"Baby" Ballotelli cries again on the pitch!! aaaawww!

The Dutchman claims the enigmatic striker needs to get used to the ups and downs of football and praised debutant Adel Taarabt for his goal

Clarence Seedorf has asked Mario Balotelli to grow up after the striker's scenes during AC Milan 3-1 loss at Napoli on Saturday.

Balotelli was captured on camera crying in the dugout following his substitution in the second half just minutes after he missed an open goal.

But Seedorf maintained that it was all part of the 23-year-old's road to maturity and put himself at his star's disposal to help him progress.

"We are players and there are times when we express ourselves that way. I see nothing wrong or abnormal in that. I experienced it at times too," Seedorf admitted to reporters after the match.


"He too needs to grow in general. He played very well [two weeks ago] against Cagliari, while tonight perhaps he didn’t make the most of the space.

"These are things we can all improve on and I’m happy he has so many areas to improve, as I can help him through that education.”

January arrival Adel Taarabt gave the Rossoneri the lead even though Gokhan Inler and Gonzalo Higuain handed Napoli eventual victory, but Seedorf proved reasonably impressed with his side's display.

"Taarabt had a great debut. He showed a lot of quality, worked hard and scored a great goal. He presented himself well," the coach continued.

"It was a step backwards in terms of the result, but I also saw many positive things. Unfortunately we had prepared it a certain way, then Kaka and Keisuke Honda got ill, so I had to make changes.

"As well as to get as many points as possible, my job is to help improve the players who I found in not great physical condition. That needs time.”

Seedorf's first loss as Milan boss in Serie A leaves the team in 10th spot.

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Real Madrid Triumph as Atletico slides down...No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem

No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem. Gareth Bale was back with a bang and Jese stepped into the Portuguese's sizeable shoes as Real Madrid made light work of a dangerous Villarreal side on Saturday night to leave coach Carlo Ancelotti with the perfect poser.

Ronaldo's red card and disrespectful gesture towards the match officials in the 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao last weekend earned the 29-year-old a three-match ban and he was missing for this one. In his absence, Jese started on the left, his natural position, and continued his fantastic form from recent weeks. But over on the right, meanwhile, Bale was not to be outdone either.

The Welshman, sidelined for several weeks with a mysterious injury, showed no signs of fitness problems as he pounced on an error by Jose Antonio Dorado before racing forward and finishing with a delicate chip after just six minutes. The 24-year-old then beat his marker and crossed for Karim Benzema to make it 2-0 later in the first half.After Mario Gaspar hit back for Villarreal with a stunning strike, Jese joined in the fun for Madrid as he finished off a quick move by dinking the ball nonchalantly past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo with the outside of his right foot. Giovani dos Santos reduced the deficit once again with a free kick but, like Bale, Jese then turned provider for Benzema, who slotted home his second of the night to make it 4-2 following a flowing move and take his tally to 104 goals for Madrid - the same amount scored by his idol Ronaldo.

Benzema benefited from excellent service from both Bale and Jese, while the two wide man also showed their own value when it comes to scoring goals.

"The absence of Cristiano motivates the rest," Ancelotti said afterwards. "He is indispensable for us. Without him, the others work harder."

That showed - and the Italian was particularly pleased with Bale and Jese. "Gareth played a great game and got a goal and an assist," he said. "And Jese continues to do very well. He works hard, he helps out - and that's what we want from him. He gives us so much for someone his age."

The balance worked well: Bale, a left-footer, looks comfortable on the opposite flank, while Jese, a right-footer, is at home on the left. "For Benzema's characteristics, it's better if they play that way," Ancelotti added.

That probably means Bale remains favourite to start on the right when Ronaldo returns, yet Jese's fine form on both flanks will give the Italian something to chew over in the coming weeks.

The 20-year-old certainly appears unawed by playing for Madrid and has already scored against some of the biggest teams in La Liga: Barcelona, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico and now Villarreal. It's an impressive list.

Bale, meanwhile, added to his superb stats. That's 11 goals in 23 appearances for the former Tottenham man and nine assists as well.

So whoever plays when Ronaldo returns, Madrid's attack currently looks in great shape with either Bale or Jese to the right of Benzema. Ancelotti just has to decide which one he likes best.

Atletico slip

Last Saturday, Atletico Madrid thrashed Real Sociedad 4-0 to move to the top of La Liga for the fist time since they won a Primera Division and Copa del Rey double in 1996.

Since then, however, it has been a woeful week for Diego Simeone's side.

Well beaten by Madrid in the first leg of the sides' Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday, Atletico looked to put that 3-0 loss behind them by retaining their league leadership on Saturday.

