..::Football IV::..

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Shaw has to change his football brain - Mourinho still not happy after outcast helps snatch draw

Jose Mourinho believes Luke Shaw only performed effectively for Manchester United in the 1-1 draw against Everton because he was telling the England left-back what to do.

Four days on from leaving Shaw out of his matchday 18 for the 0-0 draw at home to West Brom and questioning the 21-year-old's professionalism, a second-half injury to Ashley Young forced him into the fray with United 1-0 down to Phil Jagielka's 22nd minute opener.

The former Southampton youngster was in the thick of the action in stoppage time when his rasping strike was handled in the six-yard box by Ashley Williams, bringing a red card for the Everton centre-back before Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted the resulting penalty.

But, speaking to BT Sport after the match, Mourinho made it clear that Shaw still has plenty to do to win his favour.

"I think he has lots of potential but the football brain and the professional brain has to be in with the talent," he said, after the point left his team four points behind Manchester City in fourth.

"I think in previous generations it was more difficult to be a big player, more difficult to be rich - rich after the career, at this moment they are rich when the career starts. It is not an easy life for them.

"I think he has to change his football brain. I was telling him just now, he was doing things in the second half because he was reacting to my voice. If he was playing on the other side, for sure he would not do it because I was not there to think for him.

"He needs maturity and maturity comes with responsibility. He has talent, I want to help him. I think he had a future here."But Manchester United cannot wait. We are 20 matches unbeaten in the Premier League – it is not enough because we don't win enough matches."

Shaw was not the only Old Trafford youngster to feel the sharp end of Mourinho's tongue, as Marcus Rashford extended his run without a Premier League goal to 20 appearances.

"We need the kids to grow up," the former Real Madrid boss said. "One thing is for Marcus Rashford to come in last year with no responsibility and score a goal, then the next week score another one.

"This season he scored the last one in September. I have to help him, I cannot kill him. I must help him, I must try to accelerate the process again because this is Manchester United.

"The good thing was the spirit of the second half, following a first half that was not good at all."One man who has no trouble finding the net in United colours in Ibrahimovic, whose penalty was his 27th of the season in all competitions.

The 35-year-old had a header chalked off incorrectly for offside in the 71st minute and Mourinho felt this marginal call going the wrong way strengthened the argument for the introduction of video assistant referees (VARs) following FIFA's recent trials.

"They [the United players] fought until the last second and with the VAR we win this game 2-1 because it is not office. It's a difficult one for the linesman, I'm not criticising him at all," he added.

"When the VAR comes it will help everyone, especially them."From what I saw just now on the computer, for me it is not an offside. But I repeat, not at all am I criticising the linesman, not at all."It will be welcomed by them because it is not good when they make mistakes , even a little one like this."

 

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Mourinho's Manchester United record is worse than Van Gaal's first Premier League season

Jose Mourinho was brought in as Manchester United manager to improve upon the standard set by Louis van Gaal.So far, however, 'The Special One' has failed to do that.

After Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Everton at Old Trafford, the Red Devils have recorded 14 wins, 12 draws and three losses in the Premier League during Mourinho's first season in charge.

That record is good for 54 points – two fewer than Van Gaal had after 29 league games in the 2014/15 season.

Van Gaal led the Red Devils to a fourth-place finish in that campaign – the first of his two seasons in charge at Old Trafford.
With United sitting four points behind rivals Manchester City in fourth position, Mourinho will need a massive effort from his club over the season's final nine league matches to equal the feat of his Dutch predecessor.

 

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Chelsea are the Premier League's underdogs NOT Tottenham, insists Conte

Antonio Conte believes Tottenham were the more likely title contenders than Chelsea ahead of the season, as he tries to ease the pressure and celebrate the achievements of his players.

Chelsea are preparing for a crucial match against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday but go into the game having lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Spurs won 2-0 at Burnley to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table to seven points.

Conte believes that there is more expectation on his Chelsea players than those at Tottenham, even though the Italian feels his team were not given much chance in the title race before the start of the campaign.

“It's important to see the result tomorrow," Conte said at Cobham Training Centre. "This run must give you enjoyment. It must make you proud to be in this run. Also because, I repeat, don't forget nobody thought Chelsea, in this season, would fight for the title. Don't forget this.

"I think the difference between Chelsea and Tottenham is this: if you stay in Chelsea and win it's normal. If you stay in Tottenham, if you win it's great, great, but if you lose... it's not a disaster, no? Not a disaster.

