..::Football III::..

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'No sign of remorse' from Ferdinand led to FA ban

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand's three-match suspension and fine was decided upon as a result of his showing "no sign of remorse", according to the commission that penalised him.

The former England captain was banned and fined £25,000 (€32,000) for comments made on Twitter, with the English Football Association citing a potentially insulting reference to gender.

After being sent a message from another user, which read: "Maybe QPR will sign a good CB they need one," Ferdinand replied using the derogatory slang term "sket".

The independent regulatory commission released its written reasons for the case on Wednesday and revealed that Ferdinand - through his solicitors - had claimed that his use of the word was not derogatory, an explanation which was rejected.

The commission's statement read: "Unfortunately there is no formal or direct admission and there is certainly no sign of remorse. The regulatory commission members extracted what 'mitigation' they could from the solicitor's letter but again reminded themselves that Mr Ferdinand had simply not responded at all to the actual charge brought against him despite several requests for him to do so."

Ferdinand's previous breach of FA rule E3 for reference to race in 2012 could have seen him landed with an immediate ban of more than five matches for his latest indiscretion but the written nature of the offence permitted the Commission to issue a smaller ban.

 

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Guardiola: Roma feared another thrashing

Pep Guardiola believes Roma were afraid to suffer another heavy defeat against Bayern Munich and therefore fielded "six defenders" in Wednesday's Champions League.

The Serie A outfit were beaten 7-1 at home two weeks ago and employed a defensive strategy at the Allianz Arena in an attempt to prevent a repeat of that result.Nevertheless, they were once more beaten as Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze helped Bayern to a 2-0 win and a spot in the knockout stages.

"The 7-1 was more of a coincidence, something like this happens once in a lifetime," Guardiola said at the post-match press conference."Roma didn’t want to suffer again so they played very defensive, with six defenders.

"Nevertheless we were dominant, especially in the second half."Gotze, meanwhile, was very happy with his side's performance and stressed that Bayern are getting to understand Guardiola's philosophy more and more.

"It’s fun to play in this team. We won 2-0 and are very happy with this."We knew that it would take some time to understand our coach but now we know how to fulfil his wishes."

Bayern secured top spot in Group E following Wednesday's results with 12 points from four games, holding an eight-point lead over Roma and CSKA Moscow.

 

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De Rossi: Bayern are just better

Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi admits his side had to accept they were second best against Bayern Munich after Wednesday's 2-0 defeat.

Destroyed in the reverse fixture 7-1 two weeks ago, the Serie A side delivered a much-improved performance at the Allianz Arena, although goals from Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze were enough to seal Bayern's win.

"We've tried, we pretty much admitted that they are better and took counter-measures that were not enough to gain some points, but we made a completely different impression," said the Italy international to Mediaset.

"The first half against Bayern and the game against Napoli were two episodes. We will restart on Sunday, which is perhaps even more important."

Roma boss Rudi Garcia believes the Giallorossi's display was good enough to erase the memory of their thrashing on matchday three and even feels they could have earned a share of the spoils but the for the exploits of Manuel Neuer.

"We know Bayern are a great team and they showed that once again tonight. Tactically and mentally we got our approach right. It's a shame we let in two, they didn't have that many chances," he told Sky Italia.

"We posed a threat but didn't get many shots in - when we did we were thwarted by Neuer, the best in the world. I'm happy with the performance of my players, even if we lost. We have erased the bad game of the first leg."

 

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Messi best I've ever seen - Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique labelled Lionel Messi the best player he has ever seen after watching him score twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win over Ajax and equal Raul's record 71-game haul of Champions League goals.

The triumph came at a crucial time, following back-to-back La Liga losses against Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, as Messi scored in either half to get Barca back on track at the Amsterdam Arena and secure their progress to the last-16.Coach Luis Enrique was full of praise for the Argentina international, who can now break the record against APOEL later this month.

"Messi is without doubt the best player I've seen as a player and a coach," he said."I'm happy for the side in general. There were parts of the game we could improve, but in general we had a marvellous attitude, and I'm happy.

"We have to improve and for this I have a spectacular side. We started the season knowing there would be all sorts of moments. I liked everything in general."

