..::Football III::..

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Improved Giroud has become a top player at Arsenal, says Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed striker Olivier Giroud after his double against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, saying he has become a "top player".

The France international scored twice in the first half as the Gunners coasted to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Aitor Karanka's men at the Emirates Stadium.

The victory puts the FA Cup holders into the quarter-finals of the competition and Wenger was quick to praise his match-winner for his contribution.

"Olivier Giroud was very sharp. He has improved a lot compared to the player he was when we he arrived here," he told BT Sport.

"He is mobile, technically good, and he works with great focus in training. He has become a top player."

Two goals in two minutes from the striker just before the half-hour mark put Arsenal in control of the game and Wenger said their good start to the match was key to victory.

"We started well with a good pace and we controlled the game well with our movement and technical quality," explained Wenger.

"We had good team focus overall, we maybe lost our cohesion a little bit at 2-0 but I am happy. Overall we were serious and focused over the whole game.

"We had a good day but Middlesbrough are a good side, it was important for us not to let them come back to 2-1 because they are good technically and are organised, they are a good team."

Wenger was also pleased with new signing Gabriel who made his debut against Middlesbrough following his January move from Villarreal.

"Gabriel Paulista made a great recovery tackle in the box. He wants to defend, he has good urgency levels and a good physique and technical qualities," he added.

"He is short language-wise but the intelligent players compensate with vision. He looks at what his partners are doing, and he did that well."

 

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Guardiola record means nothing yet - Luis Enrique

Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique says equalling Pep Guardiola's record run of wins will mean nothing if his side fail to win titles this season.

Since their 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad last month, Barca have won 11 successive matches in all competitions for the first time since the 2008-09 season - the first campaign under Guardiola.

Luis Enrique, however, is far more concerned with his players enjoying their football - and the promise of lifting silverware at the end of the season,
"Guardiola's record? I didn't know I had equalled the 11 wins, records do not interest me. The idea is to enjoy ourselves," he told a press conference after the win over Levante."We’ll only value it when the season ends. If we win titles then that’d be very good.

"We've played a great second half. I'm happy. It's a victory that strengthens us all.
"This is a team that is accustomed to distractions from outside. It is important to focus and improve."

Lionel Messi - who struck a hat-trick on his 300th La Liga appearance - was once more kept out for the full 90 minutes but Luis Enrique is adamant it is better not to rest the Argentine,"I don't bring him off because the idea is to get the most out of him," he said."Against teams that sit back, we have to play with pace and power."Leo playing a lot is key for us. When there are players crowding the middle it’s difficult, but we knew he'd solve all our problems."

Pedro was handed a start in place of Luis Suarez and delivered an excellent display in the 5-0 win, leaving his coach rueful that he cannot allow him more regular action.

"It's a shame for me not to give more minutes to more people. Pedro is a key player for us, I would like to give him many more minutes because he deserves it," he added.

 

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Simeone: Blame me for Celta loss, not Torres

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone insists he is to blame for his side's defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday, and not Fernando Torres.

The striker was hauled off at half-time at Balaidos after an ineffectual display, before second-half goals from Nolito and Fabian Orellana condemned Atleti to a potentially costly defeat in the title race.

Simeone, however, says his side's insipid display was entirely of his own making due to mistakes he made in his selection and tactics.

"In the first half, I chose a bad formation. I lost 45 minutes. I chose badly," he told a press conference."It's not Fernando's fault that he had to go off, but we weren't able to balance the team.

"We started the second half better. Then there was the episode of the penalty and the second goal. Celta played very well."We carry on competing and now we think of next Saturday."

Simeone also refused to accept that the defeat proved an attacking line-up of Torres, Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann cannot work going forward."We'll see. I don't know. It would be rash to say much today, beyond the fact that it simply didn't work," he added.

"We lost the ball very fast. We looked for speed between Torres and Griezmann but it didn't happen."

 

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Van Gaal: Rooney might be my best striker... but he's staying in midfield

Louis van Gaal admits Wayne Rooney might be the best striker at Manchester United but insists he will continue to play in midfield.

Rooney has scored eight goals in 23 appearances in all competitions for United this season despite often being deployed in a more withdrawn role to accommodate superstar strikers Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao.

With neither frontman yet capturing their best form and no one at Old Trafford boasting double figures for goals, Van Gaal has come under mounting pressure to restore Rooney to his favoured position.

But while he has no doubts about the England international's scoring prowess, the Dutchman insists he needs his captain's quality more urgently in midfield.

“Rooney is maybe our best striker," Van Gaal told reporters. "But I am playing him in midfield because I have to look at which players make the biggest contribution and in what position.

