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Stern ‘Gladbach test for City

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Manchester City face Borussia Moenchengladbach following back-to-back Premier League defeats, and a losing start in the Champions League.

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Berlin - Manchester City already have their backs to the wall when they travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday, with injuries piling up and a losing start to the competition threatening to derail their Champions League campaign.

After starting the English Premier League season with five consecutive wins, a jolting home defeat by Juventus in their Champions League opener was followed by consecutive beatings by West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Saturday's 4-1 defeat by Tottenham also saw midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure suffer a hamstring injury, while keeper Joe Hart missed that game with an injury and both are doubts for the clash in the Rhineland.

With pressure mounting to stay in the running for a top-two finish in Group D, City's coach Manuel Pellegrini is also likely to be without captain Vincent Kompany who is nursing a calf problem.

“Joe had a problem with his back during the week,” Pellegrini said. “Yaya had some problem with his hamstring, and we don't know (if they will be fit). We must wait..to decide if they are 100 percent.”

With Moenchengladbach hosting their first game in Europe's premier club competition for 37 years, the atmosphere at the Borussia-Park will be daunting for City who badly need a three points to bolster their chances of getting beyond the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time.

Chilean Pellegrini, however, remains confident of City's chances.

“The first season we beat Bayern Munich and lost against Real Madrid in the group stages and qualified with 15 points,” Pellegrini said. “Last year was exactly the same.”

“This season we lost against Juventus here, but we played better than Juventus. We lost just three points. I'm absolutely confident we are going to do it because we did it the last two seasons after losing the first game.”

Gladbach are neither Real Madrid nor Bayern or Juve but the Germans are on a high after two consecutive wins following a terrible start to the season.

In complete contrast to City they lost their opening five Bundesliga games, leading to the resignation of coach Lucien Favre, but interim coach Andre Schubert has since stopped the rot and they will be confident of their first Champions League points after an opening defeat against Sevilla.

Schubert himself has ruled out a long-term commitment but the club's sport's director Max Eberl said: “Andre is doing a fantastic job.”

After a 3-1 defeat of Stuttgart at the weekend, midfielder Granit Xhaka identified the reason for the change in fortune.

“The fun is back because we are playing the type of football that made us so strong in the past,” Xhaka said. – Reuters

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Jose claims Costa ‘witch-hunt’

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho complained about a “witch-hunt” by the footballing authorities against Diego Costa.

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Porto, Portugal - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho complained about a “witch-hunt” by the footballing authorities against Diego Costa ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group G match at Porto.

The Spain striker was banned retrospectively for three domestic matches by the English FA after being found guilty of violent conduct in the 2-0 win over Arsenal earlier this month.

Costa was unavailable for Saturday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle United but will be back for Chelsea's Champions League meeting with Mourinho's former club Porto.

Asked by a reporter where his team would be if they had 11 Costas, Mourinho replied: “I think we would lose every game because the desire to suspend him is so big that you wouldn't have enough players to start the game.

“I am happy to only have one and let him play until they decide to suspend him again. There is a witch-hunt going on against him.”

Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, addressing the same news conference, agreed.

“[Costa is] frustrated and rightly so,” said Fabregas. “We all know why he is. Some people understand it, some people don't.

“It's very unfair what has happened to him. He's a key player for us...a player who has to score our goals and finish our moves.

“If you want to win this competition you all have to be at the top of your game but you also need your big players to perform, he's one of them for sure,” added Fabregas.

Chelsea won their opening Champions League game of the season, 4-0 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv, but their form has been poor in the Premier League where the title holders are sixth from bottom.

“Away games in the Champions League are always difficult,” said Mourinho. “They are a big side and want to win but Porto know they will not face a weak team.

“The fact Porto are top of the Portuguese league is totally normal because of the quality of their squad.

“To be untouchable, you have to be consistent. Right now we have fantastic players but football is about today, not yesterday.

“To be untouchable in football, only consistency can give you that status.”

Mourinho refused to be drawn on Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas, a player he had a strained relationship with during their time together at Real Madrid.

“I know what you're going to ask,” the Portuguese said as he cut off a reporter's question. “I'll salute Casillas tomorrow but there's no point wasting time discussing it.” – Reuters

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Everton rally to sink West Brom

Romelu Lukaku scored twice and set up another goal as Everton clawed their way back against West Bromwich Albion.

