..::Football III::..

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Leverkusen belong at top level - Calhanoglu

Hakan Calhanoglu says Bayer Leverkusen showed they can match the top sides in Europe following their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie.The 21-year-old midfielder struck a brilliant second-half goal to seal a narrow advantage for the Bundesliga side, who frustrated last season's beaten finalists for long spells at the BayArena.

The Turkey international claims Roger Schmidt's revamped side have now sent a message to the rest of the continent.

"We proved against every opponent in the Champions League that we can play at a top level," he told Sky. "I think that is what we did again today. If we repeat our effort in the second leg we have a good chance to make it to the next round."

Leverkusen boss Schmidt was equally buoyed by the result and couldn't help but admit that the thought of reaching the last eight was a tantalising one for him and his players.

He said: You could see that the team was very excited to play in the Champions League again. We made a good first step towards the next round. To reach the quarter-finals would be a dream come true for all of us."We were very convincing, defended very well and fortunately we profited from one of our opportunities."

The club's sporting director Rudi Voller feels the whole team will be given a lift following the result, but warned that Atletico - who had Tiago sent off in the second half after picking up two bookings - will present a real danger in the return leg.

"It is a boost if you beat a great team like Atletico. It was a very concentrated performance from the whole team from the beginning."Nothing is decided yet. We have a good position now, nothing more. We have to bring the same performance to the second leg."

 

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'We were suicidal defensively' - Wenger bemoans 'horrible' night for Arsenal

Arsene Wenger described his side's defending as "suicidal" after Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home to Monaco on Wednesday.

Goals from Geoffrey Kondogbia, Dimitar Berbatov and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco secured a convincing win for the Ligue 1 outfit despite Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's late strike.

The result leaves the Gunnners' Champions League hopes hanging in the balance, with the north London outfit needing to score three times in the second leg to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.

Wenger admitted his side did not defend well enough, though he did praise his former side's organisation.

He told Sky Sports: "It was a horrible night but congratulations to Monaco. They fought, defended very well and caught us on the break.

"We had both aspects wrong. We had the chances we didn't take and we were suicidal defensively. We knew at half-time it was important to keep our nerve.

"We are very guilty. At 2-1 how can we, with one minute to go, leave open the whole half?

"We controlled the game quite well. With their first shot on goal they scored. Everything went for them tonight.

"On top of that you see as well why Monaco have done well in the group stage. They're very well organised and physically very strong."

Despite the defeat, the Frenchman refused to rule out his team's chances of reaching the last eight of the competition - a feat they have not managed in the past four seasons.

But Wenger was under no illusions as to the magnitude of the task ahead after a showing that was not of the required standard.

"The task is massive now," he added. "The third goal makes it even more difficult. We'll have a go of course and see what we can do there.

"It's very, very disappointing but the Champions League is down to performance on the day and when you don't perform at the level that is required for 90 minutes you're punished.

"We knew before the game they absorb you and get you on the break. What happened? Exactly that."

 

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Souness: Arsenal were miserable… and it's Wenger's fault

Graeme Souness has slammed Arsenal’s “miserable” performance in their defeat to Monaco and believes Arsene Wenger is to blame for the lack of attacking quality on show.

The Gunners are on the brink of a fifth successive exit at the last-16 stage of the Champions League after being beaten 3-1 by Monaco at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov handed Monaco a two-goal lead before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave Arsenal lifeline with a well-taken strike in injury-time.

But the Ligue 1 club added a third through Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, leaving Wenger’s side with a mountain to climb at the Stade Louis II next month.

"Arsenal were miserable tonight. Apart from the first ten minutes when they looked threatening,” Souness told Sky Sports.

“Is it a case of Arsenal being that bad and them being that good? That is the answer - four goals in the qualifying games and three goals tonight in one game? Arsenal were so disorganised. It was if they just went out in the later stages in this competition and they were so disorganised.

“I have to [blame Arsene Wenger]. For that back four of Monaco's, it was a dream. Zero threat [from Arsenal] other than the first 10 minutes.

"An average team has blown Arsenal away tonight.”

 

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Feyenoord 1-2 Roma (agg: 2-3): Gervinho wins it for visitors

Roma booked their place in the Europa League round of 16 with a 2-1 second-leg win over Feyenoord, whose fans’ shameful behaviour once again marred the occasion.

