..::Football IV::..

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Mourinho: I was sacked by Chelsea, it was not mutual consent

Jose Mourinho bears no grudges to anyone at Chelsea despite confirming he was sacked in December 2015 and did not leave by mutual consent.

Mourinho was shown the door seven months after leading the west London club to the title, after Chelsea opened their defence at the start of the 2015-16 season with nine defeats in their first 16 games.

At the time the club statement claimed the Portuguese had left by mutual consent but Mourinho, who returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time since with Manchester United on Sunday, was adamant he was dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich.

"Mr Abramovich decided to sack me," He told Sky Sports. "It was not mutual consent. But I left without a bad word about anything or anyone at the club. "That was in my first period at Chelsea when I agreed it was time to change. Should Carrick start alongside Pogba against Chelsea?"I was keen to change, more than ready to go to other countries but this time it was not like that.

"It was a decision by the owner and I was informed of that decision. I accepted it in a polite way and we signed the papers. I did it in a calm, respectful way."

Mourinho continued to live in London before he was named United boss in May."I waited for what I preferred, which was to stay in England, in the Premier League and I was lucky to have a big club like Manchester United," he added.

"It took a couple of days [to get over it] and then it was finished and I started my life in a common way."I was still in London, I kept a house there, I was walking in the street, going to the gym, watching football..."

Mourinho, who guided Chelsea to two Premier League titles in his first spell in charge, believes the sack is a part of modern management.

"It's not nice for me or anyone but that's life, I took it in a positive way," he said.
"To be sacked is [part of] football, many of the best managers in the history of football have had their moment to be sacked."Of course there are exceptions but normally, and especially in modern football, you are in a position where it can happen to anyone.

"If it was a club where I gave nothing it would be more difficult. When I leave the club that in two different periods I gave titles and, to the fans, some of the best moments that a club's supporters can have, then I leave with a feeling of 'I did my job'."Mourinho claimed the fans wanted him to stay before the axe fell.

"I don't think they wanted it but, even if they did, they cannot remove me from Chelsea history," he said."I am in their history and they belong to my history too, so there is no reason for bad feelings."

 

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Suarez close to new long-term Barcelona deal

Luis Suarez has confirmed discussions between his representatives and Barcelona regarding a new long-term contract are "really advanced".

The Uruguay star joined Barca in a reported £75 million deal from Liverpool in July 2014 and has been nothing but a success, scoring 62 La Liga goals in 70 appearances so far and lifting two Liga titles and the Champions League in 2014-15.

Forty of those goals came last season as he helped Barca retain their league title and won the Golden Shoe as Europe's leading scorer."They [the club and Suarez's representatives] are handling the renewal," Suarez told Sport 890

"It's really advanced and I can say it's on the right path. "Both sides are in agreement and we're talking about a long deal."Barca have recently tied Javier Mascherano and Neymar down to new deals, the Brazilian extending his Camp Nou contract until 2022 this week.

 

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Guardiola: I don't want Man City to play like Barca

Pep Guardiola says he is not trying to turn Manchester City into Barcelona or change English football.The Catalan gave an entertaining press conference on Friday when he denied any problems with Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany, and pointed to his record of success as he insisted he will never change his philosophy.

And he also moved to temper English football's expectations of his time at the Etihad Stadium and tried to clear up what he hopes to achieve."I don't want to play like Barcelona,"he said. "Barcelona play in that way depending on the players they have, especially one.

"I hear many times people say that Pep is coming here to change English football. I said at the beginning to forget about it because I am not coming here to change absolutely anything.

"I want to learn and I will try to change one way to play for my players. I will try to convince them they can have fun and play good and win as many games as possible and fight for titles. That is my only target, with the players that we are working with every single day, that is why I am trying.

"That is why Manchester City called me, to try to play in the way I believe with the players that I have.

"Of course I'm not going to play long balls when the tallest striker I have is short but of course i'm going to use Aguero, who has the quality to score goals in the right moment.

