Claudio Ranieri said his &quot;dream died&quot; when he was sacked by Leicester City nine months after leading them to the Premier League title against all the odds.

The Italian was fired on Thursday with Leicester one place and one point above the relegation zone.

&quot;Yesterday my dream died,&quot; Ranieri said in a statement on Friday. &quot;After the euphoria of last season and being crowned Premier League champions all I dreamt of was staying with Leicester; the club I love for always. Sadly this was not to be.&quot;

Ranieri&#39;s dismissal has been met with widespread shock.

&quot;The adventure was amazing and will live with me forever,&quot; the 65-year-old manager said.

&quot;My heartfelt thanks to everybody at the club, everybody who was part of what we achieved, but mostly to the supporters. You took me into your hearts from day one and loved me. I love you too.&quot;

Leicester started last season as 5,000-1 outsiders to win the English top-flight title for the first time in their history.

&quot;No-one can ever take away what we achieved together and I hope you think about it and smile every day the way I always will,&quot; Ranieri said.

&quot;It was a time of wonderfulness and happiness that I will never forget. It&#39;s been a pleasure and an honour to be a champion with all of you.&quot;

(Reuters)

The Italian was fired on Thursday with Leicester City one place and one point above the relegation zone

Claudio Ranieri said his "dream died" when he was sacked by Leicester City nine months after leading them to the Premier League title against all the odds. The Italian was fired on Thursday with Leicester one place and one point above the relegation zone. "Yesterday my dream died," Ranieri said in a statement on Friday. "After the euphoria of last season and being crowned Premier League champions all I dreamt of was staying with Leicester; the club I love for always. Sadly this was not to be." Ranieri's dismissal has been met with widespread shock. "The adventure was amazing and will live with me forever," the 65-year-old manager said. "My heartfelt thanks to everybody at the club, everybody who was part of what we achieved, but mostly to the supporters. You took me into your hearts from day one and loved me. I love you too." Leicester started last season as 5,000-1 outsiders to win the English top-flight title for the first time in their history. "No-one can ever take away what we achieved together and I hope you think about it and smile every day the way I always will," Ranieri said. "It was a time of wonderfulness and happiness that I will never forget. It's been a pleasure and an honour to be a champion with all of you." (Reuters)

My dream has died, says sacked Ranieri

Manchester United&#39;s Wayne Rooney intends to stay at the club, ending speculation that he could move to China.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Despite the interest which has been shown from other clubs, for which I&rsquo;m grateful, I want to end recent speculation and say that I am staying at Manchester United,&quot; Rooney said in a statement on Thursday.&nbsp;

British media had reported that Rooney&#39;s agent, Paul Stretford, was in China to see if he could negotiate a deal for the England forward to leave United.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Rooney, 31, has been unable to command a regular starting place under manager Jose Mourinho and faces a race to be fit for a likely substitute&#39;s role in the League Cup final against Southampton at Wembley on Sunday.

In January he broke Bobby Charlton&#39;s club goal-scoring record but has fallen behind the likes of Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford in the competition for a first-team place.

In the statement, on United`s website, he said: &quot;I hope I will play a full part in helping the team in its fight for success on four fronts.&quot;

His current Manchester United contract expires after the 2017-2018 season.

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

There were speculations that Rooney could move to China

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney intends to stay at the club, ending speculation that he could move to China. “Despite the interest which has been shown from other clubs, for which I’m grateful, I want to end recent speculation and say that I am staying at Manchester United," Rooney said in a statement on Thursday. British media had reported that Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford, was in China to see if he could negotiate a deal for the England forward to leave United. Rooney, 31, has been unable to command a regular starting place under manager Jose Mourinho and faces a race to be fit for a likely substitute's role in the League Cup final against Southampton at Wembley on Sunday. In January he broke Bobby Charlton's club goal-scoring record but has fallen behind the likes of Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford in the competition for a first-team place. In the statement, on United`s website, he said: "I hope I will play a full part in helping the team in its fight for success on four fronts." His current Manchester United contract expires after the 2017-2018 season. (Reuters)

Football: Wayne Rooney says he will stay at Manchester United

&nbsp;Juventus&nbsp;edged closer to the Champions League quarter-finals after second-half goals from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves earned them a 2-0 away win at 10-man Porto in a one-sided last 16 first-leg tie on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Porto&#39;s downfall was partly self-inflicted after left back Alex Telles received a red card in the 27th minute following two senseless bookings in the space of 90 seconds, leaving the home side to play over an hour against the Serie A leaders with 10 men.

Despite holding&nbsp;Juventus&nbsp;at bay for 72 minutes, Porto&#39;s resolve was broken when Miguel Layun deflected Paulo Dybala&#39;s pass into the path of Pjaca who slammed a first-time effort past Iker Casillas.

Dani Alves made sure of victory two minutes later when he controlled Alex Sandro&#39;s cross with his chest before finishing calmly as&nbsp;Juventus, who are still in the Italian Cup, boosted their hopes of a maiden treble ahead of the second leg in Turin on March 14.&nbsp;

&quot;We can be happy as it&#39;s a really good result, but to be honest after the first-half red card, we had to win this game,&quot;&nbsp;Juventus&nbsp;midfielder Sami Khedira told BT Sport.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s absolutely not over,&quot; he added. &quot;We&#39;re happy with tonight but in three weeks we&#39;ll need to be careful as Porto are angry and have nothing to lose.&quot;

Juventus&nbsp;were expected to face a stern test in Portugal, but while they imposed themselves from the early stages and controlled the first half, Porto were content to remain deep and absorb pressure.&nbsp;

The visitors struggled to forge the clear openings that their dominance deserved, although the lively Dybala fashioned the best chance of the first half with a thumping effort from outside the box which grazed the post.

Telles&#39;s minute and a half of madness quashed any lingering Porto ambition and prompted coach Nuno Espirito Santo to withdraw striker Andre Silva,&nbsp;scorer of four Champions League goals this season,in response.

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri left out Leonardo Bonucci from the squad, after the pair&#39;s dispute during Friday&#39;s victory over Palermo, and while&nbsp;Juventus&nbsp;were untested at the back, they missed the centre back&#39;s creativity and probing long balls.

The breakthrough eventually came from the bench, as Allegri introduced Pjaca and Dani Alves to offer dynamism and directness and the pair repaid their manager with goals to end Porto&#39;s 20-game undefeated home streak.

(Reuters)

Porto's downfall was partly self-inflicted after left back Alex Telles received a red card in the 27th minute

Juventus edged closer to the Champions League quarter-finals after second-half goals from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves earned them a 2-0 away win at 10-man Porto in a one-sided last 16 first-leg tie on Wednesday. Porto's downfall was partly self-inflicted after left back Alex Telles received a red card in the 27th minute following two senseless bookings in the space of 90 seconds, leaving the home side to play over an hour against the Serie A leaders with 10 men. Despite holding Juventus at bay for 72 minutes, Porto's resolve was broken when Miguel Layun deflected Paulo Dybala's pass into the path of Pjaca who slammed a first-time effort past Iker Casillas. Dani Alves made sure of victory two minutes later when he controlled Alex Sandro's cross with his chest before finishing calmly as Juventus, who are still in the Italian Cup, boosted their hopes of a maiden treble ahead of the second leg in Turin on March 14. "We can be happy as it's a really good result, but to be honest after the first-half red card, we had to win this game," Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira told BT Sport. "It's absolutely not over," he added. "We're happy with tonight but in three weeks we'll need to be careful as Porto are angry and have nothing to lose." Juventus were expected to face a stern test in Portugal, but while they imposed themselves from the early stages and controlled the first half, Porto were content to remain deep and absorb pressure. The visitors struggled to forge the clear openings that their dominance deserved, although the lively Dybala fashioned the best chance of the first half with a thumping effort from outside the box which grazed the post. Telles's minute and a half of madness quashed any lingering Porto ambition and prompted coach Nuno Espirito Santo to withdraw striker Andre Silva, scorer of four Champions League goals this season,in response. Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri left out Leonardo Bonucci from the squad, after the pair's dispute during Friday's victory over Palermo, and while Juventus were untested at the back, they missed the centre back's creativity and probing long balls. The breakthrough eventually came from the bench, as Allegri introduced Pjaca and Dani Alves to offer dynamism and directness and the pair repaid their manager with goals to end Porto's 20-game undefeated home streak. (Reuters)

Champions League: Juventus beat 10-man Porto 2-0

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu sought to clarify the club&#39;s position on Lionel Messi&#39;s future on Saturday following a week of institutional upheaval by declaring that renewing the Argentine maestro&#39;s contract was &quot;indispensable&quot;.

&quot;We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he&#39;s very important for the club and for Barca. We&#39;re working hard on it and when two people want the same thing there&#39;s always a happy ending,&quot; Bartomeu told Catalan network TV3.

Messi scored for the seventh game in a row as the champions thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday, barely 24 hours after the club demoted director Pere Gratacos for saying Messi would not be the player he is without his Barcelona teammates.

Earlier in the week, the club&#39;s CEO Oscar Grau had also generated intrigue about Messi&#39;s future by declaring Barca needed to use &quot;common sense&quot; when discussing a new contract for their all-time top scorer, whose current deal runs out in 2018.

&quot;I want to ease everyone&#39;s nerves,&quot; added Bartomeu. &quot;We&#39;ve been having conversations (with Messi) and it&#39;s only a matter of time. When there&#39;s any news we&#39;ll announce it, but we always conduct these matters with discretion.

&quot;I can&#39;t explain the details but we&#39;re speaking with his people. He&#39;s the best player in the world, we want him to stay here and so does he. He&#39;s very happy at Barcelona. It&#39;s an indispensable matter for us.&quot;

Bartomeu also explained that Gratacos had been removed from his role as Director of Institutional Relations but remained at the club, and said Grau&#39;s comments had been misinterpreted.

&quot;His words were taken out of context but we&#39;re used to that. Common sense says we have to renew Messi&#39;s (deal). He is the best player in the history of football, a leader and the best in the world. His importance cannot be questioned,&quot; he added.

Messi&#39;s strike partner and close friend Luis Suarez said there was no problem with the five-time World Player of the Year.

&quot;The media always make things into a soap opera and everything gets misinterpreted,&quot; noted the Uruguayan, who is the joint top scorer in La Liga along with Messi.

&quot;He wants to stay and the club knows what it has to do.&quot;

(Reuters)

'We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he's very important for the club and for Barca,' Josep Maria Bartomeu said

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu sought to clarify the club's position on Lionel Messi's future on Saturday following a week of institutional upheaval by declaring that renewing the Argentine maestro's contract was "indispensable". "We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he's very important for the club and for Barca. We're working hard on it and when two people want the same thing there's always a happy ending," Bartomeu told Catalan network TV3. Messi scored for the seventh game in a row as the champions thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday, barely 24 hours after the club demoted director Pere Gratacos for saying Messi would not be the player he is without his Barcelona teammates. Earlier in the week, the club's CEO Oscar Grau had also generated intrigue about Messi's future by declaring Barca needed to use "common sense" when discussing a new contract for their all-time top scorer, whose current deal runs out in 2018. "I want to ease everyone's nerves," added Bartomeu. "We've been having conversations (with Messi) and it's only a matter of time. When there's any news we'll announce it, but we always conduct these matters with discretion. "I can't explain the details but we're speaking with his people. He's the best player in the world, we want him to stay here and so does he. He's very happy at Barcelona. It's an indispensable matter for us." Bartomeu also explained that Gratacos had been removed from his role as Director of Institutional Relations but remained at the club, and said Grau's comments had been misinterpreted. "His words were taken out of context but we're used to that. Common sense says we have to renew Messi's (deal). He is the best player in the history of football, a leader and the best in the world. His importance cannot be questioned," he added. Messi's strike partner and close friend Luis Suarez said there was no problem with the five-time World Player of the Year. "The media always make things into a soap opera and everything gets misinterpreted," noted the Uruguayan, who is the joint top scorer in La Liga along with Messi. "He wants to stay and the club knows what it has to do." (Reuters)

Messi indispensable to Barcelona: Club president

Chelsea made light of Diego Costa&#39;s controversial absence as the Premier League leaders cruised to a 3-0 win at reigning champions Leicester City on Saturday.

Wing-back Marcos Alonso was their unlikely goal hero with a brace -- just his second and third goals for the club -- either side of half-time before fellow Spaniard Pedro Rodriguez completed the scoring.

That gave Antonio Conte&#39;s men a comfortable win despite the absence of leading scorer Costa amid widespread reports of a training-ground row with fitness coach Julio Tous.

The Brazil-born Spain striker is also thought to be the subject of interest from China, although Conte claimed before kick-off that his omission from the squad was down to a back injury.

Victory was Chelsea&#39;s 14th in 15 Premier League games and was the perfect response to their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, while for Leicester it was the 10th defeat of a sorry title defence.

Chelsea remain strong favourites to replace Claudio Ranieri&#39;s side as champions after extending their lead over second-placed Tottenham to seven points.

In the opening moments Leicester gave the visitors a scare when Ahmed Musa, fresh from two FA Cup goals at Everton last week, got the better of Cesar Azpilicueta in the Chelsea penalty area.

His cross-shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal and Jamie Vardy could not bring the rebound under control.

Chelsea were furious moments later when Robert Huth escaped any punishment beyond a free-kick for grappling with Willian, who appeared to be caught in the face by the German&#39;s hand.

But the visitors were celebrating moments later when Alonso put them ahead.

Azpilicueta&#39;s cross was miscontrolled by a sliding Pedro, but Eden Hazard helped the ricochet on to Alonso, who beat goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with a composed finish.

Despairing Schmeichel

Leicester deployed wing-backs in an effort to counteract Chelsea&#39;s successful 3-4-3 system and they combined in the 18th minute when Marc Albrighton crossed from the right for Ben Chilwell to head over.

Leicester struggled for the cohesion to break down a well-organised Chelsea side and the hosts resorted to a desperate long-range effort from league debutant Wilfred Ndidi, which flew well wide on 29 minutes.

Nine minutes before half-time, a curling cross-shot from Vardy for Leicester forced Courtois into a scrambling save

Chelsea preserved their lead comfortably to half-time and doubled it six minutes into the second half.

Leicester only half-cleared a free-kick from the right and Alonso collected the loose ball, set himself and let fly with a firm shot.

His effort deflected off first Wes Morgan and then Danny Drinkwater to wrong-foot Schmeichel, who got a despairing right hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

Alonso tried for an unlikely hat-trick on 65 minutes when he met a right-wing cross by Victor Moses with a fantastic volley that flew a couple of inches wide of Schmeichel&#39;s goal.

Leicester abandoned their experimental 3-5-2 system and reverted to their more usual back four, but their hopes of a comeback were killed off with 19 minutes remaining when Pedro added their third.

The goal owed much to the Spaniard&#39;s delightful flick to release Willian and a little to good fortune after Schmeichel&#39;s save at Willian&#39;s feet only diverted the ball back onto Pedro&#39;s head.

The winger made no mistake with a simple finish.

