..::Football III::..

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Bastia 4-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Wasteful champions surrender two-goal lead

Paris Saint-Germain surrendered a two-goal lead as they slumped to a shock 4-2 defeat away at Bastia on Saturday afternoon.

Lucas Moura and Adrien Rabiot put the Ligue 1 champions two goals in front, but incredibly they proceeded to throw away their advantage.

Ryad Boudebouz pulled a goal back on 32 minutes before Francois Modesto and a Julien Palmieri double completed the most dramatic of comebacks.

PSG looked threatening from the kick-off and were rewarded inside the opening 10 minutes as Lucas broke the deadlock with a composed finish.

Yohan Cabaye played a superb long pass over the top of Bastia's defence and Lucas held off the challenge of Florian Marange before lifting the ball over the onrushing Alphonse Areola.

Lucas should have doubled his tally three minutes later having been released by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but he dragged his shot wide of Areola's goal.PSG did not have to wait long for a second goal, though, as Rabiot netted in the 20th minute.

The midfielder was the beneficiary of some assiduous work from Blaise Matuidi and Maxwell, who combined to steal possession and set up Rabiot to fire home first time from 12 yards.

Despite their dominance PSG then gifted the hosts a way back into the game after Van der Wiel handled a right-wing cross, with Boudebouz coolly slotting the spot-kick past Douchez.

And, on the brink of half-time, Bastia were level as three PSG defenders failed to clear a corner, allowing Modesto a free header from close range.No doubt frustrated at throwing their lead away, PSG came out in full attack mode in the second half, with Ibrahimovic the first to test Areola from a 20-yard free-kick.

However, a stunning volley from Palmieri gave the hosts the lead four minutes before the hour, the 28-year-old firing into the top corner after PSG poorly cleared a left-wing corner.To add to the hosts' frustrations, they were denied an equaliser after 69 minutes as Silva's half-volley thundered against the crossbar from a right-wing free kick.

Still Blanc's side pushed for a leveller, but it was Bastia who got the final goal as Palmieri met Abdoulaye Keita's cross to volley past Douchez and give the Corsicans a memorable victory.

 

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Torino 1-1 AC Milan: Ten-man visitors fail to hold on

Ten-man AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Torino at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening as their poor away form in Serie A continued.Kamil Glik's 81st minute headed equaliser for a wasteful Torino means Filippo Inzaghi's Milan have only won two of their nine league games on the road this season.

The hosts were aiming to claim their first win over Milan since 2001 and they will rue this missed opportunity, having failed to fully capitalise on Mattia De Sciglio's red card just before half-time.Inzaghi's men found themselves ahead after only three minutes as Jeremy Menez blasted home a penalty after being hauled down by Polish centre-back Glik inside the area.

Torino poured men forward in response and Fabio Quagliarella was denied an equaliser by Rossoneri goalkeeper Diego Lopez, before Matteo Darmian then struck the post.

De Sciglio, who had continually been given the run-around by Italy team-mate Darmian, earned a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time for a foul on the midfielder to put Milan in a precarious position.

Torino went on to dominate the second half and finally drew level in the 81st minute as Glik powered in a fine header to earn a point and atone for his earlier error.However, coach Giampiero Ventura will likely be disappointed not to have overseen a victory.

Milan had made a fine start in Turin but Torino produced a good response to falling behind early on, twice going close to restoring parity in the following eight minutes.Alexander Farnerud first forced Lopez into action from 25 yards, before the goalkeeper then thwarted Quagliarella from close range.Milan had another lucky escape 24 minutes in, as Emiliano Moretti's looping header flew narrowly wide, with Alessandro Gazzi agonisingly close to connecting with the ball at the back post.

The visitors continued to struggle as the game progressed and were saved by the woodwork in the 31st minute. Darmian headed against the post before Moretti knocked the rebound over.

And Milan's task was made even tougher in first-half stoppage time as De Sciglio received his second yellow card for a cynical tug on Darmian.Torino dominated possession right from the start of the second half and comfortably dictated play, but Milan defended well, allowing the hosts very few sights of goal.

