..::Football IV::..

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Koln 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: Reus to the rescue with late goal

Marco Reus scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw for Borussia Dortmund against Koln in Saturday's Bundesliga encounter at the RheinEnergieStadion.

The home side appeared to be on their way to victory thanks to Artjoms Rudnevs' first Bundesliga goal of the season - the former Hamburg man breaking his duck with a fine header in the 28th minute.Anthony Modeste, Koln's top scorer, then missed a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 early in the second half.

And that proved costly when Reus turned in Adrian Ramos' assist late in the day to salvage a point for Dortmund, while Koln's misery worsened when Salih Ozcan was sent off for a second bookable offence in the closing stages.

BVB, who are now on a five-game winless streak in league matches against Koln, paid the price for a rare lacklustre display in attack against a stoic defence.

A draw leaves Thomas Tuchel's men, who earned a fine comeback 2-2 draw at Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek, in sixth, eight points behind rivals Bayern Munich and surprise leaders RB Leipzig, who lost to Ingolstadt.
Dortmund wasted an early chance to take the lead when Ousmane Dembele darted down the right flank and set up Reus, who slipped as he prepared to take his shot.

The hosts responded when Rudnevs shrugged off his marker on the left of the area to play in Ozcan, but the teenager rushed his shot and sent the ball high and wide.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then rightly had a goal disallowed for offside, and Dortmund's misery worsened in the 28th minute.

Jonas Hector sent in a free kick just inside Dortmund's half and Rudnevs found the net with a sublime header after winning the aerial challenge to end his side's scoring drought.

Koln should have doubled their lead early in the second half when Yuya Osako sent Modeste clean through on goal with a superb throughball - the Frenchman rounding goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, only to hit the side-netting rather than the unguarded goal.

Dortmund struggled to create any chances of note in their search for an equaliser, but Reus nearly produced a moment of magic with 15 minutes left on the clock, testing Thomas Kessler with a powerful shot from a narrow angle that forced the goalkeeper into a fine save.Tuchel's side continued to look for an opening in the closing stages of the match and they eventually made the breakthrough in the additional time.

Substitute Ramos escaped his marker's attention down the right before setting up Reus and the attacker beat Kessler with a low shot at the near post to rescue a point - his second crucial goal of the week after his previous strike versus Madrid.
There was more bad news for the home side well into stoppage time, when Ozcan received his second yellow card of the afternoon after fouling Dembele.

 

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Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City: Gunners cruise to victory

Arsenal came from behind to record a 15th consecutive home win over Stoke City as Arsene Wenger's side moved top of the Premier League on goals scored with a 3-1 victory.

The hosts climbed above Chelsea, who face West Brom on Sunday, but had to do it the hard way at Emirates Stadium as they made it 14 top-flight games unbeaten.
Stoke took the lead through birthday boy Charlie Adam's 29th-minute penalty after Granit Xhaka clumsily - rather than maliciously - elbowed Joe Allen in the face.

But the match swung on an eight-minute spell either side of half-time, with Theo Walcott levelling before a rare Mesut Ozil header put Wenger's men ahead.The visitors have now been beaten on all nine Premier League visits to Arsenal, who added late gloss through substitute Alex Iwobi.

Arsenal - fielding the same line-up as that which started the 5-1 win over West Ham last weekend - secured top spot in their Champions League group with a midweek 4-1 victory at Basel, but faced sterner opposition on Saturday.

Marc Muniesa, who opened his Stoke account against Burnley last time out, unleashed a stunning 35-yard volley that was tipped over by Petr Cech after three minutes, while Xherdan Shaqiri failed to get a shot away at the end of a promising attack.

Lee Grant was caught dwelling on the ball in the box at the other end, inviting pressure from Alexis Sanchez, who saw his block from the goalkeeper's attempted clearance go behind for a goal kick.

But Grant was much more alert when Walcott escaped inside the area and drew a smart near-post stop from the 33-year-old in the 12th minute.

