..::Football IV::..

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Klopp hails first 'ugly' win as Liverpool scrape past Burnley

Jurgen Klopp hailed his Liverpool side's "first ugly" win of the season as they came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 at Anfield.Ashley Barnes put Burnley into a seventh-minute lead, but the Reds responded through Georginio Wijnaldum's goal in first-half injury time.

Emre Can turned the match on its head with Liverpool's second just after the hour, as the home side scored with their first two shots on target and that proved enough for Klopp's men to close within a point of third-placed Manchester City, who they play at the Etihad Stadium next week.

Liverpool boss Klopp described the win as a "strange" feeling, but was delighted to see his team scrap out a win."The result is massive for us," Klopp told Sky Sports. "I think it's the first ugly game we've won. Normally when we're not that good, we lose.

"At the end, I like it because it's these type of games that we haven't won until now. We are not used to it. It feels strange."I'm happy about the three points and that's the most important thing."

Wijnaldum also acknowledged an element of luck in the win, but insisted the level of performance is not important at this stage of the season."It was difficult in the beginning, especially because they scored a goal in the first couple of minutes," he said."We just tried to fight and do everything to win the game. We tried to do it in the first half and we did it better in the second half.

"I must say, we were also a little bit lucky, because previous games that we played like this we lost. In those games we didn't have a fighting spirit, but [this game] was good."We tried everything to keep them away from our goal and stop conceding goals. I think we did it well in the second half and it was a good victory.

"At this stage [it does not matter how you play], because we have had a few bad games. If you have a lot of points and you win a lot of games playing good football, you can talk about the football.

"But at this stage of the season, we have to collect points and it doesn't matter how. We just have to win the games."

 

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'It wasn't easy' - Zidane lauds Madrid as persistence pays off

Real Madrid showed patience is a virtue as head coach Zinedine Zidane praised his players for their persistence in Sunday's late win over Real Betis.

Captain Sergio Ramos stepped up to be the hero again for Madrid with his 81st-minute goal in the 2-1 La Liga victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo had cancelled out Betis' 24th-minute opener before the break but the match appeared to be petering out for a draw until Ramos completed another late escape as Madrid returned to the top of the table following Barcelona's 2-1 loss at Deportivo La Coruna.

"My evaluation of the match is very good because we picked up the three points," Zidane said.

"We didn't have it all our own way and that’s normal, but I am happy. We must congratulate all the players because we've had to be patient. The result in the end is a fair one, even if at times it didn't all go our way.

"The opposition played in their own half, they defended well and caused us problems on the counter-attack. We're happy with the result and we must congratulate the players because it wasn't easy. The pressure is there, it doesn't end here, there's still a lot to play for and we know that."Zidane also leapt to the defence of goalkeeper Keylor Navas, whose own goal gifted the visitors the lead in the Spanish capital.

"It's part of the game, everyone makes mistakes. In the end he saved us. I’m happy with how his team-mates got behind him," added Zidane, who said defender Raphael Varane is unlikely to be fit for the trip to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

"The save he made has given us the three points. The referee decides whether or not it’s a penalty. Keylor has a big personality and he made a great stop at the end. He made up for the mistake and made sure we got all three points."

 

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FA Cup Quarter Final Fixture 2017.03.13

FA Cup Quarter Final Fixture 2017.03.13

Chelsea Vs Manchester United

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Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixture 2017.03.13

LA Liga Fixture 2017.03.13

Osasuna Vs Eibar​

 

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Serie A Fixture 2017.03.13

Serie A Fixture 2017.03.13

Lazio Vs Torino​

 

[JCT]

Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 1: Shock defeats brings leaders back down to earth

Barcelona were brought back down to earth with a thud as they lost 2-1 away to Deportivo La Coruna in LaLiga.

Four days after recording the biggest comeback in Champions league history with a 6-1 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain, Barca were extremely poor as they fell to a costly defeat in the title race.

Joselu punished a first-half mistake from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to put hosts Depor ahead after his only other two league goals this season had come against Real Madrid.

Luis Suarez, who scored four when Barca won 8-0 at the Riazor last season, appeared to have got the visitors back on track after the break, but Depor captain Alex Bergantinos' header with 16 minutes remaining proved decisive.

Barca had won six league matches in a row coming into the fixture, but could now lose top spot in LaLiga on Sunday, with Real Madrid still just one point behind ahead of their home match against Real Betis.

Impressive Depor are now four matches unbeaten under new boss Pepe Mel, this victory opening up an eight-point gap on the relegation zone.A quiet start to the match saw Joselu fire an effort straight at Ter Stegen in the only early opportunity of note.

