..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Saint-Etienne: Last-minute Beric goal frustrates hosts

Paris Saint-Germain's 1,000th match at the Parc des Princes ended in disappointment against Saint-Etienne on Friday as Robert Beric's injury-time goal snatched a point for the visitors in a 1-1 draw.

After losing 3-1 at Monaco before the international break, the pressure was on PSG to get back to winning ways, with Lucas Moura's second-half penalty looking to have settled the match.

PSG had won their last 10 games against Saint-Etienne in all competitions, but the hosts scarcely threatened to break the deadlock in what was a strangely muted performance.

Lucas then seemingly secured the points for PSG after 67 minutes, coolly converting a penalty after Blaise Matuidi was adjudged to have been impeded by Kevin Malcuit, but Saint-Etienne hit back in added time.

Malcuit raided down the right and his cross was misjudged at the back post by Thomas Meunier, giving Beric time to control on his chest and fire a shot into the ground and past Kevin Trapp.Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria both started on the bench, with Unai Emery having an eye on Tuesday's Champions League match at home against Arsenal.

With Saint-Etienne sitting deep, PSG were restricted to shots from distance in the early stages, right-back Meunier testing Stephane Ruffier with an ambitious strike in the 10th minute.

Henri Saivet's shot from the edge of the box was then deflected off-target by the head of Marquinhos, before a Fabien Lemoine cross deceived Trapp and floated just wide of the goalkeeper's left-hand post as the visitors threatened.Sloppy play from Layvin Kurzawa led to a chance for Saivet after 25 minutes, but Trapp made the block at his near post.

PSG's first big chance fell to Hatem Ben Arfa, playing up front in place of Cavani, but the forward was denied by Ruffier after jinking around Loic Perrin inside the box.

Grzegorz Krychowiak was introduced at half-time to make his PSG debut, but the hosts still struggled for tempo and lacked a focal point in attack, with last year's 50-goal hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic badly missed.Lucas had a terrific opportunity to break the deadlock after 61 minutes, but when he attacked a fine cross from substitute Di Maria the ball cannoned wide off his shoulder.

But after 65 minutes PSG and Lucas were handed a golden chance when referee Benoit Bastien awarded a penalty for Malcuit's foul on Matuidi, although contact seemed to be outside the box.Lucas stepped up and sent Ruffier the wrong way, rolling the penalty into the goalkeeper's bottom-right corner.

Substitute Cavani, playing in his 100th Ligue 1 game, almost scored a spectacular second with five minutes to play but Saint-Etienne struck on the break.Beric was left unmarked in the area and he took Malcuit's deep cross on his chest before rifling in a finish to earn his team a dramatic draw.

 

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Wenger: Wilshere will take over as Arsenal manager one day

Arsene Wenger has backed Jack Wilshere to take over as Arsenal manager once his football career comes to an end.The England international will spend the 2016-17 campaign on loan at Bournemouth after struggling with injuries last season.

But Wenger remains a firm believer in the academy graduate's potential - both on the pitch and in a future role in the dugout."Certainly one day he will be in my seat," Wenger said of Wilshere during his press conference on Friday.

"He has a real football brain and understands football. You know really, it’s in his genes. I see him in the future at this club of course. He will spend his life in football, he is a football man."He has an eye on everybody, it’s in him. You have that or you haven't got it, but he is a real football man."

Arsenal take on Southampton on Saturday after beginning the Premier League campaign with a win, a draw and a defeat to lie eighth after three games.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ancelotti admits Schalke outplayed Bayern in first half

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti conceded Schalke were the better side in the opening 45 minutes of Friday's Bundesliga encounter, but feels the reigning champions dominated after the break as they cruised to a 2-0 win.

The Gelsenkirchen side created a number of chances to open the scoring, but it was Bayern's Robert Lewandowski eventually struck in the 81st minute, with Joshua Kimmich netting a second goal well into stoppage time."It was the difficult game against the difficult opponent that we expected," Ancelotti told reporters.

"Schalke caused us a lot of problems. It was a very even game for the opening 60 minutes. We stepped up the intensity after that and that eventually resulted in Lewandowski's goal."Schalke were the better team in the first half, but we were the better side after the break.

