..::Football III::..

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Valdes: I'm here to help 'world's best goalkeeper' De Gea

Victor Valdes is eager to help keep David De Gea's development at Manchester United after agreeing an 18-month deal at Old Trafford.

United confirmed on Thursday that they had completed the capture of free agent Valdes, who has been training with the club and will serve as number two to De Gea.

The latter has displayed fine form under Louis van Gaal this season and Valdes feels his arrival will help De Gea maintain his level of performance rather than increase speculation over a possible exit.

"I think now, in the moment, [De Gea] is the best goalkeeper in the world," the goalkeeper told the club's official website. "His performance every day and in every game shows everybody that his level is very high.

"He has had a great year and it is very nice. Now I think he is the best goalkeeper in the world.

"I am here to help everybody. Always in my career, I have played to help my team-mates, to help my coach and to help everybody.

"I am a part of the team and I am not a problem, I am just a part of the team. If I play a game, I am always thinking about playing well and to help the other team-mates, to help them to win the match."

 

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De Gea & Valdes

Atthatama Valdes wa sign karagattha 1ka hodaiDe Gea ge skills develop karagannath loku chance 1kak meka​

 

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Bayern have not planned any signings, says Sammer

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has confessed that the club have no plans to sign players during the January transfer window.

This month the Bavarian giant's have allowed Xherdan Shaqiri to leave the club for Inter, while Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg has joined Augsburg on loan until the end of the season despite signing a new contract.

However, the Bayern executive feels the club are still in a good shape and do not need to consider bringing in any replacements.

"Nothing is planned and unless something happens, we won't do anything," Sammer told TZ.

The reigning Bundesliga champions are currently in Doha for a training camp with the only established first-team players missing due to injury being captain Philipp Lahm and Thiago Alcantara, and Sammer spoke about their aims in Qatar.

"We have a few players to integrate. Holger Badstuber has returned. During the training camp we hope to bring David Alaba back (to fitness) as well," he added.

Bayern currently have an 11-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga and take on second-placed Wolfsburg in their next competitive outing on January 30.

 

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Koeman and Pellegrini play down Barcelona talk

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman and Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini have both played down the possibility of moving to Barcelona.

The future of current Barca coach Luis Enrique has been called into question in recent days amid a fallout with star player Lionel Messi and the announcement that the club will hold presidential elections at the end of the season.

Koeman, a former Barca player, admitted on Friday that he retained an interest in coaching the club he represented between 1989 and 1995 but insists that he will respect the three-year contract that he signed at Southampton in July.

Asked by reporters if he could see himself one day taking charge of Barcelona, the Dutchman replied: "Yes, but I had that some times where it never happened and now I am very happy to be here in Southampton and that's the most important [thing].

"I started with a contract in Southampton and I like to be respectful to my contract and to the people."

Commenting on the apparent turbulence at Camp Nou, Koeman added: "Teams like Barcelona, if they lose games there's always a lot of critics, rumours, speculation.

"I know because my whole life I am linked to Barcelona but it's not the time to talk about that because I think it's not respectful to Southampton and it's not respectful the people of Barcelona."

City manager Pellegrini, who has previously coached Real Madrid, also underlined his commitment to his current club in a press conference on Friday, stating that he was "very happy" at the Etihad Stadium.

"I have a contract for this year and next year," said the Chilean.

 

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Blatter 'rejoices' at Prince Ali Fifa candidacy

Sepp Blatter has welcome the candidacy of Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein as he prepares to stand for a fifth term as Fifa president.

Fifa's incumbent vice-president for Asia, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) vice-president and Jordan Football Association (JFA) president, Prince Ali, threw his hat into the ring for the role on Tuesday.

Until earlier this week Blatter had only one challenger in the form of Fifa's ex-director of international relations Jerome Champagne, but now the May 29 ballot will be a three-way fight.

Prince Ali's candidacy has received the approval of Uefa president Michel Platini and the current president of world football's governing body has been quick to express similar sentiments."I can only rejoice in this nomination. We are a democracy, and this can only be beneficial for debate," Blatter told Le Matin.Quoting a French proverb, Blatter added: "And do not they say that to win without peril is to triumph without glory?".

