..::Football III::..

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Sevilla 2-0 Feyenoord: Krychowiak and M'Bia get Europa League defence off to a flyer

Sevilla kicked off their defence of the Europa League with a comfortable 2-0 win over Feyenoord thanks to goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Stephane M'Bia.

With a place in the Champions League on the line for this season’s winners, Unai Emery’s side were eager to get out and begin the chase for a fourth Europa League trophy.The hosts got off to a flying start when midfielder Krychowiak got on the end of a lovely Deulofeu free kick to slot home past Kenneth Vermeer at the far post after just eight minutes.

The Barcelona loanee was back at it again, from yet another free kick, this time curling a superb cross in from 40 yards out that Mbia headed home to give the La Liga outfit a commanding lead.The visitors were eager to find a way back into the game and came close just minutes later when Jens Toornstra struck the post from 30 yards out, catching Sergio Rico sleeping at the near post.

They were nearly made to pay for their missed chances as Carlos Bacca looked to have ended proceedings before half-time, but his one touch finish was called back on an offside.The 28-year-old was back at it shortly after the break, touching a pass beyond Vermeer, but slipping at the vital moment with the goal at his mercy.

Emery’s men continued to apply relentless pressure on the Feyenoord defence, but despite a flurry of chances, could not buy a third goal.Sevilla were never made to pay for their wasted opportunities, however, as they rarely squandered possession throughout the second half, holding the visitors without a single shot on target.

Deulofeu was denied his goal in the final minutes, as a fine save from Kenneth Vermeer kept out his shot, preventing the winger from capping of a near flawless performance.

The victory gives Sevilla a leg up on their Group G opposition, as they travel to Croatia to take on Rijeka on the next match day, while Feyenoord return home to play host to Standard Liege.

 

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Fiorentina 3-0 Guingamp: Cuadrado strikes in comfortable win for Viola

Fiorentina eased to victory in their first Europa League group stage fixture of the season, coming out on top 3-0 against 10-man Guingamp.

A first-half header from Juan Manuel Vargas gave the Serie A outfit a strong foundation, and their grip on the match only strengthened when Moustapha Diallo saw red after picking up a soft second booking. After the interval Juan Cuadrado sealed the points for Vincenzo Montella's side. Youngster Federico Bernardeschi struck a third late on.

In the early exchanges of the match, play was quite balanced and the visitors even had chances through they pacey Christophe Mandanne and Jeremy Pied, but matters unravelled in a five-minute spell late in the first half.

Jasmin Kurtic’s brilliant cross from the right was perfect for Vargas to advance onto it and send a powerful header past the motionless Mamadou Samassa in the visitors’ net, and only a short while later Moustapha Diallo picked up a second yellow card.

Fiorentina were ruthless in exploiting their numerical advantage after the break and dominated the midfield entirely. Their advantage was strengthened when David Pizarro released Colombia World Cup star Cuadrado to add a second.

And the points were secured in the closing stages when substitute Bernardeschi sent a fine shot from range into the net.

It was a perfect start for Fiorentina’s Europa League campaign, while Guingamp at least had the consolation of knowing this is probably the sternest test they will face in the group stage.

 

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Partizan 0-0 Tottenham: Low-key Spurs held in Serbia

A much-changed Tottenham side stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Partizan in their Europa League opener on Thursday.

Only goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was retained in the starting line-up from Spurs' 2-2 draw at Sunderland last weekend for the Group C in clash in Belgrade.

The changes may have played a part in what was a somewhat lacklustre showing from Mauricio Pochettino's men, who saw plenty of the ball but created little in terms of clear-cut chances.

Spurs' best opportunity of the first half came in the second minute when Harry Kane saw an effort cannon off the crossbar.

Partizan, who have scored 18 goals on their way to five straight wins to start their domestic campaign, were effective on the break and the lively Danko Lazovic saw a close-range shot denied by Nabil Bentaleb's timely block midway through the first half.

The second half also failed to produce much in terms of goalmouth action as the match petered out into a draw.

It could have been a different story had Kane not seen his early strike hit the woodwork. The 21-year-old collected the ball at the back post from a corner before shifting onto his left foot and crashing a shot against the frame of the goal from close range.

Spurs showed plenty of patient build-up play but were often frustrated by a solid Partizan defence, while the hosts appeared happy to sit deep and play on the counter-attack.

