..::Football IV::..

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Eibar 1-4 Real Madrid: Benzema stars in dominant Blanco victory

Karim Benzema starred in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo as he scored twice and set up another to give Real Madrid a 4-1 La Liga victory at Eibar.

Madrid - without Ronaldo through injury - also had to cope without suspended duo Gareth Bale and Alvaro Morata, Zinedine Zidane deprived of his three starting attackers from the draw with Las Palmas last time out.

But Benzema, who had not scored in his previous seven LaLiga games in his worst top-flight run for three years, struck twice to send the visitors on their way to a vital win in the title race.

James Rodriguez then got his first league goal for five-and-a-half months as Zidane's men opened up a three-goal lead within 29 minutes. Marco Asensio capitalised on his first league start of 2017 with Madrid's fourth after the break, before Ruben Pena scored a consolation for Eibar.

The victory puts Madrid back on top of LaLiga, two points clear of Barcelona ahead of their match against Celta Vigo at Camp Nou later on Saturday.Eibar had been chasing what would have been a club-record fourth straight home league win, but stay seventh after a convincing defeat.

Madrid took the lead after 14 minutes when Asensio - in as one of Zidane's eight changes - had exchanged passes with James and sent in a low cross from the left.

Benzema's initial shot from a tight angle was parried by Yoel, but the striker kept his cool and found the bottom corner with a left-footed strike on the rebound.The forward netted again in the 25th minute after being left completely unmarked to convert James' in-swinging free-kick from inside the six-yard box.

Benzema then turned provider as Madrid struck again four minutes later, collecting a pass from Luka Modric before seeing his right-wing cross impressively converted by a sliding James, who directed his finish into the top corner.

Yoel got down well to keep out efforts from Benzema and Asensio as the visitors went into half-time in complete control.

Keylor Navas had still not been troubled by the time Madrid scored their fourth after an hour and Benzema was involved again with his chip sending Asensio racing towards goal.

He then squared for James, whose curling effort bounced of the post before Asensio reached the rebound and produced an impressive left-footed finish from a difficult angle.

With the result beyond doubt, Benzema was given a break for the closing stages, Mariano given a rare chance to impress.Eibar had a goal ruled out for offside as they attempted to respond, Gonzalo Escalante flagged for offside having tapped in after Navas had kept out Sergi Enrich's header from point-blank range.

But the hosts got a goal that did count with 18 minutes remaining, a cross from ex-Madrid winger Pedro Leon - who the visitors claimed had fouled Nacho in the build-up - turned in by Pena at the far post.

Any hopes Eibar had of a positive result had long been extinguished, though, as Madrid put the pressure back on Barca and turned their attention to Tuesday's crucial Champions League last-16 second-round match with Napoli, which they lead 3-1.

 

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Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Nancy: Late Cavani penalty saves Emery's men

Paris Saint-Germain escaped a costly slip-up in the Ligue 1 title race as Edinson Cavani's 80th-minute penalty earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a resilient Nancy at the Parc des Princes.

Cavani, selected from the start despite a trip to Barcelona in the Champions League to come on Wednesday, struck his 27th league goal of the season from the spot to keep the pressure on leaders Monaco, who entertain Nantes on Sunday.

The Uruguayan made no mistake from 12 yards, punishing Nancy for a rare error that saw goalkeeper Sergei Chernik send Serge Aurier tumbling inside the box as the match looked destined to finish as a dour goalless draw.

It could have been a very different outcome for the defending champions, though - visiting substitute Alexis Busin saw his shot strike both posts before rolling away from goal with 15 minutes remaining, a matter of centimetres potentially playing a huge part in PSG's title challenge.

Unai Emery's side, without the rested Marquinhos and with Blaise Matuidi and Julian Draxler among the substitutes, lacked the creative quality that saw them put five past Classique rivals Marseille last time out.Nevertheless, PSG ground out the win to move level with Monaco on 62 points and avoid the possibility of dropping to third by the end of the weekend.

The match started positively as Lucas Moura drove through the heart of Nancy's defence and into the box, but Chernik and centre-back Modou Diagne combined to turn his effort away in the seventh minute.

