..::Football III::..

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Borussia Monchengladbach 0-0 Bayern Munich: Dominant champions held to draw

Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title procession was checked by Borussia Monchengladbach in Sunday's scrappy 0-0 draw.

A first-versus-second clash heading into the weekend, the reigning champions came into the game having won their previous four league fixtures, scoring 16 goals and conceding none in the process.

But Bayern's fluidity was missing for large swathes of the match at Borussia-Park as they were shut out for the second time this season.Gladbach carried most of the game's true attacking threat, with well-timed counter-attacks routinely piercing Pep Guardiola's newly favoured 3-4-3 system.

Max Kruse and Andre Hahn both had good sights of goal after rapid breakaways, but Germany number one Manuel Neuer proved typically tough to beat.

For all of Bayern's dominance of the ball in advanced areas, Martin Stranzl and Alvaro Dominguez were rock-solid in the heart of the home defence to preserve a draw that means both teams remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga this term.

The draw maintains Bayern's four-point advantage over Lucien Favre's side, but may give Gladbach confidence to keep the pressure on Guardiola's men in the seeming absence of a challenge from Borussia Dortmund this term.Gladbach may have been nervous having seen Bayern travel to Roma and put seven past the Italians in the Champions League in midweek - but they stood much firmer.

Yann Sommer had to be alert to tip David Alaba's goalbound cross onto the post 10 minutes in, but Bayern's front three of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller often found themselves getting in each other's way.

The hosts retained a threat on the break and Kruse was released clear on Neuer but the Germany number one stood firm, before a Lewandowski effort was deflected agonisingly wide of the left-hand post to keep scores level just before the interval.More good work on the break from Gladbach put Hahn in the clear 10 minutes after the interval, but Neuer denied the winger to his right and Mehdi Benatia slid in to prevent Raffael tapping into the unguarded net.

Juan Bernat hit the side netting after creative play from Philipp Lahm and Sommer denied Gotze at full stretch as Bayern pressed on with Franck Ribery introduced to add to their options.Gotze saw a late penalty appeal waved away as Stranzl lunged in and Bayern were ultimately unable to break down a dogged Gladbach side.

Though far from damaging, a rare toothless display will worry Guardiola with Dortmund set to visit the Allianz Arena next week desperate to kickstart their domestic campaign.

 

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Cesena 0-1 Inter: Icardi penalty secures points for Nerazzurri

Inter ended a tumultuous week by easing some of the pressure on head coach Walter Mazzarri with a 1-0 win over 10-man Cesena.

The build-up to Sunday's clash had been dominated by headlines surrounding honorary president Massimo Moratti's resignation from his post - reportedly having lost faith in the former Napoli tactician - but a narrow victory over 17th-placed Cesena should see Mazzarri continue to cling on to his job.

Inter's poor start to the campaign saw them go into the weekend in ninth place, and they were given a helping hand when the hosts' goalkeeper, Nicola Leali, was controversially sent off for a coming-together with Rodrigo Palacio.Mauro Icardi scored from the resulting penalty to give Inter the lead and although the visitors failed to add to that advantage - Hugo Campagnaro seeing a late second disallowed for offside - they had more than enough to claim all three points.

Mazzarri had declared an "emergency situation" after the events of Thursday, which saw Moratti's resignation followed by a 0-0 draw with Saint-Etienne in the Europa League.

But although they initially struggled to create clear-cut chances, they eventually began to control the tempo.

There was an element of good fortune about their 32nd-minute opener, though.
Palacio raced on to Hernanes' delightful chipped pass and theatrically fell to ground in expectation of a collision with Leali, earning the goalkeeper a red card before Icardi converted the resulting penalty.

Cesena went close to restoring parity twice in the following three minutes, as Emmanuel Cascione first blazed a half-volley over from around 10 yards, before Samir Handanovic acrobatically palmed away Milan Djuric’s header.

Palacio thought he had made Cesena pay just before the break as he beat Federico Agliardi – Leali's replacement – from a tight angle, only for his celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag.

Inter continued to see more of the ball at the start of the second half, but again Cesena should have drawn level in the 54th minute as an unmarked Guido Marilungo headed over from eight yards.The visitors finally began to click as attacking force after that let-off - Hernanes firing agonisingly wide after a solo run in the 58th minute, before Mateo Kovacic saw his 20-yard effort just miss the target.