"While I agree that maybe Rooney is better as a striker if I play him there, then I have a problem in midfield.”

England manager Roy Hodgson has already indicated that he will play Rooney as a striker in next month's Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania and friendly clash with Italy, and Van Gaal claims he has no problem with that.

“Rooney is probably giving more of a contribution to the England team when he is playing as a striker," he added.

“I would also put him in the striker’s position if I was the coach of the English team. But it is the composition of the team that is more important than the individual player."

 

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Van Gaal: Rooney might be my best striker... but he's staying in midfield

Manchester United's 3rd All Time Top Goal Goal Scorer MID 1ke dagena pissu kelinawaOhoma ohoma gihin anthimata Defence 1kata daida danneth naha​

 

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Neymar: Messi is my best friend

Neymar says he has no better friend than Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi following the Argentine's goalscoring rout at home to Levante on Sunday.

The Brazilian opened the scoring for Luis Enrique's men midway through the first half, but Messi stole the show by bagging a hat-trick on his 300th Liga appearance before substitute Luis Suarez finished off the 5-0 thrashing with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

Neymar, who has been a Camp Nou player for almost two years now, has explained the extent of his bond with the four-time Ballon d'Or winner and insists his penalty miss in midweek against Villarreal has not affected him at all.

"Some things come easy to Barca and we just put in one of our best performances," the 23-year-old told Canal Plus.

"I'm very happy with the result. The other day I missed a penalty but these things happen. For me it is an honour to play alongside Messi, Luis Suarez and Pedro. Messi is the best friend I have, both at Barca and away from the football pitch."

Barcelona are back in action next Saturday at home to Malaga before they take a trip to Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

 

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FA Cup Fixture 2015.02.16

FA Cup Fixture 2015.02.16

Preston Vs Manchester United​

 

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La Liga Fixture 2015.02.16

La Liga Fixture 2015.02.16

Eibar Vs Elche​

 

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Barcelona 5-0 Levante: Magical Messi sparkles in 300th Liga game

 

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Arsenal 2-0 Middlesbrough: Giroud at the double as FA Cup holders progress

 

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Aston Villa need to start throwing punches - Sherwood

Aston Villa must start "throwing punches" in their bid to remain in the Premier League, according to new manager Tim Sherwood.

Villa sacked Paul Lambert last week with the club in the relegation zone and announced Sherwood as his replacement before the FA Cup fifth-round victory over Leicester City on Sunday and, although the former Spurs boss was not officially in charge, he gave his new players a team talk at half-time.

They went on to win the match 2-1, but Sherwood was not totally satisfied with the performance and believes Villa need to stop playing within themselves and take the game to their opponents.

"The team looked a bit tentative against Leicester City in the FA Cup," he said as he was presented to the media on Monday. "We have to play on the front foot a bit more.

"Let's have a go at fighting and start throwing a few punches ourselves."

Villa's support has dwindled in recent years, with empty seats regularly on show at Villa Park, and Sherwood is keen to win back stay-away fans.

"I haven't been a manager here yet, but when I came to play here, it was a difficult place to come and get results," he continued. "I want to turn this place back into a fortress. It's very important this club stay in the Premier League.

"None of these players want to be relegated, no one does."

Sherwood has been linked with a number of other jobs since leaving Tottenham at the end of last season, but says he did not have to think too long about taking the reins at Villa.

"It's a fantastic opportunity and a huge football club," he added. "When I got the call to ask if I'd be interested in coming to present to Villa it was a no brainer and I said yes first and we'll negotiate afterwards."

Sherwood's first official game in charge will be at home to Stoke City on Saturday.

 

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AC Milan deny Thai takeover talk

AC Milan have denied reports that Silvio Berlusconi's holding company, Fininvest, has any interest in selling a majority stake in the Serie A club.Reports in Thailand earlier in the day stated that Thai investor Bee Taechaubol had lodged an offer of €1 billion for a controlling stake of the seven-time European champions.

Former Italian prime minister Berlusconi insisted only last month that he is not looking to sell Milan and Fininvest released a statement, via the club website, to reiterate that stance on Monday."In response to press reports, Fininvest reiterates that it is not interested in selling majority shares in AC Milan," the statement said.

"Fininvest can only reiterate the statement left on Saturday the 14th of February: various entities have shown interest in a partnership with Fininvest relating to Milan, but categorically deny that there have been negotiations, let alone pre-contract agreements or 'decisive meetings' on the agenda."Milan are enduring another frustrating season and Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Empoli leaves them 11th in Serie A.

Meanwhile, the Rossoneri also revealed that defender Alex had surgery on a broken nose on Monday and fellow defender Gabriel Paletta has sustained a thigh injury that the club will assess again at the start of next week.

