..::Football III::..

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Podolski: I'll return to Arsenal

Lukas Podolski believes he still has a future at Arsenal and plans return to north London in the summer when his loan spell at Inter comes to an end.

The Germany international moved to San Siro in January, having fallen out of favour under Arsene Wenger, but has failed to reignite his career under Roberto Mancini.

Podolski, 29, is yet to find the net in nine appearances for his new club and has now hinted that a permanent move to Inter would not be his desired choice.

"At Inter there have been some negative situations, but I see the bright side in all of it," he told Sport Bild. "Also, it's generally easier to criticise someone who comes on loan, as I did this winter."The chapter is not closed with Arsenal, because there is no purchase option.

"I was the first person to clear things up in the talks with Inter and say I didn't want any kind of clause that would have let them purchase my contract rights."When you're on loan you never know what can happen, so at the end of the season we'll analyse things freely and decide the situation."

Podolski enjoyed World Cup success with Germany last summer but did not start a single Premier League game with the Gunners in 2014-15 before sealing a temporary switch to the Nerazzurri.

Mancini left him out of Inter's Europa League squad and has subsequently criticised the forward for his poor performances.

 

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Barcelona want Calhanoglu but he doesn't care - agent

Barcelona want to sign Hakan Calhanoglu but the midfielder has no interest in leaving Bayer Leverkusen, according to his agent.

Bektas Demirtas claims the Catalans have expressed an interest in his client, but that Calhanoglu is happy to remain at Leverkusen.

Calhanoglu has made 23 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen this season, scoring five goals, but the Turkey international is not leaving the club just yet.
"It's true," Demirtas told Express. "Barcelona have reported and expressed their interest.

"Not to sound arrogant but, for Hakan, interest from Barcelona is not interesting. He has everything he needs at Leverkusen."He's playing in the Champions League and competing for the DFB-Pokal - plus things are going well for him in the Bundesliga."

The 21-year-old only joined the German heavyweights last summer in a €14.5 million move from Hamburg.

 

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Ronaldo is Madrid's saviour - Butragueno

Real Madrid chief Emilio Butragueno has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the the club's saviour after his goals prevented a shock Champions League exit on Tuesday.

The Ballon d'Or holder twice equalised for the Blancos as they fell behind Schalke at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of their last-16 clash, though he was unable to prevent his team losing 4-3 on the night.

Without his strikes, Roberto Di Matteo's men would have progressed at the expense of the European champions on aggregate and Butragueno is well aware of how heavily reliant Madrid were on Ronaldo once again, as they progressed with a 5-4 lead on aggregate."We suffered a lot, it was closer than any of us expected it to be," the club director told TVE. "We played poorly, they were the better team and it cost us.

"If it wasn't for Ronaldo's goals in the first half we'd be out. It was him who saved us. It is abnormal for Madrid to concede four goals in a Champions League match, but these are problems we have to overcome."

Butragueno added that head coach Carlo Ancelotti has nothing to fear regarding his contract, which expires in a little over a year."Madrid have a coach with great experience and we believe that we can find a solution," he added.

Madrid's next game is against Levante in La Liga on Sunday.

 

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I'm not leaving Man City - Dzeko

Edin Dzeko has rejected suggestions that he could leave Manchester City this summer, despite enduring a frustrating campaign, and insists that he is committed to the club.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international has started just nine times in the Premier League this term, scoring four goals, and Wilfried Bony's arrival has seen him shunted even further down the pecking order.

But the former Wolfsburg striker, who only recently signed a new four-year deal with the reigning champions last summer, is ignoring speculation that he could leave and is focused on the league campaign.

"I have just extended my contract with City and that should be a clear message to all the talk about me leaving Manchester," Dzeko told the Anadolu Agency.

"I don't want to comment on rumours. I am happy at City and focused on the club and their great fans."

On his goalscoring record at City, he continued: "Maybe I could have scored more often but I can't complain. I am happy because 50 goals in the Premier League is a great achievement. Our goal is to win titles and try and catch Chelsea."

City are currently five points adrift of the Blues and are at risk of crashing out of the Champions League but Dzeko is eyeing an improved display against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

"The first leg was very important for us and we tried not to lose at home but we were not good, especially in the first half," the 28-year-old continued. "Who knows how it might have been if we didn't get a red card?

"Now we want to surprise Barcelona. We want to play better than we did at the Etihad Stadium and we will see if that is enough to progress."