They could have made the result more comfortable in the latter stages, as Palacio shot straight at Agliardi when through on goal and then Campagnaro saw his 85th-minute header disallowed for offside.

But Icardi's penalty proved to be enough as Mazzarri's men came away from Stadio Dino Manuzzi with all three points.

 

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Napoli 6-2 Hellas Verona: Higuain hat-trick helps Benitez's men to big win

Napoli thrashed Hellas Verona 6-2 in Sunday's Serie A clash to ease pressure on under-fire boss Rafael Benitez.

A hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain, along with two goals from Marek Hamsik and another from Jose Callejon, was enough to seal all three points, with Verona replying through Emil Hallfredsson and Nicolas Lopez.Benitez's men had to recover from a poor start after conceding with only 25 seconds on the clock, after Hallfredsson pounced on a poor clearance from Raul Albiol to drive the ball into the bottom corner.

And the hosts had to wait until just before the half-time interval to draw level, with Hamsik finding the back of the net from close range on the half-volley.

Napoli then took the lead just before the hour mark, with Hamsik again the scorer, after the Slovakia international made no mistake at the second time of asking following a rebound from his own first effort.They were then pegged back however, with Lopez avoiding the attentions of two defenders before equalising against the run of play.

But just two minutes later Napoli were back in the lead, with Higuain slotting home after a mistake from Hallfredsson.Callejon then put daylight between the two sides after being set up by Hamsik, before Higuain added another to put the result beyond doubt.

And the Argentina international put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute, sealing his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Dries Mertens had been brought down in the box.

 

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AC Milan 1-1 Fiorentina: Ilicic denies Rossoneri third place

Josip Ilicic stepped off the bench to fire an equaliser as Fiorentina came from behind to grab a 1-1 draw against AC Milan in Serie A.

The Slovenian provided the touch of class that Fiorentina had been lacking by sending a second-half drive beyond home goalkeeper Christian Abbiati at San Siro on Sunday.

Before that, there had been few signs that the visitors could find their way back into the game after Milan had taken a 25th-minute lead through Nigel de Jong's close-range header.

It was a game of few chances, with Jeremy Menez passing up a good opportunity earlier in the second half, while Juan Cuadrado and Matias Fernandez fired warning shots to Milan just before Ilicic's equaliser.Stephan El Shaarawy could have put Milan back in front almost instantly but lashed wide when well placed.

Milan are now unbeaten in five Serie A games, but the result continues their recent poor form against Fiorentina at San Siro, where they have not tasted victory since 2010.

Filippo Inzaghi made three alterations from a 3-1 win at Verona last time out, drafting in De Jong after suspension, while Menez was preferred up front to Fernando Torres.His opposite number Vincenzo Montella made wholesale changes from the Europa League win at PAOK on Thursday, with Cuadrado among those recalled.

Milan started the match in the ascendency, and Menez had a chance to test Neto after two minutes but his speculative effort was too high.

A scrappy opening was almost brought to life after 22 minutes as El Shaarawy's wonderful turn and shot forced a remarkable save from Neto, but the linesman's offside flag had already been raised.

It did not matter though, as Milan took the lead four minutes later when Cristian Zapata headed a corner into the danger area and De Jong was on hand to nod home his second of the season from six yards.

The visitors put in a disappointing first-half showing, and the closest they came to finding the net was through a Jasmin Kurtic long-range drive after 33 minutes that sailed wide.

Milan ought to have doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half as Menez broke forward, but the Frenchman turned onto his left foot and shot straight at Neto when he had team-mates available in better positions. Montella's men finally showed signs of life before the hour, with Cuadrado taking a left-footed shot on the bounce from 30 yards, which forced Abbiati into a save to his right, and Fernandez blasted just over soon after.

But Fiorentina's persistence paid off as they equalised after 64 minutes through substitute Ilicic, who took aim from 25 yards out to fire a precise low drive into the bottom-right corner and beyond the despairing dive of Abbiati.

El Shaarawy had a chance to restore Milan's lead but lashed wide as the hosts fell to a result that sees them sitting sixth in Serie A.

