Diego Costa, Gabriel, Chelsea And
Arsenal All Charged
The FA have charged Chelsea striker Diego Costa with violent
conduct and Arsenal’s Gabriel with improper conduct, it has been confirmed.Both
clubs have also been charged with failing to control their players during
Saturday’s Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal have confirmed they
will appeal against the red card shown to Gabriel during the game. An FA
statement said: “Diego Costa has been charged for an alleged act of
violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. “The
Chelsea forward was involved in an incident with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny in
the 43rd minute of the game. He has until 6pm tomorrow [September 22] to reply.
“Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match
officials are referred to a panel of three former elite referees. “Each
referee panel member will review the video footage independently of one another
to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence. For retrospective
action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision by the panel must
be unanimous. “Arsenal defender Gabriel has been charged with improper
conduct for his behaviour following his dismissal, whilst team-mate Santi
Cazorla has been warned for his behaviour following his sending off. “Finally,
both clubs have been charged for failing to control their players under FA Rule
E20. “Both clubs and Gabriel have until 6pm on Thursday [September 24] to
reply.”
Barcelona coach Luis
Enrique says Lionel Messi’s 86 percent success rate with penalty kicks does not
make him seem more human. Messi missed his sixth penalty out of 44 in a
Barca shirt in their 4-1 home victory over Levante last weekend, and has now
missed the most penalties out of any player in La Liga in the last 10 years. But when posed the question of whether
Messi’s spot-kick misses make him seem less alien to normal footballers, his
coach dismissed the idea.“To miss penalties does not make Messi human,” Enrique
said at the post-match press conference.
“Then he scores two goals and gives an assist. There is very little human
about Messi.” The 28-year-old’s
contribution helped Barcelona maintain their 100 percent start to the La Liga
season as they sit two points clear of Real Madrid.
Liverpool manager
Brendan Rodgers says his side need to play with more bravery and confidence at
Anfield. The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich last weekend,
having been demolished 3-0 by West Ham their previous home game. When Liverpool finished in the top
four two seasons ago, they made Anfield a fortress, but Rodgers admits his
new-look side will have to do that all over again. “We have to build that
confidence through training and games. It is just step by step,” he said. “You
have to have courage and bravery to play here. There is a great history but
embrace it. You have to play positive football. “There was a feeling of
anxiety when I came in but we made it a fortress. Now we are having to build it
again.” Liverpool have now failed to win in the Premier League in three
games and they sit 13th in the table after eight matches, four points behind
fourth-placed Leicester City. They welcomed back Daniel Sturridge for his first
start since April after five months out following a hip operation; the striker
playing 60 minutes against the Canaries. And Rodgers said: “He is a way
off full fitness but his presence and stature will give us something.”It
is about building his fitness. There is no pressure on him to do that.”
Manchester United
manager Louis van Gaal believes his team showed they are title contenders with
their 3-2 win at Southampton last weekend. Anthony Martial struck twice on
his first Premier League start to go with a strike from Juan Mata, as United
rose within two points of leaders Manchester City after six games. “It’s a
fantastic result away at Southampton and I think we have made a statement that
we shall compete for the title,” Van Gaal told Sky Sports News. “What
I am saying all the time is that we have to improve. We have to improve our
team and when we improve our team… last season we were fourth so maybe we can
be third now. “But last year we were close enough to be the champions. I
have said that we were very close last year. When you remember the match
against Chelsea away, it was very close but we did not score at the time. “Scoring
is the most important thing, you have seen that today, Southampton could have
scored to go 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes but they didn’t do it and then we
scored. We were the better team after that.”
Dutch striker Robin van Persie admitted he is unhappy at
being benched for new club Fenerbahce. Van
Persie scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over struggling Bursaspor on Sunday
after coming on in the 77th minute in Istanbul. However, the 32-year-old told
Lig TV afterwards: “To be honest, I am not very happy at this moment. “I
was not happy that I started on the bench. I am fully fit, physically very well
and able to play for 90 minutes. “The only right answer I could give was
with what I did: helping the team to get the victory.” Coach Vitor Pereira
defended his decision. “I would play more players if we were allowed to
play 22 or 25 players,” he said at a press conference. “The players
can like or not like what I do, but I must take decisions. I am happy with Van
Persie’s performance after being brought on to the pitch. “It would be bad
if he wasn’t unhappy about being a substitute. This proves that he wants to
play.” Van Persie, who left Manchester United in August, has scored three
goals in nine appearances (five starts) for the Turkish log leaders.
Manchester United
manager Louis van Gaal says he expects Anthony Martial’s form to fluctuate
given his age. Martial, 19, has made a fine start to his United career,
scoring on debut and then bagging a brace in the 3-2 win at Southampton last
weekend. Van Gaal, however, is mindful of managing expectations of the French
forward, who became the world’s most expensive teenager with his £36-million
move from Monaco last month. “He cannot speak English, I speak French with
him. I need help with that from Marouane Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin, it
is very difficult but he is willing to speak English,” Van Gaal said of
Martial. “When you are 19 years old, you cannot expect consistency.