"It was a great and very intense game from both teams."Lewandowski, meanwhile, feels patience was the key to Bayern's late win."It was a very intense and good game," the striker added."We knew that we had to be patient."I am very pleased that we won. It is never easy to play here and it was an important win."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Emery takes blame for Paris Saint-Germain draw

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery has taken the blame for his side's disappointing 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne on Friday but saw reasons for optimism regardless of the result.

PSG appeared to be cruising to a win that would have sent them top of the Ligue 1 standings after Lucas Moura converted a penalty following a foul on Blaise Matuidi.

But the visitors had other ideas, Robert Beric finishing off a cross from Kevin Malcuit to snatch a point in stoppage time."I am the coach and I am responsible. I am the one who demands from my players what they do. I am not angry," Emery told reporters.

"I am fairly satisfied with the game and the result. I am not just looking at the negative moments. I am an optimist. I will try to improve things and look at this game with a calm head. What we did was not enough. It is a matter of keeping on working. I want the players to keep doing what they did last season. I am the one who has to adapt.

"The team will get better when it gets more confidence and gets its own identity. I liked what I saw in the second half more, but it was not enough. But there are reasons for optimism.

"It will be hard to win the league because things are different this season."Saint-Etienne's coach Christophe Gaultier said he was not pleased with his team's performance despite their fighting spirit earning them a draw and breaking a run of 10 straight losses in all competitions to PSG."I am satisfied with the result, yes, but not with the whole game," he said. "It was good in the first period except at the end, in the second we suffered.

"But we showed desire, application, rigor. However, we had too much technical waste and we rushed. The only positive is that we believed in it."To equalise like that in the last minute, it's fun, especially after defeats by wide gaps by PSG in the past. There is no relief to end the series of 10 consecutive losses to Paris.

"I was looking especially to frustrate our opponents, but we had a bad use of some balls offensively. I am not satisfied."Is it the system or the players? It's probably a little of both."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mustafi & Perez set to start for Arsenal against Southampton

Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez are expected to make their full Arsenal debuts against Southampton on Saturday, Goal understands.

The summer arrivals from Valencia and Deportivo have been training with their new team-mates for the past few days and have reportedly settled in to the squad much quicker than expected.Mustafi, in particular, is already close friends with Mesut Ozil and the absent Per Mertesacker, which has helped his acclimatisation process, while Spanish forward Perez - who speaks adequate English - has spent much of his time withcompatriots Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal and Santi Cazorla since joining.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday ahead of the visit of the Saints, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger admitted he was pleased to have been able to add players in the prime of their careers."I would say it’s the most mature squad I’ve had for a long time, because they are men,” he said.

"They are not 19 or 20 years old, they are 24, 27, 28 and the whole squad is quite mature. It’s the first time for a long time that I’ve had a team of what you can call men ready to compete. After, we have to show that we are good enough to beat everybody else."

Alex Iwobi will return for the match against Claude Puel's side but the game will come too soon for Aaron Ramsey, who Arsene Wenger confirmed could be back for next weekend's clash with Chelsea.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Guardiola: I was always straight with Ibrahimovic

Pep Guardiola has insisted he did not mislead Zlatan Ibrahimovic over his role in the Barcelona team as the Manchester United striker has claimed.

The pair suffered a falling out during their time together at Camp Nou and, in his autobiography, Ibrahimovic claimed Guardiola had "betrayed" him before selling him on.

But as they prepare to go face-to-face in Saturday's Manchester derby, the City manager denied that he had been dishonest during their time working together."He explained in his book about what he believes," Guardiola told reporters when asked about his relationship with Ibrahimovic.

"But always I was clear, I spoke with him always face-to-face - always. I never used the media to explain what I wanted from Zlatan on the pitch, never.

"The people can say many, many things, but I was so clear and direct to him."Both Guardiola's City and Jose Mourinho's United have made perfect starts to the Premier League campaign and Saturday's winner will top the table outright should Chelsea fail to claim a fourth victory.