However, while the Swiss is pleased to have more competition for the role, the AFC will back the incumbent president and not Prince Ali after agreeing to do so at their 2014 congress."We made a pledge in congress in Brazil that the entire Asian football family was supporting the Fifa president," AFC general secretary Dato Alex Soosay told BBC Sport.

"As Asia we should also stay together and be united rather than divided.
"But I'm not here to stop anyone from having their own rights. The election is independent and democratic.

"For us the Asian Cup is paramount and I'm sure the member associations don't want to be affected by this situation. We just want to focus on football."

 

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Juventus pull out of Sneijder deal - agent

Wesley Sneijder's agent Guido Albers claims Galatasaray will only sell Wesley Sneijder if a club meets his €20m release clause - a stance which is set to scupper a move to Juventus.

Bianconeri boss Massimiliano Allegri previously stated the Dutch international would be a boost to his side and Albers confirmed that negotiations had been opened.

However, with the Turin club not willing to match Gala's valuation of the former Real Madrid man, Albers insists Sneijder will now buckle down and do his best for Gala.

"The board said that they will only accept the buy-out clause which is €20m, and Juventus won't pay it," Albers told NTV Spor. "And I don't think any club in the world would pay this money.

"We had a meeting with Galatasaray's board today. We talked about Juventus' offer. They said they don't want to sell Sneijder. Sneijder has 18 months left on his contract with Galatasaray and he is happy in Istanbul.

"He definitely wants to stay at Galatasaray. I hope they will be champions this season."

Albers revealed talks over a new deal were currently on hold.

"We didn't talk about extending his contract with Galatasaray. They said that Galatasaray is going to have elections in May and that we can talk about it after those," he added.

"We had some problems with Sneijder's wage over the last few months but now he is paid his money regularly. I want to help Galatasaray because they had a Financial Fair Play issue with Uefa. But they don't want to sell Sneijder."

 

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Sneijder ta hamadama wenne meh wage wada thamai​

 

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Ronaldo does not have a knee problem, insists Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo does not have a knee injury ahead of Saturday's La Liga encounter with Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Portugal international, 29, was rested for his side's 2-0 Copa del Rey defeat against city-rivals Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, leading to speculation that he was being plagued by physical problems once more.

Nevertheless, Ancelotti has stressed there's no truth in such rumours, before adding that the prolific attacker will feature from the start against Espanyol.

"Ronaldo does not have any knee problems," Ancelotti insisted at a press conference.

"Ronaldo is one of the most professional players I have ever coached. He is very serious about recovery.

"He will return to the starting XI against Espanyol."

Ancelotti then went on to admit that Madrid are not yet at the same level as they were toward the end of 2014, but he made it clear he's not too worried about his side's defeats against Valencia and Atletico.

"We have not reached the same level as toward the end of last year yet, but the data show that we're in fine shape physically," he added.

"We are not in ideal shape mentally, but that's only normal.

"There were a lot more doubts back in September when we lost two games in a row."

The Madrid coach also had his say on the potential signings of Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard and Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva and stated that no final decisions have been made yet.

"Odegaard clearly has a great future ahead of him. He is very young, but has a lot of quality. He has been training with us because we wanted to meet him in person. But we have not taken a decision yet.

"Lucas Silva? For the moment we don't need more players."

 

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Fernandinho: Barkley's like a young Ronaldo

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has hailed Everton star Ross Barkley and insists that he reminds him of a young Ronaldo.

City are confident of beating Chelsea to the signing of the England international and are prepared to pay up to €51 million to prise the 21-year-old away from Goodison Park.

Fernandinho is a big fan of the Toffees midfielder and is wary of the threat he will pose ahead of City's clash with Roberto Martinez's side on Saturday. He told the club's official website: "I like Ross Barkley a lot.

"He was unlucky not to play at the World Cup because of injury because he's a very good player and someone who has the capability of producing something out of nothing.

"I think he's come back stronger after his knee operation because he looks physically more powerful and he has an explosive burst of pace - more than before - and with his technical ability, he reminds me of a very young Brazilian Ronaldo when he was at Barcelona. He also had knee problems early in his career but returned stronger and lost none of his skill or dynamism.