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London - Romelu Lukaku scored twice and set up another goal as Everton rallied from two down to sink West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in the Premier League on Monday.

Everton's away victory took their unbeaten run to four games in the league and lifted manager Roberto Martinez's team up to fifth in the table with 12 points from seven games.

“The first half was not too good and at halftime the manager woke us up and the experienced players spoke up,” Lukaku told Sky Sports after his side had trailed 1-0 at the interval.

“I knew the first goal was crucial. I knew that we could win the game.”

West Brom opened the scoring four minutes before halftime at The Hawthorns when James Morrison pounced on a misplaced pass by Gareth Barry and slipped the ball through for Saido Berahino to beat keeper Tim Howard.

Craig Dawson made it 2-0 for Albion nine minutes after the break when he converted an inswinging corner from Chris Brunt with a powerful downward header.

Lukaku, who had a spell on loan at West Brom earlier in his career, started Everton's revival by nodding in a right-wing cross from Gerard Deulofeu in the 55th minute.

The Belgium striker turned provider for the equaliser when he ended a clever dribble outside the box by setting up substitute Arouna Kone for an easy finish.

Lukaku then scrambled the winning goal past keeper Boaz Myhill with six minutes to go following another excellent right-wing cross by Deulofeu.

“We were very disappointed with the first half, we were off, every single individual,” said Martinez.

“Gerard Deulofeu took extra responsibility, he wanted the ball all night and it was a real mature performance.”

West Brom's defeat dropped them one place to 15th on eight points.

“It is really, really disappointing,” said manager Tony Pulis. “We had the game in our hands and we handed it to Everton.

“The first goal killed us, we should have dealt with it. The other two goals are poor goals.”

REUTERS

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Blatter to remain president until February

President Sepp Blatter, under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities, plans to remain in his job until February.

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New York - President Sepp Blatter, under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities, plans to remain in his job until February and told staff at the world soccer governing body on Monday that he had done nothing illegal or improper, Blatter's lawyers said.

An emailed statement from Blatter's personal lawyers, Lorenz Erni of Switzerland and Richard Cullen of the United States, also defended payments that Zurich-based Fifa made to Michel Platini, president of the UEFA soccer confederation, as “valid compensation” for Platini's work as an adviser.

Swiss prosecutors said on Friday they had opened a criminal investigation into Blatter on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. Authorities interrogated Blatter at Fifa headquarters and seized unspecified data from his office.

The prosecutors said Blatter was suspected of a “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.05 million) to Platini in 2011 at the expense of Fifa, said to have been for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002.

Blatter told Swiss authorities on Friday that Platini “had a valuable employment relationship with Fifa” as an adviser, Blatter's personal lawyers said.

“He explained to the prosecutors that the payments were valid compensation and nothing more and were properly accounted for within Fifa including the withholding of Social Security contributions,” the lawyers said.

Platini made his own defense of the payments on Monday. The onetime soccer star for France said in a statement that he had not been accused of wrongdoing and that the money was fully declared to authorities in accordance with Swiss law. Platini offered to help Fifa's Ethics Committee to resolve any issues over the payment.

Blatter has said he plans to resign the presidency after an election in February.

He is also being investigated by US prosecutors and the FBI as part of a sweeping probe into allegations of corruption in the world's most popular sport.

Reuters

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‘Frenzy to get me out’ - Rodgers

Liverpool’s manager Brendan Rodgers felt the time was right to highlight the campaign he feels is being waged against him.

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Brendan Rodgers would not name names but that did not dilute his point. Rather than slipping away quietly at the end of a difficult week, his message was clear.

Having been pilloried for much of the past month, with his work being dissected on a daily basis, Liverpool’s manager felt the time was right to remind people of his abilities and, more than anything, highlight the campaign he feels is being waged against him.

‘There has been a frenzy, there is no doubt about it, to get me out of here,’ said Rodgers. ‘There is no question about that. Whether that’s a Liverpool hysteria or big club hysteria I am not so sure. The scrutiny here is obviously greater, for me, than any club.

‘But it is a huge club. As a manager you know that and deal with it. It’s not about proving people wrong. I think I’ve shown in the early stages of my management — without being arrogant — that with a talented group of players I can compete at the top end.

