..::Football III::..

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Hari Shockdan ithin hari ne

Rooney th 2 months outonna oka nisa thamai kiwwe thawa striker kenek one kiyaladan ithin thibba attack 1kath nathi wenawa​

 

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Rooney attitude is bad for his body, admits Van Gaal

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admits that Wayne Rooney's attitude on the pitch is bad for his body, suggesting that his skipper's will to win could have caused his latest injury.

Goal understands that the England captain is likely to be sidelined for up to two months with a knee ligament injury and Van Gaal has hinted that Rooney's overzealous efforts may have contributed to the injury.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Europa League clash with FC Midtjylland, the United boss explained: "It's typical Wayne. He wants to go on the end, and when you are in a drawn match he wants to win.

"That's a fantastic attitude but sometimes it's bad for his body. You cannot say he made it worse because we do not know when it happened. That's the difficulty."

Rooney, who could miss between four and eight weeks with the injury, has been left out of the squad for Thursday's game with Midtjylland, after playing the full 90 minutes in the defeat to Sunderland in the club's previous match.

His injury woes could also affect the England national team at a crucial preparation phase ahead of Euro 2016, as the striker will likely be unavailable for friendlies against the Netherlands and Germany.

 

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Smalling wants United to settle Midtjylland tie in first leg

Chris Smalling wants Manchester United to settle their Europa League tie with Midtjylland in the first leg.

United visit Denmark on Thursday, with next week's second leg at Old Trafford falling between their FA Cup trip to Shrewsbury Town and a crucial Premier League clash with Arsenal.

And Smalling is eager for Louis van Gaal's side to put one foot in the last 16 with a strong display at the MCH Arena."It will definitely be the plan to bring home a decent lead, especially with us playing next Monday as well," Smalling told MUTV.

"It's a massive week and ideally if we can do more than half the job in our first game then it will be a lot more comfortable come next Thursday in the second leg.

"We know they'll obviously be up for it as this is all they'll have had their vision on it for the last six or seven weeks, us being their next game, so we know we'll have to play well to be on top."Obviously when you play teams from different countries you don't see their players week in, week out or fully know the standard of their league.

"But after watching the video analysis this week, we'll start to really know the Midtjylland players and then come gameday we'll know their strengths and weaknesses inside out like any other team."

 

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Sporting Gijon 1-3 Barcelona: Another milestone for Messi as Barca extend La Liga lead

Lionel Messi surpassed the 300-goal mark in La Liga as Barcelona moved six points clear at the top of the table with a 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon on Wednesday evening.

Messi gave up the chance to become the first player to reach such a goal tally in Spain's top flight when he opted to pass his penalty kick against Celta Vigo last week, but he struck midway through the first half to give Luis Enrique's side the lead.

Sporting hit back almost immediately through Carlos Castro, but Messi restored Barca's advantage before the break and Neymar twice came close to a third.

Another intriguing penalty decision looked as though it could cost the visitors in the second half, when Messi gave up duties to Luis Suarez only to see the Uruguayan fail to convert, but the former Liverpool man made amends with a fine finish to put Barca in control and subdue a vociferous El Molinon crowd.

The result puts Barca six points clear at the top of the table after 24 matches and extends their unbeaten run to 31 games ahead of Saturday's trip to Las Palmas.

Sporting frustrated Barca early on but Ivan Cuellar had to be alert to prevent Suarez from scoring in the fourth league game running, racing off his line to block the striker's low shot at the near post after Neymar's clever through-ball.

But Cuellar could do nothing to deny Messi his milestone goal, as the Argentine drove into space on the edge of the area before drilling into the goalkeeper's bottom-right corner.

Sporting hit back immediately to send El Molinon into raptures - Castro sliding in at the far post to turn in Alex Menendez's low cross from the left - but Messi restored Barca's advantage on 31 minutes.

Suarez turned well inside the area and rolled the ball back to Messi, who side-footed high past Cuellar from 12 yards.
Neymar clipped the post with a curling effort and dragged a shot narrowly wide after turning Alberto Lora inside out, as Luis Enrique's side finished the half firmly on the front foot.

Barca were handed the chance to double their lead just past the hour mark after Cuellar felled Neymar as he raced into the area. Messi gave up his chance for a hat-trick to allow Suarez to take the penalty but the Sporting keeper saved well to his right.

Suarez was not to be denied, however, as he curled in a superb left-footed effort off the inside of the far post just five minutes later after muscling his way past the challenge of Igor Lichnovsky to take his tally for the season to 40.

