..::Football IV::..

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Liverpool fear lengthy Mane absence as injury proves worse than expected

Liverpool could be without star man Sadio Mane for several weeks, according to widespread reports, as doctors have thus far been unable to determine the severity of this knee injury picked up in a challenge with Leighton Baines in the Merseyside derby.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had hoped for swift test results following the clash in order to determine whether the in-form forward would be available for the Anfield side's Premier League title race run in.

Due to the severity of the swelling on Mane's knee, however, doctors have been unable to carry out effective scans which would determine whether the Senegalese star will be fit to feature in the Reds' battle to finish in the top four.

Liverpool have been buoyed by the return of Coutinho in recent weeks, but injuries to key players such as Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson already have them on the back foot, while a record of one win in seven games while Mane was at the AFCON is cause for concern.

One benefactor of the current situation at Anfield, however, is Belgian attacker Divock Origi, who has stated that he is ready to step up and become a key figure for the Merseyside outfit.“I’m ready” he said, “I always said that I’m ready to be an important player for the team.

“I really believe it. I’m not just an option for the future, I’m an option for now.
“I hope I can play a big part in the end of the season.”

 

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Man Utd star Ibrahimovic one of the best, says Koeman

Ronald Koeman never doubted Zlatan Ibrahimovic would take the Premier League by storm as he said the Manchester United striker remains one of the best players in the world.

Ibrahimovic arrived from French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in the off-season and the Swedish veteran has made a seamless transition, scoring 26 goals in all competitions.

After a three-match domestic ban, the 35-year-old is set to return against Everton on Tuesday - a reunion with former Ajax boss Koeman.Koeman was in charge of the Dutch giants when Ibrahimovic was making his way in football and the Everton manager recalled his time with the towering striker.

"I'm not surprised [of his impact in the Premier League] because he's really that talented and strong," said Koeman. "And maybe mentally he's one of the strongest players what I know. I still admire the boy.

"I know him really well and he is still showing really well at his age being still so important for the team and scoring goals, showing he's still one of the best - I have great respect for him.

"I managed Zlatan when he was young and sometimes also difficult! But, okay, that is normal. I'm also better now to handle for a coach than when I was 19!

"He was funny but we had a lot of young players. [Rafael] Van der Vaart, [Nigel] De Jong, [John] Heitinga, Mido, Zlatan; really big talents at that time, but all were 19, driving Porsches, driving Ferraris!"I met Zlatan three or four times in the last four or five months. If we speak about that time at Ajax, he knows perfectly how he was when he was 19 and how he is now."

Everton are seventh in the Premier League, three points behind fifth-placed United.

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.04

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.04

Burnley Vs Stoke City

Leicester City Vs Sunderland

Watford Vs WBA

Manchester United Vs Everton

​

 

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Everton amaruma match 1kak wei dan thiyana form 1ke hatiyataath must win matches dan thiyenne

& Zlatan is back

Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.04

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.04

Athletic Bilbao Vs Espanyol

Atletico Madrid Vs Real Sociedad

Real Betis Vs Villareal​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.04

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.04

Dortmund Vs Hamburg

Cologne Vs Frankfurt

Hoffenheim Vs Bayern

Werder Bremen Vs Schalke​

 

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Manchester United Vs Everton

Manchester United Starting Line-up

David De Gea
Marcos Rojo
Eric Bailly
Daley Blind
Ashley Young
Michael Carrick
Marouane Fellaini
Ander Herrera
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Marcus Rashford
Jesse Lingard

&

Everton Starting Line-up

Joel Robles
Ashley Williams
Phil Jagielka
Leighton Baines
Mason Holgate
Gareth Barry
Ross Barkley
Idrissa Gueye
Romelu Lukaku
Tom Davies
Kevin Mirallas
​

 

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Good Luck Manchester United!
​

 

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Half Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 1 Everton

​

 

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Full Time

Manchester United 1 Vs 1 Everton

Manchester United Goal(s)

Z.Ibrahimovic 90+3'

&

Everton Goal(s)

P.Jagielka 22'
​

 

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Congratulations Manchester United!