‘There are very short memories in football. The team was eighth when I got here. We built a team to excite people throughout European football that should have won the league. Then all the good work gets forgotten. The focus has not been on what we have missed but to get me out of the club.’

It was some claim, and, given he has had to contend with frequent stories about Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti being linked with his position, he was well within his rights to make it. But a frenzy? There have been no banners on the Kop asking for his removal, no chants asking for him to go. Yes, some former players — notably Mark Lawrenson — have said a change should be made but others, like John Barnes, have lent their support.

Rodgers’ point about being deprived of key players is also valid, particularly when you see the difference a fit Daniel Sturridge, scorer of two wonderful goals, made here. He is wrong, though, if he thinks the criticism has come in isolation. There have been a number of results over the past 12 months that have ensured his future has been the subject of much discussion and it will take a sequence of sustained improvement to make the noise subside.

With a trip to Goodison Park next, the focus on Rodgers and Liverpool will not go away but if this outpouring is a sign that he has the bit between the teeth, then it will have served a purpose.

‘I’m fine,’ he insisted. ‘You know what comes from leadership and being a manager and the scrutiny. I’ve never got too carried away when we’ve won, and not too disappointed when we lost. I have a hunger to succeed. There have been a lot of things going against us, but we stick together.’

After James Milner opened the scoring with just over a minute gone it should have been a cruise but Liverpool’s brittle state allowed Villa to get back into the game with two goals from Rudy Gestede, the second a fine header.

‘Collectively we’re not gelling,’ said Villa manager Tim Sherwood. ‘We’re doing it in spasms and it’s not good enough.’ – Daily Mail

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Mourinho left scratching his head

Jose Mourinho says he could have taken off six of his players at half-time in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle.

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Jose Mourinho spoke of his confusion and concern at the end of another troubled afternoon. He admitted he could have taken off six of his players at half-time in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle, such was the woeful nature of a first-half performance he said was the worst he had experienced as manager of Chelsea.

These are crucial times at the club. Mourinho is walking into managerial mortality, where defeat is regular, criticism of your own players standard practice.

It is not his way, but then his team are no longer playing the Mourinho way. They were rocked back for an hour at St James' Park, by which time they trailed Newcastle by two goals and the Premier League leaders by nine points.

The turnabout took inspirational substitutions and the execution of Mourinho's game-changing plan, which brought Ramires' stunning goal in the 79th minute and a free-kick from Willian that beat Tim Krul untouched.

There could have been a winning goal at the very death, when Krul saved from Ramires, but it did not hide the mounting problems the champions of England are facing after three defeats and a draw in their last seven games. Nor did Mourinho.

“Yes, I am very concerned,” he said. “I do not understand it and I do not accept it. I would like to have made more changes than I did but the ones that I did make were enough to improve the whole team. The reason I did not make substitutions at half-time was because I did not know which decisions to make. There were six players I could have taken off. That is how bad we were.”

Chelsea trailed to a fine strike from Ayoze Perez, three minutes before half-time. On the hour Georginio Wijnaldum glanced a header into the far corner of Asmir Begovic's goal from a Perez corner. Mourinho acted then, hauling off Loïc Rémy and Nemanja Matic. Neither player got an acknowledgement from the manager.

Asked afterwards if he was puzzled by the way his side has regressed from its domestic dominance last season, Mourinho said: “Yeah, yeah, but about the game, no. I could perfectly read the game and understand why we were so poor. It is easy to analyse the game and all the items that makes a football game, that is completely clear for me. The reason why we did that, or didn't do that, that's the question mark and I have to understand why.”

To add to Mourinho's confusion and concern came Gary Cahill's refusal to accept there is a crisis of confidence in the Chelsea team.

“There shouldn't be, because we got a good result in the Champions League, we got a good result at Arsenal, so we were building momentum,” the defender said. He added: “We'll take a point because if we'd lost this game it would have been a massive blow to us. Manchester City have lost so we have given up a lot of our lifelines now.”

The late revival at least kept the gap to new leaders Manchester United down to eight points. Diego Costa will not always be absent. In coming weeks Ramires's energy will come from the start and not from the bench.

They might also face opponents with less to prove than Newcastle, who did enough to suggest better days may follow a bleak start to the season.