(AFP)

Victory was Chelsea's 14th in 15 Premier League games and was the perfect response to their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea made light of Diego Costa's controversial absence as the Premier League leaders cruised to a 3-0 win at reigning champions Leicester City on Saturday. Wing-back Marcos Alonso was their unlikely goal hero with a brace -- just his second and third goals for the club -- either side of half-time before fellow Spaniard Pedro Rodriguez completed the scoring. That gave Antonio Conte's men a comfortable win despite the absence of leading scorer Costa amid widespread reports of a training-ground row with fitness coach Julio Tous. The Brazil-born Spain striker is also thought to be the subject of interest from China, although Conte claimed before kick-off that his omission from the squad was down to a back injury. Victory was Chelsea's 14th in 15 Premier League games and was the perfect response to their 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, while for Leicester it was the 10th defeat of a sorry title defence. Chelsea remain strong favourites to replace Claudio Ranieri's side as champions after extending their lead over second-placed Tottenham to seven points. In the opening moments Leicester gave the visitors a scare when Ahmed Musa, fresh from two FA Cup goals at Everton last week, got the better of Cesar Azpilicueta in the Chelsea penalty area. His cross-shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal and Jamie Vardy could not bring the rebound under control. Chelsea were furious moments later when Robert Huth escaped any punishment beyond a free-kick for grappling with Willian, who appeared to be caught in the face by the German's hand. But the visitors were celebrating moments later when Alonso put them ahead. Azpilicueta's cross was miscontrolled by a sliding Pedro, but Eden Hazard helped the ricochet on to Alonso, who beat goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with a composed finish. Despairing Schmeichel Leicester deployed wing-backs in an effort to counteract Chelsea's successful 3-4-3 system and they combined in the 18th minute when Marc Albrighton crossed from the right for Ben Chilwell to head over. Leicester struggled for the cohesion to break down a well-organised Chelsea side and the hosts resorted to a desperate long-range effort from league debutant Wilfred Ndidi, which flew well wide on 29 minutes. Nine minutes before half-time, a curling cross-shot from Vardy for Leicester forced Courtois into a scrambling save Chelsea preserved their lead comfortably to half-time and doubled it six minutes into the second half. Leicester only half-cleared a free-kick from the right and Alonso collected the loose ball, set himself and let fly with a firm shot. His effort deflected off first Wes Morgan and then Danny Drinkwater to wrong-foot Schmeichel, who got a despairing right hand to the ball but could not keep it out. Alonso tried for an unlikely hat-trick on 65 minutes when he met a right-wing cross by Victor Moses with a fantastic volley that flew a couple of inches wide of Schmeichel's goal. Leicester abandoned their experimental 3-5-2 system and reverted to their more usual back four, but their hopes of a comeback were killed off with 19 minutes remaining when Pedro added their third. The goal owed much to the Spaniard's delightful flick to release Willian and a little to good fortune after Schmeichel's save at Willian's feet only diverted the ball back onto Pedro's head. The winger made no mistake with a simple finish. (AFP)

Football: Chelsea win 3-0 against reigning Leicester City

If you follow the English Premier League, there comes a time every two years when top&nbsp;African players of every football&nbsp;club go missing for a few weeks in January.

That time has come again with players such as Liverpool&#39;s Sadio Mane and Arsenal&#39;s Mohamed Elneny leaving their clubs to play in Africa&#39;s biggest football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The 31st edition of the AFCON is being held from January&nbsp;14, 2017 to February&nbsp;5, 2017 in Gabon in equatorial Africa.

The tournament is held every two years and apart from the prize money on offer&mdash;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37929355">$4 million</a> for the winner&mdash;and bragging rights, the winner also gets to compete in the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/">FIFA Confederations Cup</a>.

The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament between the winners of&nbsp;continental football tournaments and will be held in Russia this year from June 17 to July 2.

This year&#39;s AFCON will be held across four cities in Gabon with the opening match to be held on January 14, 2017 between the hosts Gabon and Guinea-Bissau in the Stade de l&rsquo;Amiti&eacute; Sino in Libreville, Gabon&#39;s capital. The final will be held in the same stadium on February&nbsp;5, 2017.

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The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in four cities across Gabon. (WION)
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The tournament consists of 16 teams split into groups of four, with each team playing the other&nbsp;once. The top two from each group progress&nbsp;into the quarterfinals after which&nbsp;the AFCON becomes a knock-out tournament.

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Group B is seen as the &#39;Group of Death&#39; at AFCON 2017. (WION)
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Every football tournament usually has a &quot;Group of death&quot; from which teams find it extremely difficult to get out of. In this tournament, Group B gets the dreaded moniker as&nbsp;three of Africa&#39;s top five countries in the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/caf.html">FIFA world rankings</a>&mdash;Senegal, Tunisia and Algeria&mdash;have been thrown together.

Group D with <a href="http://rsssf.com/tablesa/afrchamp.html">seven-time</a> AFCON winner Egypt,&nbsp;four-time AFCON winner Ghana and&nbsp;potential spoilsport&nbsp;Mali is likely to be another tough group.

So, who are the favourites? The British bookmakers <a href="http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb/betting/e/10431613/Africa%20Cup%20of%20Nations%20-%20Winner.html">William Hill</a> have defending champions Ivory Coast as favourites with&nbsp;decimal odds of 4.5 and&nbsp;Senegal 2nd-favourite at 5.5.

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Bookmakers have Ivory Coast as the odds-on favourite to win AFCON 2017. (WION)
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The tournament won&#39;t be short of superstars either. The host country Gabon has probably the best player&nbsp;at the tournament in 27-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (top). He is in&nbsp;top form for his club Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga this season with 16 goals already in 16 matches!

Another player to look forward to is Riyad Mahrez from Algeria, who was the star player for Leicester City as it won the 2015-16 English Premier League. In fact, his interplay with fellow club-mate Islam Slimani and Yacine Brahimi of Portugese club Porto should make Algeria the most attractive team to watch at the tournament, and the neutral&#39;s favourite.

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Islam Slimani (left) and Riyad Mahrez (right) could make Algeria one of the most exciting teams to watch at the tournament. (AFP)
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Graphics designed by Sunitha Shekhar.

Africa's biggest football tournament begins this Saturday

If you follow the English Premier League, there comes a time every two years when top African players of every football club go missing for a few weeks in January. That time has come again with players such as Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny leaving their clubs to play in Africa's biggest football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The 31st edition of the AFCON is being held from January 14, 2017 to February 5, 2017 in Gabon in equatorial Africa. The tournament is held every two years and apart from the prize money on offer—$4 million for the winner—and bragging rights, the winner also gets to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament between the winners of continental football tournaments and will be held in Russia this year from June 17 to July 2. This year's AFCON will be held across four cities in Gabon with the opening match to be held on January 14, 2017 between the hosts Gabon and Guinea-Bissau in the Stade de l’Amitié Sino in Libreville, Gabon's capital. The final will be held in the same stadium on February 5, 2017. The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in four cities across Gabon. (WION) × The tournament consists of 16 teams split into groups of four, with each team playing the other once. The top two from each group progress into the quarterfinals after which the AFCON becomes a knock-out tournament. Group B is seen as the 'Group of Death' at AFCON 2017. (WION) × Every football tournament usually has a "Group of death" from which teams find it extremely difficult to get out of. In this tournament, Group B gets the dreaded moniker as three of Africa's top five countries in the FIFA world rankings—Senegal, Tunisia and Algeria—have been thrown together. Group D with seven-time AFCON winner Egypt, four-time AFCON winner Ghana and potential spoilsport Mali is likely to be another tough group. So, who are the favourites? The British bookmakers William Hill have defending champions Ivory Coast as favourites with decimal odds of 4.5 and Senegal 2nd-favourite at 5.5. Bookmakers have Ivory Coast as the odds-on favourite to win AFCON 2017. (WION) × The tournament won't be short of superstars either. The host country Gabon has probably the best player at the tournament in 27-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (top). He is in top form for his club Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga this season with 16 goals already in 16 matches! Another player to look forward to is Riyad Mahrez from Algeria, who was the star player for Leicester City as it won the 2015-16 English Premier League. In fact, his interplay with fellow club-mate Islam Slimani and Yacine Brahimi of Portugese club Porto should make Algeria the most attractive team to watch at the tournament, and the neutral's favourite. Islam Slimani (left) and Riyad Mahrez (right) could make Algeria one of the most exciting teams to watch at the tournament. (AFP) × Graphics designed by Sunitha Shekhar.

Africa Cup of Nations set to kick off in Gabon

If you follow the English Premier League, there comes a time every two years when leading African players of every major club go missing for a few weeks in January.

That time has come again with players such as Liverpool&#39;s Sadio Mane and Arsenal&#39;s Mohamed Elneny leaving their clubs to play for their countries in Africa&#39;s biggest football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The 31st edition of the AFCON is being held from January&nbsp;14, 2017 to February&nbsp;5, 2017 in Gabon in equatorial Africa.

The tournament is held every two years and apart from the prize money on offer&mdash;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37929355">$4 million</a> for the winner&mdash;and bragging rights, the winner also gets to compete in the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/">FIFA Confederations Cup</a>.

The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament between the winners of&nbsp;continental football tournaments and will be held in Russia this year from June 17 to July 2.

This year&#39;s AFCON will be held across four cities in Gabon with the opening match to be held on January 14, 2017 between the hosts Gabon and Guinea-Bissau in the Stade de l&rsquo;Amiti&eacute; Sino in Libreville, Gabon&#39;s capital. The final will be held in the same stadium on February&nbsp;5, 2017.

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The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in four cities across Gabon. (WION)
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The tournament consists of 16 teams split into groups of four, with each team playing the other&nbsp;once. The top two from each group progress&nbsp;into the quarterfinals after which&nbsp;the AFCON becomes a knock-out tournament.

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Group D is seen as the &#39;Group of Death&#39; at AFCON 2017. (WION)
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Every football tournament usually has a &quot;Group of death&quot; from which teams find it extremely difficult to get out of. In this tournament, Group D seems like it will be granted the moniker&nbsp;with <a href="http://rsssf.com/tablesa/afrchamp.html">seven-time</a> AFCON winner Egypt and four-time AFCON winner Ghana in the same group along with potential spoilsport Mali.

So, who are the favourites? The British bookmakers <a href="http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb/betting/e/10431613/Africa%20Cup%20of%20Nations%20-%20Winner.html">William Hill</a> have defending champions Ivory Coast as favourites with&nbsp;decimal odds of 4.5 and&nbsp;Senegal 2nd-favourite at 5.5.

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Bookmakers have Ivory Coast as the odds-on favourite to win AFCON 2017. (WION)
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The tournament won&#39;t be short of superstars either. The host country Gabon has probably the best player&nbsp;at the tournament in 27-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (top). He is in&nbsp;top form for his club Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga this season with 16 goals already in 16 matches!

Another player to look forward to is Riyad Mahrez from Algeria, who was the star player for Leicester City as it won the 2015-16 English Premier League. In fact, his interplay with fellow club-mate Islam Slimani and Yacine Brahimi of Portugese club Porto should make Algeria the most attractive team to watch at the tournament, and the neutral&#39;s favourite.

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Islam Slimani (left) and Riyad Mahrez (right) play for Algeria, one of the favourites to win AFCON 2017. (WION)
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Graphics designed by Sunitha Shekhar.

Here's a look ahead at football's Africa Cup of Nations beginning in a week's time in Gabon, the hot favourites and potential stars

If you follow the English Premier League, there comes a time every two years when leading African players of every major club go missing for a few weeks in January. That time has come again with players such as Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny leaving their clubs to play for their countries in Africa's biggest football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The 31st edition of the AFCON is being held from January 14, 2017 to February 5, 2017 in Gabon in equatorial Africa. The tournament is held every two years and apart from the prize money on offer—$4 million for the winner—and bragging rights, the winner also gets to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament between the winners of continental football tournaments and will be held in Russia this year from June 17 to July 2. This year's AFCON will be held across four cities in Gabon with the opening match to be held on January 14, 2017 between the hosts Gabon and Guinea-Bissau in the Stade de l’Amitié Sino in Libreville, Gabon's capital. The final will be held in the same stadium on February 5, 2017. The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in four cities across Gabon. (WION) × The tournament consists of 16 teams split into groups of four, with each team playing the other once. The top two from each group progress into the quarterfinals after which the AFCON becomes a knock-out tournament. Group D is seen as the 'Group of Death' at AFCON 2017. (WION) × Every football tournament usually has a "Group of death" from which teams find it extremely difficult to get out of. In this tournament, Group D seems like it will be granted the moniker with seven-time AFCON winner Egypt and four-time AFCON winner Ghana in the same group along with potential spoilsport Mali. So, who are the favourites? The British bookmakers William Hill have defending champions Ivory Coast as favourites with decimal odds of 4.5 and Senegal 2nd-favourite at 5.5. Bookmakers have Ivory Coast as the odds-on favourite to win AFCON 2017. (WION) × The tournament won't be short of superstars either. The host country Gabon has probably the best player at the tournament in 27-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (top). He is in top form for his club Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga this season with 16 goals already in 16 matches! Another player to look forward to is Riyad Mahrez from Algeria, who was the star player for Leicester City as it won the 2015-16 English Premier League. In fact, his interplay with fellow club-mate Islam Slimani and Yacine Brahimi of Portugese club Porto should make Algeria the most attractive team to watch at the tournament, and the neutral's favourite. Islam Slimani (left) and Riyad Mahrez (right) play for Algeria, one of the favourites to win AFCON 2017. (WION) × Graphics designed by Sunitha Shekhar.

It's all about to kick off in Gabon!

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte shrugged off a record-wrecking 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, insisting his players must dust themselves down and restart their Premier League title quest.

Two Dele Alli headers meant Chelsea&#39;s hopes of winning a 14th consecutive Premier League game -- which would have been a record in a single campaign -- foundered at White Hart Lane.

Italian Conte, however, said the defeat was very different to the 3-0 reverse they suffered at Arsenal on Sept. 24, since when they have been unstoppable.

&quot;We are disappointed but also we must be pleased for our run as 13 wins in this league is not easy,&quot; Conte told reporters.

&quot;But this is a different defeat to the one in September because today we lost the game, but showed that we were a team.

&quot;Against Arsenal, we weren&#39;t a team, today we were.&quot;

Chelsea could have gone eight points clear at the top with a first victory at White Hart Lane since 2012 and while five points is still a healthy margin over nearest rivals Liverpool, Conte insists the title race is now wide open.

Tottenham moved up to third, seven points behind, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference while Arsenal are a point further adrift and Manchester United two further back.

&quot;Today we lost against a good team, a really strong team and don&#39;t forget Tottenham fought last season for the title,&quot; Conte said. &quot;They are improving, and they are one of the six teams that can fight to win the title.

&quot;We are top of the table because we are working a lot, but for sure this league is very tough and we must continue to work and improve. A defeat can happen against Tottenham, now it&#39;s important to restart.&quot;

Conte&#39;s side had boasted the meanest defence in the league until Wednesday&#39;s defeat so the nature of both Tottenham&#39;s goals -- carbon-copy crosses and headers -- was a surprise.

Tottenham have now conceded the least goals -- 14 in 20 games.

&quot;It is strange for us to concede these goals because we are defending well, and they are in a crucial moment,&quot; he said.

&quot;At the end of the first half and then in the second half after we miss the chances to score, but this can happen.

&quot;My priority is to win again. The training doesn&#39;t change if you win or you lose. We have to continue to work.&quot;

(Reuters)

Chelsea lost 2-0 to Tottenham, but are still top of the league

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte shrugged off a record-wrecking 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, insisting his players must dust themselves down and restart their Premier League title quest. Two Dele Alli headers meant Chelsea's hopes of winning a 14th consecutive Premier League game -- which would have been a record in a single campaign -- foundered at White Hart Lane. Italian Conte, however, said the defeat was very different to the 3-0 reverse they suffered at Arsenal on Sept. 24, since when they have been unstoppable. "We are disappointed but also we must be pleased for our run as 13 wins in this league is not easy," Conte told reporters. "But this is a different defeat to the one in September because today we lost the game, but showed that we were a team. "Against Arsenal, we weren't a team, today we were." Chelsea could have gone eight points clear at the top with a first victory at White Hart Lane since 2012 and while five points is still a healthy margin over nearest rivals Liverpool, Conte insists the title race is now wide open. Tottenham moved up to third, seven points behind, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference while Arsenal are a point further adrift and Manchester United two further back. "Today we lost against a good team, a really strong team and don't forget Tottenham fought last season for the title," Conte said. "They are improving, and they are one of the six teams that can fight to win the title. "We are top of the table because we are working a lot, but for sure this league is very tough and we must continue to work and improve. A defeat can happen against Tottenham, now it's important to restart." Conte's side had boasted the meanest defence in the league until Wednesday's defeat so the nature of both Tottenham's goals -- carbon-copy crosses and headers -- was a surprise. Tottenham have now conceded the least goals -- 14 in 20 games. "It is strange for us to concede these goals because we are defending well, and they are in a crucial moment," he said. "At the end of the first half and then in the second half after we miss the chances to score, but this can happen. "My priority is to win again. The training doesn't change if you win or you lose. We have to continue to work." (Reuters)

Premier League: Restart title quest, Conte tells players after loss

Jurgen Klopp, the manager who has brightened the Premier League with his quick wit and off-beat remarks, displayed his dark side after Liverpool dropped two precious points at Sunderland.&nbsp;

The 2-2 draw against a team struggling in the relegation zone was undoubtedly a setback for Liverpool because teams with title aspirations win at places like the Stadium of Light, as leaders Chelsea did just a fortnight ago.&nbsp;

But goals from Daniel Sturridge and Sadio Mane proved insufficient as Liverpool twice squandered leads by conceding two penalties, converted with his customary coolness by Jermain Defoe.&nbsp;

Klopp did not like what he witnessed and did not hide his emotions.&nbsp;

&quot;Sorry about my mood,&quot; he said at the end of his assessment of Monday&#39;s draw, which left Liverpool second, five points behind leaders Chelsea.&nbsp;

While criticism of referees is normally the first port of call for managers seeking excuses for disappointing results such as this, Klopp has rarely taken that easy route.&nbsp;

This time though he blamed Anthony Taylor for awarding the free-kick that was handled by Mane to give Sunderland their second penalty and he confronted the referee on the pitch afterwards.

