Rossi looking forward to AC Milan clash

Rossi looking forward to AC Milan clash

Top of the table Lazio is looking forward to the Serie A clash with AC Milan on Sunday.

Lazio have won the two first matches of the season against Cagliari and Sampdoria.

“On Sunday night we will be facing a Rossoneri squad with pride and quality, who have not hidden their objective of winning the Scudetto,” said Lazio coach Delio Rossi.

“We must live this season one day at a time. This is going to be a very useful test to understand how our development is progressing and what we are really made of.”

Lazio have failed to beat AC Milan since their 1-0 win in 1989.

He added: “We must go to San Siro with humility and courage. Are we aiming for a Champions League place? We are living this season one day at a time.”

Barca under pressure as sickly Henry sidelined

Barcelona said Saturday they have told French striker Thierry Henry to stay at home and recover from illness as they travel to Sporting Gijon for a must-win third league match of the season.

Henry has been diagnosed with pharyngitis - an inflammation of the pharynx in the throat - leaving Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to choose from between Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi and Bojan Krkic.

Guardiola saw his side coast to victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek, however the Catalan club are in dire need of a win against the bottom side in La Liga to boost morale after a draw and defeat from their first two games has left them in 15th place.

According to reports, defeat at Sporting Gijon on Sunday would leave Barcelona with their worst start to the season in over 35 years. In the 1973-1974 season they had one point after their first three matches.

Xavi Hernandez, who scored one goal in the 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, said it's time to step up.

“We can't afford another slip up,” said Xavi.

Goal fest again as Atletico crush Recreativo

Arsenal came from a goal down to beat former bogey team Bolton 3-1 and move to the top
of the Premier League table here on Saturday. Goals from Emman

The goals are flowing for Atletico Madrid who capped a fantastic week with a 4-0 home victory over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday to move top of the table on goal difference.

After demolishing PSV Eindhoven 3-0 on Tuesday in their first Champions League match for 11 years, Atletico crushed Recreativo by one goal more.

Argentina's Sergio Aguero, known by the nickname “Kun” and who scored twice against PSV, made it three goals in five days with the opener before Portuguese schemer Maniche, also on target in Eindhoven, added a second.

French striker Florent Sinama Pongolle then scored twice in the final 13 minutes to down his former club.

Pongolle, deputising for the injured Diego Forlan, had two successful seasons at Recre before Atletico came calling in the summer.

With just seven minutes gone, 20-year-old Argentine Aguero, top-scorer last season with 19 goals, ghosted into the area completely unmarked to head home.

Aguero, who is dating a daughter of Argentina's 1986 World Cup hero Diego Maradona, thought he had scored again after 25 minutes but the effort was disallowed with Pongolle penalised for a foul in the lead-up to the goal.

Maniche, back in favour at the club after he looked to be heading for the exit door, showed great technique to drill in an unstoppable shot for 2-0.

Aguero was pulled off after an hour - with coach Javier Aguirre probably keen to rest him after a busy summer for Argentina at the Olympics.

Maniche came off shortly after too with Argentine Ever Banega, on loan from Valencia, making his league debut.

Pongolle stole the show in the closing stages though with two well-taken goals to make it seven goals in two games for Atletico.

Espanyol slip to second following Atletico's win but can reclaim top spot with a point against Getafe in Saturday's late match.

Espanyol had a horrible run at the end of last season winning just three times in their final 20 games but they are the only team in the league with a perfect six points and have yet to concede a goal.

Champions Real Madrid are in action on Sunday at Racing Santander as they look to click into gear.

Real have shipped five goals in during the first two league matches and coach Bernd Schuster has called for his team to tighten up at the back.

While Real have stumbled out of the blocks with three points from six their main title rivals Barcelona are worse off with just one point to their name.

New Barca coach Pep Guardiola is hoping for his first league win on Sunday at Sporting Gijon who prop up the table.

Fightback sends Gunners top

Arsenal came from a goal down to beat former bogey team Bolton 3-1 and move to the top of the Premier League table here on Saturday.

Goals from Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner cancelled out Kevin Davies' opener before Denilson sealed the win with a late third strike for the Gunners.

Davies had a free header to give the hosts an early lead but Arsenal came back with a fine spell to equalise and take the lead themselves.

Eboue and Bendtner each scored in the space of two minutes but Arsene Wenger's men had to withstand heavy pressure in the second half to hold on for the three points.

Fabrice Muamba looked determined to make an impression against his old club and set up an early chance with a robust challenge.

The Bolton midfielder robbed Denilson 30 yards from goal and the ball spilled to Kevin Nolan, whose drive was tipped over by Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal dominated possession from the start and were grateful for Andy O'Brien's well-timed sliding tackle after Nicklas Bendtner had played Emmanuel Adebayor through.