Barcelona, who made five changes from the PSG triumph, did not threaten until Luis Suarez poorly sent a free header into the arms of German Lux after latching on to Lionel Messi's free-kick just before the half-hour mark.Depor went close when a superb half-volley from Joselu was impressively kept out by Ter Stegen at full stretch, Fernando Navarro creating the chance.

But the hosts went one better from the resulting corner, Ter Stegen failed to gather Javier Mascerhano's attempted clearance, allowing Joselu to thump in from close range.

Barca wasted no time in response, Luis Suarez scoring just 59 seconds after the restart.Denis Suarez's cross from the right was only half cleared by Alejandro Arribas and Luis Suarez sent a powerful finish past Lux at his near post to move on to 21 league goals this season.

Depor's Carles Gil had a penalty claim turned down after being challenged by Sergio Busquets, while Faycal Fajr's shot deflected just over as the hosts reacted well to the blow.

Luis Enrique sent on Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta for Arda Turan and Andre Gomes in an attempt to seal victory, but the home side threatened again when Joselu's impressive volley tested Ter Stegen after Bruno Gama had led a fast break.

Denis Suarez had an effort saved for the visitors as they struggled to make an impact, while Depor forced Ter Stegen into action again through Arribas' bouncing header.And from the resulting corner, Bergantinos got above Jordi Alba to head in substitute Emre Colak's delivery.

Paco Alcacer was thrown on in Barca's final change and the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser, Luis Suarez denied by Lux from close range and Messi also seeing a shot saved by the keeper.

Messi then wasted a good free-kick opportunity in a frantic stoppage-time period that saw Fajr race clean through on goal before seeing one shot saved by Ter Stegen and another hacked off the line by Alba.

Mel's men held on for a deserved victory, with Barca's hopes of retaining their title suffering a significant setback as they struggled without the injured Neymar.

Back on to earth

 

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Chelsea Vs Manchester United

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No Ibra,No Rooney,No Martial
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Chelsea Vs Manchester United

Chelsea Starting Line-up

Thibaut Courtois
David Luiz
Gary Cahill
Cesar Azpilicueta
Nemanja Matic
N'Golo Kante
Marcos Alonso
Victor Moses
Diego Costa
Eden Hazard
Willian

&

Manchester United Strating Line-up

David De Gea
Chris Smalling
Marcos Rojo
Phil Jones
Paul Pogba
Ander Herrera
Matteo Darmian
Antonio Valencia
Marcus Rashford
Ashley Young
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Good Luck Manchester United!
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Half Time

Chelsea 0 Vs 0 Manchester United

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Herrera sent off!

Manchester United down to 10 men
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Full Time

Chelsea 1 Vs 0 Manchester United

Chelsea Goal(s)

Kante 51'
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Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0: Kante gives Mourinho more Stamford Bridge blues

Jose Mourinho endured another frustrating return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 to end their FA Cup defence.

Mourinho's first return to the Blues after his December 2015 sacking ended in a humiliating 4-0 thrashing and United ultimately fared little better in this quarter-final capitulation, secured by N'Golo Kante's stunning strike.

A defensive line-up was expected from United amid pre-match reports of a shortage of strikers, but Marcus Rashford defied illness to start as Mourinho changed his system to match that which Antonio Conte has dominated the Premier League with, and one that the former Blues boss has been far from complimentary about in public.

Mourinho's plans were thrown out of kilter as Ander Herrera picked up two first-half bookings for fouls on the superb Eden Hazard, and Kante - scorer of Chelsea's fourth against United in October - lashed home to give the hosts the advantage.

Without the inspirational Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a depleted United mustered little by way of response as Chelsea suffocated the game with long spells of possession which flew in the face of Mourinho's pre-match jibes about their perceived counter-attacking style which is set to secure Premier League glory.

Chelsea - who threatened a second late on through substitute Cesc Fabregas - join Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham in a star-studded semi-final line-up, but this one-sided victory should serve as a warning of the Blues vast double-winning potential.

The inclusion of Rashford was not Mourinho's only surprise as he fielded a three-man defence in an attempt to stifle Chelsea's electric forward line.

And Hazard jolted the game to life in the 16th minute, spinning away from Chris Smalling on halfway and surging into the box before forcing David de Gea into a plunging save, with the Spain international brought into more reflex work by Gary Cahill from the resulting corner.

Herrera collected his first booking when he bodychecked Hazard and the Belgian remained fundamental when he again breached United's backline, but his aim was well off.