The chances continued to come and Allen sliced wide when well placed midway through the first half, while Arsenal's cause suffered a blow when Shkodran Mustafi was forced off with an apparent hamstring injury.

And the hosts were soon behind, with Xhaka's inadvertent elbow on Allen handing Adam, who turned 31 on Saturday, the chance to convert from the spot and he duly obliged.

Arsenal sought a quick response before the break and Mame Biram Diouf made a superb clearance to snuff out the threat when Ozil was lurking.

The leveller arrived three minutes before half-time, though, as Walcott netted a simple finish at the near post to cap some excellent build-up play from Wenger's side.

Ozil completed the turnaround five minutes into the second half, flicking a header over the stranded Grant from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's lofted pass.

Stoke had proven more than a match for their high-flying opponents in the opening 45 minutes, but faded in the second period despite creating a couple of presentable chances.

A wayward Marko Arnautovic strike underlined their growing desperation, though Diouf did spurn an excellent opportunity to head on target when he rose to meet Adam's left-wing cross and nodded across goal to nobody in particular.

Peter Crouch was brought on for the final 20 minutes and immediately forced Cech into a fine save with a powerful downward header, but Iwobi sealed it with a calm finish after collecting Sanchez's pass and racing through to curl past Grant.

 

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Hull City 3-3 Crystal Palace: Campbell rescues Eagles

Alan Pardew may have earned another stay of execution after Fraizer Campbell snatched a 3-3 draw for Crystal Palace at relegation-threatened Hull City in the Premier League on Saturday.The hosts had been in front at the break courtesy of a contentious Robert Snodgrass penalty at a sparsely populated KCOM Stadium.

Palace levelled, also from the spot, when Christian Benteke stroked home after Snodgrass, who dived to win his own penalty, felled Wilfried Zaha just inside the area early in the second half.

Zaha put Palace ahead with a brilliant strike in the 70th minute, but Hull responded almost immediately, Adama Diomande netting courtesy of a dynamic solo effort of his own.

Hull regained the lead through Jake Livermore, the former Tottenham player sauntering unopposed into the Palace area to score with 13 minutes to go.

But just as the visitors' infamous defensive woes appeared set to heap yet more pressure on Pardew, substitute Campbell delivered when his manager needed him most, heading home against his former team to snatch a share of the spoils.

Daunting assignments await both of these teams in midweek, when Hull visit Spurs and Palace stage an FA Cup final rematch against Manchester United at Selhurst Park.

After a slow start, Hull slowly began to exert some control on proceedings. Chances remained hard to come by for the home team, but they were handed an early Christmas present courtesy of Mike Jones when the referee was fooled by a blatant dive from Snodgrass.

The Scotland international went down in the area despite receiving no contact from Palace centre-back Scott Dann, who was booked for his vociferous protest, leaving Snodgrass to get up and emphatically stroke home the penalty in the 26th minute.

The impressive Zaha was involved as Palace drew level six minutes into the second half, the forward drawing a foul - ironically from Snodgrass - in the box to afford Benteke the opportunity to equalise from the spot, which the striker duly did by wrong-footing goalkeeper David Marshall with a cool effort. The goal sparked both teams into life, Diomande twice going close for Hull after breaking into the area and shooting narrowly wide of the near post.

Palace took the lead with 20 minutes to go, Zaha gathering possession on the edge of the area, beating two defenders with a stepover and some clever close control before lashing a fierce finish past Marshall.

Their advantage lasted just two minutes, though, before Diomande delivered on his earlier threat, holding off Dann with his back to goal, nutmegging the centre-back and then prodding the ball smartly beyond Wayne Hennessey.

The Palace defence inexplicably parted in the 78th minute to allow Livermore to waltz into the area and score Hull's third, a defensive aberration worthy of Palace's calamitous 5-4 loss to Swansea City last month and which has become symptomatic of the malaise afflicting the Eagles for much of 2016.