That tactic almost proved fruitful when Miroslav Vulicevic's cross from the right found Lazovic, but the forward could not sort his feet out and the ball went harmlessly wide.

Partizan then had a great chance in the 25th minute.

Debutant Federico Fazio completely misjudged Vladimir Volkov's long throw into the area and Bentaleb charged across to make a fine block from Lazovic's first-time volley.

From there the chances dried up somewhat, but Partizan had one last opening on the stroke of half-time when Danilo Pantic shot straight at Lloris from the edge of the area following a swift break.

Partizan stepped up a gear at the start of the second half and Petar Grbic should have done better when he shot tamely at Lloris following fine hold-up play from Lazovic.

Lazovic himself had another sight of goal soon after, but this time it was Fazio who came across to make a last-ditch block.

Tottenham introduced Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela shortly after the hour mark in an attempt to find more creativity in the final third.

Grbic was proving difficult for Spurs to deal with in the second half and, with 15 minutes remaining, his cross from the right picked out Sasa Ilic who stooped low to meet the delivery but headed well over the crossbar.

Neither side could find the breakthrough in the closing stages and Spurs will now look for their first pool win at home to Besiktas on October 2, while Partizan next face Asteras Tripolis.

 

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Salzburg 2-2 Celtic: Soriano strike denies Celtic

Salzburg's Europa League group stage campaign started with a 2-2 home draw against Celtic, as they fought back from behind twice to snatch a point.

The Austrian champions had a number of chances throughout the match to add to their goal tally, but were continually foiled by the in-form Scottish goalkeeper, who produced a terrific display to earn the draw for Ronny Deila's outfit.

Wakaso put the Hoops in the lead after a well worked goal 14 minutes in. Captain Scott Brown fought well to retain possession on the right wing before nodding inside to Commons, who in turn slid a pass to the left. The Ghanaian, on-loan from Rubin Kazan, took an assured touch before drilling an excellent left-footed strike across goal into the bottom right corner.However, the goal was the catalyst for Salzburg to fight back and gain a foothold in the game as they started to heap pressure on the Scottish champions.

They should have taken the lead just after the half hour mark when Andre Ramalho peeled away to the back post and headed towards the top corner, only to be thwarted by a fantastic Gordon save.

The hosts wouldn't have to wait long to equalise, though. Ten minutes before half time Kevin Kampl collected the ball in the middle and threaded a lovely pass through to Alan, who took advantage of a high Celtic defensive line to burst forward and slide a deflected strike past Gordon, with the ball cannoning off Efe Ambrose on the way through.

Salzburg continued to pile on the pressure after the break, but found themselves on the end of another sucker punch as Celtic took the lead again. Calum McGregor hit the byline before standing a cross into the box, which was cleared. Brown latched on to the rebound and fired a deflected strike into the corner to make it 2-1.

The Austrian champions continued to fight back as the match went on, and eventually equalised again 78 minutes in. Jonatan Soriano, who had had a quiet night up to that point, stepped up and rifled a superb 25-yard free kick into the top right corner.

 

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Borussia Monchengladbach 1-1 Villarreal: Uche seals valuable point

Super-sub Ikechukwu Uche came off the bench to a seal a point for Villarreal as they drew 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening Europa League Group A encounter.

The striker was thrown on just after the hour mark and scored with his first touch of the game to cancel out Patrick Herrmann's first half opener, meaning both sides left with a share of the spoils.

Denis Cheryshev went agonisingly close to giving Marcelino’s men the lead in the 20th minute, scampering through on goal before being denied brilliantly by a sprawling Yann Sommer.

Merely a minute later, however, Herrmann drew first blood, firing home with his left foot after being teed up by good work from 21-year-old Branimir Hrgota on the edge of the penalty area.

The former could have doubled Gladbach’s lead just before the half-time break after Sergio Asenjo failed to clear a deflected effort from Max Kruse. With the goalkeeper at his mercy, the Swedish forward could only place a finish onto the ankle of the Spanish shot-stopper, which in turn looped wide.

Chances were few and far between in the second half, before Cheryshev spurned another gilt-edged opportunity just before the hour mark. Cani picks out Moi Gomez at the back post brilliantly, who cushioned a pass in towards the penalty spot for the Russian – who blasted horribly over from close range.

