thursday.Juve join Benfica, Sevilla and Valencia in the last four and Chiellini admits reaching next month's final, which is being held at Juventus Stadium, is driving Antonio Conte's men forward.

"We are very satisfied," the Juventus defender told Sky Sport Italia. "But the only thing that interests me is coming back here in May for the final.

"We want to play the final on our turf, as it's something that might never happen again in the history of this club.

"It's too important to miss out on."Andrea Pirlo's fourth-minute free kick put Juventus on their way to victory, and although Jimmy Briand levelled soon after, the Italian champions secured their progression thanks to Claudio Marchisio's deflected strike in the second half.

Chiellini admitted Juventus could have played better but felt over the 180 minutes they rightly booked a place in the last four."At times people take Juventus success for granted but we saw that over two legs Lyon played to the death, man-marked us for 180 minutes and it becomes difficult to score in those circumstances," the 29-year-old said.

"We did well to take our chances, though perhaps lost some sharpness during the second period of the first half. That came back after the break and I thought we deserved qualification."

 

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Conte: Rest of Italy wants Juventus eliminated from Europa League

Antonio Conte has dismissed the notion that everyone in Italy will be hoping that Juventus win the Europa League for the good of the domestic game, claiming that nobody in the country cares about the Uefa ranking.

The Bianconeri progressed to the last four of the tournament on Thursday night, defeating Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 in Turin to go through 3-1 on aggregate.

When it was put to Conte during his post-game interview on Sky Sport Italia that it was a good result for Italian football in terms of the country's Uefa coefficient, which has fallen dramatically over the past five years, the coach countered: "In Italy nobody cares about the ranking. Everyone else wants us eliminated.

"People are either Juventini or anti-Juventini. Let's not beat around the bush: it's a question of local pride.

"We wouldn't expect Juve to support Inter, so we won't be hypocritical by saying that we want Inter fans to cheer on Juve."

Andrea Pirlo opened the scoring in Turin with a fourth-minute free kick but Jimmy Briand equalised soon after with a header and the hosts were ultimately indebted to a deflected Claudio Marchisio strike for sealing their place in the final four.

Conte admitted afterwards that he had been distinctly underwhelmed by what he felt was a sense of complacency among both his players and the club's fans.

"We fell asleep for Lyon's goal," Conte fumed. "It's that simple. We thought it was going to be easy.

"I want everyone to remember it's always a battle and we have to keep pushing.

"I'm referring to the crowd too, as they should always support this team. I didn't like the crowd that much tonight."

The Uefa coefficient determines the seedings and amount of European places allocated to a country. Italy currently sit fourth, well behind leaders Spain, England and Germany, but only just ahead of Portugal.

 

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Dortmund seal permanent Sahin signing

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed they will activate their option to sign Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid on a permanent deal at the end of the season.

The former Liverpool midfielder is currently starring during his second spell with Jurgen Klopp’s side, a loan agreement that expires on June 30.

The Bundesliga side have now confirmed they will take up an option in the terms of the temporary deal with Madrid to sign the 25-year-old on a full-time basis once the current season ends.

Neither club will officially comment further until the deal goes through, but reports suggest the transfer fee will be in the region of €7 million.

"We informed the representatives from Madrid around the time of the Champions League quarter-final that we plan to make use of this option to sign him,” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Ruhr Nachrichten.

Madrid won a thrilling tie against Dortmund 3-2 on aggregate to seal a place in the Champions League semi-finals, with Sahin playing a part in the first leg at the Bernabeu.

The Turkey international has been a key performer for Die Schwarzgelben this season, appearing in all 29 of their Bundesliga games to date, with an additional nine Champions League selections and three DFB-Pokal outings.

 

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Garcia: Roma can overturn Destro ban

Rudi Garcia is confident that Roma will be able to have Mattia Destro's four-match ban reduced on appeal.

The Italy international picked up a mandatory one-game suspension because of the yellow card he picked up in Sunday's 3-1 Serie A win at Cagliari.

However, Roma's in-form forward was then retrospectively banned for a further three matches for allegedly striking Rossoblu defender Davide Astori - much to the shock and surprise of Garcia, who says the club have every intention of appealing the ruling.

"It is logical that we can win it," the French coach told LA7. "He is not a violent player at all. Football is a contact sport, players fight to take position on the field and these things happen.

“It is true that Mattia gave him a slap, but the referee saw everything, he whistled against him and normally the rule states that there can be no video evidence when the referee saw the situation."

Garcia added, though, that even if their appeal is unsuccessful, their season will not be derailed by the loss of Destro for four of their six remaining fixtures.
"The only thing that matters is doing well and if Destro is not there then there will be someone else," the former Lille boss stated.

Destro bagged a hat-trick in the game against Cagliari and had been hoping that his late-season flurry of goals would earn him a place in Italy's World Cup squad.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Wilshere: England do not lack technical ability

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere says that while England do not play like other nations, that does not mean they are lacking in technical ability.

The Three Lions have long been criticised for their failings at international level, even though they booked their place in this summer's World Cup by topping their qualification group.

Howver, Wilshere has dismissed the notion that England do not possess technically gifted players capable of playing good passing football.

“I believe we don’t really play like other nations, but in the end we’ve got our own style,” the midfielder told RWD Football. “We’ve got our own way of playing. That’s England.

“Just because we don’t play like Spain doesn’t mean we haven’t got a high level of technical ability. We’re changing our game all the time and we want to adapt it to a level where we are going to be able to win things at an international level.

"If that requires passing it around a bit more, then we’ll do it. But at the moment, we’re doing all right. We’ve got to the World Cup, so we’ll stick to our guns for the moment.”

Wilshere also admits that he does feel the pressure that comes with being a regular for both club and country, despite still only being 22.

“It’s brought pressure on me. I’m not sure it’s unwanted pressure. I think when you play at the highest level, there is pressure all the time,” the Arsenal man added.

“Also a lot of fans pay good money and a lot of people come and watch like friends, family and the media in particular. That’s their job.

"So they have to analyse your performance and they have to have someone who they can sort of put up on a pedestal.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ibrahimovic returns to Sweden for treatment

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has travelled to Sweden for further treatment on a hamstring strain.

Ibrahimovic picked up the injury in PSG's 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Chelsea and consequently missed the second leg of the tie on Tuesday.His absence proved costly as Chelsea fought back to win 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, levelling the tie at 3-3 and progressing on the away goals rule.

Former Barcelona, Milan and Inter man Ibrahimovic is expected to be out for another three weeks, meaning that he will miss PSG's Coupe de la Ligue final with Lyon on April 19.In a brief statement on their website, the defending Ligue 1 champions confirmed that the 32-year-old has returned to his homeland to continue his recovery.

The statement read: "In consultation with Paris Saint-Germain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic travelled to Sweden on Wednesday to continue treatment on his hamstring strain."
Ibrahimovic has enjoyed a magnificent season for PSG this term, scoring 40 goals in all competitions.

Laurent Blanc's men will win the Ligue 1 title for a second straight season if they win at Lyon on Sunday and Monaco lose at Rennes.