..::Football IV::..

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Ancelotti in awe of Thiago pass

Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti hailed the influence of Thiago Alcantara in the wake of his side's 1-0 Bundesliga victory over Hamburg on Saturday.

The league leaders extended their winning run in all competitions to eight games, but left it late against the struggling hosts, with Joshua Kimmich bagging the only goal of the afternoon two minutes from time.

It was Thiago who sent Franck Ribery away down the left with a sublime first-time pass, with the Frenchman's low cross then being gleefully swept home by Kimmich.

That capped a fine display in the eyes of Ancelotti, the Italian delighted with his midfielder's overall performance in what was a hard-fought clash at the Volksparkstadion.

"It was a very difficult game," he said. "As expected, Hamburg played with great intensity. "The second half was a bit different and we had our chances, but that pass from Thiago at the end was fantastic.

"This is one of his qualities and he played very well."It had looked as though Bayern might have to settle for a draw after Rene Adler produced a string of fine saves in what was an inspired goalkeeping performance.

And goalscorer Kimmich admitted that the defending Bundesliga champions had not been at their best against a Hamburg side which is yet to win a league game this term.

"We were not good in the first half," he said."We had no ideas going forward and didn't create much. In the second half we had three or four great chances and luckily got the goal in the end."

 

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Benzema and Morata can play together - Zidane

Zinedine Zidane is open to combining Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata in attack after Real Madrid squandered numerous chances during a 2-2 draw with Las Palmas.

Morata played from the start while Benzema came off the bench to score Real's second against the islanders, but Zidane was left to rue earlier misses when Las Palmas substitute Sergio Araujo levelled the match in the 86th minute.Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to find the net despite having several opportunities and Zidane said he would analyse the causes of his side's wastefulness in front of goal.

"From the kick-off to the final whistle what we did was good. We played good football and created many chances," said the Frenchman."We created chances, but lacked concentration. We controlled the game, but didn't convert our chances. We deserved to win.

"You must be 100 per cent focused until the end. I will return and analyse why we couldn't score. Karim and Morata can play together."

Zidane took Ronaldo off after 72 minutes – a decision that was brought into question after Real spent the final minutes of the game trying to score a winner without the talismanic Portuguese.

But Zidane revealed the call was made with the Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund in mind."I'm happy with the team's performance," he said.
"I subbed Cristiano because we play again on Tuesday. He always wants to play.Sometimes this happens in football. We just needed to convert the many chances we created.

"We deserved to win. We won't give up. There were two crucial errors that cost us the win."We are obviously disappointed with the result, but we're still at the top of the table and must keep fighting to maintain it.

"These things can happen. I'm not going to complain. We have an important game on Tuesday and I'll be focused on that."He added: "When we score a late winner we are happy. I will not complain."

 

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Conte: Chelsea only a great team on paper

Antonio Conte challenged his Chelsea players to prove their worth after questioning their attitude in the 3-0 derby defeat at Arsenal.

Chelsea remain without a Premier League win in September and conceded all three goals before half-time, with Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil on target for the Gunners.

And while Conterefused to single out individuals flaws, the Blues boss was adamant that his side can only be considered great on paper given their recent performances.

"I think that from the first minute we didn't have the right attitude and I think that we played against a good team, who were well organised in the tactical and physical aspect," he told BT Sport."After today we are thinking that we must work a lot. Now we are a great team only on paper.

"I think that it is always a team problem, not individual players. When nothing works it is very difficult for a player to play a good game."

On Gary Cahill's woefully judged backpass that led to the first goal, he added: "I don't want to speak about the mistake because it is not right for the player. We win as a team and we lose as a team."We know that we must work a lot and if someone thinks now this team is ready to fight… we must wait to be a great team not only on paper but on the pitch. This is important."

The loss leaves Chelsea eight points behind early pacesetters Manchester City but Conte feels comparisons with other sides are unhelpful to him at present.He added: "Manchester City started the season very well. They are playing very well.

