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Wolverine GTR

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    Cristiano Ronaldo underappreciated, says Salgado

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    Former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado feels Cristiano Ronaldo does not get the appreciation he deserves following his sublime performances for the Santiago Bernabeu side.

    The Portugal star recently became Madrid's all-time top goalscorer in La Liga and extended his Champions League goal record to 80 after yet another hat-trick, this time against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in a 4-0 win.

    However, despite accomplishing this astonishing feat, Salgado believes not everybody realises how much work Ronaldo puts in to achieve his success.

    "How he works is spectacular and what he’s doing is impressive, equalling Messi's records and winning Ballons d'Or when it's so difficult, because you have a player like Lionel Messi," Salgado told AS .

    "I don’t think people realise the value of Cristiano and the effort he puts into winning what he wins."

    Salgado made more than 250 appearances at right-back for Madrid during his career, a position now held by Dani Carvajal, and the retired defender is full of praise for the 23-year-old.

    "For me, Dani Carvajal is a special full-back and is amazing in defence and attack and has the perfect balance," he added.

    "He's a player who has learned to defend over the past two years at Real Madrid. He has quality, gets down the other end, can put in a good cross and is currently first choice for both real Madrid and Spain."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    aniwa machan:yes:.api kalin kiwwath wage RVP & chicha thiyaganna thibba.dennatama hodata exp thiyenawa CL wala.LVG ge thamai thanikarama waradda:yes:.

    anika machan godak welawata group eke 2nd welath wadak nae last 8 enna nam group eka win karanna wenawa:dull:.
    group eke 2nd unoth godak welawata last 16 set wenne Barca,Real ,Bayern ,PSG, Juventus ,A Madrid :no:.

    EPL teams walin Chelsea ta thamai tikak hari chance 1k thienne:eek:.

    Ow bro wadak naha katha karala.RVP or Chicha hitiyanam meh wage dewal wenne naha.Anith 1ka experience playersla 2nnek.Kawa LVG team 1kama:angry:

    Ow bro aniwa.2nd wenawa kiyanne risk 1kak.meh yana widiyata Barca,Real,Bayern wage set unoth nam defa kamak thamai:(kohomath hithaganna amarui bro CSKA,Wolfsburg match walatath mona karaganida kiyala:sorry:ara Scholes kiwwa wagema team 1ka balance naha:(

    Ow bro Chelsea group 1ka tikak withara lesi.next round 1kata aniwa qualify wenna puluwan:yes:

    & Arsenal,CITY & Manchester United pattama gemak denna wenawa dan 1st match 1ka sides 3nama kapu nisa.
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Giroud red & Arteta pissu kelinawa:frown:
    wenger striker & dm gaththa nathi nisa thama me lesiyen win karanna puluwan match kanne:dull:.
    Ow bro Wenger DM & Striker kenek gatthe nathuwa paduwa thamai bro meh danenna aran thiyenne.Arteta tath dan play karana widiya echchara hari naha neda bro.

    January wala wath mona hari kaloth hodai bro:yes:habai January wala available playersla adui:(
     

    rcccc

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    -Goodbye-
    Wenger must take the chance to KO his old foe Mourinho

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    :yes:
    meka thamai Wenger ta tiyena hodama chance eka Stamford Bridge wala match 1k win karanna:yes: .
    kohomath me match eka paradunoth title ekata fight karanna bae. top four fight karanna wenne:no:
    danatamath City la ekka 5 point gap ekak thiyenawa.
     

    rcccc

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    -Goodbye-


    Ow bro wadak naha katha karala.RVP or Chicha hitiyanam meh wage dewal wenne naha.Anith 1ka experience playersla 2nnek.Kawa LVG team 1kama:angry:

    Ow bro aniwa.2nd wenawa kiyanne risk 1kak.meh yana widiyata Barca,Real,Bayern wage set unoth nam defa kamak thamai:(kohomath hithaganna amarui bro CSKA,Wolfsburg match walatath mona karaganida kiyala:sorry:ara Scholes kiwwa wagema team 1ka balance naha:(

    Ow bro Chelsea group 1ka tikak withara lesi.next round 1kata aniwa qualify wenna puluwan:yes:

    & Arsenal,CITY & Manchester United pattama gemak denna wenawa dan 1st match 1ka sides 3nama kapu nisa.
    :yes:
    Chelsea la me para tikak dura yayi kiyala hithenawa.EPL walath echchara hodata perform karanne nathi nisa:rolleyes:.
    aniwa dan lesi wenne nae 2nd place qualify wennath:dull:


    Ow bro Wenger DM & Striker kenek gatthe nathuwa paduwa thamai bro meh danenna aran thiyenne.Arteta tath dan play karana widiya echchara hari naha neda bro.