PSG dominated possession but Faitout Maouassa offered a warning with a brilliant 25-yard drive that Kevin Trapp did superbly to push away from the top-left corner.

Emery's side struggled to break down their opponents, but Javier Pastore's searing volley was punched clear from the near post by the alert Chernik before the half-hour mark.

Pastore then created a chance that Cavani was unable to dink on target, with Goncalo Guedes only finding the side netting from an acute angle as it headed out of play.

The breakthrough for PSG appeared to have come when Diallo Guidileye put Lucas' corner into his own net, but the referee's assistant signalled that the delivery had gone out of play before swinging back in.

The hosts began the second half with renewed vigour and Cavani headed wide from close range, before Chernik stopped Aurier guiding Marco Verratti's throughball inside the near post.

Aurier turned creator after the hour-mark when he surged to the byline and floated a cross to Guedes, who was denied his first PSG goal by a crucial block from Diagne.

The hosts were fortunate not to fall behind when Youssef Ait Bennasser led the break from an opposition corner and teed up Busin, who was denied by both posts.It proved a costly miss for Nancy, as Cavani converted from the penalty spot after Chernik brought down the rampaging Aurier.


Chernik used his foot to stop Pastore adding to the scoreline, while Youssouf Hadji's fierce drive from the right-hand side of the box flew narrowly over with two minutes remaining as PSG scraped the victory.

 

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Blame me - Ibrahimovic accepts responsibility for Manchester United draw

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has shouldered the blame for Manchester United's frustrating 1-1 Premier League draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.

The striker missed a late penalty as Jose Mourinho's side failed to take advantage of a red card for Andrew Surman at the end of the first half.

A dramatic opening period also saw Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings escape red cards themselves - the United forward caught the Bournemouth defender with an elbow moments after what appeared to be a stamp on his head prior to Surman's dismissal.

Ibrahimovic, who insisted Mings "jumped into my elbow", was reluctant to discuss the incident that saw the Bournemouth defender appear to stamp on him."Listen, what happens on the field, stays on the field," the 35-year-old said to MUTV.

"I'm never a player who comes here to say he did that or he did that on purpose, or didn't do it on purpose. The game is hard and I'm not here to blame anybody else.

"Instead, I take full responsibility. I didn't score and we didn't win. We are very disappointed and we should have won.

"I take the blame. I missed the penalty. I had a lot of chances and should have scored. I didn't and I take fully the responsibility. I will rise from this and come back even stronger and continue. This is nothing unusual, it has happened before and it can happen again."

Ibrahimovic added: "We will keep working, keep going and keep our heads up. I mean if you create so many chances, you should score. You expect to score, you want to score.

"We missed a lot of opportunities, only took only one point and it should have been there with the situation we had, the advantage of playing with one more [player]. We should have closed the game already in the first half.

"We learn from every game. I learned something, everybody learned something. The next game is the cup [the Europa League match at Rostov] and let's hope we don't repeat what we did."

 

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Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: Sanchez benching backfires as Reds take win

Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino both scored one and created another before Georginio Wijnaldum netted in stoppage time to help Liverpool to a crucial 3-1 win over Arsenal in the race for Champions League qualification.

Senegal international Mane handed Firmino the opener on a plate with a superb low cross early on, before the Brazilian returned the favour late in the first half.

Danny Welbeck pulled one back after the break, but the Liverpool defence held firm and Wijnaldum made sure of a vital Premier League victory in the 91st minute.

Much was at stake at Anfield as Liverpool desperately needed a win to keep their Champions League ambitions alive after their 3-1 defeat at Leicester City on Monday.

Victory for Arsenal would have seen them move four points clear of Jurgen Klopp's men with a game in hand, as well as provide a much-needed confidence boost after recent big-game defeats against Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Arsene Wenger had to make do without Mesut Ozil due to illness, though, while he left out top scorer Alexis Sanchez in favour of Olivier Giroud and Arsenal looked toothless going forward without their star men before the break.

They failed to create any chances of note in the opening 45 minutes and the game was all but decided by the time Sanchez came on at half-time, with Welbeck's goal not enough to spark a comeback.

Saturday's victory sees Liverpool leapfrog Arsenal and Manchester City into third place with 52 points from 27 games, while Wenger's men sit fifth.

