Dalglish: We deserved to beat City

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish feels his side were unlucky not to win their Anfield clash with Manchester City after Sunday’s match ended 1-1.

Liverpool fell behind to Vincent Kompany’s header in the 31st minute but levelled two minutes later when Joleon Lescott scored an own goal as he tried to block a Charlie Adam shot.

City striker Mario Balotelli was sent off for a second bookable offence with seven minutes to play in the English Premier League match – just 18 minutes after coming on as a substitute.

The Reds applied late pressure but could not find a way past Joe Hart, who produced a stunning diving save in added time to keep out Andy Carroll’s powerful header, and Dalglish felt his side deserved more for their efforts.

“The performance was fantastic but I don’t think the players got what they fully deserved,” Dalglish said.

“I think we deserved the three points and quite easily could have won it, but we never managed to.”

“We got a fortunate goal but I think that is when our luck ran out. We have played against three or four goalkeepers who have played like that against us this season. Hopefully one day that will change.”

“Manchester City started better than us but once we got into it, I think we were the better team.”

“I don’t think we could have asked for much more from the players. They were fantastic in the way they went about their job.”

“I think the attitude and commitment has been superb almost since the day I came in. That is no surprise, but we also need to remember this is a team in its infancy a little bit as well, so they are doing well.”

City boss Roberto Mancini reacted angrily when Balotelli was dismissed for a rash challenge on Martin Skrtel, but Dalglish said the Italian only had himself to blame.

“I think Balotelli got himself sent off,” he said.

“Sometimes if you look in the mirror, you get the answer.”

“He doesn’t help himself. If you help yourself, you don’t get in that situation in the first place.”

Mancini, meanwhile, put the blame for Balotelli’s dismissal squarely with the Liverpool players, who he claimed influenced referee Martin Atkinson to reach into his pocket.

“It was not the correct decision,” Mancini said.

“Mario moved his arm but I got the impression the referee thought it was a free-kick but not a card.”

“After all the Liverpool players went to him complaining, he gave a second yellow card.”

“Mario should pay attention because he knows many players will provoke him. I’m disappointed with him about the first yellow card but not the second.”

“I don’t think the decision was correct. I have seen it again and still think so – it isn’t a second yellow card for me.”

Mancini was asked to respond to claims Balotelli had damaged a door in the visitors’ changing room at Anfield after being sent off.

“Mario was disappointed about the red card. If he damaged the door, he will pay, like he did with his house,” he said.

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Barcelona push for international pay change

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell said the European Club Association (ECA) wants FIFA and UEFA to pay their players in major tournaments.

Rosell feels that the current situation, where clubs pay their players although they are unavailable, is unfair and is hopeful that football’s governing bodies are open to change.

“Will clubs ask FIFA and UEFA to pay players during the World Cup or European Championship? This is what we are discussing with both institutions,” Rosell said to reporters in Doha.

“That could happen in the near future because we don’t think it’s fair that we pay the salaries and they use our players and they get income using our players.”

“This is something that has to be treated very seriously. We hope they will hear what we want to tell them.”

Rosell said the ECA also wanted UEFA to make changes to the Champions League to increase income for the clubs.

“We want to have the Champions League under the umbrella of UEFA, but we also want UEFA to hear our demands.”

“We are asking for more revenue. We are asking for governance, transparency and insurance.”

“We would like to have a Champions League with more teams. That means, one day we can play a Barcelona v Manchester United Champions League game on Saturday or Sunday.”

Rosell recently said it would benefit the top clubs if domestic leagues were reduced to 16 teams to give them a better chance to boost income.

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Premier League: Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 1

Tottenham Hotspur defeated Aston Villa 2-0 on Monday to move third in the English Premier League, thanks to a brace from Emmanuel Adebayor.

Togolese striker Adebayor had chances to complete his hat-trick after his two strikes at White Hart Lane ended a run of seven appearances without a goal.

Tottenham were boosted by the return of manager Harry Redknapp to the bench after a period of absence following heart surgery.

But it was visitors Villa who started the match strongly and could have gone ahead inside the first minute.

Emile Heskey got on the end of a deep cross from Stilian Petrov, but Kyle Walker did enough to prevent the striker heading the ball back to partner Darren Bent.

It proved a false start for Alex McLeish’s away team, and after that, it was all Spurs.

Rafael van der Vaart’s clever trickery on the edge of the box nearly put through Adebayor, but the pass was too heavy and went harmlessly through to goalkeeper Shay Given.

Benoit Assou Ekotto’s cross-field pass then found Aaron Lennon, who nipped past Stephen Warnock with ease.

His delivery was headed into the ground and wide by Adebayor, who should have hit the target.

The on-loan Manchester City striker made amends for his error shortly afterwards, showing great technique in the six-yard box to open the scoring after 14 minutes.

Younes Kaboul’s volley was deflected wide, and from the resulting corner Adebayor scored with an overhead kick after Villa’s defence fell asleep on the second ball back into the box by Gareth Bale.

Van der Vaart twice went close again, as did Adebayor, before Villa’s second chance of the first-half fell to Heskey, who was played in by Gabby Agbonlahor.

The powerful centre-forward opted to try and set up Bent rather than go for glory himself, and the ball trickled out of play for a goal kick.

That poor decision making proved costly when Adebayor made it two five minutes before half-time.

The goal came courtesy of a Bale cross that was deflected up and over Given by defender James Collins, leaving Adebayor the simplest of close-range finishes.

Villa’s attempt at a response in the second-half proved uninspired.

Kris Herd crossed for Darren Bent, with the resulting header well saved by goalkeeper Brad Friedel, called into action for the first time in the match.

Adebayor went close for his hat-trick on numerous occasions.

And he had the ball in the back of the net late on, but play had already stopped with Lennon flagged for offside.

Spurs had further chances after that but could not add to their tally.

Nevertheless, they saw out the closing exchanges for a comfortable victory.

Tottenham are now four points behind Manchester United and nine back from leaders City.

Villa meanwhile sit eighth, and remain without an away win from six league matches on the road this season.

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Henry stands by MLS

New York Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry has defended Major League Soccer against critics who have attacked the standard of the league.