"We're going to play the way we play with our quality and we did it many times. I'm still really impressed with how quickly we played good, many times to win the game with personality in the short time.

"But to achieve what [Barcelona] achieve, we need decades. [Johna] Cruyff started when he arrived in 1989/90, so that's 25, 26 years.

"I am ambitious but not to change what is impossible to change in the short time. It's impossible."

 

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Giggs: Manchester United decline was not inevitable

Manchester United great Ryan Giggs does not believe the club's post-Alex Ferguson decline was inevitable, instead claiming their recruitment was not good enough under successor David Moyes.United have gone three seasons without Premier League silverware since the Scot guided the club to their 20th title in 2012-13 - his final term at Old Trafford.

Moyes and Louis van Gaal have come and gone in Manchester, and Jose Mourinho is now tasked with getting them back on track as Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea continue to challenge for top honours.

However, former assistant boss Giggs - who left the club after losing out to Mourinho for the manager role - feels it all went wrong after Moyes replaced Ferguson in May 2013.Giggs felt the transfers, or lack thereof, in that first close-season left United in a bad position, highlighting the move for Marouane Fellaini as a panic buy.

"If you had asked me back in May 2013, having swept to our 13th Premier League title under Sir Alex with four games to spare, whether I could ever see a day when United would not at least be challenging for the title, I would have said there was no chance," Giggs wrote in his column for the Telegraph."Our strength as a team was too well-established. Financially, the club was huge. The stadium is the biggest club ground in the country.

"All the things that, for example, Liverpool had failed to do in order to ensure their long-lasting success after the 1970s and 1980s, United had done. Yet it is already three years since United's last title.

"Sir Alex also went three seasons without winning a league title but there was a plan and he came back with three in a row between 2006 and 2009. That is the challenge for Jose Mourinho, to put the club back up on top of the English game but there are no certainties about the future for United as there once were.

"I don't believe that the decline, post-Sir Alex was inevitable. We won the Premier League by 11 points. There were so many winners in that team, so many great characters. Yes, the likes of myself, Rio, Nemanja Vidic, even Patrice Evra were coming to the end of our careers – although Patrice is still playing. But with the right recruitment we would have been gently phased out and replaced by young, hungry players with United's winning mentality.

"Instead, the recruitment in that first summer under David Moyes didn't go to plan. I don't blame David. He came in without any of the inside knowledge about how the squad worked: when certain players needed resting, who was right for which game, who needed to be moved on and who needed to be encouraged. Those of us who had lived through it could help him a bit, but a manager has to acquire that knowledge over time.

"Signing Marouane Fellaini so close to the deadline that August, the club's only major deal in a summer when we needed two or three big names, suggested that things were not running smoothly. United had signed players late in the window before – Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 springs to mind – but this time was different. This time it was more of a panic.

"Sir Alex might not necessarily have had a first-choice XI but he knew exactly what side was needed for each game, and would have that planned weeks ahead. David did not have that information. He started with a blank sheet of paper and for most of the first season we were chasing our best XI, or the right team for the game in question."

 

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Ibrahimovic one of the best - Zambrotta

Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the all-time great strikers, according to former Italy full-back Gianluca Zambrotta.

The 39-year-old played with the Swede for a total of four years, as they were at Juventus together between 2004-06 and were reunited four years later with Milan in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, before Ibrahimovic went on to star for Paris Saint-Germain.Ibrahimovic has made an incredible start to life at Old Trafford, having scored five goals in as many matches, but has just one strike in his last seven appearances.

“I was very lucky because I played with some very good strikers like Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Trezeguet, but Ibrahimovic was one of the best,” Zambrotta told Goal.“He had a large personality and was a very professional man, he always gave 100 per cent and was a powerful player. As a technician, Zlatan has almost everything.”

Zambrotta won two Serie A titles at Juve alongside Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and the legendary right-back says that he always knew that the coach would be successful in the dugout.

“You could see that he had all the characteristics and power to be a good coach,” said Zambrotta.“He was always motivating the team as a captain and he is now giving great inspiration as a manager.”

