Sneijder ruled out against Trabzonspor

Inter have announced that midfielder Wesley Sneijder will not take part in the upcoming Champions League match at Trabzonspor because of injury.


The Netherlands international was slated to be included in Inter's starting XI for Saturday's Serie A match against Cagliari, but pulled out in the warm-up with a muscular problem.

A test undergone on Sunday morning revealed that the player has suffered a second-degree strain of the rectus femoris muscle of his right leg.

It is still unknown for how long Sneijder will be out, but any involvement in Tuesday's trip to the Turkish side has been excluded.

Meanwhile, coach Claudio Ranieri said he is hopeful of having defenders Lucio, Yuto Nagatomo and Cristian Chivu fully fit for the match.

Inter are at the top of Group B in the Champions League, with nine points from four games, whereas Trabzonspor are third, with four points fewer.

Ronaldo donate $2400 to a palestine child

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has donated €2,400 to Palestinian children in Gaza, the Arabic site of the club's 'Classico' network has revealed.

Ronaldo gave away sports shoes to the foundation, which in turn sold the boots at a public auction and will now dedicate the funds to schools in Gaza.



According to the network, bidding began at €700 and was finally concluded at €2,400.

During his spell at Manchester United, Ronaldo was photographed wearing the Palestinian head cover, the kufiyyeh, which was seen as support for the Palestinian cause. 

Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 1-0

Mohun Bagan registered a narrow 1-0 victory over arch-rivals East Bengal in the big Kolkata derby on Sunday evening.Odafa Onyeka Okolie scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the first half.  

East Bengal created more chances but a man-of-the match display from Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee gave Subrata Bhattcharya’s side three vital points as Trevor Morgan suffered his first derby defeat.


There were no real surprises in the starting lineup for either side as both Odafa Okolie and Jose Ramirez Barreto returned to the eleven for Bagan while newly signed Australian defender Daniel Zeleny was also handed his debut at the heart of the central defence alongside Kinshuk Debnath.

For East Bengal, Robin Singh partnered Alan Gow upfront in the absence of the suspended Tolgay Ozbey while Sushant Matthew started in central midfield as Mehtab Hussain wasn’t even fit to make the bench.

More than 90,000 spectators were inside the stadium and there was a sense of tension in the approach of the players as both sides started slowly.

East Bengal were seeing the ball more but it was the Mariners who had the first real chance of the game when the evergreen Barreto earned a free-kick after a foul from Sushant Matthew.The Brazilian took the free-kick but it went off target much to relief of goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu and the thousands of East Bengal supporters.


The red and gold brigade, who were strangely wearing their changed strips of white jerseys and black shorts, had a penalty claim in the 9th minute when Alan Gow went down after a slight contact from Rakesh Masih. Referee Pratap Singh waved play on and later booked the Scotsman for play acting.

East Bengal’s brightest move in the first quarter came from a brilliant run from Penn who went past Zeleny inside the box but couldn’t find the target.

Mohun Bagan’s front three of Sunil Chhetri, Odafa Okolie and Jose Ramirez Barreto were looking to cause problems to the East Bengal defence and close to the 20th minute the Mariners were awarded a penalty.
Uga Okpara missed the flight of a long diagonal pass which allowed Sunil Chhetri to get behind and the India striker was brought down from behind by the big Nigerian defender.

The East Bengal players surrounded the referee with Okpara also getting a yellow card but Odafa kept his cool and successfully converted the spot-kick.

In the 27th minute, Bagan had a glorious chance to make it 2-0 when Odafa got the better of Okpara before setting up Barreto, who couldn’t hit the target from a very good position inside the box.

East Bengal tried to throw more bodies forward but they were lacking the cutting edge in the absence of Mehtab and Tolgay. Just before the halftime break Sanju found the side-netting from an indirect free-kick but there were no further goals in the first period as Mohun Bagan led 1-0 at the break.

Subrata Bhattacharya introduced Snehasish Chakraborty in place of Rakesh Masih at the start of the second half which strangely saw Barreto drop back into midfield alongside Jewel Raja.

The Mariners had the first real chance of the second half as Nabi had a free header from a Surkumar Singh free-kick but the Indian international headed wide.

After that it was all East Bengal for most of the second period as Bagan dropped more and more deep allowing East Bengal’s midfield plenty of space and time.

Vashum wasted a great opportunity to equalize in the 53rd minute when he was well picked out by a Naoba Singh cross from the right flank but the hero of the 2010 Federation Cup final missed the target.

Minutes later, Mohun Bagan custodian Sangram Mukherjee produced two vital saves in quick succession and both times from Sanju Pradhan. The veteran goalkeeper showed great reflexes much to the frustration of the East Bengal faithful inside the stadium.

Mohun Bagan hardly offered anything at the other end but Nabi did go on a fantastic solo run which eventually came to nothing as East Bengal defenders crowded him out.

Just before the 70-minute mark, Trevor Morgan’s side had another penalty shout when Alan Gow went down after contact from Zeleny but Pratap Singh only awarded a corner.