&quot;It is hard to accept. If you see it again, there was no contact,&quot; the normally affable German said. &quot;I saw it in the game and the fourth official saw it.&nbsp;

&quot;It&rsquo;s not the worst mistake in the world and I don&#39;t want to say it is, but it&#39;s hard.&quot;&nbsp;

Such comments are unlike Klopp and suggest he may be feeling some of the pressure involved in chasing a team with Chelsea&#39;s recent impeccable record.&nbsp;

A more valid excuse would have been the fixture list that left Liverpool facing three games in seven days while Chelsea&#39;s three come in the space of 10 days.&nbsp;

However, Klopp said: &quot;I am the wrong person to ask. I have absolutely no influence on the fixtures. It is like it is and somebody decided like this, so there is nothing to say about this.&quot;

Point pleases Moyes

Liverpool did not look weary for the opening 25 minutes as they took the lead and could have added further goals before the first equaliser.&nbsp;

But Klopp&#39;s team appeared off the pace after the interval and failed to hang on to the lead given to them by Mane.&nbsp;

The manager said: &quot;I thought we started really well and then we lost concentration, which is not usual for us, but has happened before.&nbsp;

&quot;It could be because of the fixtures, I&rsquo;m not sure. Usually I would say we could have done better, but I am not sure if we could have done better.&nbsp;

&quot;I don&rsquo;t know exactly if we could have done better because I was not in the shooting boots.&quot;

The mood of Sunderland manager David Moyes was very different, although this point did not lift them out of the bottom three. &nbsp;

&quot;I honestly thought the players raised the supporters by the way they got up to Liverpool, how they put them under pressure, how they pressed them,&quot; said Moyes.

&quot;Maybe if I was a German manager, you might praise that. If I&#39;d been German you might praise me for doing something different.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I thought we did well. We stuck at it as much as we could and tried to make it hard for them.&rdquo;

(AFP)

He did not like what he saw on the pitch, and he did not hide his emotions

Jurgen Klopp, the manager who has brightened the Premier League with his quick wit and off-beat remarks, displayed his dark side after Liverpool dropped two precious points at Sunderland. The 2-2 draw against a team struggling in the relegation zone was undoubtedly a setback for Liverpool because teams with title aspirations win at places like the Stadium of Light, as leaders Chelsea did just a fortnight ago. But goals from Daniel Sturridge and Sadio Mane proved insufficient as Liverpool twice squandered leads by conceding two penalties, converted with his customary coolness by Jermain Defoe. Klopp did not like what he witnessed and did not hide his emotions. "Sorry about my mood," he said at the end of his assessment of Monday's draw, which left Liverpool second, five points behind leaders Chelsea. While criticism of referees is normally the first port of call for managers seeking excuses for disappointing results such as this, Klopp has rarely taken that easy route. This time though he blamed Anthony Taylor for awarding the free-kick that was handled by Mane to give Sunderland their second penalty and he confronted the referee on the pitch afterwards. "It is hard to accept. If you see it again, there was no contact," the normally affable German said. "I saw it in the game and the fourth official saw it. "It’s not the worst mistake in the world and I don't want to say it is, but it's hard." Such comments are unlike Klopp and suggest he may be feeling some of the pressure involved in chasing a team with Chelsea's recent impeccable record. A more valid excuse would have been the fixture list that left Liverpool facing three games in seven days while Chelsea's three come in the space of 10 days. However, Klopp said: "I am the wrong person to ask. I have absolutely no influence on the fixtures. It is like it is and somebody decided like this, so there is nothing to say about this." Point pleases Moyes Liverpool did not look weary for the opening 25 minutes as they took the lead and could have added further goals before the first equaliser. But Klopp's team appeared off the pace after the interval and failed to hang on to the lead given to them by Mane. The manager said: "I thought we started really well and then we lost concentration, which is not usual for us, but has happened before. "It could be because of the fixtures, I’m not sure. Usually I would say we could have done better, but I am not sure if we could have done better. "I don’t know exactly if we could have done better because I was not in the shooting boots." The mood of Sunderland manager David Moyes was very different, although this point did not lift them out of the bottom three. "I honestly thought the players raised the supporters by the way they got up to Liverpool, how they put them under pressure, how they pressed them," said Moyes. "Maybe if I was a German manager, you might praise that. If I'd been German you might praise me for doing something different. “I thought we did well. We stuck at it as much as we could and tried to make it hard for them.” (AFP)

Premier League: Klopp displays dark side after Sunderland draw

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are being harshly treated by officials and admits he has taken time to adapt to the style of football in the Premier League.

Guardiola was in a tetchy mood despite City&#39;s 2-1 victory over Burnley on Monday as he vented his frustrations over the first half dismissal of Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho.

It was Fernandinho&#39;s third red card in six weeks and City&#39;s seventh in 30 games this season, but Guardiola reacted sarcastically to being questioned over whether his side had a disciplinary problem.

&quot;Yes, from the team with the most ball possession. Yeah, yeah, yeah,&quot; said Guardiola.&nbsp;

&quot;We had a lot of disciplinary problems. Now we expect what the FA decide.

&quot;We try to play football, don&#39;t forget it. My teams always in my career try to play football. I cannot control the other circumstances.&quot;

To compound Guardiola&#39;s bad mood, he felt that Burnley&#39;s goal from Ben Mee should have been disallowed for a foul on City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo as he issued another sarcastic reply to a question about Fernandinho&#39;s red card.

&quot;It is always our fault, it&#39;s always City&#39;s fault,&quot; he snapped. &quot;Yeah, yeah. I saw other games. All around the world, the Burnley goal on Claudio Bravo is a foul.&nbsp;

&quot;Here, and all around the world, the rules say the goalkeeper in the six yard box cannot be touched. He goes here and the striker does this (slaps his arm).&nbsp;

&quot;But I saw (Marteen) Stekelenburg Everton v Middlesbrough at the beginning of the season and it was the same, it was a goal.&nbsp;

&quot;Okay, so I have to adapt and I have to understand there are special rules here in England. Now I learn, so now we&#39;re going to play.

&quot;I saw the foul for Claudio Bravo, that was definite.&quot;

Sarcastic

Burnley manager Sean Dyche, whose side was undone by goals from Gael Clichy and substitute Sergio Aguero, believed that City should have finished the game with nine men after Bacary Sagna was booked for kicking out at George Boyd as the winger tried to retrieve the ball to speed up kick-off following the visitors&rsquo; goal.

&quot;It&#39;s a tough one but it&#39;s a sending off because he swipes out at Boydie,&quot; said Dyche.&nbsp;

&quot;He was trying to get the ball back and go to the centre circle.

&quot;The linesman was a long way from it and the referee was running back towards the centre so maybe the linesman saw enough to give a yellow but not enough to understand it&#39;s a kick out.&quot;

Fernandinho now faces a four-game suspension, starting with Friday&#39;s FA Cup visit to West Ham, and with German international Ilkay Gundogan ruled out by long-term injury, City are short on numbers in midfield.

The City manager also seemed dissatisfied with his own supporters at the start of the second half, gesturing for them to give his team increased support as they sought a badly-needed victory.

&quot;We need their support. These players deserve their support,&quot; said Guardiola.&nbsp;

&quot;We are going to try and play as best as possible but we need their support.&quot;

Earlier, however, the City manager had been even more sarcastic and confrontational in an interview with a BBC reporter when asked whether he thought Fernandinho had deserved his red card.

&quot;You&#39;re the journalist not me. Ask the referee not me,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;ll accept. The team with more ball possession, we have always sendings-off.

&quot;I have to understand the rules here in England. I know you are specialist and I have to understand that.&quot;

(AFP)

&nbsp;

He was in a tetchy mood despite City's 2-1 victory over Burnley on Monday

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are being harshly treated by officials and admits he has taken time to adapt to the style of football in the Premier League. Guardiola was in a tetchy mood despite City's 2-1 victory over Burnley on Monday as he vented his frustrations over the first half dismissal of Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho. It was Fernandinho's third red card in six weeks and City's seventh in 30 games this season, but Guardiola reacted sarcastically to being questioned over whether his side had a disciplinary problem. "Yes, from the team with the most ball possession. Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Guardiola. "We had a lot of disciplinary problems. Now we expect what the FA decide. "We try to play football, don't forget it. My teams always in my career try to play football. I cannot control the other circumstances." To compound Guardiola's bad mood, he felt that Burnley's goal from Ben Mee should have been disallowed for a foul on City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo as he issued another sarcastic reply to a question about Fernandinho's red card. "It is always our fault, it's always City's fault," he snapped. "Yeah, yeah. I saw other games. All around the world, the Burnley goal on Claudio Bravo is a foul. "Here, and all around the world, the rules say the goalkeeper in the six yard box cannot be touched. He goes here and the striker does this (slaps his arm). "But I saw (Marteen) Stekelenburg Everton v Middlesbrough at the beginning of the season and it was the same, it was a goal. "Okay, so I have to adapt and I have to understand there are special rules here in England. Now I learn, so now we're going to play. "I saw the foul for Claudio Bravo, that was definite." Sarcastic Burnley manager Sean Dyche, whose side was undone by goals from Gael Clichy and substitute Sergio Aguero, believed that City should have finished the game with nine men after Bacary Sagna was booked for kicking out at George Boyd as the winger tried to retrieve the ball to speed up kick-off following the visitors’ goal. "It's a tough one but it's a sending off because he swipes out at Boydie," said Dyche. "He was trying to get the ball back and go to the centre circle. "The linesman was a long way from it and the referee was running back towards the centre so maybe the linesman saw enough to give a yellow but not enough to understand it's a kick out." Fernandinho now faces a four-game suspension, starting with Friday's FA Cup visit to West Ham, and with German international Ilkay Gundogan ruled out by long-term injury, City are short on numbers in midfield. The City manager also seemed dissatisfied with his own supporters at the start of the second half, gesturing for them to give his team increased support as they sought a badly-needed victory. "We need their support. These players deserve their support," said Guardiola. "We are going to try and play as best as possible but we need their support." Earlier, however, the City manager had been even more sarcastic and confrontational in an interview with a BBC reporter when asked whether he thought Fernandinho had deserved his red card. "You're the journalist not me. Ask the referee not me," he said. "We'll accept. The team with more ball possession, we have always sendings-off. "I have to understand the rules here in England. I know you are specialist and I have to understand that." (AFP)

Premier League: Guardiola fumes against 'harsh treatment' by officials

Pep Guardiola does not believe his first season as Manchester City manager should be classed as a failure if he cannot guide the team to Premier League glory.

Guardiola won the league in his first seasons at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but his City side lies 10 points below leaders Chelsea and in fifth place after Saturday&#39;s 1-0 loss at Liverpool.

He does not see winning the league as the be-all and end-all of City&#39;s season, however, and says he is relishing the new challenge of being the hunter rather than the hunted.

&quot;We have put a lot of stress about, &#39;Oh, if you don&#39;t win the Premier League, that is going to be not a good season&#39;,&quot; he told reporters after the New Year&#39;s Eve defeat at Anfield.

&quot;No, in that situation we&#39;re going to analyse what happened at the end of the season, what was good, what was bad. Now it&#39;s just focus on the next game against Burnley.

&quot;I was always on top, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But OK, this is a new chapter in my career as a manager to handle that and I am willing to try it with these guys.&quot;

Chelsea has surged clear at the summit on the back of a 13-game winning streak, but Guardiola does not believe their points advantage is insurmountable.

&quot;I was one time nine points (behind) with Barcelona, against Real Madrid I think,&quot; said the Catalan, whose side host Burnley on Monday.

&quot;It was in February or in March and after we recover until (the gap was only) four (when Madrid won the league in 2012).

&quot;But the question is, are we able to take the gap to Chelsea? Now what we have to do is believe in the next game.&quot;

Jesus jets in

In contrast to his early experiences with Barcelona and Bayern, Guardiola is yet to have a transformative effect on City&#39;s fortunes.

City&#39;s style of play has evolved, reflecting the importance Guardiola places on dominating possession, but they have lost four times already in the league and have struggled defensively.

Jurgen Klopp, Guardiola&#39;s former Borussia Dortmund adversary, has had over a year to remould Liverpool and the City manager said it would take him time to achieve similar results.

&quot;I don&#39;t know, I&#39;m not able to say that,&quot; Guardiola replied when asked how long it will take for City to become his team.

&quot;Jurgen is here more than one season, one year. It&#39;s just five months for me. The way we want to play in this league is not that simple.

&quot;We need a little bit more time. But I&#39;m a guy who&#39;s so optimistic and we are going to try.&quot;

City&#39;s attempt to chase down Chelsea will be bolstered by the arrival of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus following his &pound;27 million ($33 million, 32 million euros) transfer from Palmeiras.

The 19-year-old was due to arrive in Manchester this weekend and Guardiola expects him to make a swift impact.

&quot;He was three years without holidays, he&#39;s fit, he&#39;s young,&quot; said Guardiola.

&quot;It was just two or three weeks not training so I don&#39;t think we&#39;ll be (waiting) too much time (for him) to be fit.&quot;

(AFP)

He says he does not see winning the league as the be-all and end-all of City's season

Pep Guardiola does not believe his first season as Manchester City manager should be classed as a failure if he cannot guide the team to Premier League glory. Guardiola won the league in his first seasons at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but his City side lies 10 points below leaders Chelsea and in fifth place after Saturday's 1-0 loss at Liverpool. He does not see winning the league as the be-all and end-all of City's season, however, and says he is relishing the new challenge of being the hunter rather than the hunted. "We have put a lot of stress about, 'Oh, if you don't win the Premier League, that is going to be not a good season'," he told reporters after the New Year's Eve defeat at Anfield. "No, in that situation we're going to analyse what happened at the end of the season, what was good, what was bad. Now it's just focus on the next game against Burnley. "I was always on top, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But OK, this is a new chapter in my career as a manager to handle that and I am willing to try it with these guys." Chelsea has surged clear at the summit on the back of a 13-game winning streak, but Guardiola does not believe their points advantage is insurmountable. "I was one time nine points (behind) with Barcelona, against Real Madrid I think," said the Catalan, whose side host Burnley on Monday. "It was in February or in March and after we recover until (the gap was only) four (when Madrid won the league in 2012). "But the question is, are we able to take the gap to Chelsea? Now what we have to do is believe in the next game." Jesus jets in In contrast to his early experiences with Barcelona and Bayern, Guardiola is yet to have a transformative effect on City's fortunes. City's style of play has evolved, reflecting the importance Guardiola places on dominating possession, but they have lost four times already in the league and have struggled defensively. Jurgen Klopp, Guardiola's former Borussia Dortmund adversary, has had over a year to remould Liverpool and the City manager said it would take him time to achieve similar results. "I don't know, I'm not able to say that," Guardiola replied when asked how long it will take for City to become his team. "Jurgen is here more than one season, one year. It's just five months for me. The way we want to play in this league is not that simple. "We need a little bit more time. But I'm a guy who's so optimistic and we are going to try." City's attempt to chase down Chelsea will be bolstered by the arrival of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus following his £27 million ($33 million, 32 million euros) transfer from Palmeiras. The 19-year-old was due to arrive in Manchester this weekend and Guardiola expects him to make a swift impact. "He was three years without holidays, he's fit, he's young," said Guardiola. "It was just two or three weeks not training so I don't think we'll be (waiting) too much time (for him) to be fit." (AFP)

Pep: Not a failure if we don't win the league

England midfielder Ross Barkley headed a late leveller to salvage a 2-2 draw for Everton at Hull City in the Premier League on Friday.