On 65 minutes, Luciano Vietto saw a goal ruled out for offside, as the hosts rode their luck, but substitute Ikechukwu Uche was to have his say three minutes later.Poking home a Manu Trigueros through ball with his first touch, the Nigerian striker’s goal was his only contribution, as a clash with Sommer left him unable to continue immediately after his finish restored parity.

As the contest edged into stoppage time, the linesman seemed to flag to award Gladbach a penalty for handball by Moi Gomez - but referee Ivan Kruzliak overturned his fellow official despite being unsighted.

The Yellow Submarine will be very pleased with a point, profiting from the mere 20 seconds Uche spent on the field of play, but missed chances from Hrgota will leave Favre’s men wondering quite how they didn’t manage to kill the contest off earlier.

 

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Deulofeu has high hopes for Sevilla season

Sevilla's Gerard Deulofeu has high hopes for the club this season after the Barcelona loanee starred in their 2-0 win over Feyenoord on Thursday.

Unai Emery's men triumphed in the Europa League last season and opened their defence of the trophy in equally victorious fashion thanks to strikes from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Stephane M'Bia.

Deulofeu, who is on a season-long loan at Sevilla, was happy with how they swep aside their Group G rival and is confident he will improve as a player away from Camp Nou this year.

"It was a tough game," he told reporters. "We knew that they are a strong rival. But we were able to get ahead on the scoreboard and bag all three points."It would not have been normal to come here and star in everything. I need to progress gradually. I trust myself and expect a lot from myself and the club this season."Emery rotated seven players for the game following their weekend win over Getafe, which he justified by saying he wants his whole squad brimming with confidence as 2014-15 kicks into full swing, while urging caution over Deulofeu's performance.

"I wanted to give confidence to some players who are going to be important and are working hard," Emery said. "Competitiveness within my team is necessary during the season and it especially helps that we've come away with a win.

"Deulofeu has a lot of explosiveness, but he must choose what to do with the ball a bit better and communicate with his team-mates. He wants to improve."

 

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Martinez revels in Everton's 'phenomenal' return to Europe

Everton manager Roberto Martinez hailed his side's return to Europe as 'phenomenal' as they swept aside Wolfsburg with a 4-1 win at Goodison Park.

An own-goal from Ricardo Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Toffees before goals from Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas sealed an emphatic victory.

Rodriguez's late free kick may have taken some gloss off the final result, but Martinez was thrilled with how clinical his side were in front of goal.

"We were looking forward to the environment and the European night at Goodison," he told reporters. "It was phenomenal to get that feeling and the atmosphere was perfect for us to start a very good performance.

"I felt the scoreline didn’t reflect the difference between the two sides. We scored at the right times and I thought our work-rate was magnificent.

"We had to defend and we did that really well. Every time we went forward we had a clinical touch about us and it was very satisfying."

The blue side of Merseyside were making their first appearance in European competition for four years, leading some to ponder whether the team were capable of competing at both domestically and on the continent.

But Martinez was thrilled with the way his team adapted to the different style of their Bundesliga opponent, and hopes they can continue at the same level when they return to Premier League action against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"It felt really natural. We’ve got a perfect mixture of young players and real experience, and tonight tactically was an opportunity to test that," he continued. "The flexibility we showed was very good.

"Wolfsburg were pressing in numbers high up the pitch and it could have been very easy to stop them from playing and not wanting to embrace that. I was so impressed how we were able to keep that up and use the space to put Wolfsburg under pressure.

"Today’s performance showed a real maturity because going forward that’s an area that we need to use that in our domestic league. Every performance needs that flair and flexibility going forward."

Though Everton were impressive going forward, Martinez reserved special praise for goalkeeper Tim Howard as the goalkeeper pulled off a number of fine saves in the second half to keep the German side at bay.

He added: "I thought Howard was magnificent in his concentration and the way he controlled his box. We defended really well but it was a shame we conceded in the last minute."

 

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Ronaldo and I have no relationship - Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has stressed there is no relationship between him and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, but lauded the Ballon d'Or winner for being a "goal machine".

Since the current Chelsea boss left the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013, there have been a number of instances where the two have seemed far from friendly - most recently Mourinho suggested Ronaldo was partly to blame for Real Madrid's Champions League exit in 2011-12 at the hands of Bayern Munich due to his missed penalty.

Mourinho says he has not forgotten how influential Ronaldo was during the coach's reign in Spain, but was key to point out their days of working together and speaking regularly are over."The relationship between Ronaldo and myself is non-existent," Mourinho told TV1. "He plays for Real Madrid, I'm the Chelsea manager.

