..::Football IV::..

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Allegri: Tottenham don't defend as well as Lazio


Massimiliano Allegri knew Juventus would find it tough to break down Lazio but believes they will not have to work quite so hard to score against Tottenham on Wednesday.

The Bianconeri left it late at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, Paulo Dybala marking his first start since overcoming a hamstring problem with a dramatic winner in stoppage time.With leaders Napoli losing at home to Roma, the gap between the top two in Serie A is now down to one point - and the champions have a game in hand over their rivals.

However, Juventus must now forget about domestic duties and focus on their Champions League clash with Tottenham at Wembley, with the last-16 tie delicately poised following a 2-2 draw on Italian soil.

"It wasn't an easy game for us," Allegri told Mediaset Premium after the 1-0 win in Rome."They are very strong physically, so it certainly wasn't going to be easy to play at the Olimpico. We had some injuries up front but the players did well. "We wanted to come away from Rome with a positive result and that's what we got. They defended themselves very well and we knew that it was going to take something special to beat them.

"Yes, that special moment came from Paulo. He is a great young player and we are all happy that he scored."Tottenham are different compared to Lazio, they don't defend as well. This win certainly helps our confidence as we will have to be good and lucky on Wednesday."

Veteran defender Andrea Barzagli hopes Dybala's "amazing" goal is the first of many for the Argentine forward over the closing months of the campaign.
"He's just come back from injury and he's scored a huge, huge goal that has won us three massive points tonight," Barzagli told Juventus' official website. "I think it will spur him on for the rest of the season now. "Paulo is one of those rare players capable of trying something really difficult in the 92nd minute and pulling it off. His goal was just amazing.”

 

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'I don't envy Guardiola' - Conte backs Manchester City's big spending


Antonio Conte insists he does not envy Pep Guardiola after defending Manchester City's right to spend their considerable cash reserves to dominate English football.

Chelsea will face City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and Conte has been impressed with the business the Premier League leaders have done in the transfer market in the past few seasons.

In contrast, Conte has been critical of his own club's transfer policy this season and his future at the club remains unclear going into the summer, but he is adamant he does not feel pangs of jealousy towards Guardiola.




"No, I don't like people to envy the other person," Conte said to reporters at Cobham Training Ground ahead of the game. "I don't like the person that has this type of sentiment. I have great admiration because they found the right way to be strong for a long time, to have successful seasons for a long time, from now until I don't know.

"There is a great coach, great players. And then there is the possibility to spend a lot of money and have the same ambition of the coach. This is the fantastic result for Manchester City. Manchester City is not the only club to spend a lot of money.

"The way they are spending money, especially the way I think the club is making Pep happy during the transfer market, to take the best choices for the coach, for the manager.

"There is only one situation very clear, that Manchester City will be stronger next season. Do you think it could be enough, to win again the title? [To not qualify for Europe?] If you think this, I think you are a dreamer."Conte was also asked his opinion on whether Chelsea spend money as well as City do in the transfer market.

"I don't know," he replied. "I didn't spend money. The club spent money. I have great respect for every club to spend money. The decision with the money is for the clubs."Chelsea have been outspent by City for the past five seasons, while their Sunday opponents have also spent well over three times as much since both Guardiola and Conte arrived in the Premier League back in 2016.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will go into the match five points adrift of the top four ahead of a crucial fortnight which will also see Conte's side face Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 and Leicester in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

"When I arrived here the club didn't play the Champions League, Europa League, if you remember two years ago and life goes on," Conte added."I think we have to continue to put all of ourselves in this effort. This will be an important effort from now until the end to try to find a place in the Champions League.

"Don't forget we have to play against Crystal Palace before Barcelona and then we have to play Leicester. For sure, it's a moment that is very crucial for us. These two weeks are very important for us."Ross Barkley is set to return to the matchday squad on Sunday after suffering a hamstring injury in training.

The midfielder had not played for seven months when he joined Chelsea from Everton in January after needing time to recover from an operation on his calf. He has made just three appearances for Chelsea and has been out of action for a month, with Conte challenging Barkley to fight for a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup.

"With Ross, as you know better than me, he had a really bad injury with Everton," he continued. "He played with us in the Arsenal game, after in the Carabao Cup.He played after seven months. When you have this type of bad injury, you must have great patience to try to work.