But the Gunners had already had a warning from Davies when he easily won a flick against William Gallas that was bundled out for a corner.

And from the resulting set-piece, Davies rose above Kolo Toure to head Joey O'Brien's corner into the corner of Almunia's goal.

As Arsene Wenger's side looked for a quick response, Brazilian midfielder Denilson rifled over from just outside the box.

In the 22nd minute, Bendtner was the creator again as he clipped through for his fellow striker only for Adebayor's stab at goal to come back off the post.

Just a minute later, it was Alexandre Song's turn to hit the woodwork when his header came back off the post following Cesc Fabregas' corner.

The equaliser finally came in the 26th minute when Bendtner slid the ball through again and Eboue got there ahead of Adebayor to squeeze the ball inside Jussi Jaaskelanen's post.

Ninety seconds later it was two after a wonderful passing move when Adebayor played Denilson through and he crossed for the sliding Bendtner to touch in at the near post.

Bolton finally came up with a decent response when Nolan's strike was pushed away by Almunia after Toure's fine tackle on Ricardo Gardner.

And Nolan went close again just before the interval after being set up by a flick from Davies.

On the stroke of half-time, Davies was booked for a sliding tackle on Gael Clichy that resulted in the French defender being taken to hospital.

Shortly after the restart, yet another fine passing move saw Song's thumping shot palmed wide by Jaaskelainen.

Adebayor should have opened up a two-goal lead when he rose above Danny Shittu to meet a cross from Johan Djourou — Clichy's replacement — but the striker headed wide of goal.

At the other end, Joey O'Brien's low strike flew narrowly wide of Almunia's post.

Bolton boss Gary Megson threw on the Dutch winger Mustapha Riga and he almost made a quick impression with a curling effort that was just pushed around the post by Almunia.

And full-back Bacary Sagna had to be alert to head away Jloyd Samuel's cross with Davies ready to pounce.

Arsenal were sitting back deeper and deeper but Sagna drove just wide after Fabregas' corner was not cleared properly by the Bolton defence.

Almunia flapped at a late Riga cross but held the follow-up from Ricardo Vaz Te before finally sealed their win.

Substitute Theo Walcott cut Bolton open and fed Adebayor to cross for Denilson to touch in a third at the far post.

Roma too strong for Reggina

AS Roma have finally earned their first win of the season, beating Reggina 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma, who last won the Serie A in 2001, went into this game with just one point from two league games and this week’s Champions League defeat by Cluj in the pocket.

But Cristian Panucci put the Romans in the lead just before the break, and Alberto Aquilani doubled the gap six minutes into the second half.

Perrotta netted Roma’s third, in the fourth minute of added time.

Captain Francesco Totti made an appearance, replacing Vucinic in the 78th minute.

Chelsea v Man Utd

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is unsure who should replace suspended centre-back Nemanja Vidic.

Ferguson could shift Wes Brown from right-back and replace him with the fit-again Gary Neville.

But Jonny Evans, 20, is also in the Scot's thinking after he played very well against Villarreal on Wednesday.

"I need to work out whether I go with Evans' ability but lack of experience or whether I opt for Wes' experience and Gary at full-back," said Ferguson.

Neville played just once for United last season - as a substitute in the 1-0 Champions League quarter-final second-leg win over Roma - due to an ankle injury.

"Gary was only playing his second competitive match on Wednesday but he did very well," added Ferguson.

"That will bring him on if I decide to play him on Sunday but Evans was excellent as well."

"Jonny was the big plus. For a young man of 20, he shows great maturity in his game.

"He reads the game well, which is a fantastic asset to have at such a young age.

"He is commanding in the air and a good user of the ball and that gives me confidence that he could step right into the first team with no worries."

While Evans impressed, there were signs of rustiness in Neville's game, particularly in his crossing, but it was his first competitive start since breaking his ankle against Bolton in March 2007.

"I just need games," said the 33-year-old defender. "Having been out for so long I need a run in the side.

"But it is difficult to get that at the moment because Wes Brown has performed so well and deserves to play.

"It is just a case of remaining patient, keeping fit and training well every day.

"I have made steady progress and when you look at the programme of matches we have coming up I am sure there will be enough games for everyone."

Ferguson also has a concern over striker Dimitar Berbatov, who suffered a knee injury in the defeat at Liverpool last weekend

Sir Alex: 18th title will come

Sir Alex Ferguson is ecstatic after landing his 10th Barclays Premier League title as United boss. Here's a transcript of his first post-match interview at Wigan:

Was this the toughest title race so far?
“It was a tough one alright and being away from home today made it more difficult. In fairness for most of the game we played well. There were some nervous moments and then the rain came and we were wondering what’s going to happen now, because anything can happen on a rainy surface. Just after half-time we started to get a grip of it. We missed a few chances and the goalkeeper made some great saves. I was saying to myself, “Please give us that second goal.” Of course, my oldest player, ten medals today, gets it – Ryan Giggs. Fantastic."