Ventura's men did find a way through Milan's backline in the 60th minute, but Pablo Armero made a vital tackle eight yards from his own goal to deny Josef Martinez after a clever pass from Bruno Peres.Lopez was called into action to spectacularly tip over a Quagliarella effort in the 72nd minute, with Marco Benassi going even closer a few moments later after latching on to Omar El Kaddouri's fine delivery.

Torino's persistence finally paid off with nine minutes to go as Glik met Peres' delivery with an excellent header.The home side continued to press but could not complete the turnaround and Milan held on for a point.

Inzaghi's side remain seventh in Serie A, one point off the European places, while Torino move up to 13th.

 

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Crystal Palace 2-1 Tottenham: Puncheon caps Pardew’s perfect return‏

Crystal Palace fought back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win over Tottenham.

In-form striker Harry Kane opened the scoring after 49 minutes, Tottenham at that stage appearing well placed to build on their superb 5-3 triumph over Chelsea on New Year's Day.

But this London derby did not have such a happy ending for Mauricio Pochettino's team, as Dwight Gayle netted a 69th-minute penalty after Benjamin Stambouli had rashly fouled Joe Ledley.

Pardew introduced Wilfried Zaha shortly afterwards – the forward giving the Tottenham defence and Kyle Walker in particular a torrid time before creating the winner for Jason Puncheon.A fervent Selhurst Park crowd was forced to endure six minutes of stoppage time before celebrating a result that lifts their team out of the relegation zone.

Pardew was without Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak, away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with DR Congo and at the Asian Cup with Australia respectively, while he handed Glenn Murray a maiden Premier League start of the season in attack.Midfielders Mousa Dembele and Stambouli continued in place of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb for Tottenham, who controlled much of the opening half.

They were met by a disciplined Palace defence, while visiting winger Nacer Chadli received neither a penalty nor a yellow card for a theatrical 13th-minute tumble in the area.

Kane scuffed a low shot into the arms of Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni before Christian Eriksen spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring after 22 minutes.
A nicely worked Tottenham move gave Walker room to cross from the right and, although his low delivery was just behind the midfielder, Eriksen should have done better than thumping a shot wide from six yards.

Murray was largely feeding off scraps up front for Palace but he was presented with a clear opening 10 minutes before half-time – the on-rushing Hugo Lloris diverting his shot behind after James McArthur's prodded throughball.

Lloris did not distinguish himself in the same fashion early in the second half, missing a punch from a corner before Gayle lost his footing and the chance was lost.

Tottenham's nerves were settled in the 49th minute by the familiar sight of Kane drilling the ball clinically into the net for an 18th time this term.There were suspicions of offside when the ball broke to the England Under-21 forward from Chadli’s forward run, but Kane displayed fine close control and sent a superb finish across Speroni.

Gayle poked a set-piece goalwards from close-range but sharp reactions by Lloris denied Palace an almost instant response.But Stambouli's inexplicable challenge on Ledley gave Gayle another chance to get the better of Lloris from the spot, and he did so with aplomb.

Palace felt they should have been awarded a second spot-kick when a cross struck Walker's arm, but Pardew was able to forget his loud protests when Puncheon lashed a shot home 10 minutes from time to leave the hosts a point clear of the bottom three.

 

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Junior Malanda killed in car crash

Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda has been killed in a car accident on Saturday afternoon.

Police have confirmed the crash took place near the German city of Bielefeld at 15:35 CET and the player was pronounced dead at the scene.

Malanda, 20, was due to fly to South Africa on Saturday evening along with the rest of his Wolfsburg team-mates for a training camp ahead of resuming their Bundesliga campaign after the winter break.

The Belgian had joined Wolfsburg in 2013 from Zulte Waregem and was also on the books at Anderlecht and Lille in his earlier years.

Malanda last played for Wolfsburg in their 2-1 win over Cologne on December 20. He had represented Belgium at every youth level up to and including the Under-21 side.

"We are all deeply upset," said Wolfsburg managing director of Klaus Allofs.
"We all loved him. He was the good spirit of our team and a fun-loving person. In addition, Junior was an excellent football player who stood at the beginning of his development."We cannot still believe that he is no longer with us. Our thoughts are in these difficult hours with his family and his relatives."

A statement from the Belgian Football Association read: "The football world today lost a great talent. Junior Malanda lost his life this afternoon, at the age of 20.