"Because you find a lot of situations to explain a good season. But, I repeat, in this season, us and Tottenham stay in the same level. Chelsea were underdogs at the start of the season, but now we are top and we want to keep this position.”

It has been exactly a year since Conte was announced as the new Chelsea boss, ahead of him taking over the club after he completed Italy's Euro 2016 campaign.

Before his two-year spell with Italy, Conte was the manager of Juventus, who he took over in similar circumstances to Chelsea.Juventus finished a disappointing seventh when Conte came in and he led them to the title in his first season, while Chelsea finished 10th last term.

Conte admits there are similarities between his situations at Juventus and his current club but he adds that it is harder to win a title so early in the Premier League.

“In my first season at Juventus, even, we stayed behind and then we overcame Milan and won the title (late on)," he added. "I repeat, it was a great season because we started as underdogs.

"The second season and third season, I think Juventus showed themselves to be really, really strong. Stronger than the others. The competition wasn't so tough like in England."Here, in every game, you must think that anything can happen if you don't face the game in the right way. But not only this: against Crystal Palace we played a good game with great commitment and great concentration, but we still lost.


"This is the great difference between England and Italy. In Italy, it's easier to manage this situation.”

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.05

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.05​

Arsenal Vs West Ham

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Hull City Vs Middlesbrough

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Southampton Vs Crystal Palace

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Swansea Vs Tottenham

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Chelsea Vs Manchester City

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Liverpool Vs Bournemouth

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LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.05

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.05

Barcelona Vs Sevilla

Alaves Vs Osasuna

Deportivo Vs Granada

Sporting Gijon Vs Malaga

Leganes Vs Real Madrid​

 

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Coppa Italia Fixture 2017.04.05

Coppa Italia Fixture 2017.04.05

Napoli Vs Juventus​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.05

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.05

Augsburg Vs Ingolstadt

Monchengladbach Vs Hertha Berlin

Mainz Vs Leipzig

Darmstadt Vs Leverkusen

Wolfsburg Vs Freidburg ​

 

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Barcelona 3 Sevilla 0: Marvellous Messi inspires champions on return from suspension

Lionel Messi was inspirational upon his return from suspension as Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Sevilla to move back above Real Madrid at LaLiga's summit for a few hours at least.

The champions' talisman missed the 4-1 defeat of Granada last time out due to an accumulation of yellow cards, but more than made up for lost time in Wednesday's resounding success at Camp Nou with a brace and an assist.

Messi was instrumental as Barca assumed complete control with a devastating eight-minute spell midway through the first half, setting up the opener for Luis Suarez with a trademark darting run down the right before netting twice himself.

Perhaps with their hectic April schedule in mind, there was a noticeable let-up in intensity from Barca in the second period, but there was never any danger of a Sevilla comeback as their miserable record against the Catalan giants was extended to one win from their last 20 meetings.The win sends Barca perhaps only momentarily back to the top of the table, one point above Madrid, who travel to struggling Leganes later on Wednesday.

It was another damaging defeat for Sevilla, who had Vitolo sent off in stoppage time for a second bookable offence and are now three points behind Atletico Madrid in the race for the third and final automatic Champions League qualification berth.

Sevilla's six-match winless run in all competitions is their worst under Jorge Sampaoli and they almost found themselves behind within four minutes as Messi crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards with Sergio Rico motionless.

But Sevilla seemed undeterred by Barca's rapid start and wasted a glorious chance as Steven N'Zonzi found himself one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who saved with his legs.

Another gilt-edged opening went begging as Vitolo sent a free header over from six yards and the visitors paid the price for that miss a minute later.

Messi drove to the right byline and cut the ball back for Suarez, who shrugged off Gabriel Mercado before volleying an overhead kick beyond Rico from close range.Three minutes later the lead was doubled as Ivan Rakitic, Neymar and Suarez combined to tee up Messi to sweep home with his right foot.

If the second was the result of incisive team work, Barca's third was a gift as Sevilla twice failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Messi to lash a left-footed volley into the net.

After the interval Suarez robbed Rico and fed Messi, whose chip was saved by the retreating goalkeeper, but Sampaoli's men continued to press forward as substitute Pablo Sarabia twice saw thumping drives saved by Ter Stegen.Luis Enrique introduced Paco Alcacer in place of Suarez and he ought to have done better than firing straight at Rico when clean through in the 78th minute.

