..::Football III::..

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Mancini: Roma are better than Inter

Roberto Mancini has admitted that Roma are a superior side to Inter ahead of their Serie A meeting on Sunday.

The former Galatasaray boss replaced Walter Mazzarri for a second spell at San Siro's helm in November and, after a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in his first game back in charge, he steered the Nerazzurri to victory over Dnipro in the Europa League on Thursday.

Next his side travel to the Stadio Olimpico to face Rudi Garcia's men who are hot on the heels of league leaders Juventus and the 50-year-old accepted his side are not as strong as their opponents.

"I think Roma are a better team than us, they have more confidence thanks to a long-standing project with a great coach," Mancini said in a press conference.

"This is a classic fixture in Italian football and we need to be ready from the start.

"The Giallorossi have a very good chance of winning the Scudetto as there’s a long campaign ahead. They have strong foundations and have signed some great players.

"I lived in Rome, played for Lazio and experienced many derbies here. On Sunday I want to see good football.

"Roma have the advantage, but we must have the right mentality, play like a real team and be highly motivated."

The Nerazzurri boss also offered praise for Francesco Totti, giving his opinion that the Roma captain is one of the greatest players in history.

"I am not surprised Totti is still there, as he is a world class player. I place him among the best of all time," he added.

"He hasn’t won as much, but was a bit like me: he was loyally married to a club for many years and that still gives him satisfaction. A whole city loves him."

Mancini rested Mateo Kovacic for the visit of Dnipro in midweek, but is keen for the Croatian to return as his versatility can enable him to be more flexible with his tactical choices.

"Kovacic has such great quality that he can play anywhere: wide midfield, the wing or other roles," he added.

"I had David Silva at Manchester City and he became the best attacking winger in the Premier League, despite not having the physique to do it.

"Mateo is young and has to be able to cover multiple roles."

Roma's clash with Inter on Sunday kicks off at 20:45CET.

 

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Barclays Premier League 2014.11.30 Fixtures

Barclays Premier League 2014.11.30 Fixtures

Southampton Vs Manchester City

Tottenham Vs Everton

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La Liga 2014.11.30 Fixtures

La Liga 2014.11.30 Fixtures

Atletico Madrid Vs Deportivo

Sevilla Vs Granada

Valencia Vs Barcelona

Cordoba Vs Villareal​

 

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Serie A 2014.11.30 Fixtures

Serie A 2014.11.30 Fixtures

AC Milan Vs Udinese

Cagliari Vs fiorentina

Empoli Vs Atalanta

Palermo Vs Parma

Roma Vs Inter

Cesena Vs Genoa

Juventus Vs Torino​

 

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Valencia 0-1 Barcelona: Busquets steals win at the death

Sergio Busquets broke Valencia hearts with a goal deep into stoppage time to steal a 1-0 win for Barcelona on Sunday.

Luis Enrique's team appeared set to lose further ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who chalked up a club-record 16th consecutive win across all competitions against Malaga on Saturday.But Busquets smashed home to rescue a largely laboured performance after Diego Alves blocked Neymar's header from Lionel Messi's chipped cross.

The game ended on an unsavoury note as Messi was struck by an object that appeared to be thrown from the Mestalla stands as Barcelona celebrated the winning goal, but the Catalan club can reflect on a hard-earned triumph that leaves them two points behind Real.

Barca were indebted to goalkeeper Claudio Bravo for fine saves that denied Valencia duo Sofiane Feghouli and Alvaro Negredo before Busquet's first La Liga goal for 14 months provided a sting in the tail.

Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santo responded to last weekend's loss against Levante by replacing Carles Gil and Pablo Piatti with Dani Parejo and Feghouli in his starting XI.Opposite number Luis Enrique elected an unusually robust Barcelona midfield featuring holding duo Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano, while former Valencia defender Jeremy Mathieu was preferred to Marc Bartra at centre-back.

The Mestalla faithful enjoyed Mathieu's eighth-minute booking for a late hack through Negredo, but the Frenchman was on hand to clear when Bravo awkwardly parried a Rodrigo shot three minutes later.