"The Belgian Football Association extends its sympathy to family and friends."
Team-mate and fellow Belgium youth international Kevin de Bruyne took to his official Twitter account to show his grief.Alongside a picture of himself and Malanda, he posted: "So strange to hear your friend in the morning and then hear this news. Lost a great friend way too early. RIP my friend @JuniorMalanda."

Fifa president Sepp Blatter said: "Shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Junior Malanda. Soccer loses a great talent. My thoughts are with his family."

 

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R.I.P Malanda​

 

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Pellegrini: Manchester City finishing not good enough

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini bemoaned his side's first-half profligacy following their 1-1 draw at Everton.

The Premier League champions came into the fixture level with Chelsea at the top of the table, and Fernandinho's 74th-minute header gave City the advantage at Goodison Park.

However, Steven Naismith earned Everton a share of the spoils after Joe Hart had needlessly rushed off his line from a Leighton Baines free-kick, allowing Jose Mourinho's side to move two points clear at the summit.

And Pellegrini says City were foolish if they thought a goal 15 minutes from time would be enough to win the game.

"I think we really dominated the game, especially in the first half," he said. "We had clear chances, but we didn't score.

"Fifteen minutes are a lot of minutes. You cannot think that because you are winning 1-0 and there are 15 minutes left that you have already won the game.

"We knew that Everton were a difficult team from set-pieces. They had their chances and they scored."

Pellegrini believes there might have been a different outcome if City had taken their chances while they were on top during the opening period.

"We never think before the game that this is an easy game to play," he added. "Always at Goodison Park Everton is a very good team.

"If the whole game was exactly the same as the second half, maybe it was a good draw, but I cannot forget about what happened during the first 45 minutes when we had too many clear chances.

"We played really well, which I am really pleased about, but we didn't finish well."

 

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Bale didn't ignore Ronaldo - Isco

Isco says Real Madrid fans were wrong to boo Gareth Bale for failing to pass to Cristiano Ronaldo during the 3-0 win over Espanyol.

The winger scored a wonderful free-kick on 28 minutes after James Rodriguez had opened the scoring, before Nacho rounded off a routine win in the second half.

But despite Bale's sensational contribution, supporters were still keen to get on his back for a perceived selfish piece of play when he opted to take on the goalkeeper rather than slide in his team-mate for a simple tap-in.

“At the end of the day, players make decisions for themselves. Bale didn’t see Cristiano," said Isco in the Wales star's defence.
“In the next game, he’ll get another chance. He decided to shoot and missed, but these things happen in football."

The victory was a timely one for Madrid who have suffered an unexpected dip in form upon their return from the winter break.

The Champions League winners were beaten 2-1 by Valencia in La Liga last weekend, before losing 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 Copa de Rey clash with city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Isco is now looking ahead to the return clash against Diego Simeone's side next week, after admitting his relief at returning to winning ways.

“Today went well. We’re happy with the win and regaining that winning feeling. We hope to continue like this.

“We hadn’t won since we became world champions. We have now regained our confidence for the match against Atletico.“It will be difficult [against Atleti] but we’ll put all our energy into it. With the support of the fans, I think we can stage the comeback."

Atleti and Barcelona do battle on Sunday, with Madrid four points clear at the top of the table for 24 hours at least.

 

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Luis Enrique threatens to quit Barcelona

Luis Enrique has threatened to quit Barcelona if he doesn't have the 100% backing of the club's players, following reports of a meeting between president Josep Bartomeu and Lionel Messi.

The pair met following the 5-0 victory over Elche on Thursday night, with a Spanish television station claiming the Barca chief had promised to axe the coach following Sunday's clash with Atletico Madrid.

Luis Enrique has now reacted to the latest round of rumours by revealing he will walk away if all of his players are not in support of his leadership.

"I work everyday 100 per cent but I assure you that I'll quit if my players don't follow me," he said."That hasn't happened during my career as coach. The players and technical team, we are not involved in these aspects.

A tumultuous week off the pitch at Barcelona saw sporting director Andoni Zubizaretta sacked, his assistant and club legend Carles Puyol quit and presidential elections brought forward a year in the aftermath.

