Brilliant Berba, WBA hold City

Manchester United went level at the top of the Premier League with a 5-0 win over Wigan on Boxing Day, as West Brom held Manchester City 0-0. Dimitar Berbatov was the United hero as the Bulgarian smashed a hat-trick in the rout over the 10-man Latics. Park Ji-sung gave the Red Devils an early lead when he converted after good work from full-back Patrice Evra. The struggling visitors saw striker Conor Sammon shown a straight red card by referee Phil Dowd for raising his arm as he backed into Michael...

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Liverpool 1 Blackburn 1

Even the return of captain Steven Gerrard after a two-month absence failed to lift Liverpool out of their current Anfield malaise as the Barlcays Premier League's bottom club Blackburn left with a point they barely deserved. The England international, sidelined since October with an ankle problem, played the final 21 minutes but could not inspire a change in fortunes. Kenny Dalglish's side, although unbeaten at home this season, have now drawn six and won three and been held five times in...

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Cole keeping options open

Joe Cole has not ruled out a return to Liverpool but is enjoying his time on loan at Lille and feels it would be 'logical' to stay in France. Cole joined the Ligue 1 champions on a season-long loan deal over the summer and has caught the eye with a series of impressive performances both in their domestic games and the Champions League. Lille boss Rudi Garcia has expressed his desire to keep Cole beyond the summer, although Kenny Dalglish has not yet heard anything about the possibility of turning...

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Giggs ready for Ferguson talks

Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs will sit down with Sir Alex Ferguson shortly to discuss the possibility of yet another season of football. Giggs, who has spent his entire career at United, is halfway through the latest in a succession of one-year contracts that have become the norm for the Welshman since he entered his thirties. Little could anyone have imagined that, at the age of 38, Giggs would still be producing performances of the high standard he delivered at Fulham on Wednesday...

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Torres - Liverpool lied about exit

Fernando Torres has claimed that Liverpool were not honest about his departure from the club. The Chelsea striker left Anfield in January for a British record fee, after agitating for a move. And the Spaniard told Canal+ Liga TV that the version of the story that has been told to the public is not true. "The Liverpool fans don't know the truth about why I signed for Chelsea," he said "The fans don't even know half of what happened. They don't know what the people in charge at Liverpool are like...

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Harry: Terry will rise above it

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp expects John Terry to put in a big performance in Thursday night's London derby at White Hart Lane. Chelsea were rocked on Wednesday by the news that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will prosecute their 31-year-old captain over his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. Terry, who has vowed to clear his name, will appear at West London Magistrates Court on February 1 after being charged with a racially aggravated public order offence over comments...

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FA hands Suarez eight-game ban

The Football Association has banned Liverpool striker Luis Suarez for eight games and fined him £40,000, subject to any possible appeal. Suarez was sanctioned by an FA Independent Regulatory Commission on Tuesday for racially abusing Patrice Evra. Evra told French TV he was racially abused by the Uruguayan on 10 occasions during Manchester United's Premier League match at Anfield on October 15. The FA said in a statement: "An Independent Regulatory Commission has today found a charge of misconduct...

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Barca quiet on Neymar reports

Barcelona have refused to confirm or deny reports they have agreed a deal to sign Brazil striker Neymar from Santos. Reports in Spain said Barca had agreed a deal to pay 10million euros in advance in order to have the right to conclude a transfer for the 19-year-old before 2014, with Santos forced to pay financial penalties if they choose not to sell the player before that date. But at a press conference on Wednesday, Barca spokesman Toni Frexia refused to be drawn on the question. "What we...

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Mancini rules out Tevez loan

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has reiterated that any club eyeing Carlos Tevez will have to stump up the money to sign him permanently.   Tevez: Wanted by Milan, among others City are standing firm in their insistence that Tevez will not be made available for loan. Officials from AC Milan are set to meet with representatives from City on Thursday to discuss a possible deal for the Argentinian striker. Milan have proposed taking the 27-year-old on a free...

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Premier League Numbers And Stats

Wayne Rooney takes more shots than any other Premier League player, Craig Bellamy is becoming very important to Liverpool and Blackburn are big scorers. Arsenal * Both Mikel Arteta (8) and Aaron Ramsey (7) were accurate with all their 'long balls' against Manchester City. * Thomas Vermaelen was the only Arsenal player to manage more than one shot on target v City. * Arsenal have averaged a massive 57% possession away from home this season - the highest figure in the Premier League. Aston...

