Fotbulnary

Saturday, 30 September 2017

Antonio Conte: Man City defeat is a disappointment

Chelsea suffered their second home defeat in the league when they fell
0-1 to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the last kick off on
Saturday.

The defeat came on the heels of the excellent Champions League win
over Atletico Madrid in midweek.

However, the Blues cause was not helped by the injury picked up by
Alvaro Morata in the first half. As the Premier League champions ended
up being second best throughout.

Speaking after the match, Antonio Conte bemoaned Morata's injury and
asserted that it was a disappointing day for Chelsea

"For sure there is a disappointment for the result but I think when
two great teams play these games anything can happen. I must be
pleased with the commitment of my players, because we gave
everything."

Asked about Alvaro Morata's injury, he said

"When you lose this type of player it is not simple. When you play
three massive games in only seven games you must consider this, it can
happen a muscular problem, but I do not think it is serious. Alvaro
stopped before it became a serious injury."

The decision to replace Morata with Willian came as a surprise to
many, as the Brazilian did not exactly set the match alight. However,
Conte said it was a technical decision.

"It was a technical decision, also to try and exploit the space. It
was a simple tactical decision. Manchester City, we know very well
they are a good team. They were a good team last season."

Jose Mourinho: I have always trusted Marouane Fellaini

Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on two goal hero Marouane Felliani.

The 29 year old Belgian international got a brace as Manchester United
got a comfortable 4-0 win over a hapless Crystal Palace side at Old
Trafford.

The Belgian has been maligned by sections of Manchester United fans
since he was signed by David Moyes four years ago. But with three
Premier League goals this season, he is gradually gaining the
confidence of Manchester United faithful. But Mourinho has now
confirmed that his confidence in the Belgian has never waivered.

He was effusive in his praise for Fellaini when he spoke to the BBC
after the match.

"I always trusted Marouane since day one and try to give him
confidence and show him how useful he is for the team," He began

Then he continued

"Sometimes we like players others don't like. Some players perform
better with some of us [managers] than with others and I have examples
of players that didn't perform well for me and then performed well for
other managers.

"I think Marouane has important qualities and I try to use them
depending on the situation and what they team needs. He plays with me
as a defensive midfielder, as a second striker, as one of two
midfielders. He is a team player. A great character. We have a good
relationship and things are going really well between us.

"I think only a strong character could resist the difficulties here
because he had some difficult times when people didn't recognise his
qualities, when other managers didn't like so much the qualities he
has. He had to be a strong character. He is a fighter, a guy with lots
of pride and I am really pleased I helped him reach this level and
change the perception the fans have now. I am really happy for him."

Chelsea vs Man City Teams: Moses dropped, Christensen, Hazard and Rudiger starts

Premier League Champions Chelsea host Manchester City in the biggest
match of the weekend.

Antonio Conte hands a first Premier League start to Eden Hazard,
Victor Moses drop out, David Luiz continues his suspension with
Rudiger and Christensen coming in.

Full Teams

Chelsea:

Courtois, Rudiger, Christensen, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Kante, Bakayoko,
Fabregas, Alonso, Hazard, Morata.

Subs: Caballero, Pedro, Moses, Kenedy, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi.

Man City:

Ederson, Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Delph, De Bruyne, Fernandinho,
Silva, Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.

Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Gundogan, Mangala, Bernardo Silva, Alexander
Zinchenko, Toure.

Man United vs Crystal Palace Teams: Rashford and Fellaini starts

Manchester United look to end the month of September on a high as they
host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. A win would see them go top.

Jose Mourinho has named a strong side with Fellaini passed fit about
being a doubt for the game. While Rashford also start.

Full Teams

Manchester United:

De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Young, Matic, Fellaini, Mata,
Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Lukaku

Subs: Bailly, Martial, Lingard, Blind, Romero, Herrera, Darmian

Crystal Palace:

Hennessey, Ward, Sakho, Delaney, Van Aanholt, Townsend, Milivojevic,
Cabaye, Schlupp, Puncheon, Sako

Subs: Speroni, Lee Chung-yong, McArthur, Ladapo, Mutch, Kelly, Riedewald

Friday, 29 September 2017

Arsenal injury update: Ozil ruled out of Brighton game, Koscielny a doubt

Arsene Wenger spoke to the club's website to give an update of his
squad ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Brighton.

Mesut Ozil will miss the game against Brighton on Sunday with an
unspecified injury, while Laurent Koscielny is a doubt for the match
with an Achilles problem. But should be fit enough to feature.

Alex Iwobi might be available again after missing the last two games
with a thigh injury.

These were Wenger's words to Arsenal.com

"Mesut Ozil will not be available for Sunday. Very short-term. He is
not far, but he is not enough for Sunday.

"Alex Iwobi might be available for Sunday, of course Coquelin and
Welbeck are not available. We have a doubt about Laurent Koscielny
unfortunately and he will have a test tomorrow. It's an achilles
problem, it's ongoing. I think everybody else should be available.
Sead Kolasinac had some problems, but he is available. That's
basically it."

The Brighton game on Sunday would complete a run of three matches in
six days for Arsenal following Monday's and Thurday's matches against
West Brom and BATE Borisov.

Man City left back Benjamin Mendy out until April 2018 with ACL injury

Manchester City left back Benjamin Mendy has been ruled out until
April 2018 following an anterior cruciate injury.

Pep Guardiola confirmed this during his press conference on Friday.

"Benjamin Mendy will be operated on this afternoon in Barcelona and
will be out until the time of the semi-final of UCL. [ Uefa Champions
League]

The France international was a £52m signing from Monaco in the summer,
an outlay that made him the world's most expensive defender.

On the possibility of finding a short term replacement for him,
Guardiola had this to say.

"In the way Benjamin Mendy plays, his energy towards goal, we cannot
replace him.

"We have to play a different way. You cannot replace him around the world."

Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero is expected to be out for a considerable
amount of time after he suffered a broken rib following a car accident
while he was driving in the Netherlands on Thursday.

The Catalan confirmed this earlier today.

"Aguero has had an accident in Amsterdam and he will be back after
that. I am not a doctor. He will come back and recover as soon as
possible.

"I have not yet spoken with Aguero. I have been preparing training. I
will speak to him today. First impression is he has broken his rib.

"Day off is to be happy. I am a trainer who doesn't want to train
every day because they need to rest, mentally and physically.

Both players would be absent for the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.