..::Football III::..

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Simeone: Atletico back to their best

Diego Simeone feels Atletico Madrid's 4-0 win over Sevilla on Saturday was one of their best performances of the 2014-15 campaign and added that the match reminded him of his side's Supercopa de Espana win over Real Madrid earlier this term.

Goals from Koke and Saul gave the Vicente Calderon side a two-goal lead in the opening 45 minutes, before Raul Garcia and Raul Jimenez made it four after the break, much to the satisfaction of Simeone."I think that this game was one of our best performances this season together with the home game against Real Madrid," Simeone told reporters."The hardest thing is to remain consistent throughout the game.

"When Sevilla allowed us the space to play our own game, we showed what we can do. We created a lot of space to attack and dominated the game."We were very strong in midfield, where we showed a lot of intensity and recovered the ball quickly. When a team doesn't show any signs of weakness all game, that shows the strength of the team. It was a positive performance."

Atletico have collected 14 points from six games and are trailing leaders Barcelona by two points.

 

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Buffon decisive for Juventus, says Allegri

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri feels Gianluigi Buffon made the difference for the Serie A champions in their 3-0 win over Atalanta and showed why he is a world-class goalkeeper.

The Italy international has yet to concede this season and played a major role in the Turin side's away-win as he saved German Denis' spot kick at the hour mark with the score still at 1-0.Carlos Tevez then made it 2-0 seconds later with his second goal of the game, before Alvaro Morata put the match to bed in the 83rd minute.

"Buffon was crucial with the penalty. He's always decisive and that’s the difference between world-class players and normal ones,” Allegri said at a press conference.
"He gets one shot on goal all game long and is then decisive. That's the difference between Buffon and other goalkeepers."

Allegri then went on to admit that it wasn't an easy game for Juventus, but he was pleased with the outcome of the match."A good victory for us, It was our duty to win and we did just that, even if it wasn’t plain sailing. Atalanta started very well.

"There’s a great team spirit here and our character is one of our strengths."
Juventus sit joint first in Serie A with Roma with 15 points from five games.

 

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Van Gaal: Rooney red was right

Louis van Gaal says Wayne Rooney's red card in Manchester United's 2-1 win over West Ham was a fair one.

Early goals from the striker and Robin van Persie had the hosts two goals up with just 22 minutes played but Diafra Sakho headed in from a corner just before the break to edge one back.

The game got worse for Van Gaal’s side as Rooney lashed out at Stewart Downing with a high foot and the attacker received a straight red from referee Lee Mason.

"It was a break-out of a set-play of ours and he makes a professional foul, I think you can call it like that," he told the BBC. "I don't think Wayne wanted to do it that way but he did it and you can give a red card."

Van Gaal was facing big problems before the game, with Marcos Rojo the only fit senior centre-back for selection, forcing the coach to bring in youngsters Paddy McNair and Tom Thorpe into the squad.

He explained: "Luke Shaw was always injured. He had a little cramp and it was amazing he lasted. Also, Paddy McNair played a very good match and I'm very pleased for him that we won.

"The rhythm of the game is very high. You cannot compare it with Germany and Spain. There is always pressure on the ball and most play physically. We have to keep the ball and then we can improve our play.

"We had to fight and fight and fight again. I'm very pleased with my players' attitude. We played very well in the first half – good attacking and effective football. Very dominant."

 

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Pochettino dismisses Wenger complaints

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino refuted claims of time-wasting by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after the north London derby ended 1-1.

Despite spending much of Saturday's contest on the back foot, the visitors stunned the Emirates Stadium crowd by taking a 56th-minute lead through Nacer Chadli, as he scored his fourth goal in five Premier League games this season.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain levelled matters with 16 minutes left, prompting sustained Arsenal pressure, but Wenger objected to some of Tottenham's methods in keeping his team at bay.

"Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen did well, as well as Hugo Lloris," Wenger said, "They took every second they could again, to make the game last as little as possible.

"I would like to see the referee deal with that in the proper way for once."

But Pochettino was dismissive when Wenger's accusations were put to him at the post-match press conference.

He said: "I don't know. So, now, when I analyse in this moment if we were wasting time, I think no.

"We tried to play in our way, tried to stick to our plan in the game, but, okay, this is football."

Pochettino acknowledged that Arsenal dominated possession for long spells but was pleased to see his an organised Tottenham line-up largely restrict them to half-chances.

"I think it is a good point, yes," he added. "After the game, when we analyse it, I think Arsenal managed the ball, managed the possession.

"But our plan, as you saw on the pitch, was to be compact, to be able to receive in the defensive line and, after we recovered the ball, to go forward quickly to surprise Arsenal."

