Monday 24 March 2014

Monaco's title challenge in tatters

Monaco's Ligue 1 title challenge all but ended when they drew 1-1 with at home to Lille on Sunday to leave them 10 points adrift of leaders Paris St Germain.

Divock Origi cancelled out Mounir Obbadi's early opener as second-placed Monaco moved to 63 points with eight games left.

French champions PSG have 73 after beating Lorient 1-0 away on Friday. Lille remained third on 54 points and occupy the Champions League qualifying third round spot, three points ahead of St Etienne who beat Sochaux 3-1 on Sunday.

At Louis II, Monaco started without Joao Moutinho who suffered a groin injury while warming up.

Obbadi replaced him and had an immediate impact as the 30-year-old midfielder opened the scoring after five minutes, latching on to Valere Germain's back pass inside the box.

Jeremy Toulalan, who was back from suspension, came close to doubling Monaco's tally in the 20th minute when his low 20-metre drive went just wide.

Six minutes before halftime Origi tapped in at the far post from Ryan Mendes's cross to put Lille back on level terms.

Dimitar Berbatov, who created two and scored one last weekend for Monaco, fought hard up front but his 69th-minute header went just over the bar.

Messi hat-trick as Barca win at Real

Lionel Messi blew the La Liga title race wide open when the Argentina forward netted a hat-trick in a 4-3 comeback win for the champions at 10-man Real Madrid in an action-paced 'Clasico' on Sunday.

Chasing a fifth title in six years, defeat for Barca at Real's Bernabeu stadium in a match watched by millions around the world would have all-but killed off their challenge but they came out swinging and took a seventh-minute lead through playmaker Andres Iniesta.

Real, looking to restore their three-point lead at the top and undefeated in 31 matches in all competitions, were reeling but hit back with a Karim Benzema double before Messi's first of the night, a close-range snap shot through a crowd of players to make it 2-2 at the break.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Real ahead from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half after he was tripped by Dani Alves and the match turned when home captain Sergio Ramos was sent off for felling Neymar when he was through on goal in the 63rd.

Messi clipped home the resulting penalty to level at 3-3 and struck the winner from the spot six minutes from time after Iniesta was knocked to the ground in the area.

The Real players were furious about both penalty decisions but Barca played a courageous game as they had promised and dominated possession, particularly after Ramos was dismissed, and thoroughly deserved the victory.

With nine games left, Real have 70 points, level with city neighbours Atletico Madrid, who won 2-0 at bottom side Real Betis in the earlier kickoff, and one ahead of third-placed Barca.

"It was an emotional match," Barca fullback Jordi Alba said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Canal Plus.

"We started strongly and then fell behind but we reacted well and managed to get an important win," added the Spain international.

"The games that remain are like finals for Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid. This victory will give us a big morale boost."

MESSI RECORD

Messi's treble meant the four-times World Player of the Year became the all-time top scorer in 'Clasicos' with 21 goals, surpassing Real great Alfredo Di Stefano who scored 18.

Still only 26, Messi has also moved into second on the list of record scorers in La Liga on 236 goals, ahead of former Real striker Hugo Sanchez on 234, and he is closing in on record marksman Telmo Zarra's mark of 251.

In Seville, Atletico initially struggled to create chances against a dogged Betis side, who are bottom but are not giving up their top-flight status without a fight, but seized the initiative when forward Braian Rodriguez earned a second yellow card for a handball in the 56th minute and was sent off.

Midfielder Gabi, who rarely scores but hit a long-range stunner in this month's 2-2 draw at home to Real, cracked the ball into the corner from distance two minutes later and Diego Costa added a second from Koke's neat headed layoff in the 64th, his 23rd La Liga goal of the campaign.

Atletico's fine season under coach Diego Simeone has left them in with a real chance of becoming the first team other than Real or Barca, the world's richest clubs by income, to win La Liga since Valencia 10 years ago.

If Atletico and Real finish the season level on points, Atletico will take the title as they have a better head-to-head record thanks to the 2-2 draw at the Calderon and a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu in September, the only home game Real have not won this term.

Likewise, Barca have a superior head-to-head over Real after they beat them 2-1 at the Nou Camp in October, the last time the Madrid club lost before Sunday.

Sunday 23 March 2014

Mou reluctant to revel in Wenger woe

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claimed that his side's 6-0 demolition of Arsenal did not have any added significance despite coming in counterpart Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge.

The Arsenal manager suffered a nightmare on his milestone occasion at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Chelsea's supporters goading the Frenchman by chanting: "We want you to stay!"

The crowing home support also made reference to Mourinho's remark last month that Wenger was a "specialist in failure", due to Arsenal's nine-year trophy drought.

The Portuguese was unwilling to rub further salt into the wound, however, and when asked if he had taken extra satisfaction from spoiling Wenger's big day, he replied: "No."

"I wanted the three points and a good performance if possible. We got that. And on top of that, we got the result with some numbers, which is especially for our fans.

"They are special numbers and we work for the fans so if we can give them that, then it's even more beautiful. But no more than that."

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men in the 15th minute when Kieran Gibbs was sent off in a case of mistaken identity after teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had handled the ball on the goal-line.

Mourinho conceded that the numerical advantage had aided his team, but he felt that Chelsea, who were 2-0 ahead by that time, had already asserted control of the game.

"Obviously to play against 10 men is easier," he said.

"I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say it is the same to play 10 and 11. It's not the same. But the way we started this game, there is no doubt that this was our game."

Chelsea now lie four points ahead of Liverpool having played a game more and six points in front of Manchester City, who have three fixtures in hand.

And Mourinho, whose side bounced back from a surprise 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend, continued to play down Chelsea's title hopes.

Asked if his side had a chance of winning the title, he added: "Just a little. The momentum was broken last Saturday. Now we are trying to build another momentum.

"We were lucky after last Saturday to immediately have another match in the Champions League (against Galatasaray) with a big responsibility to push us to forget. We concentrated on the new challenge and the Champions League was important.

"Then a derby match against Arsenal – and the most important match of the season for them, as their manager said on Friday – was even more important because our focus was there.

"We've had good performances this season, but every match is difficult to play."

Samuel Eto'o limped off for Chelsea with a hamstring injury shortly after giving the hosts the lead in the fifth minute, but Mourinho suggested that the Cameroonian striker was not unduly worried by the setback.

"With his experience, he thinks it's not big," he said. "Before the big tear, he was able to say enough is enough, but a hamstring is a hamstring."

Wenger, whose side host Swansea City on Tuesday, did not attend the post-match press conference, with an Arsenal official explaining that it was because the team bus was about to leave.

Instead, he told television broadcasters: "It leaves it in a very bad situation, but we want to respond. We had two difficult away games at Tottenham and Chelsea. If we had played two draws, we'd have two points.

"Having won one, we have three points. But today (Saturday) is a huge disappointment, of course. When you don't turn up in a game of this stature – nobody takes that easily.

"We have to win the next game. That is what we have to focus on now and give a strong response."