Arda Turan, who started in place of rested captain Andres Iniesta, volleyed narrowly wide after being caught in two minds when picked out behind the Sporting backline, before Suarez was denied by Cuellar once again, but Barca were comfortable in the closing stages as they saw out their seventh league win in a row.

 

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Congratulations Messi!​

 

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Roma 0-2 Real Madrid: Ronaldo and Jese see Real past resolute rivals

A deflected Cristiano Ronaldo strike and a fine Jese goal gave Real Madrid a 2-0 win over a resolute Roma side at Stadio Olimpico in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie on Wednesday.

Ronaldo broke the deadlock after 57 minutes when his long-range shot clipped Roma's Alessandro Florenzi before finding the back of the net.

Madrid weathered a late rally from the hosts before putting themselves firmly on course to reach the last eight of the competition for a sixth-successive season with a second goal in the closing stages.

Substitute Jese was allowed enough time in the 86th minute to angle a shot into the bottom left corner of Wojciech Szczesny's goal, leaving Roma requiring a second-leg miracle to progress.

With a trip to the Spanish capital to come, and having conceded 16 goals in the group stage, Roma were understandably unwilling to stand and trade shots with one of the heavyweights of European football.

Their policy of sitting deep and playing on the counter almost worked before the break, but Stephan El Shaarawy failed to out-run Madrid defender Raphael Varane when played through on goal.

Despite dominating possession and territory, Madrid failed to register a single shot on target in the opening half.

Their best attempt came from an unlikely source, as Marcelo produced a volley from the left side of the area that dipped over the diving Szczesny but just landed beyond the far post.

Ronaldo - who walked out of Tuesday's pre-match media conference after being pressed about his scoring record away from home - did have a long-range free-kick that fizzed wide.

The Portuguese was then fortunate to escape a booking for a deliberate, and rather obvious, handball by the touchline in what was a frustrating 45 minutes for the visitors.

It did not, however, take Ronaldo long to make a positive impact after the interval.

Marcelo's pass down the left wing put Ronaldo one-on-one with Florenzi. He cut back inside with a trick before hitting a shot from just outside the area that took a deflection off the Roma defender to loop beyond Szczesny.

Spalletti's response to falling behind was to send on Edin Dzeko in place of El Shaarawy, giving Roma a focal point along their forward line.

Only Varane's outstretched leg stopped the substitute from getting on the end of Mohamed Salah's low cross from the right, while Dzeko set up a shooting chance for William Vainqueur that flashed just wide.

Ronaldo narrowly missed a chance for a second goal at the other end, but Jese was on hand to give Madrid a commanding lead in the tie with an excellent run and finish four minutes from time.

 

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Gent 2-3 Wolfsburg: Belgians fight back after Draxler double

Julian Draxler netted a superb brace to put Gent's Champions League hopes in jeopardy as Wolfsburg ran out 3-2 winners at the Ghelamco Arena.

The German side marked their first appearance in the Champions League knockout stages with a first-leg victory over a Gent side that had been beaten just once in 30 previous home games, although the hosts mounted a late fightback to keep the tie close.The Belgians' resolve was dented when Draxler opened the scoring with a mazy run and clinical finish just before half-time, and the Germany international made it 2-0 when he chipped Gent goalkeeper Matz Sels 10 minutes after the break.

Max Kruse converted Christian Trasch's cross as the tie looked about to slip out of Gent's reach, but Sven Kums and Kalifa Coulibaly's late strikes will give the Belgians hope in the second leg at Volkswagen Arena.

The result will have eased the pressure on Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking, whose side have the worst away record in the Bundesliga this season, while Gent boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck may soon be able to give his full attention to domestic action.

Draxler, who scored in Wolfsburg's win over Ingolstadt in their previous outing, gave an early signal of his intentions after five minutes, cutting inside from the left and firing a dipping shot over the crossbar.

Hecking's men looked determined to defy their dreadful away record but Gent almost found a chink in their armour when Laurent Depoitre's knock down fell to Thomas Foket on the edge of the penalty area, only for the midfielder to scoop his shot well high of Koen Casteels' goal.

The home crowd are unaccustomed to seeing their side struggle but they endured a nervous moment when Gent defender Stefan Mitrovic headed Max Arnold's dangerous cross just wide of his own goal after half an hour.

Just as it looked as though Gent had survived the first-half onslaught, Draxler burst down the left wing, played a neat one-two with Vieirinha, and hooked a cool finish past Sels with his right foot to give Wolfsburg the lead.