Emotionally they shall have a lot of dips so that I expect also from him but that
is not a big problem for me. “I’m very happy that he is in three matches
and his talent is at a high level and he adapts to the system of how we want to
play, that is also important, not every player can adapt in that system but he
shows he wants to do that and he can do that. “He scores goals. That is
the most important thing, that as a striker he scores goals. He can improve I
think but he has a high level of talent. He shows it.”
Chelsea manager Jose
Mourinho insists John Terry is his go-to man despite benching the ageing Blues
skipper for the 2-0 win over Arsenal. Mourinho dropped Terry for the mobile
Kurt Zouma at Stamford Bridge and the Portuguese explained the move was made in
view of Theo Walcott’s pace in the Gunners frontline. “John Terry doesn’t
need me to speak with him because he knows what I feel, what I think,” Mourinho
told a news conference. “He knows the relationship, he knows that he’s my
man. He knows that if I need to choose one out of 25 to be my man, he’s the
first. “He knows that I care about him as a person, as a player.” Mourinho
continued: “He knows that nothing is a risk, he knows that my decision
only had one intention, which was to help my team to win the match.”I thought
that Arsenal was coming, playing a defensive game, with a very fast striker
that gets behind people. “If we don’t need to win the game so much,
probably we would keep our block lower and more compact. “Because we
desperately need a victory, we couldn’t wait, we had to bring our defensive
line up and to play against Theo Walcott the best player we have is Zouma. “And
John knows the way I think and if he’s always a fantastic captain, I think
today he was even better.”If every player has lots of respect for him, the way
he’s reacted in the last days to this situation, he has even more respect from
the players. “If you want to paint a dark picture, I ask you please don’t
do it because it’s not the reality. He’s in great condition and in a great
situation with the manager and with the club.”
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AC Milan president
Silvio Berlusconi feels Mario Balotelli is showing signs of maturity, while he
says the ageing Zlatan Ibrahimovic wanted to return to the club in the past
transfer window. Milan were strongly linked with a move for Ibrahimovic,
33, but Paris Saint-Germain were unwilling to sign the Swedish striker. The
Rossoneri then brought in Balotelli on a one-year loan deal from Liverpool.
‘Super Mario’ disappointed in his only season at Anfield, however, Berlusconi
has faith the 25-year-old can revive his career in the Italian capital. “Ibra
wanted to come to Milan, but they wouldn’t let him go,” Berlusconi told
his club’s website. “However we got Balotelli, who is younger. Ibra is
like me and is getting older.”Balotelli didn’t get a pass wrong against
Palermo and God willing he really has changed, he appears to be more serious
and pensive. “He made a series of runs and passes, linking up with the
other players. I hope he can keep this going in the future. I talk with him on
the phone from time to time and he seems calm, I think he has reached the maturity
stage in a player’s career. “I can also see him playing behind the two
strikers. Balo can play in any of the three positions in attack.”
Ayanda Patosi was on
target for club side Lokeren in their 2-1 Belgian Pro League defeat to
Mouscron-Peruwelz last Saturday, while Andile Jali only played 10 minutes for
Oostende. Bafana Bafana international Patosi brought his side back into the
match at their home Daknam Stadion after they fell behind to a Sverrir Ingi
Ingason own-goal after just five minutes.
But Patosi levelled matters three minutes later as the scoreline read 1-1
after just eight minutes played. However, Noe Dussenne got a winner for
Mouscron just before half-time. Patosi
was later substituted in the 58th minute for 22-year-old Cameroonian player
Lewis Enoh. Meanwhile, Jali and
Knowledge Musona both came off the bench in the second half as Oostende beat
Kortrijk 1-0. Goalkeeper Darren Keet
started once again for Kortrijk but was unable to prevent Gohi Bi Cyriac from
netting the winning goal in the 65th minute. Musona was brought on after the goal to inject some more attacking
threat into Oostende’s game, while Jali came off the bench for the last 10
minutes, replacing the goalscorer. Jali
missed the team’s previous game due to the birth of his child and was not
allowed straight back into the starting line-up. Oostende are top of the table with 19 points from eight games,
while Kortrijk remain mid-table. In
the Eredivisie, Kamohelo Mokotjo played the full 90 minutes as struggling FC
Twente drew 0-0 at fellow relegation battlers Cambuur. Both sides remain
winless after six matches.