"But I think also that everyone must look in our house for the problem.
"It is important now to look in our house and not in the other houses."

 

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Wenger on win over Chelsea: We changed history with style & steel

Arsene Wenger praised Arsenal's "style and steel" as they ended their league hoodoo against Chelsea with a comprehensive 3-0 win.

The Gunners had not beaten Chelsea in the Premier League since October 2011, and had failed to score in their last six league meetings.That all changed on Saturday at Emirates Stadium, however, where goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil defeated Antonio Conte's men.

It was the fourth league win in succession for the north Londoners and lifts them to third in the table after six matches, leaving the Frenchman delighted with the level of performance from his squad.

"I am very happy," he told BT Sport. "The inconvenient facts were there and we needed to change the recent history. We did it with style and steel. That's what we wanted.

"We were committed and disciplined and that is not so easy to find that balance in these kind of games. Overall I believe our collective rhythm was very good to give them problems.

"We want to play this kind of game, based on technical quality and pace. I hope this kind of performance convinces the players that we are on the right path. We still have some room for improvement."

Wenger gave particular praise to central defensive duo Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi after they barely gave Diego Costa a kick."They [the two centre-backs] had an outstanding performance," he said. "Both of them [were] committed and intelligent, technically sound, so overall I am very pleased."

It was not all good news for Arsenal, however, with Francis Coquelin limping off injured after 32 minutes.The midfielder missed a significant chunk of last season with a knee ligament problem, and Wenger hopes this latest setback will not be as severe.

"It is a knee problem," he confirmed. "It is in the same place he had last year.
"So I hope he is not out as long as last year."

 

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Walcott: Arsenal wanted it more than Chelsea

Theo Walcott felt Arsenal's experience was key to a dominant 3-0 win over Chelsea, insisting Arsene Wenger's men "wanted to win" more then their opponents.

Walcott marked his 350th Arsenal appearance with a goal, crowning a sumptuous team move after Alexis Sanchez capitalised on an error from Gary Cahill to break the deadlock.

Mesut Ozil concluded the scoring five minutes before half-time and Walcott, a veteran of numerous false dawns in his club's bid for a first Premier League crown since 2003-04, wants his team-mates to build on this impressive showing.

"We've been here before, I've had so much experience down the years, but we're not doing ourselves any harm," he told BT Sport after Arsenal's first league win against Chelsea since October 2011.

"We worked really hard in the week. We obviously know what's happened in the past but it's all about now."This team is bright and young and has a lot more experience in these games now."Everyone is focused and you could see that – 11 men who wanted to win this more than the other team."

Watching on when Arsenal battled to a 1-1 Champions League draw at Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, Walcott recognised an impressive determination among his colleagues.And he praised their composure amid the pressure of a London derby after red cards undid Wenger's men in both matches against Chelsea last term.

"Watching the PSG game on the side, I didn't travel, you could sense in that game it was tough and we got through it," he explained."The experience and the years in the Champions League is bedding into his team now.

"The most important thing was that we kept 11 men on the pitch, we know our history with Chelsea."The two centre-backs were fantastic and kept [Diego] Costa quiet."

 

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Mourinho demands consistency from Pogba


Paul Pogba may have had his best game since returning to Manchester United as they thrashed Leicester City 4-1, but Jose Mourinho still expects more from the Frenchman.

The world's most expensive player fired United to a stunning victory at Old Trafford on Saturday and capped off a fine display with his first goal for the club.
His 42nd-minute header came after Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford had all beaten Ron-Robert Zieler ahead of the interval.

Occupying a deeper role alongside Ander Herrera, Pogba finally produced the kind of display demanded of him, but - although impressed - his manager still wants more.

"I don't know [if it was his best game since returning from Juventus] I think he played okay against Southampton, he played okay against Hull City," said Mourinho."When the team didn't play well he plays not so well, when the team plays better he plays better.