Liverpool made an encouraging start and needed just nine minutes to open the scoring via Firmino. Mane was at the heart of it with a low cross from the right, Philippe Coutinho surprised Hector Bellerin with the stepover and the former Hoffenheim man slammed home from close range.
The hosts continued to dominate proceedings in the opening stages and Coutinho nearly doubled their lead with a powerful long-range strike after some good work from Wijnaldum, goalkeeper Petr Cech getting a hand to the ball to push it over for a corner.

Things went from bad to worse for Arsenal in the closing stages of the first half and Mane doubled Liverpool's lead in the 40th minute after a fine team move. James Milner played in Wijnaldum down the left, who in turn reached Firmino. The Brazilian unselfishly laid it off for Mane and the winger beat Cech with a low shot.

Coutinho spurned a chance to make it three just minutes later when a deflected Adam Lallana strike dropped straight at his feet, but he failed to beat Cech with his weak attempt from close range.

Arsenal nearly found a way back in early in the second half when Giroud forced Simon Mignolet into a sublime save with a powerful header from the centre of the box, the Liverpool goalkeeper palming the ball against the crossbar before collecting it.

Welbeck did pull one back minutes later after a delicate throughball from substitute Sanchez, coolly chipping the ball over Mignolet for his first Premier League goal since April 2016.

Wenger brought on Theo Walcott and Lucas Perez in an attempt to force an equaliser - with the Arsenal fans seemingly unhappy to see Welbeck hooked - but the Frenchman's tactic failed to pay off as Wijnaldum added a third for Liverpool to put the result beyond doubt after being set up by Divock Origi, who had previously already hit the upright.

 

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Barcelona 5-0 Celta: Messi on fire in crushing home victory

Lionel Messi was at his sublime best as he scored two and inspired three more goals in Barcelona's 5-0 hammering of Celta Vigo, their first match since head coach Luis Enrique announced his plans to leave at the end of the season.

Luis Enrique confirmed his imminent departure after Wednesday's 6-1 dismantling of Sporting Gijon and that certainly did not appear to distract his men in any way as talisman Messi led from the front in a sensational display to see Barca retain their place at LaLiga's summit, a point ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand.

Barca played the first half with real freedom and carved Celta open several times before eventually breaking the deadlock through Messi, who applied a typically clinical finish after a fine run.The Argentina international ran the show and caused havoc in his free role, setting Neymar up for Barca's delightful second five minutes before the interval.

Messi then unlocked the Celta defence in the lead up to Ivan Rakitic's controversial third, before then laying the ball on a plate for Samuel Umtiti's first Barca goal.

The inspirational forward then doubled his personal tally with what was Barca's third goal in seven minutes, securing another emphatic victory ahead their attempt at a Champions League last-16 rescue job when they host Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou with the Ligue 1 champions leading 4-0 from the first leg.

Luis Enrique's announcement had no negative impact on Barca during the first half as they moved the ball around well and generally dictated the tempo.

They were made to wait until the 14th minute for their first shot on goal and the move that preceded it showed their potential in attack as Messi linked brilliantly with Neymar on the edge of the box before seeing his eventual effort saved by Sergio Alvarez.Barca then went desperately close twice shortly after.

Luis Suarez poked the ball through Gustavo Cabral's legs and caressed a 25-yard effort on to the right-hand post, with Messi then doing exactly the same from the rebound.

But Messi was not denied a few moments later, coolly slotting a left-footed strike into the bottom-left corner from just outside the box after a trademark jinking solo run.Messi then turned provider just before the break feeding Neymar into the box and the Brazilian beat Alvarez with an outrageous first-time chip.

Barca's dominance showed no sign of letting up after the break and they should have extended their lead, only for Sergi Roberto's touch to desert him at the crucial moment and give Alvarez the chance to make an intervention after the right-back's driving run.

Rakitic eased any fears soon after, though, stabbing home from an offside position after Rafinha latched on to Messi's defence-splitting pass and cushioned it into the Croatian's path.But there was no such controversy about Umtiti's effort as the Frenchman got himself into a great position in the danger zone and was on hand to turn in Messi's pass.