"The goal he scored against QPR not so long ago was special and he made an amazing goal away to Newcastle last season as well - he's a player who can hurt any team and we have to be especially wary of him on Saturday."

 

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Wenger: Arsenal don't need Isco

Arsene Wenger has stressed that Arsenal do not need to sign players such as Real Madrid's Isco as they already have enough attackers.

The Gunners were reportedly readying a club-record bid for the Spanish playmaker and have long been cited as a possible destination for Petr Cech, who has been usurped as Chelsea's first-choice shot-stopper by Thibaut Courtois.

Wenger, though, insists that he has no desire to recruit any more attacking players to his side - having already had to trim Lukas Podolski from his squad - while he has faith in his current crop of goalkeepers.

"No, we are not on [Isco's] case," said the Frenchman told reporters. "We have plenty of creative players. We are more short on the defensive side of our game, not on the offensive side.

"We have plenty of offensive players. We just spoke about Podolski who just went out, we spoke about [Yaya] Sanogo going out because we have so many offensive players that they don’t get a chance to play. So we won’t buy someone else in the attack."

On Cech, he added: "No, Petr Cech is at Chelsea. We have three goalkeepers who for me are top class and there is a big competition going on. I have no doubt we have the needed quality."

Though Wenger admitted that he is keen to bolster his defensive ranks, he denied that the club were trying to sign Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin: "No, we are not on the case."

The agent of Legia Warsaw teenager Krystian Bielik, meanwhile, revealed that Arsenal had opened talks over a move, and Wenger admits he is a player the Gunners have been tracking.

"He is a young boy that we follow, yes," he added. "You see I gave you some information! We are not very close at the moment [to an agreement]."

 

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Tottenham's bid for PSG star Rabiot stalls

Tottenham's negotiations to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot on loan have reached an impasse.

Spurs have agreed a six-month loan deal with the defensive midfielder's camp but have so far failed to reach an agreement with PSG over the terms of the move.

The French club are refusing to sanction the deal even though Rabiot is eager to move to north London and has found his playing opportunities restricted in the French capital this season.

PSG appear prepared to be willing to let Rabiot leave only if they first sign a replacement, with Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko heavily linked with a switch to the Parc des Princes.

Tottenham had hoped to negotiate an option to buy Rabiot at the end of the season but PSG are adamant the 19-year-old remains a key part of their long-term plans.

The France Under-21 international only signed a new contract until 2019 in October but is desperate for playing opportunities having made just seven appearances in all competitions this season.

Arsenal have also been linked with Rabiot but the player favours a temporary move to Tottenham where he can expect regular playing opportunities in Mauricio Pochettino's squad.

Rabiot is understood to have a poor relationship with Laurent Blanc, but the PSG boss insisted earlier this week that he wants to keep the academy product at the club.

"I've always said he's a boy I want to keep," Blanc said. "My position is clear. He re-signed. He is part of the future of PSG. He is doing well after the first half of the season but it's very complicated on a personal level for him.

"I would like to keep him but this is a very complicated issue. I'll see if Adrian will be with us or not at the end of January. I want to keep him in the squad. I cannot be clearer."

Tottenham are unlikely to be busy in the January transfer window despite their ambition to finish in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.

Striker target Wilfried Bony is set for a €38 million switch to Manchester City and Spurs are happy to wait until the summer before making significant additions to the squad.

The Londoners have considered moves for Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph and Burnley forward Danny Ings - who both have just six months left on their contracts - but believe the players will stay at their clubs until the end of the season.

 

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Wenger: Podolski accusations are not true

Arsene Wenger has strongly denied accusations that he snubbed Lukas Podolski before the Germany international joined Inter from Arsenal on loan last week.

Podolski joined the Nerazzurri for the rest of the season having failed to establish himself as a regular starter at the Emirates Stadium since arriving from Koln in 2012, scoring 19 goals in just 60 appearances.

The 29-year-old alleged in an interview that Wenger declined to even say goodbye to him before he swapped London for Milan, but the Arsenal boss insists the reality was very different.