The last act of the game summed up Sevilla's frustrations as Vitolo received a second yellow card for a petulant kick out at Neymar as Barca saw out a comfortable success.

 

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Mainz 2 RB Leipzig 3: Keita scores solo stunner to cut Bayern gap

Naby Keita scored a wonderful individual goal as RB Leipzig kept their slim Bundesliga title hopes alive with a 3-2 win at Mainz.

Having seen Bayern Munich lose to Hoffenheim on Tuesday, Leipzig closed the gap to a still sizeable 10 points in a dramatic clash on Wednesday that saw five goals and a red card.It was relegation-threatened Mainz who had the better of the first half as Bojan Krkic and Levin Oztunali both wasted clear-cut chances.

The hosts were duly punished after the break as Leipzig found their stride, with Emil Forsberg's flicked volley back across goal headed into the bottom-left corner by Marcel Sabitzer for the opener in the 48th minute.Forsberg was involved again four minutes later as his corner was turned in by Timo Werner for Leipzig's second.

Jairo pulled one back from the penalty spot for Mainz, but the game was effectively put to bed by Keita in stunning fashion nine minutes from time.Keita beat five Mainz defenders on a marvellous run that was finished off as he found the bottom-right corner.

Jean-Philippe Gbamin saw red for Mainz in a fiery end to the game, with Yoshinori Muto's stoppage-time effort nothing more than a consolation.

 

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Napoli 3 Juventus 2 (4-5 agg): Higuain double books Coppa final spot

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice against former club Napoli as Juventus booked their place in the final of the Coppa Italia despite losing 3-2 at Stadio San Paolo on Wednesday.Juve had a two-goal cushion from February's first encounter between the sides and the holders progressed 5-4 on aggregate after a thrillingly chaotic cup clash.

Higuain was on target in his side's 3-1 first-leg win in Turin and, after being approached by a pitch invader armed with a Napoli scarf, he found the bottom-right corner from just outside the box and appeared to celebrate by pointing and shouting angrily at supporters in the stands.

Napoli captain Marek Hamsik prompted hopes of a fightback by finishing off a flowing move early in the second half, but Higuain's powerful shot quickly restored Juve's advantage.

Dries Mertens scored 10 seconds after coming on as a substitute and Lorenzo Insigne struck to set up a dramatic finale, but Juve held out to book a final against Lazio as they seek a third straight Coppa title.

Massimiliano Allegri's men are still on track for the treble as they have a six-point lead at the top of Serie A and face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Juventus opened the scoring after six minutes when the teams drew 1-1 in Serie A on Sunday and they almost made a similarly fast start, only for Alex Sandro to see his shot blocked.

But it was Napoli who created the first big chance after 11 minutes as Arkadiusz Milik's backheel freed Lorenzo Insigne in the left side of the penalty area.Insigne squared for Jose Callejon, but Neto brilliantly blocked his close-range effort, then Sandro's low drive from long distance was comfortable for Pepe Reina.

Tomas Rincon should have made the tie safe for Juve on the half-hour mark but, when presented with a simple opening by a terrible Vlad Chiriches backpass, he somehow blazed over the crossbar.

That miss was soon forgotten as Higuain, who did not record a single touch in the Napoli box at the weekend, opened the scoring with a superb strike from outside the area.

Stefano Sturaro laid the ball off to the Napoli favourite, who took a touch to set himself and bent an unstoppable low shot into Reina's bottom-right corner.

Napoli needed a goal early in the second half to boost their chances and they got one after 53 minutes.Hamsik scored Napoli's equaliser against Juve on Sunday and he was again on the scoresheet, placing a shot into Neto's bottom-left corner to give the hosts belief.

Higuain appeared to have extinguished Napoli's slim chances by smashing Juan Cuadrado's right-wing cutback into the roof of the net, but substitute Mertens tapped in with his first touch after Neto allowed a throw-in to squirm under his foot.

Superb play from Callejon presented Insigne with a simple close-range finish after 67 minutes to put Napoli ahead on the night, but they still trailed by a single goal on aggregate.

Allegri made defensive changes to help his side close the tie out and Juve will face Lazio – who beat rivals Roma – in the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico on June 2.

 

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Arsenal 3 West Ham 0: Ozil answers critics with goal and assist

Mesut Ozil fired back a response to his critics with a goal and an assist as Arsenal overcame a resilient West Ham 3-0 at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League.