The former Arsenal and Barcelona striker has just finished his second season with the Red Bulls, a club for which he has scored 17 goals from 41 appearances.

And the former France international, who has been named in the MLS team of the year, believes that critics of the American top flight are not paying the league the respect it deserves.

“People have the right to think what they want about MLS,” Henry said. “Of course, it’s not the same as watching Barcelona against Real Madrid but we know that and we will not lie.”

“But we have good players as you could see, they are good teams in this league. If you watch Salt Lake, they’re a team who play good football, a difficult team, they have good players.”

The 34-year-old Henry added that he still has a hunger to win trophies with the Red Bulls.

“I am here to do my best to win the games and that’s it,” he said. “Then, what people think is not a big problem for me, because I know when I do something I do it trying to win, sometimes it’s not enough but I really try to do my best.”

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Lampard has an eye on Brazil

Chelsea star Frank Lampard says he is targeting a few more years playing for England, and thinks Euro 2012 may not be his last major tournament.

Lampard has been in fine form in recent weeks and has been rewarded with the captain’s armband for Saturday’s friendly against Spain in preparation for Euro 2012 – an international tournament he hopes will not be his last.

“I don’t completely accept it (Euro 2012) is my last tournament,” Lampard said.

“By saying that, I’ve certainly not made up my mind up to pull out of contention post-Euros.”

“I’m certainly very realistic. If I feel that it’s beyond me to carry on playing, that it’s detrimental to myself at Chelsea and I’m not offering enough to England, then I’ll make that decision.”

“I won’t accept that yet, but I understand that (the 2014 World Cup in) Brazil is a long way away for me, personally.”

David Beckham appears to have played his last game for England but refuses to rule himself out through retirement, which is something Lampard can identify with.

“At the moment I do. I don’t know if that’s always how I’ll feel,” he said.

“David’s situation is slightly different. He’s been playing in America for a few years now. It’s a different level of football and pace of football.”

“Probably the only time I’d think of extracting myself out of it would be if I wasn’t getting picked enough, and it was common knowledge.”

“It wouldn’t even be worth saying it then, in a way – or if it was beneficial for me to have breaks in mid-season and not to be playing games in the summer time, in terms of prolonging my Chelsea career.”

“At the moment, I can’t see myself retiring. When you’re younger you kind of think you’ll maybe retire at a certain age. You see other players doing it.”

“But, as I’ve got older, I’ve started to realise you’re a long time retired.”

“For all the bits of help you get in terms of fitness by not playing for England, I realise I’ll be sitting there wishing I’d pushed that bit harder, got another 50 caps and worked that little bit more.”

“If I didn’t think I was good enough to be playing, I wouldn’t be here. I’d say ‘don’t bother to pick me because I wouldn’t be helping anyone’.”

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La Liga: Racing 1 Malaga 3

Malaga climbed to fifth in La Liga after securing a 3-1 win away to Racing Santander on Monday.

Visitors Malaga eased into a two-goal lead at El Sardinero, thanks to Isco’s strike and an Alvaro Gonzalez own goal.

Racing pulled one back through Manuel Arana with 20 minutes remaining.

But Manuel Pellegrini’s side secured all three points when Sebastian Fernandez netted with a minute remaining.

Malaga dictated terms during the first half, but were unable to capitalize on their dominance, with Salomon Rondon and Fernandez both guilty of wasting chances.

Hector Cuper’s hosts were lucky to still be level at the break, and the second half was only three minutes old when they did fall behind.

Malaga launched a lightning counterattack in the 48th minute, ending in attacking midfielder Isco calmly slotting home the opening goal.

They were soon 2-0 ahead, when Gonzalez put the ball into his net on 65 minutes.

The closing exchanges were made interesting when winger Arana scored following a quick breakaway for Racing.

But the home side proved unable to force the equaliser in the time remaining.

And forward Fernandez put the result beyond doubt when he made it 3-1 on 89 minutes.

Malaga move up to fifth, three points behind Levante and two ahead of second-placed Sevilla.

Racing meanwhile remain inside the relegation zone.

They face an important clash away to fellow strugglers Mallorca on Sunday, while Malaga host Villarreal on Monday.

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Giggs inspires Owen to play on

Michael Owen says he will not allow a new injury setback to make him think about retiring any time soon.

The striker hobbled off after 11 minutes during Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Otelul Galati with a thigh problem, and with his contract up at the end of the season, it has been suggested that he may retire.

But the Englishman says he is still in love with the game and has taken inspiration from team-mate Ryan Giggs who is still playing for United despite being 37-years-old.

“I’m 31, so I’d still like to think I’ve got a few years left in me when you look at players like Giggsy,” Owen said in an interview broadcast on Sky Sports News.

“And while they are playing in their mid to late-thirties, that is great for us all, really.”

“But I’d like to think I’ve got a few years left in me and I still love the game. How can’t you love it when you are playing for such a top club like Manchester United?”

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Premier League: Fulham 1 Tottenham 3

Tottenham were made to dig deep to take home the three points from Craven Cottage on Sunday.

First-half goals from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon and another in second-half stoppage time from Jermain Defoe sealed the win as the hosts’ second-half display was not quite enough to earn a draw.

Tottenham wasted no time in getting their noses in front as a speedy run on the right from full-back Kyle Walker stretched the Fulham defence after 10 minutes.

The 21-year-old’s cut-back to Lennon was smashed to the far post until Mark Schwarzer deflected the ball wide to his right. The danger was still present as Bale put the ball back into the area only for Chris Baird to slide the ball into his own net.

A blow to the nose of Scott Parker caused a break in play after 20 minutes as the England international had to leave the field to be patched up with blood running.

Shortly after, Fulham broke the Tottenham defence with Clint Dempsey’s low shot being pushed away by fellow American Brad Friedel.

With the visitors in the lead, Fulham had to take the lead in the game and an unexpected figure in Emmanuel Adebayor came to the rescue for Tottenham to keep the lead intact.

From a free-kick on the right, the striker made a couple of headers to help out his defenders and maintain the advantage.

Teamwork between Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Bale and Lennon produced the second goal for Tottenham in first half stoppage time. The three moved the ball with ease with quick passing and crisp running which sprung the winger to slide in the second goal of the game.

