..::Football IV::..

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Chelsea will struggle to reach season target, Conte admits


Antonio Conte has admitted he is pessimistic about Chelsea's ability to win the Premier League title this season.

The Italian is attempting to restore the Blues to the summit of the English top flight after they followed up their 2014-15 championship-winning season with a 10th-place finish.

But having been frustrated in the transfer market - with N'Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi their only arrivals so far - Conte is unsure he has the resources to mount a title challenge.

"I must be honest - I think we'll have a problem to reach our target," he said. "But we must think to work, to improve every day.

"Also, I hope, with this transfer market, to improve the squad, to improve the team with some new players. But we understand that our targets are very difficult to reach.

"We know that Chelsea is a great team and a great team must fight until the end for the title. But also we know that last season the players were 10th.
"Not fourth, fifth, or sixth - 10th. It's important - don't forget this."

 

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Bayern Munich 6-0 Werder Bremen: Lewandowski hat-trick gives Ancelotti perfect start

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich cruised to a 6-0 home win over Werder Bremen in their opening Bundesliga match of the season.It took the defending champions only eight minutes to open the scoring, with Xabi Alonso thumping in a volley from just outside the penalty area after a cross was half-cleared.

Bremen's weak resistance was broken again four minutes later when Franck Ribery slipped Lewandowski through on goal and the striker finished superbly from a tight angle.

The dominance continued after the interval when Lewandowski stretched to tap in a Thomas Muller cross, before Philipp Lahm drove in the fourth via the post after more precise passing.

Ribery added a fifth by finishing well from Muller's pass and Lewandowski completed his treble with a late penalty as Bayern won their first league match of the campaign for the fifth year in a row.

Mats Hummels made his second league appearance for Bayern - the first was in May 2007 before his decorated spell with rivals Borussia Dortmund - while Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager to take charge of teams in Europe's top five leagues.

Bayern dominated possession from the first whistle, with Muller having an early shot deflected narrowly wide for a corner, and the opening goal soon arrived.

Lahm's cross was headed straight to Alonso, who teed himself up on the edge of the penalty area and hammered a stunning volley into the top corner.Muller then forced a fine save from Felix Wiedwald but it was 2-0 to Bayern shortly afterwards.

Lewandowski beat the offside trap to race on to Ribery's throughball into the left channel and, from a narrow angle, the Poland international produced a brilliant curled finish.

Wiedwald denied Lewandowski and Muller shot at the goalkeeper as Bremen failed to put Bayern under pressure, before Muller hit the post from 25 yards and Lewandowski missed the rebound.

Bayern came close again after 38 minutes as they once more cut Bremen apart easily, with Ribery and Muller involved in a sumptuous one-touch move, but Wiedwald got enough on Lewandowski's shot to deflect it on to the crossbar.

Lewandowski had a further first-half opportunity in the 42nd minute after Bremen gave away possession, but Wiedwald made the stop as he continued to keep the score down.The third goal arrived in the first minute after the interval, as Lewandowski was presented with a simple close-range finish from Muller's superb right-wing centre.

After 65 minutes Bayern scored the fourth goal their dominance deserved to ensure a 14th straight win over Bremen, with Lahm and Muller playing a one-two before the full-back shot across Wiedwald and in off the upright.

Muller was given far too much space to pick out Ribery for a powerful finish and Lewandowski rolled in a penalty for his second hat-trick in two games - he claimed the matchball in the cup thrashing of minnows Carl Zeiss Jena seven days ago - after substitute Rafinha was fouled.On this evidence Bayern will take some stopping as they aim for a fifth consecutive league title.

 

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Juventus target Matuidi set to extend contract and stay at PSG

Juventus target Blaise Matuidi will sign a new contract and stay at Paris Saint-Germain, according to club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

The Bianconeri have been strongly linked with a move for the Frenchman as they seek a replacement for Paul Pogba, who joined Manchester United for a world-record fee.

