..::Football IV::..

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Mourinho accepts defeat in hunt for fourth Manchester United signing


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho accepts that they are unlikely to sign the fourth player he wants before the transfer widow shuts on August 31.The 20-time English champions have brought in Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic since last season for a combined fee of close to £150 million.

Mourinho had also wanted an extra winger but United's pursuit of Inter's Ivan Perisic has failed, while reported interest in Real Madrid star Gareth Bale also proved fruitless.

The Portuguese boss is ready to accept defeat in his hopes for a final signing but insists he is happy with the squad at his disposal and the effort made by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

"I told Mr. Woodward that obviously my plans were four but I also told people 'no pressure from me, do what you think is best for the club'," he told a news conference on Friday.

"We'll be together again for another transfer window in January and next summer so there is no pressure from me at all. I'm happy with the squad we have and I'm ready to go without the fourth player, so if we are out of the market, I'm fine, I'm ready."

Mourinho had earlier confirmed that full-back Luke Shaw and winger Ashley Young were close to a return to the first-team squad.

Shaw damaged his ankle ligaments against Swansea City in April and Young had surgery on a groin problem in May, with neither able to make an appearance in pre-season.However, Mourinho expects both to be available again soon if they are able to come through an Under-23 match on Monday unscathed.

"Everybody is fine. The next week, on Monday, in the Under-23s game, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young are playing their first minutes of competition this season," he told MUTV.

"It is like a pre-season match for them. But it is good news because, when they can play with the Under-23s, it is because the last week they trained with us all week so they are both coming [back]."

 

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Mourinho accepts defeat in hunt for fourth Manchester United signing

Winger kenek nam onePerisic wa miss wechcha 1kanam loku paduwak.ath last minute 1ka wenakam try karanna thiyenne wena hoda winger kenekwa ganna​

 

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Bayern Munich 3 Bayer Leverkusen 1: Debutants Sule and Tolisso net in rain-lashed Bundesliga opener

Niklas Sule and Corentin Tolisso were on target on their Bundesliga debuts for Bayern Munich as the champions' title defence started with a 3-1 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

After a poor set of pre-season results, questions had been asked about whether Bayern were ready for the new league season, but they dispelled any such worries with a comfortable display on Friday at a wet Allianz Arena.

Despite being without injured first-team quintet Manuel Neuer, Javi Martinez, James Rodriguez, Thiago and Jerome Boateng, Bayern easily extended their run of home league wins against Leverkusen to five in a row by racing into a 2-0 lead.
A pair of league debutants combined for the opening goal after just nine minutes when Sule headed a left-wing free-kick from former Hoffenheim team-mate Sebastian Rudy across goal and out of Bernd Leno's grasp.

Another set-piece provided the second goal nine minutes later, as Arturo Vidal recycled a corner for Tolisso to head home at the back post, and Bayern's third came shortly after the restart thanks a Robert Lewandowski penalty given for Charles Aranguiz's shirt-pull, via the Bundesliga's new video assistant referee (VAR) system.Admir Mehmedi replied with a fine consolation goal, but victory was Bayern's 232nd win in their 300th home game at the Allianz Arena.


Tolisso stung the palms of Leno four minutes into his league bow for Bayern as the champions made a dominant start.And the opening goal had been coming when Sule powered in a towering header from Rudy's deep free-kick after Dominik Kohr had brought down Franck Ribery in full flow.Leverkusen responded strongly, however, and Sven Ulreich had to thrust out his right leg to block a low strike from Karim Bellarabi.

But they were soon undone by another set-piece as Joshua Kimmich's right-wing corner was punched by Leno to Vidal, who showed good awareness to pick out Tolisso with a cute volleyed pass for the debutant to nod in from close range.

Tolisso almost had another as Bayern broke at speed after 22 minutes, but his slotted effort bounced back off the post before swirling winds and heavy rain made conditions tricky.

The stormy weather delayed the restart and Leverkusen's new coach Heiko Herrlich introduced Julian Brandt and Aleksandar Dragovic at half-time to try and turn his side's fortunes around.

