Wenger hits out at Ballon d'Or obsession

Arsene Wenger has hit out at football's obsession with the Ballon d'Or and says he does not want anyone to win the game's most prestigious individual prize.The Arsenal boss believes the prize goes against the essence of the sport and tempts players into playing for themselves rather than the team

Ancelotti: I can not sign Messi when I've got Ronaldo?

  

     Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti claims he would turn the down chance to sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi because he already has Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid boss says that he would look to strengthening other positions in the squad rather than acquiring the Barcelona star

Conte: Juventus driven to make history

The 44-year-old watched his side produce another determined display and is certain that his players' drive can help lead to success this season Antonio Conte believes it is his team’s desire "to make its mark" that is behind Juventus’s surge to the top of Serie A.

Asari Dokubo released in Benin Rep., flown to Abuja in private jet

Asari Dokubo has been released two days after he was arrested in Benin Republic. The leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force was reportedly released early this morning after President Jonathan intervened on his behalf with the President of Benin Republic, Yayi Boni.

Ten-man Madrid hammer Galatasaray

Real Madrid shrugged off Sergio Ramos' first-half red card to secure a thumping 4-1 win over Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Spain defender received his marching orders with the scores locked at 0-0 for tugging back Umut Bulut, but Carlo Ancelotti's side soon raced into the lead thanks to a Gareth Bale free kick.
Bulut soon leveled the scores, but Alvaro Arbeloa put the hosts back ahead just after the break, before goals from Angel Di Maria and Isco sealed a resounding victory that clinched top spot in Champions league Group B. Madrid were without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, who was nonetheless the centre of attention in the build-up as the fans showed their support for the forward's bid for this year's Ballon d'Or by wearing face masks of the Portuguese superstar. Coach Carlo Ancelotti arested Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata, with Jese Rodriguez selected up front and Casemiro handed his debut in the competition.

Opposite number Roberto Mancini, who was not in charge when the Turkish side were humbled 6-1 in the reverse fixture, left Burak Yilmaz and Wesley Sneijder on the bench. Madrid should have taken the lead inside the opening four minutes when Bale was sent racing clear by Isco, but the Welshman side-footed wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Ajax 2-1 Barcelona: Ten-man hosts end Blaugrana's unbeaten run to keep qualification hopes alive

Thulani Serero opened the scoring for the hosts in the 19th minute with a composed finish from six yards out before Danny Hoesen extended Ajax's lead just before the break with a neat piece of skill inside the penalty area. Ten-man Ajax ended a run of nine straight defeats to Spanish opposition by beating Barcelona 2-1 in Champions League Group H on Tuesday night. Barcelona were gifted a way back into the game when Joel Veltman was dismissed for bringing down Neymar inside the penalty area and Xavi scored from the spot but the Liga champions were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage.

The win moves Ajax onto seven points with one game remaining and the club's hopes of progressing to the last 16 rest on beating AC Milan at San Siro, while defeat for the Blaugrana was the club's first of the season and denied coach Gerardo Martino a share of Pep Guardiola's club record of 21 games unbeaten.

The visitors made four changes, with Carles Puyol, Martin Montoya, Alex Song and Xavi all starting for Martino's men. The South Africa international ghosted into the penalty area to meet Ricardo van Rhijn's cross from the right and the 23-year-old calmly side-footed the ball past Jose Manuel Pinto.

After Lasse Schone had missed two chances, Ajax finally doubled their lead just before the break through Hoesen. Pinto saved well from Viktor Fischer and Hoesen latched onto the loose ball, lifted it past Puyol and fired into the bottom corner. The game was turned on its head four minutes after the break as Van Rhijn played a loose pass back to Veltman. Neymar pounced but he was brought down by the defender just inside the area.

Jasper Cillessen kept the hosts in the game with a good save from Neymar on the hour and a resilient Ajax defence managed to hold on for a vital win.  Despite a confident start, Ajax were lucky to survive a swift Barcelona counterattack in the 14th minute, as Veltman made a crucial block to deny Cesc Fabregas.