Barkley headed the ball home in the 84th minute from left back Leighton Baines&#39; cross after Robert Snodgrass had put Hull ahead with a superb free kick into the top corner 19 minutes earlier.

Defender Michael Dawson had given Hull an early lead when he scored from Curtis Davies&#39; flicked pass in the sixth minute but an own goal by home keeper David Marshall at a corner gifted Everton an equaliser on the stroke of halftime.

Hull, who had lost five of their previous seven matches, climbed to second from bottom in the table with 13 points from 19 matches. Everton are seventh with 27 points, 19 shy of leaders Chelsea.

City manager Mike Phelan refused to criticise Marshall for his own goal.

&quot;Mistakes happen,&quot; said Phelan. &quot;In the second half he pulled off a couple of important saves.

&quot;I think it&#39;s a terrific point. We produced a battling performance and I&#39;m pleased with the players. We are in a battle for the rest of the season but we&#39;re up for it.&quot;

Everton manager Ronald Koeman praised his team&#39;s battling qualities.

&quot;I&#39;m really pleased with our performance,&quot; said the Dutchman. &quot;I wasn&#39;t happy with our slow start but we showed a really good attitude and reaction twice.

&quot;We played good football and created a lot of opportunities. We keep the momentum after the win against Leicester -- two away games and four points is good.&quot;

(Reuters)

Hull, who had lost five of their previous seven matches, climbed to second from bottom

England midfielder Ross Barkley headed a late leveller to salvage a 2-2 draw for Everton at Hull City in the Premier League on Friday. Barkley headed the ball home in the 84th minute from left back Leighton Baines' cross after Robert Snodgrass had put Hull ahead with a superb free kick into the top corner 19 minutes earlier. Defender Michael Dawson had given Hull an early lead when he scored from Curtis Davies' flicked pass in the sixth minute but an own goal by home keeper David Marshall at a corner gifted Everton an equaliser on the stroke of halftime. Hull, who had lost five of their previous seven matches, climbed to second from bottom in the table with 13 points from 19 matches. Everton are seventh with 27 points, 19 shy of leaders Chelsea. City manager Mike Phelan refused to criticise Marshall for his own goal. "Mistakes happen," said Phelan. "In the second half he pulled off a couple of important saves. "I think it's a terrific point. We produced a battling performance and I'm pleased with the players. We are in a battle for the rest of the season but we're up for it." Everton manager Ronald Koeman praised his team's battling qualities. "I'm really pleased with our performance," said the Dutchman. "I wasn't happy with our slow start but we showed a really good attitude and reaction twice. "We played good football and created a lot of opportunities. We keep the momentum after the win against Leicester -- two away games and four points is good." (Reuters)

Football: Everton's Barkley scores equaliser at Hull City

Tottenham Hotspur kept up the pressure on the Premier League&#39;s top four after coming from behind to beat 10-man Southampton 4-1 thanks to two goals from Dele Alli and one apiece by Harry Kane and Son Heung-min on Wednesday.

Alli cancelled out Virgil Van Dijk&#39;s second-minute opener before Kane fired Tottenham ahead and missed a penalty after Southampton winger Nathan Redmond hacked down Alli and was sent off.

England midfielder Alli produced a superb individual performance and stressed it was crucial that Spurs kept their composure after falling behind.

&quot;It&#39;s never nice to concede a goal that early in the game and it was important that we didn&#39;t lose our heads and didn&#39;t panic,&quot; he told Sky Sports.

&quot;We stuck to the game plan and after we put the first one away it was a good game. We knew it wasn&#39;t going to be an easy game, they are a great team and have some fantastic players.&quot;

Kane was expecting a tough match against Southampton.

&quot;We have come here and scored four in a comfortable win. We&#39;ve got another game in a few days and we&#39;ve got to focus on that,&quot; he said.

Spurs, who stayed fifth in the table with 36 points from 18 matches, one behind arch-rivals Arsenal and three adrift of third-placed Manchester City, visit 10th-placed Watford on Sunday.

Southampton, who are eighth with 24 points, are at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

The Saints had Tottenham on the ropes in the opening 15 minutes as Van Dijk headed in a James Ward-Prowse free kick before Redmond shot just wide of the far post.

But the tide turned after Alli rose to head home a deflected Moussa Sissoko cross from the left and Kane fired the visitors in front with a thumping header from a corner.

The England striker then blazed his spot-kick over the bar after Redmond was dismissed for hauling down Alli, but the home side were punished again for throwing caution to the wind in the closing stages.

Substitute Son rounded off a swift break for Tottenham&#39;s third in the 85th minute and Alli put the icing on the cake two minutes later with an equally superb finish into the bottom left corner after neat footwork.

(Reuters)

Alli cancelled out Virgil Van Dijk's second-minute opener before Kane fired Tottenham ahead and then missed a penalty

Tottenham Hotspur kept up the pressure on the Premier League's top four after coming from behind to beat 10-man Southampton 4-1 thanks to two goals from Dele Alli and one apiece by Harry Kane and Son Heung-min on Wednesday. Alli cancelled out Virgil Van Dijk's second-minute opener before Kane fired Tottenham ahead and missed a penalty after Southampton winger Nathan Redmond hacked down Alli and was sent off. England midfielder Alli produced a superb individual performance and stressed it was crucial that Spurs kept their composure after falling behind. "It's never nice to concede a goal that early in the game and it was important that we didn't lose our heads and didn't panic," he told Sky Sports. "We stuck to the game plan and after we put the first one away it was a good game. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, they are a great team and have some fantastic players." Kane was expecting a tough match against Southampton. "We have come here and scored four in a comfortable win. We've got another game in a few days and we've got to focus on that," he said. Spurs, who stayed fifth in the table with 36 points from 18 matches, one behind arch-rivals Arsenal and three adrift of third-placed Manchester City, visit 10th-placed Watford on Sunday. Southampton, who are eighth with 24 points, are at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. The Saints had Tottenham on the ropes in the opening 15 minutes as Van Dijk headed in a James Ward-Prowse free kick before Redmond shot just wide of the far post. But the tide turned after Alli rose to head home a deflected Moussa Sissoko cross from the left and Kane fired the visitors in front with a thumping header from a corner. The England striker then blazed his spot-kick over the bar after Redmond was dismissed for hauling down Alli, but the home side were punished again for throwing caution to the wind in the closing stages. Substitute Son rounded off a swift break for Tottenham's third in the 85th minute and Alli put the icing on the cake two minutes later with an equally superb finish into the bottom left corner after neat footwork. (Reuters)

EPL: Alli double helps Spurs sink 10-man Southampton

&nbsp;Liverpool celebrated their third Premier League victory in a row as an inspired performance gave them a 4-1 home success over Stoke City after they fell behind early on in an entertaining clash at Anfield on Tuesday.

Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino, a Giannelli Imbula own goal and a strike from substitute Daniel Sturridge lifted Liverpool back into second place, six points behind leaders Chelsea, after Jonathan Walters headed the in front after 12 minutes.

The home side, who had dominated possession, equalised when the lively Lallana scored from a tight angle and Firmino turned the tide with a low shot that went in after hitting both posts.

A pair of defensive howlers by Stoke helped Liverpool seal the victory after the break as Imbula turned a Divock Origi cross into his own net before Sturridge pounced on a poor back pass by Ryan Shawcross and slotted the ball home.

(Reuters)

?Liverpool celebrated their third Premier League victory in a row

Liverpool celebrated their third Premier League victory in a row as an inspired performance gave them a 4-1 home success over Stoke City after they fell behind early on in an entertaining clash at Anfield on Tuesday. Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino, a Giannelli Imbula own goal and a strike from substitute Daniel Sturridge lifted Liverpool back into second place, six points behind leaders Chelsea, after Jonathan Walters headed the in front after 12 minutes. The home side, who had dominated possession, equalised when the lively Lallana scored from a tight angle and Firmino turned the tide with a low shot that went in after hitting both posts. A pair of defensive howlers by Stoke helped Liverpool seal the victory after the break as Imbula turned a Divock Origi cross into his own net before Sturridge pounced on a poor back pass by Ryan Shawcross and slotted the ball home. (Reuters)

Football: Resurgent Liverpool fight back to thrash Stoke

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he wants to stay on at the Catalan club &quot;for a long time&quot; after his current contract with the club expires in 2018.

&quot;In 2018 my contract ends and my desire is to continue, the whole world knows this, it is no secret. But my level of performance will determine if I can stay at Barca. I hope it will be for a long time,&quot; the 32-year-old said in an interview with sports daily Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona recently reached a deal to extend the contract of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez to June 2021. His previous deal was due to expire in 2019.

In October, the club also extended the contract of Brazilian superstar Neymar until 2021 and they have already started talks to seal a new deal with Lionel Messi.

Along with Messi, Iniesta is Barcelona&#39;s most decorated player ever with 29 trophies, but he is even more loved across Spain for his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands.

Iniesta is second behind only former teammate Xavi Hernandez as the player to have made most Barca appearances.

He is also hopeful coach Luis Enrique will renew his contract with Barcelona when his current deal expires at the end of the season.

&quot;He is very motivated, I hope we can remain together and keep celebrating things, which is what we all want,&quot; Iniesta said.

Barca have also already tied down Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to contract extentions this year.

(AFP)

He said his level of performance will determine if he can stay at Barca. His contract expires in 2018

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he wants to stay on at the Catalan club "for a long time" after his current contract with the club expires in 2018. "In 2018 my contract ends and my desire is to continue, the whole world knows this, it is no secret. But my level of performance will determine if I can stay at Barca. I hope it will be for a long time," the 32-year-old said in an interview with sports daily Mundo Deportivo. Barcelona recently reached a deal to extend the contract of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez to June 2021. His previous deal was due to expire in 2019. In October, the club also extended the contract of Brazilian superstar Neymar until 2021 and they have already started talks to seal a new deal with Lionel Messi. Along with Messi, Iniesta is Barcelona's most decorated player ever with 29 trophies, but he is even more loved across Spain for his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands. Iniesta is second behind only former teammate Xavi Hernandez as the player to have made most Barca appearances. He is also hopeful coach Luis Enrique will renew his contract with Barcelona when his current deal expires at the end of the season. "He is very motivated, I hope we can remain together and keep celebrating things, which is what we all want," Iniesta said. Barca have also already tied down Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to contract extentions this year. (AFP)

Iniesta keen to extend Barcelona contract

A supremely confident Chelsea notched a club record 12th consecutive league win on Monday to move nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, two goals from Pedro and one from Eden Hazard giving them a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.

It took the energetic Pedro until the 24th minute to score, set up by Cesc Fabregas after jinking interplay between the Spanish players, Hazard, Willian and Nemanja Matic. He deftly lofted the ball over Artur Boruc, stranded in the Bournemouth goalmouth.

Captain Simon Francis brought down a sashaying Hazard in the Bournemouth area in the 49th minute and the Belgian converted the penalty for his 50th Premier League goal.

Chelsea, who have conceded only two goals on their winning run under Antonio Conte and scored 27, added the third in stoppage time when Pedro&#39;s surging run ended with the ball deflected into the goal.

(Reuters)

Two goals from Pedro and one from Eden Hazard giving them a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth

A supremely confident Chelsea notched a club record 12th consecutive league win on Monday to move nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, two goals from Pedro and one from Eden Hazard giving them a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. It took the energetic Pedro until the 24th minute to score, set up by Cesc Fabregas after jinking interplay between the Spanish players, Hazard, Willian and Nemanja Matic. He deftly lofted the ball over Artur Boruc, stranded in the Bournemouth goalmouth. Captain Simon Francis brought down a sashaying Hazard in the Bournemouth area in the 49th minute and the Belgian converted the penalty for his 50th Premier League goal. Chelsea, who have conceded only two goals on their winning run under Antonio Conte and scored 27, added the third in stoppage time when Pedro's surging run ended with the ball deflected into the goal. (Reuters)

Chelsea ease past Bournemouth for record 12th win

Series A leaders Juventus won 1-0 over AS Roma, with Juventus Higuain signature goal putting them seven points clear on Saturday.

Gonzalo Higuain&#39;s 10th goal of the season and his third in the last two games got Juventus its 25th successive home league win&nbsp;and paved way for a sixth successive Serie A title.

With just one match left before Christmas, Juve have 42 points from 17 games while Roma has 35 and AC Milan 33.&nbsp;

Roma, although had the ball they failed to make any goals. Roma have been runners-up to Juventus in the last three&nbsp;

Higuain saw an early shot saved by Wojciech Szczesny.

He received a pass some 30 metres from goal, battled&nbsp;with Daniele De Rossi, passed&nbsp;Kostas Manolos and kicked off&nbsp;a left-foot shot in off the post from the edge of the area.

Roma&#39;s best chance&nbsp;fell to Manolos from corners.

The defender had a close-range shot blocked during a goalmouth scramble in the first half and headed wide at the far post in the second half.

Roma won eight corners to Juve&#39;s five but used&nbsp;long crosses too often and&nbsp;had only three shots on target.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Gonzalo Higuain's trademark goal put Juventus 7 points clear

Series A leaders Juventus won 1-0 over AS Roma, with Juventus Higuain signature goal putting them seven points clear on Saturday. Gonzalo Higuain's 10th goal of the season and his third in the last two games got Juventus its 25th successive home league win and paved way for a sixth successive Serie A title. With just one match left before Christmas, Juve have 42 points from 17 games while Roma has 35 and AC Milan 33. Roma, although had the ball they failed to make any goals. Roma have been runners-up to Juventus in the last three Higuain saw an early shot saved by Wojciech Szczesny. He received a pass some 30 metres from goal, battled with Daniele De Rossi, passed Kostas Manolos and kicked off a left-foot shot in off the post from the edge of the area. Roma's best chance fell to Manolos from corners. The defender had a close-range shot blocked during a goalmouth scramble in the first half and headed wide at the far post in the second half. Roma won eight corners to Juve's five but used long crosses too often and had only three shots on target. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Football: Juventus beat Roma 1-0

Prolific striker Luis Suarez has agreed a new contract with Barcelona until 2021, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday.

The Uruguay international will sign the new deal, which will keep him at the club until he is 34 years old and contains a release clause of 200 million euros ($207 million), on Friday.

Suarez has scored 97 goals in 116 games for Barcelona since signing from Liverpool in 2014 for a reported 81 million euros ($84 million), and has collected eight major trophies.

He netted 40 times in the league last season, making him top scorer in Spain and landing him the European Golden Shoe award for the top marksman in Europe&#39;s top five leagues.

&quot;I feel complete happiness because I am where I want to be,&quot; Suarez said on Thursday.

&quot;It&#39;s now official. I never put any obstacles in the way of a renewal. I will never lose my ambition and enthusiasm for winning trophies and scoring goals.&quot;

Suarez&#39;s contract renewal comes two months after strike partner Neymar penned a new deal with Barcelona, meaning talisman Lionel Messi is the only member of the feted &quot;MSN&quot; attacking trident who has yet to sign a new contract with the club.

Suarez said he hoped Messi, whose current deal expires in 2018, would follow his lead, although he said the Argentine would make his decision on his own terms.

&quot;My renewal has nothing to do with Neymar or Messi&#39;s. Leo is a legend and he knows what he has to do and decide,&quot; added Suarez.

&quot;As a team mate, I am available to help him out but Leo is old enough to decide for himself. We are friends and we have a great relationship, but he is an adult and he has to take that decision.&quot;

(Reuters)

The agreement will keep him at the club till he is 34

Prolific striker Luis Suarez has agreed a new contract with Barcelona until 2021, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday. The Uruguay international will sign the new deal, which will keep him at the club until he is 34 years old and contains a release clause of 200 million euros ($207 million), on Friday. Suarez has scored 97 goals in 116 games for Barcelona since signing from Liverpool in 2014 for a reported 81 million euros ($84 million), and has collected eight major trophies. He netted 40 times in the league last season, making him top scorer in Spain and landing him the European Golden Shoe award for the top marksman in Europe's top five leagues. "I feel complete happiness because I am where I want to be," Suarez said on Thursday. "It's now official. I never put any obstacles in the way of a renewal. I will never lose my ambition and enthusiasm for winning trophies and scoring goals." Suarez's contract renewal comes two months after strike partner Neymar penned a new deal with Barcelona, meaning talisman Lionel Messi is the only member of the feted "MSN" attacking trident who has yet to sign a new contract with the club. Suarez said he hoped Messi, whose current deal expires in 2018, would follow his lead, although he said the Argentine would make his decision on his own terms. "My renewal has nothing to do with Neymar or Messi's. Leo is a legend and he knows what he has to do and decide," added Suarez. "As a team mate, I am available to help him out but Leo is old enough to decide for himself. We are friends and we have a great relationship, but he is an adult and he has to take that decision." (Reuters)

Football: Suarez agrees new contract with Barcelona to 2021

Cristiano Ronaldo called it &quot;a dream come true again&quot; as he won his fourth Ballon d&#39;Or on Monday to get one over his nemesis Lionel Messi for the title of best player in the world.

