CIity Owner Backs Hughes

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has dismissed speculation over manager Mark Hughes' future by stressing he has an "absolute mandate" for the long-term development of the team.

Three successive Barclays Premier League defeats have seen City slip to 13th in the table and led to rumours of discontent within the squad.

However, the club's Abu Dhabi-based owner has underlined how important Hughes is to his vision for the future.

"Mark shared with me his plans for how the team should be developed," said Sheikh Mansour, who had a two-hour meeting with Hughes, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and executive chairman Garry Cook on Wednesday.

"His strategy is compelling and he has my absolute mandate to implement his plans to evolve this team in the right way over the short, medium and long terms."

The meeting in the Middle East covered all aspects of the club's operations, both on and off the field, and followed the club's first board meeting under the new ownership took place on Sunday.

"I find that both Mark and Garry share an ambition for success and the enthusiasm and capability to deliver on that ambition," added Sheikh Mansour.

"I'm delighted at the potential for both men to positively impact the evolution of Manchester City in its entirety.

"I fully endorse the plans approved by the Manchester City board that Khaldoon, Mark and Garry shared with me.

"They reflect our shared aim of seeing Manchester City evolve to become a significant force in the world of football.

"Importantly, we see that evolution being on every level and borne out of a sustainable approach that has its foundations in the club's academy; its fans and the relationship with the Manchester community."

Al Mubarak added that all parties found the meeting so useful they intend to get together every few months to maintain discussions.

Earlier Hughes had called for an end to talk of a crisis at City.

"At the moment, it is all a little bit hysterical, you have to say. People will have to calm down a bit," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"But we will get points on the board because of the quality we have in the squad.

"Everyone understands that it is a very exciting time for us. The chairman knows where we are and where we want to go.

"Ideally, of course, we would much prefer to have had positive results in the last couple of games but the quality of football that we have produced has been good and there have been few occasions when I have been disappointed at what we have produced.

"There will always be disappointment if you do not win but the chairman and everyone involved know that great sides are not built overnight.

"We will address things and get more quality into the club and the squad because that is what we need to do to move forward."

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Ronaldo Set For Contract Talks

Cristiano Ronaldo's agents have confirmed the player is set to have talks over a new deal at Manchester United.

Real Madrid's pursuit of Ronaldo was one of the sagas of last summer, but now he appears keen on pledging his future to United after Sir Alex Ferguson won the battle to keep him.

Ronaldo, who is odds on favourite to be named both World and European Footballer of the Year later this season, appears keen on securing a new deal.

Gestiftute - ran by Jorge Mendes - claim a new deal is in the offing, although talks are yet to take place.

"It is normal, that a footballer wants a deal to go with his status and one that matches his performances on the field," Gestifute told skysports.com.

"But nobody has prepared anything concrete.

"We want to avoid all these rumours in the press and will have contact with United."

It was confirmed that no set date for talks has been scheduled.

"We do predict a meeting with Manchester United to speak about the future of Ronaldo, but still there is not an exact date."

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Schuster Plays Doen Job Fears

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster is remaining calm about his future at the Bernabeu despite seeing his stuttering side sink to a new low on Tuesday night with an embarrassing Copa del Rey fourth-round exit at the hands of Segunda B side Real Union.

Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, Madrid were victorious 4-3 in front of their own fans thanks largely to a Raul hat-trick, but it was not enough to save the two-time reigning Spanish champions from tumbling out on the away-goals rule.

That has further increased the pressure on Schuster, whose side had lost three of their previous six competitive games prior to Tuesday's match.

But the German insisted: "I'm not worried about my job, but I understand that others will have some doubts. That's logical with what we are seeing."

However, Spanish media today are suggesting that the former Getafe coach could find himself sacked if Madrid do not beat Real Valladolid in this weekend's Primera Liga match at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla.

If that should happen then technical director Miguel Angel Portugal, the former Racing Santander and Real Madrid Castilla coach, is being tipped to replace Schuster in the hotseat.

Regarding Tuesday night's match, Schuster added: "I don't think there's a problem with attitude, all the players ran and worked hard. The problem is that teams manage to get us into trouble with few chances on goal, which is what has happened in recent matches.

"The problem is that teams score against us from the first chance they get.