The period finished with Fulham’s Zdenek Grygera appearing to twist his left knee and being carried from the field on a stretcher.

Whatever Jol told his side in the dressing at half-time certainly did the trick as the home side came flying out of the blocks. Shots were flying in for Fulham with Duff and Zamora both testing the defence.

This sustained pressure paid off from a corner when a Ledley King header hit the back of Younes Kaboul and beyond Friedel with the big defender knowing little about it.

The openings kept coming for Fulham and Baird nearly made amends for his involvement in the first goal with a smashed effort at goal which required Freidel to pull off another classy save. The warning bells must have been ringing loud and clear for Tottenham as the Fulham revival was unabated.

Dempsey would have been kicking himself after 74 minutes as he broke through the centre-half pairing and bore down on goal only to see his shot knocked wide by King whose slid was a crucial intervention, the chance to level up gone.

The final moments of the game summed up Fulham’s day perfectly. Two goal line scrambles kept everyone on the edge of the seats but brilliant concentration for Friedel and a huge slice of luck kept Fulham out.

And, as to twist the knife, Tottenham’s next attack killed the game with Jermain Defoe volleying in from a cross.

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Ibrahimovic blasts Guardiola, Barcelona

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has defended his decision to reveal the truth about his unhappy spell at Barcelona in his autobiography.

The book, titled ‘I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic’, is set to be released on November 15, but Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet recently leaked excerpts from the book, which included the 30-year-old directing heavy criticism at the management of former coach Pep Guardiola.

However, Ibrahimovic has insisted that there is no ulterior motive to the sudden release of his story, believing it was necessary to clarify his version of events that took place in Catalunya two seasons ago.

“If anyone has anything else to say or they know something I don’t, then they are welcome to speak, but I’ve told you everything I know in this book,” said the striker.

The Sweden international joined Barcelona in a blaze of glory during the summer of 2009 from Inter, but he admitted that his experience contrasted from the one he had dreamed of, despite scoring 21 goals for the European champions.

“Sometimes it is better to be content with what you have to dream about, than to fulfill it, only to discover that it almost kills you,” he said.

In the autobiography, Ibrahimovic revealed that he completely lost control in the aftermath of Barcelona’s 4-1 away win over Villarreal in the 2009-10 campaign which followed their Champions League elimination by Inter only days before.

He told Guardiola that he was afraid of then-Inter coach Jose Mourinho and that the Barcelona coach could ‘go to hell’.

“I yelled to him: ‘You have no balls!’ And probably worse things than that. And I added: ‘You are sh***ing yourself about Mourinho! You can go to hell!’ I was completely mad. If I were Guardiola, I would have been frightened,” Ibrahimovic writes in the first chapter of his book.

The former Ajax star also took the time to reveal his true feelings for Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

“The atmosphere in the dressing room was way too quiet for me. Messi, Iniesta and Xavi always obeyed without protesting. They were like schoolboys. I’m not like that and I couldn’t be myself,” he said.

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Premier League: Wolves 3 Wigan 1

Wolverhampton Wanderers ended their eight-game wait for a Premier League win, beating fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

Goals from Jamie O’Hara, David Edwards and Stephen Ward gave Wolves three points for the first time since August and put more pressure on Latics manager Roberto Martinez.

The visitors looked several yards short of a team worthy of a place in the top flight and barely deserved the goal they scored from the penalty spot by Ben Watson.

The result cemented their place at the foot of the table and launched Wolves into 13th place.

If it had not been for the athleticism of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, Wolves would have netted more.

Wolves had conceded 16 goals in their previous seven league games and their defensive problems were highlighted when Adlene Guedioura was played into trouble by a poor pass from left-back Ward.

Again, Wigan failed to take advantage after Mohamed Diame’s tackle and the through ball was wasted by a Hugo Rodallega shot that lacked conviction.

The Colombian then missed a golden opportunity in the 31st minute after Di Santo robbed Richard Stearman on the right.

His inch-perfect long ball looped over Christophe Berra’s head but Rodallega casually sidefooted wide with Wayne Hennessey’s net at his mercy.

Boss Martinez had even more cause to put his head in his hands after the subsequent goal kick led O’Hara to punish Rodallega’s folly.

The clearance was nodded into Doyle’s path by Guedioura and his smart cross was blasted home by the on-rushing midfielder.

Wigan had rarely threatened but their right flank had looked the most likely to reap reward. Full-back Emerson Boyce drove on from deep to produce the penalty slotted home by Watson at the second attempt in the 42nd minute.

The ex-Crystal Palace defender’s charge into the box was ended by a block from Hunt that left referee Lee Probert with no choice but to point to the spot.

Watson’s poor shot was stopped easily by Hennessey, however, he then pushed the ball to the grateful midfielder to complete the job.

Wolves regained the lead 10 minutes after the interval.

Substitute Matt Jarvis drew out Boyce and then played in Henry. The midfield hatchet-man showed surprising grace to dance to the byline and cut back to Hunt.

The Irishman’s shot from point blank range was saved superbly by Al Habsi, but even better was to come, as he somehow clawed away O’Hara’s follow-up when prone on the ground.

Unluckily for the shot stopper, third time was the trick for Wolves as Edwards unleashed an unstoppable half-volley into the net as the stationery Wigan defence watched on.

Ward made the victory safe with Wolves’ third in the 66th minute.

Jarvis was the creator this time as he danced inside Boyce to find Edwards. Edwards’ scuffed effort was deflected into O’Hara’s path and his shot was save brilliantly by Al Habsi again.

Cruelly, history repeated itself and the rebound from Ward was deflected home via Alcaraz.

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Premier League: QPR 2 Manchester City 3

A Yaya Toure header gave Manchester City a 3-2 win at QPR to keep Roberto Mancini’s men five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

QPR started the better of the two sides with Heidar Helguson flashing wide in the opening minutes.

A deserved goal came for the hosts when Joey Barton played in a free-kick from the right, with Jay Bothroyd rising highest to bury the header from eight yards.

Neil Warnock’s men continued to apply pressure, with Jamie Mackie forcing a save from Joe Hart who also reacted well to block Helguson’s follow-up.

