Aaron Ramsey returned to Cardiff with two fine goals as Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey returned to Cardiff with two fine goals as Arsenal won in the Welsh capital to move seven points clear at the Premier League summit.Ramsey teed up Jack Wilshere to hit the bar, before nodding the opener against his old club from Mesut Ozil’s cross.Arsenal have now won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games and continue to hold the division’s best away record.Fraizer Campbell almost equalised for Cardiff with a header that Wojciech Szczesny kept out with a crucial save.Arsenal made it two when Ozil set up Mathieu Flamini to slam home and Ramsey drilled a third after a slick attack.

Wales international Ramsey joined Arsenal from Cardiff in 2008, when just 17. He refused to celebrate his goals, which were applauded by sections of the home crowd, and some Cardiff fans joined their Arsenal counterparts in singing Ramsey’s name late on.He responded by tapping both hands against his head – known by Cardiff supporters as the Ayatollah – following an impressive display.The result gives Arsenal breathing space above
Cardiff now sit just one place above the relegation zone but arrived buoyed by a draw against Manchester United, their latest impressive home result following victories over Manchester City and Swansea.Arsenal, however, presented arguably the toughest test of their maiden Premier League season to date and it was immediately clear why.

With only a minute on the clock, Ramsey fed Wilshere and the England midfielder’s curling strike from 20 yards came back off the woodwork as he looked to add to a midweek double against Marseille.The hosts went close as Campbell headed wide from a Kevin Theophile-Catherine cross and Jordon Mutch later hooked off target following Peter Whittingham’s free-kick, yet those were rare forays forward.Arsenal might have taken the lead through Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman stopped playing in anticipation of an offside flag that never arrived, enabling Steven Caulker to block his eventual shot.They made amends when Ozil crossed from the left for an on-rushing and unmarked Ramsey to direct a clinical header past David Marshall.Arsenal continued to probe and Giroud found Ramsey to fire wide prior to half-time, and it was roles reversed after the break as Ramsey picked out Giroud and his shot was cleared off the line by Ben Marshall.

That reprieve seemed to rejuvenate Cardiff, their supporters responding in kind, and it needed a magnificent low one-handed save by Szczesny to stop Campbell’s header from an Andrew Taylor cross.With Malky Mackay’s side pushing hard to draw level, they were leaving themselves exposed to counter-attacks and Arsenal capitalised with a crunching first-time finish by substitute Flamini from Ozil’s cute pass.They confirmed victory when Peter Odemwingie lost possession and Theo Walcott, another substitute, raced away before squaring for Ramsey to convert his 13th goal in all competitions this season.

Aaron Ramsey returned to Cardiff with two fine goals as Arsenal

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GIRARD TOASTS LILLE MENTAL STRENGTH

Christophe Galtier (Saint-Etienne coach): “It was a good afternoon and the playing conditions were fine given the recent bad weather. We have to say thanks to the LFP for bringing the kick-off forward. That allowed us to play on a good pitch for the time of year. It has been a difficult week in which we have not spoken much about football, but I dare say that tonight the image we gave ofLes Verts was a good one. It wasn’t extraordinary match against a side who are tricky opponents when they play away from home, where they have lost just once this season. The team spirit and determination, both essential values at this club, were there today. It was a hard-fought game, but fair. I am very satisfied with the spirit shown by the players. It is a good victory.”

Hubert Fournier (Reims coach): “The scoreline is harsh. We conceded three goals from dead balls in the space of 15 minutes and then another joke of a goal at the end. We are not proud at conceding four goals. We can say that we controlled the match but when you let in four goals…You can’t hope for much when you leave Bayal unmarked six yards out. We played quite well in midfield but we didn’t create many chances. It sounds strange to say that our four defenders played quite well, but ultimately the game was decided by set-pieces. We have now let in seven goals in two matches. There is a message in there for us and we must listen to it. Maybe we forgot that we needed to show something extra to make sure we stay up, because we are not even halfway through the season. We must do better, otherwise the next few weeks will be very difficult.”

 AS Monaco FC  2 – 0  Stade Rennais FC 

Claudio Ranieri (Monaco coach): “I am very satisfied. The team was focused and always wary of Rennes on the counterattack. There was commitment. With three matches in a week, it is important to be able to keep the ball and not play too quickly when you are already 2-0 up. I was satisfied with the whole team, notably James (Rodríguez), (Jérémy) Toulalan, (Ricardo) Carvalho. Our objective is to qualify for the Champions League. But if Paris lose their rhythm, I want Monaco to be right behind. (Anthony Martial) is a good player and scorer of goals. He worked well for the team. I have the experience to know when it is a good time to give a player a debut. He is more attentive and focused at the moment. He is tough, young and has the right mentality. I’d prefer him to stay at Monaco in the January transfer window. With so many champions around him, he can learn a lot. He is the quality to become a great player, the potential to have a great player. But the most important thing is to be professional.”

Philippe Montanier (Rennes coach): “We know that Monaco are superior to us. When we know that, we need to be at least match them in terms of commitment. We made life easier for our opponents by the way we played in the first half, in which we were insipid and inoffensive. We are disappointed and there is bitterness too because commitment is the least you have to display. If you don’t have that commitment, at the Stade Louis II against that team, you do wonder when you will get it. It is a step backwards because recently, without being flamboyant, the commitment has been there. We were a bit better in the second half, but it was still not good enough.”