It was the perfect ending to another fantastic year for the Real Madrid star, who won the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and then led Portugal to their first major title at Euro 2016 -- albeit he went off early injured and in tears in the surprise victory over France.

As has been the case for almost a decade now, the 31-year-old&#39;s main rival was Messi -- but the Barcelona and Argentine maestro had to relinquish the crown after a less-than-stellar year for club and country by his lofty standards.

Ronaldo is now one Ballon d&#39;Or behind Messi, who was second this time with French striker Antoine Griezmann third.

Never one to play down his achievements, Ronaldo was spotted midweek in training having dyed his hair gold in anticipation and several media outlets published a photo earlier on Monday appearing to confirm he was the winner, before organisers France Football magazine made the official announcement.

&quot;For me, it&#39;s a great honour to receive my fourth Ballon d&#39;Or. The emotion is like the first one -- it&#39;s a dream come true again,&quot; Ronaldo, who is at the Club World Cup in Japan, told L&#39;Equipe TV.

&quot;I never thought in my mind to win four times the Ballon d&#39;Or, I&#39;m so pleased and so happy.

&quot;I have to thank all my team-mates, the national team, Real Madrid, all the people, the players who helped me to win this individual trophy.

&quot;I want to enjoy this moment because it&#39;s not easy to win this.&quot;

Fourth was Luis Suarez and fifth his fellow Barcelona attacker Neymar, with Ronaldo&#39;s Welsh team-mate Gareth Bale sixth.

&#39;Sensational year&#39;

Ronaldo was the firm favourite to win, but the prestigious prize comes at a time when the prolific forward has generated negative headlines in the past week over accusations of tax evasion.

Denying any wrongdoing, he responded by publishing his financial records last week, showing last year he earned a whopping 227 million euros ($240 million).

&quot;You believe I am worried? He who owes nothing&nbsp;fears nothing,&quot; Ronaldo told broadcaster RTP at the time.

Ronaldo, the highest-paid sportsman in the world, first won the Ballon d&#39;Or in 2008 after Premier League and Champions League triumphs with Manchester United.&nbsp;

But it was only in 2013 that he added his second -- Messi had hogged it before then -- and Ronaldo made it a hat-trick the following year.

United were quick to offer their congratulations on Twitter, calling a fourth Ballon d&#39;Or &quot;incredible&quot;.

Real said Ronaldo, who last month signed a bumper new five-year contract, had enjoyed &quot;a sensational year&quot;.

The first Ballon d&#39;Or was won by Stanley Matthews, at the time with Blackpool, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the inaugural title in 1956.

The Ballon d&#39;Or is decided by a vote of 173 journalists.

(AFP)

It was the perfect ending to another fantastic year for the Real Madrid star, who won the Champions League for the second time in 3 seasons

Cristiano Ronaldo called it "a dream come true again" as he won his fourth Ballon d'Or on Monday to get one over his nemesis Lionel Messi for the title of best player in the world. It was the perfect ending to another fantastic year for the Real Madrid star, who won the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and then led Portugal to their first major title at Euro 2016 -- albeit he went off early injured and in tears in the surprise victory over France. As has been the case for almost a decade now, the 31-year-old's main rival was Messi -- but the Barcelona and Argentine maestro had to relinquish the crown after a less-than-stellar year for club and country by his lofty standards. Ronaldo is now one Ballon d'Or behind Messi, who was second this time with French striker Antoine Griezmann third. Never one to play down his achievements, Ronaldo was spotted midweek in training having dyed his hair gold in anticipation and several media outlets published a photo earlier on Monday appearing to confirm he was the winner, before organisers France Football magazine made the official announcement. "For me, it's a great honour to receive my fourth Ballon d'Or. The emotion is like the first one -- it's a dream come true again," Ronaldo, who is at the Club World Cup in Japan, told L'Equipe TV. "I never thought in my mind to win four times the Ballon d'Or, I'm so pleased and so happy. "I have to thank all my team-mates, the national team, Real Madrid, all the people, the players who helped me to win this individual trophy. "I want to enjoy this moment because it's not easy to win this." Fourth was Luis Suarez and fifth his fellow Barcelona attacker Neymar, with Ronaldo's Welsh team-mate Gareth Bale sixth. 'Sensational year' Ronaldo was the firm favourite to win, but the prestigious prize comes at a time when the prolific forward has generated negative headlines in the past week over accusations of tax evasion. Denying any wrongdoing, he responded by publishing his financial records last week, showing last year he earned a whopping 227 million euros ($240 million). "You believe I am worried? He who owes nothing fears nothing," Ronaldo told broadcaster RTP at the time. Ronaldo, the highest-paid sportsman in the world, first won the Ballon d'Or in 2008 after Premier League and Champions League triumphs with Manchester United. But it was only in 2013 that he added his second -- Messi had hogged it before then -- and Ronaldo made it a hat-trick the following year. United were quick to offer their congratulations on Twitter, calling a fourth Ballon d'Or "incredible". Real said Ronaldo, who last month signed a bumper new five-year contract, had enjoyed "a sensational year". The first Ballon d'Or was won by Stanley Matthews, at the time with Blackpool, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the inaugural title in 1956. The Ballon d'Or is decided by a vote of 173 journalists. (AFP)

Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d'Or for fourth time

Arsenal will have another chance to beat Bayern Munich in a Champions League knockout tie after the sides were paired yet again in the round of 16 following Monday&#39;s draw.

The teams met at the same stage in 2005, 2013 and 2014 with the German champions winning on all three occasions - 3-2 on aggregate in 2005, on away goals after a 3-3 draw in 2013 and 3-1 in 2014.

Paris St Germain will also try to break a jinx when they face Spanish champions Barcelona, who knocked them out in the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2014.

Holders Real Madrid, who like Bayern finished as runners-up in their group and will therefore play the first leg at home, were given a tricky clash with Serie A side Napoli.

The draw also produced a potential grudge match as it pitted Bayer Leverkusen against Atletico Madrid, whose respective coaches Roger Schmidt and Diego Simeone were involved in an ugly touchline spat when the sides met two seasons ago.

On that occasion, Atletico went through on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Arsenal may feel this could be their best chance to beat Bayern, whose domestic and European form has not been as dominant as in recent seasons.

&quot;We are through to the knockout stage for the 14th consecutive season, which is testament to Arsene Wenger and the teams throughout that time,&quot; club secretary David Miles said.

&quot;The fans will think we have got the rough end of the draw again - at some stage the tide has got to turn and we will beat them.&quot;

Serie A champions Juventus were drawn against Porto in a repeat of the 1984 European Cup Winners&#39; Cup final which the Italian side won 2-1.

Sevilla and English champions Leicester City will meet for the first time as will Manchester City and AS Monaco.

Benfica and Borussia Dortmund will renew their rivalry after a 52-year wait, the sides having previously met in the 1963-64 European Cup.

(Reuters)

Holders Real Madrid were given a difficult tie against Napoli as were Spanish champions Barcelona who take on Paris St Germain

Arsenal will have another chance to beat Bayern Munich in a Champions League knockout tie after the sides were paired yet again in the round of 16 following Monday's draw. The teams met at the same stage in 2005, 2013 and 2014 with the German champions winning on all three occasions - 3-2 on aggregate in 2005, on away goals after a 3-3 draw in 2013 and 3-1 in 2014. Paris St Germain will also try to break a jinx when they face Spanish champions Barcelona, who knocked them out in the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2014. Holders Real Madrid, who like Bayern finished as runners-up in their group and will therefore play the first leg at home, were given a tricky clash with Serie A side Napoli. The draw also produced a potential grudge match as it pitted Bayer Leverkusen against Atletico Madrid, whose respective coaches Roger Schmidt and Diego Simeone were involved in an ugly touchline spat when the sides met two seasons ago. On that occasion, Atletico went through on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw. Arsenal may feel this could be their best chance to beat Bayern, whose domestic and European form has not been as dominant as in recent seasons. "We are through to the knockout stage for the 14th consecutive season, which is testament to Arsene Wenger and the teams throughout that time," club secretary David Miles said. "The fans will think we have got the rough end of the draw again - at some stage the tide has got to turn and we will beat them." Serie A champions Juventus were drawn against Porto in a repeat of the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup final which the Italian side won 2-1. Sevilla and English champions Leicester City will meet for the first time as will Manchester City and AS Monaco. Benfica and Borussia Dortmund will renew their rivalry after a 52-year wait, the sides having previously met in the 1963-64 European Cup. (Reuters)

Champions League last 16: Arsenal paired with Bayern Munich, City get Monaco

Jamie Vardy burst back to his predatory best with his first Leicester City hat-trick as the champions recaptured their title-winning mojo to earn a shock 4-2 win over Manchester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Vardy, hero of last season&#39;s fairytale triumph, finally ended his 16-match goalscoring drought for the club by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes as the Foxes, making a nonsense of their miserable recent form, raced into a three-goal lead.

After the England striker had struck in the third minute, club stalwart Andy King put Leicester two up with only four-and-a-half minutes on the clock and Vardy was then put in beautifully by Riyad Mahrez to score his second.

He completed his first hat-trick since his non-league days at Fleetwood Town from the narrowest of angles thanks to a careless back pass from John Stones.

Aleksandar Kolarov (82 minutes) and Nolito (90) scored consolation goals in a late rally for City, who remain fourth, four points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

Nobody could have imagined the drama of the opening minutes as Leicester awoke dramatically from what had, statistically, been the worst English title defence in 54 years since Ipswich Town in 1962-63.

Despite his heroics for Leicester, Vardy had never scored a hat-trick for them and his last treble had been for minor league Fleetwood in 2012.

Yet the King Power was transported back to heady May days, suddenly reminded why their team, languishing just three points off the foot of the table at the start of the day, were champions.

With a side unrecognisable from the second-string one that had been beaten 5-0 at Porto in midweek -- the heaviest defeat by any English team in European Cup history -- Leicester burst from the blocks on a rainy night.

A lovely touch from Mahrez fed Islam Slimani, whose neat through ball was finished brilliantly by Vardy, who had not scored in the league for a total of 741 minutes.

Within a couple of minutes, Slimani had teed up King, who curled one in from the edge of the box and the visitors were in disarray when a long ball from Christian Fuchs was cushioned delicately by Mahrez into Vardy&#39;s hungry path and the England striker evaded keeper Claudio Bravo to slot home.

City belatedly dominated but it was all huff and puff and when Stones hit a blind pass towards Bravo, Vardy nipped in to strike with the ball ruled to have just crept over the line via the post.

Kolarov, with a smashing free kick, and Nolito finally broke through but it could not mask what had been the most discouraging day yet of his new reign for visiting manager Pep Guardiola.

(Reuters)

Vardy finally ended his 16-match goalscoring drought for the club by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes

Jamie Vardy burst back to his predatory best with his first Leicester City hat-trick as the champions recaptured their title-winning mojo to earn a shock 4-2 win over Manchester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. Vardy, hero of last season's fairytale triumph, finally ended his 16-match goalscoring drought for the club by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes as the Foxes, making a nonsense of their miserable recent form, raced into a three-goal lead. After the England striker had struck in the third minute, club stalwart Andy King put Leicester two up with only four-and-a-half minutes on the clock and Vardy was then put in beautifully by Riyad Mahrez to score his second. He completed his first hat-trick since his non-league days at Fleetwood Town from the narrowest of angles thanks to a careless back pass from John Stones. Aleksandar Kolarov (82 minutes) and Nolito (90) scored consolation goals in a late rally for City, who remain fourth, four points adrift of leaders Chelsea. Nobody could have imagined the drama of the opening minutes as Leicester awoke dramatically from what had, statistically, been the worst English title defence in 54 years since Ipswich Town in 1962-63. Despite his heroics for Leicester, Vardy had never scored a hat-trick for them and his last treble had been for minor league Fleetwood in 2012. Yet the King Power was transported back to heady May days, suddenly reminded why their team, languishing just three points off the foot of the table at the start of the day, were champions. With a side unrecognisable from the second-string one that had been beaten 5-0 at Porto in midweek -- the heaviest defeat by any English team in European Cup history -- Leicester burst from the blocks on a rainy night. A lovely touch from Mahrez fed Islam Slimani, whose neat through ball was finished brilliantly by Vardy, who had not scored in the league for a total of 741 minutes. Within a couple of minutes, Slimani had teed up King, who curled one in from the edge of the box and the visitors were in disarray when a long ball from Christian Fuchs was cushioned delicately by Mahrez into Vardy's hungry path and the England striker evaded keeper Claudio Bravo to slot home. City belatedly dominated but it was all huff and puff and when Stones hit a blind pass towards Bravo, Vardy nipped in to strike with the ball ruled to have just crept over the line via the post. Kolarov, with a smashing free kick, and Nolito finally broke through but it could not mask what had been the most discouraging day yet of his new reign for visiting manager Pep Guardiola. (Reuters)

Football: Vardy earns Leicester a shock 4-2 win over Manchester City

Italy international Stefano Okaka scored either side of halftime to give Watford a 3-2 Premier League win over Everton on Saturday, their first victory over the Merseyside club in any competition since 1987.

Watford, who started with players of 11 different nationalities in their line-up, went behind in the 17th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored from close range for Everton after Gareth Barry lobbed the defence.

The goal was the Belgian&#39;s eighth in the league this season but the lead was short-lived, Okaka equalising in the 36th with a back-heeled flick at the near post from Nordin Amrabat&#39;s cross.

Okaka followed up on his first Watford goal by heading in the Hornets&#39; third from a corner in the 64th after Austrian Sebastian Prodl had headed in his first league goal of the season from Jose Holebas&#39;s free kick.

Lukaku headed in his second of the afternoon with four minutes of normal time remaining but Watford hung on to go seventh in the standings on 21 points and ahead of ninth-placed Everton.

Okaka&#39;s goals were his first in the Premier League since May 2010, when he was on loan at Fulham. A summer signing from Anderlecht, he was making only his second start for Watford.

&quot;Stefano Okaka had to wait mainly because of injury but he has shown how important he is for the team,&quot; manager Walter Mazzarri said.

Apart from the 11 nations represented in the starting lineup, Watford have now also had 11 different goalscorers in the league this season - a feat that only Liverpool can match.

They are not, however, the first Premier League team to have such a diverse team -Manchester&nbsp;United also fielded players from 11 different countries against Stoke&nbsp;City&nbsp;in 2011.

Everton, sliding down the table after a bright start to the campaign and now with one win in 10 games, have conceded 11 goals in their last four away fixtures.

(Reuters)

This is their first victory over the Merseyside club in any competition since 1987

Italy international Stefano Okaka scored either side of halftime to give Watford a 3-2 Premier League win over Everton on Saturday, their first victory over the Merseyside club in any competition since 1987. Watford, who started with players of 11 different nationalities in their line-up, went behind in the 17th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored from close range for Everton after Gareth Barry lobbed the defence. The goal was the Belgian's eighth in the league this season but the lead was short-lived, Okaka equalising in the 36th with a back-heeled flick at the near post from Nordin Amrabat's cross. Okaka followed up on his first Watford goal by heading in the Hornets' third from a corner in the 64th after Austrian Sebastian Prodl had headed in his first league goal of the season from Jose Holebas's free kick. Lukaku headed in his second of the afternoon with four minutes of normal time remaining but Watford hung on to go seventh in the standings on 21 points and ahead of ninth-placed Everton. Okaka's goals were his first in the Premier League since May 2010, when he was on loan at Fulham. A summer signing from Anderlecht, he was making only his second start for Watford. "Stefano Okaka had to wait mainly because of injury but he has shown how important he is for the team," manager Walter Mazzarri said. Apart from the 11 nations represented in the starting lineup, Watford have now also had 11 different goalscorers in the league this season - a feat that only Liverpool can match. They are not, however, the first Premier League team to have such a diverse team -Manchester United also fielded players from 11 different countries against Stoke City in 2011. Everton, sliding down the table after a bright start to the campaign and now with one win in 10 games, have conceded 11 goals in their last four away fixtures. (Reuters)

Premier League: Watford beat Everton 3-2 with Okaka double

The true value of Arsenal&#39;s table-topping display against Basel will not become clear until Monday&#39;s draw for the Champions League last 16 but a 4-1 win proved they are starting to punch&nbsp;their weight again in the competition.