But there was one more twist in the tale, Campbell, who helped Hull to promotion in 2008, returning to haunt his old club by meeting a pinpoint Zaha cross and cushioning home a headed finish out of Hennessey's reach.

 

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Falcao ada Hat-trick 1kak score karala against BordeauxHodai Falcao ayeth form 1kata apu 1kanam​

 

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Cavani: I'd like to play with Griezmann one day

Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani would relish the opportunity to play alongside Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann.

The future of France international Griezmann - who signed a new five-year deal in June - was the subject of widespread speculation following an impressive Euro 2016 campaign in which he inspired his nation to the final.

Late last month, Cavani sparked rumours of a possible union when he posted on Twitter to invite Griezmann to join him in enjoying some mate, a traditional drink in Cavani's native Uruguay.

Cavani said the media had got carried away with the situation but did express his desire to one day count Griezmann as a team-mate.

"It's the press that said I wanted to invite Antoine Griezmann to Paris," he said.
"I sent him a message to take a Uruguay mate. I'd like to play with him one day, he is a great striker and a beautiful person too."

 

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Bravo: Critics focus more on my faults than strengths

Claudio Bravo believes his occasional mistakes at Manchester City are being scrutinised over what he brings to the team, but is not deterred by any criticism that comes his way.The Chile international was brought to the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona by Pep Guardiola in August, after the manager had made it clear previous first choice Joe Hart was not to be his preferred option.

Hart was subsequently sent on loan to Torino in Serie A, with Bravo's ability with the ball at his feet a primary factor in Guardiola's thinking as he looks to impose his passing philosophy on the team.

Bravo's debut season has not been without its blips, however, with the 33-year-old sent off on his return to Camp Nou in the Champions League, while other shaky moments have led some to question the wisdom of Guardiola's decisions.However, he has stated he will use the criticism to fuel his own improvement as City's No.1.

"The problem is that, from 300 passes, you make one mistake … I had that bad luck in one game, the Champions League tie in Barcelona, when I was sent off. But it's a risk you must take," Bravo told the Guardian.

"The criticism is going to exist but I have no problem with that."In fact, I often accept criticism because I feel it helps me to get better and get stronger. And I hardly ever remember the compliments."

After starting life under Guardiola with 10 straight wins in all competitions, City went six without a victory, before a current sequence of one loss in eight and Bravo says it will take time for the manager's ideas to take full effect.

"We are changing the idea of how the team plays. I think it's been positive in that sense. Maybe the results at home haven't been positive but overall we have made some great performances," Bravo said."We need to keep following the same idea. We cannot play 10 games this way and then switch the method to play another way. We just need time.

"In Barcelona they have been playing this style for years, from the kids to the first team. Here we have had only a few months trying to learn a different way of playing from the rest of the teams in the Premier League."

 

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'Payet? He's a Manchester United-type player' - Schmeichel

Dimitri Payet is reported to be a January transfer target for Manchester United, and Old Trafford legend Peter Schmeichel believes a move for the West Ham forward would make sense.The Red Devils have plenty of attacking talent within their ranks, but they have struggled to turn possession and chances into goals this season.

Those failings have been reflected in results, with three successive draws in top-flight competition leaving Jose Mourinho’s side sixth in the Premier League standings.They have already slipped nine points adrift of the top four and 13 behind table-topping Chelsea.

Money is expected to be spent during the winter window in an effort to keep United in the hunt for Champions League football and Payet is said to be among those in Mourinho’s thoughts, with the France international having impressed with his creativity for the Hammers.“He’s a Manchester United-type player, for sure,” United icon Schmeichel told Soccer AM.

“I think Mourinho has to change his way a little bit to please the fans, the club and the traditions of the club. I think he is showing signs of that, the players that he is signing, they are of a different calibre.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic is someone he probably wouldn’t have signed had he been at Chelsea, but he’s United’s kind of player, the kind the supporters like to see. He’s rewarding us with great skills and great goals – I think he has scored seven goals so far. “But Payet? Definitely if he can find the form he showed during the Euros.”