 EA Guingamp  1 – 0  FC Nantes 

Jocelyn Gourvennec (Guingamp coach): “It is always good to win. It was a difficult match for both sides, very closely fought, between two closely matched teams. We wanted to win in front of our own fans but Nantes are a good side away from home. Their direct style caused us problems in the first half and we were unable to press them. But we reorganised after half an hour and were more at ease after that, with more numbers in midfield. The game was still missing a goal, and we got it. It was essential to get the first goal, but we should have killed the match after that. It was a good evening for us because the game could have gone either way. We played better in the second half and controlled the game well in the half hour after our goal.”

Michel Der Zakarian (Nantes coach): “I thought Nantes dominated from the beginning of the match to the end. Guingamp hit us on the break and that was all. We played all the football but our finishing was not good enough in the first half, when we should have killed the match. That sums it up. Our finishing was poor, but otherwise there is no question that we were the better team. But we played some good stuff so I am very happy with my team.”

 FC Lorient  3 – 0  OGC Nice 

Christian Gourcuff (Lorient coach): “It wasn’t a brilliant performance and I don’t think it was a great match either. We started well and got the goal, but then were on the back foot for the last 20 minutes of the first half. Then, in the second half, we tried to tighten up at the back and then got the second goal, which changed things again. The important thing is that we won the game, and now we can work in peace to try to improve the quality of our football.”

Claude Puel (Nice coach): “We played well in spells but didn’t get any reward. It is hard to take. Despite some convincing performances, things are not going for us just now. Overall, we played well in every area. The only conclusion we can draw from this match is that we must persevere with what we are doing. Things will eventually start to go right for us again. The attitude was good and we played some good football. We just need to take more of our chances. I have a lot of young players who are learning at these difficult times. We will get out of this. We have another match coming on Tuesday and that is a good thing. It is an important match (against Monaco) and we need to perform.”

 Toulouse FC 5-1 FC Sochaux Montbéliard 

Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): “This is a really satisfying victory, especially because we had been behind. Against a team who started with real intensity, it took us 20 minutes before we began to pose them problems. The third goal just after the break was very important. This result lifts us up the table. We were going through a difficult spell and the team reacted well. We managed to keep calm and continued to play coherently despite Sochaux getting the opening goal. I am very pleased for (Wissam) Ben Yedder. I know he will score 15 goals this season because he is an excellent player.”

Hervé Renard (Sochaux coach): “Toulouse equalised on a counterattack when we were 1-0 up away from home. Then we committed an error in the 45th minute and another in the 47th. For 25 minutes we caused them problems, but our errors crucified us. We gave Toulouse everything they needed to get their confidence back. We need to turn the page and focus on the home game against Reims on Wednesday because that game is vital. Self-pity achieves nothing in football. The league table does not interest me just now. We will see on Wednesday if we have the mental capacity to react to this. I am not angry with my team. I just want us to get the three points against Reims.”

 Valenciennes FC 0- 1 LOSC Lille 

Ariël Jacobs (Valenciennes coach): “We have not lost all hope of staying up. We started the match well and I was hoping that would last for longer than 20 minutes. It was us who allowed them to come into the match at that moment. We made things easier for our opponents. For a team down at the foot of the table it is not easy to score goals. We don’t get the gifts that we give the opposition. We showed more initiative after Lille were reduced to ten men (but) we created too few chances. Lille were well organised and, apart from one or two moments, like Melikson’s shot, we didn’t do enough to get a point. The players are disappointed. At half-time, we thought we could do better but we took a brick to the head right at the start of the second half. But we have the chance on Tuesday to get back on track and we will need to give everything in that game. We must never give up.”

René Girard (Lille coach): “It wasn’t easy. We went through the full set of emotions. We controlled the game for a spell, and then we scored at a good time, at the start of the second half. Then the sending-off of Franck (Béria) penalised us a little but I think the team showed that they have real heart and that we can count on them. We fought well and I think, even when down to ten men, we caused Valenciennes problems. It would have been better had we finished the game with 11 men because we used up a lot of energy (after the red card), but it is a great win and the kind of result that brings everyone together. As long we keep the same spirit, things will go well for us. Now we need to recuperate. We have some boys who are fresh, others less so, but we just have to get on with it.”

Friday, November 29, 2013

 Olympique de Marseille 2-0 Montpellier Hérault SC 

Elie Baup (Marseille coach): ”It’s symbolic and a big moment for Marseille to become the first club to record 1000 Ligue 1 victories. We’re very happy about that and the fact that our squad have contributed to it with this third straight win. We were a bit tired after playing in the Champions League as we didn’t get back from London until 4:30 on Wednesday morning and then had only two days to prepare for this league game. We needed to be strong and organised and the players were just that. We played with a lot of quality in the first half and had chances and went in a goal up. Montpellier played higher up the pitch after the break and had us more in trouble. The match finished well for us with Saber Khalifa’s goal at the end and I’m very happy.”

Jean Fernandez (Montpellier coach): ”I have quite a few regrets this evening because we didn’t convert the chances we created for ourselves in the second half. We lost Djamel Bakar to injury and that was a tough blow. We kept pushing until the final whistle and that left us exposed to Marseille’s counters and we conceded a second goal right at the end. I thought the OM players looked a bit tired after their European game on Tuesday. OM have a very good team with a lot of high-quality attacking players.”

GIRARD TOASTS LILLE MENTAL STRENGTH

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Who will win the Samba Gold 2013?