 

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Getafe 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Mandzukic settles derby clash

Atletico Madrid made the most of Barcelona's El Clasico humbling by beating Getafe 1-0 to move within two points of the La Liga pacesetters.

The reigning champions made the short trip across Madrid on Sunday and rarely looked troubled by their neighbours, claiming a victory to capitalise on Barca's 3-1 loss at Real Madrid 24 hours earlier.Mario Mandzukic netted from close range five minutes before the break to send Atletico on their way, but things should have been far more comfortable as they spurned numerous opportunities in the first half.

And after starting the second half encouragingly, Getafe handed Atletico a numerical advantage when captain Alexis earned a red card for striking Mandzukic in the face.Despite finding themselves with an extra man, Diego Simeone's side seemed reluctant to throw players forward in search of a second goal that would have killed the game.

To their credit, Getafe attacked valiantly in search of an equaliser even though they were a man down, but Atletico's typically resilient defence held firm to seal all three points for the visitors.Getafe coach Cosmin Contra acknowledged pre-game that the champions would have to have a bad day if he was to outsmart his former Atletico team-mate Simeone in the opposing dugout.

And it looked clear from the early exchanges that it would be a long evening for Getafe, as Atletico dictated the tempo right from the start and saw a penalty claim rejected in the 12th minute.

Guilherme Siqueira charged forward from left-back to great effect but, although he appeared to be tripped by Emiliano Velazquez, referee Mario Melero refused to point to the spot.

Atletico's dominance continued and, after seeing efforts from Raul Garcia, Siqueira and Koke denied, they finally found the breakthrough after 40 minutes.

Vicente Guaita failed to hold on to Antoine Griezmann's half-volley, and Mandzukic stabbed home from close range after Arda Turan inadvertently knocked the initial rebound to the Croatian.

Getafe began the second half with renewed optimism, though, and only the heroics of their former goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya in the Atletico net stopped them from restoring parity.

The 30-year-old first swatted away Naldo's flicked effort, before palming away goal-bound attempts from Alexis and Angel Lafita in quick succession.However, the hosts' hopes of drawing level suffered a significant blow in the 56th minute as their skipper Alexis received a straight red for striking Mandzukic on the side of his face, with tempers flaring on both teams.

Despite going down to 10 men, Getafe continued to press for an equaliser and substitute Baba Diawara went close just a few moments after coming on, sending a half-volley just wide from 25 yards.

But Atletico successfully repelled Getafe's spirited late efforts to find a leveller, meaning they could make the short journey home with a valuable victory under their belt.

 

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Di Maria: Manchester United move not financially motivated

Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria has dismissed suggestions that his move to Old Trafford was motivated by money.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti slammed the Argentina international after he made his British record €75 million move to United, claiming that he "demanded a lot of money and preferred to leave in order to earn more elsewhere".

But Di Maria, who has made a breathtaking start to life in the Premier League with three goals in six games under manager Louis van Gaal, insists he "truly wanted to move to United" due to his love of the club's iconic number seven shirt.

"I have these amazing feelings about having moved to Man United," Di Maria told The Mirror.

"I'm so proud of myself, you know. It's hard to explain it and put it in words. I wanted to wear this shirt.

"And it is so nice for me to wear the number seven shirt. It was worn by some of the greatest players in the club's history and I do know that it is a huge thing for all Man United fans.

"I think people here are happy with me. So I must honour this shirt. I must confess that I had all these expectations - but Man United have exceeded my expectations. It has all been perfect for me so far."

 

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Alexis speed and quality is key - Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Alexis Sanchez's speed and quality after his two goals gave the Gunners a 2-0 win over Sunderland.

The Chilean capitalised on poor errors from Wes Brown and Vito Mannone as the visitors left the Stadium of Light with three points.

The winger's second, which came in injury time, eased the tension for Wenger after Arsenal's impressive display had failed to glean fair reward.

He said: "Alexis took advantage of the mistakes they made.

"He has superb quality and speed; that's why he wins so many balls. He has shown his quality since he arrived here and he showed that again."

Victory was just Arsenal's third of their Premier League campaign, but Wenger was satisfied with what was on show from his players.