Barcelona's all-star attack was largely isolated from their midfield, but Messi wonderfully brought down Gerard Pique's lofted pass for Luis Suarez to fire too close to Diego Alves in the Valencia goal.

Nicolas Otamendi made a last-ditch tackle to deny Neymar, although the Valencia defender blotted his brilliant work by reacting theatrically to a subsequent clash with the Brazil forward - prompting a melee that saw Pique and Antonio Barragan booked by referee David Fernandez Borbalan.Parejo blazed over from a corner after half an hour and Andre Gomes curled a shot narrowly wide before Valencia strung together their best move of the first half in stoppage time.

A brisk counter-attack concluded with Rodrigo's throughball picking out Gomes, although the midfielder had to work with an acute angle having rounded Bravo and shot into the side netting Valencia made the brighter start to the second half - Negredo heading a cross from Jose Gaya past the post - before Suarez endured further woes in front of goal.

The Uruguay international was off target with a free header from a 56th-minute corner before muscling in between Otamendi and Diego Alves and swivelling to blast wide.

Back came Valencia and Pique was on hand to clear a Rodrigo strike off the line after Barcelona failed to effectively deal with a succession of crosses.Messi dropped deeper to try and spark his mis-firing team into action and laid the ball on for Neymar to send a 20-yard effort whistling wide in the 66th minute.

Suarez's biggest moment of frustration arrived shortly afterwards, instinctively turning home when Dani Alves steered a volley across the box, and Barca then required heroics from their goalkeeper.Bravo thwarted Feghouli with his legs and was at full stretch to push out Negredo's rasping 78th-minute strike.

Then, as the game looked certain to finish goalless, a mix up in the Valencia box allowed Busquets to fire home and send his team-mates into next weekend's local derby against Espanyol on a winning note.

 

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Roma 4-2 Inter: Pjanic double secures a home win in thrilling encounter

A second-half Miralem Pjanic double sealed a 4-2 Serie A victory for Roma over a stubborn Inter on Sunday.

Having seen Juventus snatch a late 2-1 victory over Torino earlier in the day, the pressure was on Roma to produce a win at Stadio Olimpico.Gervinho's 21st-minute opener was well-deserved after a bright start, but Andrea Ranocchia headed level 15 minutes later against the run of play.The hosts' lead was re-established when Jose Holebas smashed home two minutes after the interval.

Inter refused to go down without a fight, though, and equalised again courtesy of a deflected Pablo Daniel Osvaldo strike 10 minutes later, but Pjanic proved to be the difference between the sides - netting twice before time was up to keep Roma within three points of league leaders Juve.The away side, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat since Roberto Mancini - who was sent off after Roma's third goal - returned to the club, and have now slipped to 11th in the Italian top flight.

Rudi Garcia made two changes to the Roma side that played in the disappointing 1-1 Champions League draw against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday, bringing Pjanic and former Inter man Maicon in for Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi, while Yann M'Vila, Rodrigo Palacio and Hugo Campagnaro came into the Inter side after their 2-1 win over Dnipro in the Europa League on Thursday.

Inter appeared content to sit back and make life as difficult as possible for Roma's attackers in the early stages, but Gervinho threatened to unlock their determined defence with a darting run down the right in the 19th minute.

That move eventually came to nothing, but the Ivorian made no mistake when he was served the ball on a plate by Adem Ljajic two minutes later - tapping home his second league goal of the season to break the deadlock.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic squandered an opportunity to give the visitors an almost-instant reply when Morgan De Sanctis got down brilliantly to his left to tip the Serbia international's shot around the post, before Gervinho had the ball in the back of the net again, only to see the goal ruled out for offside.

Having dealt with Inter's first shot on target superbly, De Sanctis was helpless as Ranocchia rose highest at a 36th-minute corner to head in the first goal the Giallorossi have conceded at home in Serie A this season.Roma emerged for the second half determined to re-claim the advantage and had to wait just two minutes to do exactly that - Holebas beating two defenders as he burst his into the box to blast an effort into the top right corner.

