e_Paper, Tuesday, November 8, 2016

28
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
DT
‘Extraterrestrial’ Messi
as Barca edge Sevilla
• Reuters
The day before his side hosted Barcelona,
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli
joked that Lionel Messi’s supremacy
necessitated two Ballon
d’Or competitions, “one for Messi
and one for everyone else”.
The Argentine’s words rang
true as his compatriot turned
Sunday’s thrilling encounter with
the high-flying Andalusians on
its head, engineering a 2-1 comeback
victory for his side despite a
breathtaking display from Sevilla.
Barca looked there for the taking
after Vitolo’s 15th minute goal
and were drowning in the home
side’s unrelenting pressure, only
spared by some wayward finishing.
But as halftime approached,
Messi sparked a surge forward,
combining with Denis Suarez and
Neymar to equalise with Barca’s
first clear effort on goal. He took
hold of proceedings in the second
half, crafting two unfulfilled chances
for himself before teeing up Luis
Suarez to secure Barca the winner.
“When a player like him takes
a game seriously it’s very difficult
for his opponents,” said Sampaoli,
whose side’s perfect home record
in La Liga and the Champions
Guardiola: Lack
of composure is
costing Man City
• Reuters
A lack of composure at both ends
of the pitch is costing Manchester
City points, according to their manager
Pep Guardiola.
City, held to a 1-1 home draw by
Middlesbrough on Saturday, have
won one of their last five Premier
League games to slip to third in the
table behind Liverpool and Chelsea.
“Sometimes when you miss a
point it’s a shame... we’re attacking
with 10 guys and we don’t let
(opponents) run,” Guardiola told
reporters.
“We have to insist on playing
that way but we have to be better
in the boxes. When that happens
the game will be 2-0 and the game
will be over.”
“We control the attack, outside
and inside the box and we get to
the second balls,” Guardiola said.
“Of course, in 90 minutes, there
has to be some point when the opponent
can arrive in your box and
what happens here is that they
punish you,” the Spaniard added.
“Here, the games are always
open because they put the long
balls on to the strikers. They are
playing for free kicks and throw-ins
to make the most of the minimal
mistake.” •
League was broken.
“Messi is a world class player
and when the game opens up
there’s little you can do to stop
him, nor his team mates because
they can really punish you if you
give them any space.”
Barca coach Luis Enrique
praised the little magician for yet
another match-winning display.
“Messi’s capacity to interpret
any situation is remarkable. There’s
no-one like him. Our aim is to look
to give the ball to him as often as
we can,” he said.
Sevilla’s Vitolo added: “I’m not
going to tell you anything new
about Messi, for me he’s the best
of all time. He only appeared in the
first half to score the goal but in
the second he improved his whole
team. We were on top in the first
half but Barca’s front three can
score at any moment and their first
goal got them back into the game.”
Sevilla president Pepe Castro
lamented his side’s inability to finish
Barcelona off but was also in
thrall to Messi.
“We couldn’t take our chances
in the first half. They have Messi,
we do not,” he said.
“He is an extraterrestrial. The first
time he touches the ball, it’s a goal.” •
Sport
Klopp wants Liverpool to stay cool
• Reuters
Juergen Klopp suggested on Sunday
that everyone needed to stay
cool amid the crescendo of excitement
that is building up around
Liverpool’s title challenge.
Their fabulous 6-1 trouncing of
Watford at Anfield, featuring the
attacking brilliance that has characterised
their entire season, saw
Liverpool hit the top of the Premier
League for the first time in the
LA LIGA
Real Madrid 3-0 Leganes
Bale 38, 45, Morata 76
Celta Vigo 2-1 Valencia
Roncaglia 43, Guidetti 77 Parejo 32-pen
Espanyol 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
Villarreal 2-0 Real Betis
Trigueros 22, Soriano 54
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona
Vitolo 15 Messi 43, Suarez 61
POINTS TABLE
P W D L GD Pts
Real Madrid 11 8 3 0 21 27
Barcelona 11 8 1 2 19 25
Villarreal 11 6 4 1 12 22
Atletico Madrid 11 6 3 2 17 21
Sevilla 11 6 3 2 4 21
Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring during their Spanish league match against Sevilla FC at
the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Sevilla on Sunday
AFP
Klopp era.
Yet while the win even had
Watford’s bruised manager Walter
Mazzarri cooing that Liverpool
could lift the title for the first time
since the creation of the Premier
League, Klopp suggested everyone
calmed down.
With Chelsea, fresh from their
5-0 hammering of Everton on Saturday,
only a point behind and
both the widely-admired Manchester
City and Arsenal a further point
POINTS TABLE
P W D L GD Pts
Liverpool 11 8 2 1 16 26
Chelsea 11 8 1 2 17 25
Man City 11 7 3 1 15 24
Arsenal 11 7 3 1 13 24
Tottenham 11 5 6 0 9 21
Man Utd 11 5 3 3 3 18
Everton 11 5 3 3 2 18
Watford 11 4 3 4 -4 15
Burnley 11 4 2 5 -4 14
Southampton 11 3 4 4 0 13
West Brom 11 3 4 4 -3 13
Stoke 11 3 4 4 -5 13
Bournemouth 11 3 3 5 -3 12
Leicester 11 3 3 5 -5 12
Middlesbrough 11 2 5 4 -2 11
adrift, Klopp reckoned it was far
too early to get carried away.
“If somebody thinks being one
point ahead after 11 match days is
a big sign for the rest of the season,
then I can’t help this person,”
Klopp told reporters.
“We stay cool. It’s the best position
I can imagine but nothing else
has happened.
“We knew that Arsenal drew
against Tottenham but we didn’t
speak one word about the possibility
of being top of the table.
“We saw Chelsea yesterday,
quite impressive; Man City playing
Barcelona, quite impressive; Man
United, never write them off; Tottenham
are a good side. There’s a
lot of really good teams around.
“For me it’s more important that
we look like a team who is able to
win games.”
“I know the story two years ago
when it was really close and everybody
compares -- but this is not the
team of two or three years ago,”
Klopp said.
“This is not the team (of) 25
years ago. We’re completely new.
“When I came here I asked for
time and patience and belief, and
after 11 matches everyone’s asking
for guarantees and they are not
there.
“The only thing we have is a
pretty good football team.” •
Mourinho hits
out at United
‘problem players’
• AFP, Swansea
Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at
the Manchester United players he
fears might not have the right attitude
to guide his side back into the
Premier League title race.
Mourinho spoke openly about
the need for players to play through
the injury pain barrier.
“We have players with problems,
but we also have players on
the pitch who have problems,” he
said.
“And that is what I mean, because
in every sport, and I know
that because I have friends from
other sports, playing at the highest
level. How many times do they play
when they are not 100 per cent?
“I have a friend who is a big tennis
player and he tells me that he
remembers more times when he
has played with pain than the times
he has played without any pain. To
compete, you have to work to the
limits.
“It is a cultural thing, for some.
That’s not my culture.”
Asked if players needed to
change to play for him, Mourinho
said; “Exactly, but more than me,
Man United. More than me, Man
United.” •