"We all want more from him and from the team. The last thing that the team achieves is consistency because the process starts with playing well in spaces and the last thing you achieve is to play well consistently."So he has to be more consistent like the team, but I think him and Ander in midfield, they were good.

"They were a good complement and again Ander is a kid that brings intensity and I thought also on the defensive point of view it was important to have fast players on the pitch to recover a team that is very direct in the counter-attack with lots of long balls and people arriving from behind. So we changed the team to play against Leicester, the specific qualities they have."

Captain Wayne Rooney was dropped to the bench for the clash in one of four alterations made by Mourinho.

However, there was no place for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the matchday squad, although the Armenian was not left out due to injury."I wouldn't say injured, I would say not 100 per cent," Mourinho added.

"They're not 100 per cent as I always think this difficult moment where you really feel that you have to win the match I prefer to go with players who are 100 per cent ready by the physical point of view and mental point of view.

"Injured was [Anthony] Martial and Phil Jones, Phil for a few more weeks, the rest are in that grey zone and the decision was to go with people who are fit."

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixture 2016.09.26

Barclays Premier League Fixture 2016.09.26

West Ham Vs Southampton

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LA Liga Fixtures 2016.09.25

LA Liga Fixtures 2016.09.25

Leganes Vs Valencia

Atletico Madrid Vs Deportivo

Villareal Vs Osasuna

Espanyol Vs Celta Vigo​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2016.09.25

Serie A Fixtures 2016.09.25

Torino Vs Roma

Genoa Vs Pecara

Inter Vs Bologna

Lazio Vs Empoli

Sassuolo Vs Udinese

Fiorentina Vs AC Milan​

 

[Alucard_SxE]

Torino Vs Roma

I don't know what is up with this Roma. One game they play excellently but the other totally the other way. Dzeko is pretty much a useless CF. Missing total sitters. They were unbeaten against torino for almost 5 years as I remember but lost today 3-1. Both defences were extremely poor.​

 

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Man City must tell 's***' Guardiola to stop, says Toure's agent

Yaya Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk has launched a fresh attack on Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, urging the club to intervene and tell him the midfielder is considered as "family" at the Etihad Stadium.

Seluk previously slammed the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach for "humiliating" Toure by leaving him out of his first-team plans and the club's Champions League squad, before going on to talk down the Catalan's coaching achievements at his old clubs.Guardiola has said Toure will not play for him again at City until he and the club's players receive an apology from the midfielder over his representative's remarks.

But Seluk has already insisted he will not be saying sorry and feels there is nothing wrong with questioning Guardiola's decision to only play Toure once this season - against Steaua Bucharest in August.

The agent feels owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak must act, saying to The Sun: "They must say to Guardiola, 'Yaya is our family' - how is it possible to speak like this?

"It is not correct to do that. It is not correct to give up on a top-class player. But this is his decision - he is a good coach but his personality is s***."If Yaya is on the field or not, everyone will ask, 'What is this decision from Guardiola?' Normally a person cannot make a decision like this.

"And it is England, not North Korea or Afghanistan - so people will discuss whether it is right and they will have their opinions."It is necessary to remember that Yaya, when he was in Barcelona, played as a defender and they won against Man United [in the 2009 Champions League final].

"It is very strange. All supporters like Guardiola but my opinion is that supporters also see that Yaya gave City a lot. They won the title two times with him and won cups."We'll see what Pep does. Many people don't understand how it is possible to do what he has done with players."

Seluk insists that Toure will see out his contract until the end of the season unless City approach him and reach acceptable terms with his client to leave the Etihad Stadium, while again questioning the acclaim received by Guardiola, who has won 10 straight matches since taking charge."He has a contract until June and he will stay," continued Seluk."If they want him to leave they must make a conversation with me and then it is if we agree.