Following fan trouble in Rome before the first-leg, the referee was forced to direct the players into the dressing rooms after further misconduct from the crowd in the second period when the dismissal of Mitchell te Vrede sparked a vicious reaction from the supporters.On the pitch, goals from Adem Ljajic and Gervinho either side of an Elvis Manu effort were enough to put the Giallorossi into an unassailable lead that wrapped up a 3-2 aggregate triumph.

With rain pelting down over De Kuip, it was perhaps not a surprise to see chances at a premium as both teams adjusted to the conditions on hand.

Francesco Totti tried to get Roma on the board with an ambitious chip from long range but he narrowly missed the target with Kenneth Vermeer struggling to get back on his line.

Miralem Pjanic’s giveaway saw Karim El Ahmadi pounce and test Lukasz Skorupski, but Totti would go the closest with a designed free-kick that rebounded off the post.

The game was paused shortly before half-time as stewards had to remove an inflatable banana that was thrown onto the touchline.

Minutes before the interval, the visitors had their breakthrough when Ljajic pounced on a looping cross from Vasilis Torosidis to volley home a priceless opener for the Giallorossi. It got even worse in the second half after Mitchell Te Vrede was sent off for a challenge on Manolas, which kicked the fans into even more depravity. The referee had no choice but to halt the match and lead the players down the tunnel.

Uefa opted to continue the match after a quarter-hour delay, and Manu, fresh off the bench, split the centre-backs to finish off an opportunistic Feyenoord attack.
Substitute goalkeeper Erwin Mulder was sent off from the home side’s bench for his reactions to the goal and it got worse for them moments later when Vasilis Torosidis squared for Gervinho to sweep home on the hour mark.

Though Manu’s movement was an occasional threat up front, Roma eventually made their man advantage count, and forced Feyenoord to chase them in possession during the closing stages.

 

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Napoli 1-0 Trabzonspor (agg: 5-0): De Guzman on target as hosts stroll through

Napoli made sure of their progression into the last 16 of the Europa League with a straightforward 1-0 second-leg win over Trabzonspor.

Having hammered the Turkish side 4-0 in the first leg last week, Napoli headed into the game knowing Trabzonspor would need a minor miracle to turn the tie around.

And the Serie A club completed their task with professionalism and little difficulty to keep hopes of a first European triumph since their 1989 Uefa Cup success intact.

Jonathan de Guzman scored the game's only goal in the 19th minute and, although boss Rafael Benitez will have disappointed to see Napoli miss a host of further chances, the result and progression was never in doubt from that point.

A quick counterattack saw Napoli open the scoring, De Guzman cleverly volleying home on the follow up after Jose Callejon had seen his near-post effort parried by Hakan Arikan to leave Trabzonspor needing a remarkable six-goal turnaround.

Callejon then had another low strike kept out by Arikan before Fatih Atik put the ball in the net at the other end, only to be thwarted by the offside flag.

Arikan pulled off a string of fine second-half saves to deny Callejon - who also hit the post with a low drive - on multiple occasions and was also alert to prevent Dries Mertens from adding his second with a fine low stop.

But his efforts did little other than to limit the damage to Trabzonspor's pride as Napoli coasted through.

 

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Sporting Lisbon 0-0 Wolfsburg (agg: 0-2): Germans hold on to first-leg lead to progress

Diego Benaglio proved impossible to beat as Wolfsburg preserve their 2-0 aggregate advantage, holding Sporting at bay despite endless waves of pressure.
Die Wolfe will be making their first appearance in the Europa League round of 16 since 2010, but will have ambitions of a trip to Warsaw for the final in May.

It took quite a while for the match to spring to life, but after a rather tedious and cagey opening half-hour, the hosts sprung to life and were unlucky not to grab an opener before the break.

First is was William Carvalho who latched onto a loose ball from 30 yards out and forced a stunning save from Diego Benaglio, before Christian Trasch cleared Tobias Figueiredo’s header off the line from the ensuing corner.

Sporting remained hungry and kept pushing, but Benaglio came to the rescue again, denying Tanaka on a partial breakaway, while Robin Knoche managed a crucial block on the follow-up from Adrien Silva.

The hosts continued to push and came closest to scoring in stoppage time after a sensational run from Joao Mario allowed the midfielder to set up Tanaka in close, but Benaglio managed to turn his first-time shot onto the post.