 

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Rodgers sets sights on Liverpool winning Europa League

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers stands by his ambition to win a trophy this season and believes the Europa League presents the ideal opportunity to do so.

The Anfield outfit, who are also into the FA Cup quarter-finals following a victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend, face Besiktas in the Europa League's last 32, beginning with Thursday's first leg at home.

And Rodgers is confident of a strong run in Europe's secondary club competition, having been knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

"Now they will recover and really look forward to the Europa League, because it's a competition we really want to do well in," he told the club's official website.

"It's a European competition, a very prestigious tournament and we are very focused on doing well in it.

"We have tough games with Besiktas, but we will be ready for them. The players are young and hungry, and this is a group that can grow over the next couple of years.

"But we would like to get a trophy to signify that growth and the Europa League is a chance for that.

"The prize [of Champions League qualification for winning the Europa League] does make it more attractive. But we have a way to go before we can think of that."

 

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Verratti tells Fabregas: Chelsea will beat PSG!

Marco Verratti and Cesc Fabregas warmed up for Tuesday’s big Champions League match with an amusing football discussion and the Italian midfielder superstitiously tipped Chelsea to defeat his Paris Saint-Germain side 4-0.

The PUMA-sponsored stars are regarded among the best playmakers in Europe and will go head-to-head at Parc des Princes in the first leg of the last 16.

When asked by Fabregas who will win the tie, Verratti replied: “Chelsea. I think they'll beat us 4-0!

“We Italians are very superstitious so before the game we prefer to predict that the opponents will win.”

Chelsea star Fabregas, meanwhile, seriously predicted that his side would win 2-1 in Paris.

The pair discussed a number of topics – including their all-time favourite players, games, cities and music.

You can watch the entire discussion between Verratti and Fabregas in the video below.

 

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Costa will know he's in a battle, warns Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva is gunning to face Diego Costa when Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg.

The French champions welcome Jose Mourinho's men to Parc des Princes this week as the sides meet for the second season running, with Chelsea coming out on top on away goals in the 2013-14 quarter-finals.

While PSG captain Silva knows all about the reputation of Brazil-born Costa, he maintains that he and his team-mates will be more than ready to cope.

"Diego Costa is one of the top strikers in Europe at the moment. He can play, but also he can do battle as well," Brazil international Silva said in quotes reported by The Mirror.

"That is no problem, that is the reason you want to play at this level, to do battle against the best players in the world.

"He is the sort of player that lets you know he is there, but we will also let him know that we are there as well."

Tuesday's match throws up a number of sub-plots and reunions, with Silva's PSG team-mate David Luiz facing his former club for the first time and Mourinho coming up against talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The pair worked together at Inter and Silva warned there are areas of the Swede's game Mourinho will be unable to thwart.

"Of course Mourinho will know what quality to expect from Zlatan Ibrahimovic because they were together at Inter," he added.

"I am sure there will be some sort of plan for Chelsea to stop the threat of him, but Mourinho will know that Zlatan can score goals from anything - those you cannot prepare for.

"We know that a Jose Mourinho team is going to be very organised, so we will have to be patient in our approach. I don't expect them to come to Paris and be attacking but that is why it is so important we keep our focus.

"They will soak up the pressure, but they have dangerous players that can hit you on the counter attack. Costa, Oscar, [Eden] Hazard can hurt you in a second. We must stay focused for the whole game."

 

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I'm not sure Marseille can afford to keep me, says Ayew

Olympique de Marseille attacker Andre Ayew has admitted that he could leave the Ligue 1 title-chasers as they lack the financial resources to meet his wage demands.

The Ghana international's current contract is due to expire at the end of the season and OM are keen to hold on to the 25-year-old.

Nevertheless, Ayew has stressed that he has no intention of accepting a paycut and, while he is happy at Stade Velodrome, he is preparing for a potential exit in the summer.

"OM have financial problems and they cannot afford to pay certain wages," Ayew told RTL."I am a Marseille player at this stage and could still stay here. My future is still open.

"There will soon be a meeting to discuss my future. But I will not accept a paycut to stay at OM. Every player wants to make progress, in all aspects."If the club want me to leave, then I will go. But I like Marseille."

The versatile attacker joined the Marseille youth academy from Nania in 2005 and has developed into a key player at the Ligue 1 side in the past few seasons.
Ayew has netted four goals in 16 Ligue 1 appearances so far in 2014-15.

 

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Bayern wanted more Dortmund players, reveals Watzke

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has claimed Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski are not the only BVB players Bayern Munich attempted to sign from their Bundesliga-winning class of 2012.