Payet has netted only one Premier League goal this season, and four in total across all competitions for club and country.He has, however, continued to be a key playmaking cog for West Ham, creating more chances in 2016 for his team-mates than any of his top-flight rivals.It is that game-changing ability which continues to generate transfer talk ahead of the January window.

 

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Payet nam hodaiAth West Ham walin January wala tranfer weida kiyana 1kanam sure naha​

 

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Schmeichel: Man Utd can't keep changing, Mourinho is the right choice

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has warned that the club “cannot keep changing managers” as Jose Mourinho finds himself under the microscope once again.

The Portuguese was only handed the Old Trafford reins over the summer, as the Red Devils turned to a proven winner as the successor to Louis van Gaal.

Mourinho is yet to have the desired impact on a faltering squad, th|ough, with United already nine points adrift of a top-four standing in the Premier League table.

Results and performances have been inconsistent throughout a testing opening to the 2016-17 campaign, with top-flight struggles countered by positive progress in EFL Cup and Europa League competition.

Schmeichel believes Mourinho needs to be given time in which to get the club firing on all fronts, with there little point in parting with his services and starting afresh for a fourth time in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

He told Soccer AM when asked if the ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid coach is the right man for United: “I think he is. Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter and we need to stick with him and let him do his job for the next couple of years and see where he can take Man United.

“We cannot keep changing our managers. For 27 years we had the same guy, and if you go back to the 50s it was the same with Matt Busby.“History tells you that if you keep changing, it’s not going to happen. We need someone to stay there for a long time.”

Schmeichel says there are positives to be taken from Mourinho’s early work, with his summer additions starting to show their true colours and offer hope for the future.He added: “There are still a lot of players that don’t fit into how he wants to play, but the ones that he brought in are starting to show how good they are.

“[Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, he was player of the year in the Bundesliga last year and has now got an opportunity and has shown us how good he is. [Eric] Bailly, until he got injured was flying."He’s back in the team now and is a great signing. I think Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] has been a great signing as well.

“Those are all the positives you need to take from game to game. I’d like to see them further up the table, but if it’s progress or progression, I’m patient.”

 

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Schmeichel: Man Utd can't keep changing, Mourinho is the right choice

Welawe hatiyata wena karanna deyakuth naha.​

 

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Manchester United have a duty to entertain - Valencia

Antonio Valencia says Manchester United not only have a duty to win games, but to do it in an entertaining way.

United have been struggling to find their best form this campaign and sit sixth in the Premier League.They have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, though, and Valencia believes their fans have every reason to be pleased with the way they have been playing.

"I think we have always had a duty to entertain as Manchester United players in whatever game we are playing in," he told MUTV ahead of Sunday's clash with Tottenham at Old Trafford.

"It is not only a duty to win trophies and titles but also to play well with entertaining football. That is what we fight hard to do.

"We play hard and we try to play our absolute best in an entertaining manner so the fans leave the stadium and go home happy with a good result after seeing some good football.

"Any game in the Premier League is entertaining and that is always our aim. What we have in our mindset and in our thoughts when we are going into a game is that we try to win, get the three points, and play well at the same time.

"I will repeat: I think that is what we’ve been doing in these last few games. I think we have been entertaining the fans and producing some good football."And again it is all about continuing with that and trying to get the three points on Sunday."

 

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Mustafi ruled out for three weeks with hamstring injury

Shkodran Mustafi has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with a hamstring injury, Arsene Wenger has confirmed.

The Germany defender was substituted during Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday.And Wenger has revealed that Mustafi was withdrawn from the encounter due to a serious injury that will rule the German out until after Christmas.

“He has a bad hamstring strain and will be out for a minimum of 21 days. He will have a good Christmas [not playing]," Wenger told reporters after the game.