"They don't dominate us, they don't really put pressure on us, and without causing us to many problems they manage to score.

"This team is always willing to fight back, but you cannot keep doing it in every clash. It works in one game or two, but not always."

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Elano bemused by snub

Manchester City midfielder Elano cannot understand why he remains on the fringes of the first team fold under Mark Hughes.

The Brazilian quickly established cult hero status at Eastlands last season, with his South American flair endearing him to an expectant fan base.

However, with Sven Goran Eriksson having departed the Blues hot-seat over the summer, the playmaker has endured a difficult second season in England.

His failure to establish a regular role in the side under Hughes has seen him become increasingly frustrated, although he insists that he has no desire to secure a move elsewhere.

Capable
"When I am playing I know what he wants and when I come off there is nothing from him," Elano told Sky Sports News on his relationship with the Welsh coach.

"It's his right, he is the manager. I respect him and I will keep working, arriving on time and doing my duties at the club, but my sadness is not playing.

"I can't hide that from the fans or the president - who wants to make this a big club. I think I have the capabilities to be playing."

Money
With the Abu Dhabi United Group expected to usher in an exciting new era at City, Elano hopes he will be given an opportunity to play his part in any future success.

"City have a big project, they have something which not many clubs have at the moment - money," he added.

"I want to help by playing. I respect everyone here. I have many friends here and get on with the team 100 per cent.

"I respect the manager a lot but I cannot be happy if I don't play."

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Meteb Claims TOFFEES Deal

Emad Meteb's agent claims the Egypt international will be joining Everton in January.

The striker, currently on loan at Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad, saw a summer move to Championship side Bristol City fall through.

But now it is claimed his dream move to England will come to fruition courtesy of a switch to Goodison Park.

"I travelled to England a week ago to agree on the final details of the contract with Everton," his agent Mohamed Hamid told the Egyptian media.

"We agreed on everything. Emad was informed about the course of negotiations, and he is glad about it."

It is claimed Everton could pay as much as £2million to his parent club Al Ahly.

Meanwhile, Everton are understood to have opened contract talks with Jack Rodwell.

The highly-rated 17-year-old's current deal expires at the end of the season and David Moyes is determined to keep hold of the player - who has broken into his first-team this season.

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Cruz Strikes Late For Inter

Julio Cruz's stoppage-time winner snatched all three points for Inter Milan in a disappointing encounter against Udinese at the San Siro.

It is a mark of true champions that they can still grind out results even when things appear to be going against them, and that is what Inter did as they fought to the end in a match that was more about gritty determination than stylish football.

The result was a harsh blow for the Friulians who deserved at least a point, but return to Udine empty-handed and drop three places to fifth in the Serie A standings.

Inter have once again dominated the headlines this week.

A comedy of errors in Cyprus on Tuesday saw the Italian champions draw 3-3 against Anorthosis Famagusta in the Champions League as they capitulated defensively.

Moreover, the Udinese match marked the fourth time on the trot that Adriano had been dropped from the squad, with coach Jose Mourinho insisting it was simply a tactical decision.

Those two facts perhaps played a part in Inter's performance on Sunday as the players were cautious to avoid a repeat of the individual errors that cost them dearly in midweek while they were obviously missing the creativity of Adriano.

Mario Balotelli was one of the few to shine in Cyprus and he almost helped Inter take the lead in the 23rd minute as a great pass from him picked out an unmarked Zlatan Ibrahimovic who had only Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to beat, but a timely tackle from Maurizio Domizzi snuffed out the threat.

Balotelli was again at the heart of the action three minutes later with a good cross in towards Andrade Quaresma but Handanovic was not troubled by the weak low shot.

Udinese could have taken the lead five minutes from the end of a lethargic first half with a spectacular 35-yard thunderbolt from Gokhan Inler which Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar could only parry, but fortunately for him it fell to Walter Samuel who was able to clear the danger.

Inter enjoyed a good chance just two minutes later as Balotelli's free-kick from the edge of the box tested Handanovic who needed two attempts to hold the ball.

The second half was a slight improvement on the previous 45 minutes and Inter had one of their best opportunities shortly before the hour mark as a great save from Handanovic turned away Ibrahimovic's ball to the near post.