Luis Suarez made his Champions League debut for Barca against his former employers in the Dutch capital and almost opened his account with a second-half one-on-one.The Uruguayan, having recently made his return from a four-month ban for biting, paid tribute to Messi while Xavi also added his satisfaction at making it into the last 16.

"It's an honour to line up next to Messi - from my point of view Messi is the best player in the world and you cannot compare him to anyone," Suarez added."In fact, I enjoy playing with all these great players. I have been training with the team for a while now, even if I wasn't playing."

Xavi added: "I'm happy for Messi because he makes the difference for the team and for that he is the number one, the best."We've got an important three points for our confidence and we looked better. We need to keep on winning. We needed to win and I think the result was fair.

"Ajax are a difficult side to play against, they want the ball and it wasn't easy."It is a great win and it reaffirms the group's confidence. Here we all work, we are all together and today it was shown that when we pull together the side functions."

 

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Roma learned you cannot attack Bayern, says Lahm

Philipp Lahm believes Roma had no other option but to defend if they were to avoid another thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in Wednesday's Champions League encounter.

The Serie A outfit were beaten 7-1 at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks ago and opted for a defensive strategy in the reverse fixture in order to avoid a repeat.Bayern once more emerged victorious at the Allianz Arena, however, with Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze helping them to a 2-0 win.

"Roma learned from the reverse fixture that you have to play defensively against us," Lahm told the official Uefa website."They did that and at times played with six at the back, so it was not easy to create chances. That made getting the opening goal all the more important – it set us up to push on in the second half."

Wednesday's results saw Bayern secure top spot in Group E, allowing them to turn their focus to the Bundesliga for the time being, much to the delight of Lahm.
"We have won the group now, so we can focus all our energies on the Bundesliga," the World Cup winner enthused.

Bayern resume Bundesliga action against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Pep Guardiola's unbeaten outfit are currently four points clear of Wolfsburg, after 10 rounds of action.

 

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If I were Gerrard I might have retired after Chelsea slip - Suarez

Luis Suarez claims he would have been tempted to retire if he had been in Steven Gerrard's shoes after the Liverpool captain's costly slip set Chelsea on the road to victory in last season's crucial Premier League clash at Anfield.

The Reds were on an 11-game winning streak and needed just seven points from their final three matches to secure a first league title since 1990 when the Blues arrived on Merseyside in April.

But Gerrard lost his footing on the stroke of half-time and Demba Ba raced away to give the depleted visitors a lead they never relinquished, with Manchester City going on to claim the trophy.

And Suarez - the catalyst for Liverpool's surprise title charge with 31 Premier League goals before making a €94 million summer move to Barcelona - admits he would have been tempted to hang up his boots in the same situation.

“If I had been in Stevie’s shoes, I don’t know if I would have been able to carry on playing," the Uruguayan writes in his new autobiography serialised in the Guardian.

“Emotionally, it must have been very, very hard.

“In the previous weeks, so much had been said about him, the expectation had built so much, the talk had been about him leading Liverpool, his club, to a first title in over 20 years, on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which his cousin had died, and then that happens.

"The captain, the former youth-teamer, the one-club man, a Scouser born and bred, and he was the unlucky one to make a crucial mistake.

“He still hadn’t won the league title. Stevie had started to believe, we all had. And now it had been virtually taken away from him and like that, with him slipping against Chelsea.

"I’m convinced that if Chelsea had not scored like that, they would not have scored at all. And once you are a goal down against them, it’s virtually impossible.”

 

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Even more to come from Messi, says Mascherano

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano believes Lionel Messi is not at the peak of his powers yet and is only going to get better over the coming years.

The prolific Argentine attacker netted both goals in the Catalans' 2-0 Champions League win over Ajax at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wedneday evening, thus equalling Real Madrid legend Raul's all-time record of 71 goals in the competition, and Mascherano had nothing but praise for his compatriot.

"It’s huge that Messi has equalled Raul," the versatile defender told the official Barcelona website."That shows what Leo Messi is doing as a player. He’s equalled a legend like Raul, such a historic player, and he’s still only young.

"We know that he’s got a long future ahead of him and that’s very important for Leo."

The defender then went on to voice his satisfaction with Barcelona's win over the Eredivisie champions, which sealed the Catalans' place in the last 16, but acknowledged they still have room for improvement.