Germany international Ozil - making his 150th Arsenal appearance - has come under fire for lacklustre displays this season and the ire aimed in his direction increased during a run the Gunners took into Wednesday's game that had seen them win just three times in their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Ongoing speculation around the 28-year-old's future in north London has added to the animosity he has been subjected to, but his first goal of 2017 put Arsene Wenger's side on the path to ending a three-match winless run in the top flight.Ozil then set up Theo Walcott to angle in the second, capping a performance that may appease sections of the support unhappy with him and Wenger.

The Frenchman was the target of a protest in which fans refused to take their seats until the 13th minute - a reference to the number of years they have gone without a Premier League title. However, the empty spaces continually filled from kick-off.

Substitute Olivier Giroud capped the win with an exquisite finish, with Arsenal now fifth following Manchester United's draw with Everton on Tuesday, providing a much-needed boost to their Champions League ambitions as the seasons enters its final stretch.

For Slaven Bilic, however, a fifth successive defeat and seventh winless match provides further concern after he was given the vote of confidence this week.

Emiliano Martinez made his first Premier League appearance since December 2014 with Petr Cech and David Ospina out injured, and he was placed under early pressure from Manuel Lanzini and Mark Noble, though neither managed to hit the target.

Fans continually filtered to their seats from kick-off and any intentional protesters arrived in time to see Walcott drill a shot from Hector Bellerin's cutback straight at Darren Randolph.Arsenal kept West Ham penned back, but Danny Welbeck was unable to take full advantage, failing to connect with Alexis Sanchez's dinked free-kick before aiming a header too close to Randolph as West Ham held firm until half-time.

The hosts needed to play with more pace and energy in order to break down the resilient visitors and they did that immediately after the restart, an excellent James Collins tackle thwarting Ozil in the box before Shkodran Mustafi drilled narrowly wide.

The breakthrough finally came in the 58th minute when Ozil's shot from the edge of the box somehow found a way past Randolph and into the bottom-left corner.While the West Ham goalkeeper could have done more to keep Ozil's effort out, he raced off his line to produce a brilliant stop as Welbeck attempted to make it two in as many minutes.

Arsenal had their second in the 68th minute, though. Ozil and Sanchez combined down the left, with the former's cutback guided inside the near post by Walcott.

Bellerin stretched to reach a Sanchez cross from the left, but sent his effort narrowly wide, while Martinez was forced into his only meaningful save by Lanzini in the 75th minute.

There was still time for Arsenal to add to their tally, with substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain setting up Giroud, who replaced Welbeck in the 74th minute, to curl a fabulous finish into the top-right corner.

 

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Swansea City 1 Tottenham 3: Alli inspires dramatic victory

Tottenham kept their Premier League title hopes alive as three late goals saw them snatch a 3-1 victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday.

A first-half goal against his former club for Wayne Routledge had looked set to seal what would have been an important victory for Paul Clement's side in their battle to avoid relegation, only for Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen to turn things around at the death.

Spurs, still missing Harry Kane and Danny Rose and without Hugo Lloris and Victor Wanyama due to illness and injury respectively, dominated the ball in south Wales but struggled to create many openings against a Swansea side who had won only one of their last five league games.

Routledge fired past former Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm after 11 minutes and the home side's lead looked relatively untroubled, despite them having just 27 per cent of the possession against a Spurs side on a five-game winning run in all competitions.

Spurs kept up the pressure in the second half, though, and their efforts eventually paid off when Alli tapped in after Eriksen's shot was deflected into his path through a crowded penalty area.

And Mauricio Pochettino's side ensured the gap to leaders Chelsea, who beat Manchester City 2-1, will stay at seven points thanks to goals from Son and Eriksen in injury time, as Swansea drop into the bottom three.

Swansea seemed eager to give Spurs a head start, with poor passages of play twice allowing Son to lead a counter-attack, although the visitors failed to make the most of the opportunities.

But Spurs' determination to press their opponents proved their undoing in the 11th minute. Having forced the ball all the way back to Lukasz Fabianski following a Swansea corner, Spurs were unable to stop the goalkeeper's long kick sending Jordan Ayew into the penalty area, and the Ghana forward teed up Routledge to fire home from six yards out.