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.09.10

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.09.10​

Manchester United Vs Manchester City

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Bournemouth Vs WBA

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Arsenal Vs Southampton

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Burnley Vs Hull City

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Middlesbrough Vs Crystal Palace

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Stoke City Vs Tottenham

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West Ham Vs Watford

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Liverpool Vs Leicester City

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[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United Vs Manchester City

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Mourinho Vs Guardiola​

Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2016.09.10

LA Liga Fixtures 2016.09.10

Celta Vigo Vs Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid Vs Osasuna

Malaga Vs Villareal

Sevilla Vs Las Palmas

Barcelona Vs Alaves​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2016.09.10

Serie A Fixtures 2016.09.10

Juventus Vs Sassuolo

Palermo Vs Napoli​

 

[Alucard_SxE]

Utd played the first half so poorly and are paying the price now.Pogba is so shit and now even worth half that price. All the utd mids are really poor. Mkhitaryen & lingaard were shit on the first half.

I don't see united finished at least second with this kind of performance. Chelsea will win this years PL as I see it

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Full Time

Manchester United 1 Vs 2 Manchester City

Manchester United Goal(s)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic 42'

&

Manchester City Goal(s)

De Bruyne 15'
Iheanacho 36'
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[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United performance nam godak madi.

Specially 1st half nam chatermisplace passes godai

mehemanam baha ithin & equalize karaganna dunnu effort 1ka hodai but not good enough!

Good luck for next game Manchester United!
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[Wolverine GTR]

Man Utd 1-2 Man City: Guardiola claims derby glory as Bravo baffles

Manchester City's early brilliance allowed them to ride out a shambolic debut from goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and claim a breathless 2-1 derby win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Pep Guardiola looked set to dish out a comprehensive beating to his old adversary Jose Mourinho in the United dugout as Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho – in for suspended top scorer Sergio Aguero – put City into a two-goal lead.

But Bravo, starting after his move from Barcelona hastened crowd favourite Joe Hart through the Etihad Stadium exit door, erred as Zlatan Ibrahimovic reduced the arrears with his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

Further bizarre decision making from the 33-year-old looked United's easiest route to a draw and he prompted more last-ditch defending in stoppage time before City were able to take the local bragging rights and look down on their neighbours from the top of the table.

Paul Pogba flashed a 25-yard strike over in the seventh minute following neat interplay from Wayne Rooney and full debutant Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but United's forward talents were forced to feed off scraps as City's sharp passing pinned the hosts back.

Guardiola's men were good value for their 15th-minute opener, although it arrived in unexpectedly direct circumstances.

Bravo, making his City bow in goal, stroked a pass out to left-back Aleksandar Kolarov, who pumped a long ball towards Iheanacho as United held their ground.
The Nigeria international won the flick on and De Bruyne streamed clear, away from a switched-off Daley Blind to slot past David de Gea.

City continued to mercilessly hog possession and Blind's game went from bad to worse nine minutes before half-time, inadvertently playing Iheanacho onside to convert when De Bruyne's left-footed shot thudded back off the base of the post.
But United were offered a lifeline when Bravo horribly fumbled a free-kick from deep and Ibrahimovic rifled home.

More haphazard decision making from Bravo meant John Stones was forced to clear off the line in stoppage time, giving further encouragement to Mourinho at the end of what proved an often chastening half for United.

The United boss sent on Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera for Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard at the break, and his revamped attack began the second half on the front foot, with Ibrahimovic blazing over under pressure from Kolarov.

Guardiola responded by adding steel to his midfield in the form of Fernando as Iheanacho made way. City's earlier fluency was providing elusive, with Bravo's continually erratic showing doing little for their collective composure.

Chile's number one crafted an old-fashioned derby day 50-50 challenge in his own area following a dreadful touch, crunching into Rooney and playing the ball via equal means of luck and judgement.Bravo allowed a shot from the menacing Rashford to slip past him, but Ibrahimovic being stationed in an offside position spared him.

There was more pleasing goalkeeping at the other end when De Gea got down sharply to thwart Fernandinho from a De Bruyne corner in the 71st minute.

In De Bruyne, City had one man whose first-half level had not waned and the Belgium star collected a pass from substitute Leroy Sane to spin a shot off the inside of De Gea's near post and agonisingly across the goalline.

The breathing space Guardiola's team appeared to need was never close to arriving, but they hung on to retain their 100 per cent record at the expense of United's to land a first telling blow in what promises to be a pulsating title race.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Guardiola: Bravo performance one of the best I've seen

Pep Guardiola was delighted with Claudio Bravo's Manchester City debut on Saturday, despite the goalkeeper being at fault for Manchester United's goal.