Mustafi has enjoyed a smooth transition into English football following his summer move to the club from Valencia, playing 17 games for Arsenal and collecting a mere three yellow cards.

Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League on goals scored after their defeat of the Potters, but Chelsea could overtake them if they beat West Brom on Sunday.

 

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Alba: Messi hasn't spoken about new contract

Lionel Messi has not spoken to his Barcelona team-mates about the prospect of signing a new contract, according to Jordi Alba.

The Spanish champions are reported to have begun discussions with the Argentina star's father Jorge this week over a new deal that would keep him at the club until 2022.

Messi was in fine form against Osasuna on Saturday, scoring twice and playing a sublime pass for Alba to set up Luis Suarez's goal as Barca ran out 3-0 winners at El Sadar.

Alba, who also assisted Messi's opener, is desperate for the Argentina star to extend his contract but says he has not discussed his future with the rest of the squad.

"Since I've been here, Leo sees passes like no-one else and he always looks for me," Alba told reporters after the match. "The two assists I gave were important but the first was thanks to Leo.

"I hope he renews. It will be good for us and also for him. We're superior with him. We haven't spoken with Leo about it, but I hope he stays." Alba hopes his performance against Osasuna will earn him more favourable treatment by the media for the next week.

The Spain international believes he was unfairly singled out in the wake of the Clasico last Saturday, in which he was filmed calling Real Madrid's Mateo Kovacic "stupid" and telling him to "learn Spanish".

"They're things that are said during a game," he said. "They're always reported in the same way."People say things to me, too. It's been a while now with just reports about what I say.

"And I know where [the reports] come from. It does damage for no reason."They always go after me. I hope that everyone who has spoken ill of me speaks well of me after today."

 

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Wenger lauds Arsenal composure in comeback triumph

Arsene Wenger hailed Arsenal's composure responding to falling behind as his side moved top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Stoke City.

The hosts trailed to Charlie Adam's first-half penalty, but fought back as goals from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi secured a 15th consecutive home win against the Potters in all competitions.

It took the Gunners – who finished top of their Champions League group courtesy of a 4-1 midweek win at Basel – to the summit on goals scored ahead of Chelsea's clash with West Brom on Sunday.

"The key was not to let frustration into the game and keep our nerves and our composure," said the Frenchman. "We didn't panic and that's maybe linked with the positive results we've had recently.

"We've given a lot over these days at Basel. We found the resources at Basel to win the game."Arsenal finished runners-up in the league last season in what many billed as a missed opportunity, with Leicester City claiming a shock title triumph.

Wenger's side have not been crowned champions since 2004, but the 67-year-old hopes they will underline their progress this season."We were not too bad last year," he added. "We finished second in the league and we have to show that we've improved in the long term.

"We've created confidence and are ambitious. We need to keep the urgency level high and show that in every single game now."We are in there no matter what the results will be. We want to build the momentum and everyone expects you win the game.

"Last season we did very well against the top five and dropped points against the mid-table teams. It's our challenge this year to do well against the mid-table teams."

 

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Leicester City 4-2 Manchester City: Vardy hits hat-trick as Foxes run riot

Jamie Vardy ended his club goalscoring drought in style with a hat-trick on Saturday, as Leicester City rediscovered their Premier League title-winning form to defeat Manchester City 4-2.

Claudio Ranieri's champions were two goals up after just five minutes and made it 3-0 with 20 minutes gone, Andy King's stunner coming either side of Vardy's relief-laden opener and well-taken second.

Vardy pounced on a short John Stones back pass to squeeze home his third with 12 minutes to go, before Aleksandar Kolarov and substitute Nolito restored a measure of respectability with two late consolation goals.

A City line-up containing seven changes from the 1-1 Champions League draw with Celtic on Tuesday and employing Guardiola's typical high defensive line were badly exposed by the pace of Riyad Mahrez and Vardy.