Jose Mourinho has taken yet another stab at Arsene Wenger
after Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 last weekend.Kurt Zouma and Eden
Hazard scored the goals, but the big talking point was the red card shown to
Gunners defender Gabriel, who fell for Diego Costa’s provocations and was sent
off. Mourinho has previously called
Wenger ‘an expert in failure’, and after the game he claimed the Frenchman
always moans. “Where is the
controversy? For me, no controversy. The game is about many different aspects,
technical, tactical, emotional, physical. Normally the best team wins – we were
the best team. “We were dominant, we were controlled. Obviously let’s not
be hypocritical and deny, but playing with one man more is easier. “I
think I played against Arsenal 15, 16 times and only once they didn’t moan.
Maybe it was because they won that game. All the other matches, they have
reasons for that.”
Liverpool have been
handed more bad news after captain Jordan Henderson was ruled out for a further
two months. The England midfielder looked set to return to first team
action last weekend against Norwich City after missing the last three games
with a heel injury. However, Henderson broke a bone in his foot at training on
Friday and will have minor surgery on Monday. “Very disappointed and frustrated
with the injury setback but will work hard to be back as quickly as possible,”
he wrote on Twitter. “Will be supporting the team in every way I can while I’m
unable to play. Thanks for all of your support.” Liverpool are in desperate
need of a win tomorrow, having taken just one point from their last three
League matches.
Juventus striker
Alvaro Morata says he is not interested in returning to Real Madrid, and says
he is happy and fully focussed in Turin. Morata joined the Italian
champions at the beginning of last season, following the arrival of Gareth
Bale, but Madrid have an option to buy the 22-year-old back at the end of the
2015/16 campaign. The Spanish
international scored 15 goals last season to help Juve to the league title as
well as the UEFA Champions League Final, which they lost to Barcelona. Asked whether he would consider a
return to the Bernabeu, Morata said ‘no way’ and insisted he is fully focussed
on his current team. “No way, Juventus is my team and I’m okay here. “I’m
not thinking about other clubs,” he told Sport Mediaset. “I appreciate Madrid’s high
regard for me, but right now I’m working on scoring and winning everything I
possibly can with Juventus,” Morata, who scored in their 2-1 win over Man
City in the Champions League, added in a Sky Sports Italia interview.
Bafana Bafana
midfielder Thulani Serero insists he has not given serious thought to leaving
Ajax Amsterdam. Serero has struggled for game-time this season despite
being a key performer for the Dutch giants last term. “I love challenges that
bring the best out of me,” he is quoted as saying by Ajax Showtime. “I
therefore have not really thought of a departure from the club. “When I wake
up, I want to play and nothing else. “I do not ask questions to the coach.” He
added of the recent transfer speculation:
“I did not sit and stress, I always laugh. I know what I can do. “People
can talk, but I know what I can do. “I just do my job. It’s all about teamwork.
I have to keep working and show that I belong to the first eleven.”
Mesut Ozil could
leave Arsenal for Fenerbahce at the end of the season, according to the
playmaker’s agent Erkut Sogut. Ozil, who is of Turkish descent but
represents Germany, is growing in confidence in north London since his £42.5
million signing from Real Madrid in 2013.
However, Sogut has suggested his client is intrigued by enquiries from the
Yellow Canaries. “At Arsenal,
Mesut is very successful in his performances,” he told Tavkim. “It’s too early to talk right now. But
you cannot know the conditions. Fenerbahce seem serious about Mesut.” Sogut added: “It is difficult to
predict in advance how Arsenal would respond. At the end of the season, we’ll
see. “However, leaving Arsenal for
Fenerbahce could be a serious choice for him. “They are one of Turkey’s biggest clubs.” The 26-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided 25 assists in 78
appearances for the Gunners.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has stressed that he does not feel any extra responsibility following the departures of Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo during the offseason. The France international is arguably the Serie A champion’s star player after the exit of the aforementioned trio, yet he feels it is not up to him individually to show Juventus the way, insisting it is a team effort more than anything else. Pogba had been struggling to find his best form in the opening weeks of the season, but had a hand in both of Juventus’ goals as they beat Genoa 2-0 last Sunday. “With Carlos, Arturo and Andrea we could rely on individual moments of brilliance. Now we play more as a team,” Pogba was quoted as saying on the club’s official website. The 22-year-old took over the number 10 shirt from Tevez following the latter’s return to Boca Juniors, thus following in the footsteps of compatriot Michel Platini, and he is determined to honor the jersey. “Taking on the number 10 is to follow in the footsteps of Michel Platini and several other Juventus greats. It’s very important that I honour the shirt on the pitch, the club has shown a lot of faith in me,” he added. “I need to keep working on my game, both in terms of build-up play and my runs off the ball. I need to put in strong performances both for the benefit of myself and that of the side.” Juventus’ win over Genoa was their first in Serie A this campaign and Pogba has urged his teammates to keep it up in the weeks to come. “We haven’t achieved anything yet,” he said. “Until today we had just one point in the table, now we’ve four. We’re happy with the win, but we need to keep picking up results. “We’re just concentrating on ourselves right now. There’s a long way to go between now and May.”