Meanwhile, he looked ahead to Sunday's derby meeting between Juventus and Torino, commenting: “The Turin derby was something that you felt before the match, but all the derbies in Italy - Roma-Lazio, Sampdoria-Genoa and Milan-Inter - were big. Sometimes it was important to win one derby just to save your season.

“Of course it’s very exciting to play in a Milan derby, it’s also amazing to play in front of 80,000 people. You can feel the atmosphere one week or 10 days before the game, as the derby is not just an important match in Milan but in the whole of Italy.”The World Cup-winning defender moved to Barcelona in 2006, and although he has fond memories of his time in Spain, it didn’t work out as he had hoped.

Barca have been champions of Spain in eight of the last 12 seasons, but Zambrotta was unfortunate not to claim a single title under his friend Frank Rijkaard.

“When I arrived in Barcelona I was expecting a very important season, but it was a very explosive team in my two years,” he said.“We didn’t win La Liga, even though we reached the same level as Real Madrid and had the same points, as they won the title on the head-to-head rule.”

It’s often claimed that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sold the defender as part of the clear-out that saw Ronaldinho and Deco leave when he took over first team duties, however, Zambrotta revealed it didn’t quite materialise in this manner.

“I received an offer from Milan, so I never had the opportunity to connect and work with Guardiola. It was nothing personal, it was just the way that it happened,” he confessed.

Now Delhi Dynamos coach, he has shared the pitch with some of the greatest performers ever, but it was the skill of one former team-mate off the pitch at the Camp Nou that shocked him more.

Zambrotta said: “I was surprised by Ronaldinho because he was always juggling the ball whilst he was getting changed. Whether it was in the dressing room or in training he always had the ball and was performing tricks.”

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.10.22

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2016.10.22

Bournemouth Vs Tottenham

Arsenal Vs Middlesbrough

Burnley Vs Everon

Hull City Vs Stoke

Leicester City Vs Crystal Palace

Swansea Vs Watford

West Ham Vs Sunderland

Liverpool Vs WBA

​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2016.10.22

LA Liga Fixtures 2016.10.22

Espanyol Vs Barcelona

Valencia Vs Barcelona

Real Sociedad Vs Alaves

Granada Vs Sporting Gijon​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2016.10.22

Serie A Fixtures 2016.10.22

Sampdoria Vs Genoa

AC Milan Vs Juventus​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2016.10.22

Bundesliga Fixtures 2016.10.22

Leverkusen Vs Hoffenheim

Ingolstadt Vs Dortmund

Hertha Berlin Vs Cologne

Freiburg Vs Augsburg

Darmstadt Vs Wolfsburg

Bayern Vs Monchengladbach​

 

[Alucard_SxE]

Bundesliga Fixtures 2016.10.22​

Thanks bro. I usually know the fixtures but sometimes tend to miss a one or two games ​

 

[Alucard_SxE]

Vale 2 - 3 Barca

Awesome match. Alves was so close to saving another pen. Barca hanging on to us & atleti​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Thanks bro. I usually know the fixtures but sometimes tend to miss a one or two games

You're welcome bro!

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ingolstadt 3-3 Borussia Dortmund: Pulisic rescues point for Tuchel's men

Christian Pulisic's stoppage-time strike salvaged a point for Borussia Dortmund as they came from behind to draw 3-3 with lowly Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga.

Thomas Tuchel's injury-hit side appeared to be facing a third league defeat of the campaign at the AudiSportpark on Saturday, only for substitute Pulisic to snatch a share of the spoils.

Markus Kauczinski's men had raced into a two-goal lead by the midway stage in the first-half – Dario Lezcano having followed up Almog Cohen's earlier volley.

Dortmund's stand-in captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hauled the visitors back into the game with his seventh Bundesliga goal of 2016-17 early in the second-half, only for his header to be immediately cancelled out by Lezcano's second of the game.