    January wala wath mona hari kaloth hodai bro:yes:habai January wala available playersla adui:(
    ow machan katha karala wadak nae:dull:
    Arteta CM kenek machan DM gassuwata.dan age & injury nisa essara wage wath play karaganna bae.
    flamini kochchara chater unath eda match eke danma nam arteta ta wada hodata play karanawa.dan hadissiye wath
    Coquelin injured unoth okkoma ewarai:dull:

    January wala gaththath wadak nae machan. EPL matches bagayak ewaraine ethkota:no:

     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Arsenal can recover from nightmare journey to upset Chelsea - Arteta

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    Mikel Arteta is confident Arsenal will recover from a nightmare journey back from Croatia to defeat Chelsea in Saturday's lunchtime showdown at Stamford Bridge.

    After suffering a disappointing 2-1 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, the Gunners were forced to travel to Maribor in neighbouring Slovenia for a flight back to London because of construction work on the main airport in the Croatian capital.

    As a result, Arsenal did not get home until 04:00 local time on Thursday before then having to attend a training session some eight-and-a-half hours later.

    Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is thus upset by the fact that his troops must now take on Premier League champions in Saturday's 12:45 kick-off - but veteran midfielder Arteta says that he and his team-mates can cope with the quick turnaround.
    "It’s a big game on Saturday and we have to react very quickly, which we are quite good at," the Spaniard is quoted as saying by The Sun.

    "We have done it in the past and I know that Saturday will be a very different game.

    "We are all upset with last night’s result and sometimes it’s good when you have disappointment in the body because you find a response.

    "Now we have to recover the best we can and start to prepare for Chelsea because we will have only 48 hours after getting back to the training ground from Croatia.

    "We will try to develop a positive attitude to take into the next game because we can beat Chelsea."

    Arteta made his first appearance in 10 months, as Wenger made six changes in personnel for the trip to Zagreb, but the strategy backfired, with the north Londoners suffering a surprise defeat.

    Josip Pivaric opened the scoring with a shot that deflected in off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before Olivier Giroud saw red for a second bookable offence just before the break.

    Junior Fernandes doubled Dinamo's advantage and although Theo Walcott pulled a goal back for the visitors, Arsenal are now playing catch-up in Group F, with Bayern Munich having routed Olympiacos 3-0 in Greece on the same night.

    However, despite the early setback, Arteta believes Wenger was right to freshen up the team, arguing that the Gunners still should have had more than enough in reserve to overcome a team that had now registered a win in the group stages for nearly 16 years.

    "We have so many games coming up and the schedule is so tight that the manager decided to make a couple of changes," the 33-year-old added.

    "He has to manage the squad and he always tries to get the best team and the right balance in every game.

    "The team we had out there should have been good enough to beat Dinamo Zagreb so we are all disappointed we couldn’t do that.

    "We could have been 3-0 up in the first 20 minutes but it became more difficult after we conceded a goal to the first chance they had.

    "Even at 1-0 down we still had a chance to get back into the game but Olivier Giroud’s red card changed everything.

    "With 10 men you have to take risks and change the system.

    "We played with three at the back to try to get back but conceded a sloppy second goal from a set-piece and we couldn’t recover from that.

    "Now we know there is no room for error in the Champions League.

    "We had the same experience last season when we lost our first group game in Dortmund but still managed to finish second in our group.

    "Obviously this result puts more pressure on us but we still expect to qualify."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    :rolleyes:Redknapp: Worst Liverpool team in years

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    Harry Redknapp has stood by his claim that the current Liverpool side is the clulb's "worst in years" and believes that the Anfield outfit are lucky to be 10th in the Premier League table.

    Reds manager Brendan Rodgers saw Raheem Sterling leave for Manchester City this summer, while captain Steven Gerrard joined LA Galaxy, 12 months after Luis Suarez moved to Barcelona.