 

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Ada World Cup Qualifying match 1kak thiyanawa Sri Lanka Vs Bhutan
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UEFA Europa League Round of 16 1st Fixtures 2015.03.12

UEFA Europa League Round of 16 1st Fixtures 2015.03.12

Zenit Vs Torino

Wolfsburg Vs Inter

Club Brugge Vs Besiktas

Dnipro Vs Ajax

Everton Vs Dynamo Kyiv

Fiorentina Vs Roma

Napoli Vs Dinamo Moskva

Villareal Vs Sevilla

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Chelsea 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain (3-3 agg aet): Mourinho's men dumped out despite Ibra red

 

[Wolverine GTR]

aniwa liverpool lath patta form eke ennetottenham lath lasi nae harry kane & Eriksen kohomahari match goda danawa
rvpth injured nisa Rooney wa digatama striker kenek hatiyata play karayi
arsenal match eketh hodata play kala.Falcao injury eken passe issara wage play karanne naene

Apo ow bro Kane & Eriksen nam godak matches wala Tottenham goda dammapattama gemak denna wenawa dinaganna nam

Ow bro RVP injured 1kanam loku miss 1kak apita.Falcao ta mona unada manda injury 1ken passe.Dan nam ayeth kalin widiyata play karanna puluwan wenna one

Nathnam ithin alone striker kenek widiyata Rooney ta thamai play karanna wenne & Fellaini wath striker kenek widiyata samahara matches wala use kala

Anyway Falcao ayeth form wenawanam...............

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Napoli 3-1 Dinamo Moscow: Hat-trick hero Higuain gives hosts the win

Gonzalo Higuain put Dinamo Moscow to the sword in the Europa League on Thursday as his hat-trick eased Napoli to a 3-1 last-16 first-leg victory.

The Argentine forward proved too hot to handle for the visitors as he netted his first European treble against a Dinamo side reduced to 10 men early in the second half after Roman Zobnin's dismissal.

Kevin Kuranyi's fifth Europa League goal of the season had given Dinamo an ideal start two minutes in, although Higuain levelled with an expert header before the half-hour mark.The Argentina international then put Napoli on top as he converted a 31st-minute penalty.

Zobnin saw red early in the second half to dent Dinamo's hopes of a fightback and Higuain added a third against the Russian Premier League side five minutes short of the hour.

While Stanislav Cherchesov's side will take comfort from their away goal, Higuain's first-leg heroics may yet prove enough to take Napoli through going into the return encounter next week.

Napoli had built up a record five consecutive Europa League clean sheets prior to Thursday's clash, but fell behind as Kuranyi powered Mathieu Valbuena's corner past Mariano Andujar.

While the hosts almost levelled through Jose Callejon's header, Napoli's early woes continued when Kalidou Koulibaly was forced off injured.Dries Mertens somehow failed to convert a cross from the left before Kuranyi headed over the crossbar in a lively opening 20 minutes.

Napoli did draw level prior to the break, however, as Higuain took his tally for the season to 21 with a glancing header off Faouzi Ghoulam's delivery. Aleksei Kozlov's foul on Mertens then allowed Napoli to take the lead as Higuain made no mistake from the spot.

The balance of power continued to shift Napoli's way after the break when Zobnin was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Ghoulam.The Serie A side began to put clear daylight between themselves and their opponents as Higuain chested the ball, turned and finished inside the area to ensure an end to Dinamo's unbeaten run in this season's competition.

Christopher Samba's looping header almost allowed Dinamo back into the game, but his effort ended up nestling on the roof of the net, with Higuain's quality proving the difference as Napoli took a big step towards their first quarter-final since 1988-89.

 

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Villarreal 1-3 Sevilla: Emery's men grab huge advantage

Vitolo scored the fastest goal in Europa League history as holders Sevilla took a giant stride towards the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win at La Liga rivals Villarreal on Thursday.

In an enthralling opening to the first leg of this last-16 encounter, Vitolo volleyed in his fifth goal in four games after just 13 seconds.After Luciano Vietto had hit the bar for Villarreal, a clinical Sevilla side moved further ahead through Stephane Mbia.

Vietto's close-range finish in the 48th minute gave Villarreal hope, but that was extinguished almost instantly due to Kevin Gameiro's emphatic effort.