& another drawkohomahari anthmata match 1ka draw karaganna puluwan wechcha 1ka gananam happyath aparade win karaganna thibba match 1kak.onama karana points 2kak miss une.Goal scoring opportunities ona tharam set una.ath hatiyata take karanne nahane

btw Top4 enna meeta wada hoda fight 1kak denna wenawa next matches waladi
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Luis Enrique to take year off after leaving Barcelona

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique will take a year-long sabbatical after departing the Liga giants at the end of the season.

Luis Enrique is set to leave the club after three years, a reign in which he has won one Champions League title, as well as two league and cup doubles.

The 46-year-old's decision to step away from football for a year follows in the footsteps of Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, who took a season off after leaving Barca, before taking over at Bayern Munich.

Luis Enrique has been among the names linked with replacing Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, but he confirmed he will not be looking for another job until he has recharged his batteries.

"If I'm leaving Barcelona, my home, where I have a great relationship with the club and the players, it's purely for tiredness," he said ahead of Wednesday's La Liga clash with Sevilla.

"I need to recover. I'm not thinking about other teams. It will be a year to recover, but now what's left to do is to end the season with all our objectives achieved."
Barcelona are second in the table, two points behind rivals Real Madrid, while they face Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with the club yet to announce who will take over from Luis Enrique next season.

 

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Hoffenheim 1 Bayern Munich 0: Kramaric strike secures historic win

Hoffenheim secured their first win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, as Andrej Kramaric's goal secured a deserved 1-0 triumph over the Bundesliga leaders at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Kramaric's long-range strike midway through the first half proved enough for Hoffenheim to break their duck against the below-par champions at the 18th attempt.

Julian Nagelsmann's side - who had led in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena last November before having to settle for a 1-1 draw - are now unbeaten in seven games but remain third in the table, a point behind second-placed RB Leipzig, who travel to Mainz on Wednesday.

Robert Lewandowski hit the woodwork in the first half but the visitors saw their 20-match unbeaten streak in all competitions come to a tame end, the defeat just their second in league action in an otherwise excellent season.

While the result seems unlikely to stop their inexorable march towards a record fifth successive title, it is hardly ideal so early in a massive month that includes two meetings with Borussia Dortmund, as well as a Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti's runaway leaders had not conceded in their last five league outings, yet could have easily been 3-0 down by the time Kramaric's thumping strike gave the hosts a deserved lead after 21 minutes.

The former Leicester City striker followed up his brace in Saturday's 3-1 win at Hertha Berlin with a powerful strike that Sven Ulreich, still standing in for the injured Manuel Neuer in Bayern's goal, failed to keep out despite getting a strong hand to the ball.

Denied as early as the second minute by a wonderful block from covering full-back Rafinha, Kramaric had already gone close with a low drive before Nadiem Amiri shot straight at Ulreich when presented with a glorious one-on-one opportunity.

Bayern needed their back-up goalkeeper to keep the deficit down to one before the break, a reactionary save stopping Kerem Demirbay converting Kramaric's through ball.

Yet despite struggling in attack, the visitors were denied an equaliser in stoppage time when Lewandowski turned Kingsley Coman's cross against the bar.Despite a plethora of attacking options on his bench, Bayern coach Ancelotti kept faith with the starting XI at the start of the second half.

Lewandowski looked to have engineered an equaliser 10 minutes after the interval, only for his right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area to be tipped wide by the diving Oliver Baumann.

Coman then poked wide under pressure from the Hoffenheim goalkeeper as Bayern began to assert their authority, although Kramaric blazed over when presented with a rare opportunity to double both his and Hoffenheim's tally.

Franck Ribery was brought on and nearly conjured an equaliser within two minutes of his introduction, the Frenchman's toe-poked effort out of nothing forcing Baumann into action.

Lewandowski also had a late attempt deflected wide in a nervy finish, but Hoffenheim held firm to clinch a famous victory.