"I deny it completely," Wenger told reporters. "We spoke many times. I had many conversations with him. Without my agreement, he couldn't go on loan."

Podolski insisted he remains a Gunner at heart but did not hide his disappointment at what he deemed a lack of respect from Wenger.

"He said nothing to me," Podolski told the Sun. "He did not call me or say goodbye.

"I don't need flowers or a kiss from him. But it is about respect, about saying goodbye. For me respect is important. Maybe he had other problems with me.

"I did everything for the club I possibly could have. I don't believe I did anything wrong. I did not get drunk in a club.

"I wish all of Arsenal and their amazing fans the very best for this season and I see myself as a Gunner. Nothing from him to me, though, but that is his way."

Arsene Wenger has strongly denied accusations that he snubbed Lukas Podolski before the Germany international joined Inter from Arsenal on loan last week.

Podolski joined the Nerazzurri for the rest of the season having failed to establish himself as a regular starter at the Emirates Stadium since arriving from Koln in 2012, scoring 19 goals in just 60 appearances.

The 29-year-old alleged in an interview that Wenger declined to even say goodbye to him before he swapped London for Milan, but the Arsenal boss insists the reality was very different.

"I deny it completely," Wenger told reporters. "We spoke many times. I had many conversations with him. Without my agreement, he couldn't go on loan."

Podolski insisted he remains a Gunner at heart but did not hide his disappointment at what he deemed a lack of respect from Wenger.

"He said nothing to me," Podolski told the Sun. "He did not call me or say goodbye.

"I don't need flowers or a kiss from him. But it is about respect, about saying goodbye. For me respect is important. Maybe he had other problems with me.

"I did everything for the club I possibly could have. I don't believe I did anything wrong. I did not get drunk in a club.

"I wish all of Arsenal and their amazing fans the very best for this season and I see myself as a Gunner. Nothing from him to me, though, but that is his way."

 

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Milan have quality to finish third, says Abate

Ignazio Abate is confident AC Milan have what it takes to finish third in Serie A and qualify for next season's Champions League if they iron out some weaknesses.

The San Siro currently sit seventh in the league table with 25 points from 17 games, trailing Lazio and Napoli (level in third and fourth) by five points.

However, Abate feels Milan have the quality to climb up the table and return to European club football's elite competition.

"I believe that this side has shown that, if it wants, it has all the qualities to fight for third place," Abate told Milan Channel.

"But the team needs to make that final step forward mentally, because to play for this club you must win every three days and stay focused for 95 minutes.

"Unfortunately we’re still lacking in this. When things appear easy we relax a bit and you cannot allow for these blackouts at the big teams and if you want to reach the top.

"We cannot have any fear, we must be aware and look reality in the face. This will help us bring out something extra in terms of character that we’re still missing.

"I hope that we can become consistent with our performances and improve mentally as a group to give continuity to our results and aim for the top places."

Milan resume Serie A action on Saturday when they take on Torino.

 

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Australia 4-1 Kuwait: Hosts survive early scare to claim opening win

Australia survived an early scare to kick their Asian Cup campaign off in style with a 4-1 win over Kuwait on Friday.

Kuwait led early against the run of play through Hussain Fadel at AAMI Park, but Ange Postecoglou's men fought back, led by young midfielder Massimo Luongo, who set up the home side's first goal and scored the second to give Australia a 2-1 lead at half-time. A host nation had not won the opening game of an Asian Cup since 1968 when Iran, who went on to lift the trophy, defeated Hong Kong 2-0.

But Australia went for the kill from the opening minute of the second half and deservedly extended their advantage just after the hour mark when captain Mile Jedinak struck from the penalty spot. James Troisi added a fourth in stoppage-time with a close-range finish.

The victory ended a three-game winless run for Australia and is just the third in the Postecoglou era.After a tidy enough start from Postecoglou's side without properly threatening Kuwait's goal, the hosts were stunned in the eighth minute.

An unmarked Hussain sent a diving header past Mat Ryan from Kuwait's first corner thanks to sloppy defending by the home team.

