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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