"“I’m happy with the win," the 30-year-old said. "We knew perfectly well the team did a lot of good things, but we are also aware that we need to improve. We’re on the right track and hopefully this will all serve for the future. "Ajax controlled the ball in the first half and if they didn’t generate situations of danger, they did generate situations of control. We found it hard to adapt, but then Messi scored and we felt calmer.

"We knew we’d just lost two games and what our opponent was doing started creating doubts among the team. So, it’s very important that we were able to win this game."

 

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Mourinho: Hazard fantastic against Maribor despite penalty miss

Jose Mourinho leapt to the defence of Eden Hazard following his penalty miss in Chelsea's 1-1 Champions League draw with Maribor, describing the Belgian's overall performance as "fantastic".

Hazard spurned a chance to earn his side all three points in the 85th minute at Ljudski vrt on Wednesday after winning the spot kick, with Jasmin Handanovic parrying away his tame effort.

Nemanja Matic had earlier cancelled out Agim Ibraimi's superb opener and on a night where both sides missed clear opportunities to win, meaning Chelsea were forced to wait to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

But Mourinho refused to criticise his star man, telling Sky Sports: "When players play so well like Hazard did, he was fantastic and by far the best player of my team.

"Players like this can miss a penalty and still be the best in my team. We paid the price of not a good first half and their goalkeeper was fantastic.

"In the first half we didn't play well. I was not happy with the team or the performance.

"I changed at half-time with the conviction that team was going to improve. I was proved right, but they scored, their belief was higher and our players starting feeling the pressure."

 

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Bayern fear lengthy Alaba absence

Bayern Munich have received some disappointing news on the injury front in the aftermath of their 2-0 Champions League win over Roma on Wednesday evening, with David Alaba facing a spell on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Austria international was forced to leave the pitch in the closing stages of the game at the Allianz Arena and the German champions have now confirmed that he will undergo further tests on Thursday to clarify the extent of the damage.

"David Alaba picked up a medial collateral ligament injury in the match. There will be further tests in the morning. Get well soon!," Bayern announced on their official Twitter handle.Head coach Pep Guardiola fears that the versatile left-back could be out of action for the remainder of 2014.

"With David Alaba we lose a great lad and a great player. He can play nearly every position on the field. He is very important for us," the former Barcelona boss said."We just hope he will come back as soon as possible, but I think we will see him just after Christmas."

Alaba has been a key player for Bayern so far this season, scoring twice in 17 appearances in all competitions.

 

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De Boer: Ajax played some Tiki-Taka against Barcelona

Frank de Boer believes Ajax deserved something from their 2-0 loss at home to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

Victory would have kept the Eredivisie champions' chances in the battle for top-two spots in Group F alive, but despite taking the game to their illustrious opponents - especially during the first half - the hosts were eventually undone by a Lionel Messi double and consequently eliminated."We proved we can compete at the highest level. The players showed guts and that's what it's all about," De Boer said at a press conference.

"I even saw some tiki-taka football from my side. I saw Ajax play like I wanted to see, similar to last season, pressing the opposition and playing good football
"We put up the pressure, and when something went wrong, another player stood up to correct it. It's just a shame we couldn't reward that with a goal."After the red card the game was finished, and we had to take care not to get completely overrun.

"I feel we deserved better. Not many teams can say that after playing Barcelona."
Ajax sit third in their section with two points from four games, meaning their goal now will be to qualify for the Europa League.

 

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Kjaer: Premier League move could happen

Lille centre-back Simon Kjaer has admitted that he would love to take the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old has starred at Stade Pierre-Mauroy for Rene Girard’s side for close to 18 months and has established himself in a defence that has earned the reputation as being one of the most redoubtable in Europe.

Although he is not pushing to leave the north of France, he has confessed it would be hard to turn down a move to England.

“I am not in a hurry to leave France. My family and I enjoy living in Lille, and I enjoy playing for LOSC,” he said.

“But, at 25, I have to plan for the best years of my career and England could very well be my next destination.

“I’ve considered a move to England before, but next summer it could happen.”