However, Hazard's nimble feet outfoxed Herrera once more 10 minutes from the interval, a late tackle earning a second yellow card from referee Michael Oliver and drawing heated protestations from United, which sent Conte into a guard-dog eyeballing of Mourinho as the Portuguese berated the official from the touchline.

United were aghast as Diego Costa went unpunished for a sly elbow into De Gea's midriff, but they clung on to the break, with Marouane Fellaini helping clog up midfield after replacing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

There was a yawning gap in United's midfield as Chelsea took the lead, however, Kante drifting off Paul Pogba to rip a brilliant shot across De Gea and into the bottom-left corner.

Rashford was full of endeavour albeit in non-threatening positions until a David Luiz error sent him clear at goal, but he could not beat Thibaut Courtois one-on-one and United breathed a sigh of relief when an unmarked Costa headed wide after Chelsea zipped up the other end and Willian curled off-target.

Pogba dragged a tired shot from 20 yards wide in the sum total of United's attempts at a late equaliser, with Mourinho perhaps now needing to make good on a suggestion he will go all out for Europa League glory after a meek surrendering of the cup.

 

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Arsenal will face Man City and Tottenham take on capital foes Chelsea in FA Cup semi-finals

Capital rivals Chelsea and Tottenham will rekindle old rivalries in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Arsenal take on Manchester City.The last four are now readying themselves for a day out at Wembley, with glory almost within reach.

The quartet of Premier League heavyweights will battle it out for the right to take the trophy, with Manchester United’s defeat to Chelsea on Monday ensuring that the silverware will change hands in 2017.

Semi-final draw:

Chelsea v Tottenham
Arsenal v Manchester City

The four clubs still in the running have shared seven successes in the last 10 FA Cup finals.

Chelsea have been the dominant force over the last decade, securing four triumphs.The last of those, though, came back in 2012 and Antonio Conte will be determined to end his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge with a domestic league and cup double.City have not lifted the trophy since 2011, while Arsenal enjoyed back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015.

Arsene Wenger will be looking for silverware to help ease some of the pressure on his shoulders, while north London neighbour Mauricio Pochettino will be aiming to end Tottenham's 26-year wait for FA Cup glory.

 

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Yaya Toure: Man City won't make same mistake as PSG

Yaya Toure says Manchester City will not make the same mistake as Paris Saint-Germain when they take on Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

City take a two-goal lead to the Stade Louis II and are favourites to progress to the quarter-finals, despite Monaco's three away goals.Toure, though, insists there is no way Pep Guardiola's side will aim to sit on their advantage.

The City players saw the aftermath of Barcelona's historic comeback against PSG in the Etihad Stadium dressing rooms following their draw with Stoke City last week, and Toure believes the French side were asking for trouble by trying to protect their 4-1 lead from the first league.That outlook, he suggests, helped Barca come back to win 6-5 on aggregate, but he reassured City fans that they will not take a similar approach.

"No, no, definitely no, we cannot be in that position, otherwise we’re going to be wrong," he told reporters when asked about the prospect of defending City's 5-3 lead. "You saw Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, it was unbelievable. It was the sort of game you can’t imagine.

"We can’t go there relaxed. In the dressing room, those kind of games are warnings, you know, because after the game against Stoke we went into the dressing room and we saw Barca win 6-1. You cannot imagine how the European Cup is so serious this year, and we can’t underestimate Monaco.

"From my point of view and maybe the manager’s too, the best way to defend is to attack. If you sit deeper… when I watched PSG-Barcelona, PSG had fantastic players up front but they were trying to defend. I think it was a lack of intensity or maybe lack of… when you go and play games like that and you are four goals in front… I think that is the wrong thing to do. We are going to attack, we never do it the other way, we will attack and they will expect that as well."Toure was speaking after he helped City reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

That was City's seventh clean sheet in their last 10 games, and although Boro did not possess enough quality to seriously threaten Claudio Bravo's goal at the Riverside, Toure believes two of Aitor Karanka's players helped give the Blues an idea of how to approach their next game.

"Monaco is going to be another final, like [Saturday], it’s going to be very tough, and I think the defence was very good, we were careful, because Adama [Traore] was very, very quick, [Alvaro] Negredo too, and it’s not easy to play against a team like that, but I think today is a good example for the game we are going to have on Wednesday.

