Tuesday March 10, 2009
Liverpool (1) - (0) Real Madrid
It's the news that Primera Division heavyweights Real Madrid may not have wanted to hear... but Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has today confirmed that lethal Spanish weapon Fernando Torres may be available for when Los Merengues visit Anfield. Torres - of course - used to stride out for city rivals Atletico, and would like nothing more than to down Real's Champions League hopes. "He is working hard with the physios and we now have two or three more training sessions before we have to make a decision," Benitez said. "I think he can be close," the 48-year-old concluded.
Meanwhile, at Real Madrid, Klaas Jan-Huntelaar has been impersonating Nostradamus today as he put his predictions forward for the city derby against Atletico this weekend and the Champions League game with Liverpool. Unsurprisingly, the striker believes his side will triumph in both matches, beating Atletico Madrid 2-1, but then taking Liverpool to extra-time by repeating the 1-0 scoreline, this time in their favour.
Juventus (0) - (1) Chelsea
Juventus midfielder Marco Marchionni is hardly confident of defeating Chelsea next week, and says that the Bianconeri only have a 30 per cent chance of going through. President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli is more hopeful though, and believes his troops can turn their 1-0 deficit around. Tomorrow night Juventus must first take on Torino in the Derby della Mole, and Claudio Ranieri stressed today the importance of not looking ahead to the Chelsea clash. Finally, Alessandro Del Piero has been voted as the 'most loved' player in Italy.
Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink mentioned in his pre-match press conference that Ashley Cole's drunk and disorderly behaviour will not affect his team selection, but declared that the player will be disciplined internally. “To a certain extent I will be frank and open," Hiddink said. "I talked to Ashley this morning about the situation. He has publicly apologised to the police officer and it remains a rather private matter. I have spoken with him about responsibility. There are rules inside this club regarding going out and also being disciplined. I had a firm talk with him and with the rest of the group about this." One player Chelsea will be without though is Paulo Ferreira, who has damaged his knee ligament and is out for the season.
Panathinaikos (1) - (1) Villarreal
Panathinaikos are just about over the disappointment of their midweek shock cup exit, but coach Henk Ten Cate has swung his axe ahead of the weekend visit of Larissa. Out go two Brazilians, defender Gabriel and midfielder Silva Cleyton, whose services have been disposed with, presumably until improvement is forthcoming. In fact the only member of the heavily-rotated cup side to survive the cull is Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.
Villarreal president, Fernando Roig, has declared his belief that his side are back on track now after a difficult start to 2009. El Submarino Amarillo have managed to get themselves back into the top four and face a tricky test against Espanyol this weekend. Roig looked past that game though and to the Champions League, explaining that he is "very excited" and "convinced that Villarreal can win in Greece against Panathinaikos, although it will be difficult."
Bayern Munich (5) - (0) Sporting CP
Bayern Munich meet Hannover at the weekend in an absolutely vital game in the Bundesliga. But here is the major problem: for both this game and the visit of Sporting, Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry and Tim Borowski are all out. Still, a five-goal deficit should see even this heavy injury list rendered inconsequential. "It’s a shame, as they’re all important players," said coach Juergen Klinsmann, "but we have a long bench. Certain players have a chance to show what they can do."
Sporting CP so naturally coach Paolo Bento is focusing on domestic matters. He feels that the title race is still alive with 10 games to go. "There are 30 points to play for, we'll fight for three in each of them, knowing that we have an obligation to do so to be champions," he told sporting.pt. He will be without Miguel Veloso and Romagnoli for the match with Pacos de Ferreira.
Wednesday March 11 2009
Porto (2) - (2) Atletico Madrid
Porto have announced their squad for the trip to Leixoes at the weekend. Nelson Benitez, Jorge Fucile, Fredy Guarin and Cristian Sapunaru remain out, but Ivo Pinto, the U-19 defender, could make his league debut. The Dragons are currently two points above Benfica at the top of the league.
Atletico Madrid face an utterly decisive weekend. All the talk in Madrid today has been about the upcoming derby this weekend, with Abel Resino declaring that his players will give their all as they travel across town to the Bernabeu. Tomas Ujfalusi also spoke about how his side will have to be at their best if they are to beat their more illustrious neighbours and the defender declared that the team will have to be "united."
Barcelona (1) - (1) Lyon
Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, has been talking about how he thinks referees should give more protection to players, especially his Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, declaring that if nothing is done soon then he will "get hurt". Elsewhere, captain Carles Puyol has been speaking about the Copa del Rey (aggregate) victory over Real Mallorca and said that he believes it will be a "turning point".
Lyon, still reeling from that cup loss midweek, have now had to end their Thursday evening training session early due to a bust-up. Coach Claude Puel apparently clashed with injured stopper Anthony Reveillere. “There was a small altercation during a game, which forced us to return to the changing rooms,” Puel explained in a press conference on Thursday evening. "These things happen all the time." Reveillere, who opted not to undergo surgery on his damaged tendon, could return to the side to meet Lille on Saturday night, along with Francois Clerc, a long-term absentee.
Roma (0) - (1) Arsenal
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has declared that he sees no reason why pint-sized second striker Andrey Arshavin needs to bulk up in order to combat the physical nature of the Premier League. The Frenchman though has intimated that the Russian playmaker's game will only improve while he plies his trade in England. "I don’t believe in weight training," Wenger told Arsenal's official website earlier. "I feel that every player has become better here with the physical challenges because the speed is higher and if you take a bad first touch you lose the ball. When players move to other leagues they tell me ‘I have so much time now, it’s easy. I have time to take a touch, pass the ball and look around’. Here you always have pressure and it makes you a better player." He continued, "I am very happy with Arshavin, because he is creating chances in every game, which is a sign of a top player. When he has the ball, you always expect something to happen." The club record buy is likely to feature at the weekend in Arsenal's home FA Cup tie with Burnley, but will not play in the concluding leg of the Champions League date with Roma.
Roma captain Francesco Totti faces a race against time to be fit for the Arsenal return clash after he was not called up to play against Udinese tomorrow afternoon. In the pre-match press conference for that game, coach Luciano Spalletti hit out at Jose Mourinho, saying that the Inter boss was scared of facing Manchester United next week. Alberto Aquilani's contract renewal is being held up by his constant injury troubles, while fellow midfielder Matteo Brighi is being tipped for a call-up to the Italy national team later this month.
Manchester United (0) - (0) Inter
In a rare moment of solidarity, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Arsene Wenger's comments regarding what makes Cristiano Ronaldo a foul-magnet. "What Arsene said was it appears like arrogance," Sir Alex said. "There is a difference and I can understand what he is saying.When a player expresses himself in such an entertaining way, defenders don't enjoy it. It was exactly the same when George Best was a player. It is not so much that they are prepared to do what they do, it is that they are encouraged to do it." The comments follow the half-time tunnel altercation between Ronaldo and Newcastle's Steven Taylor, after the latter took the former out just moments before on the field of play.
Inter captain Javier Zanetti says that Manchester United are the toughest opponent his side have ever faced, but he is confident of defeating the Red Devils. Coach Jose Mourinho's future in Italy is uncertain after the 'Special One' could not guarantee that he would still be at San Siro next season. Mourinho has come under severe pressure following a hugely controversial press conference on Tuesday when he hit out at the whole of Calcio. Italy 1982 captain and World Cup-winning legend Dino Zoff has heaped praise on Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar, saying he is comparable to the great Gianluigi Buffon. Tomorrow the Nerazzurri travel to the Stadio Ferraris to take on Genoa.