"At the same time, when you're arriving from a bad injury after a long period when you didn't play, the risk to have little injuries is easier than another player. Ross is a young player, he's a really good guy, he's a good player."Now he has to put all of himself to try to recover in time and show he deserves a place to play in the World Cup."

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.03.04

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.03.04

Brighton Vs Arsenal

Manchester City Vs Chelsea

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LA Liga Fixtures 2018.03.04

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.03.04

Levante Vs Espanyol

Barcelona Vs Atletico Madrid

Real Sociedad Vs Alaves

Valencia Vs Real Betis​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2018.03.04

Serie A Fixtures 2018.03.04


Genoa Vs Cagliari

Atalanta Vs Sampdoria

Benevento Vs Verona

Chievo Vs Sassuolo

Torino Vs Crontone

Udinese Vs Fiorentina

AC Milan Vs Inter​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.03.04

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.03.04

Cologne Vs Stuttgart

Freiburg Vs Bayern​

 

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Fiorentina captain Davide Astori has died at the age of 31

Fiorentina captain Davide Astori has died at the age of 31, just hours before he was due to lead his side out against Udinese.

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Astori is reported to have died suddenly on Sunday morning in a Udine hotel, where La Viola were basing themselves ahead of Sunday's Serie A match.All of Sunday's Serie A games have been postponed as a show of respect for the player.

A club statement read: "Fiorentina is deeply saddened to announce that our captain Davide Astori has passed away, after suffering a sudden illness."For this terrible and delicate situation, and above all out of respect for his family, we appeal to the sensitivity of the media."

The central defender began his career with AC Milan, but after failing to break into the first team he moved to Cagliari in 2008 and made 174 appearances for the Italian side during a six-year spell.Following loan stints with Roma and Fiorentina, Astori made his move to Florence permanent in 2016 - scoring three goals in 58 games.Astori was capped for Italy 14 times, making his debut in a 2-0 friendly win over Ukraine in 2011.​

 

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Rest In Peace Davide Astori!​

 

[Alucard_SxE]

wow so sad. Heart Disease lu. RIP!

 

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Freiburg 0 Bayern Munich 4: Bundesliga holders move 20 points clear

Bayern Munich's seemingly unstoppable march to a sixth consecutive Bundesliga title continued as they brushed aside Freiburg 4-0 at the Schwarzwald-Stadion on Sunday.

The victory opens up a 20-point lead over second-placed Schalke and heralds a return to winning ways after last weekend's surprise 0-0 draw at home to Hertha Berlin.After a sluggish start, Jupp Heynckes' side burst into life midway through the opening period as Thomas Muller's persistence forced Alexander Schwolow into an own goal to break the deadlock.


That was soon followed by a thumping long-range drive from Corentin Tolisso, which flashed past the Freiburg goalkeeper to double their advantage.Sandro Wagner added a third in the 54th minute to effectively end the game as a contest before Muller netted his sixth league goal of the campaign with a smart finish 15 minutes later.


Denied the talents of Franck Ribery and Kingsley Coman through injury, Heynckes somewhat surprisingly left Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben on the bench.
Perhaps buoyed by the absence of two of Bayern's star names, Freiburg started with a spring in their step and almost took the lead after 12 minutes.

Lucas Holer took advantage of uncharacteristic space in the visitors' backline to latch onto an incisive throughball. His low shot, though, was diverted agonisingly past the post by Sven Ulreich's outstretched boot.Holer was made to pay for that profligacy in the 25th minute as Muller's second attempted cross at the back post bounced off Schwolow's leg and into the net for an unfortunate own goal.

If the Freiburg goalkeeper could have done more to keep out Muller's cross, there was little he could do to prevent Tolisso's stunning strike just three minutes later.
The 23-year-old picked up the ball 30 yards out and unleashed a dipping, swerving effort that careered into Schwolow's top left-hand corner.

Wagner glanced a header wide shortly after the restart but was soon able to celebrate his third goal since his January move from Hoffenheim as he bundled home Juan Bernat's cross from close range after a scramble involving Muller.Bernat then inexplicably headed wide himself before Muller finally got on the scoresheet in the 69th minute, meeting Joshua Kimmich's corner at the near post with a half-volley that sailed into the roof of Schwolow's net.

Bayern never really looked like adding a fifth during a low-key finish, but the damage had already been well and truly done as they took another stride towards the Bundesliga title.