Osvaldo's overhead kick at the other end was an optimistic, and ultimately unsuccessful, bid to restore parity, but fortune favoured the brave and the Argentina-born striker's next shot at goal deflected beyond De Sanctis off Davide Astori.Radja Nainggolan saw a low drive well saved soon after, and Roma went in front for a third time when the ball fell kindly for Pjanic in the centre of the penalty area, with the Bosnian stroking home with ease, although Mancini's side felt they should have been awarded a free-kick in the build-up.

The Nerazzurri pressed for yet another leveller after boss Mancini had been banished from the bench for his earlier protestations, but a 25-yard curling free-kick from Pjanic in stoppage time ended any lingering hopes of forcing a result.

 

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Juventus 2-1 Torino: Imperious Pirlo decides Derby della Mole at the death

Andrea Pirlo scored a sensational last-gasp winner as Juventus defeated Torino 2-1 in the Derby della Mole on Sunday evening.

The veteran playmaker lashed home a low shot from 25 yards with virtually the last kick of the game to cruelly deny the Granata and extend the Bianconeri's remarkable winning run at home in the league to 25 matches.It looked as though the reigning champions and leaders would have to settle for a draw when Torino's Bruno Peres scored a superb individual goal midway through the first half, cancelling out Arturo Vidal's twice-taken penalty in the 15th minute.

The home side were even reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute when Stephan Lichtsteiner picked up a second yellow card, but Massimiliano Allegri's men were still able to find a winner right at the end.

Peres' goal was Torino's first against their fierce rivals since February 2002, and it looked as though they would be the first visiting side to come away from a league game at Juventus Stadium with anything since Cagliari in May 2013.

But Pirlo had the final word, a typically accurate finish leaving Jean-Francois Gillet with no chance and allowing the home fans to celebrate a seventh consecutive derby win.

Patrice Evra came in at left-back for the suspended Simone Padoin as one of two changes for Juve from their midweek UEFA Champions League win over Malmo.
The other saw goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon miss out with a shoulder problem, replaced by Marco Storari who made his first appearance of the season.Storari held an early free-kick from former Juve man Fabio Quagliarella, but the hosts were soon ahead through Vidal's penalty.

Pirlo's free-kick was handled by Omar El Kaddouri in the wall and, after placing his first effort into the top-right corner, Vidal sent his second into the bottom-left with cool precision.The visitors were not behind for long, however, as Peres equalised with a goal of sheer brilliance.

The Brazilian picked the ball up on the edge of his own box and stormed down the right flank, beating Paul Pogba, Evra and Vidal for pace before thumping an angled finish across Storari and in off the left-hand upright.

Torino continued to pose a threat after the interval and a sliding Quagliarella diverted Amauri's low cross narrowly wide of the near post from close range in the 52nd minute.Leonardo Bonucci tested Gillet with a low skidding drive from distance five minutes later and Juve were further frustrated 15 minutes from time when Vidal had a goal rightly ruled out for offside.

Their quest for a winner was made even harder three minutes later as Lichtsteiner was shown a second yellow card for a foul on El Kaddouri.Yet Pirlo provided a sensational finale with seconds remaining, drilling a shot into the bottom-left corner following Vidal's lay-off.

 

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Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Broken BVB left bottom of Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund have been left rock bottom of the Bundesliga after slumping to a 2-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday evening.

Jurgen Klopp's men slumped to 18th courtesy of Stuttgart's win over Freiburg on Friday, and missed the chance to hit back in the weekend's final game as Alexander Meier and Haris Seferovic took advantage of glaring BVB errors.

Dortmund appeared to have turned the corner somewhat after a dreadful start to the domestic campaign by taking four points from their last two top-flight matches.

But Sunday's clash at the Commerzbank-Arena displayed all the frailties of last-season's runners-up, and they have now lost eight of their 13 Bundesliga games this term.

To add to Klopp's woes, Lukasz Piszczek was added to his lengthy injury list - which includes Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Ciro Immobile, Oliver Kirch and Jakub Blaszczykowski - when he limped off late in the first half.

Dortmund were behind after just four minutes when yet more suspect defending allowed Meier to calmly slip home the opener.