QPR’s failure to extend the advantage was soon punished as James Milner slid through a pass to Edin Dzeko who cut in from the left before coolly placing the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors found a quick breakthrough after the interval as Dzeko fed David Silva, who glided past two defenders and finished from inside the penalty area.

Dzeko then burst through on the hour and let off a left-footed shot, but Paddy Kenny pulled off a smart save to keep it out.

City’s dominant spell was broken with just over 20 minutes left as Armand Traore’s cross was met by Bothroyd whose header deflected off Helguson and into Hart’s goal.

But Mancini’s side bounced straight back as an Aleksandar Kolarov cross swung precisely onto the head of Toure, who nodded home what proved to be the winner.

Helguson nearly registered another equaliser with 10 minutes remaining when he met Bartons free-kick and thumped a towering header against the top of the post.

QPR pushed for another chance but City shut the game down effectively enough to see it out and retain their comfortable advantage at the top of the table.

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Premier League: Bolton 5 Stoke 0

Bolton Wanderers grabbed their first home win of the season beating a Stoke City side that have now lost their last two league games.

Two goals in the first half from Kevin Davies and Chris Eagles proved a taste of things to come for the Trotters fans who went on to see an inspired performance from their players against an insipid Stoke side.

Eagles got his brace during an outstanding man-of-the-match display from the winger, with Ivan Klasnic also grabbing two goals to give the Lancashire outfit a much needed lift in their first home league win since April.

Bolton briskly took the lead with the game’s first action following a pass-back handled by Asmir Begovic.

The free kick just inside the Stoke box was taken immediately by a sharp minded Klasnic and put through skipper Kevin Davies with an open goal to put the ball past a bemused Potters keeper.

Peter Crouch was given a great chance to equalise just minutes later as strong running from Jermaine Pennant allowed the former Liverpool man to pop in a low ball across the Bolton area.

The Stoke forward got a slight touch on the cross to poke it towards Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the Finnish keeper got just enough on it to deflect it clear.

Stoke enjoyed their fair share of possession after the game had calmed down, with the ever threatening long-throw from Rory Delap entering the Bolton box on numerous occasions within the first 25 minutes.

However, the Potters were eventually punished for not spending their time on the ball more wisely after a stunning strike from Eagles doubled the Trotters’ lead with less than half an hour played.

A hesitant clearance from Begovic found the winger and the former Burnley man blasted the ball from around 30 yards.

Eagles again got himself in the mix for the move that led to Bolton’s third after 61 minutes, with the midfielder putting the ball into Robinson’s feet, and the full-back then proceeding to lay the ball perfectly for Klasnic to sweetly thunder past Begovic.

It was four for Bolton after Eagles again put himself into the heat of the action, this time as the goalscorer, popping the ball past Begovic after being put through by Klasnic.

Stoke’s efforts to even grab a consolation were bettered by the Bolton defence who constantly kept on top of their game to keep them from getting even a sniff at goal.

The result was put beyond even further doubt after Klasnic scored his second from a close-range effort in the Stoke box, with a floundering Begovic failing to get a proper touch on the ball, sending the Bolton faithful into raptures.

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Downing calls for Liverpool improvement

Stewart Downing says Liverpool should be winning home fixtures against newly promoted sides after their disappointing 0-0 draw with Swansea.

Brendan Rodgers’ men are the fourth visiting team to grab a point at Anfield this season in just six games, damaging Kenny Dalglish’s side’s push for a Champions League spot, and Downing said Liverpool needed to lift their game.

“Swansea are a good footballing team and they’ve played well this season, but with no disrespect to them we need to be winning games like that at home if we want to get to where we want to be,” Downing told Liverpool’s website.

“It was a bit disappointing for us not to get the three points.”

“It was disappointing to draw, but although Swansea played quite well, if we had put our chances away and scored early it might have been different.”

“Probably the pleasing thing for the manager and the team is that we are creating chances. But we’re not putting them away.”

“We’ll just have to keep working on it and keep getting ourselves in the right positions and hopefully they’ll turn into goals soon.”

The winger pointed to several key chances the Reds failed to finish and hailed the form of Swans goalkeeper Michel Vorm after he made two crucial late stops to keep the scores level.

“If Andy (Carroll) had scored with that early chance, it may have been a different game – Swansea might have had to change the way they played,” he said.

“It was a brilliant save from Glen’s (Johnson) shot. I think the goalkeeper has probably been their best player this season, which shows how well he’s done.”

“But we had chances through Daniel (Agger), Glen as well as Andy’s right at the start, and I’m not sure if Dirk’s (Kuyt) goal was offside or not.”

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Premier League: Bolton 5 Stoke 0

Bolton Wanderers grabbed their first home win of the season beating a Stoke City side that have now lost their last two league games.

Two goals in the first half from Kevin Davies and Chris Eagles proved a taste of things to come for the Trotters fans who went on to see an inspired performance from their players against an insipid Stoke side.

Eagles got his brace during an outstanding man-of-the-match display from the winger, with Ivan Klasnic also grabbing two goals to give the Lancashire outfit a much needed lift in their first home league win since April.

Bolton briskly took the lead with the game’s first action following a pass-back handled by Asmir Begovic.

The free kick just inside the Stoke box was taken immediately by a sharp minded Klasnic and put through skipper Kevin Davies with an open goal to put the ball past a bemused Potters keeper.

Peter Crouch was given a great chance to equalise just minutes later as strong running from Jermaine Pennant allowed the former Liverpool man to pop in a low ball across the Bolton area.

The Stoke forward got a slight touch on the cross to poke it towards Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the Finnish keeper got just enough on it to deflect it clear.

Stoke enjoyed their fair share of possession after the game had calmed down, with the ever threatening long-throw from Rory Delap entering the Bolton box on numerous occasions within the first 25 minutes.

However, the Potters were eventually punished for not spending their time on the ball more wisely after a stunning strike from Eagles doubled the Trotters’ lead with less than half an hour played.

A hesitant clearance from Begovic found the winger and the former Burnley man blasted the ball from around 30 yards.