"We wanted the three points and got them. We were quite in control and were focused. We missed some opportunities but, overall, I am very happy. Sunderland was focused to defend very well."

 

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Barcelona suffer Iniesta injury blow

Barcelona have confirmed that Andres Iniesta suffered a calf injury in El Clasico but it remains unclear how long he will be ruled out for.

The Spain midfielder had to be withdrawn with just under 20 minutes remaining in Barca's 3-1 La Liga defeat against arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Iniesta pulled up holding his right leg and signalled to the bench that he was unable to continue."Sunday morning tests have confirmed that Andrés Iniesta has an injured right soleus, and developments will determine when he’ll be able to return to training with the group," read a statement on the club website.

Barca led through Neymar's early goal, but Cristiano Ronaldo pegged them back from the penalty spot and further goals from Pepe and Karim Benzema consigned Luis Enrique's side to their first La Liga defeat of the season.Lionel Messi spurned a golden opportunity to double Barca's lead before Real hit back and Xavi admitted they paid a heavy price for that miss.

"We didn't lose control at all; when they went up they were more comfortable." he said."When we were up 1-0, we should have taken longer possessions. We just missed out on the second goal, and when you miss those in the Bernabeu you pay a hefty price.

"After their second goal, they stayed back and looked for counter-attacks."

 

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Get well soon Iniesta!​

 

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Dortmund form sheer madness - Hummels

Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels says the club's poor form in the Bundesliga is "sheer madness" after losing 1-0 to Hannover on Saturday - their sixth straight defeat in the league.

BVB have not finished outside the top two in Germany's top flight since 2010, but currently sit 15th having managed only two wins in nine games this term.

Hummels told the club's official website: "This is currently a very, very hard phase in the Bundesliga. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."Slowly it becomes really difficult to find explanations.

"It is the most difficult phase ... for each individual. I believe that you can grow something. But nonetheless, it must be said that what we have planned for this season, is hardly implemented."That said, Hummels is adamant Dortmund could have claimed a positive result from every match on their six-game losing run.

"There was not a single team that was stronger than us, but we have taken from six games only a point. This is sheer madness."

 

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Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle: Spurs sunk by Ameobi & Perez

Two inspired half-time substitutions from Alan Pardew helped Newcastle United come from a goal down to beat Tottenham 2-1 on Sunday.

Pardew saw his side pick up their first Premier League win of the season last weekend against Leicester City, but they fell behind to an early Emmanuel Adebayor goal at White Hart Lane.

However, Sammy Ameobi made an instant impact by equalising seven seconds after his introduction at the start of the second half, and fellow substitute Remy Cabella laid on Ayoze Perez's maiden Newcastle goal to complete an impressive fightback.

Mauricio Pochettino recalled Adebayor at the expense of Roberto Soldado and the decision paid off when the Togo international headed the opener after 18 minutes.

Tottenham were then stunned as Ameobi fired home from Jack Colback's long ball to register his first top-flight goal for Newcastle, before Ayoze - who moved to St James' Park from Spanish second-tier side Tenerife in the close-season - achieved the same feat when he headed home Cabella's floated delivery.

While Spurs threatened late on, they were ultimately made to pay for their profligacy in the first half as they lost a third league game at home this term, with Pardew left to reflect on a hugely positive outing that sees Newcastle escape the bottom three.

Daryl Janmaat gave Newcastle an early scare after three minutes when he appeared to handle the ball inside the area following positive play down the left from Nacer Chadli.

Referee Anthony Taylor pointed for a corner before Adebayor helped lay on an opportunity that saw Christian Eriksen volley wide as the hosts began the brighter.

Paul Dummett fired Newcastle's first chance of the game over the crossbar 14 minutes in and Spurs' pressure then reaped rewards as Adebayor nodded in his first club goal since August.

The visiting defence initially did well to block a shot from Danny Rose and Eriksen's follow-up but, at the third attempt, Ryan Mason clipped in a cross for Adebayor to convert.

Spurs continued to dominate possession, albeit while struggling to create any further clear-cut chances, and the visitors were perhaps fortunate to go in at the break trailing by just one goal.
However, all Spurs' positive play in the first half was undone within seconds of the restart as Colback's diagonal ball caught the hosts off guard.