But Bayern stretched their advantage again after 52 minutes when a VAR review awarded a penalty for a needless foul by Aranguiz on Lewandowski, who stroked the penalty home himself.Kimmich blocked Kohr's shot on the line, but Leverkusen deservedly got on the scoresheet when Brandt teed up Mehmedi to rifle a thumping strike into the roof of the net from the left side of the box.

Kohr should have converted Mehmedi's free-kick after 72 minutes, but he headed wide from 10 yards as Leverkusen threatened to take advantage of Bayern's sloppy second-half play.

Substitute Kingsley Coman and Lewandowski both went close to adding gloss to the scoreline, but Bayern's season is up and running with a straightforward home win.

 

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Metz 0 Monaco 1: Falcao's late winner seals record-breaking victory

Monaco set a new Ligue 1 record for consecutive victories with Radamel Falcao securing their 15th in succession via a 1-0 win away to Metz on Friday.

Falcao's classy 78th-minute winner ensured a frustrating night ended on a record-breaking note as Monaco surpassed the 14 straight triumphs accumulated by Bordeaux in 2009.The champions needed a piece of inspiration from new signing Rachid Ghezzal to unlock Metz's staunch defence as the Algeria international picked out his captain for his fifth goal in three matches.

It appeared as though Kylian Mbappe's absence – which Leonardo Jardim suggested was partially due to him not being in the right frame of mind amid ongoing speculation over his future – would prove costly when substitute Guido Carillo headed against the post, but Falcao's effort sealed a third straight win to start their title defence.


Monaco struggled to create early openings and only tested Thomas Didillon with a tame Rony Lopes shot during the opening 20 minutes.

The match began to open up after the half-hour mark and a heavy touch cost young Monaco forward Adama Diakhaby a clear sight on goal, while Danijel Subasic smothered a near-post chance for Nolan Roux at the other end.

Lopes went closest to a first-half opener in the closing minutes when he drew an exceptional save from Didillon, who flew to his right to palm a curling effort around the post.

Jardim sent striker Carillo on in place of Lopes at half-time and the Argentine striker went within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 59th minute, heading Joao Moutinho's free-kick against the base of the upright.Metz steadied and produced a series of crucial defensive blocks, first to deny debutant Ghezzal before Jonathan Rivierez flung himself into the path of Thomas Lemar's goal-bound attempt.

Didillon continued to frustrate the visitors by acrobatically pushing away a powerful Kamil Glik header as the contest ticked towards a stalemate.However, Ghezzal showed why Jardim brought the former Lyon man in on a free transfer by dinking a delightful ball over the top for Falcao to cushion and finish clinically around Didillon, earning Monaco a place in the record books.

 

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'Stronger' Chelsea are still title favourites, claims Mourinho


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that not only are Chelsea favourites to retain their Premier League title, but that the Blues are even stronger than last season.

Antonio Conte has endured a difficult post-season at Stamford Bridge, seeing Nemanja Matic leave for United while his own transfer targets such as Romelu Lukaku have gone elsewhere.

A spate of injuries has moreover left Chelsea down to the bare bones, leading Conte himself to admit retaining the league would be a tough ask.

Mourinho dismissed suggestions the Blues were weaker, however, and stated they should be the team to beat in 2017-18.

“When people say, for example, Chelsea lost an important midfield player, if you lose one but you buy Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater, for example, what’s the problem?" the manager said in Friday's press conference, when asked about Chelsea losing Matic.“The problem is when you sell and you don’t buy. When you sell and you keep buying, what’s the problem?

“You’re probably even stronger [than last season], so I think every top team in the Premier League is strong enough, is potentially strong enough, with the financial situation to be fighting for everything.“And when everybody is also in Europe — five in the Champions League and then two in the Europa League, you have the top seven teams playing for everything and all of them are strong."

The Special One went to note that he always backed the reigning holder to repeat their achievement, and that Chelsea should be no different. “For me, the favourite is the champion — always. It is for some reason they were the champions," he said.