A frustrated Marcelino was sent to the stands as his side slipped to only a second home defeat in 13 matches, while Sevilla made it three straight away wins in all competitions.Marcelino was without Giovani dos Santos and made a number of changes, with Vietto among those drafted in, while Gameiro started for Sevilla as Carlos Bacca was dropped.

The visitors made a stunning start as a long ball found Gameiro and he flicked the ball into the path of Vitolo, who coolly controlled before volleying past Sergio Asenjo.

In a breathless opening, the hosts should have equalised when Ikechukwu Uche's low cross found Vietto, but he shot against the crossbar and an off-balance Denis Cheryshev could not guide the rebound on target.

Cheryshev then combined neatly with Vietto before firing goalwards from 20 yards and forcing Sergio Rico into a low save.

The game continued at a frantic pace, with Vicente Iborra heading at Asenjo and Vietto forcing Rico to save with his feet, and the visitors moved further ahead after 26 minutes when a left-wing cross was met by a bullet header from Mbia.

Sevilla should have put the game to bed five minutes before the break, Aleix Vidal hitting the crossbar following a swift counter-attack.

The opening exchanges of the second half also proved eventful, with Villarreal notching a deserved goal in the 49th minute after Sevilla failed to clear Cheryshev's shot. The ball found its way to Vietto, who prodded home from close range.

However, Villarreal's ecstasy turned to agony within two minutes as a long free-kick from Sevilla bounced loose to the unmarked Gameiro and he lashed home emphatically to restore his team's two-goal cushion.

It was too much for former Sevilla coach Marcelino, who was sent to the stands after 53 minutes, but Villarreal fought valiantly to maintain their unbeaten run in this season's competition and substitute Joel Campbell saw a volley wonderfully kept out by Rico on the hour.

A thunderous effort from Cheryshev after 68 minutes flew just wide and Rico ensured his side retained a comfortable advantage by saving two point-blank headers from Gerard in the final minute.

 

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Everton 2-1 Dynamo Kiev: Lukaku strikes from the spot as Toffees come from behind

A late penalty and a superb assist from Romelu Lukaku helped Everton come from behind to beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie on Thursday.

Everton now have the upper hand heading into next week's second leg, despite a wretched first 30 minutes at Goodison Park.

Oleh Husyev's near-post flick gave Dynamo a deserved 14th-minute lead and the visitors only looked like extending their lead in the early stages.

Roberto Martinez's side were simply not at the races, but Lukaku - dominant in the Europa League of late - sparked them to life, first hitting the crossbar with a 25-yard free-kick before he set up Steven Naismith's 39th-minute equaliser in stunning fashion.

The Belgium international beat three players before finding Naismith, and he then put his own name on the scoresheet eight minutes from time after Danilo Silva was adjudged to have handled Leon Osman's cross.

Lukaku's spot-kick was far from perfect, but it snuck in as he bagged his seventh goal in his last four Europa League matches to give Everton victory.

Everton looked anxious at the back in the early stages, with a series of crosses causing panic and one of them - hacked away for a corner by James McCarthy - led to Dynamo's opener.

Andriy Yarmolenko's ball in from the right was superbly flicked on at the near post by Husyev, who nipped in front of McCarthy to volley home.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard was alert to keep out a fierce Sergiy Sydorchuk drive from 30 yards as Dynamo searched for a second, while at the other end, Oleksandr Shovkovskiy was relieved to see a Lukaku effort from distance sail over after he charged off his line and fluffed a clearance.

The restless mood at Goodison Park was summed up when a poor Antolin Alcaraz back-pass, which almost played Dieumerci Mbokani in, was met with fury from the home fans.

Everton turned the screw just before the break, though, as Lukaku's free-kick flicked the top of the crossbar and Phil Jagielka had a header cleared off the line by Silva.

And the hosts then restored parity when Lukaku beat three defenders with a storming run forward that showcased his speed and power, before he released Naismith, who curled past the onrushing Shovkovskiy from 12 yards.

The goal was just what Everton needed to lift spirits and they picked up where they left off in an impressive start to the second half.

First, Naismith sent a glancing header just wide before Luke Garbutt's fierce free-kick forced a corner. Naismith again won the header, but could only nod onto the chest of Lukaku, as Shovkovskiy rushed off his line to clear the danger.

Mbokani then jumped above Jagielka and headed onto the roof of the net from eight yards for the visitors, but Everton, now controlling the game, continued to surge forward, as Arouna Kone and Gareth Barry spurned half-chances.