Coach Morgan brought on Baljit Sahni in place of Sushant Matthew as East Bengal went all out in search of the equalizer in the final twenty minutes.

Baljit could have easily had an almost instant impact as he got on the end of a Robin Singh header and had a clear sight of goal but the Punjabi lad’s weak effort was saved by the impressive Sangram Muhkerjee.

Minutes later, Sangram produced another fingertip stop, this time he prevented Robin’s Singh goal-bound effort from going into the back of the net. Strangely though, the referee awarded a goal-kick, nevertheless Bagan still had their slender lead.

At the other end, Sunil could have put the game to bed as he got behind the East Bengal backline after a lovely through pass from Odafa but the former East Bengal striker uncharacteristically squandered the chance.

Trevor Morgan made another substitution as Ravinder Singh came on for Sanju Pradhan but before the red and gold brigade could launch an assault in the dying stages, the floodlights inside the Salt Lake Stadium went off. 

Play resumed after a delay of almost 20 minutes but East Bengal never really threatened to score after that as Mohun Bagan defended well.

The Mariners held on for a priceless win to move up to second in the I-League table while East Bengal are now eight points behind league leaders Dempo.

Liverpool Sink Chelsea 2-1

A late strike from former Chelsea full back Glen Johnson helped Liverpool to claim all three points and gave the Stamford Bridge side their second home defeat in row for the first time in over nine years.


The Anfield side had gone into a deserved first half lead, with Maxi Rodriguez opening the scoring, before substitute Daniel Sturridge got Andre Villas-Boas side level before Johnson claimed all three points.

The victory puts the Reds level with the hosts, who lost further ground on the two Manchester clubs at the top of the Premier League. 

Chelsea started the game with former Liverpool pair Raul Meireles and Fernando Torres being forced to start on the bench, while Kenny Dalglish handed surprise starts to both Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodriguez.

Within the first two minutes of the game, the visitors were claiming for a free kick and for Chelsea skipper John Terry to be sent off, as Luis Suarez played a through ball towards Rodriguez, with the Argentinean seeming to be blocked by Terry, but the referee waved play on. 

With ten minutes gone in the half the home side got their first proper chance of the game, as a ball from the left hand side by Florent Malouda found Juan Mata at the back post, but his ball across the face of goal was cleared by the Liverpool defence before Didier Drogba could get to the ball.

Both sides continued to press back and forth, with firstly John Obi Mikel having a long range effort for Chelsea that went just over the bar, then Liverpool went down the other end and 
Petr Cech was forced to smother the ball before Glen Johnson could get a cross in.

Midway through the half, the home end of Stamford Bridge rose to cheer what they believed to be a goal, as Drogba struck a free kick, with Pepe Reina looking like he was well beaten, but fortunately for the Liverpool keeper, the ball hit off the advertising boards and went behind the goal.

The Reds continued to pressure their London hosts, with some incisive passing which led to them getting the first goal, as Mikel lost the ball from a Cech pass, giving Liverpool possession, which they capitalised on as Bellamy eventually found Rodriguez in space and he tucked the ball over the diving Chelsea stopper to open the scoring.

The visitors continued to press at Chelsea’s fragile defence, with David Luiz giving away a free kick just outside the box that allowed Suarez to try his luck with the set piece, but the Uruguayan frontman couldn’t find the target, as his strike went over the bar.

Luiz nearly cost his side again a minute later, as Suarez broke the offside trap and raced past the Blues centre half, before attempting to cross the ball into the box, but it deflected off of the Brazilian and away for a corner, much to the relief of everyone in blue in Stamford Bridge as Villas-Boas side went in a break only trailing by a single goal.  

Maxi effort | Liverpool winger tussles with Ivanovic

With his side being a goal down at the break, Chelsea boss Villas-Boas decided to make a change by bringing on Sturridge to replace the ineffective Mikel, as the home side looked to push forward a lot more in search of an equaliser.

They should have got level only minutes into the half as Frank Lampard found Drogba on the edge of the area and the forward aided by a deflection from a Liverpool defender on the ground, got the ball into the box, but his shot went well wide of Reina’s goal.

Chelsea finally got their equaliser ten minutes into the half as Terry made a forward run with the ball, before finding Malouda, who raced forward before hitting a mishit shot from the edge of the area that was eventually tapped in by Sturridge.

Villas-Boas side should have taken the lead a couple of minutes later as Drogba curled in a free kick from just outside the area that was knocked on by the onrushing Branislav Ivanovic, with Reina having to make a spectacular save in order to keep the sides level.

The momentum of the first quarter of an hour of the half helped the Stamford Bridge crowd to find their voice, as their team continued to press forward, with Malouda racing to the by line before crossing for Drogba, who knocked the ball just wide of Reina’s right hand post.

Liverpool nearly suffered a calamitous error as Terry launched a ball long in search of Drogba and as the striker raced on the ball, but before he could get there Reina launched his head to the ball, just outside his own area and luckily for the Spaniard the ball broke to him at the second attempt to clear from danger.