“It doesn’t mean you’re going to win it. I just think it’s the stamp you have when you’re champions — that the next season you’re the favourite.”

 

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Chelsea may need to face a trophy drought to become the best in the world, says Conte


Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted that his team need to become more stable like Tottenham as he aims to reign in expectations amid a selection crisis and his club’s struggles in the transfer market.

Tiemoue Bakyoko, Eden Hazard and Pedro could all be rushed back into contention despite not being fully fit, after a disjointed Chelsea side were reduced to nine men last weekend in a 2-3 defeat to Burnley.

Conte’s rivalry with Mauricio Pochettino is a friendly one and the pair spoke about their admiration for each other’s work despite a title run in and FA Cup semi-final clash last season. Conte concedes that Chelsea need time to build a more stable squad and identity like Tottenham, as they aim to be the best club in the world.

"No-one has put a gun to my head and said: 'You win or you go away,'" Conte told reporters when asked about his expectations at Chelsea. "The only thing I can promise is work, work, work and that I will try to do my best to improve the club.

"Sometimes you can win but you are not building something positive for your future. I think Tottenham is doing this very well. And I repeat, when I spoke about Tottenham, always I spoke very well about Pochettino’s job, about the club, about their results.”

“I think we need time. We need time. Yes, maybe [as long as the four years that Pochettino has had]. To arrive and try to fight for Champions League, to try to fight to be the bes tin the world, you need time.”

Pochettino has spoken positively about Tottenham’s patience with him despite a lack of silverware and Conte hopes that Chelsea will do the same with him, if he fails this season.Conte thinks that Spurs’ slow, organic and gradual improvements make them a model to follow and reiterated his admiration for the north London club.

"I think that Spurs started to work with Pochettino for three years, this is the fourth year and Pochettino has had the possibility to work for three years with the same players and have the possibility every season to improve his foundations," he added.

"For every coach it’s important to give continuity to the club because when you arrive you don’t know what you’ll find. And when you understand your basis you have to try to work step-by-step, year-by-year to improve this basis, to make this basis more solid and to build a good structure."To fight to win the title, to try to win. Last season we did a fantastic season because there wasn’t this foundation or basis. For sure, last season we started to build this foundation and we won so it means we built something.

"But now it’s not enough, so we have to improve, to extend this basis, work together with new players. I think Tottenham is doing this very well. Always when I speak about Tottenham I speak very well about Pochettino’s job, the club and their results."

Despite Conte's desire for stability and longevity, he only negotiated a pay-rise and not an extension when he signed his new deal this summer. The Blues boss was asked whether he is committed enough and whether Chelsea will be patient enough to keep him around for long enough to build a longer term project at his current club. “But I have still two years," he continued. "This season and next season to work with this club, then if we stay very well and we have the same vision, we continue. I don’t see any problems about the future.

"Now we have two years left, but if we have the same vision we can continue to work together. I think that I stay in the right club at this point of my career. I have the vision to work. I have only this vision. Then I repeat we have to continue to work.

"Sometimes slowly, slowly, to try to improve to build something important. But if you ask me how long this path is, my answer is we need time. Honestly we need time [to make that decision]. I like to be positive. Last season we started a difficult path.

"Despite this we won in my first season. It was incredible. I continue to repeat this.It was incredible but now we have started this path and we want to continue together to improve and to bring this club to have a solid foundation to stay a long time at the top and to try to fight to win the Champions League and the the league.

 

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Draxler not trying to leave PSG after Neymar arrival, says agent


Julian Draxler is not seeking a move away from Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of Neymar's arrival for a world-record fee of €222 million.

The Germany international's agent Roger Wittmann denied reports in France that Draxler is considering his future at the club after the signing of Neymar from Barcelona.Draxler joined PSG from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in January, but is yet to feature for the club after starring in Germany's triumph at the Confederations Cup.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have all been linked with a move for the 23-year-old, but Wittmann insisted Draxler will stay with PSG.