    Those three high-profile departures have left the club with a squad lacking the star names of old and Redknapp fears they could be in for a long and difficult season.

    "I said I thought this is the worst Liverpool team in 10 years," the former QPR boss told BT Sport. "They lost Gerrard and these are important, very players.

    "It's not all down to Brendan. He could do nothing about Raheem Sterling or Luis Suarez leaving or Daniel Sturridge being injured. It's a difficult time for him."

    On Liverpool's start to the season he added: "They're fortunate to have the amount of points they have. The Bournemouth game was a good example. They should never have won that.

    "They were also fortunate at Stoke. They're not playing particularly well at the moment."

    Liverpool drew 1-1 with Bordeaux in their opening Europa League game on Thursday night and will thus be hoping to get back to winning ways when they host Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.
     

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    Januzaj can emulate De Bruyne, says Wilmots

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    Marc Wilmots believes Adnan Januzaj made the right decision to leave Manchester United for Borussia Dortmund on a one-year loan deal and feels he can follow in the footsteps of compatriot Kevin De Bruyne .

    The latter developed into one of the most sought-after players in the game at Wofsburg after failing to make an impact at Chelsea, earning himself a big-money move to Manchester City as a result.

    Januzaj struggled for game time under the management of Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford, but Wilmots believes the 20-year-old will also benefit from his time in the Bundesliga.

    "The step back from Chelsea to Wolfsburg worked wonders for Kevin De Bruyne," Wilmots told Bild.

    "I am convinced that Adnan's decision to join Dortmund on loan for one season is the right one. It will help him make the next step.

    "Januzaj can enjoy a similar development to De Bruyne.

    "Adnan can play as a number nine and on both wings. He has an amazing shot. I had never seen someone with such a shooting technique before. He can really hit a ball incredibly powerful from out of nowhere. I have already asked him once whether he has manipulated his shoes or the ball."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Casillas: No regrets over Real Madrid exit

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    Iker Casillas insists he has no regrets over the manner of his Real Madrid exit and says he will "never speak ill" of the club or its current president, Florentino Perez.

    Casillas came through the youth ranks at the Santiago Bernabeu and spent a total of 25 years with Los Blancos before joining Porto this summer.

    However, the Spain international left under a cloud after announcing his departure at a press conference without a single Madrid official in attendance.

    The club were immediately criticised for a perceived lack of respect for one of their longest servants and Perez promptly summoned the media to the Bernabeu for another press conference the following day in order to give Casillas an official send-off.

    It has been claimed the goalkeeper was forced out because of a turbulent couple of seasons in which he was dropped by former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho for allegedly leaking stories to the press.
    He was then accused of holding the club to ransom while negotiating a pay-off before his move to Porto, but Casillas says he has moved on from the episode.

    "I do not care [about being accused of being a mole in the Real dressing room]," the 34-year-old told Papel. "I will never speak ill of Madrid or its president.

    "Too many things were said from outside [when he was benched by Mourinho]. At the time, I preferred to keep quiet because at no point did I want to hurt my club.
    "And there were others ... talking about me, not for me ... but I do not regret anything.

    "This was the farewell I had. No more, no less. I will not look back or compare it with other players. It was mine and that's how it was."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Wenger: Mourinho's under pressure? He has to deal with it

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    Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Jose Mourinho must deal with the fact he is under pressure at Chelsea.

    The two clubs clash this weekend in a London derby of major significance for both clubs, with Mourinho's men enduring a poor start to the Premier League season and the Gunners coming off the back of a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

    The Blues, defending champions from last season, have won just once domestically so far this campaign and languish in 17th position, six points behind their bitter rivals.

    Mourinho and Wenger have a storied history and a particularly sour rivalry, and the Frenchman insists his counterpart must learn to get used to being under pressure at Stamford Bridge.

    He told reporters:" These are situations that are difficult to assess. It’s less enjoyable when it doesn’t go well but every manager in the game for a long time has to do deal with that.

    "People come to football to watch football and all the rest is secondary. What is important is what people will see at 12.45 and let’s focus on that.

    "I focus on what I love which is football and respect everybody and all the rest doesn’t affect me. What is important is football for me."

    Mourinho famously branded Wenger a "specialist in failure" in 2014, but Wenger refused to comment on Chelsea's apparent decline - instead insisting he will leave such judgements "to the specialists".