 

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Klopp: Dortmund defending not good enough

Jurgen Klopp has voiced his frustration with Borussia Dortmund's defence as they slumped to a 2-1 Revierderby defeat against Schalke on Saturday.

The Gelsenkirchen side claimed victory over their fierce rivals thanks to quickfire strikes from Joel Matip and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finding the net for BVB.

Last year's runners-up have now lost three of their opening six Bundesliga fixtures and Klopp has admitted that failings at the back have played a major part."Rarely do you win games in football conceding goals like that," the 47-year-old told reporters.

"We conceded two goals that have nothing to do with tactics."You have to be ready and we were not in at least two situations today."

Klopp then went on to say that Dortmund failed to create any major chances, but he remains confident they will bounce back in the weeks to come. "In the second half we pressed but the clear chances have been lacking.

"This is of course anything but a good start for us. We have several problems with which we deal differently, but believe me on one thing: we will come good!"

 

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Blanc unhappy with PSG draw

Laurent Blanc has stressed that Paris Saint-Germain cannot be satisfied with their 1-1 Ligue 1 draw against Toulouse on Saturday as they should always be aiming for the full three points.

The reigning French champions have made an underwhelming - albeit unbeaten - start to the new campaign and questions will once again be asked after they were forced to come from behind to take just a point from their trip to the Stadium Municipal.

Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring after eight minutes before Jean-Christophe Bahebeck snatched an equaliser for the visitors before half-time, but Blanc felt his side were always chasing the game after such an early setback.
"We gifted them the opener," Blanc added. "But we did recover as the game progressed."Even though the match was difficult, the boys gave their all.

"You know that you cannot afford to lose games like these, but we are not satisfied that we spilled points again."We realise that things get complicated when we are not in the best of form, but we have a good team with great players."

Blanc has now used three different systems in the space of a week - following a draw against Lyon and a midweek win at Caen - but he was adamant that his tactics were not to blame for the draw with Toulouse."I do not analyse the game through the system, but by comparing the PSG team to that of Toulouse.

"Toulouse started the match better than us and we had problems."PSG have collected 14 points from eight encounters and sit third in the Ligue 1 table at the moment.

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.09.28 Fixture

Barclays Premier League 2014.09.28 Fixture​

WBA Vs Burnley

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La Liga 2014.09.28 Fixtures

La Liga 2014.09.28 Fixtures

Getafe Vs Malaga

Cordoba Vs Espanyol

Deportivo Vs Almeria

Real Sociedad Vs Valencia​

 

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Serie A 2014.09.28 Fixtures

Serie A 2014.09.28 Fixtures

Sassuolo Vs Napoli

Inter Vs Cagliari

Cesena Vs AC Milan

Torino Vs Fiorentina

Chievo Vs Empoli

Genoa Vs Sampdoria​

 

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'Come home Ronaldo' - Manchester United fans fly banner during Real Madrid game

A banner urging Cristiano Ronaldo to return "home" to Manchester United has been flown over El Madrigal during Real Madrid's clash with Villarreal.

The Portugal forward has been linked with a move back to Old Trafford and one United fans' group is doing its bit to make it happen with a banner which read: 'Come home Ronaldo - United Reel'.

United Reel, which describes itself as an organisation for "die hard Manchester United fans from every corner of the globe", raised the funds ahead of Real's La Liga match at Villarreal on Saturday.

"United Reel has active supporters on every continent of the world and we are all united by our love for Cristiano both as a footballer and as a person," the group said in a statement.

"We stand united in our views and we won't stop until we bring Ronaldo home."

Rumours of Ronaldo's unrest at Santiago Bernabeu intensified when ex-Real president Ramon Calderon claimed that the 29-year-old was disillusioned with life at the club and unhappy with Florentino Perez.

However, Carlo Ancelotti has since rubbished reports of a return to England insisting the Portugal captain is happy with life at the Bernabeu.

"These are words without meaning," he told reporters.

"I believe [the] reports are nonsense. Cristiano is happy here, very motivated to be here, and all Madridismo is delighted with him."

DESPERATION LEVEL: Manchester United

 

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DFB face legal action over vanishing spray

The inventor of the vanishing spray used by referees across the world has threatened to sue the German Football Association (DFB) if they decide to use another version of it.

The spray was commonly used in South America and spread across Europe after it was used in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but is yet to be used in Germany, where the governing body have said they hope to introduce it into the Bundesliga in October.

Head of refereeing at the DFB, Lutz Michael Frohlich, has said they could "look for alternatives to the expensive import from Argentina" after a report from TUV Rheinland suggested the 9-15 spray could be potentially harmful.But Pablo Silva, the entrepreneur who developed the spray has said he will take legal action should the DFB import another kind of spray and says there are no concerns over the safety of his invention.

