..::Football III::..

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Barcelona refused to sell Montoya, say Fiorentina

Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade has admitted that they were interested in signing Barcelona defender Martin Montoya, but negotiations failed to progress due to the Catalans' reluctance to sell any players.

The Serie A outfit had earmarked the 23-year-old as a valuable addition to their back-line and were hopeful of luring him to Firenze in the January transfer window, despite competition from across Europe.

However, with Barcelona being unable to sign any new players due to their transfer ban, the Liga giants ultimately refused to sanction the player's exit.

"Montoya is a very interesting player, but Barcelona do not want to sell any players because of their transfer ban," Prade told Sky Sport.

"So negotiations for him never really took off."

Montoya came through the ranks of the Barcelona youth academy, but he has so far been unable to displace Dani Alves as the club's first-choice right-back.

The Spain international has a contract with the Catalans until June 2018.

 

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'I can only thank him' - Guardiola counters Raiola attack

Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has countered agent Mino Raiola's recent attack by thanking him for praising him as a coach.

Raiola launched a scathing attack at the former Barcelona boss earlier this month, calling him "a crap person" for the way he treated Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time at Camp Nou, despite acknowledging his coaching qualities.

"Raiola? He said that I am a great coach, so I can only thank him," the Bayern coach said when questioned about the agent's comments at a press conference.

The 44-year-old fell out with Ibrahimovic during the Swede's spell at Barcelona in 2009-10, with the attacker leaving the club for AC Milan just one year after his arrival from Inter.

 

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Jordi Alba: I always want Madrid to lose

Barcelona defender Jordi Alba has admitted that he always hopes Real Madrid lose, but was quick to stress that winning their own games should be the Catalans' main concern if they are to overtake their rivals in the Liga table.

The Camp Nou side are currently training Carlo Ancelotti's men by one point, while the Santiago Bernabeu side have a game in hand over both Barca and reigning champions Atletico Madrid.

"As a Barcelona man, I always want Real Madrid to lose," Alba was quoted as saying by Marca.

"But I prefer to focus on Barcelona, which is what matters the most. We need to win all of our games if we want to try and catch up, which is almost impossible."

The Spain international then went on to defend Neymar, who has come in for criticism in recent weeks for his provocative style of play.

"Neymar is a very humble down to earth guy, who enjoys playing football and likes to play that way. Anyone that knows him understands this," said the full-back.

"He doesn't play that way intending to disrespect anybody. He doesn't kick or insult people."

Neymar has been a key figure for Barcelona this term, scoring 15 goals in 18 La Liga appearances.

 

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'Too slow and can't defend' - Hargreaves warns Manchester United not to sign Hummels

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves says his old club should not sign Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels because he is slow and cannot defend.

Hummels has been identified as a key target by the Red Devils and it is expected that the club will make an official approach to acquire his signature in the summer transfer window.

But Hargreaves, who spent four years at Old Trafford and made just 39 apparances due to a number of injuries, says that while the Germany international is "the new Franz Beckenbauer", he is not the right man to reinforce the United defence.

"He's a super, super ball-playing centre-back but I don't think he can defend, he's too slow," he told BT Sport.

"He's Franz Beckenbauer, the new version, a super passer but I think that if I'm Manchester United I want [Nemanja] Vidic, I want [Vincent] Kompany.

"I think he's a nice football player, he's easy on the eye, but United need somebody physical, a presence.

"He's the captain of Borussia Dortmund, they're last in the Bundesliga. Is that the measuring stick for Manchester United? I'm not so sure."

 

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Hargreaves monada meh kiyawanneHummels patta

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Manchester United Vs Cambridge

Manchester United Starting Line-up

David De Gea
Marcos Rojo
Jonathan Evans
Chris Smalling
Patrick McNair
Juan Mata
Wayne Rooney
Daley Blind
Marouane Fellaini
Ángel Di María
Robin van Persie

&

Cambridge Starting Line-up

Chris Dunn
Richard Tait
Greg Taylor
Ryan Donaldson
Tom Champion
Josh Coulson
Tom Elliott
Robbie Simpson
Michael Nelson
Cameron McGeehan
Luke Chadwick
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Apoooo Evans wa dagenaEvans wa sell kale nahane
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Good Luck Manchester United!
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Half Time

Manchester United 2 Vs 0 Cambridge

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2nd half 1ke Leicester match 1ke wage nathuwa attack kaloth thamai hoda
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Full Time

Manchester United 3 Vs 0 Cambridge

Manchester United Goal(s)

Juan Mata 25'
Marcos Rojo 32'
James Wilson 73'
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Congratulations Manchester United!