It’s back! The Samba Gold trophy returns to celebrate its 6th anniversary. In 2008, it was AC Milan’s Kaká who dominated the contest from the start. After, Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) in 2009, Maicon (Internazionale) in 2010 and Thiago Silva (AC Milan), two times in 2011 and 2012 who raised the trophy and added the accolade to their individual honours.As like every year, the vote runs from the 1st of December to the 30th of December, with voters from all around the world.Noticeable absentee’s are, Neymar, who hasn’t completed a full season with his new club Barcelona, Diego Costa misses out after choosing Spain as his nationality, Kaka and Robinho are still finding their best form after a poor few years in the wilderness and new Tottenham signing Paulinho also misses out.

Eleven great champions and experienced journalists-As with every year, the election will be composed of three voting groups: the internet users of the world (more than 150000 voted in 2012), eleven former players of the Brazil National Team (Cafu, Rai, Carlos Alberto Torres…) and also eleven journalists specialised in Brazilian and European football, last year including the BBC’s Tim Vickery and ESPN regular Andy Brassell.

VOTE FOR THE SAMBA GOLD 2013

The 30 nominees to win the Samba Gold Trophy 2013:

Dante – Bayern – Germany
Luiz Gustavo – Wolfsburg – Germany
Roberto Firmino – Hoffenheim – Germany
David Luiz – Chelsea – England
Fernandinho – Manchester City – England
Lucas Leiva – Liverpool – England
Oscar – Chelsea – England
Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool – England
Rafael – Manchester United – England
Ramires – Chelsea – England
Adriano – Barcelone – Spain
Daniel Alves – Barcelone – Spain
Filipe Luis – Atletico Madrid – Spain
Marcelo – Real Madrid – Spain
Miranda – Atletico Madrid – Spain
Alex – PSG – France
Brandão – Saint-Etienne – France
Lucas – PSG – France
Marquinhos – PSG – France
Maxwell – PSG – France
Thiago Silva – PSG – France
Hernanes – Lazio – Italy
Maicon – Roma – Italy
Fernando – Porto – Portugal
Lima – Benfica – Portugal
Hulk – Zenit – Russia
Felipe Melo – Galatasaray – Turkey
Alex Teixeira – Shakthar – Ukraine
Douglas Costa – Shakthar – Ukraine
Luiz Adriano – Shakthar – Ukraine

Countries represented:

England: 7
France: 6
Spain: 5
Germany: 3
Ukraine: 3
Italy: 2
Portugal: 2
Russia: 1
Turkey: 1

Samba Gold Honours Board:

2012: Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain)
2011: Thiago Silva (AC Milan)
2010: Maicon (Internazionale)
2009: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
2008: Kaka (AC Milan)

Who will win the Samba Gold 2013?

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FARFAN FIRES SCHALKE INTO FIFTH

Gelsenkirchen – FC Schalke 04 extended their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to four matches with a 3-0 win over VfB Stuttgart on Saturday evening.Jefferson Farfan scored his first ever Bundesliga brace to help the Royal Blues on their way to a victory which was sealed by a Jermaine Jones cracker.

Matip heavily involved

Only 90 seconds had been played when Joel Matip had the referee fishing into his top pocket to extract a yellow card, an incident which left the Schalke defender walking a tightrope. As such, he dared not stick a foot in to prevent Timo Werner from bearing down on Ralf Fährmann half an hour in and the Cameroonian defender was therefore a relieved man to see Stuttgart’s 17-year-old shoot just a matter of millimetres wide of the left-hand post.
Matip had already tried to rectify his earlier blemish by heading a corner against the crossbar before Adam Szalai sent another header wide from close range with the Royal Blues building up a head of steam. Stuttgart then got their foot on the ball, leading to Alexandru Maxim setting up Werner’s chance, while the Schalke backline found themselves increasingly involved.

Farfan at the double

However, Kevin-Prince Boateng’s battling qualities forced a mistake from the visitors, which led to the ball reaching Julian Draxler. The neatest of touches from the Germany midfielder shifted the ball wide to Farfan, whose shot from an angle was slowed down by Sven Ullreich’s right arm, but not enough to prevent it from nestling in the far cornerof the net. It may have come against the run of play, but it lifted the hosts.
Just 47 seconds were on the clock in the second period when Draxler was caught from behind by Christian Gentner as he was trying to turn just inside the penalty area. The referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Farfan was equally decisive in sending Ulreich the wrong way for his first ever Bundesliga brace, on his 151st appearance in the German top flight.

Jones crowns victory

Stuttgart tried a reaction of sorts, but Schalke were now well and truly in command of the encounter. A low shot from Ibrahima Traore lacked power and direction, typifying a toothless Stuttgart attack which, after falling behind, lacked any evident potency to worry Fährmann. At the other end of the field, Schalke started to show the strain after the midweek trip to Bucharest, apparently slipping down a gear.
One Schalke player still clearly felt he had a point to prove, though, and that was Jones. There appeared to be little danger after his poor first touch a full 25 yards out, but the USA international made amends with his second, unleashing an unstoppable half-volley that left Ulreich no chance. Schalke had the ball in the back of the net again when Max Meyer converted after Boateng’s effort came back off the post, but the offside flag saved Stuttgart from further sorrow.