Eagles again got himself in the mix for the move that led to Bolton’s third after 61 minutes, with the midfielder putting the ball into Robinson’s feet, and the full-back then proceeding to lay the ball perfectly for Klasnic to sweetly thunder past Begovic.

It was four for Bolton after Eagles again put himself into the heat of the action, this time as the goalscorer, popping the ball past Begovic after being put through by Klasnic.

Stoke’s efforts to even grab a consolation were bettered by the Bolton defence who constantly kept on top of their game to keep them from getting even a sniff at goal.

The result was put beyond even further doubt after Klasnic scored his second from a close-range effort in the Stoke box, with a floundering Begovic failing to get a proper touch on the ball, sending the Bolton faithful into raptures.

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Premier League: Newcastle 2 Everton 1

Ryan Taylor scored a phenomenal volley to help Newcastle United continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League on Saturday.

Taylor struck in the 29th minute after Everton defender John Heitinga had scored an own goal in the 12th minute.

Jack Rodwell reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time in a thrilling encounter at St James’ Park.

The first real chance of the game fell to the Merseysiders on 10 minutes, as Royston Drenthe crossed from the left and Louis Saha’s flick on fell to Seamus Coleman at the far post.

The young midfielder should have done better, but hit his shot wide, failing to test Tim Krul.

Newcastle took the lead when right-back Danny Simpson whipped in a dangerous cross from the right wing, and a mis-communication between Heitinga and goalkeeper Tim Howard saw the Dutch centre-back slice the ball into his own net.

Against the run of play, Everton then managed to manufacture three chances in quick succession. The best by far fell to Saha who ran free of the home defence after an aerial ball beat the Toon defence.

However, the Frenchman dwelt on the ball, allowing Steven Taylor to pressure him into squandering his shot.

Moments later, David Moyes’ men were made to rue their missed chances after a failed clearance from a Newcastle throw-in fell to Ryan Taylor on the edge of the area.

The left-back had no right to score, but after Drenthe failed to close him down the he smashed an unstoppable volley, leaving Howard helpless.

Minutes later, the Toffees defence again failed to clear the ball, leaving Danny Guthrie with a chance to volley from the edge of the box.

The ball took a long time to fall for the midfielder, giving Heitinga time to get a block in.

On the stroke of half-time, Everton won their first corner of the match after a strong run down the right flank. Jack Rodwell ran to the front post to meet the ball and nod it past Krul.

Newcastle continued to pile the pressure on Moyes’ men after the interval. The first chance came as the ball fell to Guthrie on the edge of the box, but the midfielder did not have time to settle and shot high and wide.

Moments later, Saha hit a powerful, low shot but Taylor managed to deflect it wide.

On the 60-minute mark the end-to-end nature of the game was perfectly illustrated, with Tim Cahill getting a shot on target which Krul saved comfortably, before Sammy Ameobi smashed high and wide at the other end.

As ever, the Merseysiders refused to give up and were relentless in attacking the Magpies’ goal. But the equaliser failed to materialise, with Louis Saha missing a late chance and Tim Cahill failing to connect with a cross.

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Serie A wrap: Roma on the rise

Goals from Bojan Krkic and Dani Osvaldo saw Roma defeat Novara 2-0 away from home in Serie A, while Palermo beat Bologna.

Roma began strongly in Saturday’s match at the Stadio Silvio Piola, with Erik Lamela looking dangerous.

It was the Argentine who enjoyed Roma’s first sight of goal six minutes in, finding space on the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful drive, but his effort flew straight at Novara goalkeeper Alberto Fontana.

The hosts had the ball in the back of the net on 18 minutes, as a great cross from Marco Rigoni was met by Francesco Marianini.

But the former Empoli midfielder’s header was ruled out for offside.

And Novara went close again when Rigoni’s neat ball found Takayuki Morimoto on the edge of the box, but the Japan international was denied by a good save from Maarten Stekelenburg.

On the stroke of half time Rodrigo Taddei almost gave Roma the lead.

The Brazilian winger cut in from the left flank before trying to curl one past Fontana, but his effort sailed just wide of the top corner.

The second half began with the visitors still struggling to break down their stubborn hosts.

In the 67th minute, Fontana was forced into a great save to deny a long-range effort from substitute Bojan.

Novara should have taken the lead moments later.

Riccardo Meggiorini beat Marco Cassetti on the right flank, leaving the striker with a one-on-one chance, but Stekelenburg rushed off his line to make a great save.

In the 73rd minute the away side finally broke the deadlock, taking the lead through former Barcelona man Bojan.

A beautiful chip from Miralem Pjanic was met by the young Spaniard, who made no mistake, putting Roma 1-0 ahead.

After battling for much of the match to force a goal, Roma managed a second just two minutes later.

Fernando Gago’s corner found Osvaldo in the centre of the area, and the Italy international’s powerful header left Fontana with no chance.

The win sees Roma climb to seventh place on the table, five points back from leaders Juventus.

Promoted Novara are 18th, inside the relegation and one point from safety.

Also on Saturday, Palermo eased to a 3-1 win at home to Bologna.

Eran Zehavi gave hosts Palermo the lead 13 minutes from kick off at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Matias Auguste Silvestre and Josip Ilicic were on target to increase the margin in the second half, before Gaston Ramirez netted a consolation goal for Bologna with three minutes remaining.

The win lifts Palermo up to fifth, three points back the league leaders, while Bologna are 14th.

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Kolarov hails ´important´ win

Manchester City’s Aleksandar Kolarov has talked up the importance of beating Wolves following Saturday’s 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from the Serb, Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson ensured the hosts would claim all three points and maintain their five-point gap at the top of the table and Kolarov insists Roberto Mancini’s side deserved the result.

“We played well, we deserved to win,” he told talkSPORT. “They came here just to defend and in this kind of game you need to be patient and keep the ball.”

The left-back said the victory would hold them in good stead in the race for the Premier League title.

“These types of games are important if you want to win the title. It is difficult but we need to improve every game and to work hard. We know that every game is very hard,” he said.

“We are in a good moment now but we need to work hard every day and to keep our feet on the ground.”