Guardiola's men beat the Red Devils 2-1 at Old Trafford as Bravo turned out for the Premier League side for the first time following his move from Barcelona.

The Chilean shot stopper was brought in to replace Joe Hart, who moved to Torino on loan due to Guardiola's preference in goalkeepers with greater distribution and technical ability.

The shot stopper did not get off to a great start, it seemed, as he collided with one of his own players and fumbled a cross, allowing Zlatan Ibrahimovic to fire in his side's goal to cut City's lead.Guardiola, though, insists Bravo had a fantastic game."What Claudio Bravo did was one of the best performances I've ever seen," he said afterwards.
p

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho points finger at players following derby defeat

Jose Mourinho blamed his Manchester United players as the reason why his side suffered a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in the Manchester derby on Saturday.

Mourinho's men were outplayed for long spells as Pep Guardiola's side laid down an early marker with victory at Old Trafford thanks to first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho.And afterwards Mourinho said “sometimes players disappoint their managers” when asked about United's first defeat of the season in his post-match interview.He told Sky Sports: “In the first half they were much better than us. We started the game bad.

“We started the game with some players really below their normal level in terms of their concentration and mental availability to play a game of this speed.“You need to be sharp the way you think and the way you play."One or two players were below that level and the team paid for it.

"Honestly, I have two or three players in the first half who, if the game is now and I know what is going to happen, I don't play them, but this is football and sometimes players disappoint managers and sometimes players give us great surprises.”

However, the former Chelsea boss then appeared to do a u-turn and point the finger at himself, adding: “Therefore it is my fault, I am the manager and it was my fault because it was my choice.”Mourinho named Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in his starting lineup but hauled both players off at half time following dismal spells in the opening period.

United deservedly fell two goals behind to the far superior City but pulled one back through Zlatan Ibrahimovic courtesy of Claudio Bravo flapping at a Wayne Rooney free-kick.

The Chile goalkeeper struggled throughout the entirety of the pulsating affair but United were unable to claw back an equaliser on home soil.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho points finger at players following derby defeat​

Gone is gone.​

CITY match 1ke wechcha mistakes hadagena next matches walata hodin face karamu​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Herrera: Man Utd still targeting Premier League title despite derby defeat

Ander Herrera insists Manchester United's plans for Premier League glory remain intact despite the 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester City and states his team must take the positives.The former Athletic Bilbao midfielder came on as a half-time substitute for Jose Mourinho's side on Saturday at Old Trafford.

However, he could not help them salvage a point, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal on the stroke of half-time proving a mere consolation after earlier strikes from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho.

But Herrera has affirmed that, despite a disappointing result, United – who had claimed three wins from their opening three Premier League fixtures – will bounce back.

"It is disappointing for us. We are unhappy. We have lost a derby in front of our fans and it is painful," Herrera told BBC Sport."We have to be balanced in our analysis. This is the first game we have not played the best. We crossed a lot of balls and put them under pressure.

"We have to take some good things. The attitude and spirit in the second half was fantastic. City will lose points as well. We are three points off the top and we want to be champions.

"We didn't start well. Every duel went for them. We have to study why that happened. But we have played well so far. "This was not our best game but we created four or five chances to draw the game."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Madrid 5-2 Osasuna: Ronaldo back with a bang in thrashing

Cristiano Ronaldo made a goalscoring return to the Real Madrid line-up as they ran riot in a 5-2 battering of Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
The talismanic forward had not played a competitive fixture since injuring his left knee during Portugal's Euro 2016 final victory over France on July 10.

However, Ronaldo made up for lost time by opening his account for the campaign with a simple tap-in after just six minutes, after selfless play from Gareth Bale.
And it was cruise control for Madrid when two goals in the last five minutes of the first half, from Danilo and Sergio Ramos, made it 3-0 at the break.

Pepe's header and a fine drive from Luka Modric extended the lead in the second half, before Osasuna mounted a rally with goals from Oriol Riera and David Garcia either side of a missed penalty from Roberto Torres.

Tano's late red card meant Osasuna finished with 10 men as Zinedine Zidane's side maintained their 100 per cent record in La Liga ahead of the start of their Champions League defence against Sporting on Wednesday.On a stifling hot day in the Spanish capital, it did not take long for Ronaldo to make an impact.