"If the DFB uses the spray from another provider, we will complain about it," Silva told Bild. "Other vendors may not use our patent. Neither the ingredients nor the principle of the invention itself, it would of course be totally illegal.

"The spray is no risk to anyone's health. More than 300,000 games were conducted with the spray. We obey all laws. There is, in my view, no reason not to use the spray in Germany."

 

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West Brom 4-0 Burnley: Berahino leads Baggies to second straight league win

Burnley remain winless in the Premier League after beating comfortably beaten 4-0 by West Brom at the Hawthorns.

Craig Dawson opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, heading home a corner from Chris Brunt, with the hosts in control of the game.

Striker Saido Berahino then netted a double, one just before half-time and the other in the 56th minute, both times combining with the impressive Graham Dorrans.

Dorrans completed the rout just before the end of normal time with a cool first-time finish set up by Cristian Gamboa.

That the Baggies' first two goals came as a result of sloppy Burnley defending from corners will give manager Sean Dyche plenty to ponder, especially as the Lancashire club travelled to the Hawthorns on the back of three straight clean sheets.

On this evidence, Dyche has a big job on his hands to keep his side in the top flight, while West Brom celebrate a second league win of the campaign.

The hosts' starting XI was unchanged from their win at Tottenham, while Burnley, who were again without injured trio Danny Ings, Sam Vokes and Matt Taylor, brought in former Baggies player Steven Reid in a holding-midfield role, Ross Wallace and Michael Kightly to replace Marvin Sordell, David Jones and Dean Marney.

The visitors had an early penalty appeal turned down when George Boyd's cross struck Andre Wisdom on the shoulder but otherwise offered little in attack and tried to focus on keeping it tight at the back.

Their resistance was broken after half an hour, though, when Dawson climbed high above Jason Shackell at the back post to head in a Brunt corner for his first West Brom goal since joining from Rochdale four years ago.

Tom Heaton had to be alert to stop the home side from going further in front when tipping a long-range Dorrans strike over the bar but a second goaldid arrive in first-half stoppage time when Berahino nodded in from close range after Dorrans had flicked on a James Morrison corner.

Dyche reacted at the interval by bringing on Ashley Barnes and Nathaniel Chalobah for Reid and Wallace. Chalobah's first taste of action earned him a booking for a lunge on Craig Gardner, who soon after went close with a long-range strike, while Stephane Sessegnon's volley was well blocked by Ben Mee as the hosts continued to boss proceedings.

And good work from Brunt and Dorrans then put Berahino clean through on goal and he fired low past Heaton on 56 minutes to make it three.

West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster was forced to make a smart save after Lukas Jutkiewicz rose above Dawson and headed powerfully on target and Barnes should have done better when set up by third substitute Sordell.

Dorrans made it 4-0 after 90 minutes following good work down the right by substitute Cristian Gamboa, neatly tucking his low shot past the outstretched Heaton to send Burnley bottom on goal difference.

 

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Inter 1-4 Cagliari: Ekdal shines as Nerazzurri crumble

A first-half Albin Ekdal hat-trick inspired Cagliari to a stunning 4-1 Serie A thrashing of 10-man Inter at San Siro on Sunday.

The Sweden international had never scored more than one goal in a single domestic season before, but he was superb as Cagliari ran riot - assisted by Inter captain Yuto Nagatomo's 27th-minute red card.

Cagliari went into the match bottom of the table with just one point and, although Pablo Daniel Osvaldo cancelled out Marco Sau's opener, Ekdal swiftly restored their lead just after Nagatomo's dismissal.

Samir Handanovic kept out Andrea Cossu's 43rd-minute penalty with his 19th Serie A spot-kick save, but Ekdal netted either side of that, ensuring he doubled his total Cagliari goal tally inside 45 minutes.

Nemanja Vidic continuing his shaky start to life at Inter will have concerned Walter Mazzarri, with the hosts also displaying a lack of creative ingenuity in a second half which saw them fail to mount any kind of comeback.

Cagliari comfortably saw the match out to earn a first victory at Inter since 1995, while coach Zdenek Zeman claimed his first three points since taking over in July.

The calamities for the hosts began with just 10 minutes on the clock as Vidic and Nagatomo failed to cope with a long pass from the back and the ball made its way through to Sau, who lashed a half-volley home from the edge of the area.

Cagliari completely switched off in the 18th minute, though, as Inter drew level. Rodrigo Palacio played a quick free-kick into the left side of the area and the unmarked Osvaldo tapped in for an easy finish.

