Monday, October 16, 2017
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All stories by Frank Jumbo with Agency reports
Ronaldo is Madrid’s saviour – Marcelo
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eal Madrid can always rely on Cristiano Ronaldo to step up when they need him to, according to defender Marcelo. Facing the prospect of more dropped LaLiga points after Getafe had drawn level with Jorge Molina cancelling out Karim Benzema’s opener, Madrid needed Ronaldo. The Portugal star got on the end of an Isco pass and drilled in an 85thminute winner for his first league goal of the campaign. Marcelo said his team knew they could look to Ronaldo to deliver when they most needed. “We know what Cristiano brings to Madrid. He deserves a lot of credit for all he’s done at Madrid and we know that when he has to show up, he does so,” the Brazilian said. “That happens in football, I couldn’t
tell you why. “We’re trying to improve with every game, trying to cut the gap to first place and continue fighting for all the points available.” Madrid moved into second in the table with their win, but they are five points adrift of leaders and rivals Barcelona. Marcelo was pleased with his team’s response after conceding, saying: “It’s a difficult place to come, everyone has that extra motivation when they’re playing against Madrid. “We conceded a goal, I don’t know if it was offside or not but that doesn’t bother me. “We did a great job, we were able to manage the game well after scoring and we ended up winning it.”
Messi is exhausted, says Valverde
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arcelona coach Ernesto Valverde believes Lionel Messi is “tired” after his Argentina heroics and having helped his club to a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid. Messi played his fourth full game of the month as Luis Suarez’s goal saw Barca salvage a point at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday. Days after scoring a brace against Las Palmas, Messi played two games for Argentina – including scoring a hat-trick in Ecuador to lead his nation into the World Cup. After his side’s draw with Atletico, Valverde said Messi was fatigued, but he praised the forward for what he could bring to Barca – even when below his best. “I agree that Leo is tired after the games he’s had to play, but we know he’ll always respond in any situation,” he said. “We know how much fear he instils in the opposing players and fans.” The draw ended Barca’s perfect start to the LaLiga season, but they still sit five points clear at the top.
Messi
Mertesacker laments Arsenal collapse
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rsenal captain Per Mertesacker was unhappy with his team’s failure to respond to Watford’s equaliser in their shock 2-1 loss. Mertesacker had given the visitors to Vicarage Road a first-half lead with a header in the Premier League on Saturday. But Troy Deeney levelled from the penalty spot in the 71st minute before Tom Cleverley scored a dramatic late winner. While Mertesacker was unsure about the penalty, given against Hector Bellerin for a foul on Richarlison, he lamented Arsenal’s inability to respond. “I’m not sure, I cannot tell [if it was a penalty]. Honestly, it’s so quick these actions, it’s difficult to judge and the referee made that decision,” the German defender told www.arsenal.com. “I think for us it was kind of a wake-up call, but it wasn’t loud enough.” The loss was Arsenal’s third in eight Premier League games and left them sixth in the table. Mertesacker said his team were wasteful in possession against Watford, particularly in the second half. “I think that’s what we lacked, especially in the second half, you know when we got the ball we missed a chance, but we missed as well to play, we missed it completely,” he said. “That’s what we did really well in the first half, where we regained possession, kept possession, that was really good.
Inzaghi hails Lazio´s ´historic´ win at Juve
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Valverde
imone Inzaghi lauded Lazio’s come-from-behind 2-1 win at Juventus as a landmark moment in the club’s 117-year history. Ciro Immobile inspired an admirable recovery from a half-time deficit as the visitors broke Juve’s remarkable 57-match unbeaten run at home in all competitions. The win also saw Lazio move level with the champions on 19 points, five shy of early pacesetters Napoli. And former Italy forward Inzaghi, who guided the Biancocelesti to fifth last term, says his side deserve the respect of Serie A’s title contenders. “It is only right that people talk about Lazio as we achieved something remarkable this evening,” Inzaghi told Mediaset Premium. “The lads deserve credit for a result that will go down in the history of the
club. “I did get the feeling we could hurt Juve if we just hung in there. Some people said we would be in ninth or 10th place this season, which is unfair, so now it is only right that people talk about us.” Lazio’s two goals each arrived within 10 minutes of the restart as Immobile came back to haunt his former club with a match-turning brace. Inzaghi insists he was always confident in the team’s ability to respond to Douglas Costa’s opener. “I said to the lads at half-time that we could have done better in the final third and just had to work on that final ball,” he said. “We were doing okay, but to win we needed to give something more, have clear heads and play without pressure. “In the second half we felt freer, we were doing the moves that we had worked on in training.