Despite 19 consecutive group stage campaigns, defeat at the last 16 stage for the past six seasons has reduced Arsenal to members of the supporting cast.

While the A-listers -- the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich -- march into Spring eyeing Europe&#39;s most prized club trophy, Arsenal have sloped away for domestic chores. Not even a title chase, rather just grinding out a top-four spot in the Premier League.

Things might just be different this season though.

Beaten only twice in 23 matches in all competitions so far, Arsenal look far more resilient than in recent seasons, without losing any of their customary flair.

Hat-trick man Lucas Perez&#39;s second goal on Tuesday was the end product of a 33-pass move -- the longest sequence to goal so far in this season&#39;s Champions League. Arsenal went through Group A undefeated, the first time they had managed that since the 2005/06 season, and qualified for the last 16 as group winners for the first time since 2011/12.

That will guarantee they are spared a meeting with Lionel Messi&#39;s Barcelona in the last 16, although Bayern Munich or any two from Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Sevilla could be blocking their path after Christmas.

Arsenal will also enjoy a home second leg in the last 16, an advantage they have not had since 2012, although that year they were thumped 4-0 by Milan in the San Siro leaving them mission impossible in the return.

&quot;It&#39;s difficult to know (the advantages of finishing top) you feel a bit less guilty,&quot; Wenger said. &quot;At least we have done our job and let&#39;s see what happens.&quot;

In some respects the Champions League winter break may have come at the wrong time for Arsenal.

Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez, scorer of a hat-trick in Saturday&#39;s 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United, is playing some of his best football since joining the club, while Mesut Ozil in also in a rich vein of form.

On Tuesday, Wenger left the talents of Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench while Lucas, a 17 million pounds ($21.54 million) signing from Deportivo La Coruna in August, grabbed his chance to shine.

Captain Laurent Koscielny said Arsenal&#39;s win maintained the momentum.

&quot;We needed to finish the group stage well to have no regrets and we started the game well by scoring two early goals,&quot; he said. &quot;It was a good win for us to have after our big win on Saturday. It&#39;s important to finish first because we have the second game at home.&quot;

(Reuters)

Arsenal went through Group A undefeated, the first time they had managed that since the 2005/06 season

The true value of Arsenal's table-topping display against Basel will not become clear until Monday's draw for the Champions League last 16 but a 4-1 win proved they are starting to punch their weight again in the competition. Despite 19 consecutive group stage campaigns, defeat at the last 16 stage for the past six seasons has reduced Arsenal to members of the supporting cast. While the A-listers -- the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich -- march into Spring eyeing Europe's most prized club trophy, Arsenal have sloped away for domestic chores. Not even a title chase, rather just grinding out a top-four spot in the Premier League. Things might just be different this season though. Beaten only twice in 23 matches in all competitions so far, Arsenal look far more resilient than in recent seasons, without losing any of their customary flair. Hat-trick man Lucas Perez's second goal on Tuesday was the end product of a 33-pass move -- the longest sequence to goal so far in this season's Champions League. Arsenal went through Group A undefeated, the first time they had managed that since the 2005/06 season, and qualified for the last 16 as group winners for the first time since 2011/12. That will guarantee they are spared a meeting with Lionel Messi's Barcelona in the last 16, although Bayern Munich or any two from Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Sevilla could be blocking their path after Christmas. Arsenal will also enjoy a home second leg in the last 16, an advantage they have not had since 2012, although that year they were thumped 4-0 by Milan in the San Siro leaving them mission impossible in the return. "It's difficult to know (the advantages of finishing top) you feel a bit less guilty," Wenger said. "At least we have done our job and let's see what happens." In some respects the Champions League winter break may have come at the wrong time for Arsenal. Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez, scorer of a hat-trick in Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United, is playing some of his best football since joining the club, while Mesut Ozil in also in a rich vein of form. On Tuesday, Wenger left the talents of Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench while Lucas, a 17 million pounds ($21.54 million) signing from Deportivo La Coruna in August, grabbed his chance to shine. Captain Laurent Koscielny said Arsenal's win maintained the momentum. "We needed to finish the group stage well to have no regrets and we started the game well by scoring two early goals," he said. "It was a good win for us to have after our big win on Saturday. It's important to finish first because we have the second game at home." (Reuters)

Arsenal punching their weight again in Europe

Chelsea came from behind to secure a dramatic 3-1 win at Manchester City and forge clear at the top of the Premier League as their top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl and two City players were sent off on Saturday.

Diego Costa, the league&#39;s leading marksman, scored his 11th of the season on the hour to equalise, substitute Willian notched on the counter-attack 10 minutes later and Eden Hazard sealed Chelsea&#39;s eighth straight win in the 90th minute.

Gary Cahill had given City a deserved lead just before halftime, slicing the ball into his own net with a clumsy attempted clearance, and the home side had chances to wrap up the points after the break as Kevin De Bruyne missed from three metres when it seemed easier to score.

In stoppage time, with Chelsea already guaranteed a four-point lead at the top, mayhem broke out following a terrible tackle by Sergio Aguero on David Luiz.

The Argentine was shown a red card and, as players piled in, Fernandinho was also dismissed for pushing Cesc Fabregas over the advertising hoardings.

It was the first time a team had finished a game with nine men in the Premier League for eight years yet, for large parts, it had looked as if it could be the end of Chelsea&#39;s purple patch with City largely dominating until Pep Guardiola&#39;s men were again found out defensively.

Several times, Aguero came close, thwarted by a brilliant Cesar Azpilicueta block and heading wide from De Bruyne&#39;s pinpoint cross.

Yet City&#39;s goal was a soft one with Cahill displaying technical deficiency, trying to clear Jesus Navas&#39;s cross with his right foot when he needed to use his left.

City piled on the pressure after the break with De Bruyne forcing a fine save from Courtois and more comedy defending almost gifting a goal for Aguero before De Bruyne&#39;s open-goal miss from Navas&#39;s cross.

It was a costly error as Fabregas found Costa with a lovely, long ball which he controlled on his chest before outsmuscling Nicolas Otamendi and firing the equaliser.

Costa then put Willian clean through, the Brazilian firing across Claudio Bravo into the corner before he marked his goal with an emotional raising of his black armband to honour those who died in the Chapecoense air crash.

After Hazard had latched on to a long ball from Marcos Alonso to sprint clear of Aleksandar Kolarov and net the third, City&#39;s frustration got the better of them as Aguero&#39;s wild knee-high lunge on Luiz resulted in furious scenes with all 22 players and staff being involved in a melee.

Luiz, with his knee bandaged afterwards, refused to be drawn on Aguero&#39;s challenge.

&quot;I don&#39;t like to speak about these type of things. Aguero is an amazing player who does a lot for football,&quot; he told Sky Sports.

&quot;I want to dedicate this win to the people who died in Brazil. It was difficult to get my head together as I had some friends there. We just need to pray for the victim&#39;s families.&quot;

(Reuters)

The top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl that saw two City players sent off

Chelsea came from behind to secure a dramatic 3-1 win at Manchester City and forge clear at the top of the Premier League as their top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl and two City players were sent off on Saturday. Diego Costa, the league's leading marksman, scored his 11th of the season on the hour to equalise, substitute Willian notched on the counter-attack 10 minutes later and Eden Hazard sealed Chelsea's eighth straight win in the 90th minute. Gary Cahill had given City a deserved lead just before halftime, slicing the ball into his own net with a clumsy attempted clearance, and the home side had chances to wrap up the points after the break as Kevin De Bruyne missed from three metres when it seemed easier to score. In stoppage time, with Chelsea already guaranteed a four-point lead at the top, mayhem broke out following a terrible tackle by Sergio Aguero on David Luiz. The Argentine was shown a red card and, as players piled in, Fernandinho was also dismissed for pushing Cesc Fabregas over the advertising hoardings. It was the first time a team had finished a game with nine men in the Premier League for eight years yet, for large parts, it had looked as if it could be the end of Chelsea's purple patch with City largely dominating until Pep Guardiola's men were again found out defensively. Several times, Aguero came close, thwarted by a brilliant Cesar Azpilicueta block and heading wide from De Bruyne's pinpoint cross. Yet City's goal was a soft one with Cahill displaying technical deficiency, trying to clear Jesus Navas's cross with his right foot when he needed to use his left. City piled on the pressure after the break with De Bruyne forcing a fine save from Courtois and more comedy defending almost gifting a goal for Aguero before De Bruyne's open-goal miss from Navas's cross. It was a costly error as Fabregas found Costa with a lovely, long ball which he controlled on his chest before outsmuscling Nicolas Otamendi and firing the equaliser. Costa then put Willian clean through, the Brazilian firing across Claudio Bravo into the corner before he marked his goal with an emotional raising of his black armband to honour those who died in the Chapecoense air crash. After Hazard had latched on to a long ball from Marcos Alonso to sprint clear of Aleksandar Kolarov and net the third, City's frustration got the better of them as Aguero's wild knee-high lunge on Luiz resulted in furious scenes with all 22 players and staff being involved in a melee. Luiz, with his knee bandaged afterwards, refused to be drawn on Aguero's challenge. "I don't like to speak about these type of things. Aguero is an amazing player who does a lot for football," he told Sky Sports. "I want to dedicate this win to the people who died in Brazil. It was difficult to get my head together as I had some friends there. We just need to pray for the victim's families." (Reuters)

EPL: Chelsea come from behind to beat Man City 3-1, top league

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes his side remains the team to beat in Spain but admits that victory over leaders Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday is paramount to their title chances.

With millions watching around the world Madrid travel into enemy territory in Catalonia on the back of a 32-game unbeaten run and boast a six-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

However, despite describing Barca&#39;s last league performance in a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad as the worst of his three-season tenure, Enrique insists the reigning champions have the talent to be considered the best team in the world.

&quot;There are good teams at a high level but none of them are better than us. That is what makes me optimistic,&quot; he said on Friday.

Barca received a huge injury boost on Friday when captain Andres Iniesta was cleared to make his return after six weeks out with a knee injury.

&quot;Iniesta is our captain and a reference point for Barca&#39;s style,&quot; said Enrique.

&quot;It is great news for the person that he is and what he represents as captain.&quot;

Defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba also look set to shrug off injuries to start and Enrique may be able to name his strongest side for the first time since September.

Injuries have been a key factor in the Catalans&#39; worst league start for nine years, but midfielder Arda Turan also claimed they remain the world&#39;s best once they hit top form.

&quot;Barca are the best team and when we play like we know how, we are unstoppable,&quot; the Turkish international told Barca TV.

&quot;I have a very good feeling ahead of the Clasico.&quot;

Madrid high in confidence

Madrid, under the guidance of Zinedine Zidane, might be in red-hot form but the former midfield general wants to see his side perform more like they did in swatting aside Atletico Madrid 3-0 two weeks ago than on their last trip to the Camp Nou -- when they registered a shock 2-1 win in April.

&quot;Tomorrow will be totally different,&quot; said the Frenchman.

&quot;Last term we went there with our buttocks clenched, I apologise for the language, but we need to have the same mentality.

&quot;I want us to be just as prepared as we were last year, but play like we are now.&quot;

Real are not so lucky on the injury front as Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos remain sidelined.

However, the visitors can rely on an on-form Cristiano Ronaldo fresh from scoring five times in his last two outings.

&quot;He is very important for the rest of the team because he has tremendous energy,&quot; Zidane added.

&quot;He still has the hunger to win and that is good for the group.&quot;

The biggest match in club football, which kicks off at 15:15 GMT, is expected to capture an audience of 650 million people worldwide, according to figures released by La Liga.

&quot;I am not going to say it is just another game, it is a very important match, it has a special meaning.... a special taste,&quot; Real president Florentino Perez told AFP.

&quot;No one hides that is has a worldwide impact, it is seen by millions of people across the world, like the World cup final.&quot;

Barca defender Javier Mascherano also made little attempt to play down the significance of the clash.

&quot;Despite there being just three points at stake, like in the rest of the matches, the attention before and after the game makes it a special match,&quot; the Argentine told Barca TV.

(AFP)

Barca received an injury boost on Friday when captain Andres Iniesta was cleared to make his return after six weeks out with a knee injury.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes his side remains the team to beat in Spain but admits that victory over leaders Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday is paramount to their title chances. With millions watching around the world Madrid travel into enemy territory in Catalonia on the back of a 32-game unbeaten run and boast a six-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga. However, despite describing Barca's last league performance in a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad as the worst of his three-season tenure, Enrique insists the reigning champions have the talent to be considered the best team in the world. "There are good teams at a high level but none of them are better than us. That is what makes me optimistic," he said on Friday. Barca received a huge injury boost on Friday when captain Andres Iniesta was cleared to make his return after six weeks out with a knee injury. "Iniesta is our captain and a reference point for Barca's style," said Enrique. "It is great news for the person that he is and what he represents as captain." Defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba also look set to shrug off injuries to start and Enrique may be able to name his strongest side for the first time since September. Injuries have been a key factor in the Catalans' worst league start for nine years, but midfielder Arda Turan also claimed they remain the world's best once they hit top form. "Barca are the best team and when we play like we know how, we are unstoppable," the Turkish international told Barca TV. "I have a very good feeling ahead of the Clasico." Madrid high in confidence Madrid, under the guidance of Zinedine Zidane, might be in red-hot form but the former midfield general wants to see his side perform more like they did in swatting aside Atletico Madrid 3-0 two weeks ago than on their last trip to the Camp Nou -- when they registered a shock 2-1 win in April. "Tomorrow will be totally different," said the Frenchman. "Last term we went there with our buttocks clenched, I apologise for the language, but we need to have the same mentality. "I want us to be just as prepared as we were last year, but play like we are now." Real are not so lucky on the injury front as Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos remain sidelined. However, the visitors can rely on an on-form Cristiano Ronaldo fresh from scoring five times in his last two outings. "He is very important for the rest of the team because he has tremendous energy," Zidane added. "He still has the hunger to win and that is good for the group." The biggest match in club football, which kicks off at 15:15 GMT, is expected to capture an audience of 650 million people worldwide, according to figures released by La Liga. "I am not going to say it is just another game, it is a very important match, it has a special meaning.... a special taste," Real president Florentino Perez told AFP. "No one hides that is has a worldwide impact, it is seen by millions of people across the world, like the World cup final." Barca defender Javier Mascherano also made little attempt to play down the significance of the clash. "Despite there being just three points at stake, like in the rest of the matches, the attention before and after the game makes it a special match," the Argentine told Barca TV. (AFP)

Desperate Barca primed to end Madrid's unbeaten streak

Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho could have been involved in a multimillion-euro system of &quot;tax evasion and money laundering&quot;, according to leaked documents obtained by a number of media outlets.

A group of 12 European newspapers said it intends to disclose over the next three weeks the results of investigations into widespread alleged corruption at the heart of football under the banner &quot;Football Leaks&quot;.

Based on leaked documents obtained by German weekly Der Spiegel, the outlets claim that Real Madrid and Portuguese star Ronaldo could have &quot;hidden 150 million euros in tax havens in Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands&quot;.

Ronaldo, it is claimed, benefits from &quot;a system developed by his agent Jorge Mendes&quot;.&nbsp;

They cite two operations related to advertising revenue of the Portuguese star.&nbsp;

The first, between 2009 and 2014, could represent &quot;74.8 million euros via an offshore company called Tollin, registered in the British Virgin Islands&quot;, said the report released Friday.&nbsp;

&quot;He would have eventually declared a part of it,&quot; added the report sent to AFP by the Mediapart organisation.