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FARFAN FIRES SCHALKE INTO FIFTH

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Sfaxien claim third Confed Cup title

Tunisian side, CS Sfaxien has won the 2013 Orange CAF Confederation Cup title despite a 2-1 loss to TP Mazembe of DR Congo on Saturday in Lubumbashi.Sfaxien annexed the title 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a 2-0 win from the final first leg last week in Rades. The Tunisian outfit this confirmed their status as the most successful in the second-tier continental club championship after successes in 2007 and 2008.Mazembe led by two goals at half time with strikes from Cheibane Traore and Mbwana Samatta before pacy winger Fakheridine Ben Youssef scored in the dying embers to take game beyond the hosts.

The Congolese got off to a perfect start but paid the price for their failure to bury the several chances that came their way.It took just 10 minutes to break the deadlock as Traore tapped in a rebound after Sfaxien goalie Rami Jeridi had spilled Given Singuluma’s shot unto his path.Mazembe coach, Patrice Carteron handed starting roles to Ghanaian duo, Yaw Frimpong and Solomon Asante and they made their presence felt with surging runs upfront. Asante in particular remained a constant threat to the Sfaxien backline, and was often fouled by his markers.On 20 minutes, captain Tresor Mputu set up Traore to double the lead but the Malian blasted wide from close range.

Three minutes later, Samatta scored the second goal from a three-man move with Asante and Mputu as the actors. Mputu fetched Asante, who lobbed for the Tanzanian to blast past Jeridi to set the stadium into ecstasy.At that point, Mazembe needed a third to kill it and they pressed their opponents further. Sfaxien resorted to long balls relying on the pace of Fakheridine, who was a danger to the Mazambe defence anytime he moved upfront. Their first attempt at goal was on 25 minutes but Fakheridine headed wide from Didier Lebri’s cross.Two minutes before half time, Jeridi was to his side’s rescue with a pointblank save from a Traore shot after Mputu had put him through.

Mazembe resumed strongly with Asante tormenting the Sfaxien defence, but lacked the cutting edge upfront. On 55 minutes, Asante weaved his way past his marker and squared Mputu, but the latter volleyed wide. Carteron then varied his tactics with Rainford Kalaba and Boubacar Diarra replacing Siguluma and Samatta.On 72 minutes, the homers were dealt a major after Asante pulled out after an injury and his replacement Thomas Ulimwengu, announced his presence with a thunderbolt that was spilled out by Jeridi minutes later.Sfaxien also had their turn with Gabon-import Didier Ibrahim Ndong and Ferdjani Sassi fouling the attacks of the Congolese.

Ten minutes from time, Mazembe kept the visitors defence boiling but Sfaxien survived after Maman Issoufou headed out an Mputu header from a goalmouth action.Sfaxien returned it in style and in the 88th minute, Fakhreddine stunned the home crowd with a header that beat goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba for the first and only time in the game. A throw-in effected by Issoufou was flicked by Ferdjani to Fakhreddine, who headed in to make matters worse for Mazembe.The goal meant Mazembe had to score two more goals to turn the tide their favour but the Tunisians defended gallantly and cruised to victory.Sfaxien are 660,000 US Dollars richer by the feat and will face Al-Ahly of Egypt in next year’s Orange CAF Super Cup.

Sfaxien claim third Confed Cup title

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El Tri’s Early World Cup Outlook After Qualifying

Oribe Peralta scored a hat trick in the first half as Mexico cruised past New Zealand in the second leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff. The 4-2 victory allowed El Tri to punch their ticket to Brazil with a 9-3 aggregate triumph over the All Whites.Winning the playoff in such dominant fashion was a sign of progress for Mexico. Every step of its journey through CONCACAF qualifying was a struggle as it lacked dominance at home and failed to generate a consistent attacking presence.If not for a United States comeback against Panama on the final day of play in the Hex, Mexico would have been eliminated. Instead, El Tri’s rival gave them a second chance to reach the World Cup, and they took full advantage.

The best news for Mexico is it now has a clean slate. All of those qualifying troubles and the need for a playoff can be forgotten as the focus shifts to building the best squad for Brazil.It’s a challenge that becomes even tougher given El Tri’s success against New Zealand. The competition they will face in Brazil is going to be much tougher than the All Whites, but it’s hard to ignore nine goals over two matches regardless of the opponent.By contrast, the full squad chosen for previous qualifiers was able to generate just seven goals in 10 matches during the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.

Ultimately, it would be extremely difficult for Mexico to leave a player like Hernandez off the World Cup roster given his past success and ability to serve as a vital asset in Brazil. The same goes for many of the team’s European-based veterans.That said, the final roster will probably have a distinct domestic feel given the major uptick in form against New Zealand. Furthermore, players like Peralta, Paul Aguilar and Carlos Pena are likely to see increase roles moving forward given their success in the playoff.If El Tri can strike the right balance between European-based and domestic-based players they could quickly develop into a dangerous sleeper in Brazil. They have the talent to survive the group stage and win a knockout round match. From there, it all comes down to matchups.

El Tri’s Early World Cup Outlook After Qualifying

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Gareth Bale scored his first hat-trick

Gareth Bale scored his first hat-trick in a Real Madrid shirt as the Spanish giants comfortably beat Real Valladolid to move within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelona.Cristiano Ronaldo missed the game with injury, giving Bale the chance to take centre stage.The 24-year-old did so in style as he nodded in the opener before setting up Karim Benzema to head in a second.Bale sidefooted in Real’s third before finishing from eight yards late on.The Wales international takes his tally to nine goals in 13 appearances for Real since his £85m move from Tottenham in September.