Wolfsburg sent on Andre Schurrle to add to their attacking threat in the second half, and the lead was doubled within 10 minutes of the restart.A woefully loose ball from Renato Neto allowed Draxler to intercept and he skipped past Mitrovic before executing a deft chip to beat Sels and make it 2-0.

Wolfsburg poured forward again and Trasch's brilliant first-time cross found Kruse, who applied an instinctive finish to beat Sels despite pressure from Mitrovic to seemingly put the tie to bed.But Gent were handed a lifeline when Kums skipped down the left and caught the Wolfsburg defence napping, slotting a simple finish past Casteels to make it 3-1.

And the complexion of the tie was turned on its head as substitute Kenny Saief crossed for Coulibaly to nod home at the near post to make it 3-2, although Wolfsburg's 100 per cent home record in this season's Champions League will give them cause for comfort in the return leg.

 

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Simeone only focused on Atletico Madrid as Chelsea links intensify

Diego Simeone is unlikely to enter into negotiations with Chelsea before the end of the season, instead opting to focus exclusively on his Atletico Madrid side’s exploits.

The Argentine coach is one of the favourites to succeed interim boss Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge, with Antonio Conte – set to leave Italy this summer and already studying English – also in contention for the position.

But, as yet, Simeone has given little consideration to the possibility of moving to west London despite Chelsea’s overtures and various reports to the contrary.

“We are more concerned with the game against Villarreal at the weekend than anything else,” sources close to the manager told Goal.

In fact, Simeone was more preoccupied with watching Racing Club’s clash with Newell’s Old Boys on Wednesday evening.

The match marked 10 years since he hung up his boots to take over the managerial reigns at La Academia, though his old club were on the wrong end of a 5-0 hammering.
Reports emerged this week that Simeone had agreed a contract with Chelsea, but there is still a strong chance that he could remain at Atletico.

The 45-year-old harbours a desire to take Atleti into their new 70,000-capacity stadium, which opens next year, while his refreshed and refurbished squad are once again ready to challenge the Barcelona and Real Madrid stranglehold on La Liga.

Regardless, Simeone will not begin weighing up the prospect of taking over at Chelsea until the end of the season, with the manager keen to avoid the problems that arose from Pep Guardiola’s announcement as the new Manchester City boss.

 

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Benitez: I want to return to the Premier League

Former Real Madrid head coach Rafa Benitez revealed that he wants to return to the Premier League, after his dismissal by the Spanish club in January.

Benitez, who had previous spells with Liverpool and Chelsea, was removed from his position as Madrid head coach amid reports that he failed to get along with some of the key players at the Santiago Bernabeu, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the Spaniard, who won the Champions League in his time at Liverpool, indicated that he is eyeing a return to the Premier League, as his family still live on the Wirral, where they have resided since his time at Anfield.

"I like the Premier League and that is a priority because of my family lives on the Wirral," the 55-year-old told BT Sport, appearing as an analyst for the Champions League clash between Madrid and Roma.

"But it's not easy. Especially for my wife! After one month it's fine with the family and the children but after one month, 'come on, you have to get a job'."

Despite a willingness to return to coaching, Benitez revealed that he has not been made any offers since leaving Madrid, pointing to the stage of the season as a reason for a lack of attention, but indicating that he continues to analyse games to try and improve.

I like to be on the pitch. At the moment there are not options. Now you have the Champions League and Europa League," the Spaniard added.

"Nobody will change the manager right now so you have to wait. Just see games, analyse tactics, you can learn and you can improve."

 

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Klopp: I won't speak English while I'm in Germany!


Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is renowned for his entertaining press conferences but he has no intention of being a performing monkey for people who aren't there!

Since moving to Anfield in October 2015, the former Borussia Dortmund boss has developed a fine working relationship with the Premier League press pack but is firmly of the opinion that he sees more than enough of them in his media duties.

Having travelled to his native Germany for the Reds' Europa League game against Augsburg on Thursday, Klopp gave his pre-match briefing in German as he took the opportunity to speak in his mother tongue - and he was unmoved when a question arrived by proxy from the English hacks.

"Say 'hello' to your colleagues for me but they can ask me that themselves when I'm back in England," said the 48-year-old. "Now we are here in Germany, I won't answer in English.

"I see them quite often, by the way, so it can't be that hard to ask me on Friday."

 

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FA Cup top of Van Gaal's wishlist

Success in the FA Cup is top priority for Louis van Gaal this season despite the Europa League offering Manchester United a return to the Champions League.