The home side continued to create, with Ramires finding Mata, who then chipped the ball towards Malouda inside the area, but the French winger’s overhead kick went well wide of Reina’s goal.

Malouda, once again could have got his name on the scoresheet as he met a cross from Ivanovic at the back post, but as before he mishit the shot and fortunately for the Liverpool defence there was no player in blue waiting to pounce on the ball.

With less than ten minutes left on the clock, Villas-Boas decided to bring on his former Anfield pair of Meireles and Torres, as they searched for that vital goal to give them all three points and close the gap on the top two.

Liverpool could have claimed all three points, as substitute Jordan Henderson skipped down the right wing, before crossing to fellow sub Stewart Downing, who laid the ball off to Dirk Kuyt, but his tame shot failed to trouble Cech.

But only a minute later they did get a second as Kuyt found Johnson free on the right wing and he cut inside and put the ball by the outstretched arms of Cech and into the back of the net, to the delight of the travelling band of Liverpool supporters.

The visitors hung on for the reminder of the game and claimed a vital three points that put them level with Chelsea in the league table.

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURE CALLED OFF,AFTER REFEREE TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE

It was a match between Cologne and Mainz,and the referee incharge was Babak Rafati,who tried to commit suicide just hours before the match was going to kickoff,but because of this incident,the match was called off,and  now has been postponed till the investigations continues.

Full Article

Gerard Pique:We Must Continue Picking Up Three Points Each Week

The champions' stopper has emphasised the importance of maintaining their winning run, to give themselves the best chance of catching up with Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga.

Following Barcelona's 4-0 victory over Real Zaragoza on Saturday, defender Gerard Piquesays it is imperative that his side carry on picking up points to keep up the pressure on Primera Division rivals Real Madrid.

The former Manchester United man scored the opening goal in what proved to be a convincing win for the Blaugrana, and he wants to see their ruthless streak sustained for the rest of the season.

"There are the games where the ball can be taken advantage of, especially when we have rivals closeby," Pique said after the match according to AS. "Today we have begun pressuring more and we have created more chances."

Pique then proceeded to discuss their forthcoming fixtures, which sees them travel to AC Milan in the Champions League, and Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season in the league, but is confident that they can come through unscathed.

"It is a complicated month, with many important games in the league such as against Real Madrid, and we want to stay top of our Champions League group," he continued. "But we have the quality to overcome it."

However, when quizzed on what he felt would be the outcome of Jose Mourinho's side's clash with Valencia, the 24-year-old preferred to put the onus back onto his team.

"We have to focus on ourselves and keep on adding three [points] out of three, because there will come a time when every game is like a final."

Barcelona temporarily go top of La Liga, but await Real's result with Valencia.

Manchester City's Roberto Mancini: We Won’t Enjoy An Unbeaten Season

The Etihad Stadium side maintained their five point lead at the top of the league after beating Alan Pardew's side 3-1 but the Italian feels that his team will suffer defeat

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that his side are unlikely to go through the entire Premier League season unbeaten despite seeing them comfortably beatNewcastle 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Mario Balotelli, Micah Richards and Sergio Aguero all got on the scoresheet before a late Dan Gosling strike for the visitors rounded off the clash, as Mancini's men moved eight points clear at the top of the table ahead of Manchester United's visit to Swansea City.

The victory was City's 11th in 12 Premier League games but Mancini is "sure" that his side will eventually slip up during the campaign, despite being impressed with their performance in what he believed was a tough fixture.

"Today was a really difficult match because Newcastle is a strong team, they have played very well and we knew this," he said. "After the international break is always difficult.

"Before the game I told the guys that it was going to be difficult - and if we want to win this game then we should play very well today.

"We played very well, we had a lot of possession, we scored three goals, we had other chances but in some moments we were also lucky.

"I hope that we can continue like this but in the 26 games that we have there will be a time that we will lose a game, I'm sure. But I'm happy for the players and I think we're playing very well because we have good players.

"The team has improved a lot, as players, as a team. I think we are a very strong team now but we should think that the season is long and probably there will be a difficult moment. For this reason it's important now if you can score goals and you can win. It's important."

Balotelli opened the scoring with an audaciously taken penalty on the 41st minute following a handball from Ryan Taylor and Mancini was full of praise for the 21-year-old, whom he described as a "great" player.
"With penalties Mario is fabulous. It's impossible for him to miss one penalty, I don't know why. He shoots very well.

"Mario is a very important player, he's a great player like all the players at Man City. He's becoming better and better and training well.
"Mario's doing all the work, I'm just helping him to not waste his talent become the player that he can become. The rest is up to him. It's possible that he will play in Naples."
Mancini opted to start with the talismanic David Silva on the bench at the Etihad Stadium and the Italian explained that the Spain international was in need of rest following Spain's 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in midweek.

"David [Silva], if he could, would play all the games but it's impossible like the other players," he said. "Sometimes he needs to rest. He arrived on Thursday from Costa Rica and he was tired for this reason."