    "We know our position at the end of the season will depend on how we do in the big games," he added.

    "I do not consider too much where Chelsea stand. I focus on us performing well tomorrow morning."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Lehmann: Chelsea won't win the title

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    Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann doesn't believe Jose Mourinho has the ability to turn Chelsea's woeful start to the Premier League season around.

    Mourinho has overseen just one Premier League win from Chelsea's first five games of the season, with three defeats leaving the reigning champions 17th in the table.

    No side in Premier League history has recovered from a start as bad as Chelsea's to win the title and Lehmann doubts the Blues will be the first to do so.

    "Now he probably wants to show people that, even with a bad start, he can become a champion, which would be special again," Lehmann told Omnisport ahead of the club's clash with Arsenal on Saturday.

    "But we will see. I doubt that, because they are already 11 or 12 points behind [Manchester City], so he needs to pull out something really special to get that right again."I don't know whether he is capable of doing that."

    Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday, having already opened their Premier League campaign with a defeat to West Ham.

    "I hope Arsenal will win the Premiership this year. Watching the game against Dinamo Zagreb, where they have lost again, there is always the same doubt," he said.

    "But the players said that this season is becoming a special season, and something special will happen. I hope that they are right, in a positive way."Lehmann backed fellow goalkeeper Petr Cech, who Wenger rested in Zagreb, to become a key player in Arsenal's season, following his move from Chelsea.

    The former Germany international said: "Petr is one of the greatest goalkeepers ever, so I think that was a really good purchase by Arsenal.

    "You can't perform in every game, but Petr has the ability to tick every box in terms of goalkeeping. He doesn't really have weaknesses."He perfectly suits Arsenal, and hopefully will be one of the key factors to win something at the end of this season."
     

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    Mourinho defends struggling Hazard: He's the best player in England

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    Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has launched an impassioned defence of under-performing winger Eden Hazard, insisting he is still the best player in England.

    The Blues winger endured a difficult evening against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in midweek, failing to make an impression and missing a penalty as Mourinho's men won 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

    Hazard has yet to score this season but, ahead of this weekend's derby clash with Arsenal, Mourinho has backed the Belgian to soon rediscover the form that saw him crowned PFA Player of the Year in 2014-15.

    He told reporters: "He's the best player in England. It's not because Rooney doesn't score goals for three weeks that he's not a fantastic player. Eden is the best player playing in this country.

    "It's not because a bad performance or a penalty missed, or not scoring goals for three or four weeks. He's the best. He'll be the best again. I don't know if it's tomorrow or next week but one of these days he's man of the match."

    Speculation persists over Mourinho's likely team selection against the Gunners, with John Terry left on the substitutes' bench against Maccabi in midweek.

    The Portuguese, though, insists that he trusts the 34-year-old implicitly.

    "You have to look to the situation like this; last season he played every minute. Two seasons ago he didn't. Three seasons ago even less. So what's the problem? He's a player of my total confidence. I trust him as always. He's one of my men," he added.
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Blanc cools fears over Ibrahimovic injury


    Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc insists he is not concerned over the fitness of Zlatan Ibrahimovic - despite his star striker playing against Malmo while carrying an injury.

    The Sweden captain suffered an abdominal problem while on international duty and was rested for the 2-2 draw with Bordeaux last week before returning to action against former club Malmo in the Champions League on Tuesday..Ibrahimovic spoke of his need for regular matches after the win in Sweden, with Blanc stating the 33-year-old could feature against Reims this weekend.

    "I'm not worried, yes he can play," Blanc told reporters."In the mixed zone he said that he is not at his best and he needs to string together matches. He had a very good preparation but it was cut short by injury.

    "This is top-level football, and he is of a certain age. Where is your concern? The injury or the fact that he took a few games to find his best?"We are involved in its management. I hope that PSG will have many games to play and I hope he can play in a lot of them.

    "The injury is part of football. There is concern because of his age but injuries like that happen to all players. And he must string together games, it's normal, especially with his size."The injection was just an anti-inflammatory, his injury is not serious, but because it's Zlatan you care."
     

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    Rooney fit to feature for Manchester United vs Southampton

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    Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has declared striker Wayne Rooney to be fit to face Southampton on Sunday.