United have slipped away in the Premier League title race this season and sit six points off the top four with 12 games to go.

After finishing third in their Champions League group, United get their campaign in Europe's secondary competition under way with a trip to Midtjylland on Thursday.

Despite a return to Europe's top table through their league position looking unlikely, and Europa league winners progressing to the Champions League group stages, Van Gaal - a UEFA Cup winner with Ajax in 1992 - is instead focused on succeeding in a competition that he has not won before."That's a personal wish," he told a news conference. "I have won the UEFA Cup already; that's the only argument.

"I want to win a title in England and United have had a lot of time not winning the FA Cup."Van Gaal will not give up hope of European success, however, acknowledging that Europa League success will be of great importance to the club as a whole.

"For United as a club, it's more important to win the Europa League because you can qualify for the Champions League," he said. "It is difficult to win [though] because there are other difficult teams. There's still the last 32 teams so there are a lot of rounds still.

"It is a fantastic aim for us to win this cup because Manchester United has never won this cup.

 

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FA Cup top of Van Gaal's wishlist

Gahamu gahamu...oka mokakda​

 

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Ibrahimovic hints at interest in Premier League move

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suggested he would be open to moving to the Premier League at the end of the season.

The Paris Saint-Germain star's future remains shrouded in doubt as he approaches the end of his contract, with moves to England, the United States and Qatar all mooted in the past few months.

Ibrahimovic's agent Mino Raiola said in January that the Sweden international's physique and playing style would make him ideally suited to a spell in England's top flight, and the 34-year-old has refused to rule out the prospect of such a move.

"I have another three months here and, then, what will happen?" he said on Tuesday, after he helped PSG to a 2-1 Champions League win over Chelsea. "Big things will happen. So let's see."

When asked if he would prefer a move to the Premier League, he added: "Let's just say I am in good shape."

Talk of Ibrahimovic capturing the interest of Manchester United grew during the transfer window and, with reports that Jose Mourinho could be named as Louis van Gaal's replacement at the end of the season persisting, speculation of a reunion with his former boss at Inter is likely to intensify.Ibrahimovic was asked about Mourinho on Tuesday, and simply replied: "He should have been here."

The former Barcelona striker opened the scoring against Chelsea before Edinson Cavani struck the winner after John Obi Mikel had made it 1-1 at half-time.

The defeat was Guus Hiddink's first since replacing Mourinho as manager in December, yet Ibrahimovic is wary of underestimating the Premier League champions in the return leg given their away-goals defeat in the quarter-finals two years ago.

"Chelsea are a fantastic team," he said. "Just because they are not doing as well as they normally do in the Premier League, it doesn't mean they are weak. It is a strong team with fantastic players.

"I remember two years ago we won the first leg 3-1 against them, and we still didn't go through, so this competition can be unpredictable. We have a second leg to play and anything could happen.

"But we will be confident going to London. If we play the way we did in Paris, we are confident of going through."

 

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Klopp focuses on Europa League success

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is targeting Europa League glory as his team's best chance to qualify for the Champions League next season.

Klopp and his men are in Germany preparing for the first leg of their last-32 tie against Bundesliga outfit Augsburg.

With Liverpool struggling in eighth in the Premier League – nine points behind fourth-placed Manchester City – Klopp knows qualifying for the Champions League through that route appears difficult."Only a few teams in the world can think about winning the Europa League and I think we are one of these teams," he told a news conference.

"We are not one of the clubs that says, 'We have no chance,' but if you look at the teams in the competition now it is like a little Champions League."There are a lot of high-quality teams in it."

Klopp refuses to give up on finishing in the top four in the league, but said European success appeared his team's best chance."How many points in the league are we away from the Champions League? I think it is nine. So, yes, at this moment I would say we have a better chance this way," the German said.

"What can I say, we are in the last 32. We can see the line. But I cannot say this is our only chance of being in the Champions League. It’s a chance."

 

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Benitez: Ronaldo was happy with training

Former Real Madrid head coach Rafa Benitez has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed his training sessions, despite reported friction between the pair.

The former Liverpool, Inter and Napoli coach was sacked by Madrid in January 2016, following a draw with Valencia, with club legend Zinedine Zidane stepping into the role.

But despite reports that the Blancos players had issues with Benitez's training methods, with Ronaldo thought to be the most disgruntled, the Spaniard insisted that the Madrid players enjoyed his sessions due to the high amount of ball work.

Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the Blancos Champions League clash with Roma, Benitez said: “No, I think that [Ronaldo] was quite happy with the way that we were training because we were training with the ball.