But they appear to have been rebuffed in their attempt to capture Pogba's compatriot, who is now set to extend his stay at Parc des Princes."I can confirm that he will not leave and that we will extend his contract," Al-Khelaifi told Le Parisien. "I always wished that he would stay and he also has always wanted to stay.

"He is an exemplary player who has always given everything for PSG. He has a huge heart on the field and off it. He is a great representative of the club."Matuidi's current deal runs until 2018 and he is expected to extend it by a further year.

 

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'I'd prefer Henry to work at Arsenal' - Gilberto

Gilberto Silva has congratulated his former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry on being appointed assistant manager of the Belgium national team - but admits that he would have preferred to see him take up a coaching role with the Gunners instead.

The Brazilian, nicknamed ‘the Invisible Wall’ during his playing days, is currently the technical director of Greek side Panathinaikos following a career which spanned almost two decades with the likes of Arsenal and Gremio.

Henry was told to choose between his media role with Sky Sports and his previous job with the Arsenal academy and, having decided to stay on screen, has since been appointed to help new Belgium boss Roberto Martinez."Thierry has prepared well over the last few years since his retirement with his coaching badges," Gilberto told Goal.

"I would prefer him to stay at Arsenal but OK, he's part of a new era there and I wish him the best of luck as both Thierry and Roberto are excellent people and professionals."

Elsewhere, Gilberto's Panathinaikos were drawn against Ajax, Standard Liege and Celta Vigo in the Europa League group stage on Thursday and the 39-year-old is confident of progressing to the knockout rounds.

"I think it was a good draw," he said. "Our group is well balanced but it won't be easy. It’s important for us to prepare and just do our job. We believe that we can go further and qualify for the next stage, so let's see.

"It's a new position for me [the Panathinaikos job]. It's been busy, a big challenge. I told myself it's much easier to play football! I'm enjoying it and trying to assess the situation of the club and implement the ideas that I have."

 

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Kane: I want to spend my whole career at Tottenham

Harry Kane believes Tottenham are in "great shape" for the future and believes he could spend his whole career at the club.Kane netted 25 Premier League goals last season as Spurs finished third, but he is yet to open his account two matches into the new campaign.

With four points from their first two games of the campaign, the 23-year-old is positive about Tottenham's chances of improving on last season and sees himself staying at the club for a long time."I'd love to stay here," Kane told Sky Sports ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Liverpool.

"The club is in great shape at the moment and we're going forward as a club and that's important. As long as there's a vision with the club, and we're not stale, we're going forward as a club. "At the moment, we're an excited group of young players with a great manager, great training ground and a new stadium coming too."I'd love to stay here for the rest of my career. We'll just have to see what happens."

Tottenham face a tough task to fight for the title with Manchester United and Chelsea expected to be stronger than last year among others, but Kane is backing his club to be in the mix."We want to improve on last year, we want to get better," Kane said. "We're not scared of anyone, not scared of any players or managers.

"We're confident in our ability. We're there to be right at the top and fight for the title again."Teams buy players and change managers if they feel they need change at the club. The gaffer doesn't feel like we needed that. He was happy with his squad.

"He added a couple of great signings, and we're happy. We've been getting better every year, but for us it's just about staying focused."There's a lot of talk about the [Manchester] Uniteds, the [Manchester] Citys, the Chelseas, the new managers, new players - and we're happy for people to talk about them - we'll just do what we do each week."

Tottenham have signed Vincent Janssen to provide competition and cover for Kane, and the England international is impressed with how the Dutchman has adapted to life at White Hart Lane.

"He's been great," Kane said. "He's come in and is very fit, very physical, and he's exactly what we needed, that other option up front."We can play together, sometimes one of us will play and one won't. He fits into the way we play."