Messi then did it all himself for his second of the day just after the hour mark, striding past a couple of defenders before slotting into the bottom-right corner with a disguised finish.

Barca nearly scored six for the second time in four days when Messi found Suarez in the danger zone two minutes from time only for Alvarez to recover and save his stooped header, but it was still job done ahead of PSG.

 

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A.C. Milan 3-1 Chievo: Bacca brace gives hosts the win

Carlos Bacca netted a brace as AC Milan piled pressure on the sides in the European places in Serie A with a 3-1 win at home to Chievo on Saturday.

A run of four league games without a win had seemingly put paid to hopes of a top-five finish for Vincenzo Montella's men, but they have now responded with a five-match unbeaten streak and deserved victory in this clash.

Knowing that a win would take them level on points with fifth-placed Lazio, Milan created chance after chance for Bacca - including a penalty that the 30-year-old missed late in the first half.

But the forward's goals - either side of Jonathan De Guzman's own converted spot-kick - proved decisive at San Siro, before Gianluca Lapadula scored from 12 yards to clinch victory.

It was not all good news for Montella, with Alessio Romagnoli's return offset by a fresh injury for Suso, but Milan at least remain in the hunt ahead of a tough trip to champions Juventus.

While Gianluigi Donnarumma made a smart early stop from Valter Birsa, Stefano Sorrentino, his opposite number, was rather less impressive as he gifted Milan the lead after 24 minutes.Gerard Deulofeu slid Bacca in on the left, from where the forward cut inside and sent a tame finish bobbling past the easily wrong-footed goalkeeper.

Manuel Locatelli then placed a low curler just wide and Milan almost created a re-run of their goal as Deulofeu again teed up Bacca, whose strike was only partially blocked by Sorrentino before Ivan Radovanovic hacked clear.

But a controversial call from Fabio Maresca handed Chievo a route back into the game when he adjudged Mattia De Sciglio to have fouled Serge Gakpe at the back post, awarding a penalty that De Guzman confidently tucked away.

Another spot-kick quickly followed at the other end - with Bostjan Cesar handling Locatelli's goal-bound drive - but Bacca lashed over the crossbar from 12 yards.

Lucas Ocampos, on for Suso, nodded narrowly beyond the right-hand post shortly after half-time, and Bacca then somehow missed the target at the end of a wonderful winding run into the area past two defenders.

However, the Colombia international would not be denied a second goal - and it arrived with 20 minutes remaining. Romagnoli rose to meet a right-sided corner and nodded down into Bacca's path, allowing the frontman to scramble the ball across the line.

A hat-trick should have followed, too, but Bacca again blazed over as Milan seized possession from the kick-off to spring another move.Donnarumma made a fine sprawling save from Birsa as Chievo chased an unlikely equaliser, and the hosts renewed their earlier attacking intent to win a second penalty when Mariano Izco fouled Ocampos.

This time, with Bacca already substituted, it was Lapadula who stepped up to drill the spot-kick into the net and make sure of the points.

Chievo could still have made the closing minutes interesting as Fabrizio Cacciatore was presented with a glaring opportunity, but he rifled against the crossbar and Milan escaped.

 

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Manchester United stopped practising penalties, claims Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says his players stopped practising penalties after going so long without being awarded one.Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a costly late spot-kick as United were held to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Striker Ibrahimovic had scored United's only other top-flight penalty this season last August against Southampton.But Mourinho revealed the 35-year-old and Paul Pogba had both stopped practising penalties in training because United were never being awarded them.

"Making fun of it, we stopped practising penalties because we were four or five months without a penalty," Mourinho told MUTV after the match."Zlatan, Pogba - these guys stopped training penalties and then, when a penalty comes, they are not ready to take it. That is it - in a funny way."

Mourinho felt a sense of deja vu as United were held to their 10th draw of the league campaign, the top-flight's joint highest tally along with Middlesbrough."It was more of the same again," he said. "The man of the match was the opposition goalkeeper.

"It is incredible the number of chances we missed. We played amazing football in the first half; it should be 3-0 or 4-0 and I don't know how it ended 1-1.

"In the second half, we lost a little bit of the quality and dimension of good football we had in the first half against opponents who, more or less, decided – and I'm not critical of that – to give up and just to defend."