    The 29-year-old became England's all-time record goalscorer during the international break earlier in September, but returned to Old Trafford with a hamstring injury. The striker missed their 3-1 win over Liverpool last Saturday and subsequent 2-1 defeat to PSV in the Champions League three days later.

    However, Van Gaal has revealed that Rooney and Phil Jones are being welcomed back to the first team, which is respite to the double leg break inflicted on Luke Shaw in United's loss to the reigning Dutch champions on Tuesday.

    "Shaw's injury is a big loss but Rooney is fit to play versus Southampton and Jones has trained with the group," the coach told reporters on Friday.

    "Rooney's was a minor injury you don't want to take any risks. Now he has had his treatment, I think he can start."

    Van Gaal also discussed Shaw's injury - which is set to sideline him for the rest of 2015-16 - and suggested that the former Saints defender is tackling his lengthy road to recovery in good spirits.

    "I called him last night," the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss added. "He sounds very strong, which is amazing to me. It's a big surprise but a good thing.

    "Maybe he shall come back [from hospital] tomorrow, then it's a long period of rehabilitation. There's still a long way to go. I am always saying that it is not physical but also mental."

    Shaw has been a constant figure in United's back four this season alongside Daley Blind, Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian, and Van Gaal is confident that he can find a replacement for the England international in either Marcos Rojo or Ashley Young.

    "Memphis Depay and Shaw were a very good combination, and now you have to build up a new combination," he continued. "You have to start again and that is difficult.

    "It’s also difficult for the player who has to replace him. But we have good replacements in Blind, Rojo and Ashley Young."
     

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    Ronaldo is Real Madrid's Pau Gasol - Benitez

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    Rafael Benitez says that star forward Cristiano Ronaldo is Real Madrid's version of Spanish basketball icon Pau Gasol.

    After failing to score in his first two Liga outings of the new season, Ronaldo has returned to his breath-taking best over the past week, netting five times in last weekend's 6-0 triumph at Espanyol before bagging a hat-trick in Tuesday's 4-0 win at home Shakhtar Donetsk.

    Ronaldo's treble at the Santiago Bernabeu not only saw him move ahead of Lionel Messi at the top of the all-time Champions League scorers' standings, it also moved him to 321 goals for Real, meaning he is now just two shy of Raul's club record.

    Consequently, Benitez feels that the Portuguese warrants comparison with Gasol, who is not only a two-time NBA champion but also a two-time Olympic gold medallist. The Chicago Bulls centre is currently playing Eurobasket with the Spain national team and scored 40 points as they defeated Tony Parker's France on Thursday.

    "Cristiano is our Pau Gasol," the Madrid boss told reporters on Friday. "I hope he helps the rest of the squad to win titles, as with any other outstanding player."

    Even though Madrid are coming off the back of a very positive week, the win over Shakhtar came at a cost, with Gareth Bale picking up a calf injury, Raphael Varane sustaining an ankle knock and Sergio Ramos dislocating his shoulder.

    While Varane returned to training on Friday, Bale and Sergio Ramos will miss Saturday's Liga meeting with Granada, joining James Rodriguez (thigh) and Danilo (foot) on the sidelines.

    Despite his side's injury problems, Benitez is remaining upbeat, particularly as he is now in a position to afford a first start to Mateo Kovacic, who joined from Inter during the summer transfer window.

    "We don't have so many injuries," he added. "They are normal stats.

    "The casualties are important but we have a lot of quality in this group of players.

    "We can reinforce central midfield or keep the same system to replace Gareth Bale.

    "Kovacic came on against Shakhtar because we had more problems between the lines and he could come in and help us this weekend."
     

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    Goals will come, insists misfiring Kane


    Misfiring Tottenham striker Harry Kane is confident that "goals will come" for him this season at White Hart Lane.

    After a breakthrough campaign last year, Kane has yet to score for Spurs in 2015-16, although he struck for England against San Marino and Switzerland during the international break.

    The 22-year-old appeared as a second-half substitute during his side's 3-1 Europa League win against Qarabag on Thursday, in which new signing Son Heung-Min netted twice in Kane's usual role as the lone centre-forward.

    "I came on for 30 minutes which was a good run-out, good for the fitness," he told Goal after the game. "I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm playing well. I've just got to keep getting in the right positions and the chances will come - and I'll take them.