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Brazilian Serie A wrap: Corinthians go top as Vasco draw

Corinthians came from behind to beat Avai 2-1 on Sunday, taking the lead in Brazil’s Serie A after Vasco de Gama drew with Sao Paulo.

Visitors Avai led through Robinho’s goal in the 12th minute of the match at Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho.

Already trailing, the outlook became bleaker for Corinthians when they had defender Leandro Castan sent off five minutes into the second half.

But despite playing a man down, they managed to force an equaliser with Emerson making it 1-1 two minutes past the hour mark.

And former Sporting Lisbon favourite Liedson struck the winner with 12 minutes to go, completing the comeback for the home side.

Corinthians now top the table courtesy of their superior record to Vasco, who could only draw 0-0 at home to Sao Paulo.

In other matches, Flamengo gave up a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 away to Gremio.

The visitors were in front courtesy of goals from Deivid and Thiago Neves in the first half at Estadio Olimpico Monumental.

Andre Lima pulled one back for Gremio to make it 2-1 going into the break.

Striker Lima, on loan from Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, found the net again to equalise five minutes into the second half.

Douglas put Gremio ahead on 79 minutes and Ezequiel Miralles completed the transformation when he made it 4-2 with six minutes remaining.

In other matches, a Fernandes brace helped Figueirense come from a goal down to win 2-1 at home to Bahia, who had led through Diones’ strike.

Palmeiras’ dire season continued when they went down 2-1 away to struggling Atletico Mineiro.

The visitors, already trailing to goals from Neto Berola and Fillipe Soutto, had two men sent off in the space of a minute midway through the second half.

Mauricio Ramos was shown a straight red on 67 minutes and Jorge Valdivia followed him when he received a second yellow just 60 seconds later.

Elsewhere, Coritiba came from a goal down to win 3-1 at home to bottom side America Mineiro.

And Internacional climbed to sixth after they defeated Atletico Goianiense 1-0 away from home.

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Higuain calls for Real calm

Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has called on his team-mates to remain calm in their goal of taking the La Liga title from Barcelona.

Los Blancos sit a point clear of Barca in the table after 10 games and the 23-year-old has urged his colleagues to stay grounded, despite their early form setting the pace to wrench the league trophy away from the Catalans for the first time since 2009.

“This is when we have to be more relaxed than ever. We are first as a result of our hard work, but there’s a long way to go. We have to continue with humility, perseverance and a cool head,” he said, according to Marca.

The Argentine, who has scored 10 La Liga goals this season, added that his return from a career-threatening back injury put his work into perspective.

“I am very grateful that I can continue with football, which is what I like. It was a very difficult injury, but now I feel great and am enjoying being part of the group again,” he said.

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Wenger: Only way is up for Gunners

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his side can continue to climb the table after a string of good results.

The Gunners seem to have turned around their poor start to the season with a run of five wins and a draw in the past month.

That has seen them rise from the bottom of the Premier League table to seventh, claim a place in the League Cup quarter-finals, and put them top of their Champions League group.

Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-3 last Saturday in a thrilling game at Stamford Bridge, with Robin van Persie scoring a hat-trick, and Wenger believes his side can still challenge for the title if they maintain their momentum.

“If we are capable of maintaining our run we will come back up quickly,” he told Arsenal’s official website.

“I think we have made a big improvement in recent weeks by bridging the gap and I am personally convinced that the teams ahead of us will drop points.”

“If we are capable of maintaining the pace in the league that we have shown recently then we will come back.”

Arsenal host West Bromwich Albion in Saturday’s Premier League match, and they will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year when the newly promoted Midlands team won 3-2.

“It was a big setback on the day,” Wenger said.

“We didn’t turn up. That was a good lesson for us. Overall I feel we are in a completely different state of mind now. We have a desire to do well and I am convinced we will.”

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Three points the aim for Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson says that Manchester United are treating their midweek Champions League clash with Otelul Galati as a must-win encounter.

The Red Devils shaded the Romanian club in the reverse fixture 2-0 a fortnight ago thanks to two Wayne Rooney penalties, but Ferguson is not taking Wednesday’s clash at Old Trafford lightly.

“We have to win on Wednesday, without doubt,” Ferguson told United’s official website.

“We’re at home and I expect us to win and, if we do that, (qualification) is in our hands when we play Benfica at home.”

“We’ll hopefully win our game and, when we play Benfica at home, it’ll be the decider in our section.”

United sit in second place in the Group C standings, two points behind leaders Benfica who play Basel in the other fixture.

And Ferguson is not content with merely qualifying for the knockout stages, underlining the importance of winning the group to avoid some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the next round.

“It’s always better to finish first than second,” Ferguson said.

“After getting the first result against Galati and then playing them again at home, we’ll hopefully go into the Benfica game with eight points. That will be an important match.”

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Premier League: Tottenham 3 QPR 1

A Gareth Bale brace saw Tottenham defeat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 at White Hart Lane to move into fifth place in the Premier League.

Bale opened the scoring before Rafael Van Der Vaart chimed in with a goal, before QPR substitute Jay Bothroyd breathed some life into the game with a second-half strike.

But Bale extinguished the visitors’ hopes with his second of the match to seal three points for Harry Redknapp’s side.

After early pressure from Spurs, the visitors’ first chance came after a good passing move ended with Heidur Helguson just inside the area, but the Icelandic international could not direct the ball towards Brad Friedel’s goal.

Redknapp’s men then went in front straight after that chance as the goal kick by Friedel was knocked on by Emmanuel Adebayor to Aaron Lennon, who found the onrushing Bale before the Welshman slotted past Paddy Kenny in the QPR goal.

Spurs continued to dominate the game and were ultimately rewarded as Van Der Vaart latched onto a loose ball and placed it beyond Kenny for his fifth goal in as many Premier League games.

The hosts could have killed the game off minutes into the second period as Van Der Vaart found space on the edge of the area before his drive was clawed away by Kenny.

QPR found a lifeline just after the hour as a corner from the right was knocked back into the danger zone, with Bothroyd on hand to knock the ball home from close range.

Kenny once again showed his worth for the Loftus Road side, making two outstanding saves from Adebayor and Bale to keep his team in the game.

Spurs eventually got their third after a superb one-two between Lennon and Bale ended with the latter curling a shot around the helpless Kenny to restore his side’s two-goal cushion.