United are back in action away to Russian side Rostov in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

 

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Ramos: Ronaldo has to run as much as everyone else at Real Madrid

Sergio Ramos has denied saying that Cristiano Ronaldo has a licence to take it easy on the field, stressing that Real Madrid play - and run - as a team.

The central defender had been quoted by certain media outlets as asserting that Ronaldo was the only Real player under no obligation to run during matches. But speaking on Saturday following the club's 4-1 win over Eibar, Ramos insisted there was no truth to those reports.

"It is not true. You have to inform yourselves, look at the evidence and tell the truth. We got together at half-time against Las Palmas, what we talked about did not leave there and I am glad of that," he explained to reporters. "The other day I did not say Cristiano does not have to run, we all run here. We are all equals and the key is in our competitiveness.

"That was shown today with players who are not always in the first team and they are hungry, they press and they run.

"I will not reveal what was said, but it does annoy us. [Luka] Modric usually talks and the other he didn't, and right away it is said he gave Isco and [Alvaro] Morata an earful. Go and look for the informant. I understand you have to sell newspapers but credibility should come before everything."

Saturday's victory was achieved without Ronaldo nor Bale, with the latter suspended following a red card midweek against Las Palmas.

But Ramos underlined that there was plenty of depth in the Madrid squad to ride out those absences. "Everyone has their own tastes, some like Maradona and others Messi, football has a lot of players to choose from," he added.

Madrid currently lie second in La Liga, one point behind Barcelona with a game in hand.

 

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Roma title challenge almost over after Napoli made us suffer, says Spalletti

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti admits it seems impossible for his side to beat Juventus to the Serie A title this season after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Napoli.

Kevin Strootman's 89th minute goal for Roma failed to spark a late comeback after Dries Mertens' double.The win sees Roma stuck seven points behind Juve, who take on Udinese on Sunday, while Napoli cut the gap to second place down to just two points.

Spalletti ackowledged his side were punished for their poor start to the game, leaving their title challenge all but over.“We must be realistic," he told Sky Sport Italia. "It was difficult before, now it’s almost impossible.”

He added to Mediaset: “They were much better in the first half at moving the ball quickly, whereas we hardly ever managed to raise the tempo or get into the right positions. They also made us really suffer to win back the ball.

“You need the sharpness to make those two or three passes in a row to open up spaces and Napoli did it far better.“We improved in the second half and it was a whole other game, although we were rather unlucky with the woodwork.

“I don’t think it’s right to talk about fatigue, as that makes the situation worse. You can talk about it, but don’t involve me, especially as towards the end the team had a completely different attitude, so they can’t have been tired.

“We could not have played like that in the final minutes if we were fatigued. On Wednesday we didn’t play that well, but we weren’t dominated by Lazio at all. We knew how they’d play and did not adjust accordingly.

“When we made it more one-against-one in the second half, we saw a team with a more spirit and fluidity. I decided to give more space to Stephan El Shaarawy and Diego Perotti, but the whole team didn’t step up at the right times, so they weren’t given the chance to make more of an impact.


“If you find the right through ball, it can make all the difference. Unfortunately, we tended to play it badly and were not calm, courageous or precise enough.”

 

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Lallana: Win over Arsenal shows Liverpool are going in right direction

Adam Lallana hailed Liverpool's 3-1 Premier League win against Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday as a huge three points that shows the team is moving in the right direction.

Roberto Firmino opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first 10 minutes, with Sadio Mane doubling the hosts' lead before half-time.

An improved Arsenal reduced the deficit when Danny Welbeck slotted home from Alexis Sanchez's pass, but Georginio Wijnaldum struck in stoppage time to wrap up the points and Lallana felt Liverpool's second league win in eight games was vital.

"It's a huge three points," Lallana told BT Sport. "It was similar to the Spurs game and we knew we had to perform."We let people down on Monday [losing 3-1 at Leicester City] and it went a little way to put it right. We still have a massive 11 games to achieve something.

"We went in at half-time 2-0 up pleased with how we performed but it changed in the second half. They have top players on the bench and Sanchez came on and improved them. But it shows that in this game you can't take anything for granted. We had to dig in at 2-1.