This latest episode followed on from the news the Catalans' appeal against an 18-month transfer ban had been rejected, but Luis Enrique attempted to put a positive spin on recent events.

"We are just focused on the things we can improve, and we avoid everything that is not positive. "I know this is not against me, it is against everything that surrounds Barcelona."This situations have happened in past seasons, and will happen again."

The former Roma boss was booed by supporters at Camp Nou despite Thursday's thumping win, while Frank Rijkaard, who gave Messi his debut back in 2004, has been tipped as a possible replacement.

 

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'Neuer is like Beckenbauer'

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has compared Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to Franz Beckenbauer and tipped him to win the Ballon d'Or.

The Germany star has won the support of a host of high-profile names, including Uefa president Michel Platini. to win the award ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Neuer won the World Cup with Germany, but most strikingly showcased a unique ability to play with the ball at his feet, often starting attacks well outside of his penalty area for both club and country.

Huntelaar has been impressed with the keeper's quality with both hands and feet and added he remains a likeable person off the pitch.

"It’s strange because the goalkeeper is usually the lone wolf in a team," the Schalke strike said in an interview with Bundesliga.com.

"They're still important, though, and ‘Manu’ has shown how important he is for his team. He was practically an outfield player during the World Cup - he was the Beckenbauer of the team.

"His performances helped Germany reach the latter stages and I wouldn’t begrudge him the award. You can have a good time with him, he’s a good bloke. I hope he wins, but he’s up against some pretty stiff competition. Let’s see what happens."

Schalke and Bayern are both currently in Doha, Qatar for a nine-day training camp ahead of resuming their respective Bundesliga campaigns on the back of the international break.

 

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'That's wrong' - Guardiola denies Varane interest

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has rejected reports linking him with a move for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

An article in Spanish newspaper Marca claimed the former Barcelona coach had made the centre-back a priority transfer target.

The ex-Lens player was a regular under Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu, but Carlo Ancelotti has often preferred Pepe and Sergio Ramos at the heart of his back four.

Guardiola was quizzed over the rumours at a press conference in Doha, Qatar, and swiftly dismissed them out of hand.

He said: "This paper also wrote that Sevilla's sporting director will come instead of Matthias Sammer, and Sammer extended his contract. Marca don't have my number, maybe they have Jorge Mendes' number. Of course that's wrong."

The 43-year-old has featured heavily on the back pages of several newspapers in his homeland over the past seven days, with a separate piece linking him with a return to Barcelona.

The Spanish side's former president Joan Laporta is reportedly ready to stand for president at the summer elections, with Guardiola's appointment as sporting director apparently key to his campaign.

There are just 18 months remaining on his current deal at Bayern, but he remains relaxed over the situation. "We still have time, I have 18 months left," he added.

Guardiola then reiterated his backing of Manuel Neuer to win the Ballon d'Or, while also giving his thoughts on Robert Lewandowski's debut season at the Allianz Arena.

"All three are fantastic players, of course they all want this award. I hope Manu will win it. He's played fantastic in the last year. For me he is the best keeper in the world."

He continued: "I talked to him. The first year at a new club is never easy. The most important thing is that he had many chances. He integrates well, within the game and the team. I'm very satisfied with him."

Bayern are currently in Qatar for a nine-day training camp before resuming Bundesliga duty against Bochum on January 23.

 

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Mancini to resist starting Shaqiri

Roberto Mancini has confirmed that new signing Xherdan Shaqiri is not ready to start Inter's Serie A clash with Genoa on Sunday.

The Switzerland international completed his switch to San Siro from German champions Bayern Munich on a four-and-a-half year contract on Friday.

Shaqiri has not featured in competitive action since December 16, though, due to the Bundesliga's mid-season break and head coach Mancini will only use the winger sparingly against Genoa.

"I don't think Xherdan Shaqiri is ready to play 45 minutes or even 30," he said. "He hasn't played since December."Shaqiri's signing followed the arrival of forward Lukas Podolski on loan from Arsenal earlier in the week.

Mancini believes the challenge of helping restore Inter's standing among the best teams in Europe convinced the pair to join."There are few clubs as big as Inter," Mancini added. "We have a big appeal. We have had difficulty, but the new arrivals can help us get back to the top."