“After Wednesday, I said we needed to be men and I think that's what we showed,” said goalkeeper Krul.

“The fans reacted to that. It was a shame to throw a two-goal lead away, but you can't complain about a finish like that from Ramires.

“Some strong words were said [after the Capital One Cup defeat by Sheffield Wednesday]. We had some meetings about it. It wasn't good enough. It was far below par. We know that, but at least we showed a reaction. That's the reaction we should have shown two or three weeks ago, but at least that's something to build on.” – The Independent

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Kane hits back at critics

Harry Kane says scoring his first Premier League goal of the season will silence the critics who have tried to saddle him with a “one-season wonder” tag.

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Scoring his first Premier League goal of the season will silence the critics who have tried to saddle him with a “one-season wonder” tag, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has said.

The England international broke his season-long drought for his club when he clipped in a rebound after Christian Eriksen's free kick struck the crossbar in their 4-1 drubbing of Manchester City on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Kane was one of the revelations of last season finding the back of the net 31 times but, before the City game, had failed to score in eight appearances in all competitions for Spurs this campaign, leading some pundits and fans to question whether his feats last term were a one-off.

“Maybe I shut up a few people who have been talking over the last few weeks,” Kane was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

“Only seven games (in the league) and a few people said 'one-season wonder'. People can judge me at the end of the season and we will go from there. I have to stay focused but it is great to score.

“When you score like last season it becomes a drug, and when someone takes it away from you, you want to get it back. You want to score again and it was a good feeling to score again.

“It is frustrating (to be criticised). I kind of use it to get my juices flowing and to prove these people wrong. I have had to prove people wrong throughout my career to get where I am,” he added.

“It is not easy coming through as a youngster but it makes me want to get better and the more people say it, the more I want to prove them wrong.” – Reuters

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Liverpool players rally behind Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers still has the support of the Liverpool dressing room and criticism of the manager has united the squad, midfielders James Milner and Lucas said.

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Brendan Rodgers still has the support of the Liverpool dressing room and criticism of the manager has united the squad, midfielders James Milner and Lucas said after their 3-2 win over Aston Villa eased some pressure on their beleaguered boss.

Rodgers lashed out at his critics after Saturday's game, claiming there was a conspiracy to oust from his job and condemning the “hysteria” over his future after a poor run resulted in managers such as Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp being tipped to replace him by sections of the media.

“There is a group of people that don't want me here,” the Northern Irishman told reporters after the Villa win, which sent his side up to seventh in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Manchester United.

“I am talking about people outside of here. I think it is pretty clear. Sometimes we haven't lost games and the hysteria around it is pretty clear. There is maybe something else going on from behind.”

Milner, who scored Liverpool's first goal and pulled the strings in midfield alongside Lucas during a much-improved performance in which Daniel Sturridge scored for the first time since March, also lashed out at the recent criticism of his team's form and backed Rogers to turn things around.

“A lot of things that have been said are disappointing and frustrating really,” the England international said, quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

“I've been really impressed with the manager. Preparation here is second to none.

“There's people giving criticism from outside the club but I think Manchester City have lost more games than us this season.

“You have to stick together,” the 29-year-old added.

Milner's midfield partner Lucas dedicated the win to his manager.

“We wanted to win for the manager,” the Brazilian said. “We know what has been said about him and we think we showed we are a group of players behind him and trying to make everything right.

“We know the pressure is on him but we wanted to play the way he wants us to play, and I think we did that.” – Reuters

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Pellegrini left raging after defeat

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was fuming after his side lost 4-1 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

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While Bacary Sagna was earnestly reflecting on Manchester City’s inability to be ‘killers’, Manuel Pellegrini was in another part of White Hart Lane and about to throw a tantrum.

The City manager had been asked about his post-match address to the players when he snapped.

‘What happened, we lost 4-1,’ said Pellegrini. ‘That is the most important thing, I am angry, I am not angry. No more questions? OK.’

He stormed off only to be told he was going the wrong way down the corridor and would have to return past that same group of reporters.

‘If you want to talk about football, we talk about football,’ he said on his way back. ‘But if you want to talk about stupid things then I do not answer stupid things.’

Except it is not stupid to wonder how he would talk to his players after a game like this, which City led through Kevin De Bruyne before being blown away by goals from Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane and Erik Lamela.