Danilo clipped a ball in behind and Bale burst free down the right flank before squaring for Ronaldo to tap into an unguarded goal.

Bale came close to doubling the lead with a well-hit 25-yard drive before Unai Garcia handed Madrid a warning with a thumping header that crashed against the crossbar at the other end.

It was 2-0 five minutes before the break, though. Nauzet was out quick to parry Alvaro Morata's header from Ronaldo's dinked cross, but Danilo picked up the scraps and lashed in the rebound.

The game was all but over on the stroke of half-time as Ramos' near-post run from Toni Kroos' corner went untracked and the centre-back thundered his header past Nauzet.Madrid continued to dominate after the restart and Nauzet was out quickly to deny Bale following another lightning counter.

But the goalkeeper was at fault for Madrid's fourth. Another Kroos corner caused havoc and Nauzet could only parry Pepe's downward header into the goal.

There was no let up from Madrid and Morata held off a challenge in the area before teeing up Modric, who curled a fine effort into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the box.

Madrid were caught cold when Miguel de las Cuevas' right-wing centre was met with a thumping header from Riera to give the Osasuna fans something to cheer.

Osasuna felt hard done by when Oier also had the ball in the back of the net only for the referee to have already awarded a penalty for Sergio Ramos' barge on Jaime Romero, and their mood worsened when Kiko Casilla saved Torres' spot-kick low to his right.

Karim Benzema, himself returning from injury for Madrid, came off the bench for his first league appearance of the campaign and hit the woodwork twice in the closing stages.

Osasuna added some respectability to the scoreline with a sublime flicked header from David Garcia that looped over Casilla, but they finished the match with 10 men when Tano was shown a second yellow card for a careless clip on Nacho.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Stoke City 0-4 Tottenham: Spurs thump Potters

Heung-Min Son scored a superb double as Tottenham thrashed Stoke City 4-0 at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

Winger Son was brought in for his first appearance of the season as part of three changes from Mauricio Pochettino and rewarded his manager with two fine strikes either side of half-time.

Dele Alli added a third and Harry Kane – having been set up by a rampant Son - sealed the victory with his 50th Premier League goal.The triumph saw Tottenham continue their solid start to the new season, taking their tally to eight points from four matches.

Stoke, on the other hand, remain bottom of the table with only one point and 10 goals conceded after a miserable afternoon in which manager Mark Hughes was sent off.

The hosts, who handed debuts to loan signings Wilfried Bony and Bruno Martins Indi as part of three changes, actually made the brighter start and Marko Arnautovic had a goal correctly disallowed for offside after finding the net with a powerful strike.

Glenn Whelan saw his volley deflect inches over, while Ryan Shawcross tested Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris – back in the team after a hamstring injury – with a close-range header.

Tottenham, meanwhile, had a penalty claim turned down by referee Anthony Taylor when Son went down under Geoff Cameron's challenge, before Stoke keeper Shay Given kept out Alli's chipped effort.

The visitors were improving and they wasted a glorious chance to open the scoring on the half-hour mark as Son's pass deflected off Arnautovic to send Alli through on goal, but the midfielder somehow missed the target with his left-footed effort.

Arnautovic's booking for diving then resulted in a furious Hughes being sent to the stands by Taylor, before Spurs' breakthrough arrived four minutes ahead of half-time.

Christian Eriksen twisted and turned on the right to beat Joe Allen and pick out Son with a low cross, with the South Korea international doing the rest by finding the bottom corner with a clever first-time volley.Shawcross stabbed just wide for Stoke early in the second half, before two Spurs goals in three minutes ended the game as a contest.

Eriksen was involved again, beating Shawcross' challenge and connecting with Son, who unleashed a magnificent curling strike into the top corner on 56 minutes.
A swift counter-attack then made it three, with substitute Erik Lamela and Kyle Walker combining down the right to set up Alli, who made amends for his earlier miss with a cool finish.

With 20 minutes remaining, Son found Kane from the left and the striker somehow had the time to take a touch and slot home from two yards out for his first goal in six league outings, becoming the fourth Spurs player to reach a top-flight half century.

Walker cleared a Shawcross header off the line in the closing stages, but Given also denied Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko - handed his debut from the substitutes' bench - at the other end as the visitors threatened to make it five in an emphatic triumph.