Adrian Ramos netted a second for Dortmund with 20 minutes remaining, but it looked as though Ingolstadt would hold firm to secure a first league win of the season, with goalkeeper Orjan Nyland pulling off a string of impressive stops.

But Nyland turned from hero to villain late on when he spilled Lukas Piszczek's header at the feet of Pulisic, the United States winger making no mistake in finally pulling Dortmund level.

Dortmund eased to victories in both of their meetings with Ingolstadt last term, but Tuchel's side found themselves behind after just six minutes. Markus Suttner was the architect, delivering a sublime delivery from a free-kick on the right, with Cohen on hand to prod home on the volley.
Roman Weidenfeller denied the hosts a second goal moments later, the veteran goalkeeper – making his first Bundesliga appearance of the season – instinctively parrying away Lukas Hinterseer's acrobatic attempt.

And the hosts' pressure told again in the 24th minute, Suttner again the provider with another fantastic free-kick – Lezcano rising highest to plant a powerful header into the left-hand corner.

Ingolstadt should have had a third shortly after the half-hour mark, but Hinterseer failed to find the target after connecting with Lezcano's cross.

Dortmund went close as the interval approached, however, Aubameyang drilling a free-kick just over the crossbar while, at the other end, Weidenfeller did well to keep out Lezcano's close-range strike.Tuchel switched to a back three following the restart, introducing Pulisic in place of Park Joo-ho.

But it was Ousmane Dembele who finally unlocked Ingolstatdt's defence, the Frenchman picking out Aubameyang with a fine cross and the skipper made no mistake with his header.Ingolstadt wasted no time in restoring their two-goal cushion, though – Lezcano doubling his tally with an excellently placed first-time finish.

Dortmund's defence was a shambles, and Ingolstadt were just inches away from adding a fourth when Moritz Hartmann's strike hit the woodwork.Tuchel's side seemed devoid of ideas as the half wore on, though Ramos did haul them back into proceedings once more with a venomous strike.

Nyland appeared to have preserved a precious win when he denied Felix Passlack and Mario Gotze late on, but the Norwegian keeper was helpless as he could only parry Piszczek's header straight to Pulisic, who bundled home.

 

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Hull City 0-2 Stoke City: Stunning Shaqiri double downs Tigers

Xherdan Shaqiri scored a pair of sensational goals to earn Stoke City a 2-0 victory over struggling Hull City, who slipped into to the Premier League's bottom three with defeat in front of a sparse crowd at the KCOM Stadium.

Switzerland international Shaqiri was instrumental in Stoke winning successive Premier League matches for the first time since March with a brilliant display, suggesting the Potters' sluggish start to the season may be behind them.

The former Inter winger picked out the top corner with a 25-yard stunner in the 26th minute to put Mark Hughes' team, unchanged from their first top-flight win in eight against Sunderland last weekend, on the path to victory.

Shaqiri added his second early in the second half via a sweetly struck free-kick, making him the first Stoke player to score two goals from outside the box in a single Premier League match.

Marko Arnautovic was unable to make the most of the Swiss' creativity to add to the scoreline on two occasions, but there was no danger of them surrendering the three points that lift them out of the drop zone.

Hull ultimately paid the price for failing to contain the unstoppable Swiss despite welcoming captain Michael Dawson back from a medial knee ligament injury that had sidelined him since pre-season, with a fifth straight defeat sending them into the bottom three.

Stoke owed much of their strong start to Shaqiri. The Swiss miscued after latching onto a Geoff Cameron long pass from Geoff Cameron, before a delightful dinked ball of his own proved just too heavy for the in-form Joe Allen in the eighth minute.

Hull had an appeal for a penalty correctly ignored by referee Kevin Friend when Will Keane's powerful shot was unintentionally handled by Ryan Shawcross, and, after Keane failed to find the target with a 22nd minute header, they were soon behind.Shaqiri received the ball from Shawcross on the right wing and dribbled inside before bending a brilliant 25-yard strike into the top-right corner.