“Gareth Bale has fully adapted to the team. He has a lot of confidence and is very important for us,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti.”I don’t know if this was our best match so far, but we have to continue playing like this.”Bale settling in-Gareth Bale has scored seven goals in this La Liga season, one more than Mesut Ozil managed in his first campaign with Real Madrid.

Source: Opta

Ronaldo’s goalscoring exploits have dominated the headlines this season. The Portuguese forward has scored 32 goals in 22 appearances this season, but Real were denied his attacking threat for the visit of Valladolid as he sat out the game with a slight hamstring injury.As a result a lot of the pre-match focus was on whether Bale would be able to step up in Ronaldo’s absence.Despite seeing plenty of the ball, Real took a little while to find their rhythm and although Angel Di Maria hit the crossbar, they did not force visiting keeper Diego Marino into a telling save during the opening exchanges.However, there was little he could do when Bale opened the scoring just after the half hour mark. Di Maria forced Marino to push his stinging shot away, but he could only send the ball as far as Bale, who nodded in to the unguarded net.

Moments later Real scored a second with Bale this time providing the assist. He floated a fine ball to Benzema inside the box and the French forward powered a header beyond Marino.Real Valladolid, 17th in La Liga with 12 points, offered little in the way of attacking threat but they had half a chance early in the second half when Carlos Pena drilled a low shot wide of Diego Lopez’s goal.The visitors went a little closer as Zakarya Bergdich forced Lopez into a low save, but any thoughts that Valladolid were getting back into the game were ended when Bale scored his second of the game.Marcelo squared a low cross from the left that Jesus Rueda tried to stab away, but he only succeeded in sending the ball to the feet of Bale, who sidefooted in from 10 yards.From then on the Valladolid players seemed resigned to defeat, with Real embarking on numerous attacks in pursuit of a fourth.Alvaro Morata danced his way across the edge of the area before clipping a shot into the hands of Marino, who then pushed behind a low Isco effort.But a fourth duly arrived in the closing stages, with Bale positioning himself perfectly in the box to be able to stab in Marcelo’s cut back from close range.

Gareth Bale scored his first hat-trick

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OL IN THE FIRING LINE FOR PSG

There was a time a visit from OL would instill terror in teams with Lyon the dominant force in French football for much of the first decade of the millenium. That era has passed, however, and PSG have taken on the mantle of Ligue 1′s most-feared team. There is good reason for their rivals to be afraid. Laurent Blanc’s men came into the weekend with a four-point lead atop the table were ten points clear of fourth-placed Olympique de Marseille.

They are not merely a domestic giant either. The 2-1 Champions League win over Olympiacos on Wednesday, courtesy of goals from their potent front duo of Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, sealed their place atop Group C and a berth in the knockout stages with a game to spare.

“We played fantastically in the first half,” stated Ibrahimovic, whose seventh-minute opener was then followed by a red card for Marco Verratti seconds after the re-start. “It was different in the second half, but we showed great spirit and our combative character.”

That came in the form of Cavani’s 90th-minute winner which followed the Greek visitors’ potentially morale-sapping equaliser ten minutes previously. Blanc has, however, instilled in his team an unflinching self-belief that bodes ill for those intent on toppling PSG from their perch, and says much about the man appointed coach in late June.

“Laurent Blanc is a great coach and he deserves a long contract,” a smiling PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi told the media in the wake of PSG’s win over Olympiacos. “But we don’t talk about that in front of microphones and cameras. The team’s play this year is of a better quality than last season. Blanc is one of the best coaches in the world.”

Vercoutre back for OL

Lyon boss Rémi Garde has often found himself the subject of similar praise from his president, Jean-Michel Aulas. After a difficult start to the season, the former Arsenal midfielder has lifted his side into the top half of the table with two wins in a three-game unbeaten run. The 1-1 draw at home to Valenciennes last weekend was less than OL had perhaps expected against the top-flight strugglers, though Rémy Vercoutre’s return to action after his seven-month lay-off with a knee ligament injury was a positive for Garde to draw on.
Another is qualification for the Europa League knockout stages following Thursday evening ‘s 1-0 defeat of Real Betis at an icy Stade de Gerland. “Without controlling everything, we were able to win,” said Garde after seeing Bafétimbi Gomis’s second-half goal see off the visitors from Spain. “It’s good not to have conceded a goal. Five matches without defeat and qualification, I think that will do us good. We’ve had a lot of tough times. We can now look forward in this competition and dive back into the league.”
Garde will most likely have to do that without Jimmy Briand, withdrawn in the first half against Betis after suffering a muscle strain, as he seeks to snap his club’s five-game winless streak in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Probable teams

Paris Saint-Germain: Sirigu; Van der Wiel, Alex, Silva (c), Maxwell; Verratti, Motta, Matuidi; Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi

Olympique Lyonnais: Vercoutre: M. Lopes, Bisevac, Umtiti, Bédimo; Malbranque, Gonalons (c), Fofana, Gourcuff; Lacazette, Gomis

OL IN THE FIRING LINE FOR PSG

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Melo: “Gala will go through”

Galatasary midfielder, Felipe Melo, believes that his side will beat his former side, Juventus, to the knock out stages of the Champions League.The Turkish league Champions find themselves in third spot in the group after a 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid.But Melo feels that match day six will be the day that his side will defeat Juve and reach the knock out stages.“Juventus are a great team and we will need an exceptional performance,” Melo told Radio Onda Cero, as reported byGOAL.com.”However, we are confident that we will emerge victorious and reach the knockout stages.”Melo joined Juventus in 2009 then joined Galatasary after a poor time in Italy.