While there might be some gentle pressure from his Liverpool-supporting family that may push him towards Anfield, Kjaer, who was previously linked with both Manchester City and United, plus Tottenham and Arsenal when he was with Palermo, does not hold a particular club preference otherwise.

“It’s not a secret that my family are Liverpool fans, and a move to Liverpool would make my family happy. But they support me more than they support anything else, so they are happy where ever I go - as long as I am happy,” the Denmark star explained.

“And I am a player not a fan. So I would choose the club that is the best place for me to play my football - and where my family would be happy.

“It is always nice to hear about big clubs being interested, but I won't concentrate on any other club than Lille right now.”

The Dane certainly has no regrets about his transfer in the summer of 2013 from Wolfsburg to Lille and believes that France offers players an ideal schooling before moving to England.

“I believe that the French Ligue 1 is a good stepping stone for anybody for a move to the Premier League.

“You see a lot of players crossing The Channel to play in England, and I understand why. In many ways the style of Ligue 1 is much more physical than in some of the other big leagues, and it would be more difficult going from the Serie A to Premier League, because the style of play is very different.

“But I work hard every day to improve everything in my game - it is in my nature never to be satisfied and always wanting to better myself.”

Kjaer explained that he thrives upon testing himself against the best and is looking forward to facing Everton’s forwards in Thursday evening.

“I go into every game to prove myself - whether it’s in Ligue1, or a Euro 2016 qualifier for Denmark against Cristiano Ronaldo like in our last international, or this game against Everton and top class players like Samuel Eto’o and Romelu Lukaku. The bigger the challenge, the more I enjoy it.

“At 25 I am focused on working hard and developing myself continuously before the best years of my career. I always enjoy facing the best names in the game.

“Obviously there are great players at Everton and in the Premier League in general.

“The Europa League is a nice stage to play on but I would really cherish the opportunity to play Champions League. I loved playing at the World Cup of 2010 and Euro 2012, and this would offer a similar challenge.”

If has been a difficult start to the season at Lille, who presently lie 12th in the French top flight, having notably struggled to score goals.

“It has been frustrating for all of us at LOSC,” Kjaer admitted. “Last season we had this feeling of being almost unbeatable, but we have lost that feeling and our rhythm because of injuries and the sale of last season’s top scorer [Salomon] Kalou.

“When a player gives you 16 or 17 league goals per season, you miss him when he’s gone.

“We haven’t scored enough goals, and we have lost the balance in the team, so we are also letting in more goals for the moment. We have kept six cleansheets in the league, and that is a proof of good defending, but we are struggling a bit to find our top form right now.

“Defensively we had a great game and another cleansheet against Everton [two weeks ago], and if we repeat that performance and then add a bit going forward, we could get a good result at Goodison Park.”

 

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Robben on par with Messi & Ronaldo, says Sammer

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer believes Arjen Robben is on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The Dutchman is one of six Bayern players to have made the 23-man shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d'Or and Sammer says that the winger's nomination is unsurprising, claiming he deserves to be rated among the very best footballers on the planet."Robben is a world-class player and he is on par with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo," Sammer was quoted as saying by Sport Bild.

"He fully deserves every bit of recognition. You can't put a price on Arjen, not as a player and not as a person either."He has the advantage of having a stable life. Arjen has found a certain balance.

"I don't know whether he is better than ever before, but the consistency with which he performs at the highest level in big games and his training intensity are extraordinary."

Robben has been in fine form for Bayern this term, scoring six goals in nine games in all competitions.The 30-year-old guided the Bavarians to the domestic double earlier this season.

 

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Yaya Toure apologises to Manchester City fans for red card

Yaya Toure has apologised to Manchester City supporters for getting sent off during Wednesday's shock home defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

Two goals from Seydou Doumbia gave the Russians their first even win on English soil, while Fernandinho received two bookings in the second half and Toure was shown a straight red for petulantly pushing over Roman Eremenko.

The result sends winless City to the bottom of Group E and leaves them on the brink of another humiliating Champions League exit with matches against Bayern Munich and Roma still to come.

Boos greeted the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium, and after the match a remorseful Toure took to Twitter to express his sorrow for his actions.

Fernandinho also made his regret known, apologising to his team-mates and supporters for his two yellow cards and underwhelming overall display.
Toure's apology comes just a day after he received racist abuse on the social networking site within hours of re-activating his account, prompting an investigation from Greater Manchester Police.