"You would not find us hanging around together. The relationship does not exist, but the remembrance of his impact does. I have to remind myself that he is a goal machine who helped me become a Liga champion, win the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa."I try to keep the best memories of Cristiano Ronaldo with me and I wish him all the best in his career - especially with Portugal, but also with his club."

The duo have not gone head-to-head in competitive football since Mourinho left the Madrid hotseat a little over a year ago, but Chelsea and Real Madrid are two of the three favourites (with Bayern Munich) to win the Champions League this season.

 

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Higuain buoyed by Napoli 'redemption'

Gonzalo Higuain says Napoli have redeemed themselves with their 3-1 victory over Sparta Prague in Thursday's Europa League group game.

The Partenopei went 1-0 behind 14 minutes into their Stadio San Paolo clash, sparking fears among home fans of back-to-back defeats following their loss at the ground to Chievo on Sunday.However, Higuain converted from the spot to trigger a turnaround of fortunes for Rafa Benitez's men, with Dries Mertens scoring twice in the second half.

The Argentina striker believes that the performance was proof that Napoli are trying their hardest to turn around their middling 2014-15 fortunes, following a miserable start to their Serie A campaign."After Sunday's defeat had to prove to our fans that we wanted to win and that we wanted these three points," Higuain told Mediaset Premium. "It was an important game, we had to show our character.

"Last year we played in a lot of big games late in the season and this year we want to repeat that. I shot my penalty in the same direction as I did on Sunday - I was not thinking about another mistake but only to score."Napoli are back in action in Serie A on Sunday at Udinese.

 

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Maradona: Without drugs I'd have been phenomenal

Argentina legend Diego Maradona believes he would have been a "phenomenal" footballer had he not become addicted to drugs.The former Barcelona and Napoli attacker guided the national team to two World Cup finals - including their victorious 1986 success - but was banned from football for 15 months in 1991 for failing a drugs test.

In the years since hanging up his boots he has experienced health issues as a result of substance abuse and revealed how he has paid for his excesses in later life."If I had not taken drugs I'd have been a phenomenal player," Maradona told TyC Sports."Before arriving in Europe, I knew that with my technique I would have eaten up defenders. When the ball was between my feet, others couldn't help but get excited.

"However, my daughters know that their old man - even though I am 53 years old - in reality it is as if I am 78 because my life has not been normal. It's as if I had lived 80 years."

 

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Immobile: I suffered at Dortmund at first

Borussia Dortmund striker Ciro Immobile has admitted he "suffered" initially following his summer move from Torino.

The Italy international, 24, has failed to score in the Bundesliga or the DFL-Supercup since his €20 million transfer on a five-year deal.However, he ended his goal drought on Tuesday as Dortmund defeated Arsenal 2-0 in the Champions League, the highlight of which was a superb solo goal from Immobile, who says he is gradually getting used to life at Signal Iduna Park.

"I am a stranger at Dortmund," Immobile told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I have to acclimatise."Fortunately the coach and team-mates are helping me, but I knew that would not be easy - the new language, the new team.

"Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp and my Italy coach Antonio Conte are similar: both like modern football that's fast, offensive, pressing and focuses on possession.
"I suffered for a while at my new club, but it was not a failure. The stading ovation on Wednesday for me was incredible, I have never received anything like that in Italy."

Immobile will be hoping he can add to his goalscoring tally in Dortmund's Bundesliga clash on Saturday at Mainz.

 

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Arsenal ace Wilshere in contention to face Aston Villa

Jack Wilshere is likely to be fit for Arsenal's Premier League clash with in-form Aston Villa on Saturday.

The England international appeared in significant pain after turning his ankle in the 84th minute of the Gunners' 2-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening, but was forced to complete the match as the visitors had used up all three of their substitutes.

Concerns were raised that the 22-year-old may have suffered a recurrence of the ankle problems which sidelined him for 15 months and, after the match, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted his playmaker's "history" made him reluctant to comment on the potential severity of the knock.

However, further examination has revealed no significant damage and the Gunners are thus confident that Wilshere will return to first-team training before the end of the week and be available to feature against Villa.

Wilshere's swift return to action will be a boost to Wenger as he prepares to take on Paul Lambert's men, who have won three of their first four Premier League matches this season and claimed the scalp of Liverpool at Anfield last Saturday.