And further defensive weakness - this time a mix-up between Roman Weidenfeller and Matthias Ginter - gave Seferovic the chance to roll the ball into an open net to seal the points, and deepen Dortmund's crisis, 12 minutes from time.

Dortmund actually started the game relatively brightly before falling victim to a simple clearance from Frankfurt defender Marco Russ.

As visiting centre-backs Neven Subotic and Ginter switched off, Meier stayed onside and latched onto the long ball before tucking away his eighth Bundesliga goal of the campaign.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan almost equalised soon after - Felix Wiedwald equal to his shot - although it was Frankfurt who came closest to scoring the next goal.

Anderson Bamba saw a header drift wide before Stefan Aigner's dangerous delivery was cut out by Piszczek amid some desperate Dortmund defending.

Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was then denied by Wiedwald before Kevin Grosskreutz came a post's width from levelling shortly before the half-hour mark.

Klopp's men had the better of the latter stages of the first half but lacked a decisive final ball, with their frustrations capped by Piszczek's withdrawal and an offside flag after Kagawa had the ball in the net.

Marc Stendera had the first chance of the second half - Weidenfeller grateful for a Ginter block that diverted the effort off target - while Wiedwald continued to frustrate the visitors with a smart save from substitute Adrian Ramos.

That led to a period of sustained Dortmund pressure before the hour mark, but Frankfurt stood firm and should have doubled their advantage when Meier spurned a free header inside the area.

However, Seferovic took advantage of another costly error in the 78th minute, as Ginter's wayward header failed to find Weidenfeller and allowed the Swiss to round off the scoring and move Frankfurt up to ninth.

 

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BVB la Bungesliga points table 1ke last place​

 

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Tottenham 2-1 Everton: Spurs hit back to avoid another European hangover

Roberto Soldado scored his first Premier League goal since March as Tottenham came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Roberto Martinez's men led in the 15th minute thanks to Kevin Mirallas picking out the top corner from the edge of the box in superb style.

However, Everton's advantage was short-lived as Christian Eriksen, scorer of Tottenham's last-gasp winner against Hull City last weekend, converted the rebound when Tim Howard saved from the impressive Harry Kane.

Eriksen has established himself as a crowd favourite since joining in August last year - though Soldado has flattered to deceive, with the striker finding goals hard to come by since joining the club in the same month as the Dane.

But the 29-year-old striker offered a decisive glimpse of the form that made him so highly sought-after during his Valencia days, netting clinically in first-half stoppage time to help Tottenham bounce back from consecutive home league losses to Newcastle United and Stoke City.

Vlad Chiriches, Nabil Bentaleb and Aaron Lennon came into the Tottenham team that triumphed at Hull, while Everton welcomed back Leighton Baines and Gareth Barry from respective hamstring and ankle complaints.

Ross Barkley pulled apart the Tottenham defence with a mazy 11th-minute run before Romelu Lukaku steered the loose ball at goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Another moment of brilliance gave Everton the lead when a Mirallas free-kick was cleared back to him and he cut inside Soldado, shifted the ball onto his right foot and curled an unstoppable strike into the top right corner via the crossbar.

Tottenham responded with conviction, not allowing discontent among a White Hart Lane faithful fearing another home setback to fester, and they were level in the 21st minute.

Aided by an intelligent Soldado run, Kane drove at a backpedalling Everton defence and Howard could only push his resulting shot towards Eriksen, who lifted a fine finish beyond defenders rushing back onto the line.

Kane was an energetic presence at the heart of most of Tottenham's good work and he tested Howard in the 30th minute before the wrong-footed keeper was glad to see a deflected Eriksen shot skip narrowly wide.

An ill-advised back-header from Muhamed Besic almost allowed Soldado to capitalise in the 37th minute, but the much-maligned forward made no mistake on the stroke of half-time.

Barry was dispossessed by Kane, allowing Lennon to surge forward and slip a perfectly weighted pass in for Soldado to finish first time.

Defender Federico Fazio might have netted his maiden Tottenham goal after the break, but failed to connect with Eriksen’s inviting cross following a well-worked corner routine.