It could have been two in the 29th minute but Arnautovic was unable to supply the finishing touch to Shaqiri's exceptional pass, his stabbed shot saved by David Marshall before the rebound went behind off Dawson.Hull captain Dawson produced a brilliant challenge to deny Wilfried Bony his first goal for the club in first-half stoppage time.

Stoke's second came just five minutes after the restart, when the hosts' inability to clear the ball resulted in Curtis Davies sending Shaqiri to ground 20 yards out.
Shaqiri took the resultant free-kick himself, bending a brilliant effort over the wall and inside the bottom-right corner to Marshall's dismay.

The mesmerising Swiss returned to his role of creator in the 65th minute, his raking cross-field pass picking out Arnautovic who was thwarted by the left hand of Marshall, though no corner was given.

Marshall denied Allen at his near post with 15 minutes remaining, but Hull were unable to avoid a sixth defeat in their last seven Premier League outings.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Burnley 2-1 Everton: Late Arfield strike downs Koeman's men

Scott Arfield scored a last-minute winner as Burnley snatched an unlikely 2-1 Premier League victory over Everton at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Ronald Koeman's side were the better side for much of this encounter, but came away from east Lancashire with nothing after the Canada international fired home first time from the edge of the box after Johann Berg Gudmundsson's effort had come back off the bar.

It was a bitter pill for Everton to swallow, after the visitors had deservedly cancelled out Sam Vokes' first-half opener through Yannick Bolasie's first goal for the club just prior to the hour.

Vokes tapped home his third goal of the season after visiting goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg - last week's hero after saving two penalties in a 1-1 draw at Manchester City - parried into his path.

Everton got the equaliser they deserved when Bolasie had the confidence to take the ball off Romelu Lukaku and produce a convincing finish to open his account for his new club.

Burnley were without regular starters Steven Defour and George Boyd through injury and, with Andre Gray serving the last of his four-match ban, Sean Dyche's side were a little devoid of an attacking spark.

But it was one of the men recalled, Arfield - after also playing a key role in Vokes' opener - who proved the hero with a fine effort to hand Burnley a potentially crucial three points in what looks set to be another battle to avoid the drop.

Kevin Mirallas was one of two Everton changes from the draw at City and the Belgian should have rewarded that decision in the second minute when he shot straight at Tom Heaton following a mix-up between Ben Mee and Michael Keane.Burnley were forced into their two changes and it was the other newcomer, Michael Kightly, who volleyed over from a corner.

Heaton was forced into smart stops from Lukaku and Ross Barkley as Everton pressed for an opener, but it was the home side who broke the deadlock in the 39th minute.

A smart touch from Gudmundsson released Arfield, who danced away from one challenge as he approached the edge of the box. His attempt deflected off Ashley Williams and wrong-footed Stekelenburg, who could only touch the ball for Vokes to slot home.The visitors were again the brighter side after the restart and levelled matters two minutes prior to the hour.

Gareth Barry's pass set Lukaku away, but Bolasie took the ball off his team-mate before bearing down on goal and thumping a low right-footed shot across Heaton into the far corner.

Having claimed his first Everton goal, the winger went close to a second with 10 minutes remaining when his curling effort was tipped over by the impressive Heaton.

After withstanding a spell of pressure, it was Burnley who once again scored against the run of play to steal it, Arfield sending the home crowd into raptures with a fine left-footed finish after Gudmundsson's effort had struck the woodwork.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal 0-0 Middlesbrough: Gunners frustrated by resilient Boro

Arsenal edged to the top of the Premier League but there was little else to cheer for Arsene Wenger on his 67th birthday as his team played out a goalless draw against Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium.

Winless since beating north-east rivals Sunderland in August, Boro could feel aggrieved not to lead at the break after Petr Cech pulled off impressive saves to deny Adama Traore and Gaston Ramirez either side of the latter clattering the angle of post and crossbar with a brilliant free-kick.