 

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Hart 'excellent' despite Manchester City defeat - Cousillas

Manchester City assistant manager Ruben Cousillas paid tribute to goalkeeper Joe Hart despite conceding a late goal in a 1-0 Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich.

Manuel Pellegrini signed Willy Caballero in July to compete for the England international's place but Hart impressed against the German side before the winner and Cousillas labelled his efforts "excellent".

"Joe Hart is a great goalkeeper at international level and has had a great career here at Manchester City," he told reporters.

"Last year, at the end of the season, he performed well and he has carried that into this season.

[Against Bayern] he was excellent, he didn't make mistakes and we are happy not only with him but also Willy Caballero, who is also a great goalkeeper so we have that position well covered."

Cousillas said his team were "sad and frustrated" after conceding the late goal at the Allianz Arena but believes that they are good enough to progress from a group that also includes Roma and CSKA Moscow.

"For sure it is not a good start to lose the first game of a group stage but we still have five games and it is up to us," he continued.

"We are a strong team at home and we have a strong squad and I am convinced that, despite Roma's quality and the fact it is a strong group, the tightest group, we can still qualify and get good results in the coming games."

Yaya Toure returned to the City midfield against Bayern after being absent from a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday and Cousillas is adamant that there are no fitness issues affecting the team's talisman.

"On Saturday he didn't play but the reason was that he returned on Friday from the national team," he explained. "But he was absolutely fit [to face Bayern] and physically, without problems."

 

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Ribery 'p****d off' by persistent injury problems

Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribery has admitted that he is fed up with his persistent injury problems.The 31-year-old missed this summer's World Cup due to a back problem and then picked up a knee injury that saw him sidelined for the start of his club's 2014-15 campaign.

Ribery did make his comeback in last weekend's 2-0 Bundesliga win over Stuttgart, scoring once after coming off the bench midway through the second half.However, his knee problem flared up again this week and he consequently missed the 1-0 Champions League win over Manchester City on Wednesday.

"This really p****s me off. It is very annoying," Ribery told Kicker. "I don't know yet how long I will be out of action."

 

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Varane extends Real Madrid contract

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has signed a new contract that will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2020.

The France international's previous deal still had three years to run but he has now decided to prolong his stay in the Spanish capital."Real Madrid announce the extension of the contract between the player Raphael Varane and the club until June 30, 2020," read a statement on the European champions' official website.

Varane joined Madrid from Lille in the summer of 2011 and did not take long to make an impact, scoring a spectacular back-heeled goal in just his second Liga outing, against Rayo Vallecano on September 24.He managed to nail down a regular defensive berth in the 2012-13 campaign, during which he netted in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona, but was troubled by injuries last term.

Varane, though, played all 120 minutes of May's Champions League final and also represented France at this summer's World Cup.

The 21-year-old centre-half was linked with a move to Chelsea during the summer, which would have seen him reunited with former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, but he remained at the Bernabeu and has now committed his long-term future to Los Blancos.

 

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De Boer: Ajax showed PSG too much respect

Ajax coach Frank de Boer has admitted that the Eredivisie champions showed Paris Saint-Germain too much respect in the opening 45 minutes of their Champions League encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday.Lasse Schone struck a 74th-minute equaliser, cancelling out Edinson Cavani's first-half goal as Ajax earned a point in their Group F opener.

De Boer was pleased with his team's approach in the second half on Wednesday, however, and said it was exactly what they needed to produce against top-quality opposition."In the first half we didn't play freely enough to do anything against PSG," De Boer said at a press conference."They didn't have many chances but they were more threatening than us. After the big chance we gave away at the start of the second half I think we threw off our fear.

"[Half-time substitute Niki] Zimling brought some calmness to the team and we got closer to the opponents' goal. Then you know that you can have some small chances.

"We showed in the second half that we can play good football. In the second half my team threw off their fear and that's what you need to do against such teams.Everyone played well in the second half and we can be happy with a point."De Boer then went on to praise goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and defender Joel Veltman for their performances.

"I have to give my goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen a lot of praise for denying them a second goal," he said."I was also pleased with Joel Veltman, who was on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and prevented PSG from passing the ball to him.

"However, we cannot make mistakes at this level and we have to cut those out."

 

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Mourinho defends Drogba performance against Schalke

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho refused to criticise Didier Drogba for his efforts in a disappointing 1-1 Champions League draw with Schalke.