Dynamo offered the odd reminder of their ability, as shown when Yarmolenko shot over, but in Lukaku, Everton had the game's best player.

And after referee Carlos Velasco pointed to the spot after Silva's indiscretion, Lukaku stepped up to score from 12 yards, despite Shovkovskiy getting a trailing leg to his effort, as the hosts celebrated a potentially vital victory.

 

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Wolfsburg 3-1 Inter: De Bruyne at the double as hosts take advantage

Inter goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo endured a night to forget as three errors from him proved costly in a 3-1 Europa League defeat at Wolfsburg on Thursday.

All is not lost for the Italian giants, who host the second leg of the last-16 clash at San Siro next week, but coach Roberto Mancini will surely be annoyed at the manner of their defeat, as Kevin De Bruyne struck twice for Wolfsburg.
Rodrigo Palacio gave Inter the lead in the fifth minute but they were pegged back before the break when Carrizo - one of two Inter inclusions - spilled a Naldo header.

While there were excuses for the goalkeeper on that occasion due to poor marking, he was solely to blame for Wolfsburg's second as De Bruyne opened his account 27 minutes from time.Given a backpass from substitute Nemanja Vidic, Carrizo completely fluffed a clearance, only finding Vieirinha on the right flank, and he stormed into the penalty area before cutting back for De Bruyne to do the rest.

Carrizo's night of misery continued when he was wrong-footed by De Bruyne's 75th-minute free-kick, which, despite being an effort he really should have saved, crept into the right corner.

The visitors took the lead when their intense press reaped an early reward.
Andre Schurrle, under serious pressure from Danilo D'Ambrosio, volleyed an errant pass at Mauro Icardi and the Inter man cleverly slid in Palacio.

Having been put through on goal, the forward kept his cool to slot past Diego Benaglio and delight the travelling fans.

Wolfsburg, who left themselves open on the break, saw Schurrle waste a pair of chances before Carrizo made an excellent reaction save to keep out Daniel Caligiuri's near-post header.Carrizo should have done better from the resultant corner, though, as Wolfsburg levelled proceedings in the 28th minute.

De Bruyne's ball fell to an unmarked Naldo, and the central defender's fierce header from nine yards was too hot to handle for Carrizo, who could only help it into the roof of the net.

Buoyed by their goal, Wolfsburg ended the half stronger, with right-back Vieirinha drawing a good save from Carrizo after a mazy run two minutes before the break.

Caliguiri and Ricardo Rodriguez went close with efforts from distance after the resumption as Wolfsburg picked up where they left off, before Palacio spurned a great chance in the 57th minute.Davide Santon played in the Argentinian, who took a touch before smashing an effort into the side netting.

Inter introduced Vidic in a bid to stem Wolfsburg's flow but the change indirectly led to another goal, as his pass to Carrizo sparked a scramble that ended when De Bruyne turned Vierinha's ball into the bottom-left corner.

And the Belgian did not have long to wait for a second goal, curling a 20-yard free-kick past Carrizo to open up a two-goal lead for Wolfsburg, which remained after both Icardi and De Bruyne wasted late chances.

 

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Club Brugge 2-1 Besiktas: Hosts come from behind to seal victory

Club Brugge came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over Besiktas in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

Gokhan Tore had fired the Turkish side in front 26 seconds into the second half, but Tom De Sutter slid in just after the hour mark to convert his team's first effort on target.

And a 79th-minute Lior Refaelov penalty ensured the hosts head into the second leg with a valuable advantage.De Sutter had earlier seen a goal disallowed during a first half that offered little by way of entertainment.

Tore's strike almost immediately after the restart sparked the game into life and Besiktas looked set to build on their victory as Demba Ba probed the home defence.

However, De Sutter restored parity in the 62nd minute before Felipe Gedoz was felled in the box to present Refaelov with the chance to snare victory.The Israel international duly dispatched into the bottom right-hand corner to earn the home side a hard-fought win.

After a quiet opening eight minutes, there was a momentary delay when a rogue sprinkler broke rank to give the pitch a mid-match soak, but it was Club Brugge's joy that was dampened when De Sutter saw a 13th-minute goal ruled out.

The attacker headed in from a corner, only to see his effort chalked off for taking out Ersan Gulum as he looked to make contact with the ball.De Sutter and Gulum clashed again moments later – this time the former earning a booking for a poorly judged tackle.