Spurs promptly seized control of possession as Swansea dropped deep to defend their lead, but Pochettino's side mustered little more than a hopeful Eriksen strike from 30 yards out in the first half as the hosts continued to look a threat on the break.

Each side had a penalty shout correctly waved away by referee Jon Moss just after half-time, Ayew going to ground after turning past Toby Alderweireld before Son saw a shot from six yards out deflected wide by Federico Fernandez, who had his arm outstretched as the ball hit his side.

Swansea weathered a storm of corners and began to go hunting for a second goal, with Kyle Naughton coming close with a shot that deflected off Ben Davies and bounced narrowly past Vorm's right-hand post.

Pochettino introduced Vincent Janssen from the bench as Spurs began to turn up the pressure once more, but the Netherlands international was denied by a good block from the brave Fabianski, who rushed from his line to close down the striker after Alli's reverse lob sent him through.

Fabianski, who had to receive treatment, shouted down Clement's attempts to take him off in the dying minutes and made a brilliant save to keep out an Alli header, but he could do nothing to stop the England midfielder tapping into the unguarded net after Eriksen's shot had deflected into his path.

Son put Spurs ahead three minutes later, sliding the ball beneath Fabianski from six yards out after being set up by Janssen, and Alli's fine ball was expertly steered into the bottom-right corner by Eriksen in the 94th minute to cap a remarkable turnaround and secure a fifth win in a row in the top flight.

 

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Chelsea 2 Manchester City 1: Hazard at the double as Conte's men close on title

Chelsea took a huge step towards the Premier League title as Eden Hazard's first-half brace saw off Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard opened the scoring and restored Chelsea's lead 10 minutes before the break after Sergio Aguero levelled for the visitors, converting at the second attempt after Willy Caballero saved his tame penalty.

City pressed for a leveller throughout the second half but Chelsea held out for the ideal response to Saturday's shock loss to Crystal Palace, with the gap at the summit remaining at seven points with eight games to play after nearest rivals Tottenham came back for a dramatic late 3-1 win over Swansea City.

It is a race Pep Guardiola will now watch from a distance, with his captain Vincent Kompany's successful return from his latest lengthy absence providing a positive for the battle ahead to secure Champions League qualification.

City – who saw John Stones miss a glorious chance in stoppage time – have now gone four Premier League games without a win and are fourth, four points ahead of Manchester United and Arsenal having played a game more than both.

Kurt Zouma made his first Premier League start for 14 months, seeing Cesar Azpilicueta revert to right wing-back and the Spain international combined well with compatriot Pedro to set up Chelsea's 10th-minute opener.

Azpilicueta's pull-back found Hazard in the area and, even allowing for a slight deflection off Kompany, the Belgium star's shot should have been better dealt with by flapping City goalkeeper Caballero.

The goalscorer glided down the City right midway through the half and spun in field to tee up Cesc Fabregas, with Gael Clichy deflecting the midfielder's attempt onto the roof of his own net.In the 26th minute, Courtois was the goalkeeper to be embarrassed, marking his 100th Chelsea appearance with a dreadful clearance straight to David Silva.

He saved the initial shot but Aguero – booed throughout by the home fans following his red card for an ugly lunge on David Luiz during December's reverse fixture – was on hand to tap in his 27th of the season.

Courtois partially atoned for his error two minutes later when Silva split Chelsea with a wonderful throughball and he dashed from his line to deny Leroy Sane.

The hosts appeared to be wobbling but ventured forward in the 34th minute and Pedro's sidestep was too deft for Fernandinho, who clumsily felled the former Barcelona man. Hazard's penalty was poor as Caballero saved to his left, but the rebound fell kindly.

Zouma made way at the break and Kompany almost capitalised on Chelsea's reshuffled backline early in the second period, looping a header against the top of the crossbar from Kevin De Bruyne's deep free-kick.

From a 51st-minute set-piece opportunity, Fabian Delph – another man making his first Premier League start of the season – worked the ball back into the Chelsea box and Fernandinho, adjudged onside, shanked a volley wastefully over.Silva poked and prodded inventively at the Chelsea defence all evening and Stones should have done better than planting his 65th-minute corner straight at Courtois.

Hazard orchestrated a 76th-minute counter-attack that deserved to end with him claiming the matchball as opposed to smashing beyond the crossbar, although an apparently flagging City twice went close in stoppage time.