With Eric Dier cut out of the picture, Ameobi kept his cool to find the bottom-right corner and draw Newcastle level in sensational fashion.

An effort from Eriksen rolled marginally wide following a deflection off Fabricio Coloccini as Spurs sought to get back in front but it was another Newcastle substitute who helped craft the winning goal.

Cabella curled a delightful delivery in from the left that Ayoze was able to nod home as Newcastle completed what had seemed a most unlikely comeback.

Spurs replacement Harry Kane failed to get in on the act, spurning a great opportunity following Rose's delivery from the left, as Newcastle survived a late onslaught to win at White Hart Lane for a second season running.

 

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Burnley 1-3 Everton: Lukaku & Eto’o punish struggling Clarets

Samuel Eto'o scored twice as Everton heaped more misery on Burnley by securing a 3-1 Premier League win at Turf Moor.

The former Cameroon striker put the visitors in front after only four minutes on Sunday, but Danny Ings levelled with his first Premier League goal after Romelu Lukaku had given the ball away cheaply with a casual pass.

Lukaku made up for that mistake before half-time, when he was on hand to round off a slick move to put the Merseyside club back in the ascendancy.

There was no way back for Burnley from there, with Eto'o adding a third goal for Everton five minutes from time with a stunning finish.

He could even have had his hat-trick but was unlucky to see the ball bounce off the inside of the post and roll along the line late on.

In the end, that mattered little as Roberto Martinez's side recorded back-to-back victories in the Premier League.

Burnley, on the other hand, are still waiting for an elusive first Premier League win and will be bottom of the table if QPR can secure at least a point against Aston Villa on Monday.

Eto'o came into the starting line-up at the expense of Ross Barkley in the only change to the Everton side that beat Villa last weekend, and he wasted no time in justifying his inclusion.

Martinez had heaped praise on Leighton Baines in the build-up, stating that the left-back has taken his game to another level, and the England man showed his class by laying on a sixth assist of the season in the top flight to tee up the opener.

The former Wigan Athletic man whipped in an inviting cross from the byline that was headed in by the onrushing Eto'o, off the underside of the crossbar, from six yards out after just four minutes.

Burnley responded to that early setback and they were level after 20 minutes, thanks in no small part to an unwanted contribution from Lukaku.

The Belgium striker was under no pressure when he gifted the ball to Lukas Jutkiewicz deep in his own half and the former Everton man picked out the run of strike partner Ings, who kept his composure to round Tim Howard and slot the ball into an empty net.

Burnley's joy was short-lived, though, as Lukaku atoned for his earlier error by restoring Everton's lead nine minutes later.

The ex-Chelsea man rounded off a fine passing move by finding the far corner of the net with a scuffed right-footed shot after his initial attempt had been blocked.

Steven Naismith's header looped against the top of the crossbar after Leon Osman had stood the ball up to the back post six minutes before the break, as Everton attempted to extend their lead.

Lukaku then combined well with Eto'o and unleashed a shot from around 25 yards out, which was straight at Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Heaton was called into action again when he bundled the ball behind for a corner after Baines' dangerous free-kick had evaded everybody, before Barkley replaced Lukaku midway through the second half.

Ashley Barnes also came on for Jutkiewicz, as Burnley boss Sean Dyche attempted to rescue a point, but the striker's first real contribution was a late challenge on Gareth Barry which resulted in him being shown a yellow card.

With five minutes left, Eto'o sealed the points with a stunning right-footed strike from 25 yards out, as Burnley were taught another harsh lesson.

Eto'o ought to have had a hat-trick in time added on, when a poor backpass from Kieran Trippier set him clear and he rounded Heaton, but the 33-year-old saw his effort strike the far post and roll back across the face of goal.

 

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Juventus 2-0 Palermo: Vidal and Llorente fire hosts back to winning ways

Juventus responded to their European disappointment by beating Palermo 2-0 to restore their lead at the top of Serie A.

Massimiliano Allegri's side suffered a second successive Champions League defeat against Olympiakos in midweek, and Roma drew level with them at the summit of the Italian top flight with a draw at Sampdoria on Saturday.

But goals in each half from Arturo Vidal and Fernando Llorente gave Juve a comfortable home win on Sunday - a victory that puts them three points clear of Rudi Garcia's men.