Ada hodai play karapu widiya

Di Maria,McNair,Mata,Fellaini

 

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Manchester United 3-0 Cambridge United: Mata, Rojo & Wilson on target in easy win

Manchester United avoided a potential FA Cup banana skin with a 3-0 victory over Cambridge United in their fourth-round replay on Tuesday.

Goals from Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo and substitute James Wilson were enough to seal a place in the next round for the 11-time winners, who had been surprisingly held to a goalless draw by Cambridge in the initial tie.

Having survived a scare in the first minute when their League Two opponents hit the post, Louis van Gaal's side quickly found their stride as Mata and Rojo both converted from close-range prior to half-time.

Robin van Persie had a trio of chances to add to Cambridge's misery early in the second half, but goalkeeper Chris Dunn kept him at bay with his alert reactions.

The hosts finally got their third goal with 17 minutes remaining as Wilson squirmed away from his marker before firing low past Dunn from the edge of the penalty area.

Manchester United will now travel to Deepdale in the fifth round after Preston North End came from behind to beat Sheffield United 3-1 in their replay on Tuesday.

After causing problems for the Manchester United defence in their first meeting, Cambridge were immediately on the attack at Old Trafford and should have been ahead inside the opening minute.

A mistake from Daley Blind inside the hosts' half gifted the ball to Tom Elliott and the striker raced away from Chris Smalling but saw his curling effort clip the outside of David de Gea's left-hand post.

Cambridge were made to rue that miss as Manchester United quickly took control.

Wayne Rooney wasted two early chances to beat Dunn, but the pressure eventually told midway through the first half when Mata ended 115 goalless minutes between the two sides.

The Spaniard was perfectly placed to convert Marouane Fellaini's knock-down after 25 minutes, following a deep cross from Angel di Maria.

And the lead was doubled within seven minutes, Rojo rising at the near post to head home an exquisite chipped pass from Van Persie for his first Manchester United goal.

Cambridge appeared to be sinking fast, but the League Two side showed they were still able to pose a threat when Ryan Donaldson dragged an effort wide before the break.

Van Persie should have extended his team's lead in the opening five minutes of the second half as Paddy McNair lofted a cross to the back post, but the striker could not direct his header on target.

Dunn then denied the Netherlands international on two occasions as the hosts camped on the edge of Cambridge's penalty area.

Van Persie was replaced soon after and the man who took his place, Wilson, grabbed Manchester United's third after 73 minutes, the youngster's low shot bouncing in front of Dunn on its way to the bottom-right corner.

Rooney's attempts to net his first FA Cup goal of the season continued in the closing minutes, but he finished goalless as a late curling effort from 20 yards drifted inches wide.

 

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Lille 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Maxwell sends holders into the final

Paris Saint-Germain are through to the Coupe de la Ligue final after the unlikely figure of Maxwell scored the only goal in a 1-0 semi-final win over Lille.

The full-back rifled home from inside the penalty area in the 27th minute of Tuesday's semi-final tie at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and that proved enough to ensure a spot in the Stade de France showpiece.

Lille head coach Rene Girard aired his displeasure ahead of the contest that PSG had an extra day to recover for the match.And his side certainly appeared the more sluggish in the opening exchanges as Edinson Cavani wasted two good chances before Maxwell's goal.

The tempo dropped somewhat in the second half with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances.

Ultimately it was Laurent Blanc's men who emerged victorious and PSG - four-time winners of the competition - will now meet the winner of Wednesday's semi-final between Monaco and Bastia.PSG dominated the opening exchanges and Cavani should have done better when he failed to make clean contact with Marquinhos' centre from the right, with the Uruguayan's effort spooning out of play for a throw-in.

Cavani was at the heart of another promising attack in the 15th minute. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's quickly-taken free-kick fell to his fellow forward, who swept his effort straight at Vincent Enyeama.

The sustained pressure finally told shortly before the half-hour mark with Cavani once more playing an influential role.

The striker slipped in the area before recovering to collect Lucas Moura's probing through ball, and his sliding pass across the box was lashed home expertly by Maxwell into the roof of the net. Lille appeared to be galvanised by falling behind and Idrissa Gueye flashed a shot wide of the left-hand post from the edge of the box.