With the hosts needing to score twice, they began to push the pace to start the second half, but it was Wolfsburg who created the first real chance as Kevin de Bruyne smacked a shot off the woodwork with Rui Patricio beaten.

The hosts continued to dominate after that, creating chance after chance, but seemingly could not buy a goal with Benaglio proving impossible to beat. The keeper denied Nani from in close before Tanaka was again turned away from in close with just over 10 minutes to play.

Wolfsburg came close to wrapping it up with five minutes remaining, but Bas Dost saw his appeals for a penalty denied after being taken down in the area from behind by Jonathan Silva.The Swiss keeper continued to frustrate the hosts, spreading out to deny Islam Slimani from close range after the ball fell kindly for him at the far post late on, then again keeping out his header in the last minute before stoppage time.

The draw is enough to see Wolfsburg through to the next round after a 2-0 defeat in the first leg proved too much for Sporting to overcome.

 

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Everton 3-1 Young Boys (agg 7-2): Lukaku torments Swiss side again as Toffees cruise through

Young Boys were unable to cope with Romelu Lukaku on Thursday as the Belgian scored twice in Everton's 3-1 win at Goodison Park to help ensure a last-16 place in the Uefa Europa League.

Lukaku scored a hat-trick in the 4-1 first-leg victory at the Stade de Suisse, and added two more at Goodison Park to fend off an early fightback from the Swiss side and seal progression.

Young Boys reduced the three-goal deficit with Sekou Sanogo's 13th-minute opener but a two-goal salvo from Lukaku inside half an hour took any glimmer of hope away from the Swiss side.

Kevin Mirallas added a third before the interval but shortly into the second-half, Lukaku limped down the tunnel after he was replaced by Arouna Kone - a worrying sight for Everton fans ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Arsenal.

Even without Lukaku, Uli Forte's side were unable to make any headway as they are left to focus on their Swiss Super League title challenge after a convincing defeat over the two legs.

Roberto Martinez and Everton will look forward to their first European last-16 tie since 2008, having progressed shortly after rivals Liverpool were sent out of the same competition on penalties against Besiktas.

Despite trailing by three goals in the tie, Young Boys began well against an Everton side showing five changes from Sunday's 2-2 draw with Leicester City.

Forte's men came into the game after a 4-2 win over Swiss champions Basel and were given hope when Sanogo prodded home from close range amid questionable goalkeeping from Tim Howard and Everton's offside appeals.

After Rapha Nuzzolo fired an effort at goal, Milan Vilotic got a touch with his head and, when Howard fumbled, Sanogo was on hand to nudge in the opener.

Scott Sutter - one of five to come in from the win against Basel - crashed Gonzalo Zarate's corner off the crossbar but the visitors' momentum was curtailed when Marco Wolfli upended Steven Naismith in the area.

Lukaku's backheel caused the initial danger and the Belgium international took his Europa League tally to five from the spot before volleying home Luke Garbutt's cross from the left five minutes later.

When Mirallas slotted Darron Gibson's pass beyond Wolfli, the game was put further beyond Young Boys' reach with Lukaku replaced by Arouna Kone shortly after the break.

With the tie all but over, and Everton's focal point Lukaku given the remainder of the game off, chances dried up as Martinez introduced Muhamed Besic for James McCarthy in midfield.

For all Young Boys' tidiness on the ball, they offered a limited attacking threat, while Everton came closest to a fourth when Kone struck the post late on before Leon Osman's header was disallowed due to a foul from the substitute on Vilotic.

 

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Besiktas 1-0 Liverpool (5-4 on pens): Penalty heartache for Reds after Lovren miss

Dejan Lovren was the villain as Liverpool crashed out of the Europa League after an agonising penalty shootout defeat to Besiktas in Istanbul.

Liverpool famously won the Champions League on penalties at the Ataturk Stadium against AC Milan in 2005 but their luck was out on this occasion as Lovren blazed over from 12 yards with the last kick before sudden death.

Penalties arrived after a tense 120 minutes in Istanbul, with Tolgay Arslan's fine strike 18 minutes from the end of normal time cancelling out Mario Balotelli's first-leg goal to level the tie at 1-1.