The home crowd were growing increasingly restless but they were almost sparked into life in the 66th minute as their team threatened with a fine free-kick from Esteban Cambiasso but Handanovic palmed it away and then managed to hang on to the resultant goalbound header.

The fans were in full voice two minutes later as they screamed for a penalty when Domizzi charged down a shot by Ibrahimovic and it hit his hand, but the referee adjudged it to be unintentional.

Inter should have taken the lead two minutes from time as Javier Zanetti's 30-yard shot crashed off Handanovic's left post, but they finally grabbed a goal in the second minute of stoppage time.

Cruz, who had rescued a point for Inter in Cyprus 10 minutes from time, was again his side's saviour as he headed home a late winner to inflict Udinese's second defeat of the season.

Full Result
Bologna 1-1 Roma (Sat 19.30)
Catania 2-1 Cagliari
Chievo 0-2 Juventus
Fiorentina 2-1 Atalanta
Genoa 4-0 Reggina
Inter 1-0 Udinese
Lazio 3-0 Siena
Lecce 1-1 Milan (19.30)
Napoli 2-0 Sampdoria
Torino 1-0 Palermo (Sat 17.00)

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Own Goal Woe For Roma

An own goal by Cicinho in stoppage time gifted Bologna and new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic their first draw of the season - 1-1 against Roma.

Francesco Totti celebrated his 400th Serie A appearance with a 69th-minute goal, which seemed to be enough to grant Roma their second win in a week, before Cicinho headed into his own net in the second minute of stoppage time.

The result ensures the Giallorossi remain just one point above their opponents, who remain inside the bottom three, and Roma could drop into the relegation zone on Sunday should Chievo or Reggina win.

Torino hauled themselves out of the Serie A relegation zone as Jurgen Samuel's late goal against the 10 men of Palermo helped them to a 1-0 victory.

Toro looked to be heading for a frustrating draw until a red card for Antonio Nocerino seven minutes from time changed the face of the game, and Samuel was able to produce the winner with 89 minutes played.

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Eto'o Heroics Seal Barca Win

Samuel Eto'o struck four first-half goals as Barcelona thrashed Real Valladolid 6-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday night.

The Cameroon striker was left on the bench for Tuesday night's Champions League draw at home to Basle, but was restored to the starting line-up for this match by coach Pep Guardiola and fired a brilliant quadruple in the first half to set Barcelona on their way to an eighth successive Primera Liga victory.

Eto'o opened the scoring after 12 minutes, adding a second on the half-hour mark and completing his hat-trick in the lead-up to half-time.

The forward then added a fourth goal a minute before the interval to round off a superb first half for the Catalan side.

Eidur Gudjohnsen and Thierry Henry also netted late on to complete a fantastic win for Guardiola's side.

Barca's win keeps them two points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid, who were also in action on Saturday.


Gonzalo Higuain achieved the same feat as Eto'o by scoring all four goals as 10-man Real won an astonishing encounter 4-3 against Malaga at the Bernabeu.

Higuain was the star man on a crazy night in the Spanish capital, which saw Madrid trail three times and have Sergio Ramos sent off in the first half before the champions finally prevailed to claim their seventh win of the season.

The match was a rollercoaster affair that also produced three penalties, eight yellow cards and enough incident to ensure the encounter will be talked about for a long time to come.

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Keane Fires Reds To The Summit

Robbie Keane netted twice as Liverpool returned to the top of the Barclays Premier League after comfortably brushing aside West Brom 3-0.

Keane had only previously scored twice in the Champions League prior to his 12th league appearance for the club since his £20million move in the summer.


But Keane scored in the 34th and 43rd minutes while to secure the points while Alvaro Arbeloa blasted home another in stoppage-time as the Reds extended their unbeaten home record this year.

Meanwhile Arsene Wenger got the response he wanted as Arsenal bounced back from turmoil to defeat Manchester United 2-1, with Samir Nasri scoring twice at the Emirates Stadium.

Gunners boss Wenger admitted dressing-room morale was low after their draw with rivals Tottenham and defeat to Stoke - but this win breathes life into their campaign and lifts them above United in the Premier League table.