Physically, City were unpicked by sloppy individual errors and also because they were not intense enough against a young, energetic Spurs team; mentally they appeared to wilt as soon as Tottenham equalised. Form is not on their side and the strain appears to be showing.

City managed 22 shots but scored once here, having also had 27 in the 2-1 defeat by West Ham last week and 13 in the 2-1 loss to Juventus. They have lost three of their last four games and, while not necessarily a cause for a full-scale inquisition, that is a justification for concern.

‘We should have killed the game,’ said Sagna. ‘We conceded that (Dier) goal just before half-time, but it’s not the reason to come back sloppy in the second half.

‘We had to keep some composure and we didn’t have it. We were too nice, we lost too many duels and we have to be killers.

‘Maybe we have shown too much confidence. We have to keep working hard if we want to stay on top. We know we can be champions.’

City were not helped by awful officiating on Saturday but were also undermined by back-line errors. Joe Hart should be fit for Wednesday’s Champions League tie at Borussia Monchengladbach but doubts over Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, who came off with a hamstring problem, heighten the worry.

Any anxiety for Kane seems to have evaporated with his first league goal this season. ‘Maybe I shut up a few people,’ he said. ‘When you score like last season it becomes a drug, and when someone takes it away from you, you want to get it back. It was a good feeling to score again.’– Daily Mail

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Pardew restoring his reputation

As a manager sacked three times in four years, Alan Pardew has had plenty to do in restoring his reputation.

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London - As a manager sacked three times in four years and then regularly abused by his next club's supporters, Alan Pardew has had plenty to do in restoring his reputation.

He has achieved that in a matter of months since returning to his first professional club, Crystal Palace, lifting them from the Premier League's bottom three on his arrival in January to a mid-table finish last season and now the top six.

Clean sheets have been rare but by fielding a team blessed with pace Palace have been particularly effective on the counter-attack, which has led to an outstanding away record.

Sunday's 1-0 success at Watford meant that in 12 matches on the road in this calendar year they have won nine times.

It was a first clean sheet of the season, which particularly pleased Pardew.

“The back four were terrific and the goalie,” he told Sky Sports. “They didn't really give Watford much daylight at all.

“It wasn't a classic but sometimes as a manager you want a performance that lifts you and that really lifted me, because the concentration levels were really, really high.”

Pundits agreed that the manager had got his tactics and team selection just right, picking Dwight Gayle as the main striker after a hat-trick in a midweek League Cup tie and using all three of his speedy wingers at some stage to attack Watford's vulnerable fullbacks.

One of those wide players, Wilfried Zaha, won the crucial penalty that Yohan Cabaye converted to win the game.

In a difficult period for Pardew between 2006-10, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic and Southampton all dismissed the former Palace midfielder.

He was therefore an unpopular choice to take charge at Newcastle United, with only five percent voting for him in a poll of the club's supporters.

But after steering them to 12th place, he earned European football as they finished fifth in his first full season.

An eight-year contract followed but spending restrictions imposed by owner Mike Ashley meant the team failed to live up to the raised expectations of demanding fans.

By the end of the 2013-14 season he was receiving regular abuse at matches and a “Sack Pardew” website was set up.

Although Ashley would not dismiss him, it was a convenient opportunity for both men when Palace approached Pardew to take their vacant manager's job at the start of this year.

Delighted to return to the club where he became a hero by scoring the winner in an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, Pardew led an immediate revival, winning 10 of the remaining 18 league games. He has built on that improvement this term.

One more remarkable statistic from Pardew's return to Selhurst Park is that of 30 league and cup matches, only one - at home to Newcastle in February - has been drawn.

A healthy proportion of wins from the rest has ensured the rehabilitation of a man now proving his qualities again in one of sport's most demanding professions. – Reuters

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Aces show Maritzburg no mercy

Black Aces showed the struggling Maritzburg United no mercy, thrashing them 4-1 on Sunday.

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Nelspruit – Mpumalanga Black Aces showed no mercy when they demolished the struggling Maritzburg United 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Kanyamazane Stadium to move to second spot on the Absa Premiership log standings.

A brace by Collins Mbesuma and two goals by Bhongolethu Jayiya and Dennis Masina made life difficult for the visitors who came into the match with a new coach in Clive Barker who was formerly with AmaZayoni.