Goalscoring opportunities were at a premium during a cagey first half, but another incident involving De Sutter and Gulum led to a glorious chance for Club Brugge to break the deadlock.

This time it was De Sutter on the receiving end of a clumsy Gulum challenge, but Davy De Fauw could not turn the ball in after goalkeeper Cenk Gonen had struggled to deal with the resulting free-kick.

Having failed to trouble home stopper Mathew Ryan for the duration of the first half, Besiktas had the Australia international beaten almost immediately after the interval.Tore picked up the ball on the edge of the box before dancing his way through a series of defenders to rifle a left-footed strike beyond Ryan.

Besiktas certainly looked to have come to life after the break, with Ba trying his luck from distance on a couple of occasionsHowever, Club Brugge netted a leveller against the run of play when De Sutter slid in to divert Gedoz's low drive beyond Gonen.

Gonen then got down well to keep out a curling Laurens De Bock free-kick, but he was helpless to prevent Refaelov's spot-kick from nestling in the back of the net.

Having provided the assist for his side's opener, Gedoz - a half-time substitute - went down theatrically under the challenge of Serdar Kurtulus, with Refaelov making no mistake from 12 yards.Refaelov could have made it 3-1 in the closing stages, but directed his header just over the crossbar.

 

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Dnipro 1-0 Ajax: Zozulya fires home side to victory

A first-half strike from Roman Zozulya handed Dnipro a 1-0 victory over Ajax and a narrow advantage in their Europa League last-16 tie.

In a first leg full of missed opportunities at the Olympic National Sports Complex on Thursday, Zozulya made the most of his chance as Dnipro also denied Ajax a valuable away goal.

After Thulani Serero and Yevhen Seleznyov both wasted gilt-edged openings inside the first 10 minutes, Zozulya opened his Europa League account for the season, but will miss the return game after picking up a second-half yellow card.

The forward fired past Jasper Cillessen after half an hour to give Dnipro the lead, although Ajax should have been level at the break – Joel Veltman conspiring to miss in front of an open goal.

Frank de Boer was able to recall Arkadiusz Milik following a hamstring problem, but his side drew blanks going forward as Myron Markevych's men saw out the victory with relative comfort.

Ajax started strongly in Kiev and should have led after five minutes when Thulani Serero sprung the offside trap, only to see his attempted lob thwarted by Denis Boyko.Dnipro then wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead when Cillessen failed to control Veltman's hefty backpass.However, Seleznyov prodded the loose ball wide, as two of the half's best chances were both wasted early on.

The hosts gradually got on top and broke the deadlock when Zozulya found space in the area following Yevhen Konoplyanka's cutback and fired past Cillessen.
A divot in the pitch appeared to help the ball beyond the Ajax goalkeeper, with Cillessen then quickly called on to keep Seleznyov's long-range effort out.

Veltman's difficult half continued as he scooped Davy Klaassen's knockdown over the crossbar with an open goal to aim and Dnipro aimed to punish the visitors' profligacy when Seleznyov again fired at Cillessen from distance after the break.

The Netherlands international continued to be busy, later saving Artem Fedetskiy's testing close-range header before Douglas was required to clear Ricardo van Rhijn's delivery, with Milik lying in wait.

Brazilian defender Douglas was on hand to clear the danger from Anwar El Ghazi's cross, as Dnipro showed why their clean sheet record at home stretches back three games to the start of December.

In contrast, Ajax's seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end as they were made to lament their costly first-half misses with Dnipro denting the Dutch champions' hopes of winning silverware this season ahead of the second leg in Amsterdam later this month.

 

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Zenit 2-0 Torino: Witsel and Criscito put Russians in control

Zenit took the upper hand of their Europa League last-16 tie with Torino thanks to a 2-0 success in Russia.

Axel Witsel opened the scoring shortly before the break and in the second half the hosts were given a comfortable cushion ahead of the return leg in Italy thanks to an effort from Domenico Criscito. Marco Benassi had been sent off for the guests in the 28th minute, opening the door for the hosts to record a solid win.

Torino had kept their opponents comfortably at bay for the first half an hour of the meeting at the Stadion Petrovsky, but Benassi's sending-off for two bookable offences gave Zenit a huge boost.

Coached by Andre Villas-Boas, winner of this competition in 2011 with Porto, Zenit took full advantage of the red card to take a significant step towards the quarter-finals.