So fluent in recent weeks, Arsenal were fitful in attack and Victor Valdes' best save in the Boro goal came as he athletically thwarted Alexis Sanchez from distance.

Theo Walcott scored for the seventh time in six matches in the 6-0 Champions League demolition of Ludogorets on Wednesday but he fell well short of those standards and midweek hat-trick hero Mesut Ozil had a goal correctly ruled out for offside in stoppage time.

Aitor Karanka's fourth-bottom side once again proved a tough nut to crack on their travels – six of their seven points this season have now come away from the Riverside Stadium.

Arsenal began confidently in pursuit of an eighth consecutive win in all competitions, pushing Middlesbrough deep into their own territory as Ozil lifted a free-kick over and Mohamed Elneny – into a midfield missing Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka through injury and suspension respectively – fired wide.

Ozil had a penalty appeal rejected after a coming together with Marten de Roon before a pair of scares for the hosts.Alvaro Negredo won a 19th-minute flick-on from Daniel Ayala's raking pass and Traore darted in behind Laurent Koscielny but Cech stood firm.

The Arsenal goalkeeper was helpless a minute later when Ramirez came agonisingly close with his vicious, swerving free-kick, while opposite number Valdes was called upon to keep out a Sanchez set piece.

In the 33rd minute, a clear chance again fell Middlesbrough's way as Koscielny blocked Negredo's header from Traore's cross and Cech was out superbly to deny Ramirez from point-blank range on the rebound.

Wenger's men resumed with renewed purpose and Valdes should have been punished when he fumbled in the area and Koscielny could not convert Sanchez's hook across goal.

The 34-year-old then showed some of the form that helped to establish him as Barcelona's long-time number one by sprawling to keep out a dipping low Sanchez drive.

But this wave of pressure did not put Boro into survival mode and Hector Bellerin had to make a challenge to deny De Roon before Cech tipped wide at full stretch after Traore's electric pace cut the Arsenal defence to ribbons before the hour.An untimely error from the impressive Ramirez almost allowed Walcott to open the scoring but the England man shot too close to Valdes.

The former Spain international remained relatively unthreatened during the closing stages bar one disappointing effort from Sanchez, while Koscielny needed to make a last-ditch tackle to prevent Negredo stealing the points.

Arsenal briefly thought Ozil had pilfered a victory but their stay at the summit will be short-lived if Liverpool beat West Brom by two goals in Saturday's late kick-off.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

West Ham 1-0 Sunderland: Hammers leave it late to beat lowly Wearsiders

Winston Reid's goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time secured a 1-0 victory for West Ham over luckless Sunderland at the London Stadium.

The bottom-placed visitors had looked poised to pick up their third point and first clean sheet of the season courtesy of a battling display, but were punished in the 94th minute as a quickly-taken Dimitri Payet corner found Reid on the edge of the box and the New Zealand defender fired a low shot into the bottom-right corner through a crowd of players.

The victory, just their second in the league at their new home, means that Slaven Bilic's men have now taken seven points from their last three games as they continue to climb away from the relegation zone.

Payet had come close to giving them the lead in the first half when he struck the post, but Sunderland could also have broken the deadlock early in the second half when Wahbi Khazri was denied by Adrian.

The visitors rallied well after enduring a torrid opening half-hour during which they could easily have found themselves two or three goals down and looked set for a valuable point as the game moved into stoppage time.

But David Moyes' men have struggled to defend against set-pieces all season and were made to pay the penalty once again as Reid struck to secure a third successive 1-0 win for West Ham in this fixture.

The first chance of the game fell the way of Payet after five minutes, with the France midfielder curling his shot narrowly wide following a neat one-two with Mark Noble.

And Payet again went close moments later, this time firing straight at Jordan Pickford having beaten three defenders during a surging run into the box.

With Noble pulling the strings in central midfield and Michail Antonio a constant threat down the right, the hosts continued to dominate for the opening half hour.Simone Zaza and Edimilson Fernandes both saw goalbound efforts deflected wide before Payet went even closer on 26 minutes, thumping the base of the left post with a well-struck effort from the edge of the box.