But it was a toothless performance from Simeone's side in Almeria and although the Rojiblancos were rocked by the dreadful decision to send off goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia and award the home team a penalty with six minutes left, they were already a goal behind at that point and finished the evening in second place after going down 2-0, their misery compounded by losing midfielder Tiago with what looked like a serious injury.

"These things happen in football," Simeone said of the defeat. "We lost and we won't look for any excuses. I am worried most of all about Tiago."

On Sunday, a Barcelona win will see a three-way tie at the top of La Liga, with the Catalans, Madrid and Atleti all on 57 points after 23 games.

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Arsenal "Walked alone" in a 5-1 Crashing by Livepool at Anfield.

The Premier League has been missing a truly strong Liverpool side for a long time. Whether you like them or not, the Reds are a huge part of the prestige and tradition of English football; even if this performance does not spur them to the title, it seals a welcome return to genuine credibility.

Brendan Rodgers's side have had their moments of 'same old' inconsistency this season and it would still be a huge surprise if they actually lifted the trophy come May. But the astonishing viciousness with which they dismantled Arsenal at Anfield - arguably the best performance of any English team in 2013-14 - showed us yet more glimpses of a seriously excellent team.

Right from the start, Liverpool were at 100 per cent, pressing and battling, committing and doubling up. There was nowhere that an Arsenal player could run where two opponents would not follow him.Would things have been different had Martin Skrtel been called offside at the first-minute free kick from which they opened the scoring? Probably not. In winning the dead ball, Luis Suarez had already displayed the drive which set the tone for the performance and, in giving it away, Per Mertesacker had shown the lack of presence which was then compounded, not caused, by the goal.

And the Reds just kept coming from there. Not one of their front line - Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho - were anything short of superb.

They tore the Mertesacker-Laurent Koscielny axis - previously and deservedly praised - to shreds, while Nacho Monreal fared little better. The Spaniard, picked surprisingly ahead of Kieran Gibbs, was specifically targeted by Suarez and Jordan Henderson, who teamed up time and time again down the Reds' right to great effect.

Only 11 days previously, Rodgers's men had walloped Everton at Anfield. This was a step up from even that but, as the manager said in the build-up to Saturday's game, his side are growing used to domination. They have now obliterated two of the best-organised teams in the Premier League; it looks like they are only now recognising just how good they could be.

Now appearing almost a lock for at least a Champions League place, the future looks very bright in both the short and long term. Their biggest weakness - defence - was made a non-issue at Anfield by the ferocity of their pressure further up the pitch and, of course, provided the first two goals. But that area will surely be the subject of strengthening in the summer.Meanwhile, in midfield and attack, the average age of those who started on Saturday was just 24.5, a figure dragged upwards by Steven Gerrard, who had one of the better games of his recent twilight as he bossed a Mathieu Flamini-less Arsenal engine room.

There is so much potential for that forward line to stay together and improve. Strength in depth is the main necessity but we know from both the Reds' failed January move for Yevhen Konoplyanka, as well as Rodgers's blooding of youngsters like Jordon Ibe, that such things are being actively pursued.

A vast crop of youth, reasonable owners, a likely-looking return to the riches and pulling power of the Champions League plus a redeveloped stadium on its way in two or three years mean that these extraordinary performances may well represent the long-awaited reawakening of a genuine footballing giant.

There is, of course, plenty of work yet to do – with every waking-up comes a groggy fumble to get out of bed and the Reds were under-par as they drew with West Brom in their previous game. Theirs is a thin squad with definite vulnerabilities but, as his complete out-thinking of Arsene Wenger shows, Rodgers is the man to oversee its improvement.

For now, Liverpool fans can simply enjoy watching more and more flashes of some of the best football to have graced Anfield in 10, 20, perhaps even 30 years. With Chelsea and Manchester City still to visit, they will have a huge say in the Premier League title race one way or another.

source:goal.com

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Hazardous Hazard fires the Blues to the EPL Summit with a stunning treble.

The Belgian forward was in scintillating form as he netted his first treble in English football, taking advantage of slips by Arsenal and Manchester City to put his side firstJose Mourinho's men took advantage of Arsenal's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool and Manchester City's goalless draw with Norwich City to leapfrog their title rivals.

Hazard was the hero, the 23-year-old producing a virtuoso performance and taking his goal tally for the season to 14 with an impressive treble. The Belgian opened the scoring midway through the first half with an emphatic finish and his second quickly followed as he rounded off a superb Chelsea breakaway after 34 minutes.