"We are not interested in whether [French newspaper] L'Equipe wrote something," Wittmann said to Sport 1 in Germany. "There has been no change, it is not a topic.
"If somebody writes 'I have this information from [PSG chairman and CEO] Nasser Al-Khelaifi,' then I will consider it and call the president to speak about Julian's situation.

 

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Pochettino: No issue with Conte ahead of London derby


Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino played down comments made by Antonio Conte after meeting with his Chelsea counterpart, who had questioned his rival's ambition.

Conte highlighted Tottenham's ambition before the start of the season after Spurs had yet to spend during the transfer window following their runner-up finish to Premier League champions Chelsea last term.The Chelsea boss also insisted that Tottenham not winning the title or qualifying for the Champions League is "not a tragedy".

Heading into Sunday's London derby, Pochettino – who made his first signing of the window following the club-record arrival of Davinson Sanchez – said Conte explained his comments."Last week, we had an opportunity to talk a little bit and he was very clear with me," Pochettino said.

"He tried to explain what he wanted to say and sometimes the headlines are not the same as what he wanted to say. He explained to me and it's not a big issue."I respect him and Chelsea and it's time to play and show we are better. It's always a challenge to play the champions."

Pochettino added: "He did not apologise, he just tried to explain things to me. It is one thing how he relates things to you, it is another how you perceive the message and translate it to the fans.

"Sometimes the difference is important, and he wanted to try to explain what it was that he had wanted to say. It was different to how you had explained it to the fans, and I got his message direct."I understood it when he explained to me. What he said did not upset me, it is only that he wanted to be sure that I had got the right message, not the wrong message. For me it is not a big issue.

"Every manager has a right to say in the media what they want. For me, it is not my job to judge what they want to say or how they give their opinion. I don't believe he wanted to be disrespectful to Spurs or myself.

 

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Jardim lauds record-breaking Monaco


Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim praised his side for overcoming a slow start against Metz to record a 15th straight Ligue 1 victory, a new record in the competition.

Radamel Falcao's 78th-minute goal secured a 1-0 away win and moved the champions one clear of the previous best of 14 set by Bordeaux in 2009.

Monaco's run began back in February and has been completed without Kylian Mbappe, who was left out of Friday's squad amid rumours of an impending move away from Stade Louis II.The visitors were made to work for their piece of history by a resilient Metz before Falcao's late intervention made it 23 league matches unbeaten."We're happy because we finished with a win and we set a new record of 15 wins in a row," Jardim said after the match.

"I think we played well even though in the first 30 minutes we missed a lot of passes."We accelerated in the second half, there was more mobility and intensity and that helped us win the match."

Monaco might have been forced to settle for a stalemate had it not been for new signing Rachid Ghezzal, who came off the bench to supply a superb pass for Falcao's winner.

The former Lyon man described his dream debut as a "beautiful evening", but knows he still has plenty to prove."This is a good first match [but] I have to keep working hard to earn my place," Ghezzal said.

 

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Barcelona to wear commemorative shirts in tribute to victims of attacks


Barcelona will wear special commemorative shirts in Sunday's La Liga match against Real Betis in tribute to the victims of Thursday's attacks in the Catalan city.The club has announced it will use the space traditionally reserved for player names to display the world 'Barcelona' to commemorate those who lost their lives.

The '#TotsSomBarcelona' hashtag, which translates as 'We Are All Barcelona', will also be emblazoned across the front of the famous first-team shirt for their league opener at Camp Nou.

Thirteen people died and more than 100 were injured when a van drove into pedestrians on the crowded Las Ramblas street, an incident that local police are treating as an act of terrorism.Five terror suspects were later killed in a police operation in Cambrils, a resort town roughly 100 kilometres from Barcelona, in a second vehicle attack in which one woman died.

Barca officials joined the city's people in observing a minute's silence on Friday and the players will wear black armbands this weekend."We would like to show our solidarity with the victims and their families in these difficult times," coach Ernesto Valverde said.