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Coyle unfazed by sack talk

Bolton boss Owen Coyle has played down suggestions the losing manager in Tuesday night's crunch clash at Blackburn will be sacked. Wanderers are bottom of the table with Rovers just one place and a point above them. Blackburn's Steve Kean has been under pressure all season, with fans staging protests against his tenure, while Bolton's poor run of results has seen a shift in the mood of some supporters recently. But Coyle, who has been publicly backed by chairman Phil Gartside, claimed he was...

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Redknapp rues loss of Lennon

Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon could be out of action for "weeks" after suffering a suspected torn hamstring on Sunday. Lennon came off during the first half of Spurs' 1-0 win over Sunderland and is now likely to be missing over the club's festive season and beyond. The former Leeds player's absence will be a big flow for Tottenham, particularly as they face rivals Chelsea at White Hart Lane on Thursday. "Lennon felt the tear. He has no chance for Thursday," Harry Redknapp said. "He felt it go....

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Silva sends City to the summit

Manchester City returned to the Premier League summit after talisman David Silva secured a 1-0 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. The Spaniard slid in his sixth goal of the season after 53 minutes to finally give City reward for some brilliant attacking play. Yet Arsenal, although perhaps lucky not to have Alex Song sent off, threatened on a number of occasions and Joe Hart saved well from Thomas Vermaelen late on. City settled quickly and had a chance to launch the ball into the...

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Serie A : AC Milan v Siena

 Facts and figures ahead of the Serie A match between AC Milan and Chievo at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. AC Milan v Siena AC Milan and Siena have met 14 times in Serie A, with the Tuscans winning just once (2-1 at home in April 2005); the Rossoneri have won 11, including each of the last five meetings. AC Milan have failed to score against Siena just once in Serie A (a goalless draw back in October 2006). That was the only game AC Milan have failed to win at home against Siena; six wins...

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Torres is not for sale - AVB

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has insisted that striker Fernando Torres is not for sale at any price - in January or next summer...

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Suarez hearing gets underway

The FA have begun the disciplinary hearing into claims that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez racially abused Manchester United's Patrice Evra. Suarez has been charged with abusing Evra, and referring to his "ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race" by the FA. The hearing is expected to last for two days with the outcome expected by the end of the week. Both players are due to give evidence to the hearing. The charge followed a month-long investigation and the Uruguay striker immediately denied...

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Chelsea: Torres tale 'nonsense'

Chelsea have dismissed reports that they are ready to sell Fernando Torres for £20million in January, by branding the claims as "nonsense". The Daily Mail claimed on Wednesday morning that Chelsea were prepared to give up on the Spaniard just a year after they bought him from Liverpool for £50million. But Chelsea have responded by telling the Daily Telegraph: "The story is nonsense. Fernando Torres remains part of our long term plans." Torres has scored four goals for Chelsea this season but...

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Espanyol thrash Atletico Madrid

Joan Verdu scored twice in the opening seven minutes as Espanyol ended their five game winless run in the Primera Division with a dominant display in a 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid. The midfielder fired past Thibaut Courtois from 30 yards in the fifth minute before he raced into the area and struck his second two minutes later. Romaric scored Espanyol's third before Radamel Falcao pulled one back for the visitors just after half an hour in a dramatic opening period. Sergio Garcia...

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Reds get new charge deadline

Liverpool have been given more time by the Football Association to respond to the two charges that followed last week's defeat at Fulham. Reds striker Luis Suarez was charged with improper conduct over an allegedly abusive hand gesture, while the club were charged with failing to control their players following the sending off of Jay Spearing. Liverpool were originally given until 4pm on Monday to respond to the charges but have now been given an extension. Suarez is also the subject of another...

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Mancini moans about ref display

Roberto Mancini slammed referee Mark Clattenburg after watching Chelsea end Manchester City's unbeaten start to the Premier League season. City boss Mancini was fuming with Clattenburg's decision to wave away his side's penalty appeal while they were leading 1-0 and completely dominating at a wet and windy Stamford Bridge. Clattenburg rubbed salt into the wound by sending off Gael Clichy as well as awarding Chelsea a late spot-kick as Mancini's men lost 2-1 and gave hope to all of their title...