PSG soaked up the pressure, though, and Lille's frustrations were evident when Florent Balmont was yellow-carded for a needless late shoulder charge on Marco Verratti, the latter too entering the book for taking revenge on the midfielder with a late challenge.

Enyeama had to be sharp to beat Cavani to the ball when Ibrahimovic's deflected cross from the right almost fell kindly into the path of his team-mate shortly after the break.

Referee Lionel Jaffredo then accidentally blocked an Ibrahimovic pass that appeared set to send Blaise Matuidi free.In a similar fashion to the opening period, Lille looked composed on the ball until they reached the final third and PSG were largely comfortable.

Ibrahimovic thought he should have had a penalty with 20 minutes remaining when he went to ground under Marko Basa's challenge on the right of the box, but the defender appeared to win the ball.Lille substitute Ryan Mendes - back from representing Cape Verde at the Africa Cup of Nations - was proving a threat and only a fine last-ditch tackle from Marquinhos prevented him from picking out a team-mate from the left of the area.

PSG safely saw out the closing stages to rack up a sixth straight win in all competitions and can now look ahead to a crucial Ligue 1 clash at leaders Lyon on Sunday, who they trail by two points.

 

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Roma 0-2 Fiorentina: Gomez double sets up Juventus semi-final

Fiorentina began life without Juan Cuadrado by marching into the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia after Mario Gomez's two goals saw off Roma 2-0.

The home side dictated much of the first half and saw good opportunities wasted by both Alessandro Florenzi and former Fiorentina star Adem Ljajic.

The away side started to become something of a nuisance with their persistent fouling in the lead up to the break and they continued to irritate Roma with their physical approach after half-time.

Vincenzo Montella's men made the most of Roma's creative struggles and broke the deadlock 25 minutes from time, Gomez directing Manuel Pasqual's cross into the net.

Garcia opted to introduce Victor Ibarbo for his debut 17 minutes from time, but the tricky Colombian made little impact and Gomez exploited Roma's weariness at the back in the 88th minute to secure a semi-final clash against Juventus.Roma began the clash like a side with a point to prove, moving the ball quickly and pouring men forward in urgent fashion.

It took the hosts just eight minutes to craft their first clear chance and Florenzi should have done better, as the attacking midfielder prodded wide after latching on to Radja Nainggolan's clever scooped pass.Roma almost proved to be their own worst enemies seven minutes later, though Kostas Manolas did well to bail Lukasz Skorupski out of trouble after the goalkeeper's sliced clearance went straight to the lurking Gomez.

And the hosts were causing problems at the other end again soon after, with Ljajic firing agonisingly wide of the left-hand post following Francesco Totti's perfectly weighted throughball.Fiorentina eventually began to frustrate the home side, however, committing a series of niggling fouls to upset Roma's rhythm.

But Ciprian Tatarusanu was forced into action with half an hour gone, palming the ball away after Nainggolan's powerful effort took a wicked deflection off Ashley Cole.

The visitors looked bright at the start of the second half and Alessandro Diamanti went close to finding the net with 48 minutes on the clock, lashing a 20-yard volley just wide after fine link-up play between Milan Badelj and Joaquin on the right flank.

Roma's inability to make the most of their possession saw Leandro Paredes withdrawn for the creative Miralem Pjanic, but the Bosnian struggled to make an impact.And things got even tougher for Roma in the 65th minute, as Gomez flicked Pasqual's near-post delivery beyond Skorupski.

Garcia added debutant Ibarbo to his frontline in the final 20 minutes as Roma desperately pushed men forward, but Fiorentina capitalised on openness at the back, as Gomez showed admirable composure in the area before blasting past Skorupski.

 

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Bayern Munich 1-1 Schalke: Howedes halts ten-man Bavarians

Bayern Munich dropped points for a second successive Bundesliga game after Benedikt Howedes' late goal saw Schalke come away from the Allianz Arena with a 1-1 draw.

The German champions played with 10 men for 73 minutes following Jerome Boateng's sending off in the first half and the visitors' numerical advantage ultimately told.

Bayern came into Tuesday's meeting smarting from a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Wolfsburg last time out, and it looked as though they would face another struggle when Boateng was sent off for a foul on Sidney Sam in the box inside the opening 20 minutes.But Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has 10 goals in all competitions this season, saw his weak effort saved by Manuel Neuer.