The Australians - both those on the pitch and in the stands - looked shell-shocked, but, as the half wore on, their high pressing forced Kuwait further and further backwards, although any genuine creativity was lacking.

Luongo finally provided the moment of quality the home team needed in the 32nd minute, turning away from two markers after Ivan Franjic's throw-in and then cutting back to Tim Cahill, who made no mistake from near the penalty spot.
The goal seemed to inspire Luongo and his attacking midfield partner Troisi, as they began to threaten Kuwait's two deep banks of four.

Australia edged 2-1 ahead two minutes before the break, Franjic showing some skill to leave his opponent on the deck before swinging a cross to the near post where Luongo rose to nod the ball past Hameed Youssef.Any fears that half-time would slow Australia down were dispelled almost immediately as they dominated the opening 15 minutes to eventually score a third.

Cahill forced a superb save out of Hameed in the 59th minute, before Mathew Leckie hit the crossbar, while the goal was the result of another fine attack down the right involving Luongo and Franjic before Robbie Kruse was felled in the box in the 61st minute.

Jedinak made no mistake with the penalty and, although Kuwait had some chances to score a second goal - none better than Fahad Al Ansari's drive that Ryan tipped onto the bar - Australia deservedly triumphed, eventually scoring a fourth when Troisi pounced in stoppage time.

 

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Bony could win Man City the title, says Monk

Wilfried Bony could be the difference in the Premier League title race for Manchester City, according to Swansea City boss Garry Monk.

The Premier League champions are close to agreeing a €95,000-a-week contract with the 26-year-old as discussions continue over a fee with Swansea holding out for their €38 million valuation.

Bony has scored nine goals in 20 Premier League appearances this season and was the highest-scoring player in the top flight during 2014, and Monk sees his player fitting in at the champions with ease.

"Wilfried could well be the difference in the title race, that's what City see in him," Monk told reporters.

"I can see why their interest is there, he gets you goals. He can improve on certain things but the bottom line is he is a goalscorer and it's obviously what they want him for.

"But, in terms of money, Wilfried has to be up there. You look at guys like Romelu Lukaku and the money they went for. Compare their contributions with Bony's, it's pretty much a no brainer.

"I think the club is very clear on what he is worth and I can see why the club are holding out for the figure they are holding out for.

"If they haven't quite met that valuation, and that's what the situation must be, otherwise I am sure the deal would have been done, Huw will wait for it and quite rightly so. I assure you Bony is worth it."

Bafetimbi Gomis has been unhappy with a lack of minutes since his summer arrival, prompting past interest from Crystal Palace, but Monk does not expect the Frenchman to leave if promoted to first-choice striker.

He said: "You look at the clubs he has been linked with, why would you move sideways or backwards? That is not a logical step.

"If it was a bigger club with Champions League football you can understand it, but it is likely he will be our main striker and I am looking forward to it."

 

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Aguero, Dzeko & Kompany in Manchester City squad for Everton game

Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Vincent Kompany are included in Manchester City's matchday squad for Saturday's trip to Everton.

The return of the pair of strikers will be a major boost for the Premier League champions after the Chilean coach was forced to navigate through the festive period with Stevan Jovetic also struggling for fitness.

James Milner was at time deployed in a central striking role, but he will now be able to revert to a more familiar position with club captain Kompany also set to travel to Goodison Park.

"Both of them [Aguero and Dzeko] are in the squad list for tomorrow," Pellegrini told reporters on Friday. "Vincent Kompany also - all three of them [are in the squad]."

Aguero, who has scored 19 goals in 23 games this season, has been absent since December 6 with a knee injury, while Dzeko was in line to deputise for the Argentine before suffering a calf problem in the warm-up prior to City’s 1-0 win at Leicester City on December 13.

Kompany, meanwhile, picked up a hamstring injury in the victory over Leicester City but is now set to make his return to action.

City currently sit level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

 

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Van Gaal: Manchester United only have one injury!

Louis van Gaal is revelling in the relative lack of disruption to his squad after confirming Manchester United will only be missing one player due to injury when they take on Southampton.

Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw are available for the Red Devils' clash with Ronald Koeman's men on Sunday but Ashley Young has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Fellaini has been sidelined since December 14 due to illness and a broken rib, while Blind has been out of action since November after suffering a knee injury whilst on international duty with Netherlands.

Shaw and Rafael, meanwhile, were withdrawn at half-time during United's 2-0 win over Yeovil Town in the FA Cup third round but both have been passed fit for Sunday's fixture at Old Trafford - although Van Gaal admits that the Brazilian right-back may not be risked following an operation on his cheekbone.

"We have only one player injured. Can you believe it? Only one," an amused Van Gaal told the media.

"I have to select for the first time in my career at Manchester United the 11 and the 18 players.

"[Shaw and Rafael] are both not injured. Rafael Da Silva was of course operated on [his cheekbone] and maybe we don't take any risk with him but Shaw can also play.

"Blind has already trained for more than one week with the group and Fellaini also trained with us already this week."

Marcos Rojo, who has not featured for United since December 8, has also returned to training after recovering from a thigh injury.

 

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Signing Messi 'impossible' for Chelsea

Chelsea assistant coach Steven Holland believes it is "impossible" for the club to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.

Messi's future has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he hinted back in November that he could leave Camp Nou, amid reported tensions with boss Luis Enrique and the Barcelona hierarchy.

The Argentina superstar appeared to fan the flames this week by following Chelsea on Instagram, but Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has since reiterated the club's desire to keep their all-time record goalscorer.

Last month Jose Mourinho played down any talk of a potential transfer, insisting that Chelsea are incapable of meeting the €250 million release clause in the 27-year-old's contract as a result of Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations.

And filling in for the Portuguese in Friday's press conference ahead of Chelsea's Premier League clash with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, assistant Steve Holland gave the speculation similarly short shrift.

"Signing Messi [for Chelsea] under FFP is impossible," Holland told reporters.

"Sometimes a club has to be reactive, but the hope is that nobody leaves or arrives. We're happy with what we have."

 

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Montpellier 2-1 Marseille: L'OM defeat boosts Lyon and PSG

Marseille's dismal start to 2015 continued as they handed the initiative to Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain with a 2-1 loss at Montpellier.

After being knocked out of the Coupe de France on penalties by fourth-tier Grenoble last weekend, the Ligue 1 leaders were looking to pile the pressure on their nearest challengers with victory at the Stade de la Mosson on Friday.

But Marcelo Bielsa's men produced another disappointing performance, which leaves both Lyon and PSG with the chance to overhaul them with wins over Toulouse and Bastia respectively.The contest was preceded by a minute's silence in honour of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris on Wednesday.

Montpellier opened the scoring nine minutes before half-time through former Evian striker Kevin Berigaud.Berigaud collected Paul Lasne's low ball from the right on the edge of the area and hit a fantastic right-footed finish past Steve Mandanda.

Midfielder Lasne then turned goalscorer in the 62nd minute, slotting home from close range after Anthony Mounier had worked his way into the box and squared the ball for the ex-Ajaccio man.Billel Omrani got Marseille back in the game six minutes later, though, by turning home Brice Dja Djedje's far-post cross.

But the hosts held on to complete the double over Marseille and move up to eighth.

 

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Atleti are brilliant, not violent - Cerezo

Accusations that Atletico Madrid are a violent team have been angrily rejected by the club president Enrique Cerezo.

Diego Simeone's side won La Liga last season, with their success built on a foundation of organisation and defensive resilience, though there have been claims their commitment has over stepped the mark on occasions.

The latest case brought to light has come in the aftermath of Atleti's 2-0 victory over city rivals Real on Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 Copa del Rey tie.

"Atletico are a great team, with brilliant players. People who attack us for being violent are people who don’t know how to play," Cerezo told AS.

"Our players are sportsmen, sporting and noble. And we’ve shown we know how to win well and lose well. When we win we like to be congratulated, in the same way we’ve congratulated others when they’ve won."

Madrid defender Marcelo said Atleti were guilty of playing the long ball and employing dirty tricks in a bid to gain an unfair advantage over the Champions League winners.

The two sides do battle again in the second leg next Thursday.