"Okay, Guardiola has won matches this season, so everyone must only see his fantastic football. But his personality is far from great. I repeat the message from everywhere that he has been from Barcelona to Bayern Munich. Many people don't like him.

"When Yaya came to the club they spent only £20 million on players, not Guardiola who comes and buys three or four big signings - maybe he'll spend £1 billion on players."After that he will say it is very difficult and £1bn is not enough. If he comes to West Brom would he win the title?

"[Claudio] Ranieri, [Ronald] Koeman and [Mauricio] Pochettino show what is possible with less money. It is more easy with half a billion pounds."

 

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Inter 1-1 Bologna : Perisic rescues point for hosts

Inter's run of three straight Serie A wins came to a halt in a 1-1 draw against a stubborn Bologna at San Siro on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri had recovered from a slow start to Frank de Boer's tenure by recording victories over Pescara, Juventus and Empoli, but were unable to overcome a stubborn Bologna side on their home turf.

Hunting for a first away win of the season, Bologna made the most of a sloppy Inter start when Simone Verdi robbed Geoffrey Kondogbia of possession and played in Mattia Destro to score the opener.

De Boer is still impressing his brand of attacking football on his Inter squad and it took the home side half an hour to settle into the match, but when they did the impressive Ivan Perisic volleyed home a superb equaliser.

The script appeared to be written for Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa to come off the bench and win it for Inter on his eagerly awaited debut, but his 18-minute appearance yielded very little and Inter squandered the chance to move three points clear of nearest rivals Roma in Serie A.

Andrea Ranocchia asserted himself on the game early on, winning key battles against dangerman Destro, but Inter's long-ball approach proved ineffective against a Bologna side happy to sit deep.

Bologna capitalised on Inter's uncertain start when Kondogbia gave the ball away cheaply and Verdi jinked his way into the penalty area where he played in Destro, who slotted his third goal of the season under Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
De Boer barked instructions from the touchline and Inter responded with some improved passages of play, while Perisic volleyed wide after Davide Santon's cross found him unmarked at the far post.

Perisic was at the heart of Inter's improvement and the Croatia international made a telling contribution in the 37th minute when he showed great technique to expertly volley Antonio Candreva's long pass into the bottom right-hand corner.Ever Banega went close early in the second half and Candreva's deflected cross tested Angelo da Costa as Inter pressed for a winner.

Bologna stemmed the flow of attacks and became more difficult to break down, although Perisic carved out an opening when he beat three defenders before playing a one-two and heading the ball wide.De Boer recognised the need for fresh legs in attack and sent on Gabriel.

The Brazilian striker played to the crowd, gesturing for Inter's fans to roar them to victory, but Andrea Ranocchia missed with a free header in the last few seconds of injury time and Bologna deservedly ground out their first away point of the season.

 

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Atletico Madrid 1-0 Deportivo: Griezmann strikes to down 10-man visitors

Atletico Madrid maintained their unbeaten start to the season as a second-half goal from Antoine Griezmann secured a deserved 1-0 victory over 10-man Deportivo La Coruna.

The visitors lost Moroccan midfielder Faycal Fajr who was sent off in first-half stoppage time and Atletico eventually took advantage of their numerical superiority with 20 minutes left.

Griezmann, who had been a threat throughout, rifled home his fifth goal in the last four games from close range after being picked out by substitute Kevin Gameiro.

Some of the gloss was taken off the home side's victory, however, by the loss of Augusto Fernandez and Jose Gimenez to knee and thigh injuries respectively during the first half. Both must be regarded as major doubts for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

A fourth win in five games in all competitions moved Diego Simeone's men up to third in LaLiga, one point behind second-placed Barcelona and a further point back from leaders Real Madrid.

Gaizka Garitano's men never seriously threatened to secure what would have been their first victory since the opening day of the league campaign, even before Fajr's premature departure and they remain precariously positioned just one point above the relegation places.A sluggish, disjointed opening to the game was notable only for Simeone being forced to introduce Gabi from the bench after just 19 minutes.