With 15 minutes left Spurs should have killed the game off as Lennon showed great skill to find Adebayor inside the box, but the Togolese striker failed to find the target from point-blank range.

QPR had a series of chances inside injury time, but they failed to find the target as Spurs ran out comfortable winners.

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Ronaldo tips glory year for Real

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo believes the Spanish giants are primed to win plenty of silverware this season.

The Bernabeu outfit are one point clear at the top of La Liga, and have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages.

Ronaldo will receive the European Golden Shoe on Friday for his 40 goals in La Liga last season and the 26-year-old is delighted to have won the award.

“To win the Golden Shoe is very good, but the important thing is the collective titles,” he told AS.

“Individual titles are also a product of the work of the group.”

“The dressing room is united and ready to fight for all titles. The hardest part lies ahead, but I believe this will be a glorious year and together we will win important things.”

The Portugal international notched his 100th goal for Real Madrid midweek after a little more than two years at the club and had kind words for his colleagues.

“I did not expect to reach the 100-goal mark this season,” he noted. “I would like to thank my team-mates and the coach.”

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Kolarov hails ´important´ win

Manchester City’s Aleksandar Kolarov has talked up the importance of beating Wolves following Saturday’s 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from the Serb, Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson ensured the hosts would claim all three points and maintain their five-point gap at the top of the table and Kolarov insists Roberto Mancini’s side deserved the result.

“We played well, we deserved to win,” he told talkSPORT. “They came here just to defend and in this kind of game you need to be patient and keep the ball.”

The left-back said the victory would hold them in good stead in the race for the Premier League title.

“These types of games are important if you want to win the title. It is difficult but we need to improve every game and to work hard. We know that every game is very hard,” he said.

“We are in a good moment now but we need to work hard every day and to keep our feet on the ground.”

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Three points the aim for Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson says that Manchester United are treating their midweek Champions League clash with Otelul Galati as a must-win encounter.

The Red Devils shaded the Romanian club in the reverse fixture 2-0 a fortnight ago thanks to two Wayne Rooney penalties, but Ferguson is not taking Wednesday’s clash at Old Trafford lightly.

“We have to win on Wednesday, without doubt,” Ferguson told United’s official website.

“We’re at home and I expect us to win and, if we do that, (qualification) is in our hands when we play Benfica at home.”

“We’ll hopefully win our game and, when we play Benfica at home, it’ll be the decider in our section.”

United sit in second place in the Group C standings, two points behind leaders Benfica who play Basel in the other fixture.

And Ferguson is not content with merely qualifying for the knockout stages, underlining the importance of winning the group to avoid some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the next round.

“It’s always better to finish first than second,” Ferguson said.

“After getting the first result against Galati and then playing them again at home, we’ll hopefully go into the Benfica game with eight points. That will be an important match.”

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Injury concerns for Real duo

Real Madrid duo Kaka and Alvaro Arbeloa are both in doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Lyon because of minor muscle injuries.

Spanish giants Real revealed the news on Monday but did not disclose how long the players will be out for.

Kaka came on as a second-half substitute in Madrid’s 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad on Saturday, while Arbeloa played the whole match.

Real defender Ricardo Carvalho is still recovering from a back injury and has been ruled out of the midweek encounter at Stade de Gerland.

Real currently top Group D with a perfect record after three games, while Lyon have four points.

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Agger out to stay involved

Daniel Agger is hoping to keep his place in Liverpool’s starting XI after an injury hit spell at Anfield.

The Denmark defender, who has suffered several stints on the sidelines since joining Liverpool from Brondby in 2006, has featured regularly for Kenny Dalglish’s side this season and made his 100th English Premier League appearance in Saturday’s 2-0 win against West Brom.

“It’s special to play 100 league games for Liverpool and it has been a long time coming because of the unlucky injuries I have had,” said Agger, whose side moved fifth on the Premier League table, pending Tottenham’s match with QPR on Sunday.

“Hopefully now I can have an injury free run and I hope now to keep on going and play another 100 games for this club.”

“I am enjoying my football now. I feel I have been unlucky with injuries and hopefully I can get some good luck now because it means a lot to me to play for this club.”

Agger also revealed his delight at keeping a clean sheet against West Brom at The Hawthorn: “It was so important for us to keep a clean sheet and that is always good for us defenders and great for the whole team as well,” he said.

“I thought we played well and deserved the three points. We are happy and we have to continue this form and keep winning games.”

“I think we can take a lot from this result and we now look ahead to the next game against Swansea at home and try and get another three points.”

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West Brom knew of Suarez threat, says Jones

West Brom defender Billy Jones revealed his side discussed the danger of tackling Luis Suarez in the box before the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Liverpool opened the scoring from the spot in the first half of the English Premier League encounter through Charlie Adam after Jerome Thomas bundled over Suarez in the area.

Jones said: “It was a bit of a harsh penalty, and going 1-0 down against Liverpool, it is always going to be hard.”

“I don’t think it was a penalty. Jerome was in a good position. I think he has taken a touch and Suarez has got himself in front of him.”

“We spoke beforehand of being careful of Suarez in the penalty area because he has won penalties before for Liverpool.”

“He is good at winning penalties and we knew we had to be careful around him – and Jerome was.”

“Suarez has gone down and the linesman has given it. It was one of those things. It was harsh to concede a goal that way.”

But former Preston player Jones, 24, went on to praise the blossoming partnership between Suarez and strike partner Andy Carroll.

“They were a threat,” he said.

“There were balls which got knocked in where Carroll wasn’t favourite to win them or get anything from them.”

“But he turns those half-balls into good balls by getting it down and releasing other players.”

“He sets up Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam while Suarez is already on his bike making good runs.”

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Theo Walcott: ‘We Can Beat Anyone’

Confidence is at a season high at the Emirates following the Gunners 5-3 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Saturday’s win was by far the Gunners most impressive of 2011-12.

Arsenal was led by captain fantastic Robin van Persie — who bagged a hat-trick and a 10 out of 10 match rating by football experts.

Can the Gunners overcome their nightmare start to the season?