Coach Muhsin Ertugral’s men were motivated by their 2-1 victory over Lamontville Golden Arrows and their confidence was high as they took the match to their visitors, but couldn’t create chances to trouble the Namibian goalkeeper, Virgil Vries.

However, in the 29th minute Jayiya broke the deadlock and handed the hosts the lead when he received a pass from Tshidiso Tukane finishing with his right foot.

A few minutes later, Ashley Hartog cancelled out Jayiya’s strike when he equalised in the 31st minute following a supply by Deolin Mekoa. But their celebration was short-lived as the in-form Mbesuma took matters to his hands and bagged the second goal for the Witbank-based side in the 34th minute, through a header and once again he was assisted by Tukane.

At half-time, Aces were up 2-1 and the return from the tunnel meant the hosts had to continue with their target of collecting the full three points.

AmaZayoni were awarded a penalty in the 59th minute when Thamsanqa Mkhize unfairly challenged Tukane ,and the Zambian-born forward stepped up to convert from the spot making it 3-1.

In the dying minutes of the encounter, Dennis Masina made it four for the hosts after an assist from the captain Zamuxolo Ngalo to seal their second consecutive league victory.

The loss means Barker’s men will have to go back to the drawing board and they remain placed at position 16 on the log with one point next to their name from six league matches. – Africa News Agency (ANA).

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Pelembe brace puts Celtic in charge

A Helder Pelembe brace helped Celtic beat Tuks 2-0 in Pretoria on Sunday.

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Pretoria – A Helder Pelembe brace helped Bloemfontein Celtic to a 2-0 win over the University of Pretoria in their Premiership match at Tuks Stadium, in Pretoria, on Sunday.

Pelembe was lethal either side of half-time to notch up the two-goal advantage for the visitors, and a stranglehold on the contest they would not relinquish.

Though the hosts eclipsed the number of chances on goal from the visitors by more than double, they could not find the elusive strike in their effort to salvage something from their home fixture.

With the result, Celtic moved up to 13 points from six matches and third place on the log. Tuks, meanwhile, remained on four points from their six outings as they languish in 14th place on the table.

Lyle Lakay took the first corner for Celtic in the 12th minute which found a teammate in a menacing position just inside the area, but the Tuks defence were quick to snuff out the danger as they dispossessed the opposition player.

In the 41st minute, Tuks had a decent chance from range when Getaneh Kebede tried his luck but Patrick Tignyemb in the Celtic goal made a confident save as he smothered the ball.

Less than a minute later, Celtic would score the opener. The Tuks defence were caught ball-watching as Pelembe made un-marked run onto the ball in the area and made no mistake in depositing the ball into an open net and a 1-0 lead.

The opening period saw the home side dominate with 10 shots at goal, but with only five on target. The visitors, in contrast, mustered just two efforts and scored from their only on target attempt.

Pelembe struck again to make it 2-0 and complete his brace with the second half less than 60 seconds old. The Tuks defence failed to clear an attempt in the area, and Pelembe was on hand to out-fox three defenders before finding the back of the net from a tight angle to double his side’s lead.

There would be no further change in score, and Celtic would be well-pleased with their full quota of points away from home.

– ANA

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Sundowns desmolish Cosmos

Sundowns turned in a clinical performance to dispatch Jomo Cosmos 2-0 on Sunday.

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Potchefstroom – Mamelodi Sundowns turned in a clinical performance to dispatch Jomo Cosmos 2-0 in their Premiership match at Olen Park, in Potchefstroom, on Sunday.

With genuine chances during the encounter far from plentiful, it was The Brazilians who dominated possession and territory and ultimately converted two of their few opportunities to wrestle the win.

Keagan Dolly struck midway through the first period, and then completed his brace deep in second-half injury time to wrap up the contest.

The first shot on target for either side fell to Jomo Cosmos in the 17th minute. Running into the area at pace Brice Aka reeled off a sharp strike, but Sundowns keeper Dennis Onyango was alert to the danger as he made the save.

With their first real chance of the encounter, Sundowns were ruthless in taking the lead in the 22nd minute. Themba Zwane whipped in a cross for Dolly whose header had the beating of Cosmos keeper Sherwyn Naicker to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

On the whole, Sundowns would have been pleased to head to break with the advantage as their chances on goal were few in number.