Despite it having been Leicester's trademark in 2015-16, such punishment on the break may still have come as something of a surprise to the visitors at King Power Stadium, the Foxes having offered little indication so far this term that they retain the same devastating counterattacking threat that carried them to unexpected glory last season.

The hosts were seeking to respond to a humiliating 5-0 loss away to Porto on Wednesday, but nevertheless started brilliantly.

Three minutes in, Mahrez gathered Robert Huth's clearance and found Islam Slimani, who in turn fed Vardy. The England international's pace was too much for Kolarov, the defender only able to watch as the forward raced into the area and finished across Claudio Bravo, ending his 741-minute goal drought at club level by finding the far side of the net.

It was 2-0 after five minutes, the unlikely figure of King curling home a brilliant finish from outside the area after being teed up by Slimani, who had benefitted from Huth winning a header off a corner and nodding down into a dangerous area.

Leicester's unexpected revival continued in the 20th minute, when Mahrez collected another pinpoint long ball down the right and slid Vardy into acres of space to score easily past a stranded Bravo.

Having struggled in the absence of the suspended Sergio Aguero, Guardiola's men did begin to dominate possession late in the first half and early in the second, with Kevin De Bruyne heavily involved. The Belgian playmaker shot narrowly wide of the post in the 50th minute, having had a claim for a penalty waved away when his initial shot struck the arm of Mark Albrighton. Pablo Zabaleta was also dangerous, seeing one shot blocked from close range at the back post before curling another narrowly wide of the far upright after cutting in off the right and bursting into the area.

City's fate was confirmed beyond doubt when Vardy took advantage of Stones' mistake, goal-line technology confirming a finish from the tightest of angles had crossed the line before being cleared.

Kolarov's late set-piece strike and Nolito's opportunistic effort at the near post served only to prevent the result from becoming one of Guardiola's heaviest ever league defeats, the Catalan having only lost by three goals twice before in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and never in LaLiga at Barcelona.

Leicester will now go into Tuesday's match away to Bournemouth, who lost 3-2 at Burnley earlier in the day, with renewed confidence, while City, having suffered a second damaging domestic result in succession after last weekend's 3-1 reverse at home to title rivals Chelsea, will host a Watford side buoyed by their home victory over Everton on Wednesday.

 

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Guardiola is trying to play like Bayern Munich - with the wrong players

Pep Guardiola said on Friday that he wanted to “feel something” when he watches his Manchester City team playing. On Saturday night, that emotion will have been embarrassment.

There were always going to be bumps in the road as Guardiola tries to get City playing his way but few expected them to put in one of the worst performances of the last five or six years, as they did at Leicester City, along the way.

City were 2-0 down within five minutes at the King Power Stadium as their defence was pulled apart. By the 20-minute mark it was 3-0 and the backlash against Guardiola, his signings and his entire approach to football was already in full swing.

Those rushing to write the Catalan off as a fraud should probably make the most of tonight because there won’t be many more opportunities like this, but it is fair to say the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has some questions to answer and issues to address before he can start to think about turning City into a dominant force.For example, why did City go into the season with this defence?

City’s attackers were poor, and it was clear that they missed Sergio Aguero’s menacing presence up front and Fernandinho’s calming influence in the middle, but it was a shambolic start at the back which sowed the seeds of this humbling.

So to the defence. Guardiola wanted two centre-backs in the summer and, according to his biographer Marti Perarnau, told the City board that the full-back area needed an overhaul. They ended up with one new centre-back and no full-backs.

The press who covered Bayern Munich during Guardiola’s time there will tell you that when he shuts down questions it is not because he disagrees with what is being asked, but because he can’t be seen to agree.

He has come a long way since he ushered Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Deco towards the exit door during his very first press conference as Barca coach – now he would probably say he respects their careers or that they have trained fantastically.In recent weeks he has used similarly diplomatic tactics when discussing his defence, either as a unit or as individuals.