Melo: “Gala will go through”

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ROBBEN: ‘A LOT OF FUN’

Munich – FC Bayern München winger Arjen Robben said “it was a lot of fun” at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon, while the visiting Eintracht Braunschweig players were left ruing a lack of courage+www.bundesliga.com rounds up the thoughts of the game’s key protagonists…

FC Bayern München

Arjen Robben: It was a difficult game in Moscow, including the travelling we had to do. When you come back here and play on this great pitch, it’s a lot of fun. We showed we have to concentrate and go all out right from the off. We did that in the first half, we wanted to score an early goal and played really well. Any criticism of the second half is fair – we didn’t play as well.
Thomas Müller: We did what we had to do. It wasn’t easy to motivate ourselves after playing against Dortmund and the difficult game in Moscow. We wanted to score a quick goal so avoid any problems. The Cup game against Augsburg will be tough, it’s a knockout match, so movtivation won’t be a problem. We’ll need to be on our game.”
Toni Kroos: We had to win that one. You always have to invest a lot, and that’s what we did. That’s the art of movitating yourself and if you look at the first half, you can say it worked.

Eintracht Braunschweig

Domi Kumbela: We played against a world-class team who are the Champions League holders. We didn’t give a bad account of ourselves in the second half, we can take a lot from that for our next games.
Kevin Kratz: We were too passive in the first half and only focused on defending. Nobody likes to lose. The defeat annoys me, but plenty of other teams have come unstuck here too.
Daniel Davari: We weren’t brave enough at the start and didn’t see enough of the ball. They scored their goals too easily. We were good in the second half and played more bravely. We played against the Champions League winners today and they showed their quality.

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ROBBEN: ‘A LOT OF FUN’

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Krol: We are not done yet

Despite going into the second leg of the final of the 2013 Orange CAF confederation Cup with a 2-0 advantage, CS Sfaxien coach, Ruud Krol believes the journey is far from over.The Tunisian champions will play as guests of their DR Congo counterparts, TP Mazembe on Saturday in Lubumbabshi, and for Krol, he will approach the game hungrier.Sfaxien, winners in 2007 and 2008 are eyeing a third title in the second-tier continental club championship but the Dutchman reckons it won’t come easier against a Mazembe side that has been impregnable at their favourite, Stade de TP Mazembe.

A goal in each half from Gabon-import Didier Ibrahim Ndong and Yassine Khenissi put the Tunisians within sight of the title, but Krol has tasked his charges to cough out their best outing yet in the competition to realize their dream of the ultimate.“I’m happy with the performance of my players and the result in the first leg. We succeeded in our mission for the first part, but we are not done yet.“We have a difficult game in the return leg and I must confess, Mazembe is a strong side,” said Krol.The Mazembe squad boasts of pockets of players from different nationalities but the Dutchman has singled out Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta as his biggest source of worry.

“They (Mazembe) have a dangerous, Mbwana (Samatta) with his pace. Also, there is Tresor (Mputu),” he added.Krol, a Dutch legend during his playing days is hoping to make up for the failure to guide Tunisia to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, after losing to Cameroon in the playoffs, by steering Sfaxien to the second most prestigious continental club title.The winner will pocket 660,000 US Dollars and will also face Ahly of Egypt in in next year’s Orange CAF Super Cup.

Krol: We are not done yet

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ROLFES: ‘A WAKE-UP CALL’

Leverkusen – It was supposed to be Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s big night, but instead of celebrating a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, a nightmarish5-0 defeat at home to Group A leaders Manchester United has left die Werkself’s qualification hopes hanging by a thread.Even victory over Real Sociedad de Futbol in next month’s group stage finale might not be enough for Sami Hyypia’s men, who find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to rely on events elsewhere, as Bayer’s disconsolate captain Simon Rolfesexplained after Wednesday’s BayArena horror show…
Question: Simon Rolfes, Leverkusen lost 5-0 to Manchester United in their own stadium. How did that happen?
Simon Rolfes: There’s nothing positive to say about the defeat. That performance wasn’t on. We’ll analyse the game in peace tomorrow and try to learn from it. We have to do much better in the coming weeks.
Question: Can you explain why the game ended so disastrously?
Rolfes: We didn’t start too badly, but going 1-0 down rocked our confidence. Once we went 2-0 down we were no longer in it. They defended well in the centre of the park. They have a top-quality team and are also great going forward. We had no answer and started to make silly mistakes. We never threatened in the final third and when we lost the ball, they counterattacked us well. In the end, it was very one-sided.


ROLFES: ‘A WAKE-UP CALL’

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Chelsea set to fight with Barcelona over David Luiz

Chelsea look to have a fight on their hands to keep their wild defender, David Luiz, who is seen to be a target by Barcelona.Luiz signed for Chelsea in 2011 after impressing with his time at Benfica, and signed for what was reported as €25 million.The 26 year old started very shaky at Chelsea, putting in some worrying performances at the start of his London career.But now Luiz looks like he could be on his way out with Barcelona looking to be his next destination, reports Lancenet.Martino is looking to bolster his defensive options after recent injuries to Pique and Carlos Puyol.