The home side took the lead when Witsel - the man fouled by Benassi for his second yellow - applied a close-range finish in the 38th minute.

The Belgian was the beneficiary of a kind rebound, and it was a similar story for Domenico Criscito's second after the interval when Hulk's shot off the post ran perfectly into his path.

Victory continued Zenit's fine form since they returned from their mid-season break, with Villas-Boas' men now having recorded four consecutive wins in all competitions without conceding.

Salomon Rondon, who scored a hat-trick in Zenit's 3-0 win over Ural at the weekend, saw a shot kept out by the legs of goalkeeper Daniele Padelli in the third minute.

Zenit had the better of the opening exchanges, with Torino content to sit back and try to frustrate their opponents.

But their job was made much more difficult when Benassi - earlier cautioned for a cynical foul on Hulk - was shown a second yellow card shortly before the half-hour for a high challenge on Witsel.

Seven minutes before half-time, Zenit capitalised on their numerical advantage to open the scoring.

Witsel was the man to break the deadlock, converting a rebound after Padelli had parried Igor Smolnikov's initial effort back into the danger zone.

Zenit thought they had doubled their lead five minutes later when Rondon tucked home, but the striker's effort was ruled out for a marginal offside call.

The home side continued to dominate after the interval, and Padelli's right foot kept out Hulk's effort following good link-up play with Danny.

Hulk and Danny combined to great effect again in the 53rd minute and when the former's shot came back off the upright, Criscito - formerly of Torino's city rivals Juventus - was on hand to slot the ball into the empty net.

The remainder of the game proved largely uneventful, and Torino - unbeaten in their six home matches in this season's competition - will be tasked with turning around a two-goal deficit in next week's return leg.

 

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Higuain delighted with hat-trick against Dinamo

Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain was delighted after netting a hat-trick in his side’s 3-1 Europa League victory over Dinamo Moscow.The Argentina international three inside an hour after Kevin Kuranyi had given the visitors the lead at the San Paulo in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

And the former Real Madrid star says the two-goal advantage will be vital for the return fixture."I'm happy for the hat-trick but above all for the win, which we really wanted," Higuain told the club website.

"It was not easy to beat Dinamo Moscow, who are really tough opponents. We knew that and wanted to get the win at home so we can go to Russia with that extra bit of confidence.

“We could have scored a fourth goal but the important thing was to gain an advantage and after their goal in the first few minutes, it was not easy to bounce back like we did.”Rafael Benitez also stressed that the tie is not yet finished and urged his side to remain concentrated when they play in the Russian capital.

“We have made an important step forward, but it won’t be easy in Russia," he said. "We will have to work very hard to qualify.

“Higuain is very important for us, but the whole team played well tonight. All the lads allowed Gonzalo to score three goals this evening.”

 

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Evans' spitting incident "simply disgusting", say independent commission

The Independent Regulatory Commission that found Jonny Evans guilty of spitting at Papiss Cisse have condemned the Manchester United defender's actions as "simply disgusting", while acknowledging that only he will know his level of intent.

Evans and Newcastle United striker Cisse each received suspensions after spitting at each other during Manchester United's visit to St James' Park on March 4.

Both players received a six-game ban, with an extra game added to Cisse's suspension due to a previous violent conduct charge against the forward this season.

While Cisse swiftly admitted his guilt and apologised, Evans maintained his innocence, only to be found guilty by an independent panel.

On Thursday, the Football Association released the written reasons for the commission's verdict, which explained that Evans had "failed in his duty of care" by spitting at Cisse, regardless of his intent.

A section of the judgement read: "The video evidence is crucial. Without doubt it clearly shows what happened.

"The Regulatory Commission has been referred to Mr. Evans' "intent" which in the opinion of Manchester United was not to spit at Mr. Cisse.

"Only one person knows his intent and that is Mr. Evans. The Regulatory Commission, with the best will in the world cannot, and certainly should not, guess at his intent.

"What is clear from the video clips is what actually happened, and then the immediate reaction/response of Mr. Cisse in spitting at Evans.

"After a long and very detailed and intense discussion the Regulatory Commission came to the unanimous conclusion that on the balance of probability the case against Mr. Evans was proved.

"Mr. Evans had (and has) a duty of care, if spitting for whatever reason, not to direct the same in the general direction of an opponent, or indeed anyone else. The video clips clearly show that he failed in his duty of care."