"In Europe you’re going to find such tough strikers. I think from my point of view Falcao is similar to [Alvaro] Negredo, and as well [Kylian] Mbappe is like Adama [Traore], although Adama is much, much quicker. It’s going to be tough because they have fantastic players, like [Bernardo] Silva, [Thomas] Lemar."

City wasted several opportunites to see off Stoke in the league last midweek and were made to wait until the final 25 minutes to kill off Boro on Saturday, but Toure hopes his attacking team-mates are saving up their goals for Monaco.


"In the game [against Middlesbrough] I was feeling that if we score the goal maybe it could be seven or eight today, to be honest and with all the respect to Middlesbrough. The team were unbelievable, they played very well, they were sharp and quick. I don’t know, maybe the strikers are saving it for Wednesday but definitely it could easily have been five or seven to be honest."

 

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'Judas is still number one' - Mourinho hits back at Chelsea fans

Jose Mourinho hit back at braying Chelsea fans by saying he remains the club's greatest manager, while producing a bizarre U-turn on taking responsibility for a lack of European football at Stamford Bridge this season.

Mourinho suffered another woeful return to Chelsea as his side lost 1-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals, following on from a 4-0 hammering on the same ground in October by the runaway Premier League leaders.

The Portuguese and his successor Antonio Conte clashed on the touchline after Ander Herrera was dismissed in the first half, prompting a chorus of 'Judas' chants, among others, from the home faithful aimed at their former manager.Mourinho told a news conference: "They can call me what they want.

"Until the moment they have a manager that wins four Premier Leagues for them, I'm the number one."When they have somebody that wins four Premier Leagues for them, I become number two. Until this moment Judas is number one."

The United manager has routinely put Chelsea's success this term - they are 10 points clear atop the Premier League table - down to a lack of European football at the club, after last season's dreadful campaign which cost Mourinho his job.

Pre-match Mourinho said: "it's my fault and the players' fault." However, sensing that his rough treatment was borne out of a frustration surrounding a season anchored to domestic fare, he had a different angle after the game.

"The only thing is we are playing in Europe and our opponent isn't," he said. "Our opponent could because when I left the club last season I left them in the Champions League, winning the Champions League group and qualifying for the Champions League knockout group.

"Playing the second leg at home and having the advantage of winning the Champions League group. So if they win the Champions League last year then they could be playing in Europe this season.

"It is not my fault, it is the fault of the ones that stayed here and didn't qualify for the Champions League. It is the fact that we didn't have a good Premier League."

 

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'It is more comfortable' - Messi and Suarez admit to peeing sitting down

Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have revealed that their understanding stretches a little too far, with both admitting to peeing sitting down.On the field, a professional partnership between the South American forwards has Barcelona chasing down domestic and European honours once again.

The pair have struck up a formidable bond, with Brazilian superstar Neymar also getting in on the act as part of the fearsome MSN triumvirate.Their goal-laden exploits on the field have won them a host of admirers, and plenty of silverware.

It is, however, their actions off the pitch that have been causing quite a stir in the wake of an interview aired by Uruguayan television station Canal 10.

Messi and Suarez were quizzed on subjects such as their favourite dessert and best film, before the conversation took a rather odd turn.The pair were asked about their toilet habits, with Messi replying after a glance in the direction of Suarez: “What? Do you sit down? Me too.”

He added, amid fits of giggles from the duo: “It is more comfortable. You get up in the morning all asleep and you stick it down there, and that’s it.”

While revealing a little too much about their lives off the pitch, Messi and Suarez have been impressing on it again this season.The former has netted 39 times in as many outings across all competitions, while the latter has 29 goals to his name.

 

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Dybala: Juve on the same level as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern

Juventus star Paulo Dybala believes his team are on the "same level" as fellow European giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

The Serie A champions are on track to join that trio in the Champions League quarter-finals, leading Porto 2-0 ahead of hosting the return leg on Tuesday.
Dybala, linked with the LaLiga giants previously, said Juve deserved their place alongside Barca and Madrid.

"Since the Champions League started we've been at the same level as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich," he told a news conference."If we get through, we'll also be on the same level now."We're also top of the league and we won the first match of the Coppa Italia [semi-final against Napoli]. In some ways, we're doing better than them."

Dybala, 23, has won three trophies at Juve – the Serie A and Coppa last season, to go with the Supercoppa Italiana.

The Argentina international has just one goal in the Champions League this campaign and while he would like to add to that tally, he has set his sights on lifting the trophy.

"It would be crazy to win the Champions League at my age because I only joined Juventus two years ago," Dybala said."Some of my team-mates have already won the trophy and I'd like to be decisive in a Champions League game."