The club skipper had been named among the substitutes, presumably in a bid to keep him fresh for the Bayern Munich game, but he was forced into the fray after Fernandez was stretchered off.

Having taken a while to settle, Atletico went close to breaking the deadlock on 21 minutes when Angel Correa split the Deportivo defence with a clever throughball, but Griezmann dragged his low shot narrowly wide of the post.The home side duly upped the tempo in the wake of that missed chance, creating another moments later as Nicolas Gaitan's goalbound effort was blocked by a cluster of Deportivo defenders.

Atletico remained on the front foot as half-time approached despite losing a second player to injury as Gimenez was forced off with a thigh problem.And they received an unexpected boost in stoppage time when Fajr picked up his second yellow card of the afternoon for a ludicrous challenge on Gaitan.

Griezmann had an effort correctly ruled out for offside two minutes into the second half, Gabi then fired wide and Yannick Carrasco was denied twice in quick succession by Deportivo goalkeeper German Lux as the home side piled on the pressure.But despite Lux's heroics and some resolute defending, the 10 men were eventually undone on 70 minutes as Griezmann converted from Gameiro's right-wing cross.

Atletico were largely untroubled in the final quarter with the notable exception of a last-minute strike from Emre Colak, which was headed clear by Diego Godin, as Simeone's men avoided the last-gasp headaches that neighbours Real Madrid had suffered on Saturday in drawing to Las Palmas.

 

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West Ham 0-3 Southampton: Saints pick up easy win

Southampton tore through a sorry West Ham defence to rack up a 3-0 win at London Stadium on Sunday and pile more misery on an embattled Slaven Bilic.

Charlie Austin, Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse got the goals to seal a fourth win in a row in all competitions for Claude Puel's side, who have kept clean sheets in all of those successes.

By some contrast, West Ham have now shipped 14 goals in four Premier League games, despite the hosts siting deep and allowing Southampton the ball in a bid to avoid the sort of first-half collapse they suffered at West Brom last week.

The game lacked any real spark until Austin, against the side who rejected the chance to sign him last year, stylishly converted Ryan Bertrand's cross to prompt boos from the home fans at the half-time whistle.

West Ham applied some pressure early in the second half, but a dreadful lapse in defence allowed Tadic to wrong-foot goalkeeper Adrian and finish into the unguarded net to put Southampton in cruise control and Ward-Prowse capped a thorough beating in stoppage time.

West Ham have now lost five of their six league games and slide into the bottom three. Southampton, meanwhile, are up to 10th.

Simone Zaza saw penalty shouts waved away by referee Jonathan Moss after he was knocked to ground by Cedric Soares, but opportunities were scarce in the early stages as West Ham willingly sat off their opponents.

Neither side was able to fashion an effort on target in a first 40 minutes that were desperately short on quality, but Austin's opening goal was worth the wait.

Bertrand linked up with Dusan Tadic down the Southampton left, after escaping Michail Antonio's attentions, and the full-back cut the ball into the penalty area, where Austin arrived to sweep it into the far corner first time with his left foot.
Southampton twice could have doubled their lead before the break, Adrian denying Nathan Redmond at the near post before Cedric blasted a shot into the side-netting from a similar position.

The Spaniard made a brilliant one-handed stop to deny Tadic from close range shortly after the interval as Southampton continued to threaten a second, but despite a spell of West Ham pressure, Tadic made them pay for more dreadful defending just past the hour mark.

After Winston Reid and Cheikhou Kouyate contrived to lose possession in their own half, Austin played a first-time pass into the space in the West Ham defence, and Tadic dummied superbly to take the ball beyond Adrian before slotting home.

Steven Davis was denied by a last-ditch block from Havard Nordtveit as Southampton sliced through the home defence once more, before West Ham saw further penalty appeals denied as substitute Sofiane Feghouli's goal-bound shot struck the raised arm of Bertrand.