The statement also roundly criticised Evans for his actions, insisting that there was no room for sympathy for the Northern Ireland international.

"There may, in some quarters, be substantial sympathy for Mr. Evans, but the video evidence shows that he did what he did, and the ordinary man in the street will find his action to be simply disgusting and should not be allowed in any walk of life, let alone on any football field," it read.

"The Regulatory Commission did not consider that there are any "truly exceptional" circumstances in this case and therefore the "standard/automatic" punishment of six matches is imposed with immediate effect."

 

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Roma should have beaten Fiorentina - Garcia

Roma did enough during Thursday's 1-1 draw against Fiorentina in the Europa League last-16 to warrant a victory, according to coach Rudi Garcia.

Josip Ilicic had given Fiorentina a 17th-minute first-leg lead at the Stadio Artemi Franchi before Seydou Keita headed home an equaliser 13 minutes from time after Adem Ljajic had missed a penalty.

The midfielder's leveller could yet prove a crucial away goal, although Garcia was left disappointed not to be heading into next week's second leg in front."We deserved to win. We had lots of chances to win the match," said the Frenchman.

"We were up against it in the first 20 minutes, but then we turned a corner and stopped giving it away in midfield."We were ambitious and got a goal, which is always important when you're playing away in a European knock-out tie.

"We shouldn't just play to get through on away goals in the second leg - we have to try and win the game."In the last 70 minutes tonight it was the same Roma side I saw against Juve last Monday and Feyenoord in the Europa League last 32.

"We showed character and personality. We built the play well and showed we could stretch Fiorentina."It was a good performance from us this evening and I think we could have got the victory."

 

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Emery: Sevilla's early goal was crucial

Sevilla coach Unai Emery says Vitolo’s record-breaking strike inspired his side to a 3-1 Europa League round of 16 victory at Villarreal.

Vitolo opened the scoring after just 13.21 seconds, latching onto Kevin Gameiro’s chipped pass to hit the fastest goal in the history of the competition, before Stephane M'Bia and Gameiro himself struck to earn to put the reigning champions on course for the quarter-finals.And the coach believes the strike was the catalyst in what proved to be a comfortable evening for the visitors.

“The goal gave us the confidence to believe we could win the match,” Emery said.
“We are happy, but will remain cautious. We have a lot of respect for Villarreal, they are capable of coming back.

"They had a lot of chances. There are still 90 minutes to play, in which we must play with the same rigor.

“The team has taken another step forward. Next Thursday we have to take another. We must go go step by step in the same direction and grow with every game.” Goalkeeper Sergio Rico made a string of saves to preserve Sevilla’s two-goal advantage in the tie, and Emery was delighted with his contribution.“Sergio Rico couldn’t have chosen a better to match to mature,” he said of the 21-year-old. “Now he has to keep working.”

“Iborra has needed his time but is so competitive and always be in the right place. His quality keep us to a high performance"Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral admitted that his side face a mammoth task in the second leg.

“The tie is very difficult now, but we will try with everything we have,” he said.“We could only score one goal, but we will still compete. In the return we will try and improve on all the things we got wrong today and come back stronger.

“Specific moments proved decisive… we can only blame ourselves. We must look at how we were so vulnerable in the air as all three of their goals arrived in the same way.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

De Boer: Ajax will recover and beat Dnipro

Ajax coach Frank De Boer is confident his side can come back from their 1-0 Europa League round of 16 first-leg defeat to Dnipro .Roman Zozulya grabbed the only goal of the game in Kiev on Thursday, firing Yevhen Konoplyanka's cutback past Ajax goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

But, despite his disappointment at retuning to Amsterdam without an away goal, De Boer is confident the reigning Dutch champions have what it takes to turn the tie on its head.

"In the second half we showed that we can keep this physically strong side under control,” he told NOS . “At home we will have the chance to finish it. We have to be able to surprise their strong defence in our own stadium, possibly with multiple goals.

“It's a dangerous scoreline though, because if Dnipro score, we will have to score three times. And that will be very difficult against such a strong defence. But there's still everything to play for.”Joel Veltman went closest to finding the net for Ajax, somehow sending his shot high over the bar from just three yards out.

"I should have scored that one. From that position, it's more difficult to put it over the bar than in the goal,” Vetlman told RTL7 .“This is nothing to worry about. We simply have to score twice in the return leg at home."