Chelsea set to fight with Barcelona over David Luiz

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Ghana down Senegal for WAFU Cup

Hosts Ghana accounted for Senegal 3-1 on Thursday (November 28) in Kumasi to win the 2013 West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone ‘B’ Cup of Nations tournament.A brace from defender Kwabena Edusei and the other from Latif Mohamed was enough for Ghana to complete a ‘host and win’ of the zonal tourney, targeted at local footballers from countries within the WAFU Zone ‘B’.Losing finalists, Senegal finished the game with 10-men after Thioune Ousseynou was given the marching off orders four minutes from time.

Backed by a sparse crowd at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, the hosts went up after 120 seconds after midfielder Sulley Mohamed was fouled in the vital, and Edusei tucked in from the spot for the opener.Les Lionceaux fought back and drew level through captain Roger Gomis on 23 minutes, with a shot from close range that beat Ghana goalie Stephen Adams and end the first half even.Mohamed restored Ghana’s lead on 77 minutes before Edusei took the game beyond the Senegalese by converting his second penalty five minutes from time.
Former winners, Togo humbled Benin 2-1 in the battle for bronze. Nouwoklo Kossivi and Saibou Badarou scored for the Togolese whilst Dossou Jodel was on target for the Beninois.Badarou was also adjudged the tournament’s top scorer after netting four goals whilst Senegal captain, Gomis scooped the Most Valuable Player award.The eight-nation tournament was also to gauge the preparations of Ghana and Burkina Faso for next year’s Orange African Nations Championship in South Africa.

Ghana down Senegal for WAFU Cup

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger doubts match-fixing will disappear

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger doubts whether match-fixing will ever be eradicated from football.He spoke as two men appeared in court charged over alleged match-fixing in the English game.The Gunners boss believes England is “99.9% clean” but says lower-league teams are more vulnerable.”Can it be eradicated completely? I am not sure,” the Frenchman said. “We absolutely have to fight against that with the strongest severity.”
Singapore national Chann Sankaran, 33, and 43-year-old Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan – who has dual UK and Singapore nationality – are charged with conspiracy to defraud.Mr Sankaran and Mr Ganeshan, who are alleged to be members of an illegal betting syndicate based in Singapore, are accused of committing the offences in “Manchester and elsewhere”. Magistrates remanded them to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 13 December.Four other people arrested earlier this week were bailed on Thursday pending further enquiries.At least three footballers are reported to be among those held across the country.Sources have told the BBC that one of the other suspects is former Premier League player Delroy Facey, who is now a football agent.Wenger was manager of Monaco when Ligue 1 rivals Marseille – the 1993 French champions and European Cup winners – were found guilty of corruption before being relegated and thrown out of European competition by Uefa.

“Once you don’t know if everyone is genuine out there any more, that is something absolutely disastrous,” he said.Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor says cases of lower-league footballers being approached by match-fixers are extremely rare but the sport must remain vigilant.”Education is in place so that players know the dangers and they are encouraged to report any incidents, so the correct procedures can be followed,” he told BBC Sport.”Temptation will always exist and people will take advantage of that, but a monitoring process is in place and we will continue to work with the authorities on this to protect the integrity of the game.”Wenger hopes the current incident under investigation is an isolated one.”Maybe the lower divisions are a bit more under threat because it is a bit more anonymous, there is less money so it is easier to buy people, but I don’t think that exists in the Premier League at all,” he said.
“I don’t believe that in England people fix matches, but we live in an international world and you cannot just stop it at the border any more. It is a new problem that we all face.”I still think that 99.9%, the English game is completely clean.”When you see the happiness of the players when they score goals, even in the lower divisions, the passion of the fans when I was at Barnet for example, I can’t believe there is a match-fixing problem in England.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger doubts match-fixing will disappear

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THAUVIN STRIKES AS OM MAKE IT THREE WINS IN A ROW

OM recorded three consecutive victories in the opening three weeks of the campaign and lost only once in their first eight Ligue 1 games before a slump that increased the pressure on Elie Baup and his players. Baup made six changes from the side that started the 2-0 Champions League loss at Arsenal on Tuesday and was rewarded by a three-point haul.
The margin of victory would have been greater but for a fine display by visiting goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren but even he couldn’t stop Saber Khalifa stroking home a second in stoppage time to add to Thauvin’s 36^th-minute opener and OM will stay in fourth no matter what happens over the rest of the weekend. OM’s next test is at high-flying Lille on Tuesday.
Montpellier suffered a first-minute blow when Djamel Bakar sustained a knee injury and had to be replaced by Victor-Hugo Montano who spurned the first opening of the encounter, the Colombian with a heavy touch after a lovely Rémy Cabella pass that allowed Souleymane Diawara to get back on terms and snuff out the danger.
Jourdren heroics before Thauvin breaks deadlock
It took OM nearly 20 minutes to carve out their first chance and Jourdren made a point-blank stop from Thauvin. Jourdren was soon called into action again as Morgan Sanson played a backpass without looking and the visiting keeper came off his line quickly to reach it before André-Pierre Gignac.
Mathieu Valbuena had a free-kick pushed away before OM made the breakthrough in the 36^thminute. Kassim Abdallah’s cross from the right caused havoc with Daniel Congré blasting the ball into Dimitri Payet – back from a minor knee complaint –  and it broke to Thauvin who side-footed home his eighth goal in his last eight appearances for club and country.
Gignac won the argument to take the next free-kick and forced another decent stop from Jourdren as OM dominated the chance count. Indeed, Jourdren was Montpellier’s outstanding player of the period and he came out to the edge of the box to deny Thauvin a second after a defence-splitting Payet pass.
Khalifa adds gloss
In the 58^th minute Montpellier were so close to equalising when a Cabella free-kick into the danger zone resulted in Nicolas N’Koulou narrowly avoiding putting through his own net. Benjamin Mendy’s pace then got OM out of trouble as he retrieved a positional mistake to block a shot by sub Souleymane Camara. Cabella, scorer of a marvellous goal against Guingamp in Week 14, flashed a shot wide of Mandanda’s near post as Jean Fernandez’s side pressed.
Gignac, like Cabella, scored a wonder goal last weekend and a powerful curled shot from the left-edge of the box by the burly forward was pushed away by Jourdren. Gignac had scored late winners in OM’s two Ligue 1 victories over Montpellier last season but here his goalscoring services weren’t required. Khalifa scored his first OM goal within a few minutes of coming on as the former Evian forward met a Thauvin cross-field ball and finished with aplomb from the edge of the area.