 

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Ancelotti: We played more directly than Guardiola's Bayern

Carlo Ancelotti says he has made very few changes to Bayern Munich since replacing Pep Guardiola at the helm, but feels he has turned them into a more direct side.The defending Bundesliga champions got the 2016-17 campaign off to a great start on Friday as they trounced Werder Bremen 6-0.

Robert Lewandowski netted three, while Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm and Franck Ribery were also among the goals in a comfortable win.Ancelotti was delighted with his team's performance, but insists they look much the same as they did last term.

"We made ​​a very good start to the game, we scored quickly and completely controlled the game," he said. "I'm very happy, this is a very good performance from my team. "In fact, I have changed very little in this team, it's a great team. We just tried to play a little more directly."

Ancelotti hailed Lewandowski after the striker scored his second hat-trick in two games, with the Poland international having hit a cup treble against Carl Zeiss Jena a week ago."He is a fantastic player," said Ancelotti. "He is always in the box ready to score."

Mats Hummels made his second Bundesliga appearance for Bayern - the first was in May 2007 before his decorated spell at Borussia Dortmund - and the centre-back accepted it felt "weird" to be back at the club after eight years away."It was a little weird for me to return to the Allianz Arena," said Hummels.

"I was a little nervous, but it's a perfect start for us, to put us on track in the league.
"For me, I'm still not 100 per cent in my form but it was a good match. The road is still long for us."

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.08.27

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.08.27

Tottenham Vs Liverpool

Chelsea Vs Burnley

Crystal Palace Vs Bournemouth

Everton Vs Stoke City

Leicester City Vs Swansea

Southampton Vs Sunderland

Watford Vs Arsenal

Hull City Vs Manchester United

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Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2016.08.27

LA Liga Fixtures 2016.08.27

Eibar Vs Valencia

Osasuna Vs Real Sociedad

Real Madrid Vs Celta Vigo

Leganes Vs Atletico Madrid​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2016.08.27

Serie A Fixtures 2016.08.27

Lazio Vs Juventus

Napoli Vs AC Milan​

 

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Half Time

Hull City 0 Vs 0 Manchester United

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Full Time

Hull City 0 Vs 1 Manchester United

Manchester United Goal(s)

Marcus Rashford 90+2'



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Congratulations Manchester United!

Last minute 1ka wenakamma match 1ka lead karanna full attack karana team 1kak dakka ada & finally Rashford

Well played everyone!
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Pellegrini becomes new Hebei China Fortune boss

Former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has become the new coach of Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.Pellegrini, 62, had been out of a job since the end of the 2015-16 season after he was replaced at the Etihad Stadium by Pep Guardiola.

The Chilean was officially confirmed on Saturday as Hebei's new coach via their official Weibo account - China's popular social media platform.He will be coaching the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Gervinho, Stephane Mbia, Gael Kakuta and Ersan Gulum at the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

The club were reportedly keen to land Roberto Mancini as their first choice, but the Italian seemingly turned down the offer.

Hebei are fifth in the CSL after 23 games, 15 points off leaders Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, who are coached by World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari.
They are five points off the AFC Champions League places with seven games remaining this season.

 

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Ronaldo: I'll be back in no time

Cristiano Ronaldo has assured fans he will soon be back in action as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

The 31-year-old has not played since he was substituted in the first half of Portugal's Euro 2016 final triumph following a challenge from France's Dimitri Payet.

Ronaldo was left out of Fernando Santos' squad for the friendly with Gibraltar and the World Cup qualifier against Switzerland next month, while he has yet to be involved for Madrid since the Champions League final in May.

But the former Manchester United forward, who won UEFA's Best Player in Europe award this week, has vowed to return soon as he looks to claim further success in Zinedine Zidane's first full campaign in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"I'll be back in no time," he said, speaking whilst using an exercise bike in a video posted on the club's Instagram page."Thanks to everyone, to my team-mates, who helped me to win the award."I'm really thrilled and now I'm eager to work hard and win more titles."
Madrid host Celta Vigo on Saturday.