 

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Pellegrini clueless: I don't understand why Manchester City can't perform in Europe

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has conceded that he has no clue as to why his star-studded side struggle to perform on the Champions League stage.

The Premier League titleholders suffered their second group-stage defeat of the season on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-1 loss to CSKA Moscow to leave their hopes of qualification to the knockout phase hanging by a thread.

Two goals from Seydou Doumbia were enough to see off City on a night that saw both Yaya Toure and Fernandinho sent off, and Pellegrini admits there is much work to be done after his side's latest European setback.

He said: "All of them are important players so I don't understand why they cannot play in the Champions League, but we must review a lot of things to understand why it was such a low performance."

City are now bottom of the group and face Bayern Munich and Roma in their final two group fixtures, although former Real Madrid coach Pellegrini is convinced his side can still qualify for the next round of the competition.

He added: "If you have a mathematical chance to qualify you must try for it. We will see. First we must try to beat QPR, then we have an international break and after that of course will try to qualify for the next stage.

"It is more difficult but not impossible."

City have won two of the last three Premier League titles - yet reached the knockout stage just once, last season, when they were eliminated by Barcelona in the last 16.

 

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Me, Neymar, Messi best in world - Suarez

Luis Suarez believes Barcelona's front three of him, Neymar and Lionel Messi is the world's best strikeforce following their 2-0 victory over Ajax in the Champions League.

The Uruguayan and Neymar played supporting roles at the Amsterdam Arena as Messi took centre stage with two goals to equal Raul's record 71-goal haul in the competition and seal the Catalan's place in the last-16.

Suarez, who joined the Catalans from Liverpool over the summer, is still searching for his first goal for Barca, but says the club's striking trio is unrivalled in world football."I think we have the best attack in the world," he told Sport 1. "We are working very hard and keep trying to do better every day."

The 27-year-old recently returned from a four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's World Cup clash with Italy over the summer, but says he is thoroughly enjoying his new home in Spain, while highlighting the difficulty of Wednesday night's test against his former club."I am enjoying my time at Barcelona, because it was my dream to play for this club.

"It was nice to be back in Amsterdam. Ajax played a good match and they pressed us back in the first half. It's difficult to play in Amstrerdam, because Ajax is very dominant. They made some good chances. They have a good trainer and I think they will keep doing very well."

 

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Manchester City are in crisis, admits Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini admits Manchester City are suffering a crisis of confidence after Wednesday's shock home defeat to CSKA Moscow left them on the brink of another humiliating Champions League exit.

Seydou Doumbia struck twice for the Russians to give them a first ever victory on English soil, while Fernandinho and Yaya Toure were both sent off in the second half as City imploded.

The Premier League champions now lie bottom of Group E with matches against Bayern Munich and Roma to play and, while he insists they are not out yet, Pellegrini is at a loss to explain the cause of their struggles.

"It's a crisis of confidence, of course, but we must find out why," he told Sky Sports. "We will talk to the players every day and try to win again.

"It's difficult to understand why we played so bad. From the beginning we are so nervous and we lose so many passes. We gave them the two goals and really we didn't play.

"It's difficult to know why you have so low performance from important players.The way we tried to play, we are not changing anything from what we've done in other games. It's a strange moment to understand why.

"In the last two weeks we are not playing the way we normally do. I don't understand why but we must find a reason.

"The referee had to decide about that [the two red cards]. I don't know if Fernandinho made the second foul for the second yellow card. The first half especially we didn't see the team we normally see. We shot once at their goal and we concede two easy goals.

When asked if the result ends City's hopes of progession, Pellegrini added: "No. You never must think you're out when mathematics say you are in.

"Not only for Champions League because we have Premier League this Saturday against QPR - we must try to return to our normal performance."

 

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Ajax 0-2 Barcelona: Messi equals Raul's Champions League record

Congratz Messi

 

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Sevilla 3-1 Standard Liege: Reyes, Gameiro and Bacca secure win for hosts

Sevilla find themselves on the brink of Europa League progression after a comfortable 3-1 win over Standard Liege in Group G on Thursday.