Ryan Mason was the next man to be teed up by Eriksen and he blasted over with an hour played.

Barkley struck back in the battle of the playmakers by slotting Seamus Coleman in behind the Tottenham defence, but Lloris sprung from his line quickly to avert the 71st-minute danger.

Lukaku had a header blocked from Baines' 89th-minute free-kick, with the ball striking Fazio's arm in the area, but referee Michael Oliver was unmoved.

The result means Tottenham lie seventh in the Premier League table - three points better off than their opponents - and Mauricio Pochettino's team have won six of their past seven matches in all competitions ahead of Wednesday's short trip to face leaders Chelsea.

 

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Wolfsburg 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach: Knoche keeps hosts in Bayern hunt

Wolfsburg reduced the gap to Bundesliga table-toppers Bayern Munich to seven points with a 1-0 win at home to top-four rivals Borussia Monchengladbach.

Robin Knoche scored the only goal of the game at the Volkswagen Arena, poking the hosts ahead 12 minutes in after Yann Sommer made a mess of a wicked delivery from Marcel Schafer.

A few sharp saves from Diego Benaglio ensured Dieter Hecking's men remained in the ascendancy while, at the other end, the counterattacking style of the hosts caused relentless problems for Lucien Favre's side.

Despite the relatively low scoreline, the game had plenty of entertainment and Gladbach went desperately close to levelling in stoppage-time with a melee from a corner somehow not resulting in the ball ending up in the back of Wolfsburg's net.

Both teams were without star midfielders through suspension - Luiz Gustavo for Wolfsburg and Granit Xhaka for Gladbach - as the coaches changed half of the starting XIs which had featured in midweek Europa League matches.

Gladbach controlled possession in the early stages but it was the hosts who turned a poor goalkeeping effort into a poacher's goal.

Schafer sprinted along the left edge of the penalty area and whipped a ball in at the front post, which Sommer flailed unsuccessfully at and Knoche, stood beside him, was able to prod Wolfsburg into a one-goal lead.

Favre's men responded by pressing the hosts hard and their first clear-cut chance was saved well by Benaglio, who leapt to his right to deny a Roel Brouwers effort.

At the other end, Oscar Wendt twice prevented Wolfsburg from doubling their lead. First, he intercepted a dangerous counterattacking move thrust forwards by Kevin De Bruyne and Ivica Olic, then he ensured Naldo (making his 250th Bundesliga appearance) was denied with an off-the-line clearance from the subsequent corner.

An outstanding save from Benaglio kept the hosts in the lead with a third of the game gone, denying Patrick Herrmann's fine header from rippling the back of the net after Andre Hahn's inch-perfect cross.

With 33 minutes played the visitors were peppering Wolfsburg's box with chances – Hahn was desperately unlucky to not direct a superb flick-on goalwards, although a questionable offside call would have ruled out any potential goal anyway.

The hosts held Gladbach just-about at bay, though, as they survived unscathed until the break.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Wolfsburg content to let Gladbach have most of the ball but power back against them with scything counterattacks.

Many of the home supporters thought the lead was doubled in the 57th minute when Maximilian Arnold's low shot was palmed straight to De Bruyne by Sommer, but the offside flag was rightly raised and the Belgian's tap-in disallowed.

The game became progressively more broken up as both sets of players attempted to fool referee Wolfgang Stark by exaggerating contact from opposition players, though the official was mostly unmoved by the protestations.

Wolfsburg settled into keeping Gladbach - who became increasingly frustrated with the lack of options and chances - at arm's length by containing the visitors in the middle third of the pitch.

But the match burst back into life in the closing stage. Wolfsburg substitute Aaron Hunt twice should have doubled the lead but on both occasions shot straight at Sommer.

Then, in stoppage-time, Gladbach somehow failed to convert a melee instead Wolfsburg's box into a goal, with the hosts holding on for all three points.

Gladbach, in defeat, remain fifth in the Bundesliga - now six points adrift of their vanquishers, with Bayer Leverkusen and surprise package Augsburg ahead of them.