An otherwise subdued Payet arrowed a shot narrowly wide and the indomitable Virgil van Dijk capped a superb display with a timely goalline clearance, but Ward-Prowse added gloss to a fine day for the visitors as he steered a left-foot shot into the net after Angelo Ogbonna deflected Davis' cross invitingly into his path.

 

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Fiorentina 0-0 Milan: Montella's men frustrated in Florence

AC Milan drew for the first time in Serie A this season as they were held 0-0 at coach Vincenzo Montella's former club Fiorentina.

The Rossoneri had the chance to move above rivals Inter and into the top three with a third consecutive win, but instead found themselves on the back foot and thankful to the woodwork for keeping out Josip Ilicic's penalty.

Davide Calabria's first-half foul on Borja Valero led to the game's best opportunity, but Ilicic smashed against the post from 12 yards as he missed from the spot for the first time in his Serie A career.

Montella, who spent three seasons in charge of Fiorentina, drew in Florence while at the Sampdoria helm last term and was perhaps fortunate to escape with a point again.

Carlos Bacca had netted crucial goals in each of his side's prior victories, but the Colombian cut an isolated figure as the Viola monopolised possession for long periods.

Fiorentina are still yet to concede at home this season and rarely looked in danger of seeing that record altered, despite Milan's recent triumphs over Samp and Lazio.

Montella named an unchanged side from that which cruised past Lazio in midweek, but it was the hosts who had the first attempt as Federico Bernardeschi flashed a left-footed strike over the crossbar.

From a similar position on the edge of the area, Ilicic whipped a shot past the post and Milan Badelj then blazed over as a half-cleared corner fell at his feet.M'Baye Niang should have punished Fiorentina for their wastefulness when his own effort deflected back into his path, but from close range on the left of the box he likewise could not keep his finish on target.But Paulo Sousa's men were soon back on the attack and should have led with 23 minutes played.

Badelj's stunning pass set Ilicic away on the right, and from his cross, Calabria tugged Valero to the ground after the Spaniard and Nikola Kalinic had both failed to get a shot away.

Ilicic took the resultant spot-kick, rattling against the foot of the goalkeeper's left-hand upright.The next opening did not arrive until the start of the second half, with Valero finally finding the target as Gianluigi Donnarumma clung on with ease.

A rare Milan break then sent Niang, Bacca and Suso all flying forward, but a mix-up in the middle saw the latter two get in one another's way and the chance was quickly gone.

The visitors' newfound attacking ambition was leaving space at the back, though, and Donnarumma had to get down to block Kalinic's drive after Ilicic's burst.

Ciprian Tatarusanu made his first stop from Mattia De Sciglio's long-distance effort, before Suso was also denied when he fired low after an elongated one-two with Giacomo Bonaventura.

In an increasingly boisterous atmosphere, Valero was now carrying Fiorentina's chief threat and forced a fine save from Donnarumma at full-stretch with a curler from the right.

Kalinic's bobbling attempt was gathered by the goalkeeper, too, and, despite a frantic tempo and a desperate penalty appeal when Luiz Adriano took a tumble at the death, neither side could force a late winner.

 

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Pjanic: I will play wherever Allegri needs me for Juventus

Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic is happy to play wherever Massimiliano Allegri needs him and is confident his performances will improve as the season goes on.The 26-year-old has yet to live up to the high expectations at the reigning Serie A champions following his big-money move as Allegri continues to search for his best position.However, Pjanic sees no reason for concern just yet following his slightly underwhelming start at Juve.

"I am happy to play wherever the coach needs me," Pjanic told Sky Sport. "I can play in front of our defence, in central midfield or as an attacking midfielder."I have only just arrived here at Juventus and I am sure things will improve bit by bit."