 

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Borussia Dortmund 3 Hamburg 0: Castro, Kagawa and Aubameyang see-off toothless visitors

Borussia Dortmund put their frustrating Ruhr derby draw behind them as they comfortably overcame Hamburg 3-0 to remain firmly in the hunt for the automatic Champions League qualification spots.

Thomas Tuchel's side were punished for not making their domination count against Schalke last time out, but goals from Gonzalo Castro, Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved enough for the hosts in their 100th top-flight clash with Hamburg.

Two years to the day since Dortmund's last Bundesliga defeat at Signal Iduna Park, Aubameyang, having attracted attention for his Nike-sponsored mask celebration in the Ruhr derby, lacked his usual composure as he squandered a number of excellent opportunities before netting his 25th of the season in stoppage time to round off the victory.

Aubameyang had not been the only forward to struggle in front of goal until that point, however, with Hamburg's Bobby Wood failing to cash in on sloppy defending either side of the interval.

But despite Dortmund's slack finishing, Hamburg could not find an opening, ensuring the visitors' four-match unbeaten run in the league came to an end.

Markus Gisdol's side remain a point above the relegation play-off place, while Dortmund stay in fourth, a point behind Hoffenheim, who claimed a surprise 1-0 victory over runaway leaders Bayern Munich.

Aubameyang looked set to put the hosts ahead at the culmination of a slick move five minutes in, but could not find a way past the sprawling Rene Adler.
Hamburg's top-scorer Wood got through in similar fashion moments later, only to be denied by Roman Burki.

Adler was left flat-footed for Dortmund's 13th-minute opener, though - the veteran shot-stopper unable to prevent Castro's precise free-kick nestling in the bottom-right corner.

Dortmund's lead should have been doubled as the half-hour mark approached, but Adler was out swiftly to deny Aubameyang a second time.

Aubameyang's blushes were spared somewhat by his counterpart soon after - Wood heading wide from Filip Kostic's cross following Lukasz Piszczek's error.
Dortmund continued to carve open Hamburg's defence after the restart, but both Kagawa and Ousmane Dembele could not find the target after finding space in the visitors' area.An error from Burki almost allowed Wood to head home on the hour-mark, before Kostic's volley landed on the roof of the net.

Those chances boosted Hamburg, but the result should have been wrapped up with just under 20 minutes remaining - Aubameyang's struggles continuing as he struck wide after going one-on-one with Adler.However, Aubameyang made amends in the 81st minute, sliding a cross into the path of Kagawa, who tucked home from six yards.

And, in the final minute of stoppage time, Kagawa returned the favour with a sublime pass - Aubameyang making no mistake as he rounded Adler to score and set Dortmund up perfectly for their clash with Bayern next time out.

 

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Leicester City 2 Sunderland 0: Foxes pile misery on beleaguered Moyes

David Moyes' week went from bad to worse as his Sunderland side slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Leicester City that pushed them even closer to the Premier League trapdoor.

Islam Slimani's first club goal of 2017 and his sixth Premier League strike of the season turned the match in favour of Craig Shakespeare's resurgent Foxes, who are now nine points clear of the drop zone.

Before Slimani's 69th-minute header, the visitors had given under-fire manager Moyes cause for optimism in a week in which he was widely criticised for comments made to a BBC reporter in March.

Jermain Defoe looked sharp throughout as he sought his first goal for Sunderland since February, but when the England striker fails to find the net his side lack an alternative threat and they are now without a goal in six matches.

Shakespeare's side were second best for much of the contest but Jamie Vardy lashed the ball home in the 78th minute to make it 2-0 and bury any hope Sunderland had of salvaging a draw.

Going into the game on the back of four consecutive league wins, Leicester's verve and flow in the opening stages harked back to their form during last season's title run-in, and Shinji Okazaki almost put them ahead when he flicked Demarai Gray's cross just wide of Jordan Pickford's goal after three minutes.