Having weathered that early storm, Sunderland did eventually manage to force their way into the contest as Jack Rodwell headed a Khazri free-kick over the bar and Jermain Defoe then drew a regulation save from Adrian with a shot on the turn.

But it was West Ham who ended the first half as they had started it, with Zaza's spectacular overhead kick flashing past Pickford's right-hand post.The second half began at a similarly lively tempo and Sunderland really should have taken the lead inside the opening minute.

The West Ham defence failed to cut out a through ball from Steven Pienaar, leaving Khazri clean through on goal, but the Tunisian midfielder's finish was weak, allowing Adrian to pull off a fairly comfortable save.

Defoe's long-range effort then flew over the bar as the game really opened up, with Fernandes also failing to keep a speculative 25-yard strike down at the other end.
It was the London side that spent the final quarter on the front foot, but Sunderland looked poised to keep them at bay until Reid's late effort flew past an unsighted Pickford into the bottom corner.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester City 3-1 Crystal Palace: Foxes get back to winning ways

Goals from Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs saw Leicester City record a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium on Saturday as the reigning champions' three-game winless streak in the Premier League came to an end.

Leicester were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea last week, having previously failed to beat Southampton (0-0) and Manchester United (4-1), but they returned to winning ways following a sublime strike from Musa in the closing stages of the first half and a clinical finish from Okazaki after the break.Fuchs added gloss late on with a wonderful, long-range effort before Yohan Cabaye netted an 85th-minute consolation.

Claudio Ranieri opted to make two changes to the team that beat Copenhagen 1-0 in midweek in the Champions League, dropping Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy in favour of Musa and Okazaki and the Italian's decision paid off.

Leicester made a positive start and could have gone ahead when Okazaki nearly made the most on an error from Palace goalkeeper Steve Mandanda after just 90 seconds, but the attacker’s chipped effort after the Frenchman’s poor attempted clearance went just wide of the target.

The visitors looked to hurt Leicester down the flanks as they tried to pick out striker Christian Benteke with high crosses and that tactic nearly paid off in the 12th minute. Martin Kelly sent in a superb cross from the left and Benteke beat his marker to the ball, only to see his header hit the crossbar.

Riyad Mahrez caused the Palace defence all kinds of problems down the right and the Algeria international seemed destined to open the scoring when he unleashed a shot after cutting inside that was heading towards the top corner, only for Okazaki to inadvertently divert the ball over Mandanda’s goal with his head.

It proved brief respite for Palace as Leicester took the lead in the 42nd minute through Musa. The Nigeria international started the move himself, playing in Slimani as he cut inside from the left, and, after getting the ball back in somewhat fortunate fashion, made no mistake to fire a powerful shot past the helpless Mandanda from just outside the area.Ranieri's men doubled their lead in the 63th minute when Okazaki added his name to the scoresheet, drilling a loose ball into the net after Damien Delaney failed to adequately clear Danny Drinkwater's cross from the left after a quick break.

Palace refused to give up, though, and Wilfried Zaha was denied by Kasper Schmeichel shortly after, with the Denmark international again showing his class when Cabaye showed up in a dangerous position with 20 minutes left on the clock.

The visitors were made to pay for their profligacy in the 80th minute when Fuchs found the net with a superb long-range strike to seal the three points for Leicester.
Cabaye pulled one back late on with a calm finish after being set up by Zaha, but it was too little, too late for Palace.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia 2-3 Barcelona: Messi fires home from spot to down tenacious Che

Lionel Messi beat Diego Alves from the penalty spot with almost the last kick of the game to give Barcelona an incredible late 3-2 victory over Valencia.

The champions looked set to drop points after Luis Suarez equalised at the end of a breathless 10-minute spell in the second half, during which Munir El Haddadi - against his parent club - and Rodrigo had overturned Messi's opener.