 

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Mehsare Wolfsburg la hodai​

 

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AC Milan 2-0 Udinese: Menez double ends Rossoneri's winless run

Jeremy Menez struck twice as AC Milan ended a five-game winless run by defeating Udinese 2-0 at the Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday afternoon.

The Frenchman opened the scoring after Maurizio Domizzi had been dismissed midway through the second half for felling Keisuke Honda in the area.

Michael Essien then saw red for Milan but Menez scored a fine second goal to seal a vital victory for the home side.

The Rossoneri, who entered Sunday's game sitting seventh in the table on the back of their poor form, looked to impose themselves - only to initially run into an inspired Orestis Karnezis, who produced a string of world-class saves in the opening half.They almost took the lead in the 10th minute, yet Giacomo Bonaventura just failed to connect with a superb cross from Stephan El Shaarawy.Karnezis came to the fore seven minutes later, with a stunning save to deny Adil Rami.

The defender rose highest to meet Bonaventura's corner at the near post, only for Karnezis to somehow divert it on to the woodwork - albeit with replays showing the ball may have been over the line.Milan's frustration was added to significantly as El Shaarawy and Bonaventura hit wide from distance in quick succession.

Udinese came back into the game a little thereafter, although they were again indebted to Karnezis when he produced a one-handed stop to turn away El Shaarawy's cross-cum-shot.

That save paled in comparison to his next effort, however, with Karnezis getting down to his right to somehow turn away Menez's effort with his fingertips.
The second period continued in much the same vein, with the shot-stopper punching clear Essien's long-range effort.

However, a breakthrough finally came in the 65th minute when Menez sent Karnezis the wrong way from the spot after Domizzi had hauled Honda to the ground.The referee showed his second red card in quick succession soon after, giving Essien his marching orders for a mere shoulder charge.

Any home nerves were quickly extinguished by the excellent Menez, though.
The Frenchman cut in from the left wing with 15 minutes remaining and, having been afforded too much space by some woeful defending, smashed an unstoppable effort into the bottom-left corner.Udinese almost pulled a goal back when Alexandre Geijo hit a powerful volley wide in an exciting finale that saw Milan spurn a couple of golden chances to add further gloss to the scoreline.

 

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Southampton 0-3 Manchester City: 10-man Blues go second

Goals from Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy gave 10-man Manchester City a resounding 3-0 win over Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday, as they moved second in the Premier League table.

The Ivory Coast international slammed home a fine drive to give City a second-half lead before Lampard and Clichy wrapped up all three points in the final 10 minutes, despite Eliaquim Mangala’s sending off.

However, City were left sweating over a potential injury problem suffered by Vincent Kompany, with the club captain limping off in the final minutes.

Southampton went into Sunday's game flying high after a stunning start to the season, but were given a reality check in a comprehensive performance from Manuel Pellegrini's side.

In-form striker Sergio Aguero was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty early on when he was fouled in the box by Jose Fonte, only for referee Mike Jones to caution him for simulation - much to the Argentinian's bemusement.

Southampton almost caught City on the counter in the 21st minute but an unmarked Graziano Pelle failed to get a significant touch on Morgan Schneiderlin’s cross, before Joe Hart saved well from Steven Davis - making his return from a hamstring injury - on the rebound.

A sweeping City move then ended with Stevan Jovetic, one of four changes from the midweek win over Bayern Munich, squeezing a shot past Fraser Forster shortly before the break, but Toby Alderweireld did well to get back and clear off the line.

Koeman was forced into a change at half-time, with Maya Yoshida replacing Schneiderlin due to a thigh injury, but they began the second period on the front foot, with long-range strikes from Alderweireld and Dusan Tadic far away.

However, City went in front six minutes after the restart when Toure was teed up by Aguero on the edge of the area, and his powerful low shot took a slight deflection off Alderweireld and ended up in the bottom corner.

Koeman attempted to inject more of an attacking threat as Shane Long came on for Sadio Mane in the 67th minute, but it was City who almost struck again soon after when captain Vincent Kompany - who was forced off late on with an apparent injury - flicked on a corner and Aguero fired over from close range on the volley.