Wenger had Emmanuel Adebayor injured and Robin van Persie suspended. But Nasri provided the attacking threat, taking advantage of slack marking in each half to grab his fourth and fifth of the season.

Rafael da Silva, on as a substitute, volleyed home to give Sir Alex Ferguson's men hope - but there was no repeat of the memorable Spurs comeback.

Thomas Sorensen made a series of fine second-half saves to secure another valuable point for Stoke in a below-par goalless draw with Wigan at the JJB Stadium.

Sorensen pulled off a late double-save to deny both Amr Zaki and Antonio Valencia and also got down well to gather an effort from Emile Heskey.

Tony Pulis' men offered little in the attacking department besides a 55th-minute header from Ryan Shawcross which sailed into the arms of home goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.


Jermain Defoe handed Tony Adams his first win as Portsmouth boss as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Sunderland.

The England striker converted an injury-time penalty after Black Cats substitute El-Hadji Diouf had tripped Glen Johnson.

Algerian midfielder Nadir Belhadj had earlier cancelled out Djibril Cisse's fourth-minute opener six minutes after the break, but the home side wasted a series of opportunities to kill the game off.

Matthew Taylor inflicted a third successive defeat on Hull, but it was Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen who emerged his side's real hero in the 1-0 triumph at the KC Stadium.

For the first time since mid-April Bolton manager Gary Megson can reflect on back-to-back victories after Taylor's 50th-minute half volley was all that separated the sides.

However, such a feat would not have come about but for Jaaskelainen who produced a virtual one-man show for the remainder of the half to frustrate all connected with the Tigers.

Three goals in five minutes capped a sensational Everton fightback as they claimed a 3-1 victory against West Ham at Upton Park.

West Ham looked to be cruising to all three points when substitute Jack Collison scored on his home debut in the 53rd minute.

But an equaliser from Joleon Lescott in the 83rd minute was followed by a superb brace from Louis Saha in the 85th and 87th minutes to crown an amazing comeback by the Toffees.

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Crocked Owen sent to Steadman

The Manchester United midfielder has not been fully fit since he joined the Old Trafford outfit from Bayern Munich last summer.

Although the 27-year-old was able to play in last season's Champions League final triumph over Chelsea, the pain he experienced when he returned to training this summer was as bad as ever.

United have tried to be patient, giving Hargreaves a course of injections they felt would allow him to play pain-free for the remainder of the season.

But it is now clear the move has not worked, leaving them little alternative than to send the 27-year-old to Colorado for a meeting with Steadman - who names Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michael Owen among his high-profile clients - after consultations in Sweden and London appear to have drawn a blank.

"We have been trying to manage the situation but that has not given us an answer," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said.

"In the past 10 days we have sent him to a specialist in Sweden and one in London. There has been no real answer there so now he is in Colorado to see Dr Steadman.

"We are trying to get to the root of it. We have been frustrated and patient but we really need to speed that up now.

"That is why we have sent him to the best available people to try and get a general opinion about where we go from here."

United will wait for Dr Steadman to deliver his verdict before deciding the next course of action for Hargreaves.

No-one is mentioning retirement but there must be a nagging fear that the Calgary-born star will never be rid of a problem he first became aware of prior to his £18million move to United.

"Of course it is difficult when you are out for such a long time through injury," said Ferguson. "It is frustrating for the lad and we want to try and help him.

"With tendinitis at the front of the knee, when he gets involved in football-related training, the pain really surfaces."

It is no surprise United and Hargreaves are placing their faith in Steadman, even though most of his football-related work has centred on cruciate ligament injuries.

"He started his career working with skiers," said Ferguson. "Because he has dealt with so many knee injuries, he has obviously acquired a great knowledge.

"He is not associated with this type of injury but the boy has gone on for too long just hoping injections will do the trick." - teamtalk.com

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Arshavin Wants to Leave Zenit

Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin has reiterated his desire to leave the club, insisting he will not be playing for the side next season.

The Russian season is nearing its conclusion and speculation surrounding Arshavin's proposed move away from Zenit, possibly to the Premier League, is set to mount once more during the winter transfer window.


Arshavin was on the verge of a move to Tottenham following Russia's Euro 2008 campaign over the summer, but the move broke down when Zenit raised the asking price of the player to a reported 27 million euros.