But the Argentina star converted from the spot with almost the last kick of the game, prompting objects including a water bottle to be hurled at the celebrating Barca players from a furious home crowd.

Captain Andres Iniesta left the pitch on a stretcher after just 14 minutes following a challenge from Enzo Perez, with Barca later confirming knee ligament damage for the midfielder, which will have tempered celebrations for Luis Enrique's side.

Messi's fine finish had put Barca ahead after a feisty opening 22 minutes of Cesare Prandelli's first home game in charge of Valencia, and only some outstanding goalkeeping from Diego Alves kept the hosts' deficit at one before half-time.

Valencia responded after the break with two excellent finishes in the space of four minutes, before Suarez pounced on another strong Alves save to fire Barca level just after the hour mark.

Suarez and Nani each missed late chances, but Messi fired just beyond the reach of Alves to give Barca victory and move them one point clear of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, who both play on Sunday.

Prandelli had called for his side to show their mettle in his first home match in charge, and they set about disrupting Barca's early rythym in front of a noisy home crowd.

Iniesta's game was ended after just 14 minutes as he jarred his leg during one robust challenge from Perez, with the Spain star applauded from the pitch by both sets of fans as he was carried off on a stretcher with clear pain in his lower right knee.

Luis Enrique was incensed that Perez, who won the ball, was not even given a yellow card, but Barca responded to the blow in style as Messi gave them the lead on 22 minutes.

Ivan Rakitic, who came on for Iniesta, fed the ball to Messi just inside the area, and the Argentine blasted a shot into Alves' bottom-left corner, although the keeper was furious that Suarez was not flagged offside as he jumped clear of the strike.

Mestalla's frustrations grew when Samuel Umtiti escaped a penalty for a push on Rodrigo and Sergio Busquets avoided a second yellow card for a shirt pull, and only a fine reaction save from Alves to deny Suarez one-on-one prevented further fury from the home fans as they watched Jose Gaya go off injured.

But Dani Parejo should have levelled the scores before the break as he collected Rodrigo's clever reverse pass in clear space six yards out, only for Marc-Andre ter Stegen to block him at the near post.

At the same end, Rakitic spurned a great chance to double Barca's advantage just after half-time, slamming a rebound off the outside of the post from six yards after Alves had parried a shot from Neymar, who was making his 100th LaLiga appearance.

Valencia punished that miss with aplomb on 52 minutes, as Munir - on at the interval for Martin Montoya - fired a first-time left-footed shot past the static Ter Stegen after being teed up on the edge of the area by Parejo.

Just four minutes later, Mestalla was rocking as Valencia snatched the lead. Nani's delightful chip over the Barca defence was half-volleyed off the turf and into Ter Stegen's left-hand corner by the unmarked Rodrigo.But Suarez capped a breathless 10 minutes with Barca's equaliser, drilling left-footed into the bottom corner after Alves had brilliantly kept out Rakitic's header.

Neither side seemed content with a draw, with Nani slicing a good chance wide and Suarez heading over the crossbar, but Messi made no mistake from the spot after Suarez was tripped by Aymen Abdennour 12 yards from goal.

Ugly scenes followed to mar the end of the match, as missiles including a water bottle were thrown at Messi, Neymar and the celebrating Barca contingent, while there was a scuffle involving both sets of players after the final whistle.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Neymar makes 100th La Liga appearance after sealing new Barca deal

It’s been a pretty productive week for Barcelona forward Neymar.On Friday, the Brazil international finally put pen to paper on a lucrative new contract that will keep him at Camp Nou until 2021.

Then, on Saturday, he reached another notable milestone in an already glittering career as Barca secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Valencia.

The Samba superstar was unable to get his name on the scoresheet at the Mestalla, as fellow MSN members Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez did the damage for Luis Enrique’s side, but he will be delighted to have reached a century of La Liga appearances.

His outings to date have delivered 59 goals – helping to secure back-to-back domestic titles – while the 24-year-old needs to find the target just nine more times to have 100 in all competitions for the Catalan giants.