Messi and Ronaldo sparkle, Chelsea endure loss - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

Chelsea FC’s immaculate beginning to the season suffered a blemish on Saturday as the Premier League leaders succumbed to their very first defeat of the campaign at Newcastle United FC. There have been no such problems for the top two in the Liga, however, as Lionel Messi reacted to your hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo to keep his FC Barcelona side within two points of Real Madrid CF. There was a landmark goal for FC Bayern Munchen’s Franck Ribery as well, while Juventus kept their Serie A lead.

Group A• José María Giménez and Mario Mandzukic were on target at Elche CF as Club Atletico de Madrid made it three Liga triumphs in a row.– Juventus stay three points clear in the Serie A peak despite being held to a goalless draw at ACF Fiorentina on Friday.– Olympiacos FC closed to within four points of Greek pacesetters PAOK FC after a 2-2 draw against PAS Giannina FC.– Having finished the Swedish league campaign as winners, Malmo FF weren’t in activity.

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Messi and Ronaldo sparkle, Chelsea endure loss - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

Matchday six by amounts - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

TUESDAYGroup AOlympiacos FC v Malmo FF– Olympiacos are planning to finish a clean sweep of home triumphs in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the very first time since 2009/10, having already conquered Club Atletico de Madrid (3-2) and Juventus (1-0).

Juventus v Club Atletico de Madrid– Juventus are unbeaten in nine residence matches in UEFA competition, including Group A triumphs over Malmo (2-0) and Olympiacos (3-2). The Bianconeri have lost only one of 14 European house fixtures in the redeveloped Juventus Stadium (W8 D5 L1).

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Matchday six by amounts - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

Messi makes history, Bayern continue upsurge - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

Not for the first time, Lionel Messi dominated headlines on the weekend after overtaking Telmo Zarra’s record of 251 Liga goals having a hat trick against Sevilla FC. The FC Barcelona forward helped his side remain two points behind Spanish leaders Real Madrid CF, for whom Cristiano Ronaldo starred again, while FC Bayern Munchen and Chelsea FC raised their individual league leads and Juventus won in the Serie A peak.

Group A– Diego Godin hit late to secure a 3-1 achievement for Club Atletico de Madrid against Malaga CF.– Two points behind PAOK FC in Greece, Olympiacos FC didn’t possess a national fixture in the weekend. — Juventus made light work of a visit to SS Lazio as two Paul Pogba goals helped them to a 3-0 win which kept their three-point pillow. — Having finished the Swedish league campaign as winners, Malmo FF weren’t in activity.

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Messi makes history, Bayern continue upsurge - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

We can still do better, says Van Gaal after win over Arsenal

Louis van Gaal believes there is plenty of room for improvement from Manchester United after their 2-1 Barclays Premier League win at Arsenal.

A Kieran Gibbs own goal and Wayne Rooney’s strike five minutes from time were enough to render Olivier Giroud’s stunning added-time effort a consolation. But United were indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea for keeping them in a first half that Arsenal completely dominated.

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We can still do better, says Van Gaal after win over Arsenal

Pochettino hints at Kane benefit for late victor

auricio Pochettino has acknowledged he might not be able miss Harry Kane in the Barclays Premier League subsequent to the striker’s late winner at Aston Villa.

Kane came off the substitutes’ bench to perform a fightback at Villa Park on Sunday by securing Spurs’ 2-1 triumph having a deflected free kick in the 90th minute.

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Pochettino hints at Kane benefit for late victor

Two for Ronaldo, 250 for Barcelona"s Messi - UEFA.com

• Two Cristiano Ronaldo goals (13p 61) propel Real Madrid CF toward 5-0 win at Levante UD.
• With 15th goal in first eight Liga games, Ronaldo breaks Spanish record set by Esteban Echevarría in 1943/44.
• Javier Hernández, James Rodríguez and Isco complete scoring.
• SD Eibar hold FC Barcelona for an hour at Camp Nou until Xavi Hernández makes the breakthrough.
• Neymar and Lionel Messi strike in quick succession to make it 3-0; Messi’s goal is his 250th Liga goal – one shy of Telmo Zarra’s record.
• Barcelona earn record eighth successive Liga clean sheet since the start of the season.
• Athletic Club remain in the drop zone after failing to build on an early Aritz Aduriz penalty; RC Celta de Vigo draw 1-1 in Bilbao.
• On Friday, Manucho struck at the death as Rayo Vallecano de Madrid won 1-0 at Granada CF.

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Two for Ronaldo, 250 for Barcelona"s Messi - UEFA.com

Consistency the key for last season"s pass master Ozil

For about 15 years people have been collating data about teams’ passing during matches and during that time it has moved from being a virtual curiosity to an integral measurement of a player’s performance. At the forefront of this have been Opta, the Barclays Premier League’s official data suppliers, who can call on the world’s largest resource of football statistics.

Yet passing data remains one of the most misused metrics, with total numbers of passes and players with high completion rates of passes regularly bandied about without sufficient context. So a central defender completed 97% of his passes? He probably should have, given his team’s relative strength and the position he plays in.

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Consistency the key for last season"s pass master Ozil

Saturday reaction: Mourinho plays down Chelsea triumph

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was keen to help keep his side’s feet to the floor as soon as they finished a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Goals by Oscar and Willian either side of Diego Costa’s eighth strike in his first six Barclays Premier League appearances secured a fifth triumph of the campaign, but Mourinho, whose side are three points clear in the very top of the standings, sought to play down expectations.

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Saturday reaction: Mourinho plays down Chelsea triumph

Girls inspired to trainer by Newcastle United Foundation and Prince"s Trust

Thirteen girls have finished a brief class with Newcastle United Foundation as well as The Prince’s Trust to help them kick start a career in sports training. The girls, all aged 16 and 20 and now jobless, have just finished a Prince’s Trust "Get Started in Football Training" class.

The programme, part-financed by Comic Relief, gives young people that are out of work the opportunity to get work experience, acquire new abilities and trust. Subjects covered in the class included first aid, safeguarding children and young people and the best way to plan, prepare and provide training sessions.

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Girls inspired to trainer by Newcastle United Foundation and Prince"s Trust

Benali"s huge run for charity closes in on finish line

As Southampton manager Ronald Koeman gives his half time team talk in their home match against Newcastle United on Saturday, the Dutchman may be tempted to make use of a former Saint who’ll be presented to the St Mary’s bunch for inspiration for his players.

Francis Benali, one of Southampton’s longest-serving players, will marched prior to the St Mary’s bunch, having finished a 1,000-mile run to all 20 Barclays Premier League arenas in aid of Cancer Research UK. A Southampton player for 17 years Benali amassed 243 Barclays Premier League appearances before retiring in 2004 and is close to finishing his gruelling 21-day trek.

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Benali"s huge run for charity closes in on finish line