 

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Bayern are free of Guardiola's chains, says Scholl

Bayern Munich will benefit from being free of the "chains" of Pep Guardiola this season, according to former midfielder Mehmet Scholl.

The Bundesliga champions began the defence of their title with a 6-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday, with Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat-trick in coach Carlo Ancelotti's first league match in charge.

The win equalled the biggest opening-day victory in Bundesliga history, when OFC Kickers thrashed Bayern by the same scoreline in 1974.

And Scholl, who won eight top-flight titles in a glittering Bayern career, believes Ancelotti has liberated the players from the more regimented approach implemented by Guardiola during his three years in charge."Bayern are having fun – Ancelotti has set them free. They have shaken off Pep's chains," he told ARD.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted after the match that the difference in approach between Guardiola and Ancelotti is notable, but he did not criticise the methods of the Manchester City boss, who delivered three league titles and two DFB-Pokals before leaving in May."Carlo Ancelotti has a different manner in speaking to us and he has been part of the business for longer," he said."He has coached big teams and he knows how to deal with every single player.

"Pep was a coach who always tried to have an influence, who always wanted to help the team. Carlo is a coach who tries to give us confidence with his calm manner."

 

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Guardiola passion infectious, says Bravo

Claudio Bravo says he wants to see football from a different perspective after joining Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.The Chile international completed a move to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday for a fee that could rise to €20million, depending on bonuses.

And Bravo is excited to work under the man he believes to be the world's best coach after two hugely successful seasons with Barcelona.

"I think when the best manager in the world explains a project to you, it makes you motivated to see football differently. It's infectious," he told City's official website. "It makes me happy but there is also a big expectation."I feel very privileged to come here and have the opportunity to participate in this project. It makes me feel really proud and happy to be part of something so important.

"We always come with the idea to win everything, even more so when you realise the size of the club. The ambition is huge."

Bravo concedes it was difficult to call time on his Camp Nou career after just two seasons, during which he won two LaLiga titles, two Copas del Rey, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Supercopa de Espana.

The 33-year-old is now eager to help City enjoy the same level of success."It's not easy to leave Barcelona, which is such a big club, too, where the expectations are just as high," he added.

"It was not an easy decision, even more so given how things have been at Barcelona during the past two years. I fought for every title, winning almost everything, and it's incredible how things have developed there.

"My family are a huge part of my life so bringing them here is really positive because we are really happy to start a new adventure together."In Barcelona, I had such a good time and I come here with the same motivation to make history."

 

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Palermo confident of Balotelli deal

Palermo have made an offer to sign Mario Balotelli from Liverpool and are confident of securing a deal before the end of the transfer window.The Italy international has been forced to train away from the first team at Anfield after manager Jurgen Klopp made it clear that he was not in his plans.

Moves back to Serie A with Chievo, Sassuolo and Bologna have been suggested, while the president of Sion claimed they were interested in taking the 26-year-old to the Swiss Super League.

Palermo sporting director Guglielmo Micciche has now claimed that a bid has been submitted to Liverpool and he believes a return to the city of his birth could offer Balotelli the perfect chance to resurrect his career."It's a very fascinating proposition," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's a very difficult operation, but we're trying. It would be a great coup for president Maurizio Zamparini, a gift for all of the fans.

"We've made an offer and now the ball is in Liverpool and the player's court. He has a high salary and a lot of sponsors, so it's not easy, but Palermo could be just the right place for him.

"He was born in Palermo and we consider him a citizen of Palermo. This city would welcome him with open arms – he would be adored here. It would be a dream for Palermo to have a player like him and he could be the leader of this team."

Zamparini said he has spoken directly with Balotelli and his agent, Mino Raiola, and claimed the former Manchester City striker is eager to make the move despite concerns over his high salary."I called Raiola and he passed the phone over to Balotelli," Zamparini told Corriere dello Sport. "Mario confessed straight away that he'd be happy to come to Palermo.