Courtois saved when substitute Nolito picked out Aguero with a brilliant raking ball and the goalkeeper and his team-mates breathed a sigh of relief from the resulting corner, when Stones lifted inexplicably over the bar to leave Chelsea's advantage at the top intact.

 

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Avranches 0 Paris Saint-Germain 4: Ben Arfa brace helps PSG into semis

Paris Saint-Germain remain on course to win the Coupe de France for a record 11th time after beating third-tier Avranches 4-0 in the quarter-final.The cup holders are level rivals Marseille on 10 triumphs and they overcame lowly opposition to put themselves in the last four of this season's competition.

Avranches are struggling in the Championnat National and gave a good account of themselves against a team whose annual budget dwarfs their own, but the hosts were undone by a brace of goals from Hatem Ben Arfa and further strikes by Lucas Moura and Javier Pastore.

Ben Arfa scored a deflected free-kick in the first half and netted again eight minutes into the second, before Lucas added a third and Pastore struck late to make the scoreline somewhat cruel on brave Avranches.

Having lifted the Coupe de la Ligue just four days earlier, PSG coach Unai Emery rested the likes of Marco Verratti, Edinson Cavani and Kevin Trapp, but still saw his side cruise to victory, and he will hope that bodes well for Saturday's Ligue 1 clash against Guingamp.

The two sides looked surprisingly well matched as the game began and Pastore played in the unmarked Christopher Nkunku, but his shot flew straight into the arms of Anthony Beuve, before Jamal Thiare countered for Avranches and crossed for Jessy Benet to volley a shot over the crossbar.

It was a very respectable start from the home side, whose commitment helped to bridge the clear gap in quality, and winger Charles Boateng threatened when he broke clear, but his shot lacked the power or the accuracy to beat Alphonse Areola.

Beuve only just kept out a Pastore shot after Ben Arfa breezed through midfield and there was a sense that Avranches would struggle to keep PSG out if they gave away further chances.

After 35 minutes, Lucas won a free-kick on his way towards the penalty area and took it short to Ben Arfa, whose shot took a deflection on its way past Beuve into the far corner of the net.Christopher Mayulu came close to levelling for the minnows five minutes before the break, only to see his low drive parried away by Areola.

Avranches started the second half as brightly as they had the first and Benet dragged a shot wide of goal, but PSG then ruthlessly tripled their lead inside three minutes.

Lucas' run caught the home defence napping and the Brazilian squared to Ben Arfa who applied a simple finish into the empty net after 53 minutes, and just three minutes later Lucas chested down a deflected Pastore cross and slid the ball under Beuve and into the net to make it 3-0.

Knowing they were beaten, Avranches relaxed and played some good attacking football, but Thiare's fierce shot from the edge of the box dipped over the crossbar before Ben Arfa turned provider in the 82nd minute, playing a sweetly timed throughball for Pastore to chip over Beuve and into the net, ending the Normandy club's dreams of a giant killing.

 

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Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 2: In-form King stuns Reds late on

Joshua King's eighth Premier League goal in as many games stunned Liverpool late on as Bournemouth rescued a 2-2 draw at Anfield to ensure Jurgen Klopp's men lost further ground on Tottenham.

Liverpool looked to have done enough to win after Divock Origi put them 2-1 up, but Bournemouth punished slack defending to salvage a point and leave the Reds' chances of stealing second place from Spurs looking bleak.

The last meeting between the two teams in December was even more dramatic, resulting in an incredible 4-3 Bournemouth win after Liverpool led 3-1 and Eddie Howe's side looked set to provide stern opposition once again, as they raced into an early lead when Benik Afobe capitalised on an awful Georginio Wijnaldum error.

Liverpool did eventually restore parity five minutes before half-time, though, as Philippe Coutinho scored his 29th Premier League goal to go level with Juninho as the division's most prolific Brazilian.

The hosts were well on top following the interval and, after Nathaniel Clyne saw a brilliant long-range attempt come back off the crossbar, Wijnaldum made amends for his earlier mistake and set up Origi to complete the turnaround with 59 minutes played.

But Bournemouth were afforded more possession in the final 15 minutes as Liverpool sat back and Howe's side took full advantage, former Manchester United youngster King slamming in with three minutes to go to continue his impressive run of form.

A minute's applause ahead of the 28th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on April 15 preceded kick-off and the atmosphere created by that had Liverpool looking amped up early on.