 

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Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0: Bernardo Silva clinches one-sided triumph

Manchester City moved just four wins away from claiming the Premier League title as Bernardo Silva clinched a one-sided 1-0 victory over defending champions Chelsea.

In a thoroughly commanding performance from a City team closing in on their first league triumph since 2013-14, Bernardo Silva's strike enabled them to open up an 18-point lead at the summit, though Manchester United can close the gap to 16 by winning at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Antonio Conte dropped Alvaro Morata to the bench as he opted against fielding a recognised striker and false nine Eden Hazard was starved of service as they failed to register a shot on target in the match, the imperious City completely overrunning them.


Chelsea made it to the break without conceding, but an error from Andreas Christensen was seized upon by Sergio Aguero - whose wait for his 200th City goal continues - and David Silva crossed for Bernardo Silva to open the scoring 33 seconds after half-time.

It was enough to inflict a third successive Premier League away loss on the Blues for the first time since March 2013, damaging their Champions League hopes by leaving them five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.

For City, who rested captain Vincent Kompany, it capped a phenomenal eight days in which they recorded back-to-back 3-0 victories over Arsenal, the first coming in the EFL Cup final at Wembley to give Pep Guardiola his first piece of silverware in English football.


That trophy was paraded in front of the fans prior to kick-off and City looked set to produce a similarly dominant performance as they controlled possession and pressed Chelsea high from the off.

An important block by Antonio Rudiger stopped Leroy Sane guiding David Silva's cross home, before Aguero was unable to get a shot away after a loose pass in the box from Cesc Fabregas, selected in place of the ill N'Golo Kante, gifted the hosts the ball in a dangerous area.

Chelsea could barely get out of their own half and a piercing Sane run into the area was eventually halted, though the ball ran on to Bernardo Silva, who curled a sweet left-footed effort onto the roof of the net in the 20th minute.Sane produced a magnificent touch to bring down Kevin De Bruyne's delivery at the back post, but his thumping shot across goal was blocked on the line by Cesar Azpilicueta and Thibaut Courtois dived on the loose ball.

Chelsea managed to keep City out for the remainder of the first half but their clean sheet was gone within a minute of the restart. Christensen's failure to clear a long pass from Ilkay Gundogan enabled David Silva to cross for Bernardo Silva to stab past Courtois at the back post.

Victor Moses sliced a rare opportunity wildly off target after Chelsea's best move of the match in the 54th minute, but Courtois had to be alert to bat away a driven attempt from David Silva moments later.Conte introduced Olivier Giroud in place of Willian in the 78th minute, but they did not threaten until Marcos Alonso volleyed wide in stoppage time as City provided another example of why they are the Premier League's leading side.

 

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Barcelona 1 Atletico Madrid 0: Messi's 600th goal opens up eight-point gap

Barcelona took a giant stride towards regaining the title as Lionel Messi's 600th career goal earned a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in LaLiga.Having drawn three of their last five league outings, the leaders held a five-point advantage coming into Sunday's clash against second-placed Atletico at Camp Nou.

Diego Simeone's side had won eight and drawn one of their previous nine in LaLiga, but their momentum was halted by another milestone moment for the majestic Messi.


On 599 goals for club and country, the Argentine brought up the landmark in fitting style, bending a free-kick into the top corner midway through the first half despite a touch from goalkeeper Jan Oblak at full stretch.

It was the third successive league game in which Messi has netted a direct free-kick - the first time he has achieved that feat - and Barca could have had more at the end of a first half in which Atletico failed to muster a shot on target.


The only sour note for Barca was losing Andres Iniesta to an apparent hamstring strain in the opening period and, although Atletico improved after the break, Marc-Andre ter Stegen was barely tested, ensuring the day belonged to Messi and Barca.

For all Barca's dominance of possession in the opening 20 minutes, the only clear sight of goal came at the end of some trademark Messi magic.The Argentine, seemingly penned in by Gabi, Thomas Partey and Filipe Luis, danced away from all three but could only fire a weak shot straight at Oblak from just outside the box.

Atletico's goalkeeper could do little about the opener five minutes later, however.
Thomas brought down Messi 25 yards from goal, to the right of centre, and the little maestro stepped up to curl the resulting set-piece over the wall and into the top-right corner.