"We did discuss the economic situation and I explained we could not afford wages above a certain level."This would be an opportunity for him, but he'd need to make a sacrifice to relaunch his career at this level.

"We are interested, so we need Raiola to understand that Balotelli must reboot. He needs a club like Palermo, which is of course where he was born, too – it would be a huge advantage in the long run.

"We are very happy to keep him for a year and get him back to being the world-class striker he once was."

 

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Valencia make offer for Barcelona forward Munir

Valencia have stepped up their interest in Barcelona forward Munir by making an offer for the highly rated youngster, Goal understands.

The 21-year-old is set to leave Camp Nou in pursuit of regular first-team football as Luis Enrique's men close in on the signing of Valencia marksman Paco Alcacer.
Munir is resigned to the fact that he needs to leave Barcelona in order to develop but the Spanish champions will only allow him to leave if they land Alcacer.

Goal reported on Thursday that Valencia held no interest in signing Munir but we understand Los Che have had a change of heart in the last 48 hours.

However, the deal is complicated by the fact that Munir wants to join Celta Vigo and has turned down several clubs, including Tottenham, to engineer a switch to Eduardo Berizzo's side.

Celta have nurtured many former and current Barca players in recent years such as Andreu Fontas and Rafinha Alcantara, and therefore Munir believes Balaidos is the best place for him to grow.

Barcelona are currently locked in talks with both Valencia and Celta as they look to come to an agreement on both Munir and Alcacer's futures before the end of the Spanish transfer window.

 

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Tottenham 1-1 Liverpool: Rose equaliser denies Reds victory

A second-half strike from Danny Rose earned Tottenham a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League at White Hart Lane.

Philippe Coutinho forced a great save from Michel Vorm before Liverpool took the lead thanks to a James Milner spot-kick after Erik Lamela fouled Roberto Firmino inside the penalty area.

Sadio Mane thought he had doubled the Reds' lead as he tapped home from close range after the interval, but his strike was chalked off as Adam Lallana was adjuged to have strayed offside before playing his team-mate in.And Spurs rallied to snatch a point as Rose drove a low shot through several Liverpool bodies to maintain his side's unbeaten start to the season.

Mauricio Pochettino's side started well, but had Vorm to thank for a brilliant save to deny Coutinho with just four minutes played as the former Swansea City man stuck out a foot to deny the Brazilian who was unmarked just six yards from goal.

Christian Eriksen saw a free-kick beaten away by Simon Mignolet and Dele Alli sliced a promising opening wide from 18 yards out as Spurs continued to look the more dangerous early on.

Liverpool, having begun to settle, applied some pressure of their own and it took two superbly timed sprints from goal from Vorm to deny Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum, before he saved another low shot from Coutinho from close range.

Kyle Walker was forced off through illness just before the half-hour mark, with Pochettino introducing Vincent Janssen in his stead in an effort to spark life back into Spurs' attacking play.But it was down the hosts' right flank – now occupied by Eric Dier – that Liverpool found a breakthrough three minutes before half-time.

Lamela clipped the heels of Firmino after failing to stop his run into the area, and Milner swept the ball into Vorm's bottom-right corner from 12 yards to put Liverpool ahead.

Matip clipped the crossbar with a header eight minutes after the break, causing further unrest among the home fans, who were incensed when Mane – already booked – escaped punishment for a heavy challenge on Rose for the second time in the match.

Mane found the back of the net in the 56th minute but Lallana was adjudged to have edged offside before he squared the ball for the Senegal international to score.

Eriksen fired over from the edge of the area before Mignolet produced two fine saves to keep out Lamela's free-kick and Toby Alderweireld's header, as Spurs suddenly found some attacking impetus.

And they found their breakthrough in the 72nd minute to punish some poor Liverpool defending. Lamela flicked on Eriksen's cross from the right and Rose, arriving unmarked, had time to set himself and shoot low past Mignolet's near post to earn Spurs a point.