THAUVIN STRIKES AS OM MAKE IT THREE WINS IN A ROW

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Capello: “Neymar can carry Barca”

Former Real Madrid head coach, and current Russia’s national team coach, has praised Neymar over his recent performances and believes he can carry the team.Neymar has been touted as the carrier of Barca since Lionel Messi was confirmed to have an injury that would keep him out for over six weeks.Capello has spoke out about the 21 year old: “I think he can lead the Barcelona. I’ve seen him play with the national team. He has a great level. I’m rooting for him because I like those that are good and fun to watch on TV. He’s a very good player,” reports Esportes.Neymar has scored four goals in 12 appearances for Barcelona since joining from Santos in the summer.

Capello: “Neymar can carry Barca”

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WEARY BAYERN GEAR UP FOR BRAUNSCHWEIG

Munich – Fresh from their record-breaking exploits in the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München host cellar-dwellers Eintracht Braunschweig in a top versus bottom encounter of David and Goliath proportions on Saturday (kick-off 15:30 CET).
Upsets aren’t unprecedented in fixtures between the two sides at opposite ends of the table and accordingly FC Bayern are refusing to rest on their laurels following a draining 3-1 win in Moscow during midweek. “The trip to Moscow was tiring,” said head coach Pep Guardiola. “We’ll have to see what kind of shape the team is in.”

Bayern wary of underdogs

Currently in the midst of a record-breaking 38-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga, Bayern have scored in their last 50 consecutive top-flight matches, but were keen to play down their invincible tag ahead of Saturday’s encounter. “First against last is always a strange game,” said Arjen Robben. “You’ve got to play with total concentration, ensure you don’t get caught out and never let up.” Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was also quick to warn against underestimating the Lions: “They’ll be highly motivated. Anything can happen.”
These two sides haven’t faced off in Germany’s top-flight in almost 30 years, but Guardiola underlined his “respect” for Saturday’s opponents several times during his pre-match press conference. “They’ve played very, very well in a lot of games,” said the Spaniard, who knows his side face a tough test following a strenuous week. “They won in Wolfsburg and against Leverkusen, whilst losing narrowly to Dortmund and Schalke. Against the big teams they make life very difficult.”

Absentees in abundance

The record titleholders’ midweek exploits took their toll in more ways than one after it was confirmed that club captain Philipp Lahm had suffered damage to his right thigh during the game against PFC CSKA Moscow. As a result the 30-year-old adds to a lengthy, star-studded injury list which already includes Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery, Xherdan Shaqiri, Claudio Pizarro and Holger Badstuber. However, Mario Mandzukic and Diego Contento are in contention to return this weekend.
Meanwhile, Braunschweig head coach Torsten Lieberknecht has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the “toughest game of the season,” with Dennis Kruppke (calf), Ken Reichel (knee) and Jan Hochscheidt (thigh) all unavailable. Eintracht are yet to pick up three points in 18 previous trips to the Bavarian capital and Lieberknecht was pulling no punches when it came to enormity of the task at hand on Saturday: “To call this a massive challenge would be an understatement.”

‘Not waving the white flag’

Eintracht’s mini-upswing in form came to an end courtesy of a narrow 1-0 loss to fellow strugglers SC Freiburg last weekend, but even so, the visitors are refusing to rule themselves out entirely on Saturday. “Every team in the world wants to push Bayern as close as possible, but it would be presumptuous to say we can beat them,” continued Lieberknecht. “My players are looking forward to the game though, and they’re not about to start waving the white flag before the match even kicks off.”
That said, with the visitors sitting at the foot of the standings with just eight points to their name, their situation could not be much more foreboding ahead of their trip to Bavaria. “Bayern Munich don’t have any weaknesses and we’ll have to do something completely out of the ordinary if we we’re to take anything from this game,” Lieberknecht concluded. “We need to be at our very best, but I can’t expect superhuman feats from my team. What I can demand of them is that they perform at the highest possible level.”

Possible line-ups:
FC Bayern: Neuer – Rafinha, van Buyten, Dante, Alaba – Javi Martinez – Götze, Thiago, Kroos, Robben – Mandzukic
Braunschweig: Davari – Elabdellaoui, Bicakcic, Dogan, Perthel – Kratz, Vrancic, Theuerkauf – Bellarabi, Boland – Kumbela
James Thorogood

More about: FC Bayern München >

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WEARY BAYERN GEAR UP FOR BRAUNSCHWEIG

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