The Italian also confirmed that Nemanja Vidic will play against Genoa despite not being fully fit as Inter's options in defence are limited due to a four-match ban for Juan Jesus.

 

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It's tough to sign great players in January, admits Allegri

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri admits it is difficult to sign top-quality players in January.

The Serie A champions have been pushing to broker a deal for Galatasaray playmaker Wesley Sneijder this month but the player's agent is confident he will stay in Turkey after negotiations hit an impasse.

Juve turned their attentions to Sneijder in favour of making a bid for Xherdan Shaqiri, who completed a move from Bayern Munich to Inter this week, but Allegri is adamant the chances of signing players of real quality has always been slim in the winter window.

"It takes players of great value to make us stronger but it's difficult to get them in January," he told a press conference.

Juventus are looking to avenge their Supercoppa Italiana defeat when they visit Napoli this weekend, and Allegri is confident they have the quality to overcome Rafa Benitez's men at the San Paolo for the first time since 2000.

"Winning against Napoli is never easy but we have everything it takes to succeed," he said. "Juve must realise that during games there can be moments of difficulty, so conceding a goal is not a tragedy.

"You can't change the model every week. We have our own character and will continue with this system of play.

"On Tuesday [in the 1-1 draw against Inter], we compromised our own victory with four technical mistakes against a great team. We can't celebrate, but neither should we be down."

 

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Liverpool need a goalkeeper - Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has set his sights on bringing a new goalkeeper to Anfield in the January transfer window.

With Simon Mignolet woefully out of form and the injured Brad Jones's contract expiring in June, Rodgers has few options to choose from between the posts.

The 21-year-old Danny Ward has made the step up from Liverpool's reserve team to provide back-up to Mignolet - dropped by Rodgers in December after a string of poor outings - as Jones battles a thigh injury.

Mignolet's abilities were once again put in the spotlight as his inability to handle a high ball helped AFC Wimbledon draw level in Liverpool's FA Cup third-round trip to Kingsmeadow and Rodgers accepts he needs to bolster his options.

"I think we need a goalkeeper of some sort; it's just depending on how long Brad Jones is going to be out injured," he told reporters.

"We are obviously down and have got two young inexperienced keepers behind Simon, who is only just back in the team, so we need to assess that."

Rodgers believes that the source of Mignolet's lack of confidence is a struggle with the demands placed upon him to contribute to Liverpool's possession-based game. Previous first-choice Pepe Reina was regarded as one of the Premier League's finest distributors, with the Belgian unable to fill the Spaniard's shoes fully so far.

"Simon was at the time we were watching him, and still is, a wonderful shot-stopper," Rodgers insisted.

"He makes big saves but the adaptation for him is coming into a big team where you are not having to make as many saves and therefore concentration is important and you probably have more touches of the ball with your feet than what he might have expected.

"He has come in here under massive expectation to replace a player who was outstanding for Liverpool for seven or eight years.

"He is trying to develop areas of his game. He knows he needs to improve with his feet and he is working hard on that on a daily basis. He is analysing the games and working with the coach and doing everything he can to be the best he can be."

 

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Messi cannot accept squad rotation - Belletti

Lionel Messi has never been able to accept the need for squad rotation, according to former Barcelona full-back Juliano Belletti.

Fresh speculation has emerged this week about the attacker's future after he started on the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad last weekend.

The Argentina star has grown frustrated with life under Luis Enrique and president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who has brought forward club elections to this year, is reportedly prepared to wield the axe in order to placate the forward.

Belletti, who scored the winning goal in the 2006 Champions League final, says Messi has never accepted being left out of the starting line-up - even though it is a vital part of managing a squad in modern football.

"Messi doesn't like being on the bench," he said as a pundit on Arena SporTV. "He doesn't accept rotation, which, in the long term, is important.

"When I was at Barcelona, I saw him have discussions with the coaching staff because he didn't want to miss a game."

Belletti does feel, however, that Messi has earned the right to certain "privileges" at the club given the enormous success he has helped to bring to Camp Nou.

"The Barcelona of today is Messi. If they've won so many titles, it was because of the high standards Messi offered. It seems normal to me that he'd have certain privileges," he added.