Was Paul Scholes fortunate not to be sent off?
"I think Paul rode his luck a little bit. I thought his first tackle was reckless and he deserved to be booked. The second one was nothing, a shove and it didn’t merit a booking at all. But there was one a few minutes before that one which puts the case in doubt."

How nervous were you when Chelsea went 1-0 up?
“You’ve got to try and dismiss all the stuff round about you, forget what was happening at Chelsea and concentrate on our own game. I think we did that okay. But there was a guy behind us who kept telling us it was 2-0 to Chelsea after just one minute."

What would you regard as the turning point in the title race?
"It ebbed and flowed a bit. Arsenal, for long periods, looked like they were

going to win it. Then they dropped a few points after we knocked them out of the FA Cup and that told for them. We then dropped a few points at Blackburn and Middlesbrough and that allowed Chelsea to close right in. But the two points they dropped against Wigan probably won the title for us."

How does it feel to have won 10 titles?
"Fantastic. I’m very proud. Proud to have survived for so long. It’s a great club and it’s much easier for me than it is for anyone else. How would I do without this? Tell me."

You're now just one title short of Liverpool's record. Is that your next target?
"I think it will come. This side’s young. It’s developing all the time. It’s a good young team and there are plenty of years left in them. They’ll do it in their own time."

What impact will winning the title have on the Champions League final?
"The great thing is we’re bouncing into the final. We can look forward to it. If we’d lost the title today, it would have been difficult. When we lost the title at West Ham in 1995, we lost the FA Cup final the following week. We were dead then. We’re not dead now, we’re alive. If we win the European Cup, this has to be my best team."

Iniesta: “We have to look to the future

Andrés Iniesta has admitted that he is sad to see Frank Rijkaard leaving the club, but is confident and excited by the prospect of next season and the arrival of Josep Guardiola at the helm.

The 24-year-old midfielder is working on recovering from his knee injury, but spoke to the press on Wednesday: "The thing with Rijkaard is sad, but they are things that happen in the world of football," he said. "But now we have to look to the future and we should confront it with hope and confidence."

Eight years on

Iniesta can now prepare to work under Guardiola, eight years after sharing th dressing room with the incoming head coach. "I am pleased to be able to work with him again," he continued. "He will be the new coach and I have faith that he can change the current situation around. This year has ended sadly for everyone, it was a year full of deception. But in football things can change very quickly and that is what we want."

Heroes

"Josep Guardiola and Michael Laudrup were idols of mine when I was a child," Iniesta then revealed. "Now to work with Guardiola will be important to me and we will all give him our total support."

Reflecting on other issues that have arisen at Camp Nou in recent days, Iniesta spoke first about the whistles aimed at Deco and Samuel Eto'o during hte Mallorca game. "We did not like that because they are our team-mates," he said. "But the fans always have their reasons and we just have to accept it."

Captain’s role

In the future, Iniesta could become one of the team captains at Barcelona and he would relish the prospect. "It would be marvellous to be a captain," he stated. "To any player it would given a boost and more confidence, but right now we have the best skipper we could have in Carles Puyol."

Finally, Iniesta was asked about Bojan Krkic's possible inclusion in the Spanish squad for the forthcoming Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. "We must not become too excited beacuse the list will not be announced until Friday," he said. "But I would be very happy for him and for those that have supported him all year. He has had a very good season and deserves the recognition."

Ronaldo clinches awards treble

The individual awards keep rolling in for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has picked up the Barclays Player of the Season and Barclays Golden Boot awards to complete a sensational season.

The 23-year-old Portuguese wing wiazard also collected a merit award for reaching 30 league goals this season.

Ronaldo was pivotal in United's Barclays Premier League title success and it was no surprise that he earned the Barclays Player of the Season accolade for the second year in succession.

Whichever way you look at it, Ronaldo has been exceptional this season, and the stats back it up. His 31 goals from 34 league appearances helped see off stiff opposition for the awards from Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Fernando Torres of Liverpool.

It's the first time a player has scored more than 30 league goals in a season since Alan Shearer’s 31-goal haul for Blackburn Rovers twelve years ago.

The merit award for reaching 30 goals will also benefit one lucky charity as Ronaldo will receive £1,000 for every goal scored to be donated to a charity of his choice.

However, for all the personal awards showered on the Madeiran magician, his sights will be firmly set on the Champions League trophy in Moscow next Wednesday.