Barca continued to turn the screw, Luis Suarez seeing an effort blocked by Jose Gimenez and the Uruguay forward was involved again soon afterwards, combining brilliantly with Philippe Coutinho only for the latter to fire straight at Oblak.Iniesta was replaced by Andre Gomes before Coutinho stung the palms of Oblak again and, after the interval, Messi saw another free-kick blocked by the defensive wall.Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann had been largely peripheral figures for the first 73 minutes and when the pair finally did combine, the France international blazed high and wide from outside the box.

Oblak parried away Sergio Busquets' first-time volley from a corner soon afterwards and with five minutes remaining Atleti were rightfully denied an equaliser by the offside flag, with Costa straying beyond the last defender in nodding down for substitute Kevin Gameiro to smash home.

That frustration summed up Atletico's day as their hopes of a second LaLiga title under Simeone suffered a significant blow, with 11 matches of the league season now remaining.

 

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Brighton and Hove Albion 2 Arsenal 1: Dunk & Murray pile more misery on Wenger

Arsenal ended a difficult week in miserable fashion as they lost 2-1 to Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.

First-half goals from Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray secured all three points for the home side, despite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang halving the deficit before the break.The result is certain to pile more pressure on Gunners manager Arsene Wenger, who was the subject of angry chants from visiting fans demanding his departure.


Arsenal went into the match on the back of consecutive 3-0 defeats to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and Premier League, and they found themselves in more trouble when Dunk broke the deadlock seven minutes in.Murray's header, his sixth goal in 2018, put Brighton two up after a mistake by Laurent Koscielny, prompting an angry response from the travelling supporters.

Aubameyang got a goal back but it was not enough to prevent a fourth defeat in a row in all competitions for the Gunners, marking their worst run since 2002 and leaving them facing a major challenge to finish in the top four.


Arsenal began the match on the front foot but found themselves behind seven minutes in, with Dunk sweeping the ball into the net from 12 yards out after Shane Duffy had beaten Petr Cech to a corner.

The Gunners keeper saved a good Pascal Gross shot as Brighton threatened again, with Dunk and Duffy both heading over from promising positions as the visiting defence failed to deal with routine set-pieces.

With 26 minutes gone, they gifted the home side their second goal. Koscielny's wayward pass was sent out wide to Gross, and his curling cross from the right was headed down and beneath the body of Cech by Murray.

'We want Wenger out' was heard loudly from the away end but Aubameyang snatched a lifeline out of nothing two minutes before half-time, flicking Granit Xhaka's strike into the net despite the best efforts of Mat Ryan.Koscielny almost levelled the match just before the break, rattling the left-hand post with a firm header, and only a flying Ryan save stopped Mesut Ozil blasting home just before the hour mark.

Referee Stuart Attwell made a smart call not to award a penalty when Xhaka went to ground in the area, although Sead Kolasinac was fortunate to escape punishment for a shoulder challenge on Ezequiel Schelotto that ended the Brighton full-back's game.



Wenger threw on Danny Welbeck in the closing stages but there was to be no salvation for the Gunners, who are 13 points adrift of fourth-place Tottenham with just nine matches remaining ahead of their huge Europa League trip to face AC Milan.

 

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Mourinho: United bench role won't stop Rashford going to the World Cup


A lack of starts at Manchester United will not affect Marcus Rashford's hopes of going to the 2018 World Cup with England, according to Jose Mourinho.Rashford has made 38 appearances for United this season, with 18 of them coming off the bench amid intense competition for places – something the arrival of Alexis Sanchez in January added to.

Mourinho thinks suggestions that could deny the 20-year-old, whose last Premier League start came in the 2-2 draw against Burnley on Boxing Day, a place in Gareth Southgate's squad for the competition in Russia are unwarranted.

"I see you sometimes put in doubt if he is going to be selected for the World Cup or not be selected," said Mourinho."You know, if the national coach trusts him, he selects him. It doesn't matter if he plays or doesn't play.

"There are many examples of players who don't play for their clubs at all and they go to the national teams. You have the example of [Sergio] Romero, who is the second goalkeeper at Manchester United and the first goalkeeper for such an amazing football country like Argentina. "In your own country, you have examples of players who play even without scoring a goal in the Premier League."So it's up to Gareth Southgate. If he trusts him, he selects him. It doesn't matter if he plays or if he doesn't play for Manchester United."

Mourinho praised Rashford's attitude and pointed to his regular involvement in the squad – he was absent from a matchday squad for the first time this season at Newcastle United on February 11 – as sufficient to show what he is capable of.