Arsenal have won eight of their last nine games and with matches versus West Brom, Fulham, Norwich and Wigan upcoming, Arsene Wenger will be keen on making it twelve wins in thirteen games.

I must admit that Arsene Wenger’s new one match at a time mentality is in fact working; Theo Walcott’s comments confirm exactly that.

“We are not looking too far ahead. We don’t want to say where we’re going to finish at the end of the season, but the way we’re playing at this moment in time we believe we can beat anyone,” Walcott said.

“We’re enjoying our football, our run is great now and we’re just going to keep on continuing that. Everyone is buzzing at the moment.

“We were disappointed to go 2-1 down just before half-time, but before that we were playing some great football.

“It seemed that every time we went forward it looked like we were going to score and it could have been 8-7. It was just one of those crazy games that I’ll never forget.”

Walcott also praised the impact made by Brazilian international Andre Santos, claiming that he looks like a season Premier League veteran.

“We have got some absolute characters in that dressing room and Andre Santos was absolutely brilliant. He looks like he has been in the Premier League for many years,” Walcott said.

“We have the right balance between youth and experience now and we’ve got a lot of players coming back from injury too,” added the England winger.

The 22-year-old Gunners winger also found time to hail the performance of Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.

The Dutch striker bagged a hat-trick, including the all important go-ahead goal in the 85th minute before tacking on some insurance to secure three points for the Gunners in the 90th minute.

“Robin’s form is fantastic. It makes our job much easier when he plays like that,” Walcott said.

“I have been playing alongside him for many years. It’s nice to see a fit Robin. He is enjoying playing his football, he is enjoying scoring, he is enjoying getting other people involved.

“He is a great leader, a great captain. Anyone in that dressing room will tell you he is an absolute leader.

“He is very passionate and on the pitch it showed. We never had a fit Robin throughout the whole season. Hopefully he can look after himself and we can have a run until the end of the year.”

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Napoli to make a move for Tevez

Napoli have switched their attention to Carlos Tevez after Manchester City officials rejected their inquiry for Mario Balotelli.

The Argentine will be available at a cut-back price in January and the Partenopei believe they can persuade the Citizens into doing a swap deal.

City boss Roberto Mancini has earlier expressed his interest in Napoli stars Marek Hamsik, Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

It is believed that Napoli chiefs would be willing to send one of the players to Eastlands in exchange for Carlos Tevez.

However, should they decide to make a move, the Azzurri are likely to face stiff competition from other interest clubs.

Tevez’s former club Corinthians are reportedly leading the race for the player’s signature, while Milan and Juventus are also keen.

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Eredivisie wrap: Feyenoord hit for six

FC Groningen thrashed Feyenoord 6-0 in the Eredivisie on Sunday, with six individual goal scorers netting in the victory at the Euroborg.

A first-minute goal to Dusan Tadic set the tone for a goal fest for the home side, before Maikel Kieftenbeld and Petter Andersson both scored to make it 3-0 on 18 minutes.

Leandro Bacuna struck in the 57th minute, before last-gasp goals to Virgil van Dijk and Hyun-Jun Suk capped off an amazing result.

Elsewhere, a 70th-minute strike from Bono Wilfried helped Vitesse claim a 1-0 victory on the road to De Graafschap, with John van den Brom’s side moving up into the top four with the result.

NEC Nijmegen broke a six-match losing streak with a 3-1 win over FC Utrecht.

The hosts at the Goffertstadion were quick to get off the mark as Lasse Schone fired home in the third minute, before Leroy George doubled their advantage on 13 minutes.

NEC’s drought-breaking win was sealed when Utrecht goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez took the final touch into his own net for 3-0 on 74 minutes.

Jacob Mulenga pulled a goal back for the visitors from the penalty spot on 76 minutes, but it was little more than a consolation.

In Sunday’s late game, AZ Alkmaar extended their lead atop the standings to six points after teenage midfielder Adam Maher’s late strike gave them a 1-0 win away to Heracles.

With the match seemingly headed for a draw, Maher popped up in the 89th minute to snare all three points for Gertjan Verbeek’s side, who extended their unbeaten streak to 15 matches in all competitions.

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Serie A wrap: Udinese bounce back

Udinese climbed into second spot in Serie A with a 1-0 win over Palermo on Sunday, while Fiorentina also returned to winning ways.

Antonio Di Natale’s 38th-minute goal was enough to see Francesco Guidolin’s men take all three points at the Stadio Communale Friuli, as they bounced back from a midweek defeat to Napoli.

The win saw Udinese rise above AC Milan, who had taken second place on Saturday with their 3-2 away defeat of Roma.

Milan fell back into third, one point shy of Udinese.

Atalanta lost just their second game since being promoted into the Italian top flight, going down 3-1 at Bologna.

Stefano Colantuono’s men took an early lead away at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara when German Denis struck in the seventh minute, but a lapse late in the first half saw Marco Di Vaio equalise from the penalty spot for Bologna.

Bologna took the lead through Gaston Ramirez three minutes into the second half, before Simon Loria sealed victory with his side’s third goal.

Fiorentina snapped a five-game winless streak with a 1-0 triumph at home to Genoa, with Andrea Lazzari scoring the only goal on 41 minutes.

Lecce and Novara both remain in the relegation zone after playing out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, with Lecce’s Rodney Starsser firing the hosts ahead before Marco Rigoni’s equaliser from the spot.

In other matches, Parma beat bottom-placed Cesena 2-0, while Siena thrashed Chievo 4-1 in the earlier kick-off.

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Napoli to make a move for Tevez

Napoli have switched their attention to Carlos Tevez after Manchester City officials rejected their inquiry for Mario Balotelli.

The Argentine will be available at a cut-back price in January and the Partenopei believe they can persuade the Citizens into doing a swap deal.

City boss Roberto Mancini has earlier expressed his interest in Napoli stars Marek Hamsik, Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

It is believed that Napoli chiefs would be willing to send one of the players to Eastlands in exchange for Carlos Tevez.

However, should they decide to make a move, the Azzurri are likely to face stiff competition from other interest clubs.

Tevez’s former club Corinthians are reportedly leading the race for the player’s signature, while Milan and Juventus are also keen.

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