Three minutes after half-time, Sundowns began tearing apart the Cosmos defence as a goalmouth scuffle saw Naicker forced into a double save with the second attempt coming from close range from Katlego Mashego.

Cosmos, had a rare chance of their own in the 58th minute. Without much happening in the midfield, Thabang Monare tried his luck from range and Onyango made a neat save diving to his right.

In the 67th minute, Zwane picked out Anthony Laffor in the Cosmos box but the winger’s fiery attempt was blasted narrowly wide of goal.

Cosmos did have one excellent chance on goal in the 87th minute, but substitute Charlton Mashumba could not find the target with his powerful effort from close range.

With regulation time up, Sundowns carved up the Cosmos back four and Dolly was able to tap the ball into an open net for a 2-0 scoreline. – African News Agency (ANA).

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Pellegrini turns focus to Europe

Manuel Pellegrini switched his focus to Europe on Sunday after his City’s latest Premier League blow.

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London – Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini switched his focus to conquering Europe on Sunday after his side’s Premier League ambitions took another dent at the weekend.

City’s barnstorming start to the English soccer season, producing five straight wins, is in danger of becoming a fading memory after consecutive defeats by West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur allowed Manchester United to knock them off the top of the table.

Those two defeats were preceded by a jolting home loss to Juventus in City’s Champions League opener, but Pellegrini is convinced the club will recover and soon triumph in Europe’s blue riband competition.

“I am sure that Manchester City will win the Champions League in the future because the whole club works well,” the Chilean was quoted as saying in the Manchester Evening News.

“We are younger than the teams who normally win the Champions League over the last 10 years. Our team has only arrived in the last few years and we are improving every season.”

City’s huge transfer spending to become established as one of the Premier League powerhouses has not translated into any great impact on the European stage. They reached the last 16 of the Champions League in the past two seasons and failed to progress beyond the group stage in the previous two attempts.

While focused on improving that record, Pellegrini says the Champions League should not be prioritised at the expense of getting their domestic form back on track.

“Being champions of Europe must not be an obsession here. Manchester United, in the whole period of Alex Ferguson, when he was the best manager in the club’s history, only won the Champions League twice in 27 years,” Pellegrini said.

– REUTERS

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Messi blow a relief for Leverkusen

Barca’s loss of Lionel Messi will bring relief to Bayer Leverkusen ahead of their Champions tie on Tuesday.

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With Barcelona’s squad already stretched, the loss of talisman Lionel Messi is a major blow but for the Bayer Leverkusen players there will no doubt be sighs of relief ahead of their Champions League tie on Tuesday.

Among the Argentine’s vast list of exploits he became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match when Barca hammered Leverkusen 7-1 at the Camp Nou in 2012, but the treble winners will have to cope without him for the next two months.

Messi suffered knee ligament damage in Barca’s La Liga victory over Las Palmas on Saturday and they take on Leverkusen in their Champions League Group E clash with limited options to replace him in attack.

The Fifa transfer ban for signing underage players that prevented Barca bringing in reinforcements over the last two transfer windows along with the sale of Pedro to Chelsea and the long term injury for Rafinha has left them with mainly youth players as back-up.

“It is always sad when a player is injured. In the case of Messi it is not necessary for me to say what we all know that he is very important to the team,” Barca coach Luis Enrique told reporters.

“Without Messi we lose a lot of things from our style of play that we will now have to rearrange collectively but I have no doubt that we will overcome this.”

Leverkusen still have to deal with Neymar and Luis Suarez, the other components of an attacking trident that bagged 122 goals last season and Luis Enrique feels the absence can even be an opportunity for the team as a whole to show its value.

“This team will cope fine and will deal with this,” he said. “It is capable of doing so well because it has personality and courage. It can be seen as a test and a stimulus.”

Leverkusen lead Group E having won their first game against BATE Borisov and face Barca on the back of two straight wins in the Bundesliga having overcome Werder Bremen 3-0 on Saturday.

Even without Messi, the Leverkusen players are not underestimating the size of their challenge.

“Barcelona have a lot of top players in their team,” said midfielder Lars Bender.

“Every player dreams of a match like this and although we know the opponents are strong we will still come with our own game plan.” – Reuters

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