Long's pace came into play soon after, though, as he was brought down by Mangala while racing towards Hart's goal. The Frenchman, who has endured a tough start to life in the Premier League, received a second yellow to hand Southampton an apparent route back into the game.

But as the hosts chased the game, Aguero was again involved in a fine City break before substitute Lampard raced onto James Milner's pass and fired past Forster from 20 yards.

The Southampton goalkeeper did well to deny Aguero as he raced clean through on another devastating counter, but the forward turned provider once more in the closing stages to set up Clichy for a third, though Kompany's late injury gave City something of a headache ahead of their clash with Sunderland on Wednesday.

 

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CITY form 1ka patta​

 

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Atletico Madrid 2-0 Deportivo: Saul and Turan cut Madrid lead

Saul and Arda Turan both scored as Atletico Madrid saw off struggling Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 in Sunday's morning kick-off in La Liga.The action began on time despite violence between fans, which saw La Liga's ruling body, the LFP, make unsuccessful attempts to postpone the game.

When the focus returned to the field, it was Atletico who made the better start as a good first-half performance ended with Saul heading home just before the break.
They grabbed a second 11 minutes after the resumption, Turan marking a fine performance by finding the net.That proved enough for Atletico to secure the spoils, although many thoughts remained on the off-field troubles amid reports of a fan being hospitalised.

The added emphasis placed on attacking by Atletico this season was immediately in evidence as they produced fine flowing football during the opening exchanges.
And they almost opened the scoring in just the eighth minute, Koke sending in a pin-point centre that Mario Mandzukic superbly headed off the inside of the post.
Set-pieces, in particular, were causing problems as Deportivo defended desperately amid some fine deliveries from the impressive Koke.

But the visitors began to show the kind of resolute defending that has earned four clean sheets in their last five outings as the half wore on.Their resistance was broken in the 43rd minute, though, as Atletico's mastery from set-pieces again showed itself.

Koke sent in the perfect free-kick to the front post, where Mandzukic flicked on for Saul to head into the unguarded net.Simeone's side did not have to wait as long for a goal in the second period as Turan doubled the advantage.

Again a Koke set-piece proved decisive, his corner being cleared into the path of Turan - whose powerful effort was deflected into the net by Modibo Diakite.The Turkish winger continued to shine and almost set up a third soon after, jinking his way down the wing and sending in a solid cross that Saul headed into the hands of Fabricio.Deportivo were suddenly looking like a beaten side as Atletico continued to create openings, substitute Cristian Rodriguez spurning a great one when volleying narrowly wide.

Even the absence of a third goal did not have an impact, however, as the home side saw the game out comfortably.

 

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Van Gaal: I can make every player better ... even Rooney

Louis van Gaal has praised Wayne Rooney and says the England international will always be assured of a place in his side - but insists he can still make the Manchester United captain even better.

Rooney has scored 11 goals in 16 appearances for club and country this season, playing a key role in United's revival after a disastrous start to the campaign.

Van Gaal believes the 29-year-old has benefited from the responsibility of wearing the armband for United and for England, but is adamant that a coach with his skills can improve any player.

“Before I came here, of course, I had heard of his reputation,” Van Gaal told reporters. “But, from the first day, he was not the Wayne Rooney that people had talked about.

“He was, in my eyes, a great example in training and, of course, he has achieved a certain level. I think he shall always play with me — although, when he is in a bad moment, maybe I can be convinced to change him.

“But he is my captain now. He is the men who sets the example for the other players. So I’m very pleased. I have the impression that he lives for football and that he likes being the captain of Manchester United.

“Of course, being captain of England helps him to be a better captain of United.

“He has more experience. But I have to remind everyone that I put him first as captain. Roy Hodgson followed my advice.

“I can make every player better. I’m sorry. That’s arrogant, but I can.”

 

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Ramsey wants Arsenal to maintain momentum

Aaron Ramsey is keen for Arsenal to maintain their momentum after returning to winning ways in the Premier League against West Brom.