&quot;The lawyers of the player told the (media) consortium that a Spanish tax audit aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo was still in progress,&quot; the newspapers said.&nbsp;

In the second operation, Ronaldo could have &quot;avoided 31 million euros of taxes&quot; according to these newspapers, making the most of &quot;12 days of an ultra-advantageous tax regime&quot; on his marketing rights for the period 2015-2020.

According to the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium, Manchester United manager Mourinho is said -- again via Mendes -- to have &quot;concealed 12 million euros in a Swiss account owned by a British Virgin Islands company.&quot;&nbsp;

It was &quot;subject to a tax audit in Spain... which resulted in a recovery of 4.4 million euros, penalties included&quot;.&nbsp;

Friday&#39;s first batch of leaks centred on &quot;a system&quot; put in place, according to the newspapers, by Mendes, the super-agent of Ronaldo and Mourinho.

The system overall would have accounted for a loss of &quot;at least 185 million euros of sponsorship income from the tax administrations through a network of offshore accounts and offshore companies in Ireland, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Switzerland&quot;.

In response, Mendes&#39;s company Gestifute said Friday that Ronaldo and Mourinho had &quot;fully respected their obligations vis-a-vis the Spanish and British authorities&quot;.&nbsp;

The company accused the media consortium of operating in an &quot;insidious&quot; way concerning the stars&#39; tax obligations.&nbsp;

It said that neither Ronaldo nor Mourinho &quot;have been implicated in legal proceedings of the tax evasion commission in Spain&quot;.

(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

German weekly claimed it had obtained documents that the Real Madrid star could have 'hidden 150 million euros in tax havens'

Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho could have been involved in a multimillion-euro system of "tax evasion and money laundering", according to leaked documents obtained by a number of media outlets. A group of 12 European newspapers said it intends to disclose over the next three weeks the results of investigations into widespread alleged corruption at the heart of football under the banner "Football Leaks". Based on leaked documents obtained by German weekly Der Spiegel, the outlets claim that Real Madrid and Portuguese star Ronaldo could have "hidden 150 million euros in tax havens in Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands". Ronaldo, it is claimed, benefits from "a system developed by his agent Jorge Mendes". They cite two operations related to advertising revenue of the Portuguese star. The first, between 2009 and 2014, could represent "74.8 million euros via an offshore company called Tollin, registered in the British Virgin Islands", said the report released Friday. "He would have eventually declared a part of it," added the report sent to AFP by the Mediapart organisation. "The lawyers of the player told the (media) consortium that a Spanish tax audit aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo was still in progress," the newspapers said. In the second operation, Ronaldo could have "avoided 31 million euros of taxes" according to these newspapers, making the most of "12 days of an ultra-advantageous tax regime" on his marketing rights for the period 2015-2020. According to the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium, Manchester United manager Mourinho is said -- again via Mendes -- to have "concealed 12 million euros in a Swiss account owned by a British Virgin Islands company." It was "subject to a tax audit in Spain... which resulted in a recovery of 4.4 million euros, penalties included". Friday's first batch of leaks centred on "a system" put in place, according to the newspapers, by Mendes, the super-agent of Ronaldo and Mourinho. The system overall would have accounted for a loss of "at least 185 million euros of sponsorship income from the tax administrations through a network of offshore accounts and offshore companies in Ireland, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Switzerland". In response, Mendes's company Gestifute said Friday that Ronaldo and Mourinho had "fully respected their obligations vis-a-vis the Spanish and British authorities". The company accused the media consortium of operating in an "insidious" way concerning the stars' tax obligations. It said that neither Ronaldo nor Mourinho "have been implicated in legal proceedings of the tax evasion commission in Spain". (AFP)

Football: Ronaldo, Mourinho in 'tax evasion, money laundering' claims

England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed Wayne Rooney will remain captain on Thursday as he faced the media for the first time since his appointment on a permanent basis.

Rooney, 31, apologised after being pictured looking the worse for wear as he mingled with wedding guests at the England team hotel in the early hours during the most recent international break.

Southgate had dropped him for a 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw in Slovenia, but recalled him for England&#39;s 3-0 win over Scotland, before injury forced the Manchester United forward to withdraw from the squad.

&quot;Wayne Rooney is the England captain,&quot; Southgate told reporters at Wembley.

&quot;I said that from the beginning of the interim period. What&#39;s also clear is that I&#39;ve only selected him to start in two of the four matches we&#39;ve had.

&quot;It is not a case that Wayne expects to play every game. It&#39;s important we develop more leaders in that group.

&quot;When I played for England at Euro 96, there were leaders throughout the team. Wayne has played an important part up to this point, but we also need to develop others.&quot;

Southgate, 46, was appointed England manager on a four-year contract on Wednesday, having previously been in charge for four games on an interim basis.

Reports suggested Southgate&#39;s contract contained a break clause after the 2018 World Cup, but he said that was not the case.

The former Middlesbrough manager was promoted from his role as England Under-21s coach after Sam Allardyce was forced to depart in the aftermath of a Daily Telegraph sting.

Southgate&#39;s first game as full-time manager will be a friendly against Germany in Dortmund on March 22, followed by a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley four days later.

England, humiliated by Iceland in the last 16 at Euro 2016, top their World Cup qualifying group by two points.

(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Southgate had dropped Rooney for a WC qualifier but recalled him for England's win over Scotland

England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed Wayne Rooney will remain captain on Thursday as he faced the media for the first time since his appointment on a permanent basis. Rooney, 31, apologised after being pictured looking the worse for wear as he mingled with wedding guests at the England team hotel in the early hours during the most recent international break. Southgate had dropped him for a 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw in Slovenia, but recalled him for England's 3-0 win over Scotland, before injury forced the Manchester United forward to withdraw from the squad. "Wayne Rooney is the England captain," Southgate told reporters at Wembley. "I said that from the beginning of the interim period. What's also clear is that I've only selected him to start in two of the four matches we've had. "It is not a case that Wayne expects to play every game. It's important we develop more leaders in that group. "When I played for England at Euro 96, there were leaders throughout the team. Wayne has played an important part up to this point, but we also need to develop others." Southgate, 46, was appointed England manager on a four-year contract on Wednesday, having previously been in charge for four games on an interim basis. Reports suggested Southgate's contract contained a break clause after the 2018 World Cup, but he said that was not the case. The former Middlesbrough manager was promoted from his role as England Under-21s coach after Sam Allardyce was forced to depart in the aftermath of a Daily Telegraph sting. Southgate's first game as full-time manager will be a friendly against Germany in Dortmund on March 22, followed by a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley four days later. England, humiliated by Iceland in the last 16 at Euro 2016, top their World Cup qualifying group by two points. (AFP)

Football: Southgate confirms Rooney as England captain

Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice each to help Manchester United ease into the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 home victory over West Ham United on Wednesday as Arsenal suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Southampton.

Martial netted twice in the second half to take the tie at Old Trafford away from West Ham, who had levelled through Ashley Fletcher following Ibrahimovic&#39;s opener after two minutes. The Swede added the fourth deep into stoppage-time.

Southampton clinched their first appearance in the last four of the competition since 1987 with powerful first-half efforts from Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand against a weakened Arsenal, who made 10 changes to their side.

United were then drawn to face Hull City in the semi-finals and Southampton will play Liverpool.

United and West Ham met at the same venue in the Premier League on Sunday when United boss Jose Mourinho let his frustrations boil over and earned a second touchline ban of the season for booting a water bottle.

The Portuguese was banned from the dugout on Wednesday, but would have been delighted with the way United carved open their opponents after just two minutes with a fluent break.

West Ham opened the scoring on Sunday equally early, but they were caught cold as Wayne Rooney, one goal short of Bobby Charlton&#39;s all-time club scoring record, fed Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose backheel picked out Ibrahimovic to dink the ball into the net.

The Swede should have doubled the lead when he waltzed through the heart of the West Ham defence before twice being denied by keeper Adrian.

That could have proved a costly miss because for all United&#39;s first-half dominance, they were pegged back 10 minutes before the break by one of their former players.

Having come through the youth ranks at United, Fletcher was allowed to join West Ham in the close season and punished his former employers by scoring from close range after David de Gea had spilled a shot from Dimitri Payet.

Payet, however, was the villain two minutes after halftime as his poor clearance was pounced on and fed to Mkhitaryan, who claimed his second assist by laying the ball off for Martial to blast past Adrian.

With 30 minutes remaining, Martial grabbed his second, tapping home Antonio Valencia&#39;s cross before Ibrahimovic added the fourth from close range.

&quot;Goals plus performance means the real happiness,&quot; Mourinho, who would not divulge where he watched the match, told Sky Sports.

&quot;The performance is something we are used to, we are playing very well at home. Today was more of the same.&quot;

The League Cup has not been kind to Arsenal in recent years with the club having now progressed from just one of their previous six quarter-finals, which was perhaps the reason why manager Arsene Wenger chose to make wholesale changes to his side to face Southampton.

The Saints began the brighter and were ahead after just 12 minutes when Dutchman Clasie fired powerfully into the net for his first goal for the club.

The lead was doubled eight minutes before the break when Carl Jenkinson was outmuscled deep in his own half, allowing Sofiane Boufal to break and tee up Bertrand to drill a low finish into the bottom corner.

(Reuters)

Manchester United eased into the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 home victory over West Ham United

Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice each to help Manchester United ease into the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 home victory over West Ham United on Wednesday as Arsenal suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Southampton. Martial netted twice in the second half to take the tie at Old Trafford away from West Ham, who had levelled through Ashley Fletcher following Ibrahimovic's opener after two minutes. The Swede added the fourth deep into stoppage-time. Southampton clinched their first appearance in the last four of the competition since 1987 with powerful first-half efforts from Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand against a weakened Arsenal, who made 10 changes to their side. United were then drawn to face Hull City in the semi-finals and Southampton will play Liverpool. United and West Ham met at the same venue in the Premier League on Sunday when United boss Jose Mourinho let his frustrations boil over and earned a second touchline ban of the season for booting a water bottle. The Portuguese was banned from the dugout on Wednesday, but would have been delighted with the way United carved open their opponents after just two minutes with a fluent break. West Ham opened the scoring on Sunday equally early, but they were caught cold as Wayne Rooney, one goal short of Bobby Charlton's all-time club scoring record, fed Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose backheel picked out Ibrahimovic to dink the ball into the net. The Swede should have doubled the lead when he waltzed through the heart of the West Ham defence before twice being denied by keeper Adrian. That could have proved a costly miss because for all United's first-half dominance, they were pegged back 10 minutes before the break by one of their former players. Having come through the youth ranks at United, Fletcher was allowed to join West Ham in the close season and punished his former employers by scoring from close range after David de Gea had spilled a shot from Dimitri Payet. Payet, however, was the villain two minutes after halftime as his poor clearance was pounced on and fed to Mkhitaryan, who claimed his second assist by laying the ball off for Martial to blast past Adrian. With 30 minutes remaining, Martial grabbed his second, tapping home Antonio Valencia's cross before Ibrahimovic added the fourth from close range. "Goals plus performance means the real happiness," Mourinho, who would not divulge where he watched the match, told Sky Sports. "The performance is something we are used to, we are playing very well at home. Today was more of the same." The League Cup has not been kind to Arsenal in recent years with the club having now progressed from just one of their previous six quarter-finals, which was perhaps the reason why manager Arsene Wenger chose to make wholesale changes to his side to face Southampton. The Saints began the brighter and were ahead after just 12 minutes when Dutchman Clasie fired powerfully into the net for his first goal for the club. The lead was doubled eight minutes before the break when Carl Jenkinson was outmuscled deep in his own half, allowing Sofiane Boufal to break and tee up Bertrand to drill a low finish into the bottom corner. (Reuters)

Football: Man United sweep past West Ham, Arsenal ousted by Southampton

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was sent off as his side lost more ground in the Premier League title race by drawing 1-1 with West Ham United on Sunday.

After Diafra Sakho&#39;s second-minute opener was cancelled out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mourinho was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle in protest at Paul Pogba&#39;s booking for diving.

It was United&#39;s fourth successive home draw in the league -- a first since 1980 -- and left them 11 points below leaders Chelsea in sixth place.

United assistant manager Rui Faria, filling in for Mourinho, told BBC Sport: &quot;We all believe the results will appear.

&quot;The referee explained it to Jose and there is nothing more to say. I think it was frustration from Jose after the yellow card for Pogba.

&quot;It should be a foul for us, but the referee understood it in another way.&quot;

Elsewhere, Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal kept pace within the leading pack by winning 3-1 at home to Bournemouth.

Mourinho made six changes to his starting XI at Old Trafford, but his bench created the biggest stir as formerly exiled midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger made an unexpected return to the match-day squad.

West Ham needed just 90 seconds to go ahead as Dimitri Payet&#39;s free-kick from the right was headed in by Sakho.

In the 21st minute, Pogba&#39;s deep cross was nodded in by Ibrahimovic, who has now scored seven league goals this season.

Moments later referee Jonathan Moss booked Pogba for diving after the France midfielder took evasive action as Mark Noble moved in to tackle him.

Mourinho reacted by furiously kicking a plastic bottle and was duly sent to the stands for the second time this season.

Wayne Rooney, whose next goal will equal Bobby Charlton&#39;s 249-goal club scoring record, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on for United in the second half.

Jesse Lingard saw a goal chalked off for offside after Mkhitaryan had hit the post, while United were indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea for a crucial late save to deny Ashley Fletcher.

- Debuchy blow -

United will hope their luck changes when West Ham return to Old Trafford in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Arsenal ended a run of three straight draws in all competitions with victory over Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.

With England midfielder Jack Wilshere watching from the stands due to the terms of his loan from Arsenal to Bournemouth, the home side took a 12th-minute lead courtesy of a horror moment from Simon Cook.

In seeking to play the ball back to goalkeeper Adam Federici from the right, he undercooked his pass horribly, giving Sanchez the time to pick his spot and put Arsenal ahead.&nbsp;

Bournemouth equalised in the 23rd minute when Callum Wilson netted from the penalty spot after Nacho Monreal was harshly adjudged to have fouled him.

But Arsenal equalised in the 53rd minute when Theo Walcott headed in Monreal&#39;s masterful cross and Sanchez made the game safe in stoppage time by tapping in substitute Olivier Giroud&#39;s cross.

&quot;I felt we started well, but when they equalised we were nervous and that&#39;s where having three consecutive draws played a little bit on our minds,&quot; said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose team trail Chelsea by three points.

Right-back Mathieu Debuchy, making his first Arsenal start for 370 days, was forced off by a hamstring injury in the first half and Wenger expressed fear the problem was &quot;severe&quot;.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman made an unhappy return to former club Southampton as his current side fell 1-0 to his previous employers.

Charlie Austin scored the game&#39;s only goal after just 41 seconds, heading in from close range after 19-year-old debutant Josh Sims helped on Cedric&#39;s cross.

Stoke City climbed to 11th in the table with a 1-0 win at Watford.

A 29th-minute own goal from Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes settled the game, with Charlie Adam&#39;s header hitting the post and bouncing into the net off the unfortunate Brazilian.