BVB beat Bayern to the Bundesliga title both in 2010-11 and 2011-12, while they also hammered the Bavarians 5-2 in the DFB Pokal final in the latter campaign.

However, they have since lost Gotze to their arch rivals in the summer of 2013, with Lewandowski following suit last summer after running down his contract at Signal Iduna Park and departing on a free transfer.

Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan have been linked with Bayern in recent years and though Watzke didn't specify their names, he revealed their rivals would happily have acquired further members of BVB's squad.

"Bayern tore out two vital parts of BVB with Gotze and Lewandowski and they were not the only two Dortmund players Bayern attempted to sign," Watzke was quoted as saying by Kicker ."Bayern wanted to disrupt the successful Dortmund of 2012.

"We have also become a major threat for Bayern because people have a lot of sympathy for us. We don't divide opinion like Bayern.

"Who is the team that gets more attention and moves people more than any other team after Bayern, even if we are battling against relegation? That's clearly Borussia Dortmund."We are the second major force in Germany behind Bayern. You do not necessarily have to be as huge as Bayern to become a benchmark."

However, Dortmund's fortunes have dipped somewhat of late. They had to settle for second spot in the Bundesliga table last term, finishing 19 points behind Pep Guardiola's men and sit 14th in the table with 22 points from 21 games this season.

Jurgen Klopp's men did enjoy success off the pitch in February, though, with Marco Reus committing his future to the club by signing a new contract with the club until June 2019.

 

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'Man United would be in the relegation zone without De Gea'

Tommy Docherty believes Manchester United would be in the relegation zone if it wasn't for the outstanding performances of goalkeeper David de Gea.

While United sit third in the Premier League table after just one defeat from their past 15 matches, the club have been unconvincing and were completely outplayed by relegation-threatened Burnley during last week's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

And Docherty - winner of the 1977 FA Cup and 1974-75 Second Division title during his five-year stint in charge of United - says their situation could be a whole lot worse without their Spain international.

He told the Daily Mirror: "If David de Gea, who has shown he's world-class, hadn't played the way he has this season, United would probably be in the relegation zone now. He's been absolutely brilliant."

The Old Trafford crowd have begun to show their discontent at recent displays and Docherty believes United boss Louis van Gaal must change his style and adhere to the club's attacking traditions.

"Once the crowd start to get on you if you don't give them what they want – and they're the ones who pay your salary – they'll start showing disillusionment with the way the team is playing," he continued.

"The fans at United have been brought up with great football – two wingers going down the touchline, raining crosses in to the strikers. That's not happening.

"You've got to give the supporters what they want, and you can't really see a lot of progress at the moment, with the money he's already spent, let alone the money he's set to spend this summer.

"With that, you have to guarantee success. They've still got a good chance of finishing in the top four and back into the Champions League, but the way they're playing there's no guarantee."

United face Preston North End in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday night, having been taken to a replay in the last round by League Two side Cambridge, before winning 3-0 at Old Trafford, and Docherty says it's imperative the club see off their League One opponents.

"If United get beat by Preston, their season's almost over. Then all they'd have to go for is the top four – and they've got to get into that.

"A bad season for United, with the money they've spent and the players they've got, would be finishing in the top-four. They've got to get into the top four every year – minimum."

 

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'Man United would be in the relegation zone without De Gea'

Mekanam sahathika attha thamaiDe Gea nisa thamai meh ganin hari inne​

 

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I want to be a leader for Inter - Guarin

Fredy Guarin has set his sights on becoming a leader for Inter and has hailed head coach Roberto Mancini's influence in his recent resurgence.

The 28-year-old is one of the squad's most experienced players following the departure of veterans Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel in the summer.

Guarin scored twice in Inter's 4-1 win over Atalanta at the weekend and revealed his desire to become even more influential at San Siro.

"Can I be a leader in the future? Well, it was different when the likes of Zanetti were here, but now I always try to play like a leader on the pitch," the Colombia international told the club's official website.

"Having the confidence of the coach is absolutely vital, both for individual players and the team as a whole. I’m feeling good and I’d like to thank the coach, the technical staff and all my team-mates for the faith they’ve shown in me."Sunday's win over Atalanta was Inter's second consecutive victory after a string of disappointing performances and Guarin is delighted the team have bounced back.

"Everything’s coming together. The most important thing is the team’s performance, because that helps individual players to do even better."Mancini’s faith has been fundamental to us. The boss brings bags of enthusiasm every single day.

"It’s really important that we’ve started winning. We’ve been having a tough time of it but that’s two wins in a row now. We’re playing well and the team is enjoying an important spell."

Inter currently sit ninth in the Serie A table with 32 points from 23 games.