A second-half header from Danny Welbeck gave the Gunners a 1-0 victory at The Hawthorns on Saturday, a result that has further lifted spirits in north London following a 2-0 Champions League triumph over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Arsenal's back-to-back triumphs represent a strong response to last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United and, with two games in the space of four days against Southampton and Stoke City on the horizon, Ramsey knows that Arsene Wenger's men now have an ideal opportunity to breathe new life into their campaign.

"Even though there was pressure, we played well against Man United and just built on that," the Wales international stated.

"We won in midweek against Dortmund and carried on and got back to winning ways in the league, so hopefully we can continue this run now.

"It was important to build on midweek and keep this run going and it is nice to win again.

"It was never going to be easy with the quick turnaround but we did well, we dug in and got the three points."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Fan dies after Atletico-Deportivo violence

Atletico Madrid have issued a statement condemning the violence that resulted in the death of a man after Sunday's match with Deportivo La Coruna.

The fight on Sunday morning near the Vicente Calderon was allegedly between four sets of ultras: Riazor Blues (Deportivo), Frente Atletico (Atletico Madrid), Bukaneros (Rayo Vallecano) and Alkoor Hooligans (Alcorcon).Police confirmed that 14 people were wounded in the fighting, with one Depor fan reported to have been hit in the head and thrown into the river.

Galician newspaper La Voz de Galicia claim the Deportivo supporter was in his early 40s and had to be tended to by emergency personnel after suffering a cardiac arrest.However, Madrid's Hospital Clinico confirmed after full-time that the man had died.

A statement from Atleti read: "Club Atletico de Madrid strongly condemns the incidents that occurred in the area of Madrid Rio in the hours prior to the match that our team will play against Deportivo de La Coruna.

"The values promoted by sport must prevail over any rivalry and we must fight together against the scourge of violence.After Atletico's 2-0 victory, which came courtesy of goals from Saul and Arda Turan, Rojiblancos coach Diego Simeone was heavily critical of the violence.

The Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP), which runs the Primera Division, claimed they tried to get the match cancelled due to the violence but to no avail.

"The LFP condemns incidents in Madrid on Sunday morning and was steadfast in its intention to suspend the game, but it has has not been possible," it said in a statement.

The Spanish government's Sports Council, the Consejo Superior de Deportes, also announced on Twitter that an emergency anti-violence committee meeting would be held on Monday morning in response to the tragic chaos in Madrid.

Spanish police confirmed it had made 24 arrests after identifying more than 100 hooligans involved in the violence.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ronaldo: Time for Neymar to become world's best

Brazil legend Ronaldo has told Neymar that the time has come for him to step up and take on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the title of best player in the world.

Real Madrid forward Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi have had a duopoly on the Ballon d'Or over the past six years that is expected to continue into 2015, even though Neymar shone at the 2014 World Cup before an injury killed his and Brazil's hopes of glory.

However, the now-retired Ronaldo - who won the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1997 and 2002 - has called on his 22-year-old compatriot to start taking strides towards becoming the greatest footballer on the planet.

"It's about time Neymar assumed the position of best player in the world," Ronaldo told Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

"Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are the best at this time, but Neymar has improved."

Meanwhile, the former Inter, Barca and Real Madrid striker acknowledged that the Selecao are currently in a period of transition, with former superstars such as Kaka and Robinho having gone from world-beaters to big-money flops in a short space of time.

Consequently, he is desperately hoping that Neymar and Brazil's current crop of exciting youngsters do not suffer the same problems in the future.

"Neymar's transfer to Europe has done him a lot of good," Ronaldo mused. "Brazil as a nation, though, is going through a difficult time in every way in administrative terms and in finding talent.

"We have many great players. We live in the hope that Neymar, who is excellent, will become the best in the country, but there have been many times when others with a lot of talent did not make the step up for Brazil.

"For various reasons, the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano and Robinho failed to transfer their talent from my generation to Neymar's."

Ronaldo added that the World Cup 2014 hosts are "hurting" after their semi-final and third-place play-off humiliations to Germany and Netherlands, respectively, but that they can use that pain to drive them on the road to redemption.

On the back of the Selecao responding to this summer's failures with six successive wins, Ronaldo said: "We want to use those memories [from the World Cup] in our favour."