Starting for the first time since returning to Stamford Bridge, the striker endured a frustrating evening as the Germans cancelled out Cesc Fabregas's opener, unable to convert passes from Willian and Eden Hazard as Chelsea failed to follow up their 100 per cent start to the Premier League campaign.

It seems certain that Diego Costa, who missed out on Wednesday due to a muscle issue, will reclaim his place against Manchester City on Sunday.

But Mourinho was impressed with Drogba, telling reporters: "He had a positive game. I'm not disappointed with the striker because of one inch, he scores a goal or doesn't score a goal.

"I am happy with what he did. If he scores that goal in this moment we're speaking about 2-0, not 1-1. We had very good chances to score the 2-0 and we didn't.

"After the 1-1 we had a fantastic reaction and chances to win the game but that's football, that's Champions League, that's normal.

"Congratulations to them because they got their objective. Yes, a little bit of frustration for us because we did everything to win and we couldn't."

 

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Benzema: All Real Madrid greats have been booed

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has insisted the whistles aimed at him do not affect his form and has pointed out that he is not the first high-profile name at the club to be booed by the fans.

The France international has been heavily criticised in the opening weeks of the 2014-15 campaign as Madrid have been struggling to find their best form, with Madrid Castilla coach Zinedine Zidane also stating his compatriot needs to improve his goal record.Benzema, however, remains unperturbed.

"I am at a big club and there is always a lot expected of me. I am a Real Madrid striker and that means I have to score in every game. That’s the way it is,"Benzema was quoted as saying by AS.

"I was booed last season. Iker Casillas has been booed. All of the great players who have played for Madrid have been booed: Ronaldo, [Zinedine] Zidane...
"For me it’s not a problem. I will continue to work hard to change the situation.
"We’ll talk about what I’ve won when my career is over. I play for a huge club. I know there is a lot of expectation.

"I’ve even been booed in the Stade de France. I don’t let it get to me. I just concentrate on playing; I love football and I’m at the best club in the world.”The 26-year-old has netted two goals in seven appearances in all competitions so far this term.

 

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Huntelaar blasts 'stupid' Chelsea goal

Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has blasted his side's defending for Chelsea 's opening goal in Wednesday's 1-1 Champions League draw at Stamford Bridge.
Max Meyer lost possession to Cesc Fabregas inside his own half in the build-up to the Spaniard's goal and Huntelaar has warned his team-mates to stamp out such errors in future.

"We did a great job, especially in the second half. We were a bit insecure in the first half, though, and conceded a stupid goal," Huntelaar told the official Uefa website."It was similar to last season. We need to stop that, because if not we give away easy goals.

"But we managed to make up for that well. We fought and ran a lot. When we got the chance to score, we took it."The Dutchman then went on to praise his side's courage as they fought back to salvage a 1-1 draw, with Huntelaar himself netting the equaliser.

"You just go into the match and we told ourselves that we wanted to give all we had. We knew that if we stayed in the match anything could happen and we saw that if you fight and don't give up you can achieve a draw here."

 

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I'm out to repay Van Gaal, says Di Maria

Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria is keen to repay the faith shown in him by manager Louis van Gaal.

The Dutchman splashed a British-record €75 million to sign the 26-year-old from Real Madrid this summer, with his investment already showing some returns.

Di Maria scored and registered an assist in United's first win of the season against QPR on Sunday and says that the chance to work with the Red Devils boss was too good to turn down.

"Van Gaal was really important for me, in order to come here," Di Maria told Perform.

"[He] was one of the first [people] who spoke about bringing me here. The coach always has the last word about the players he wants.

"I am really grateful to him because, thanks [to] him, I am now playing for United.

"I keep trying to improve every day and for that reason I wanted to come here to United. I needed to change my life. I will try my best to play the right way. I will try my best every match and show my arrival at Old Trafford was worthy.

"Manchester United are trying to grow," he added.

"We already know we didn't start the Premier [League] in the right way [but] those things always happen in football."

Di Maria's fellow Argentina international, Marcos Rojo, also joined United over the summer, acquired from Sporting Lisbon, and the midfielder expects him to excel.

"Marcos Rojo [has] shown at the World Cup [that] he is capable," said Di Maria.

"He did really well there and he deserved to come here. Hopefully he will be able to improve every day as he did at the World Cup and he will bring a lot of good things to United."