So fired up were Liverpool that they went close to opening the scoring inside the first minute, as Roberto Firmino saw a long-range effort tipped over by Artur Boruc.

But at the back the Reds looked sloppy and gifted Bournemouth the lead just seven minutes in.Wijnaldum panicked under pressure from Harry Arter and saw his hapless backpass pounced upon by Afobe, who coolly prodded beyond Simon Mignolet.

Bournemouth should have got a second 15 minutes later, but Marc Pugh sent a rasping half-volley agonisingly wide of the right-hand post from six yards.And Liverpool made the most of that let-off just before the break.

Firmino managed to squeeze a pass through the Bournemouth defence and Coutinho tucked away from 12 yards despite initially struggling to get it under his control.

Liverpool's superiority continued into the second half and they went desperately close to taking the lead two minutes after the restart – Clyne hitting the crossbar with a ferocious 25-yard drive.

But Bournemouth did not get so lucky just before the hour.Wijnaldum turned Jack Wilshere inside out in the penalty area before then chipping a precise delivery into the danger zone for Origi to head beyond the helpless Boruc.

Bournemouth refused to lie down and let Liverpool cruise to victory, though.
Ragnar Klavan failed to get in front of King when a long throw troubled Liverpool and the Norwegian sent a fierce effort into the bottom-left corner to leave the Reds trailing Spurs - who have a game in hand - by five points.

 

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Leganes 2 Real Madrid 4: Morata hat-trick settles thriller

Alvaro Morata scored a lethal hat-trick as Real Madrid won a LaLiga thriller 4-2 at Leganes to leapfrog Barcelona and return to the top of LaLiga.

Madrid raced into a three-goal lead, James Rodriguez striking after 15 minutes before Morata followed up with a quickfire double to reach 10 top-flight goals for the first time in his career.

Close-range strikes from Leganes duo Gabriel Pires and Luciano Neves reduced the deficit to one just after the half-hour mark as the hosts battled back.

But Morata became the first Spanish player to score a league hat-trick for Madrid since Raul achieved the feat in 2009, his header from James' delivery early in the second half taking a huge deflection off Martin Mantovani and ending the match as a contest.

The victory came despite Madrid making nine changes ahead of crucial matches against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barca in the weeks ahead, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale among the stars rested.

A sixth straight win for Zinedine Zidane's men in all competitions restores their two-point lead over Barca, who beat Sevilla earlier on Wednesday.

Madrid also have a game in hand as they move closer to winning a first league title since 2012. Meanwhile, Leganes' four-match unbeaten run is over, but they remain five points clear of the relegation zone.

Madrid scored three times in eight first-half minutes, James breaking the deadlock with only his third league goal of the season.

Marco Asensio superbly set him up, intercepting Unai Bustinza's pass just inside Leganes' half and outpacing three defenders including Dimitrios Siovas before laying it on a plate to James to finish simply.

Danilo saw his left-footed effort from 20 yards take a slight deflection before hitting the post, but Zidane's men doubled their lead from the resulting corner.James took it and Nacho's flick-on found Morata at the far post, the striker scoring with an impressive looping header over goalkeeper Iago Herrerin.

And Morata soon scored his second of the match when Mateo Kovacic surged forward and slipped a throughball to the former Juventus striker, who convincingly beat Herrerin with a high first-time finish.

But Leganes fought back, Diego Rico avoiding an offside flag to race clear down the left and see his cutback deflect off Sergio Ramos and into the path of Pires to stretch in and convert his fourth top-flight goal of the season from close range.

And it was 3-2 within 172 seconds, Alexander Szymanowski's corner headed inadvertently towards his own goal by Ramos, allowing Neves to apply the finish from inside the six-yard box.

Only a stunning save by Herrerin kept out Lucas Vazquez when he swept James' cross towards goal, but the fourth goal did arrive for Madrid three minutes into the second half.

James was again involved, clipping in a free-kick from the left, with Morata's header deflecting in off defender Mantovani - who bizarrely had his hands raised - after Herrerin was indecisive in coming off his line.Substitute Samu Garcia curled a good opening wide for Leganes, but Madrid were looking more comfortable after the break, even though James showed frustration at being taken off for Isco by punching the away dugout.

Man-of-the-match Morata was more gracious when he came off for Mariano in the closing stages and it was the visitors who created the last big chance, Vazquez racing past three defenders only to be denied by Herrerin as his side settled for a two-goal win that sees them take another big step towards league glory.