"We're still young and learning, we're disappointed with our consistency since Christmas and need to put it right. But if we keep going the way we are we're moving in the right direction."

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech conceded the title is now out of reach for his side, with Arsene Wenger's men 13 points adrift of the league leaders, his former team Chelsea.

"Three points would have kept us in the chase for the title but now we are too far and I don't think Chelsea will lose so many points from their great position," Cech told BT Sport."We need to concentrate and make sure we finish as high as possible for the Champions League spots."

Arsenal struggled to cope with Liverpool's intensity in the opening period, but Cech insisted his side did not change their tactics at the interval.

"Believe it or not the game plan was the same in the first and second half," Cech said. "We executed better and played more aggressive with purpose and started winning 50-50s which was the biggest difference between the first and second half.

"It is disappointing to lose always, but it's disappointing for the two goals as we were not in danger and had men behind the ball and managed to leave the player free and they found the opening.

"We had a game plan and obviously the boss told the players to execute the plan because we didn't have a league game last week so we had time to prepare.Unfortunately in the first 45 minutes we didn't match them for intensity and lost 50-50 duels so we didn't have a chance to win the game."

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.03.05

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.03.05

Tottenham Vs Everton

Sunderland Vs Manchester City

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La Liga Fixtures 2017.03.05

La Liga Fixtures 2017.03.05

Sporting Gijon Vs Deportivo

Atletico Madrid Vs Valencia

Las Palmas Vs Osasuna

Athletic Bilbao Vs Malaga​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2017.03.05

Serie A Fixtures 2017.03.05

Atalanta Vs Fiorentina

Cagliari Vs Inter

Crotone Vs Sassuolo

Empoli Vs Genoa

Torino Vs Palermo

Udinese Vs Juventus

Bologna Vs Lazio​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.03.05

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.03.05

Frankfurt Vs Friburg

Hamburg Vs Hertha Berlin​

 

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'Wenger will be at PSG next year'

Arsene Wenger’s future at Arsenal continues to be called into question, and former Gunners star Paul Merson sees the Frenchman heading to his homeland this summer at Paris Saint-Germain.

After more than 20 years under the guidance of the same man, calls for change are mounting in north London.Despite delivering numerous major honours to the club down the years, a large section of the fans have been calling for him to leave for some time.

Another Premier League title bid has faded away this season, while an all too familiar last-16 exit from the Champions League is on the cards at the hands of Bayern Munich after their 5-1 humbling in the first leg.With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, the end may be nigh for Wenger.

Merson believes that could be the case and feels a switch to Parc des Princes would make sense, if Unai Emery is moved out after struggling to maintain PSG’s domestic dominance in Ligue 1 - though they hold a 4-0 first-leg advantage over Barcelona in the Champions League and are maintaining pressure on Monaco at the top of their domestic division.He told Sky Sports: “The way he plays, he’s got a great reputation around the world. He knows every footballer in the world.“He has got a massive reputation.

“But I think if PSG don’t win the Champions League, and I’m not sure if they’re going to win the French league with the way that Monaco are playing, if I had to put my money on one, I’d say he’ll be manager of PSG next year.”While being linked with several high-profile posts, Wenger has reiterated his full commitment to the Arsenal cause.

When quizzed on speculation suggesting that he could be a candidate to succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona, the 67-year-old said: “My preference [staying at Arsenal] is always the same, it will remain the same.“I am not looking for jobs at other clubs or jobs of other people. I am just focusing on getting to the next level and try to improve.”

 

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Reus ruled out until April with thigh injury

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that Marco Reus will be sidelined until April due to a thigh injury.

The 27-year-old was withdrawn after 44 minutes of BVB's Bundesliga clash against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.The German outfit have confirmed that the player has suffered a muscle rupture in his left thigh and will be sidelined for at least a month.

It is the latest blow in a season of setbacks for the former Borussia Monchengladbach attacker, who missed much of the early part of the campaign because of a groin problem.

He has only managed to play 11 times for Dortmund in the league, and that has not helped their challenge for the title, which alread seems to be over as they trail leaders Bayern Munich by 13 points with 11 games remaining.