And Arshavin is adamant if such a situation occurs again, this time he is ready for a fight.

"It all comes down to one thing - for Zenit to set a realistic price," Arshavin told Sport Express. "If they do that, I will, of course, leave.

"[If not] I will remain a Zenit player, but only on paper. Next year I don't want to play here and I will not be playing here.

"That is not an ultimatum, rather a natural reaction to what has happened. I always believed we could come to an agreement on good terms and I could leave the team in a proper manner.

"I have conducted myself reasonably, but the longer things go on the less faith I have. It looks like some kind of conflict is unavoidable, although, as God is my witness, I more than anyone don't want that to happen."

Since their UEFA Cup victory over Rangers in May, Arshavin has enjoyed further successes with Zenit, who beat Manchester United to the European Super Cup in Monaco in August.

The player is also experiencing Champions League football for the first time in his career as Zenit continue to battle for a place in the knockout stages in a group featuring Juventus, Real Madrid and BATE Borisov.

But in spite of this increased success, Arshavin's motivation clearly lies elsewhere.

"Everyone tells me that I have won things having stayed at Zenit, in particular the Super Cup," he continued.

"But this isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is a feeling of inner fulfilment, and I don't feel that at all.

"I also feel that my team-mates are not getting any pleasure out of playing with me by seeing me in this way."

It is not yet clear whether Tottenham will follow up their interest in the playmaker in light of recent developments at the club.

Spurs have undergone dramatic stages since they approached Zenit for Arshavin in the summer, with the club instead turning to his Russia international team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko to fill the gap up front.

The London club also recently replaced Spanish coach Juande Ramos - who Arshavin previously specified as an important factor in his proposed move to White Hart Lane - with Harry Redknapp.

But Arshavin admits he has not been personally following the trials and tribulations of Spurs.

"If I'm honest I haven't seen a single [Tottenham] game. I don't need to - I get a full report of what's happening there," he said.

"After the epic of my failed transfer in the summer, a lot of people at Zenit are following this team now." - sportinglife.com

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Del Piero Stars to Put Juve Through

Juventus secured their passage to the knockout stage of the Champions League after seeing off Group H rivals Real Madrid 2-0 at the Bernabeu.

After setting Juve on their way with the opening goal in their 2-1 win over Madrid last time out in the competition, Alessandro Del Piero was again the hero with goals after 17 and 67 minutes to seal the win.

The hosts had chances to get back into the game, but were left to rue a number of mistakes as they fell four points adrift of their Italian rivals.

Zenit St Petersburg have second-placed Real in their sights after claiming their first win in the group, a 2-0 success at BATE Borisov.

Goals in each half from Pavel Pogrebniak and Miguel Danny were enough to lift Zenit off the foot of the standings, even though they played the last 17 minutes with one man fewer following the dismissal of Sebastien Puygrenier.

Lyon moved to within touching distance of the last 16 thanks to goals by Juninho and Anthony Reveillere in their 2-0 victory against Steaua Bucharest.

Dead-ball doyen Juninho crashed home a trademark free-kick a minute before the interval and right-back Reveillere thundered in the second in the 89th minute to earn Les Gones a deserved Group F victory at the Stade Gerland.

The win lifts the French champions up to eight points and they are now neck and neck with Bayern Munich, who earned a late 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.

The Germans had to come from behind at the Stadio Artemio Franchi with Tim Borowski's 78th-minute effort cancelling out Adrian Mutu's early opener.

In Group E, Villarreal were frustrated in their attempts to claim a place in the last 16 as they were held 2-2 by a battling AaB side.

Despite twice taking the lead through Giuseppe Rossi and Guillermo Franco, the visitors were pegged back by replies from Jeppe Curth and Anders Due which earned the Danes only their second point of the campaign.

Villarreal are level on eight points with Manchester United, with the two teams set to meet in Spain on November 25.

Arsenal remain at the top of Group G but Porto closed the gap on the leaders to two points though with a 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev.

Lucho Gonzalez scored a stoppage-time winner before being sent off as the Portuguese champions came from behind.

Hosts Kiev put themselves in the driving seat in the 21st minute when Artem Milevskiy finished off a great passing move with a cool finish.