Jose Mourinho insists that Chelsea are not title contenders but, after Eden Hazard's superb hat-trick sent them top of the Premier League, that argument is looking harder and harder to sustain with any real sincerity.

The Blues built on their excellent victory at the Etihad Stadium with a dominating display at Stamford Bridge against a lacklustre Newcastle side. Here, as then, the sublime Hazard was the outstanding player on the pitch but this time his classy technique was allied to a ruthless sense of purpose. Even his penalty was dispatched with style and, on this form, it is hard to disagree with Mourinho's description of the Belgian as "the best young player in the world".

Newcastle offered little resistance and their season is in danger of petering out following the sale of Yohan Cabaye but here they, as everyone else, could only sit and watch in awe of the magical Hazard. That ended the game as a contest but the former Lille man applied the gloss to a fine display with a penalty just after the hour mark.

Captain John Terry was left out for the Blues, who had the better of an open start to the game, Hazard's tame effort drawing a save from Tim Krul and Frank Lampard firing a free kick just wide.

Chelsea quickly began to dominate proceedings and perhaps should have taken the lead after 25 minutes when Oscar lashed a shot narrowly off target but, just two minutes later, they did make the breakthrough as Hazard curled into the bottom corner,having collected a pass from Branislav Ivanovic.

Newcastle wasted a glaring chance just after the half-hour mark, Moussa Sissoko - captain in the absence of the injured Cheikh Tiote - denied by Cech following a superb through-ball from Davide Santon.

The visitors were punished almost immediately as Hazard finished off a marvellous counterattack by surging into the box before playing a one-two with Samuel Eto'o and coolly slotting beyond Krul.

Mourinho's men continued to look fallible in defence and were grateful to Cech once more when the Czech goalkeeper scrambled to prevent Luuk de Jong from scoring on his full Newcastle debut with a close-range header.

But the visitors' problems mounted further five minutes before the half-time interval when Mathieu Debuchy limped off to be replaced by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

Chelsea almost extended their lead in bizarre fashion early in the second half as Krul lost his footing in an attempt to claim David Luiz's long ball forward, which bounced over the Dutchman's head before eventually rolling wide of the goal despite Oscar's determined chase to keep the ball in play.

Mike Williamson prevented Eto'o from scoring a third with a fine block before Krul kept out a stinging free kick from Lampard.

However, the third goal finally arrived on 63 minutes, Hazard converting from the spot in confident fashion after Yanga-Mbiwa had hauled down Eto'o in the area.

The Belgian then came off to a rousing standing ovation prior to a flurry of late chances, Krul denying substiute Mohamed Salah a first goal for Chelsea before Sylvain Marveaux somehow shot wide following a Newcastle counter at the other end.

courtesy of Goal.com

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Cappa: "Messi has lost the passion for the game"

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner has become "bored after 15 years of marriage to the game", according to his fellow Argentine

Former Barcelona assistant coach Angel Cappa has accused Lionel Messi of losing his passion for football.

The 67-year-old Argentine, who worked at Camp Nou under Cesar Luis Menotti in the 1980s, claims that his compatriot's performance in Saturday's 3-2 defeat at home to Valencia offered the clearest evidence yet that the Blaugrana No.10 has fallen out of love with the game.

Cappa felt that Messi seemed slightly more motivated in Wednesday night's Copa del Rey win over Real Sociedad but nevertheless maintains that the 26-year-old attacker is these days a shadow of the player who claimed four successive Ballon d'Or awards.

“To play football you need boundless passion, like Messi had, like the great players like [Diego] Maradona ... any important player in the Primera Division: Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets,” Cappa told La Xarxa.

“You need enormous passion, you need that energy that comes from an absolute love of the game.

"[On Wednesday against Sociedad], he participated [in the game] a little more, but the day they played Valencia, I couldn’t understand how a player could play football so dispassionately.

"And especially him, because if we look at a game of his from three or four years ago, there was that craziness, that passion that he had for playing.

"And I don’t know why or for what reason, but that is coming to an end."

Cappa says, though, that it is obvious that the drive that turned Messi into a superstar of world football is now conspicuous by its absence.

“That love of the game, that passion that makes him go and look for the ball on the left, on the right, in the middle, take players on, beat one, then two ... I see Messi has lost that,” the 67-year-old declared.

"He has extraordinary quality, he’s wonderful and at any moment he can come up with a wonderful play, but it’s as if he has been married for 15 years to football and got bored of it.”

Cappa also suggested that Messi's malaise is merely the result of grander problems at Camp Nou.

“I’m talking about Messi, but Barcelona have also lost that passion," he argued. "Before, you couldn’t miss even a second of the 90 minutes because there was always something.