The reigning champions produced a good display at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and, although they could not manage a more resounding triumph, they rarely looked like dropping points against the Belgians.The hosts looked to take the initiative right from the start and right-back Diogo Figueiras twice went close inside the opneing 15 minutes.

His failed attempts did not cause Sevilla too much grief, though, as Gameiro put the hosts ahead with a clever header after 18 minutes.

Paul-Jose M'Poku's deflected free-kick 14 minutes later restored parity, but Standard had immense difficulty keeping their hosts at bay.

And Jose Antonio Reyes, just a few moments after hit the post, restored Sevilla's lead just before the break, finishing off a stunning, incisive passing move.
The Spanish side's superiority hardly wavered into the second half and Standard continued to struggle with their dynamic frontline.The impressive Reyes was obviously enjoying himself, but it was Suarez who went close next, hitting the crossbar with a header in the 54th minute.

Standard were somewhat improved after the break, yet Sevilla remained in charge.
Unai Emery’s men finally put the match beyond Standard right at the end as second-half substitute Carlos Bacca tapped in from close range, securing victory to go two points clear of Feyenoord at the top of the group.

 

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Napoli 3-0 Young Boys: De Guzman hat-trick downs Swiss side

A hat-trick from Jonathan de Guzman was enough for Napoli to comfortably beat Young Boys 3-0 in Thursday's Europa League clash.
Their third win from four Europa League matches sees the Partenopei join Sparta Prague atop Group I with nine points ahead of their trip to Czech Republic at the end of November.

The hosts applied pressure on the Young Boys goal early and often, but struggled to find a breakthrough until very late in the first half when Jonathan de Guzman's wonder goal, from an incredibly difficult angle, nestled into the top corner.

The Dutchman was relieved to finally beat keeper Yyon Mvogo, who had made a handful of top class saves to keep Napoli out through much of the first half, with Lorenzo Insigne looking most threatening for the hosts.

Rafael Benitez's side came out firing in the second half in search of a second, but neither Duvan Zapata nor Insigne could finish off some excellent build up play as their final efforts missed by only a few inches.

Napoli finally doubled their advantage after Zapata made a towering run up the pitch, beating defenders at will, before sliding a ball across the box for De Guzman to tap home into an empty net.

The Dutchman solidified all three points for the hosts late on, pouncing on a horrible mistake from Alain Rochat in the box to slot past Mvogo and cap off his hat-trick.

The victory ensures Napoli remain in a share of the lead atop Group I, with Young Boys being placed into a must-win situation against Slovan Bratislava at the end of November.

 

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Fiorentina 1-1 PAOK: Pasqual snatches point for Montella's men

A brilliant late free kick from Manuel Pasqual rescued a 1-1 draw for Fiorentina in their Europa League clash with PAOK on Thursday.

Vincenzo Montella'ss men were unable to wrap up the three points required to make it four consecutive group-stage wins, as the Greek visitors stood resolutely in defence.

Chances were few and far between in the first half for the away side, as Fiorentina dominated and spurned a hatful of chances – with Mario Gomez the villain. After missing the target with a couple of close-range headers from Manuel Pasqual free kicks, the Germany international continued his poor evening by firing wide from a Juan Vargas cross on 25 minutes, when it looked easier to score.

Panagiotis Glykos was forced into action to deny both Vargas and Pizarro later in the half, leading to both respective sides heading into the interval with horns still locked in a stalemate.

After the break, however, PAOK found themselves getting back into the game, with Stefanos Athanasiadis having a 55th minute goal ruled out for offside after placing a wonderful finish into the top right-hand corner.

On 76 minutes, the former Bayern Munich man did look to be able to have a lasting impression on the game, as he was hauled to the ground by Giorgos Katsikas as he attempted to get ahead of the Greek defender, but the referee waved away penalty appeals.

With nine minutes of normal time left to play, PAOK took the lead, with substitute Maarten Martens bundling home an untidy finish at the back post to send the travelling support into pandemonium.

On 88 minutes, however, Fiorentina earned a deserved reprieve, with captain Pasqual curling a fantastic free kick into the top left-hand corner with only a few minutes left to play.

La Viola stay unbeaten, but after failing to be clinical in the first half, one point could so easily have been the maximum of three.