It seemed the visitors would be left to rue that missed opportunity when Arjen Robben headed in Xabi Alonso's corner midway through the second half, but Howedes produced a similar finish from Sam's set-piece in the 72nd minute to earn his team a share of the spoils.

Despite dropping points for the second time in succession, Bayern maintain their eight-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to Wolfsburg's 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bavarians - who made three changes from the defeat to Wolfsburg - dominated possession in typical fashion in the opening exchanges, but it was Schalke who wasted a golden opportunity to go ahead in the 18th minute.

Boateng clumsily brought down Sam inside the area and was shown a straight red card, but Choupo-Moting's tame spot-kick was easily saved.Neuer was called into action again a minute later, parrying Sam's powerful drive from the edge of the box.

Schalke emerged for the second half having changed goalkeeper, with 19-year-old Timon Wellenreuther making his first senior appearance after Fabian Giefer was unable to continue with a hamstring injury.

The young keeper was tested 12 minutes after the interval, beating away a shot from Robben, who made space for himself with a darting run.Wellenreuther was beaten 10 minutes later, though, as Bayern substitute Robert Lewandowski prodded a pass back into play from close to the byline, and the ball took a deflection off a defender before squeezing in at the near post.

However, much to the ire of Pep Guardiola, who ran down the touchline to remonstrate with the linesman, the officials decided the ball had gone out before Lewandowski's intervention.But Bayern were not to be denied for long as, from the resulting corner, Robben headed in Alonso's cross via a slight deflection.

Yet their lead lasted just five minutes as Howedes rose highest to glance in Sam's corner and level matters, ensuring Bayern's wait for a win following the mid-season break goes on.

 

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Fulham 1-3 Sunderland: Black Cats through to last 16

A shocking blunder from Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli proved costly as Sunderland came through their FA Cup fourth-round replay with a 3-1 win at Craven Cottage.

Late goals from Ricardo Alvarez - his first for the club - and Jordi Gomez completed a Sunderland comeback on Tuesday, ensuring the Premier League side will now face Bradford City, the conquerors of Chelsea, in round five.

Fulham took the lead through Hugo Rodallega following early pressure from the visitors, but were then left to rue an error from Bettinelli, who dropped a seemingly innocuous cross from Patrick van Aanholt into his own net under minimal pressure.

Gus Poyet's men took full advantage, Alvarez making it 2-1 with a fine individual goal in the 75th minute.

And any hopes of a Fulham fightback were ended in stoppage time when Gomez converted a penalty awarded for a foul on substitute Danny Graham.

Sunderland were forced to make a late change to their side, Steven Fletcher replacing Connor Wickham due to the latter picking up an injury in the warm-up.

Yet that didn't seem to affect the visitors as they made an assured start, and Bettinelli had to make instinctive early saves to deny Gomez and Fletcher, with the Scotland forward also seeing a goal ruled out for offside.

The hosts had been on a four-match unbeaten run up until their 2-1 league defeat at Blackburn Rovers last time out, but they struggled to build any momentum in the early stages.

Nevertheless, it was Fulham who struck first when Sunderland's defence failed to clear a corner. Cauley Woodrow saw his effort blocked on the line, but Rodallega was on hand to dispatch his 10th goal of the season from close range.

Buoyed by that goal, Kit Symons' side could have been awarded a penalty just four minutes later when Alvarez brought down Ross McCormack, but referee Paul Tierney waved away the appeals.

The Championship outfit continued to threaten as half-time drew closer, McCormack almost doubling their advantage when he fizzed an effort just wide.

Fulham also made a bright start after the interval, yet Sunderland were gifted an equaliser when Bettinelli flapped haplessly at Van Aanholt's deflected cross and allowed the ball to drop over the goalline.

Emanuele Giaccherini curled a sumptuous effort narrowly off target as Fulham struggled to come to terms with the setback.

Manchester City loanee Seko Fofana provided encouragement for the home side, but it was Sunderland winger Alvarez who stole the show.

The 26-year-old, on loan at the Stadium of Light from Inter, cut in from the right flank - beating two defenders in the process - before unleashing an unstoppable drive that left Bettinelli helpless.

Victory was then put beyond all doubt for the visitors when Graham went down in the area under pressure from Jack Grimmer, and Gomez stepped up to dispatch coolly from the spot.