On Wednesday, Dortmund tackle Benfica in the last 16 of the Champions League, with Thomas Tuchel's side attempting to overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit. "This is sad news, he's been playing at a high level for weeks. That is a huge loss for us that definitely clouds this victory," the coach said.

Nevertheless, Dortmund coped well without Reus on Saturday, as they ran out 6-2 winners in a thrilling encounter, with four of their goals arriving in the second half.

 

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Schmidt sacked as Leverkusen boss

Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed that head coach Roger Schmidt has been relieved of his duties following a troubling run of form.

A 6-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday proved to be the final straw for the under-fire boss.Prior to that, he had overseen a 2-0 home defeat to Mainz and a 4-2 reversal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

With their European adventure seemingly set to come to an end at the last-16 stage, and with their league standing slipping, Leverkusen have decided to act now.

They have fallen to ninth place in the German top flight, five points adrift of the European spots and 11 behind the top four.

Leverkusen have suffered 11 defeats in 23 Bundesliga fixtures this season, the worst record of any side in the top half.They have also conceded 38 times, with no side above them in the standings having been breached on more occasions.

Schmidt took charge of Leverkusen in 2014 after impressing during his time in charge of RB Salzburg. He led them to fourth place in the table in his first season at the club, before going one place better in 2015-16.

 

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James reiterates desire to stay at Real Madrid

James Rodriguez maintains that he would like to remain at Real Madrid beyond this season.

The Colombia international has seen his future at the Santiago Bernabeu called into question on a regular basis throughout the campaign as he has not always been a regular starter under Zinedine Zidane.

James has contributed positively when called upon, though, and netted his fifth goal of the season in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Eibar.

Although he has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Manchester United over the last few months, the 25-year-old has stressed that he is not actively looking for a transfer."When I am given opportunities I always try and do well. This is all I think about," he told reporters.

“I want to always be here. It's clear that in life and football you never know what is going to happen but I want to remain here."James was able to shine on Saturday due to the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.Madrid impressed without the key figures, but their value to the collective cause continues to be recognised.

“It's always a plus to have such great players,” added James.“If the BBC [Bale, Benzema and Cristiano] is available, it's always going to be important."We are a close-knit group, together, and this was very much reflected on the pitch.

“We're united as always, we're a healthy group with some incredible people. We always come out to win."

 

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Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Everton: Kane double helps to seal Spurs success

Harry Kane's supreme run of form continued as his double gave Tottenham a 3-2 victory over Everton at White Hart Lane, strengthening their grip on second place.

Spurs moved within seven points of Premier League leaders Chelsea - who play West Ham on Monday - courtesy of a goal in each half from the in-form England international.Kane now has 19 league goals and leads the Golden Boot race outright having scored with a brilliant strike in a first half that also saw Victor Wanyama hit the post.

Everton were not at the races and Kane's second – after a costly mistake from Morgan Schneiderlin – extended their advantage after the break, taking the England international's 2017 record to 14 goals in 12 matches.

Romelu Lukaku got one back late on to become the club's outright top scorer in Premier League history, but the hosts soon restored their two-goal cushion thanks to Dele Alli's neat flick.

Spurs hold a four-point cushion over Liverpool and Manchester City after a club-record ninth straight Premier League win.

Everton, who netted a stoppage time consolation through substitute Enner Valencia, stay seventh in the standings and five points adrift of Manchester United above them after losing for the first time in 10 top-flight games.After a quiet start to the match, unchanged Spurs took the lead in spectacular fashion through Kane.

With Everton in no obvious danger, Kane collected a pass from Ben Davies and promptly worked an opening for himself before unleashing a dipping 30-yard strike that beat Joel Robles.

The striker almost got a second a few moments later, only to be denied by Joel from close range following some neat footwork and a clever exchange with Christian Eriksen, who lashed over from the rebound.

Eriksen squandered two more opportunities, dragging a shot wide from the edge of the area after being found by Kyle Walker before heading Davies' cross just wide.
But it was Wanyama who came closest to striking again before the break, sending his deflected left-footed effort against the post from 25 yards as Spurs threatened to run riot.Jan Vertonghen charged forward and forced a save from Joel early in the second half and Spurs quickly made it two, striking on 56 minutes.