The champions appeared cagey early on, but were settled by Vidal's deserved 32nd-minute opener, before Llorente sealed a 23rd straight Serie A home win with his first goal of the season shortly after the hour.Palermo, by contrast, remian in the bottom three with just one win from their eight matches since returning to the top flight.

Allegri made three changes to the Juve side beaten in Athens on Wednesday and, after a cautious opening to the game, it was one of those introduced - Claudio Marchisio - who registered the first meaningful attempt.

The midfielder went close with two volleys at goal in as many minutes, the second dipping just too late after the ball fell nicely for him 15 yards out.

Juve looked more comfortable thereafter, and with the home crowd behind them, started asking questions of the visitors.Vidal floated in between the lines and almost created the opener in the 17th minute as he picked out Llorente from the left, but the Spaniard headed straight at Stefano Sorrentino.

Juve were dominating possession, but they were reminded of Palermo's threat on the counter when Paulo Dybala and Franco Vazquez combined for the latter to force Gianluigi Buffon into action just before the half-hour mark.That scare sparked increased focus from Juve and they took the lead on 32 minutes after a break of their own.

Carlos Tevez led the charge, travelling forward with the ball at pace before timing his pass perfectly for the overlapping Vidal to slot coolly beyond Sorrentino with his left foot.The tension that had inhibited the hosts' play disappeared after the opener. Vidal should have doubled the lead 11 minutes after half-time when Zouhair Feddal mindlessly teed him up six yards from goal, but the Chilean blazed over the bar.

Tevez continued to cause Palermo problems and Sinisa Andelkovic almost turned the striker's dangerous cross into his own net on 64 minutes.There was no doubt from the resulting corner, however.

Llorente rose highest in the box to meet Andrea Pirlo's out-swinging cross and direct low out of Sorrentino's reach.Juve substitute Sebastian Giovinco almost got in on the act late on, as first his powerful shot from a tight angle was well saved by Sorrentino's feet before the 27-year-old hit the post from 18 yards.

But the hosts' easy victory had long been secured, as they went some way to getting over their continental heartache.

 

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Van Persie: Manchester United can catch Chelsea

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie says his side can still catch Chelsea at the top of the Premier League following his late equaliser against the Blues at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman earned his side a 1-1 draw after he fired in from close range in the 94th minute, meaning the Red Devils trail Jose Mourinho's side by 10 points after nine matches.

But the former Arsenal man believes the 20-time English champions have what it takes to close the gap given how much of the season there still is to play.

"Of course we can," he told Sky Sports when asked whether United could catch Chelsea. "There’s still a long way. It’s still early doors. I think it’s nine or 10 games played. It’s not even halfway, so yes."

Didier Drogba's goal looked set to hand the Stamford Bridge outfit all three points until Van Persie's late intervention as Louis van Gaal's side struggled to beat an inspired Thibaut Courtois.

But the 31-year-old believes his side were unfortunate not to finish with all three points and feels they are improving with every match they play.

"If you come back in a game like this where we are 1-0 down with a minute to go that gives us a boost.

"We should have won today and gained some points back. It didn’t happen but overall we can be happy with a draw.

"In my opinion we are getting better every day – we are better on the ball everyone knows what they need to do. We need to stretch this for longer – we have to aim to play like that for one-and-a-half hours."

 

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Guardiola: I am proud of Bayern

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola says he is proud of how his team performed in their 0-0 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.The reigning champions came into the fixture on the back of four league wins, but were unable to add to that tally on Sunday.

But Guardiola says he is happy with his side's showing as both teams remain unbeaten so far this season."I'm very, very proud of my team and the way we played," the 43-year-old was quoted as saying on his club's official website.

"We played in a very controlled way and didn't allow [Monchengladbach to have] any counterattacks in the first half.

"In the second half we were tired of course. We wanted to win, but had lost our shape a little bit and allowed more counterattacks. I am very pleased with our performance and the point."Meanwhile, Bayern captain Philipp Lahm echoed his coach's sentiments."For us it is a good result," said the 30-year-old.

"We did not have so many clear chances, but we had the game under control.
"We wanted to win [but] we are four points ahead [at the top of the Bundesliga table] - everything is okay."