Sunderland set up to counter attack and Defoe whipped in a cross after 10 minutes that Sebastian Larsson would have reached had it not been for Danny Simpson's excellent defensive header.

Pickford punched Robert Huth's looping header over the crossbar five minutes later, but Sunderland began to grow in confidence as the first half unfolded and they enjoyed a spell of pressure in which both Defoe and Didier Ndong sent well-struck shots narrowly wide of the target.

Despite forcing six first-half corners and a number of promising free-kicks, the visitors failed to turn their dominance into goals, while at the other end Pickford had to make a fingertip save to deny Gray a spectacular goal on the cusp of half-time.

Sunderland continued to press after the break and Defoe attempted an audacious volley that drew a good reaction save from Kasper Schmeichel.But Leicester still looked dangerous going forward and Huth's close-range header was prevented from reaching the bottom corner of the net by the diving Pickford.

Shakespeare sent on Marc Albrighton just after the hour mark and he was on the field for just seven minutes before breaking down the left and crossing for Slimani, who climbed above Lamine Kone and headed the ball down into the net.

Sunderland immediately went in search of an equaliser and substitute Victor Anichebe intercepted Christian Fuchs' poor clearance and crashed a shot onto the post before Defoe put the rebound into the side-netting.The Wearsiders' frailties at the other end were apparent again, however, as Leicester doubled their lead with 12 minutes to go.

Albrighton again darted down the flank but this time he picked out Vardy, who had the time and space to take a touch before applying a finish high into the net.

 

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Roma 3 Lazio 2 (3-4 agg): Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile net again to secure final berth

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile were again the derby-day heroes as Lazio reached the Coppa Italia final with a 3-2 defeat to Roma proving enough to secure a 4-3 aggregate victory.Lazio had earned a 2-0 first-leg advantage a month earlier thanks to Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile to end a near four-year wait for a win over their great rivals.

And the same players were on the scoresheet once again at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday as Roma's shoddy defending left their front-line with too much to do in an entertaining clash.

Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Lazio and, although Stephan El Shaarawy responded before half-time, Immobile's strike after 56 minutes put Simone Inzaghi's side out of sight.

Mohamed Salah netted a second equaliser of the match, but Roma still required another three goals in the remaining 24 minutes and did not score again until the Egypt international struck another in the 90th minute.With the Giallorossi left with too great a mountain to climb, Lazio progressed into a third Coppa final in five years.

Edin Dzeko missed a glorious opportunity to reduce the two-goal deficit inside three minutes as he steered Emerson's deep cross agonisingly wide of the left-hand post.

Lazio's own in-form forward was then presented with an opening at the other end, as two Roma defenders struggled to clear a left-wing cross, but Immobile also prodded off target.

Dzeko remained busy, though, teeing up El Shaarawy to run through and force a sprawling low save from Thomas Strakosha, before the Bosnian headed into the goalkeeper's hands himself.Roma were largely dominant in a frantic contest, but Lazio extended their aggregate lead against the run of play after 37 minutes.

Immobile muscled past the unwitting Kostas Manolas to meet Felipe Anderson's cross and volley at goal, Alisson's smart stop falling at the feet of Milinkovic-Savic for a simple tap-in.

But the Giallorossi quickly pulled a goal back as Antonio Rudiger's low centre somehow passed through the box for El Shaarawy to sidefoot into the net at the far post.Roma needed to build on the momentum provided by their breakthrough, but a frustrating start to the second half saw Inzaghi's men instead take control as both Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile squandered chances.

Lazio continued to find space in attacking positions and Immobile, having fired straight at Alisson minutes earlier, streaked clear of the Roma defence again to slide a finish into the corner.

Despite a seemingly insurmountable aggregate scoreline, Roma responded once more as El Shaarawy's low curler was tipped onto the post and Salah blasted home the rebound.

The introduction of talisman and captain Francesco Totti gave Roma further encouragement, Salah forcing a save from Strakosha and Kevin Strootman drawing a block from Bastos.