Inter's chances took a blow midway through the half though as Nagatomo received two second yellow cards in quick succession, the latter for a clumsy tackle on Andrea Cossu, and Cagliari capitalised almost instantly.Handanovic was unable to keep hold of Daniele Dessena's fierce attempt and Ekdal knocked in the rebound.

Ekdal was decisive again a few minutes later, as Victor Ibarbo rampaged down the right and cut a pinpoint pass into the danger area, which the Swede coolly fired into the roof of the net.

Handanovic seemingly gave Inter a lifeline as he denied Cossu from the penalty spot after the attacker went down theatrically under Vidic's challenge, but he was helpless from the resulting corner.

Inter failed to make the clearance and Ekdal smashed past Handanovic from point-blank range to give Cagliari a resounding lead in the 44th minute.The hosts predictably piled the pressure on from the start of the second half and saw Osvaldo's 52nd-minute tap-in disallowed for offside.

That setback seemed to wipe out all Inter's confidence as they failed to test young goalkeeper Alessio Cragno sufficiently, Cagliari in fact going closest to the game's sixth goal as substitute Diego Farias hit the side-netting.

A lack of late action saw the visitors cruise to a victory which lifts them off the bottom but Inter's first defeat of the season leaves them already seven points behind Serie A pacesetters Juventus and Roma.

 

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Cesena 1-1 AC Milan: Rossoneri held to a draw

Adil Rami's header atoned for a Christian Abbiati howler as 10-man AC Milan could only manage a 1-1 draw at Cesena on Sunday in Serie A.

Filippo Inzaghi's men controlled the game for large periods, but were undone early on when veteran goalkeeper Abbiati fumbled a weak shot straight into the path of Davide Succi, who gleefully accepted the gift.

Rami rescued his team with a towering header after 19 minutes on an otherwise frustrating afternoon for Milan that was compounded when Cristian Zapata was shown a straight red for bringing down substitute Gregoire Defrel.

Nicola Leali impressed in the Cesena goal, thwarting Mattia De Sciglio in the second half, while for Cesena, Franco Brienza fired over a free-kick from a good position late on.

But neither side could find a winner and it is now three games without a victory for a stuttering Milan side, while newly promoted Cesena will take many positives from the result.

Inzaghi was forced to change the side that battled from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Empoli on Tuesday as the injured Marco van Ginkel (ankle ligaments) made way for Andrea Poli.Pierpaolo Bisoli, Inzaghi's opposite number, welcomed back Massimo Volta and Brienza, who both missed the 3-0 defeat at Juventus in midweek with flu.

Fernando Torres forced Leali into a ninth-minute save with a header at the near post, but the visitors fell behind a minute later with a goal that Abbiati will want to forget.

Cesena's Guido Marilungo found space in the box and, although he got a shot away, the effort was weak. But the Milan goalkeeper somehow fumbled the ball into the path of Succi and he duly tapped in his first of the season.

Milan were rattled and could have conceded a penalty moments later through a clumsy Rami challenge on Succi before they found their feet and Keisuke Honda's free-kick had to be pushed over by Leali after 17 minutes.

Cesena did not heed the warning and Milan levelled moments later when Honda's superb corner was met by Rami, who headed past the helpless Leali into the far corner.The goal seemed to settle the visitors. Jeremy Menez picked out Giacomo Bonaventura in the area after 30 minutes, but he fired over.

Both sides had chances early in the second half. First, the ball sat up perfectly for Manuel Coppola and his effort went just wide of the post with Abbiati scrambling.
And at the other end, De Sciglio cut inside from the left and left fly with a low effort that Leali tipped behind.

For all their possession, Milan struggled to break down a resilient Cesena defence and when Bonaventura set up Torres after 62 minutes, the Spaniard headed over.
Milan had to play the final 17 minutes with 10 men after Zapata hauled down Defrel, but Cesena could not capitalise as Brienza fired over the resulting free-kick.

 

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I'm not finished yet - Gerrard

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has hit back at his critics, insisting that he is far from past it after his side's 1-1 draw with Everton.

The 34-year-old has been criticised for his performances this season as the Reds have struggled with just two wins in six Premier League games.

Gerrard had appeared to put his side on track with a fine free kick in the 65th minute of Saturday's Merseyside derby, only for Phil Jagielka to equalise with a stunning half-volley at the death, and, after one of his better showings this season, the Liverpool skipper said that those who had written him off had spoken too soon.

"I'll agree with the constructive criticism and I've been stifled in a couple of games when people have followed me around and I haven't been able to shake them off," he told the press.

"But then some people take it too far and say 'he's 34, he can't run and he's finished'.