Ba - Liverpool's nemesis in last season's doomed Premier League title bid - should have sent Besiktas through in stoppage time, but the former Chelsea man crashed against the crossbar from six yards.

There were few signs of nerves through the shootout as the first nine efforts were netted, but Lovren's wild effort ensured lightning would not strike twice for Liverpool 10 years on from their dramatic victory over Milan.

Besiktas were subdued in the early going, seemingly inhibited - rather than inspired - by the fervent atmosphere created by their fans as Liverpool comfortably kept their first-leg lead intact.

Bilic's side began the match on the front foot, but the first attempt on goal came from Liverpool's Raheem Sterling 20 minutes in.

Alberto Moreno latched on to a clever flick from Balotelli - making his first start since November - down the left before pulling back to Sterling, whose effort from 20 yards was palmed away by Cenk Gonen.

Daniel Sturridge and Moreno then tested Gonen in quick succession just after the half-hour mark as Liverpool warmed to their task and quietened the vociferous Besiktas faithful.

But Besiktas' players and fans were re-energised by the interval, and Bilic's men got their just reward for a much-improved display when substitute Arslan curled a superb left-footed shot beyond Simon Mignolet after good work from Gokhan Tore and Ba.

The hosts continued pressing, but Liverpool just about held firm to force extra time - thanks to Ba missing a golden chance to settle matters inside 90 minutes.

Besiktas remained on top through the extra period, Ba again going close only for Mignolet to stand firm at his near post.

However, the Senegal striker's late miss would not prove costly, as Lovren followed up a string of well-placed efforts by launching the 10th penalty of the shootout high and wide to gift Besiktas a place in the next round.

 

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Borussia Monchengladbach 2-3 Sevilla (agg: 2-4): Emery's men progress with second win

Europa League holders Sevilla produced a devastating display of counter-attacking football to beat 10-man Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2 and secure their place in the last 16 on Thursday.

Unai Emery's men took a slender 1-0 lead to Germany and were under considerable pressure for long periods, but the visitors' decisiveness on the break helped them to a hard-fought triumph.

Gladbach impressed for much of the game and saw several chances go begging, but a red card for star man Granit Xhaka with just over 20 minutes to go seemingly sealed their fate.

Sevilla unsurprisingly allowed their hosts the greater share of the ball in the early exchanges, but Emery's side looked lethal on the counter and they went ahead after just eight minutes, as Martin Stranzl directed Aleix Vidal's cross into his own goal.

Gladbach were level 11 minutes later, though, as Patrick Herrmann and Xhaka linked well inside the area, before the Swiss star fired an effort through the unconvincing Sergio Rico.

Sevilla's effectiveness on the break was evident again in the 26th minute, as Vitolo broke clear and fired beyond Yann Sommer, but Gladbach restored parity for a second time shortly after, Thorgan Hazard capitalising on a lucky ricochet to drill home.

Sevilla remained a threat on the break in the second period and should have added to their tally twice before the hour mark, as both Carlos Bacca and Vidal failed to beat Sommer when sent through on goal.

But the pendulum swung firmly in Sevilla's favour in the 68th minute, as Xhaka received his second yellow card.

And the visitors eventually wrapped things up 11 minutes from time, Vitolo coolly stroking beyond Sommer following another ruthless breakaway.

 

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Inter 1-0 Celtic (agg: 4-3): Guarin fires Mancini's men through

Fredy Guarin's superb late goal was enough to see Inter through to the last 16 of the Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate success over 10-man Celtic.

The two sides played out an enthralling 3-3 draw in the first leg at Parkhead last week and, although Thursday's fixture at San Siro lacked that goalmouth action, the two sides still produced an entertaining affair.

Celtic saw defender Virgil van Dijk dismissed for receiving two cautions in the first half - the first of which was a harsh one.

From that point on, Inter were well on top and only some last-ditch defending and a fine goalkeeping display from Craig Gordon kept the scores level until Guarin produced something special in the 88th minute.The Colombian picked up a pass from Davide Santon and arrowed a shot into the top corner from just outside the area.

The win extends Inter's unbeaten home run in the competition to 11 matches, stretching back to August 2012, while Celtic's focus will now return to clinching a domestic treble.

Celtic had the first genuine chance in the seventh minute when Gary Mackay-Steven bore down on goal, but goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo spread himself well to smother the shot.