Salah finally tucked away a close-range finish as Strakosha spilled Radja Nainggolan's strike, but the Giallorossi had left it too late and could not deny their bitter rivals.

 

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Manchester United 1 Everton 1: Ibrahimovic levels after Shaw's unlikely intervention

Luke Shaw was the unlikely hero for Jose Mourinho as Manchester United salvaged a last-gasp 1-1 Premier League draw against Everton.

Four days on from being labelled United's fourth-choice at left-back and having his professionalism questioned by Mourinho, Shaw's was introduced as a second-half substitute with Everton 1-0 up thanks to Phil Jagielka's improvised 22nd-minute finish.

And the England left-back drilled goalwards in stoppage time, with Ashley Williams sent off for handling the shot on the goalline before Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted from the penalty spot.

It prevented Everton from leapfrogging United into fifth place in the table, with Manchester City four points better off in fourth before they visit leaders Chelsea on Wednesday.

Ibrahimovic was back in the side following a three-game domestic suspension and had a header incorrectly ruled out for offside in the 71st minute, when it appeared United would follow Saturday's 0-0 draw against West Brom with another frustrating home stalemate.

Williams made a timely early challenge to thwart Ibrahimovic before Jesse Lingard – preferred to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial in a wide attacking role by Mourinho – sliced wide from 20 yards in the 13th minute.

Ronald Koeman added some of the experience his defeated Merseyside derby line-up lacked in the form of Kevin Mirallas and Gareth Barry and the former England midfielder's lofted pass was chested down by the Belgium winger in the 21st minute, who drew a save from David De Gea at his near post.Everton led from the resulting corner as Jagielka outmuscled Marcos Rojo to prod Williams' looping header through De Gea's legs.

United were almost level after half an hour, when Joel Robles acrobatically pushed out Daley Blind's curling free-kick and Ander Herrera clattered the rebound against the crossbar from a tight angle.

A rasping drive from Herrera forced Robles to tip behind in the 39th minute and Jagielka concluded a fine individual half in stoppage time with an immaculate challenge to halt Marcus Rashford after Ibrahimovic's flick released him into the area.

Mourinho sent on Pogba in place of Blind at the interval and the world's most expensive player was quickly into the thick of the action.

After Barry was booked for cynically barging over Rashford in full flight, Ashley Young – now operating at left-back after the half-time reshuffle – whipped in a free-kick that flicked off Romelu Lukaku and Pogba guided a header against the crossbar.

Young was booked for a rash foul on Miralles and his robust approach appeared to result in an injury, meaning Shaw entered the fray to cheers from the Old Trafford faithful.

Ibrahmovic thought he had United back on terms with 19 minutes to play as Robles failed to keep his header out but was spared as a marginal offside call fell in the visitors' favour.

Robles did not convince entirely under increasingly direct United attacks, and Fellaini fired over under pressure from Barry when the goalkeeper's punch failed to clear 73rd-minute danger.

Ibrahimovic headed beyond the crossbar as the clock ticked down but he made amends in stoppage time, sending Robles the wrong way after Shaw forced Williams into a lonely trudge from the field.

 

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Atletico Madrid 1 Real Sociedad 0: Filipe Luis secures fifth successive win

Filipe Luis' first-half goal was enough as Atletico Madrid took a further step towards Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad which opens up a three-point gap ahead of Sevilla.

Diego Simeone's men were irresistible at times in the first half at the Vicente Calderon and, although they faded a little after the break, their brilliant defence helped secure a fifth successive LaLiga win, piling more pressure on Sevilla ahead of their trip to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Atletico were slow to get going, but once they found their stride Real Sociedad struggled to keep them quiet and Filipe Luis finally gave them the lead in the 28th minute, finishing off a brilliant attack with his second goal in as many matches.

Fernando Torres should have added a second shortly after when he hit the post from close range, and then Geronimo Rulli had to be alert a few moments before the break as Atletico finished the half-time well on top.

