Mancini - Ajax defeat was my fault

Roberto Mancini shouldered the blame after watching his Manchester City side slump to a 3-1 defeat to Ajax, insisting it was his fault that they lost.  City's Champions League campaign is in major trouble after defeat in Amsterdam left them with one point from three matches.  Goals from Siem de Jong, Nicklas Moisander and Christian Eriksen overturned Samir Nasri's opener.  Mancini, either through honesty or an attempt to protect his players, turned all the blame on himself, claiming he did not prepare properly for...

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Africa Cup of Nations Draw - Super Eagles to face champion's

 Group A - South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Angola  Group B - Ghana, Mali, Niger, DR Congo  Group C - Zambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia  Group D - Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Algeria, Togo      more to follow......

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Premier League: Chelsea 1 Stoke 0

Chelsea maintained their place at the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.  The visitors looked to have held on for a deserved point until the 85th minute, when Ashley Cole coolly finished from close range to notch his first top-flight strike for two years and keep the Blues on top of the pile.  Brazil starlet Oscar made his first Premier League start for the Blues after his stunning goal-scoring debut in the Champions League in midweek, while Petr Cech took the captain's...

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Manchester United enquired about our stars, claims Galatasaray vice-president

Galatasaray vice-president Ali Durust has claimed Manchester United enquired about the availability of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and defender Semih Kaya in the aftermath of the club's 1-0 Champions League defeat at Old Trafford.  Sir Alex Ferguson's charges narrowly won their European opener thanks to an early Michael Carrick goal and despite keeping a clean sheet, the Scot has been rumoured to be searching for a centre-back, having been recently linked to Torino's Angelo Ogbonna.  However, after seeing the 21-year-old Kaya...

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Premier League preview: Manchester City v Arsenal

Lukas Podolski will hope he can continue his bright start with Arsenal when they travel to reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday.  The English Premier League clash pits one of the best attacking sides in the competition (Manchester City) against the best defensive outfit (Arsenal) but it is up the other end where the game could be decided.  Podolski, who has scored three goals in as many games, could be key for the visitors.  The 27-year-old German forward scored Arsenal's first league goal of the season in their...

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Di Matteo calm over Abramovich visit

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo says Roman Abramovich visited Blues training after his side's disappointing draw with Juventus.  Chelsea, who are preparing to face Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday, let a two goal lead slip against Juventus as they began their UEFA Champions League title defence with a 2-2 draw.  Owner Abramovich spoke to the players at the club's training ground at Cobham on Thursday but it is nothing new to the Italian coach.  "Yeah he (Abramovich) actually comes quite often to be honest,"...

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Mancini denies Balotelli bust-up

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has rebuffed reports he has had a falling out with striker Mario Balotelli.  The 21-year-old was omitted for the dramatic 3-2 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid at Bernabeu on Tuesday night, sparking rumours of another bust-up with the manager.  But Mancini denied those suggestions, claiming it was simply a case of rotation and that the Italy international will be fit to play against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.  "This story is totally false," Mancini told...

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