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NEYMAR - BARCELONA ARE THE BEST

Santos forward Neymar has described Barcelona as 'the best club in the world'. Santos forward Neymar has described Barcelona as "the best club in the world". The Brazil international was speaking on Monday ahead of his side's clash with Kashiwa Reysol in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup in Toyota, Japan on Wednesday. Neymar could feature against Barca at the weekend in the final of the competition should the Spanish and European champions defeat Al Sadd in the other semi on Thursday. "Barcelona...

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Anelka to make Shanghai switch

Chelsea have agreed terms with Shanghai Shenhua for the sale of Nicolas Anelka in January's transfer window. The 32-year-old agreed a two-year deal with the Chinese Super League club, becoming arguably the biggest footballing personality ever to ply his trade in the world's most populous nation. He will earn a reported salary of £175,000 a week and unlike fading stars such as Paul Gascoigne, Ruben Sosa, Carsten Jancker and Jorg Albertz, who decamped to China in the early 2000s, Anelka is still...

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Shanghai claim Anelka deal

Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua claim they have agreed terms with Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. It was reported earlier in the week that the French forward was mulling over a move to Asian football having handed in a transfer request at Stamford Bridge. Anelka, 32, is currently training away from the first-team squad at Chelsea and looks destined to be on the move in January with Shanghai Shenhua confident he will be linking up with them. "We have agreed on all the contract details...

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Latics lifted, four-star United

Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all won in the Premier League, while Wigan climbed out of the bottom three with victory at West Brom. Nani and Wayne Rooney scored two apiece as United bounced back from their Champions League nightmare to thump 4-1 Wolves at Old Trafford. The pair both scored their first Premier League goals since September when they converted first-half efforts. Then, after Steven Fletcher had pulled one back within 90 seconds of the restart, Nani tapped home before...

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Ahead of El Clasico match

The game is certainly not going to be easy for Barca though the status of the host. And one thing I was curious about the match, not who wins, not how the score .. But what the strategy will be applied by a "The Special One" face Barca later. Are strategies such as Inter last season just play it safe given the current position is still above madrid, so the score of the series is not hard for them? Or dare to play attack...

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Fergie demands United response

Sir Alex Ferguson has called on Manchester United to use the misery of their Champions League exit on Wednesday as motivation for future glory. The Red Devils only needed to draw their final Group C game against Basel in Switzerland to book their place in the last 16 of the competition for a fifth consecutive season. But United were playing catch-up from the ninth minute when Marco Streller opened the scoring at St Jakob-Park and they suffered another blow late on through Alexander Frei's...

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Basel brush off United hopes

Manchester United surprisingly crashed out of the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat at Basel on Wednesday night. They were always up against it at St-Jakob Park once Marco Streller had given the hosts a ninth-minute lead. Though they grew in dominance as the match went on, the elusive equaliser would not come. Wayne Rooney, who faces a UEFA disciplinary hearing in nearby Nyon on Thursday, wasted their best chance, with Markus Steinhofer belting the ball against his own crossbar midway through...

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Rooney ready for UEFA appeals

UEFA will hear Wayne Rooney's appeal against a three-match ban on Thursday, but even if he's successful a two-match absence still looks likely. Rooney, who was given the ban after his dismissal for violent conduct against Montenegro, will travel to UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, for the hearing after playing in Manchester United's Champions League match in Basle tonight. England manager Fabio Capello will also travel to the appeal along with the Football Association's legal support...

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Drogba fires Blues into last 16

Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea beat Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to secure top spot in Champions League Group E. With the Blues in danger of crashing out of Europe's premier club competition before Christmas for the first time, Andre Villas-Boas abandoned the cavalier tactics that have been the hallmark of his reign to date. The counter-attacking approach paid off spectacularly as Chelsea emerged from the brink of elimination to top the group thanks to Drogba's brace either side...

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Adam regretted the loss of Lucas

Charlie Adam has called the loss of his midfield partner Lucas a "huge blow" as Liverpool prepare for their Premier League clash at Fulham. Adam will run out in the Premier League at Craven Cottage on Monday night without his central midfield partner Lucas for only the second time this season. The pair have started 12 of the Reds' previous 13 league matches alongside each other - the Brazilian missed one game through suspension - and had developed a close understanding and good working relationship. But...

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