His usual answer when he doesn’t want to talk about something is “we will improve”; after the Burnley match, when asked about a lack of clean sheets, it was “maybe we are going to change”. There does not seem much chance of that.

He has denied, too, that he wanted new full-backs in the summer, and insists he “trusts a lot” in the options at his disposal – all of which are over the age of 30, something which was said to alarm him in the summer.

Guardiola has acknowledged that some of his full-backs need more time to adjust to his demands but the charge he must face is why he is asking so much of them in the first place.

The options are these: he does genuinely believe they are good enough, or he knows they are not and has decided to power through and hope for the best, most likely that his coaching will bring them on as players.Either way he appears mistaken. He has either overestimated some of his players or his own ability.

City had been unlucky when first started using a back three in that they contrived to draw 1-1 at home despite dominating against Everton and Middlesbrough, and to a lesser extent Southampton. But the system has only looked more susceptible the more it has been used.

Whether it is a three throughout or switches between a three and a four, the players do not seem to be getting it.

It is curious, too, that Guardiola has tried such a tactic so soon at City when he didn’t introduce it until his second season at Bayern and did not rely upon it until his third. Perhaps he himself has mastered how it should work in theory and in practice, but his players have not.

Guardiola was always going to ask his team to keep the ball in the opposition half, bossing possession and attacking relentlessly, in the process offering the opposition few chances. That has worked at his previous clubs not just because he has had technically gifted attackers, but because his defenders have been strong individually.

He does not have a Gerard Pique, a Carles Puyol, a Jerome Boateng, a Javi Martinez, a David Alaba; somebody who is consistently strong in one-on-one situations, who can get his team-mates out of a scrape.

John Stones, who was guilty of a poor backpass for the fourth goal, may yet become Pique-esque but that will require time. At least he has that on his side: Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov do not.

All but Kolarov are out of contract in the summer and none are likely to be offered new deals. Nicolas Otamendi, who missed the Leicester game through suspension, is on borrowed time, too.But before new faces can be brought in, Guardiola must work out what he is going to do with the players he has got.

City will surely not play this poorly again, but that should not be regarded as much of an achievement. The real challenge is getting a competent performance out of a defence that simply cannot do what it is being asked. That is something on Guardiola to fix.

 

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Car bomb outside of Besiktas stadium kills 13 - reports

A car bomb that exploded outside Besiktas' stadium two hours after their match against Bursaspor on Saturday has killed 13 and injured more, according to reports.

Images and TV footage showed what appeared to be the burnt-out shell of a car near the Vodafone Arena, with Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu indicating that it had targeted a riot police bus. Most of the casualties are believed to be police.

Soylu is later reported to have confirmed that a second bomb went off in Macka Park, which is next to the stadium.

"It is thought to be a car bomb at a point where our special forces police were located, right after the match at the exit where Bursaspor fans exited, after the fans had left," he said of the bomb near the stadium.

A Turkish Football Federation statement reads: "We learned with tremendous sorrow that a large number of policemen and our citizens were injured in the treacherous attack near the Vodafone Arena, Istanbul."We strongly condemn the barbarous terrorist attack and wish our citizens quick recovery."

The explosion took place around the area from which Bursaspor fans exited the stadium but the club has released a statement to confirm that none of their supporters remained in the vicinity.

"There was an explosion near the exit of the visitors' stands," the statement says. "We learned that about five minutes after the incident, our supporters had left that area."The bomb was heard during a broadcast of a post-match show on Besiktas TV, with presenters subsequently fleeing off camera.

 

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Real Madrid 3-2 Deportivo: Sergio Ramos steals win with late header

Another Sergio Ramos late show secured an unconvincing 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna as Real Madrid struggled in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

It was the first time since May 2014 that Madrid had started a La Liga game with neither Bale or the rested Ronaldo and Benzema in their line-up, and they were indebted to late goals from Mariano Diaz and Sergio Ramos to secure a new club record of 35 matches unbeaten.