The visitors thought they should have had a penalty seven minutes later when Armstrong went down under a challenge from Santon, but Kruzliak waved away their protests.Inter responded strongly and almost took the lead in the 19th minute when Santon's shot was just out of reach of a sliding Mauro Icardi.

Celtic were then dealt a major blow nine minutes prior to the interval as Van Dijk - booked earlier for a foul on Rodrigo Palacio - was shown a second yellow for pulling back Icardi.

Seemingly buoyed by their man advantage, Inter twice went close to moving ahead when Xherdan Shaqiri was kept out by a fine block from Jason Denayer, before Gordon saved smartly with his legs from Danilo D'Ambrosio's rebound.

Palacio ought to have put the hosts ahead four minutes into the second half, but blazed over after a clever pass from Guarin.Gordon pulled off a fine save low to his left to keep out Hernanes four minutes later, before the goalkeeper produced an even better stop to deny Icardi soon afterwards.

Substitute Kris Commons brought a comfortable save out of Carrizo with a speculative 40-yard strike eight minutes from time, but it was a rare effort on goal as Celtic tired.

With two minutes remaining, Guarin picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and thumped an unstoppable shot beyond Gordon into the top left-hand corner to seal Inter's passage.

 

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Fiorentina 2-0 Tottenham (agg 3-1): Salah strikes as Spurs crash out

Chelsea loanee Mohamed Salah struck the hammer blow as Fiorentina eliminated a lacklustre Tottenham from the Europa League in Florence.

With the tie marginally in Fiorentina's favour after a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane last week, Mauricio Pochettino's side were made to pay the price for their inability to score away from home.

Had Roberto Soldado not underhit a pass to Nacer Chadli with just Neto in their way during a quick first-half break, the Premier League side may have been able to get on top in the tie.

However, Gomez's calm finish nine minutes into the second half gave the hosts a platform before Jan Vertonghen afforded Salah a golden opportunity to double the lead 19 minutes from time.

After the Belgian failed to shepherd the ball to Hugo Lloris, Salah stole in and poked the ball home to effectively end the tie and see Vincenzo Montella's side into the next round.

Pochettino - who named leading scorer Harry Kane on the bench - will hope his side can make amends for a lacklustre showing when they take on Chelsea in Sunday's League Cup final at Wembley.

Milan Badelj was one of four players brought into Fiorentina's squad from the first leg, and the midfielder fired the first effort of the game just wide of Lloris' left-hand post four minutes in.

Fiorentina's returning goalkeeper Neto - playing his first game since December 21 after a contract dispute - was then called on to gather Erik Lamela's long-range drive before a trio of attacks from the hosts were cut short by an offside flag.

Prior to Matias Fernandez's injury-enforced withdrawal, Spurs gradually began to exert themselves and should have led when Soldado burst through on goal following a well-timed Lamela pass.

However, the Spaniard seemed caught in two minds when one-on-one with Chadli alongside him, allowing Neto to extinguish the best chance of the opening half-hour.

And Soldado's woeful error was punished nine minutes after the interval as Gomez latched on to Badelj's pass and tucked the ball under the onrushing Lloris.

With the German's strike piling the pressure on Spurs to get an away goal, Pochettino opted to introduce Kane and winger Andros Townsend off the bench.

While the pair were at the forefront of the visitors' late yet insufficient pressure, Spurs' fate was sealed when Salah seized on Vertonghen's error to double Fiorentina's advantage.

It leaves Montella looking forward to the last-16 draw, while Pochettino and Spurs must refocus ahead of Sunday's showpiece.

 

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Alderweireld close to Southampton return

Southampton are set to welcome back defender Toby Alderweireld from a hamstring problem next week after more than a month out.

The Belgian suffered the injury during the Saints' 1-0 win over Manchester United on January 11, having previously been a key member of Ronald Koeman's back four following his loan move from Atletico Madrid in September.

While Alderweireld will miss Saturday's Premier League clash with West Brom, Koeman said he could be back in the team for Tuesday's visit of Crystal Palace.

"Toby is close to being back but not available for this weekend," the Saints boss told reporters.

"We have good hope he will be fit enough for next Tuesday. After Saturday, it's good news that he's pretty close to being back.

"It's always frustrating for everybody, for the manager as well, because we'd like to have everybody available and competition between the players in the squad.