 

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Shaw desperate to prove Mourinho wrong and stay at Man United

Out-of-favour left-back Luke Shaw has vowed to stay at Manchester United and prove manager Jose Mourinho wrong, though he admitted the criticism has been hard to take.

Mourinho has been publicly scathing of Shaw, questioning his professionalism after leaving the defender out of the squad for the goalless Premier League draw against West Brom on Saturday.

Shaw was a second-half substitute as United drew 1-1 with Everton on Tuesday, Mourinho later saying the 21-year-old was "using his body with my brain".

Despite the ongoing scrutiny amid questions over his future, Shaw is desperate to stake his claim at Old Trafford and force his way back into the starting XI."With the stuff that has been going on it is hard for me to take because deep down that is not me as a person," he said.

"Like Jose said, he wants to see me fighting – and I will fight to the last second because I want to be here for the club. I want to play for the manager and I want to help this team get back to the top.

"I am working really hard at the moment, especially now more than ever. I am going through a phase where everything sort of is going against me, but I want this so badly, I want to prove everyone wrong.

"I have missed being on the pitch so much. I am loving it here at United, the fans are incredible and have been incredible the last couple of days for obviously what has been going on. But I am keeping my head up and I am going to fight to the last. I am not going to give up.

"The fans have been so good to me and, like I said, especially the last sort of two days. That's why I love them. It is easy for them to see those comments and turn on me, do you know what I mean?

"But the passion they have always shown to me is amazing and something I don't and won't forget for a long time because it means a lot to me. I don't want to let them down and I'll fight for each and every one of the fans as well."

 

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Nou record: Barcelona on best home streak under Luis Enrique

Barcelona's 3-0 success over Sevilla has given them their best La Liga winning streak at Camp Nou in Luis Enrique's reign.

The defending champions' victory on Wednesday, which came courtesy of Lionel Messi's double and a Luis Suarez overhead kick, made it eight home league wins in a row.

The streak has seen Barca beat Espanyol, Las Palmas, Athletic Bilbao, Leganes, Sporting Gijon, Celta Vigo and Valencia prior to the Sevilla clash.
That is their best run since Luis Enrique, who will leave at the end of the campaign, took charge at the start of the 2014-15 season.The run could reach 12 by the time this season is over, with home La Liga matches against Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Villarreal and Eibar still to come.

 

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'I'm sure we'll get there' - Carrick insists Manchester United won't give up on top four

Michael Carrick recognises Manchester United are making hard work of their pursuit of finishing in the Premier League's top four, but insists the Red Devils will not give up hope.

United have not lost in the top flight since a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in October, but have won just three out of their past nine league matches.

Jose Mourinho's men left it late to salvage a point on Tuesday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic's injury-time penalty secured a 1-1 draw against Everton.That result left United four points adrift of rivals Manchester City, who occupy fourth, but Carrick says Pep Guardiola's men can be caught.

"You cannot give up on anything and results can go funny ways sometimes," Carrick told MUTV."We are obviously giving ourselves the tougher task but we are not giving up.

"We just cannot find a way to find that first goal and to break teams down and make it easier for us. Obviously, it is something you look at and you try to improve on and it is not just an easy thing you can try and just switch on.
"I am sure we will get there. I am sure we will improve. Generally, the performances have been very good at home."

 

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'The best number nine in the world' - Luis Enrique hails Barca star Luis Suarez

Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique believes Luis Suarez is the best forward in the world.Luis Enrique heaped praise on Suarez after the Uruguayan scored in Barca's 3-0 La Liga win over Sevilla on Wednesday.

Suarez set the tone with his overhead kick in the 25th minute as he increased his tally to 24 goals for the titleholders in the league this season.

"I think Luis Suarez, not just with the physical side of his game but his capacity to shoot with one touch in the box, knowing where the goal is is great," Luis Enrique said."It is clear his potential is big due to his physique, but it is not just about his physical skills.

"His quality, his quick shots and his movement are amazing and make him the best number nine in the world."Suarez is still hopeful of helping Barca retain their LaLiga crown following the comprehensive victory at Camp Nou.

Suarez opened the scoring before Lionel Messi netted a first-half brace as Barca stayed within two points of bitter rivals and LaLiga leaders Real Madrid.
"The team are still confident about our chances," said Suarez."In the games that remain the mentality has to be a winning one in order to get our fate back in our own hands."