Juventus received their fair share of criticism after they drew their Champions League opener against Sevilla and were beaten by arch-rivals Inter, with Pjanic acknowledging they must always be on top of their game."Juventus cannot afford to put in a poor performance even for 45 minutes or there will be criticism," he added.

"Allegri spoke with us after the defeat against Inter, explained what we did wrong and we immediately won the next two games."Allegri's men will be looking to record their first Champions League win of the season when they travel to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, but Pjanic has warned it will not be a simple task."There will be a heated atmosphere against Dinamo.These games are never easy, but we obviously want to put in a good performance and win," Pjanic continued.

"We want to play well, dominate and play our own game. Expectations are very high. But it is never easy in the Champions League."The most important thing is to get the three points and make it out of the group in the end."

 

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Injured De Bruyne doubtful for Barcelona & Man Utd clashes

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne faces around a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.The Belgium midfielder limped out of City's 3-1 victory at Swansea City on Saturday afternoon after playing a part in two of the Blues' goals.

Pep Guardiola revealed after the match that De Bruyne would undergo scans on Sunday, and according to sources close to the player those initial tests have detected a muscle tear.

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne faces around a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.The Belgium midfielder limped out of City's 3-1 victory at Swansea City on Saturday afternoon after playing a part in two of the Blues' goals.

Pep Guardiola revealed after the match that De Bruyne would undergo scans on Sunday, and according to sources close to the player those initial tests have detected a muscle tear.The 25-year-old is expected to travel to Barcelona on Monday for further tests and treatment, according to City Watch.

Vincent Kompany, De Bruyne's countryman, also spent time in Barcelona after picking up a thigh injury back in May, although Dr Eduardo Mauri, who helped treat the centre-back, is now at City having been brought to the club by Guardiola.

The upcoming international break has lessened the impact of De Bruyne's injury on City's fixture list, but he is unlikely to be fit to face Barcelona in the Champions League on October 19.He will also miss games against Celtic and Tottenham in the next week, as well as the home clash with Everton on October 15.

A Premier League meeting with Southampton follows the Barca game at Camp Nou, before City travel to Old Trafford for the EFL Cup game against Manchester United on October 26.

 

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Mourinho's treatment of Schweinsteiger is not right - Podolski

Former Germany international Lukas Podolski has hit out at Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho over his treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The experienced midfielder joined United from Bayern Munich ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, but struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford, partially due to injury problems.

New manager Mourinho quickly decided he no longer needed Schweinsteiger and eventually dropoed the 32-year-old to the reserves, much to the dismay of the midfielder's old international team-mate.

"When you look at the career Bastian has had, I can only say that what is happening there is simply not right for a player of his stature," Podolski told Bild.

"I do not know what Mourinho has discussed with Bastian. But is clear that it is not okay to drop someone like Basti to the reserves."A coach should always keep his door open to all players, and especially to players like Schweini."Schweinsteiger has a contract with United until June 2018.

 

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Basti wa play karawanne nathi 1kanam atthatama aparadayakTeam 1ka wenuwen deyak karanna puluwan player kenek​

 

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Atletico midfielder Augusto to undergo surgery on ACL injury

Atletico Madrid midfielder Augusto Fernandez is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the club confirmed he sustained knee ligament damage in Sunday's 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna.The 30-year-old Argentina international was stretchered off in the 14th minute after tangling with Celso Borges and was in obvious distress as he was taken down the tunnel.

A problem with his left knee already ruled the former Celta Vigo man out for a chunk of last term and it now appears his 2016-17 campaign might be over as well, although his latest injury is to his right knee.

"Tests have revealed Augusto Fernandez suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee," read a statement on Atletico's official website.

"He will be operated upon soon."In addition to the luckless Augusto, Jose Gimenez looks set to be unavailable for Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich after becoming the second Atletico player to be forced off by injury in the first half against Deportivo.The Uruguayan defender picked up a thigh strain and was replaced by Lucas Hernandez after 19 minutes.