Madrid unsurprisingly enjoyed the greater share of possession, but Deportivo – sensing they will not have many better opportunities to get a result at the Bernabeu with the hosts' star trio absent – gave a good account of themselves.

Deportivo thought they had been made to rue missed opportunities just after the break, as Alvaro Morata put an anonymous first half behind him with a stunning long-range strike.But two goals from former Madrid prospect Joselu with just over an hour played turned the match on its head and left the hosts rattled.

However, Zinedine Zidane's bold attacking tactics towards the end paid off, as Mariano levelled and then Ramos - also Madrid's last-gasp saviour in El Clasico last week - secured the win, ensuring the club's unbeaten record remains intact ahead of Thursday's Club World Cup semi-final.

Although Madrid's start was bright, they needed a helping hand from some calamitous defending to craft their first chance.

Juanfran hesitated in the Deportivo area and his attempted clearance was charged down by Nacho Fernandez, but the Spain international delayed his shot and Raul Albentosa made a vital block.

Deportivo posed a threat on the break despite Madrid's control and went close to finding the breakthrough just before the half-hour mark, as Celso Borges directed Albentosa's low cross towards the bottom-left corner, only for his Costa Rica
team-mate Keylor Navas to palm it around the post.The hosts should have capitalised on that let-off shortly after, but James Rodriguez shot straight at Przemyslaw Tyton when played through on goal by Isco.

Deportivo continued to look unperturbed by Madrid's superiority, though, and struck the post 10 minutes before the break – Borges again the central figure, as his header came back off the upright and looped agonisingly over the head of the lurking Guilherme.

Morata endured an ineffective first half in which he touched the ball just 12 times, but he made a decisive impact just after the break, slamming a brilliant effort into the bottom-right corner from 30 yards.

That should have sent the hosts on their way to a routine win, but Deportivo had different ideas and stunned Madrid with a quick-fire double just after the hour mark.

Casemiro played himself into trouble on the edge of his own area for Deportivo's first, as Florin Andone robbed the Brazilian and Joselu hammered into the top-left corner from 20 yards.

Andone was crucial for the former Castilla striker's second as well, the Stoke City loanee latching onto a ball from the right and finding the net, despite Navas partially blocking his shot.

But, as so often under Zidane, Madrid rallied.Mariano drew them level with six minutes to go, meeting Lucas Vazquez's cross and beating Tyton with an unconventional finish off the top of his back.

And Ramos crushed Deportivo's spirit in the second minute of stoppage time, heading in Toni Kroos' corner to keep Madrid six points ahead of Barcelona at the top.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ramos again!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Falcao's first hat-trick in four years sends Monaco top of Ligue 1

Monaco moved top of Ligue 1 as a first hat-trick in four years from Radamel Falcao fired them to a 4-0 victory over Bordeaux on Saturday.

Leonardo Jardim's side seized the advantage with two goals inside five minutes as Djibril Sidibe slotted home from close range, before goalkeeper Jerome Prior inadvertently parried Valere Germain's cross off Falcao and into the net.

The Colombia international made certain of the victory for his side shortly after half-time as he collected Germain's cut-back before coolly rounding Prior and turning home, while a penalty completed his first treble at club level since December 9, 2012.

Adam Ounas was sent off for a challenge from behind on Sidibe to compound Bordeaux's misery as Monaco celebrated moving top of the table on goal difference, though Nice will overtake them should they avoid defeat against champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.Falcao, who took his tally to 14 goals in 16 games in all competitions, had a message for his doubters.

"You should never underestimate the heart of a fighter," the 30-year-old, who scored only five league goals in two seasons in the Premier League for Manchester United and Chelsea, told Canal Plus."I'm very happy for the team especially. Little by little the whole team has improved. I'm very happy with all of us.

"My team-mates and my coach give me the confidence to play freely. We just have to continue with the same ambition and the same fight and take things game by game."