"I don't reassure anyone. The main reassurance for him is that he is always selected. There is not one single match when Marcus is not selected to start or to be on the bench," said the Portuguese."Marcus is a fantastic boy, also very grounded. For sure, we love him and we believe in him, and he's going to have the chances.

"At his age, what he's doing is more than enough, and the experience he's getting at every level is more than enough for us to be happy with what we think is going to be his future. It's as simple as that."But because he had such an impact at the beginning, probably people expect him to play even more than he does, and score even more than he does and perform even more than what he does, but it is not so simple."

 

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'If we take Messi and put him in an Atletico shirt, we win' - Simeone


Diego Simeone praised Lionel Messi's star quality and admitted the difficulties of repeating Atletico Madrid's "impossible" title win of 2013-14.

Messi guided in a superb first-half free-kick to secure a 1-0 victory over Barcelona's nearest title rivals on Sunday, moving the league leaders eight points clear at the top.It was his 600th career goal and marked a major moment in the Blaugrana's bid to win La Liga.

Simeone claimed the Camp Nou result would have been reversed had Messi been on his side."Messi is a special player, he made the difference," the Atleti boss told reporters."If we take Messi and put him in an Atletico shirt, we win this match 1-0. "It was an even match. I don't think we lacked application in the first half. However, we did not see our best until the second half."

Despite being dealt just a second defeat in their 27 league games this term, the Rojiblancos now have only a remote chance of claiming what would be a second title triumph in five seasons.Simeone was pragmatic about his club's hopes of regularly upsetting the Barca-Real Madrid stronghold.

"We have no doubt that we can get closer to our objectives," he said."What we cannot do is distance ourselves from the numerical reality that Barcelona and Real Madrid have been dominating for 14 years."We did the impossible [in 2013-14] and it is hard to repeat that."

 

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'We did perfect' - Guardiola 'so happy' after Man City controlled champions Chelsea


A 1-0 win over Chelsea did not reflect Manchester City's dominance, according to Pep Guardiola, who said it was difficult to create against a team that "defend with nine players in their box".

City dominated from the outset but Bernardo Silva scored the only goal of the match as they opened up an 18-point lead at the Premier League summit to move four wins away from the title.Chelsea, who started with Eden Hazard as a false nine and Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud on the bench, failed to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes.

Guardiola claimed the Blues' approach made it difficult for City to add to the scoreline, but he was proud of how his team performed."Chelsea are still champions. They played with 10 players behind the ball, amazingly well-organised, but we didn't concede one chance," he told Sky Sports.

"We created enough to win the game, score more goals. Our high pressing, our build-up was outstanding so we are so happy because it's another step forward to be champions. We have 78 points. We did perfect.

"We had to control the counter-attacks, Hazard, Willian and Pedro are all quick players but we controlled it and we were quick with the ball, nobody was making extra passes or extra touches.

"It's not easy when they defend with nine players in their box, it's complicated to try to create chances."Chelsea didn't have one shot on target. At Old Trafford and against Barcelona they created chances, so today we were so good and we didn't concede anything."We are close to be champions … but it is not already done. It's in our hands. Now we start again, we have to try to stay calm."

 

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'Mourinho is still special' - Matic a big fan of demanding Man Utd boss


Jose Mourinho is still “special”, according to Nemanja Matic, who says the Manchester United manager’s record speaks for itself.

The Portuguese has enjoyed success wherever he has been, with an enviable haul of trophies spread across spells at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid.Another three were added to his tally during a productive debut campaign at Old Trafford, and Matic believes there is the promise of more to come.

He admits that Mourinho can be demanding, but that is why he has reached the very top of his profession and why so many players want to work with him.

Matic told Sky Sports on a coach he reunited with last summer in a £40 million move from Chelsea: "He always wants the best. He always wants to win."Of course, him as a coach, if you play good he always thinks that you can play better. This is good. He always asks you to do more.

"I am happy that we work with him and he's a coach who won many, many trophies in his career and for sure we can learn a lot of things from him."He won many things. The coach is good if he won the trophies. He won in every country he has been, he has won a lot and that's why they call him special."

United remain in contention for Champions League honours this season, with the second leg of a last-16 showdown with Sevilla fast approaching, while they are also through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Further success could be achieved down those routes, but the Premier League title has slipped out of reach as arch-rivals Manchester City have surged their way towards the crown.