 

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Simeone: Set pieces are a part of football

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has once again defended his side's style of play, saying set pieces are a normal part of football.

The Colchoneros emerged victorious against Getafe on Saturday with Mario Mandzukic's goal, which came in the aftermath of a corner, ultimately the only thing to separate the two teams.

The result was the capital club's third victory in the space of a week, after a 2-0 win against Espanyol in La Liga and a 5-0 midweek thrashing of Malmo in the Champions League.[Set-pieces are] a part of football," Simeone was quoted as saying by AS."It's normal to have those options. After playing three games in a week it is not easy to have eight goals for and none against.

The 44-year-old also talked about his side's performance against their local rivals, arguing that their opponents had actually improved after having captain Alexis sent off for striking Mandzukic."In the first half we had a good, controlled game," the former Argentina international continued.

"[It stayed that way] until the sending off, but in the last 30 minutes Getafe's courage led them to play a good game."We dropped back and suffered [because of it]."We live day by day and it was a very important that we had a result in the context of the week.

"Winning all three games in the week gave it [the result] extra value."

 

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Van Gaal: Manchester United deserved a draw & Mourinho knows it

Louis van Gaal feels that Manchester United deserved their 1-1 draw against Chelsea and believes that Jose Mourinho would agree with his assessment of the game.

Robin van Persie's stoppage-time strike rescued a point for the Red Devils after Didier Drogba had headed the visitors into the lead early in the second half.

Van Gaal argues that sharing the spoils with the Premier League leaders is a good sign for the future.

"We deserved the goal. I think Jose Mourinho knows it, too," he told reporters.

"It is again the same song. We have created a lot of chances but we don't finish these chances and then Chelsea make the first goal and then it's much more difficult because Chelsea is playing on more possession and make the pitch big and we have to run and run.

"But, 10 minutes after the goal, I think we keep together again and I think we deserved the last goal but I have seen that we could have won, also, against Chelsea.

"I'm saying that nearly every game but that's a good sign, I think, because Chelsea are top level and we were at least equal."


Van Gaal was without Radamel Falcao for the visit of the Blues but the former Bayern Munich coach was quick to ease fears of a long-term absence for the Colombian.

He could not be so confident about the recovery time of Phil Jones, though, as the defender missed out through shin splints.

"[Falcao] took a kick in training and couldn't play but I don't think it's too bad," the Red Devils boss told MUTV.

On Jones he added: "We'll have to wait and see because it's not too easy to recover from."

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.10.27 Fixture

Barclays Premier League 2014.10.27 Fixture

QPR Vs Aston Villa

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Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: Van Persie snatches point at the death

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Van Gaal: Manchester United deserved a draw & Mourinho knows it

Louis van Gaal feels that Manchester United deserved their 1-1 draw against Chelsea and believes that Jose Mourinho would agree with his assessment of the game.

Robin van Persie's stoppage-time strike rescued a point for the Red Devils after Didier Drogba had headed the visitors into the lead early in the second half.

Van Gaal argues that sharing the spoils with the Premier League leaders is a good sign for the future.

"We deserved the goal. I think Jose Mourinho knows it, too," he told reporters.

"It is again the same song. We have created a lot of chances but we don't finish these chances and then Chelsea make the first goal and then it's much more difficult because Chelsea is playing on more possession and make the pitch big and we have to run and run.

"But, 10 minutes after the goal, I think we keep together again and I think we deserved the last goal but I have seen that we could have won, also, against Chelsea.

"I'm saying that nearly every game but that's a good sign, I think, because Chelsea are top level and we were at least equal."


Van Gaal was without Radamel Falcao for the visit of the Blues but the former Bayern Munich coach was quick to ease fears of a long-term absence for the Colombian.

He could not be so confident about the recovery time of Phil Jones, though, as the defender missed out through shin splints.

"[Falcao] took a kick in training and couldn't play but I don't think it's too bad," the Red Devils boss told MUTV.

On Jones he added: "We'll have to wait and see because it's not too easy to recover from."

Come on RVG....Draw at home and expect this Man Utd with a super Shit defense to Call it a Deserve one...Plus to win away will be even difficult to think when you can't win at Home....