"If he wants to play, to keep a calm atmosphere, you should let him play."

 

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Wenger: I spent my youth selling cigarettes

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says that he used to smoke on the bench due to stress and has revealed that he used to sell cigarettes at his family pub.

Wenger has previously been forced to speak on the subject after midfielder Jack Wilshere was pictured smoking while on holiday and this week the club fined Wojciech Szczesny €25,500 for lighting up in the showers following the 2-0 defeat at Southampton.

A video of the Frenchman smoking in the dugout during his time with Monaco re-emerged in the wake of Szczesny's misdemeanour and the Gunners boss has explained that cigarettes were a big part of his early life.

"I grew up in a pub. You could not see to the window because of the smoke and I spent my youth selling cigarettes," he told reporters.

"I have grown up in a period when I had to accomplish military service. At the end of the month, we got paid by cigarettes. It incited us to smoke. When I was a young boy I grew up surrounded by smokers and I smoked myself when I became a young coach.

"The other day, on French television, they showed me on the bench smoking a cigarette. I didn't even think it was me. At that time, I remember Marcelo Lippi at Juventus smoked a cigar during the whole game in every game."

Wenger was asked if he did so because of stress and replied: "Yes, of course."

He was also pushed for an answer on whether it is a good idea for footballers to smoke. "I'm sure there are some top athletes who smoke," he noted, "but it is not a good example.

"It depends how much. The best is you don't smoke. It's an eternal subject whether you are a role model but, at the end of the day, if you make a good pass on the football pitch that is what people want to see."

 

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Pochettino: The penalty changed everything

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino identified Dwight Gayle's second-half penalty as the key moment in his side's 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Pochettino's men appeared well-placed to stretch their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches when Harry Kane extended his rich vein of form with a well-taken 49th-minute opener.

But Gayle levelled matters from the penalty spot 20 minutes later after Benjamin Stambouli lunged in on Joe Ledley, before Jason Puncheon sealed a comeback win in the closing stages of the match, and Pochettino was disappointed with his side's reaction to the spot-kick.

"Maybe when we scored for 1-0 I think that we need to push a little bit more," Pochettino said.

"But in the end it is clear that the penalty changed the game. Maybe it wasn't a penalty, maybe it was – I don't know, we need to analyse on the TV.

"But this was the key moment that changed the energy in the stadium and on the pitch. After we suffered a little bit and Crystal Palace believed they could get the three points.

"There was a lot of long ball and, in this challenge, they won more than us. Maybe Crystal Palace pushed more than us, were more fresh than us – we have to analyse."

Victory would have taken Tottenham above Southampton and into fourth place ahead of the latter's trip to Manchester United on Sunday and Pochettino conceded that the Palace reverse represented an opportunity missed.

"We are not happy, we are disappointed with the result," he added. "We missed a good opportunity to stay [in touch] with the top four."

 

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Zaha was 'electrifying' against Tottenham, says Pardew

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew paid tribute to an "electrifying" cameo from Wilfried Zaha after his side's 2-1 comeback win over Tottenham on Saturday.

Pardew's first Premier League game in charge of Palace appeared to be heading towards defeat when in-form Spurs striker Harry Kane broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half.

But Dwight Gayle levelled with a 69th-minute penalty before Jason Puncheon drilled home a rapturously received winner 10 minutes from time at Selhurst Park.

Puncheon's strike was laid on by Zaha, who came on in the 74th minute and proceeded to give the Tottenham defence a torrid time, and Pardew later hailed the winger as key to his side's revival.

"I just felt that we needed a bit more maverick behaviour in the team and that was the reason for the sub at half-time," he told reporters.

"That helped us and then Wilfried came and gave us exactly the reaction I was looking for.

"I left him out, if I'm honest, because I wanted to see what his reaction would be like. This is a boy who I think his confidence needs to be rekindled.

"That will do him no harm today – that 20 minutes was electrifying."

A first win in nine games lifted Palace out of the relegation zone and Pardew was pleased to see some of the qualities that saw the club achieve top-flight survival last season on display.

"If I could pay a credit to [former manager] Tony Pulis, really – the team in the last 15 minutes, 20 minutes looked like the team from last year," he added.