"So for players, and we have top-class players here, they like and enjoy training with the ball.

“[Ronaldo] is a winner, he’s very competitive, he wants to win and he wants to score goals, so that is the positive side. I think it’s fine."

The former Madrid coach also spoke about the dominance of current treble holders and Liga leaders Barcelona, who have somewhat outshone their great Clasico rivals in recent seasons.

Benitez revealed that the continued success of the Blaugrana is causing problems at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the Blancos always compare themselves with Barcelona.

"The question is Barcelona winning, and that is difficult to manage for Real Madrid," the 55-year-old said.

"They have to keep winning, but even if they do Barcelona are still doing well and that is a really big problem for Madrid.”

 

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Arsenal's 'good group' can win trophies, insists Monreal

Nacho Monreal believes continuity could be the key for Arsenal in their quest for success in three different competitions.

While Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny did arrive at Emirates Stadium during January, Monreal feels a settled first-team squad has helped foster a tremendous team spirit at the club.

Arsene Wenger's side displayed their fighting spirit by battling back from a goal down to beat Premier League leaders Leicester City 2-1 on Sunday, with the result cutting the gap between the teams in the table to two points.Arsenal will continue their defence of the FA Cup with a fifth-round tie against Hull City on Saturday, while they have a Champions League last-16 clash with Barcelona looming on the horizon.

"It is mandatory to have a really good relationship with your team-mates, we are like a unit. You play like a unit and you spend a lot of time with them," Monreal told the club's official website.

"I can see now there is only one group. We are together and in every moment the atmosphere is amazing - this is very important to get trophies. If you want to win something it is necessary to have a good group.

"In the last few years we have played with the same players. Every summer, we have signed one, two or a maximum of three players. The team is practically the same group so that is very important.

"Arsenal is not 11 players, we are 24 amazing players and when one is injured, the other player could play really well. We have really good players and really good people. In my opinion, it is better than ever."

 

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Spalletti sees positives in defeat for Roma

Luciano Spalletti believes Roma are "on the right track" despite suffering a 2-0 loss at home to Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

The Italian side held their opponents at bay until Cristiano Ronaldo's deflected shot in the 57th minute broke the deadlock at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma pushed hard to find an equaliser but were caught on the break in the closing stages, substitute Jese Rodriguez doubling Madrid's lead just four minutes after coming onto the field.

Although his team now face a monumental task in the second leg in the Spanish capital, Spalletti still praised his players for their performance in defeat on Wednesday."I thought we had a great game in the second half, we just didn't cause enough problems in midfield," he told Mediaset Premium.

"Every time we won back the ball, we had the chance to keep possession as we had more in midfield, but if we let them have the initiative then in defence we do still allow too much in every game. Give Real Madrid a little, they'll turn it into a lot.

"After scoring the goal, Real Madrid settled a bit, got more comfortable, and tried to control the game."I can only tell the team they did pretty well. Unlucky on occasions, there is work to be done, but we are on the right track."

Spalletti - who was in charge of Roma when they knocked Madrid out of the same competition in 2008 - felt the reception from the home fans at full time showed how hard his team had worked during the game.

"Roma fans are accustomed to great players, great performances and great moments. If they applauded, it's because they saw great effort and knew we were not rewarded for that effort," he added.

 

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UEFA Europa League Round of 32 1st Leg Fixtures 2016.02.18

UEFA Europa League Round of 32 1st Leg Fixtures 2016.02.18

Dortmund V FC Porto
FC Midtjylland V Man Utd
Fiorentina Vs Tottenham
Anderlecht V Olympiakos
Sevilla V Molde
St Etienne V Basel
Villarreal V Napoli
FC Augsburg V Liverpool
FC Sion V Sporting Braga
Galatasaray V Lazio
Marseille V Ath Bilbao
Shakhtar V Schalke
Sparta Prague V FK Krasnodar
Sporting V Leverkusen
Valencia V Rapid Vienna​

 

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FC Midtjylland V Manchester United

FC Midtjylland Starting Line-up

Mikkel Andersen
Kian Hansen
Nikolay Bodurov
Andre Romer
Filip Novak
Tim Sparv
Václav Kadlec
Kristoffer Olsson
Pione Sisto
Rilwan Hassan
Martin Pusic

&

Sergio Romero
Chris Smalling
Daley Blind
Patrick McNair
Donald Love
Memphis Depay
Juan Mata
Michael Carrick
Ander Herrera
Jesse Lingard
Anthony Martial
​

 

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Good Luck Manchester United!
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