"He's the last player who has to come back other than Jay Rodriguez and Emmanuel Mayuka. That's important."

 

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Schalke's doors are open for Khedira, says Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo says Schalke's doors are open to Sami Khedira if the Real Madrid man wishes to join the club.

Khedira, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has been the subject of speculation for much of the campaign, with Luka Modric, Isco, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos all ahead of him in the pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu.

Reports emerged this week to suggest Schalke had firmly entered the race to sign the Germany international and Di Matteo admits he is a big fan of the 27-year-old.
"Everyone knows he is a great player. If he wants to come, the doors are open," he told reporters."Khedira is a world-class footballer."

Earlier this week, Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt refused to be drawn in to the speculation but admitted he is exploring potential options for the summer."I read that we are interested in Sami, but I never get into the speculation game," said Heldt.

"There are many interesting players in the market."Schalke face Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga this weekend.

 

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Time to move on from Chelsea furore, says Dyche

Burnley manager Sean Dyche is keen to move on from the furore surrounding Ashley Barnes' challenge on Chelsea's Nemanja Matic.

Barnes caught Matic high on the shin during a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, causing an angry reaction from the Serbian midfielder, who was given a straight red card for pushing Barnes to the ground.

The Burnley man went unpunished, drawing the ire of Jose Mourinho, before Dyche gave an interview to defend his player and club.

With a home game against Swansea City to come on Saturday, Dyche is keen to switch focus back to Burnley's fight for Premier League survival.

"I made my thoughts clear in the video - I felt it was a better way of finding closure, and we now move forward, simple as that," he told the Burnley Express.

"And Barnesy is ready to do that as well. I think he's only been booked five times in 47 games for us.

"I don't see anything other than a player giving everything he can to do well for himself, his team-mates and Burnley."

 

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Guardiola: Some former players speak badly of me

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola concedes he does not have the best reputation among some of his former players.

The former Barcelona boss had a rocky relationship with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Camp Nou, with agent Mino Raiola even claiming the Swede wanted to join Real Madrid in order to spite his old boss.Mario Mandzukic also hit out at Guardiola for a lack of respect after he was sold to Atletico Madrid during the summer.

While Guardiola insists he has always done his utmost to keep his squad happy, he accepts there are some who grew frustrated with his methods under his management.

"For a coach it is easier with players who play all the time," he told a press conference. "But that's not possible with us. The players make the difference themselves and when they're feeling better, they're playing better. Many of those I worked with talk badly about me now. I think I always did my best."

The reigning Bundesliga champions hammered Hamburg 8-0 two weeks ago, before thumping Paderborn 6-0 last Saturday and face relegation-threatened Cologne this weekend.Guardiola, however, is adamant that another rout should not be expected.

"I have huge respect for every opponent," he said. "We have to be at our level each game. It is not important who the opponent is and which competition it is.
"Cologne are the second best away team after us. We have to be careful, but we have improved and our defence does not allow many chances.

"Every game is a new game. When you win 6-0, it's hard to learn. From the Wolfsburg game [a 4-1 defeat] I have learned a lot."Guardiola also confirmed that defender Medhi Benatia would likely miss the game with a calf problem.

 

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Martino: Messi must be feeling angry

Former Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino says Lionel Messi will be furious after missing a penalty against Manchester City.

Messi was in exceptional form in the first half at the Etihad Stadium but missed from the spot - and the resulting rebound - in the dying minutes as Barca won 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.

The Argentina boss believes his international captain is far happier at Camp Nou after clearing the air with head coach Luis Enrique, but he has no doubt the 27-year-old will be livid with his late miss."I can imagine his anger. I didn't think the referee was going to allow the rebound as time was up," he told Depor TV .

"Messi has been fine in 2015. To determine what happened before without being in the dressing room is difficult.

"Now he is getting the ball, competing, creating goals, and is involved, which helps everyone. Barcelona won well, they played a great first half and have a great advantage for the return leg."Martino was in charge of Barca from July 2013 to May 2014, failing to win any silverware other than the Supercopa de Espana and he continues to admit that he underestimated the magnitude of the job after moving from Argentina.

"These are the feelings one has after 10 months of work and analysing everything," he said."I felt I couldn't improve this fantastic team and I wasn't able to be happy at having come to one of the best clubs in the world.