"I can still compete with the best players around. It's nice to remind people that although I'm 34, I can still run, I can still play and I can compete with the best players around."

 

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Martinez: Jagielka's goal one of the best I've seen

Everton boss Roberto Martinez heaped praise on Phil Jagielka after the defender's superb equaliser in Saturday's Merseyside derby against Liverpool.

Jagielka rescued a point for Everton with a ferocious strike from long range in stoppage time at Anfield, after Steven Gerrard's 65th-minute free-kick had looked set to prove decisive.

Having described his side's leveller as the best goal he has seen live, Martinez hailed Jagielka's efforts in bouncing back from a tricky start to the season.

The 32-year-old lost his place in England's team for this month's matches with Norway and Switzerland and has been part of an Everton backline that has shipped goals all too easily in the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign.

"When you see someone like Phil Jagielka taking responsibility, someone who has got a lot of unfair criticism from the outside, that's a real example of how to face adversity, take responsibility and no-one deserves more than him the feeling of scoring such a special goal in front of the Kop," said Martinez.

"That's as good as I've seen. I don't think I've seen a better strike in live football.

"When you see him connecting with the ball, I think the body is leaning back a little bit, and you're thinking it has to be an incredible strike to put it in the top corner. And it was

"It helps that it's in the last minute, it's at Anfield and it's for my team - that's why maybe it's the best strike I've ever seen."

Invited to elaborate on his thoughts regarding the recent criticism of Jagielka, who started England's first two games at the World Cup in Brazil, Martinez added: "When you are looking at some of the reports about his England performances - and obviously he was the one who didn't play in the next two games when the national team got together - and because of our defensive record this season, there's been a lot of talk about a World Cup hangover.

"I felt that has been really unfair. He's been someone that has set really high standards in our football club.

"He cares like nobody [else], but today I was so, so proud because it would have been easy for a centre-half to just stay in his position and not do anything about it [the scoreline].

"I think the way he conducted himself on the pitch, looking for that equaliser, is just an example of his belief in himself, the responsibility he has and the way to face adversity."

Martinez faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of a hamstring injury that forced Kevin Mirallas to be withdrawn in the first half of Saturday's game.

"It seems a bad hamstring, a bad soft tissue [injury]," he added.

"We're going to assess him in the next 48 hours but that was a real problem for us.

"It's unfortunate that we [have] lost someone like him, someone like Ross Barkley, someone like Steven Pienaar, someone like Seamus Coleman - very important players that we need to get back as quick as we can."

 

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Jagielka ge goal 1kanam patta

 

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Messi: I never imagined I'd score 400 goals

Lionel Messi says he "never imagined" he would reach 400 career goals, after surpassing the landmark with two goals in Barcelona's 6-0 win over Granada.

The Argentine was the star of the show in his side's demolition of the Andalusian side, with two goals and two assists to see him rack up his 400th and 401st goals for club and country.The 27-year-old admitted after the game that he never quite believed he could reach such a momentous milestone in his career and said he is targeting more records.

"I never imagined I could achieve anything like this in my career," he wrote on his official Facebook page. "Thanks for all the congratulations on scoring 400 goals with FC Barcelona and the Argentinian National Team.

"I'll continue working hard to reach more targets. A big hug to all!"

 

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Valencia weigh up €38m Mata bid

Valencia are lining up a €38 million January move for Juan Mata - but must wait for Peter Lim to complete his takeover of the Spanish side before pursuing a deal for the Manchester United playmaker.

Lim, a Singapore-based businessman, has played a part in summer loan deals for Alvaro Negredo and Benfica pair Rodrigo and Andre Gomes, but is yet to reach an agreement with Bankia over the acquisition of the club.

Valencia have the option to sign Manchester City striker Negredo for €32 million and should Lim's purchase of the club go through, they will also turn their attention to re-signing Mata.

The former Chelsea star left Valencia for Stamford Bridge in 2011 but fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho and made a €47m January move to Old Trafford in 2014.

The summer arrival of Louis van Gaal, followed by the signings of Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera, have seen Mata's place in the starting XI come under threat.

And while it is unclear whether Mata would consider a return to Spain, United are understood to be willing to entertain offers of around €38m for the 26-year-old.

Valencia are weighing up the possibility of signing Mata on an initial loan deal in January with a view to a permanent move in the summer.

But any potential deal to sign Mata would be impossible if Lim's takeover of the club falls through.

Lim has also recently acquired a 50 per cent stake in Salford City, the Evo-Stik Division One North outfit part-owned by former United players Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.

 

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Mata wa sell karanne naha keeyatawathManchester United inna onema player kenek Mata kiyanne​