But Porto fought back with second-half goals from Rolando and then Lucho to win the game.

All Action
Celtic 1 Manchester U 1
Arsenal 0 Fenerbahce 0
Aalborg 2 Villarreal 2
Fiorentina 1 Bayern Munich 1
Lyon 2 Steaua Bucharest 0
Dynamo Kiev 1 Porto 2
BATE Borisov 0 Zenit 2
Real Madrid 0 Juventus 2
(sportinglife.com)

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Arsenal Facing Yet Another Injury Crisis

Arsenal are facing yet another injury crisis ahead of this weekend's crunch match with Manchester United after scans revealed that Emmanuel Adebayor will be out of action for three weeks.


With Robin Van Persie suspended for three matches following his dismissal at Stoke and Eduardo yet to return to competitive action, Adebayor's unavailability leaves Nicklas Bendtner as the only established striker available to Arsene Wenger on Saturday.


In selecting a partner for the Dane, Wenger's options have been reduced to Carlos Vela, who has made just one Carling Cup start, Abou Diaby, or redeploying Theo Walcott centrally - although the winger remains another injury doubt after being carried off against Stoke.

Walcott and Adebayor will both miss tonight's Champions League tie against Fenerbahce, as will skipper William Gallas and Walcott's deputy Emmanuel Eboue. Van Persie, eligible for European competition, is likely to start alongside Bendtner, although Wenger might be tempted to experiment with pairing the 20-year-old with either Vela or Diaby in preparation for the visit of United.


The Arsenal manager remains livid about the cause of Adebayor's Achilles injury, with the forward hacked from behind by Ryan Shawcross with the ball already out of play.


Wenger's accusation that Stoke deliberately injured his players - Bacary Sagna was also forced off after a foul from behind by Rory Delap but returned to training on Monday - is thought to have in part been provoked by Thomas Sorenson's claim that Arsenal "lacked spine".


"Then you read in the newspapers our players are cowards, they do not like it, they do not fancy it. We are kicked and on top of that we are cowards," fumed Wenger.


Sorensen boasted after the match that he provoked Van Persie into barging him, a claim that also enraged Wenger.


"Have you seen in slow motion where Van Persie touched him?" Wenger said. "Here [indicating his chest]. He acted like he's two months in hospital. He's one of those who talks a lot."
(football365.com)

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Champions League: Furious Deco Hits Out

Chelsea midfielder Deco has labelled his red card against Roma as "crazy".

The Blues playmaker will now miss their trip to Bordeaux at the end of the month after being dismissed by Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo for attempting to take a quick free-kick.

Deco had already been booked in the first-half for a foul on Francesco Totti and the official showed him the red card for his 80th minute misdemeanour.

But Deco stormed: "The problem was the moment he said just wait, I touched the ball. It was crazy. I don't know why I was sent off.

"It was disappointing."

By the time Deco left the field, Chelsea were already 3-1 down and heading for a surprise defeat against their struggling Serie A opponents.

Christian Panucci's opener, which arrived as a result of Deco's foul on Totti, was followed by two second-half goals from Mirko Vucinic and although captain John Terry reduced the arrears in the 75th minute, Chelsea were well beaten.

"We didn't play well and we made mistakes," admitted Deco. "But at the moment we are in first position and if we win the next game we will qualify.

"I don't know why we made so many mistakes, I hope it's just this one game. We need to be more organised.

"We want to continue playing in an attacking way. We are doing well and scoring many goals, but this was a bad game and now it's finished we have to think about the next one."

more result
AS Roma 3 Chelsea 1
Liverpool 1 Atl Madrid 1
Anorthosis 3 Inter Milan 3
Werder B 0 Panathinaikos 3
Barcelona 1 Basel 1
Sporting Lisbon 1 Shakhtar 0
Marseille 3 PSV Eindhoven 0

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Bent: Redknapp Has Worked Miracles

Since leaving Portsmouth for White Hart Lane last Saturday, Spurs have picked up seven points, including incredible late comebacks to claim a draw with Arsenal and a win over Liverpool.

And Bent believes that Redknapp's man-management has made all the difference, in stark contrast to the style of Juande Ramos.

"Harry can talk to people one-to-one, have a proper conversation and know what he's going on about," said Bent.