 

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Mourinho: I have 'faith' in Martial to improve this season


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho backed Anthony Martial to deliver at Old Trafford this season.Martial was absent from United's starting XI last week but the French forward came off the bench to help Mourinho's men to a 4-0 win over West Ham in their Premier League opener.

The 21-year-old's future in Manchester has been questioned amid United's pursuit of a winger but Mourinho believes the former Monaco star will shine in 2017-18.

"I have faith in him," Mourinho said ahead of Saturday's trip to Swansea City. "Probably, the player I was looking at [in the transfer market] was not a pure winger, because I have pure wingers.

"The player I was looking for would allow me to play three at the back and do the wing-backs. As a pure attacking player, Martial is a good player."He is one of the players who will have a better season than last season. I look at my players and I am sure some will be better than they were last season, and Anthony is one of those, for sure."

Mourinho anticipates improvement from all of his younger players, adding: "They're all young. [Henrikh Mkhitaryan] Micki and [Juan] Mata are close to their 30s.Romelu [Lukaku] is 24, [Jesse] Lingard and [Marcus] Rashford are a good age and they’re all playing. They are also national team players with the chance to play international games.

"We are in the Champions League, so it is the first time for Rashford to play Champions League. Anthony had a bit with Monaco, Lingard had a few matches but not more than that. For Romelu, it is the first time. For them, the Champions league can be a great experience with their development."

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.08.19

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.08.19

Swansea Vs Manchester United

Bournemouth Vs Watford

Burnley Vs WBA

Leicester City Vs Brighton

Liverpool Vs Crystal Palace

Southampton Vs West Ham

Stoke City Vs Arsenal

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Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2017.08.19

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.08.19

Celta Vigo Vs Real Sociedad

Girona Vs Atletico Madrid

Sevilla Vs Espanyol​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2017.08.19

Serie A Fixtures 2017.08.19

Juventus Vs Cagliari

Verona Vs Napoli​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.08.19

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.08.19

Hamburg Vs Augsburg

Hertha Berlin Vs Stuttgart

Hoffenheim Vs Werder Bremen

Mainz Vs Hannover

Wolfsburg Vs Dortmund

Schalke Vs Leipzig​

 

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Full Time

Swansea 0 Vs 4 Manchester United

Manchester United Goal(s)

Baily 45'
Lukaku 80'
Pogba 82'
Martial 84'

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Congratulations Manchester United!

Godak hodata play kala ada match 1kath

Well played everyone!
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Zidane open to new Real Madrid arrivals before transfer window closes


Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is open to further new signings before the transfer window closes on September 1.

The La Liga and European champions have been relatively quiet in the market in terms of arrivals, with youngsters Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos the only new players brought to the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Madrid have generated close to €125 million through the sales of Alvaro Morata, Danilo, Mariano Diaz, Diego Llorente, Burgui and the loan exit of James Rodriguez, and they have been consistently linked with a club-record swoop for Monaco star Kylian Mbappe.

Zidane is happy with the options at his disposal but is not ruling out the prospect of a late flurry of arrivals before the end of the month."I have a fantastic squad which can still be improved," he said on Saturday. "Until [the end of the window], anything can happen, here and abroad."

Madrid begin their title defence against Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday at the end of the week in which they claimed the Spanish Super Cup with a 5-1 aggregate win over Barcelona.

Zidane accepts Madrid have become an even bigger scalp for opponents given their success over the last two years and has urged his players not to allow their work-rate to drop.

"As I always say, for us it's hard work that will allow us to achieve things," he said. "We're working well, we're in a good moment and we have to make the most of it.

"We know that [we're the team to beat], now more than before, but every opponent always wants to win against Madrid. We think about ourselves."Every game will be important because you have to start well if you want to win La Liga. Every game needs a tremendous effort."

Marco Asensio scored spectacular goals in each of the Super Cup legs and has been tipped to start on Sunday in place of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is serving a five-match ban for pushing the referee after being sent off at Camp Nou in the Super Cup first leg.

"Everyone knows what Asensio can bring. He's doing it better and better, he's phenomenal," Zidane said.