"[The current Barca] is a much improved version. They don't create as much as a team but they have a very high level of attackers who can decide a game.
"The team evolves over time and players need replacing."

 

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Manchester United and I 'could work well together next season', says Nani

Nani has not given up hope of returning to the first-team fold at Manchester United despite being sent out on loan to Sporting Lisbon this season.

The winger's opportunities at Old Trafford were limited following the arrival of Louis van Gaal but he has impressed at Sporting, scoring eight goals in 24 appearances.

While he is enjoying his football in the Primeira Liga, the Portugal international still longs to pull on the red of United again and strut his stuff in the Premier League, having previously indicated that the club want him back.

"I love Manchester United," he told The Guardian. "The only decision I made was to play more and be me again because I lost a lot of things there last season due to injuries and the change of manager.

"The new manager didn't know me well and a lot of things changed. I needed to play regularly to be happy.

"You never know the future. It depends on a lot of things. If United want me to stay then, with a different mentality, I think we can work well next season but there are a lot of things to discuss and see."

Van Gaal has come in for criticism this season for the style of play that he has adopted at United, despite the Red Devils sitting fourth in the table. Nani, however, understands why performances have been inconsistent.

"I am not surprised [by their performances] because it's normal when a lot of things change," he remarked. "To compare with last season, we played a different system. We used to play very attacking football and we used to score a lot of goals.

"Now we are more compact, more organised, but we are not scoring goals like we used to."

 

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Eriksen: De Boer would succeed at Tottenham

Christian Eriksen believes Frank De Boer would be a success at Tottenham.

The Ajax head coach was heavily linked with a move to White Hart Lane after chairman Daniel Levy disposed of Tim Sherwood in the summer, with the former Barcelona star revealing that the north Londoners had made enquiries as to his availability.

"Tottenham talked informally with Ajax of my contract," he told reporters in May.

Mauricio Pochettino eventually beat De Boer to the post, but Eriksen believes the 44-year-old would be a perfect fit at White Hart Lane were a managerial vacancy to present itself in the near future.

"De Boer would be positive for each team, as he was as a player," he told reporters.

"His ideas, his implementation of those ideas and his mentality, at Tottenham, a club where the pressure is high, he would definitely do well."

Eriksen has enjoyed a superb season at White Hart Lane, scoring 11 goals in all competitions, and he admits he is enjoying the freedom of playing further forward in Pochettino's side.

"At Ajax I was more used to playing passes and assists but at Spurs that is done by other players," he said. "I automatically get in more scoring positions, because of that.

"In terms of the number of goalscoring chances I have had, I'm not doing badly."

 

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Klopp hoping to avoid derby surprises after bomb discovery

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is hoping to avoid any more nasty surprises when his side take on local rivals Schalke on Saturday, after an unexploded bomb was found near Signal Iduna Park on Thursday.

Klopp was forced to relocate his news conference to the club's training ground following the discovery of the explosive near the west stand of the ground.

Scheduled renovation work in the VIP area of the stand is said to have unearthed the device, believed to be a relic from World War II. It was later detonated in a controlled explosion. Dortmund host Schalke this weekend hoping to extend their run of three consecutive wins in the Bundesliga, which has seen them climb to 12th.

"I hope there are no unexploded bombs in the stadium on Saturday!" said Klopp.
"They are an opponent that will offer us minimal space, so we've got to be really careful.

"We've got to be clever with the space we do get on the pitch. Schalke sit quite deep and then have good quality on the counter.

"We know the problems. We've got to finally show stability on the pitch. "We need to convert possession into goalscoring chances. That will be decisive."

 

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Pirlo faces three weeks out with calf strain

Juventus have confirmed Andrea Pirlo is likely to be out for close to three weeks with a calf strain.The veteran playmaker was withdrawn in the 2-1 Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday and has since undergone tests on the problem.

The Serie A champions have now stated that Pirlo has suffered a first-degree strain of his right calf and is likely to be sidelined for 20 days.

He is therefore expected to miss Juve's next four matches, including the top-of-the-table clash with Roma and the Coppa Italia semi-final with Fiorentina on March 5.
However, the 35-year-old should be in contention to feature in the last-16 second leg in Dortmund on March 18.

Goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata gave Juventus their slender advantage to take to Germany, although Marco Reus' away goal means the outcome of the tie remains in the balance.