"Harry has made people believe ... whereas Juande, with the Spanish, it's a bit hard. At one stage, the training ground was a horrible place to be. Everyone was down and there was no team morale.

"Harry seems to be able to work these miracles."

Bent thinks the Spurs dressing room is a completely different place with Redknapp in charge, and welcomed the decision to bring several players, including Hossam Ghaly, Kevin Prince Boateng and Ricardo Rocha back into the first team squad:

"It wasn't nice before. Ramos banished a lot of players to the reserves because he didn't want them but Harry has made everyone welcome and that's the respect you've got to show to people. If we can put in performances like we did over the last week then there's no reason why we can't push right up into Europe again."

And it seems like one player in particular is benefitting from Redknapp's new style.

"David Bentley is doing cartwheels and stupid dances," said Bent.

"Bentley is one player who has been fantastic since Harry came in."(football365.com)

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Udinese Edge Back To Top Spot

German Denis' late own goal gifted AC Milan a 1-0 victory at home to Napoli on Sunday night and sent them top of Serie A.

Denis headed Ronaldinho's free-kick into his own net with three minutes remaining - and just two minutes after Kaka had seen his penalty saved by Gennaro Iezzo.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Napoli who had looked like holding on for a point despite playing the entire second half with 10 men after the 44th-minute sending off of Cristian Maggio.

After losing their opening two games of the season, Milan have now won their last four - and conceded just one goal in their last six - to lead the standings by a point.

Napoli slipped to fourth, two points behind their opponents, with the loss.

Udinese are second, ahead of Internazionale on goal difference, after a fine performance by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic helped them earn a 2-2 draw against Genoa at the Stadio Friuli.

The hosts made the perfect start when Gaetano D'Agostino fired them in front from the penalty spot in the fourth minute.

Handanovic was in superb form to keep Genoa at bay, but was finally beaten shortly after the hour mark by Diego Milito's spot-kick and the visitors took the lead three minutes later thanks to substitute Giuseppe Sculli.

However, a Fabio Quagliarella volley in the 78th minute snatched a draw for Udinese.

On Saturday, Ivan Cordoba's late winner gave Inter a 3-2 win at Reggina.

The visitors had established a two-goal lead with first-half strikes from Sisenado Maicon and Patrick Vieira.

But the basement boys hit back with strikes from Francesco Cozza and Franco Brienza either side of half-time before Cordoba's intervention spared Inter's blushes.

Substitute Pasquale Foggia struck a late winner as Lazio claimed a 1-0 success over Catania to move up to fifth on Sunday.

Foggia converted a pass from Mauro Zarate with five minutes remaining as Lazio's incessant pressure finally told.

It had looked like turning into a frustrating afternoon for the Rome-based side as keeper Albano Bizzarri, aided by some last-ditch defending, kept them at bay.

Juventus are sixth after heaping yet more misery on beleaguered Roma with a 2-0 victory on Saturday.

Alessandro Del Piero scored a free-kick in the 38th minute before providing the second for Marco Marchionni three minutes into the second half.

Roma, last season's runners-up, are just one place and one point above the bottom three.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Cagliari romped to a 5-1 win over Bologna thanks to a brace apiece from Robert Acquafresca and Neves Capucho Jeda.

The Sicilians responded with a flurry of second-half goals after going a goal down to Marco Di Vaio's 18th-minute opener.

Acquafresca equalised on the stroke of half-time and Daniele Conti put Cagliari ahead three minutes into the second half, before Acquafresca again and a Jeda double sealed an emphatic win.

Palermo claimed a 3-0 win over Chievo, Fabrizio Miccoli with a penalty, Simon Kjaer and Edison Cavani settling the contest by half-time.

The hosts had Mark Bresciano dismissed in the 48th minute, but it did little to help Chievo, who remain in the bottom three.

Houssine Kharja scored 14 minutes from time to earn Siena a 1-0 win over Tuscan rivals Fiorentina and propel them away from the relegation zone.

Claudio Bellucci's 85th-minute effort gave Sampdoria a 1-0 win over Torino, who had earlier had a goal of their own ruled out.

Atalanta held Lecce to a goalless draw despite having Jaime Valdes sent-off midway through the second half.(sportinglife.com)

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