    "Obviously we were disappointed to go behind - we didn't start too well - but I thought we played quite well. We got the two goals quite early on and we just needed to finish the game off quite early, I thought.

    "But Coco [Erik Lamela] with a great finish at the end to finish the game off. We're happy with the win and hopefully we can build on it.

    "I'm delighted for Son. He played very well. He ran in behind and had two good finishes and he created a lot as well so we're all delighted for him on his home debut so hopefully there's more to come."
     

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    Arsenal clash will not prove crucial to title race - Mourinho

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    Jose Mourinho says Chelsea's clash with Arsenal will not prove a crucial moment in the Premier League title race.

    The champions have suffered back-to-back league defeats and are already 11 points behind leaders Manchester City, with Arsenal currently six clear of their London rivals.

    Mourinho, however, does not consider beating their biggest rivals as vital to Chelsea's chances of defending their title, though he accepts three points would be welcome.

    "Two seasons ago we won every match against the title contenders and we were not champions, so I think it's important because somebody winning means somebody loses points. But it's not crucial," Mourinho said.

    "I don't go in that direction [that Arsenal are title challengers]. I just go into the match tomorrow. Our fantastic record doesn't matter, that they beat us in the Charity Shield [Community Shield] doesn't matter.

    "It's just Chelsea [versus] Arsenal, it's a match we want to win. Because it's a match and if we're looking at the table, we know the distance we have in relation to the top of the league so I don't think that helps us."

    Petr Cech is in line for his first appearance at Stamford Bridge since leaving Chelsea for Arsenal and Mourinho says "the door is open" to his old goalkeeper - but only after the match.

    "For me, until the game finishes, that's exactly what it is [Chelsea against any goalkeeper]. After the game, it's not the same to meet Petr Cech in the tunnel, or Ospina or some of the guys I don't have a special connection with.

    "I never had a doubt. If anyone, a Chelsea fan, has a different perspective of what football is and thought that Cech would open the goal and let Chelsea win, they understood in the [Community] Shield they are there to win, probably more than ever.

    "After the game, the dressing room door is open."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Van Gaal: Manchester United's away form will improve

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    Louis van Gaal is hoping Sunday's trip to Southampton will be the start of improvements away from home for Manchester United.

    The Premier League side have suffered 2-1 defeats to Swansea City and PSV in their last two away outings and the Dutchman is aware of the developing trend.

    Van Gaal is confident away victories will soon start materialising and stressed he would not make any changes to the way he prepared his team for the trip to St. Mary's Stadium.

    "We have already noticed we lost against Swansea and PSV Eindhoven," said Van Gaal. "We have time and also matches that we can improve in that way and we shall.

    "In the Champions League it is important that you do not lose those away matches."

    Southampton have only won one of their five league matches so far in 2015-16 after finishing seventh last season and Van Gaal feels their current position of 11th is a false one.

    "They have a very good team. I don't think their current position is a normal position for them," he continued.

    "I approach all matches in the same way, in the same procedure and with the same amount of meetings. We want to help the players play the game against Southampton and beat them.

    "That is what we are doing as the staff but the players have to do it, of course."
     

    Wolverine GTR

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    Mainz 3-1 Hoffenheim: Magic Malli hat-trick moves hosts up to third

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    Yunus Malli scored a stunning hat-trick as Mainz moved up to third in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 home win over struggling Hoffenheim on Friday.

    The attacking midfielder had come into the game having scored two goals in two games and netted a brilliant treble to leave the visitors still without a win from their first five.

    It was Hoffenheim who raced into a 13th-minute lead when Jonathan Schmid latched on to Eugen Polanski's through ball and calmly finished inside the near post.It took just five minutes for Mainz to respond, though, with the in-form Malli netting. Christian Clemens found the 23-year-old on the left-hand side and he dribbled into the box before powering a shot past Oliver Baumann.

    The visitors were almost back in front when Kevin Volland was denied by a brilliant stop from Loris Karius, who tipped the forward's effort wide.And Mainz made that let-off count in some style after 61 minutes. Malli received a pass on the right-hand side, breezed past Kim Jin-su and curled a wonderful left-footed finish into the top corner.

    Mainz’s number 10 wrapped up the victory seven minutes later when Malli smashed home Muto's low cut-back to the far post at the second attempt.
     
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