Kane was the beneficiary of some dreadful Everton defending, sliding in a low finish after Dele Alli had capitalised on Schneiderlin and Ashley Williams making a hash of dealing with Joel's ill-advised throw.

Everton brought on Kevin Mirallas and James McCarthy in a bid to change the match's momentum, although Ross Barkley's tame strike at Hugo Lloris was the first time the Spurs keeper was called into the action.

There was some hope for the visitors with nine minutes to go when Lukaku collected Mirallas' pass and drilled a right-footed finish past Lloris.But after Joel had to save bravely from Kane to deny him a hat-trick, it was Alli who put the result beyond doubt in the second minute of stoppage-time.

Substitute Harry Winks' free-kick caught Everton's defence flat-footed, with Alli's deft touch giving him a 13th league goal of an impressive campaign.

And a crazy finish to the game saw Valencia latch on to Barkley's free-kick to sweep in from six yards just 70 seconds later, but Spurs were not to be denied.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Cagliari 1-5 Inter Milan: Perisic leads dominant Inter

Inter returned to winning ways and seized on Atalanta dropping points on Sunday, as a 5-1 victory away to Cagliari fired Stefano Pioli's side into the European qualification places in Serie A.

Two defeats in the last four league games - against heavyweights Juventus and Roma - had dampened Inter's spirits after a run of seven consecutive Serie A wins, but an Ivan Perisic-inspired triumph in Sardinia lifted the Nerazzurri to fifth ahead of Lazio playing later in the day.

Cagliari had won at San Siro earlier in the campaign, in the final weeks of Frank de Boer's ill-fated tenure, but Inter took full control of the return fixture as Ever Banega created the opener for Perisic and fired a superb second himself.Although the home side hit back through Marco Borriello, Perisic grabbed his second shortly after half-time to give the visitors breathing space once again.

Cagliari rarely looked like mounting a comeback, instead allowing Maurco Icardi to net away from home for the first time since September, his penalty exorcising the demons of a previous miss from 12 yards against Massimo Rastelli's side.

Inter were then able to comfortably cruise through the remainder of the second half, Roberto Gagliardini netting his first goal for the club to add gloss to the scoreline late on, with a key clash against fourth-placed Atalanta, who were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Fiorentina earlier in the day and are now just one point ahead, to come next week.

A magnificent Gary Medel intervention denied Cagliari an early lead as the Chile international recovered to acrobatically clear Joao Pedro's lobbed effort inches from the goal-line.

Perisic swung a low cross in for Icardi to toe wide at the other end, before Geoffrey Kondogbia's looping header was helped onto the crossbar by Gabriel.After 34 minutes, Perisic then fired Pioli's men in front.

Banega lifted a delightful left-footed pass between two defenders and into the Cagliari area, where Perisic controlled delicately with his left foot and slotted a smart finish under the goalkeeper.

And Banega added a second just five minutes later when he curled a fine free-kick inside the left-hand post from 20 yards, with Gabriel scrambling hopelessly across his line.

The hosts sought an immediate response and, although Samir Handanovic expertly clawed away Davide Di Gennaro's free-kick, a goal would soon arrive when Borriello nodded Nicolo Barella's cross into the net.

Handanovic held another header from Artur Ionita, but, after just two minutes of the second half, Cagliari's hard work was undone by a third Nerazzurri goal.
Perisic was again the scorer, stepping inside onto his right foot to coolly curl beyond Gabriel's despairing dive.

The goalkeeper was able to prevent a fourth as he dived at Icardi's feet from Antonio Candreva's centre, and then saved spectacularly as Danilo D'Ambrosio let fly from distance.Miranda headed straight at Gabriel as he met Perisic's cross unmarked, but the keeper's brave resistance was breached as he brought Icardi down in the area.

The Inter captain converted the penalty himself, before Gabriel saved again from Kondogbia's powerful strike and blocked a tame effort from substitute Eder.

Icardi then rattled the crossbar as the visitors kept the pressure on in the closing stages, and Gagliardini added his name to the scoresheet with a low blast two minutes from time, opening his account for Inter and netting for the first time in Serie A.