"Now Barca have the ball, sure, and they do things now and again, but they have also lost that boundless enthusiasm they had before.”

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BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH 0-1 BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN

Son Heung-Min's second-half strike earned Bayer Leverkusen a valuable 1-0 victory over fellow Champions League chasers Borussia Monchengladbach.


In a tightly-contested affair at Borussia-Park on Friday, the South Korean settled the encounter between the two top-four hopefuls with a superb curling effort just after the hour mark.

Gladbach started the game in a positive fashion, but could have been behind at half-time had Stefan Kiessling done better with a free header shortly before the break.

Sami Hyypia's side did find the breakthrough in the second half, however, and held firm despite late pressure from the visitors, as Gladbach fell to just their second home defeat in the Bundesliga this season.

Max Kruse led the line up front for Gladbach, while the away side welcomed Sidney Sam back into their starting XI following a thigh injury.

The hosts made the brighter opening and orchestrated the first meaningful effort on 19 minutes when Patrick Herrmann's well-controlled volley looked destined for the bottom left-hand corner, but he was denied by a smart stop from Bernd Leno.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Kruse saw a fierce strike from 25 yards deflected over the crossbar, as Leverkusen's defence held firm against a slick Gladbach attack.

It was the visitors who finished the half stronger, however, but Son shot off-target from distance.

Kiessling had arguably the best chance of the opening period three minutes before the break when he headed Gonzalo Castro's corner well over the crossbar despite being unmarked.

The home side saw Juan Arango flash an effort wide of the post shortly after the restart, but it was Leverkusen who finally broke the deadlock on 62 minutes.

Sam broke free down the right before laying into the path of Son, who came inside and hit a fierce strike from 20 yards past the despairing Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The hosts piled forward in search of an equaliser and Kruse forced a good save from Leno in the closing stages, but Leverkusen clung on for a crucial three points.

The result leaves Leverkusen in second with a 10-point gap to Gladbach, who sit just outside the Champions League spots in fifth.

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Was Mourinho right to sell Mata to Man-United?

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf believes Jose Mourinho was right to sell Juan Mata, revealing that he was not "a big fan" of the Spaniard.

The Spain international was a popular figure with Blues supporters during his near three-year stint at Stamford Bridge, but failed to nail down a regular first-team following the return of 'The Special One' last summer.

Mata duly completed a switch to reigning Premier League champions Manchester United in a €45 million deal during the January transfer window and while Mourinho's decision to part company with such an asset may have raised eyebrows among some supporters, Leboeuf believes it was the right call.

"I've never been a big fan of Juan Mata," the Frenchman told Perform. "I think he's a fantastic player [but] I think he doesn't suit English football.

"I guess Chelsea tried to find the new [Gianfranco] Zola. But Zola was much more powerful than Mata, and Mata is a little bit light.

"I think Mourinho realised that and that is why he bought Willian, because he has a little bit of Zola, not as big as Zola but strong, skilful and works really hard for the team and can defend.

"With [Eden] Hazard, Oscar and Willian, it is an armada. You don't know where to look, because you know you are going to struggle at some point."

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Lionel Messi Slams critics on his form

The 26-year-old has been criticised over his recent performances but the four-time Ballon d'Or winner insists he is "full of energy" and looking forward to the rest of the season

Lionel Messi says that he is "happy" with his current form but that his goal is to "peak at the right time of the year" for both Barcelona and Argentina.

Compatriot and former Blaugrana assistant coach Angel Cappa claimed earlier this week that the 26-year-old attacker has looked disinterested since returning from a hamstring injury and suggested that the four-time Ballon d'Or winner has lost his passion for the game.

However, Messi insists that he remains as motivated as ever and is looking forward to the conclusion of what could be a monumental season for both his club and country.

"I'm very well, full of energy and with a lot of hope," the Barca No.10 told the BBC. "I was able to play again after a long time.

"I'm happy with my current form and slowly but surely I will be getting there to hopefully peak at the right time of the year."

Messi added: "I hope this could be a great year not only for me but also for Barcelona and for Argentina."

The three-time Champions League winner also revealed that he still feels that there is a lot more to come from him in the coming years.

"Every season is a new challenge," he explained. "I still have a lot to learn and a huge deal to improve.

"With Barcelona we always play for major honours and we are always asked to win them all.

"I hope to keep performing at a high level all the way to the World Cup because we have a lot to play for with Barca, with a hard tie in the Champions League, and a very hard La Liga and Copa del Rey to deal with.

"I want to keep going and win everything."

Source:goal.com

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