Basel 1-0 Chelsea: Salah strike stuns Mourinho again

Mohamed Salah's late strike gave Basel another famous Champions League win over Chelsea but could not prevent Jose Mourinho's men booking their place in the knockout stages. The Eygptian produced a clinical finish at the St. Jakob Park on Tuesday to ensure the Swiss champions leapfrogged Schalke into second place in Group E, while Chelsea qualified despite the defeat.

Basel had ended the Premier League club's 29-match home unbeaten run in the group stages of the competition back in September with a shock 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge and they repeated the dose courtesy of Salah's dramatic late winner.

Murat Yakin's side now head into their final group game against Schalke next month knowing they only need a point to progress to the last 16. Chelsea were poor on the night and failed to register a single shot on target, but Schalke's failure to beat Steaua Bucharest ensured their progress.

Willian replaced Eden Hazard in the only change to the Chelsea side that beat West Ham 3-0 at the weekend, while fit-again striker Fernando Torres was back on the bench. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer, midfielder Salah and defender Ivan Ivanov all returned to the Basel starting line-up.
John Obi Mikel then cleared off the line after Ivanov got a toe to a Fabian Schar corner and Salah was twice denied by the busy Cech as Chelsea remained on the back foot.Petr Cech had to be alert to palm away a Taulant Xhaka free-kick from wide on the left after only two minutes and Chelsea failed to heed the warning when they backed off 10 minutes later and Fabian Frei's strike was saved by the Czech Republic goalkeeper. There was a blow for the visitors three minutes before half-time when Samuel Eto'o was carried off, with Torres replacing him.

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho warned Basel that his side were much improved since the Swiss champions' shock win at Stamford Bridge in September, but there was no evidence of that as the home side dominated the opening stages. But at last Hazard replaced the ineffective Oscar nine minutes into the second half as Chelsea struggled to get going and Basel snatched a crucial winner when Salah raced away following Schar's pass, and he kept his nerve with a clinical finish to stun Chelsea 

Rummenigge: €250m for Messi is absurd

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out a move for Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi as he believes the Argentina international would be too expensive for the Champions League holders. The Bayern supremo has insisted that they have no plans to make a move for the prolific attacker and believes Barca would never sell their star player

A recent report from Spain suggested that Bayern were ready to meet the 26-year-old's €250 million exit clause, with the club's honourary president Franz Beckenbauer further fuelling speculation last week with his comments that Messi would be a good signing for the Bundesliga champions.

However, Rummenigge has now made it clear that the Bavarians have no intention of splashing the cash on the prolific attacker. "Messi? We are talking about figures here that are simply absurd, a transfer fee that is even higher than what we spent on Javi Martinez. We won't go there," Rummenigge told Sky90.

"Plus I know Sandro Rosell. Barcelona would never sell Messi. He is a saint at Barcelona and they will not sell him. "And I think it would be in Messi's best interest to stay at Barcelona. He fits in perfectly there." The attacker has a contract with Barca until June 2018. 

 

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'Perhaps how I view beautiful football is different' - Martino defends Barcelona approach

The Argentine insists a more direct style of play can be just as appealing, and was full of praise for Andres Iniesta's contribution to the 4-0 rout of Granada Gerardo Martino insists Barcelona can be attractive to watch with a direct style of play follwing their 4-0 win against Granada on Saturday.

The Catalans fielded a makeshift side given injuries to the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Victor Valdes, though goals from Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro ensured they romped to victory. Regardless of injuries, Martino insists his side have the depth of talent to win in style in the majority of matches - although he suggested his perception of attractive football could be different to that of certain neutrals.

"It's important to have alternatives. It's good to have players who are specialists in their positions, yet adapt to others. Iniesta was the best out there tonight and when you see him, it's clear he can do anything."

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