Atletico's bombardment failed to continue into the second half as La Real improved again, but the hosts' typically solid defensive unit did not give an inch.

La Real's lack of creativity was ultimately their undoing, as they simply grew frustrated and Atletico saw things out with little difficulty.Atletico were guilty of a very sluggish start and their visitors looked significantly livelier going forward.

But they eventually came to life 19 minutes in – Juanfran latching on to Koke's defence-splitting pass before cutting the ball back to the edge of the box and Antoine Griezmann saw his drive deflected agonisingly wide of the post.La Real did not get so lucky just before the half-hour mark, though.

Filipe Luis darted in from the left, exchanging passes with Griezmann before then also playing a one-two with Torres and prodding past the goalkeeper from 12 yards to cap a wonderful move.

Atletico should have doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break when Yannick Carrasco set Torres up with a precise low cross, only for the striker to hit the post from six yards with a gaping goal at his mercy.

And they wasted another two glorious chances on the stroke of half-time – Carrasco shooting straight at Rulli when teed up by Griezmann, with Filipe Luis then doing the same on the rebound.Atletico's play was rather more disjointed at the start of the second half and La Real were encouraged by that, becoming increasingly in prominent in possession.

But, like when they were on top during the first 15 minutes of the match, the visitors were unable to really worry the Atletico defence and Jan Oblak remained untested.La Real dominated possession for the final 20 minutes without ever appearing to have any direction, with Eusebio Sacristan's men devoid of craft.

Angel Correa should have finished La Real off late on when he fired wide from just inside the area, but it mattered little as Atletico held on.

 

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Chapecoense 2 Atletico Nacional 1: Emotional win for tragedy-hit hosts

Chapecoense recorded an emotional 2-1 win over Atletico Nacional in the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana on Tuesday.

Substitute Luiz Otavio scored the winner at Arena Conda to see the tragedy-hit Brazilian side to their victory.

Reinaldo had earlier put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot, before Macnelly Torres levelled for the 2016 Copa Libertadores champions.

Chapecoense were crowned Copa Sudamericana winners at Atletico's request, after a plane carrying their players and staff to the first leg of the final against the Colombian side in Medellin crashed, killing 71 people.

The three surviving players – Alan Ruschel, Jakson Follmann and Neto – were presented to the crowd before the clash in emotional scenes.The hosts took the lead in the 24th minute, Reinaldo converting from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Torres levelled for the Colombian outfit just before the hour-mark, turning and firing a 25-yard effort into the top corner, with Artur Moraes unable to keep it out despite getting a hand on the strike.

But Chapecoense would find a winner through Otavio, who headed in a Reinaldo corner in the 74th minute.

The second leg will be played in Medellin on May 10.

 

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Ibrahimovic: Manchester United cannot afford more mistakes

Manchester United cannot afford to keep dropping points and must do better in the Premier League run-in, says Zlatan Ibrahimovic.United drew their ninth match in 16 Premier League home games this season, but they needed a 94th-minute penalty from Ibrahimovic to salvage the point.

Phil Jagielka had given Everton the lead in the first-half when he got on the end of a flick from Ashley Williams, who conceded the penalty for handball and was consequently dismissed.

But with the gap to the top four and Champions League qualification potentially extending to seven points if results go against them on Wednesday, Ibrahimovic called for rapid improvement.

"I think we deserved a little bit more. I mean we conceded a goal by mistake, the first mistake by missing Williams I think [it was who] headed it and then the goal came out of nothing," he told BT Sport.

"We need to keep focus, we cannot afford these mistakes, especially now in the end [of the season] because it's very important points especially when the table is like it is. We are close, but still we don't get the points that we need.

"But at the end we equalised, we were attacking for most of the game and we had good chances – we hit the post one time I think – but we have to do more."Ibrahimovic had a goal ruled out in a tight offside decision before netting the equaliser, and he thought he was in a legal position when he converted.

He said: "I thought it was goal because I came from the right side of the defender when he played back and I thought it was a goal. But I cannot say, the TV has to judge."