(AFP)

Manchester United manager Mourinho was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle in protest of Paul Pogba's booking for diving

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was sent off as his side lost more ground in the Premier League title race by drawing 1-1 with West Ham United on Sunday. After Diafra Sakho's second-minute opener was cancelled out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mourinho was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle in protest at Paul Pogba's booking for diving. It was United's fourth successive home draw in the league -- a first since 1980 -- and left them 11 points below leaders Chelsea in sixth place. United assistant manager Rui Faria, filling in for Mourinho, told BBC Sport: "We all believe the results will appear. "The referee explained it to Jose and there is nothing more to say. I think it was frustration from Jose after the yellow card for Pogba. "It should be a foul for us, but the referee understood it in another way." Elsewhere, Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal kept pace within the leading pack by winning 3-1 at home to Bournemouth. Mourinho made six changes to his starting XI at Old Trafford, but his bench created the biggest stir as formerly exiled midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger made an unexpected return to the match-day squad. West Ham needed just 90 seconds to go ahead as Dimitri Payet's free-kick from the right was headed in by Sakho. In the 21st minute, Pogba's deep cross was nodded in by Ibrahimovic, who has now scored seven league goals this season. Moments later referee Jonathan Moss booked Pogba for diving after the France midfielder took evasive action as Mark Noble moved in to tackle him. Mourinho reacted by furiously kicking a plastic bottle and was duly sent to the stands for the second time this season. Wayne Rooney, whose next goal will equal Bobby Charlton's 249-goal club scoring record, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on for United in the second half. Jesse Lingard saw a goal chalked off for offside after Mkhitaryan had hit the post, while United were indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea for a crucial late save to deny Ashley Fletcher. - Debuchy blow - United will hope their luck changes when West Ham return to Old Trafford in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Arsenal ended a run of three straight draws in all competitions with victory over Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium. With England midfielder Jack Wilshere watching from the stands due to the terms of his loan from Arsenal to Bournemouth, the home side took a 12th-minute lead courtesy of a horror moment from Simon Cook. In seeking to play the ball back to goalkeeper Adam Federici from the right, he undercooked his pass horribly, giving Sanchez the time to pick his spot and put Arsenal ahead. Bournemouth equalised in the 23rd minute when Callum Wilson netted from the penalty spot after Nacho Monreal was harshly adjudged to have fouled him. But Arsenal equalised in the 53rd minute when Theo Walcott headed in Monreal's masterful cross and Sanchez made the game safe in stoppage time by tapping in substitute Olivier Giroud's cross. "I felt we started well, but when they equalised we were nervous and that's where having three consecutive draws played a little bit on our minds," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose team trail Chelsea by three points. Right-back Mathieu Debuchy, making his first Arsenal start for 370 days, was forced off by a hamstring injury in the first half and Wenger expressed fear the problem was "severe". Everton manager Ronald Koeman made an unhappy return to former club Southampton as his current side fell 1-0 to his previous employers. Charlie Austin scored the game's only goal after just 41 seconds, heading in from close range after 19-year-old debutant Josh Sims helped on Cedric's cross. Stoke City climbed to 11th in the table with a 1-0 win at Watford. A 29th-minute own goal from Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes settled the game, with Charlie Adam's header hitting the post and bouncing into the net off the unfortunate Brazilian. (AFP)

Football: Mourinho sent off in Man Utd draw, Sanchez fires for Arsenal

Chelsea fought back for a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur that cemented their place on top of the Premier League, while title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool kept pace with the leaders on Saturday.

Antonio Conte&#39;s Chelsea had been knocked out of pole position by City&#39;s 2-1 win at Burnley and Liverpool&#39;s 2-0 success against Sunderland earlier in the afternoon.

But they regained their one-point lead over second-placed Liverpool, who are level on points with third-placed City, thanks to a gritty London derby success at Stamford Bridge that made it seven successive league wins for the Blues.

Chelsea hadn&#39;t conceded a league goal since September 24, but Christian Eriksen fired Tottenham ahead in the 11th minute with a ferocious long-range strike.

Despite being outplayed for much of the first half, Chelsea went back to the dressing room on level terms thanks to a sublime curling effort from Pedro just before the interval.

In the 51st minute, Diego Costa picked out Victor Moses at the far post and his shot was deflected into the net off Jan Vertonghen as Chelsea ended Tottenham&#39;s 12-match unbeaten league run.

&quot;These games are difficult, It was a tough game with a lot of intensity,&quot; Conte said.

&quot;It&#39;s important to continue in this way and improve the confidence. It&#39;s too early to talk of the title. This league is very tough.&quot;

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino added: &quot;If we analyse the game, we were better. All the stats are for us but football is not just about stats. You need to be clinical and score.&quot;

Earlier, Sergio Aguero scored two scruffy goals as City saw off Burnley and Liverpool followed suit by downing Sunderland with goals from Divock Origi and James Milner after losing Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho to a worrying injury.

&quot;It was an intense game for us and a deserved win at the end,&quot; said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

&quot;It (Coutinho&#39;s injury) is an ankle injury, but we can&#39;t say any more until we see a scan.&quot;

Swansea City claimed an extraordinary 5-4 win over fellow strugglers Crystal Palace, while champions Leicester City narrowly avoided a seventh defeat of the campaign in a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.

Having seen City prevail at Turf Moor in the early game, Liverpool were under pressure to produce the goods against a Sunderland team who had won their two previous matches.

In the first half, the influential Coutinho was stretchered off with his right ankle in a brace after hurting himself in a challenge by Didier Ndong.

Origi took the Brazil international&#39;s place and he gave Liverpool a reward for their dominance in the 75th minute with his first league goal of the season.

Jordan Henderson picked the Belgian forward out on the left and he cut inside onto his right foot and swept a shot inside the far post.

Milner completed the victory from the penalty spot in the first minute of injury time.

Burnley took a shock 14th-minute lead against City when Dean Marney met Nicolas Otamendi&#39;s headed clearance with a thumping 25-yard volley that nestled in the bottom-left corner.

Pardew woe

But Aguero equalised in the 37th minute, stabbing home after Burnley failed to clear a corner, and the hosts&#39; luck continued to desert them as both Marney and Johann Berg Gudmundsson went off injured.

A defensive mix-up allowed City to net the decisive goal on the hour, with Fernandinho&#39;s cross striking Aguero and going in after Ben Mee and Stephen Ward had got in each other&#39;s way.

&quot;We are so satisfied for the points and the performance, especially two days after the Champions League,&quot; said City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side host Chelsea next weekend.

&quot;All of the players showed huge character and a lot of personality.&quot;

Swansea upped the pressure on Palace manager Alan Pardew by condemning the south London club to a sixth straight defeat in a madcap game that gave Bob Bradley his first win since becoming manager.

Palace led 1-0, fell 3-1 down, fought back to go 4-3 up, but eventually succumbed courtesy of a remarkable brace of injury-time goals from Spanish striker Fernando Llorente.

&quot;Crazy, at 3-1 I thought we were in control. That&#39;s one we won&#39;t forget,&quot; Bradley said.

&quot;I&#39;m going to give the players all the credit today. They fought until the end.&quot;

The victory took Swansea off the foot of the table, where they were replaced by Sunderland, and left Palace above the bottom three on goal difference.

Hull City and West Bromwich Albion drew 1-1.

(AFP)

&nbsp;

Chelsea fought back for a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur that cemented their place on top of the Premier League

Chelsea fought back for a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur that cemented their place on top of the Premier League, while title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool kept pace with the leaders on Saturday. Antonio Conte's Chelsea had been knocked out of pole position by City's 2-1 win at Burnley and Liverpool's 2-0 success against Sunderland earlier in the afternoon. But they regained their one-point lead over second-placed Liverpool, who are level on points with third-placed City, thanks to a gritty London derby success at Stamford Bridge that made it seven successive league wins for the Blues. Chelsea hadn't conceded a league goal since September 24, but Christian Eriksen fired Tottenham ahead in the 11th minute with a ferocious long-range strike. Despite being outplayed for much of the first half, Chelsea went back to the dressing room on level terms thanks to a sublime curling effort from Pedro just before the interval. In the 51st minute, Diego Costa picked out Victor Moses at the far post and his shot was deflected into the net off Jan Vertonghen as Chelsea ended Tottenham's 12-match unbeaten league run. "These games are difficult, It was a tough game with a lot of intensity," Conte said. "It's important to continue in this way and improve the confidence. It's too early to talk of the title. This league is very tough." Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino added: "If we analyse the game, we were better. All the stats are for us but football is not just about stats. You need to be clinical and score." Earlier, Sergio Aguero scored two scruffy goals as City saw off Burnley and Liverpool followed suit by downing Sunderland with goals from Divock Origi and James Milner after losing Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho to a worrying injury. "It was an intense game for us and a deserved win at the end," said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. "It (Coutinho's injury) is an ankle injury, but we can't say any more until we see a scan." Swansea City claimed an extraordinary 5-4 win over fellow strugglers Crystal Palace, while champions Leicester City narrowly avoided a seventh defeat of the campaign in a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough. Having seen City prevail at Turf Moor in the early game, Liverpool were under pressure to produce the goods against a Sunderland team who had won their two previous matches. In the first half, the influential Coutinho was stretchered off with his right ankle in a brace after hurting himself in a challenge by Didier Ndong. Origi took the Brazil international's place and he gave Liverpool a reward for their dominance in the 75th minute with his first league goal of the season. Jordan Henderson picked the Belgian forward out on the left and he cut inside onto his right foot and swept a shot inside the far post. Milner completed the victory from the penalty spot in the first minute of injury time. Burnley took a shock 14th-minute lead against City when Dean Marney met Nicolas Otamendi's headed clearance with a thumping 25-yard volley that nestled in the bottom-left corner. Pardew woe But Aguero equalised in the 37th minute, stabbing home after Burnley failed to clear a corner, and the hosts' luck continued to desert them as both Marney and Johann Berg Gudmundsson went off injured. A defensive mix-up allowed City to net the decisive goal on the hour, with Fernandinho's cross striking Aguero and going in after Ben Mee and Stephen Ward had got in each other's way. "We are so satisfied for the points and the performance, especially two days after the Champions League," said City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side host Chelsea next weekend. "All of the players showed huge character and a lot of personality." Swansea upped the pressure on Palace manager Alan Pardew by condemning the south London club to a sixth straight defeat in a madcap game that gave Bob Bradley his first win since becoming manager. Palace led 1-0, fell 3-1 down, fought back to go 4-3 up, but eventually succumbed courtesy of a remarkable brace of injury-time goals from Spanish striker Fernando Llorente. "Crazy, at 3-1 I thought we were in control. That's one we won't forget," Bradley said. "I'm going to give the players all the credit today. They fought until the end." The victory took Swansea off the foot of the table, where they were replaced by Sunderland, and left Palace above the bottom three on goal difference. Hull City and West Bromwich Albion drew 1-1. (AFP)

Football: Chelsea down Spurs as City, Liverpool keep pace

Police investigations into the sexual abuse of youngsters within English football widened Friday as England captain Wayne Rooney praised victims for speaking out.

Jason Dunford, once a youth player with Premier League giants Manchester City, added to the growing tide of abuse accusations that have rocked the English game by alleging that a football paedophile ring was covered up.

The allegations mainly centre on Barry Bennell, a youth coach with Manchester City, Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra and several junior teams in northwest England.

Andy Woodward last week became the first player to reveal publicly the abuse Bennell inflicted upon him, triggering a stream of similar claims.

Bennell was given a four-year sentence for raping a British boy on a football tour of Florida in 1994 and a nine-year sentence for 23 offences against six boys in England in 1998.

He was jailed for a third time in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to abusing a boy at a football camp in Macclesfield, northwest England, in 1980.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) announced Thursday it had launched a telephone helpline for victims of football abuse.&nbsp;

Rooney urged any player who had been affected to call the hotline and no longer &quot;suffer in silence&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s awful that some of my colleagues have suffered this way whilst playing the sport that I and they love,&quot; the Manchester United forward said.&nbsp;

&quot;Andy (Woodward) has been really brave to come forward and I would encourage anyone who has or is suffering from abuse to call the NSPCC&#39;s new football helpline.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s important that people know that it&#39;s ok to speak out, there is help available and that they don&#39;t need to suffer in silence.&quot;

Allegations increase

Police said the establishment of the hotline and the publicity generated by former players sharing their stories in the media had prompted other potential victims to come forward, with Bennell not the only name under investigation.

A growing number of allegations have been reported in four police force areas, against several individuals.

London&#39;s Metropolitan Police said it had received information relating to &quot;non-recent sexual abuse in football clubs&quot; in the city, without naming the teams involved.

Earlier, Dunford told BBC television: &quot;I believe there was a conspiracy and paedophile ring.&quot;

Dunford added Bennell had attempted to touch him in bed while he had been staying at a holiday camp after winning a football competition.

&quot;There were people at those clubs who had a duty to look after boys coming through their system,&quot; Dunford said. &quot;I think (Jimmy) Savile looks like a choirboy compared to this fellow.&quot;

Following his death in 2011, numerous allegations of sexual abuse stretching back six decades tainted the name of Savile, a BBC radio DJ and television presenter.&nbsp;

As a result of allegations involving Savile and other high-profile figures, but none specifically linked to football, a wide-ranging inquiry into sex abuse in Britain was established two years ago.

The probe has said it is open to examining allegations within football.

A spokeswoman said the investigation&#39;s role is to look at &quot;institutional failure to protect children from child sexual abuse&quot;, adding that its terms of reference &quot;are broad enough to include failures by sports clubs&quot;.

Death threats

Seven former players have come forward to allege abuse by a youth coach.

Former Manchester City and England forward David White, Woodward, Dunford, Chris Unsworth and Steve Walters all allege they were abused by Bennell.

Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Paul Stewart, capped three times by England, said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by an unnamed man who threatened to kill his family if he told anyone.

The Guardian newspaper said it had been approached by a former Newcastle United player, whose identity it did not reveal, alleging he had been sexually abused while at the northeast club.

The ex-player named George Ormond, who has already had a six-year prison sentence for convictions involving boys from the club&#39;s youth system over a 24-year period.

The English Premier League said it was &quot;very concerned&quot; by the allegations and offered its support to anyone coming forward. It said clubs were regularly visited to check their safeguarding provisions for youth players.

(AFP)

Andy Woodward last week became the first player to reveal publicly the abuse Barry Bennell inflicted upon him

Police investigations into the sexual abuse of youngsters within English football widened Friday as England captain Wayne Rooney praised victims for speaking out. Jason Dunford, once a youth player with Premier League giants Manchester City, added to the growing tide of abuse accusations that have rocked the English game by alleging that a football paedophile ring was covered up. The allegations mainly centre on Barry Bennell, a youth coach with Manchester City, Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra and several junior teams in northwest England. Andy Woodward last week became the first player to reveal publicly the abuse Bennell inflicted upon him, triggering a stream of similar claims. Bennell was given a four-year sentence for raping a British boy on a football tour of Florida in 1994 and a nine-year sentence for 23 offences against six boys in England in 1998. He was jailed for a third time in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to abusing a boy at a football camp in Macclesfield, northwest England, in 1980. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) announced Thursday it had launched a telephone helpline for victims of football abuse. Rooney urged any player who had been affected to call the hotline and no longer "suffer in silence". "It's awful that some of my colleagues have suffered this way whilst playing the sport that I and they love," the Manchester United forward said. "Andy (Woodward) has been really brave to come forward and I would encourage anyone who has or is suffering from abuse to call the NSPCC's new football helpline. "It's important that people know that it's ok to speak out, there is help available and that they don't need to suffer in silence." Allegations increase Police said the establishment of the hotline and the publicity generated by former players sharing their stories in the media had prompted other potential victims to come forward, with Bennell not the only name under investigation. A growing number of allegations have been reported in four police force areas, against several individuals. London's Metropolitan Police said it had received information relating to "non-recent sexual abuse in football clubs" in the city, without naming the teams involved. Earlier, Dunford told BBC television: "I believe there was a conspiracy and paedophile ring." Dunford added Bennell had attempted to touch him in bed while he had been staying at a holiday camp after winning a football competition. "There were people at those clubs who had a duty to look after boys coming through their system," Dunford said. "I think (Jimmy) Savile looks like a choirboy compared to this fellow." Following his death in 2011, numerous allegations of sexual abuse stretching back six decades tainted the name of Savile, a BBC radio DJ and television presenter. As a result of allegations involving Savile and other high-profile figures, but none specifically linked to football, a wide-ranging inquiry into sex abuse in Britain was established two years ago. The probe has said it is open to examining allegations within football. A spokeswoman said the investigation's role is to look at "institutional failure to protect children from child sexual abuse", adding that its terms of reference "are broad enough to include failures by sports clubs". Death threats Seven former players have come forward to allege abuse by a youth coach. Former Manchester City and England forward David White, Woodward, Dunford, Chris Unsworth and Steve Walters all allege they were abused by Bennell. Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Paul Stewart, capped three times by England, said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by an unnamed man who threatened to kill his family if he told anyone. The Guardian newspaper said it had been approached by a former Newcastle United player, whose identity it did not reveal, alleging he had been sexually abused while at the northeast club. The ex-player named George Ormond, who has already had a six-year prison sentence for convictions involving boys from the club's youth system over a 24-year period. The English Premier League said it was "very concerned" by the allegations and offered its support to anyone coming forward. It said clubs were regularly visited to check their safeguarding provisions for youth players. (AFP)

Football: Probes widen into youth sex abuse at English clubs

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