"You have to understand that in this game it's not just straight lines, eating the right food and turning up on time.

"You also need to have a bit of maverick behaviour in there somewhere. This team needs a bit of that and fortunately we found that just in time.

"Sometimes just results [don't go well], you get a little bit negative in your thinking and your maverick players become a bit too sensible. You've got to get the balance right and second-half I thought we did."

 

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Man City agree €35m Bony deal

Manchester City have agreed a €35 million transfer fee with Swansea City for striker Wilfried Bony.

The Premier League champions have been trying to conclude a deal with the Welsh club for the past week and are now finalising personal terms with Bony.
Vitesse, Bony's former club, are due to receive 10 per cent of the total fee due to a clause in his contract following his move to the Liberty Stadium in July 2013.

It is understood the Ivory Coast striker will earn around €96,000 per week at the Etihad Stadium, as the Blues can only spend the same amount on wages as they did in the 2013-14 seasons due to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions placed upon them by Uefa.He will, however, earn a number of bonuses and incentives.

The base €96,000 amount is roughly what is earned by defender Matija Nastasic, who has found himself out of the first team this season and is on the verge of January move, with German club Schalke leading the chase.

FFP restrictions have weighed heavily on City's recent transfer dealings, with the club entitled to spend less than €64m in the summer market in order to avoid a Uefa fine of the same amount.The penalties were also thought to be the reason behind letting striker Alvaro Negredo, who hit the ground running at the start of last season, leave the club for Valencia on a loan deal in the final days of the transfer window.

City have relied on the goals of Sergio Aguero, who has netted 14 times in the Premier League this term, at certain points this season, with fellow strikers Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko both struggling with injuries.

However, City did manage to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea without their Argentine striker over the Christmas period.

 

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Manchester City striking power 1ka thawath strong Bony wa gatthama​

 

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Ancelotti warns Bale after Ronaldo incident: If anyone is selfish, we'll fix it

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti defended Gareth Bale after the winger opted not to pass to Cristiano Ronaldo and missed a clear chance during the team's 3-0 win over Espanyol, but admitted he may speak to the Welshman over his decision-making after the incident.

Bale, who scored Madrid's second on Saturday with an impressive free-kick, raced forward late in the second half and chose to go alone with Ronaldo better placed in the centre but the 25-year-old missed the target and the Portuguese was visibly infuriated.

"He played a very good game," Ancelotti said of Bale afterwards. "He was a protagonist in the first goal as well. Later, the fans called for him to pass to Cristiano, but the forwards always want to score when they are up against the goalkeeper."

However, he warned the Welshman: "Altruism is important and if anyone is selfish, we are going to fix it. The fans demand a lot from the important players and Bale is one of those."

The former Tottenham man came under fire for a similar action against Valencia last weekend, when he failed to square for the unmarked Karim Benzema at 1-1, was dispossessed by Nicolas Otamendi and Madrid ultimately lost 2-1 at Mestalla.

"I'm going to look at the move," Ancelotti added. "In Valencia everyone thought he could have thought [about passing]."

Asked about Ronaldo's anger at the situation, Ancelotti then sought to play down the incident.

"There's no need to make a big issue out of this," he said. "It's a football moment. The relationship between both is good and very good among all the players. We are all working towards the same objective, which is to take Madrid as high as we can go. I don't need to talk about this."

Madrid now face Atletico on Thursday in the second leg of the sides' Copa del Rey last-16 tie, with Real 2-0 down from the first match last Wednesday.

"There are a few days to go," Ancelotti said. "The best players will play. We want to turn it around and we will do everything we can to reach the quarter-finals."

Before that, the Italian coach flies to Zurich where he is in contention for the Coach of the Year award, while Ronaldo is expected to claim the Ballon d'Or in Monday's ceremony.

"Cristiano is the same as ever," the Italian said. "He has a great physical condition and is playing for the team. His assist for James was fantastic."

Ancelotti also denied speculation linking defender Raphael Varane with a move to Bayern Munich.

"I'm surprised [at the story] because I didn't know [Jorge] Mendes was Varane's agent. Three days ago it was a different agent," he said. "But Varane will be a Madrid player for a long time."