"I am always positive," added Matic."Obviously the gap between us and City is big, but we will fight until the end."United will be looking to re-establish a standing as the closest challengers to City when they face Crystal Palace on Monday, with Liverpool having reclaimed second spot in their latest outing.

 

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Man Utd hoping to keep De Gea for many years to come - Fortune


Manchester United are hoping to keep David de Gea at the club for “many years to come”, says Quinton Fortune, with the Red Devils not in the business of selling the world’s best.Speculation continues to suggest that Real Madrid are preparing another raid on Old Trafford for a long-standing transfer target.The Blancos are willing to spend big on De Gea, despite the Spain international being under contract in England until at least 2019.

United have the option to trigger a 12-month extension in the 27-year-old’s current deal, while fresh terms have been mooted for a man that Jose Mourinho and Co have no intention of parting with.

Former Red Devils star Fortune told PA Sport on De Gea: "When he arrived at Old Trafford, he was a bit rocky at the start of his career but the improvement he has made has been unbelievable."When you look at the last couple of seasons, he has been player of the year - which is a little bit weird for a Manchester United goalkeeper.

"I think the position we are in the league and all the competition, I think David's played a big role in that. Look at some of the games this season - he has kept us in games. The Sevilla game, especially, he was outstanding."In my opinion, he's probably the best goalkeeper in the world at this moment in time and we hope that continues. He's been absolutely brilliant, and we hope we can keep him here for many years to come."

United are looking for De Gea to play a leading role in their future plans, with Fortune confident that Mourinho can piece together a Premier League title challenge if given further funds in which to try and close the gap on Manchester City over the summer.

The South African added: "It's a little bit frustrating to see us in second position [sic], but City has been outstanding this season and it will be a miracle to catch them."They are going to have to lose every single game and we're going to have to win every single game, but the signs are there for next season and there's still a lot to play for this season.

"The way we're playing looks very difficult to beat in any competition, so I hope next season we'll go that extra step further and win the league."I am sure there will be changes in the summer. The manager will want to strengthen the team and that's part of being a Manchester United player."You want to improve, you want to have competition and I am sure the manager will strengthen his team and try to win the league next year."

 

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Wenger won't quit and vows to turn Arsenal around


Arsene Wenger maintains he can “turn things around” at Arsenal and is refusing to contemplate quitting his post.Calls for the Frenchman to walk away from a club that he has served for 22 years are mounting in intensity amid a sorry run of form.A 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Sunday was a fourth in succession for the Gunners, and an eighth reversal in their last 13 outings.

Wenger has never faced such opposition during his iconic reign in north London, but he retains full confidence in his ability to steer the club through a testing period.

He told Sky Sports following another disappointing display against Brighton: "It's the first time it happens in my whole career, I must say."It's not easy, but I have enough experience and enough desire to turn things around and I must say that, at the moment, when you need to stay in the game we are making a few mistakes at the wrong moments."We have to stick together and focus. We have no other solution."

Wenger can expect to face further criticism over the coming weeks and months, with it already suggested that he has outstayed his welcome, but the 68-year-old insists he has given no thought to resigning.He added:"You focus on your job. These are always the questions you get when you are in the situation we are in.

"You do your job and you do the right thing and the things you think are right for the team and that's it."Speaking at the post-match press conference, Wenger said: "I must tell you, honestly, at the moment my future is not my main worry. My worry is to get Arsenal to win football games, and then we see where we go from there.

"I will try to give my best as long as I am here, and do everything to get the team back to more confidence. We need to recover physically first. The program we have is at the moment a bit too demanding."There's no uncertainty [with the players about his future], I told you many times. What is the uncertainty is at the moment the quality of our performance. When you go through a difficult patch, uncertainty before the game is the quality of the performance we can give.

"Look, I don't want to talk about my future today. I'm long enough in the job to know what's going on and I'm long enough in the job as well to know that what's most important is to make sure you focus on what's important, that you give absolutely your best with full commitment."

Arsenal have just one opportunity to salvage their season, with Wenger having conceded that a top-four finish is now beyond his side – as they sit 13 points off the pace.They have already suffered a Carabao Cup final defeat and a shock third round exit to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, with a defence of that trophy never getting started.

Europa League success can still be secured, which would over the Gunners a route back into the Champions League, but AC Milan await at the last-16 stage and there are still several other heavyweight outfits setting their sights on continental glory.

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixture 2018.03.05

Barclays Premier League Fixture 2018.03.05

Crystal Palace Vs Manchester United

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