Nightmare Before Christmas! Moyes loses Van Persie to injury

The festive season is upon us, but Manchester United boss David Moyes is hardly likely to be full of cheer as Christmas approaches.

The Scot confirmed that Robin van Persie will be out of action for a month after picking up a thigh strain whilst taking a corner against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Dutchman had only recently returned to training after struggling with toe and groin problems, and could now miss games against Aston Villa, Stoke, West Ham, Hull, Norwich, Tottenham and Swansea.

The injury leaves Moyes with selection issues in attack, with Wayne Rooney proving to be the club's only other consistent goal threat so far this season.

Saturday, 14 December 2013 08:30

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Manchester City part the red sea to thrash Arsenal

OK, maybe it wasn't as much a sea as a gentle stream, but the Arsenal defence were breached time and time again by Manuel Pellegrini's vibrant charges on Saturday lunchtime.

The Gunners contributed to their own downfall on a couple of occasions, twice presenting Fernandinho with the ball to allow the Brazilian to score his first of two goals and set up a last-minute penalty.

Yaya Toure stroked the spot-kick home to add to goals from Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, David Silva and that Fernandinho double to send City three points behind Arsenal in the table with a swashbuckling display. Who can stop them?

Sunday, 15 December 2013 10:00

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AC Milan Yin Yang

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Rosell warns rivals off Messi

Lionel Messi may be out of action with injury, but the Barcelona star is never far from the news.

The Argentina star - one of three players in the running for the Ballon d'Or alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery - is said to have asked for improved contract terms following the arrival of Neymar, despite having a deal which runs to 2018.

And while Sandro Rosell confirmed there are currently no plans to open new talks with Messi, the club president also indicated that the 26-year-old will not be leaving while he is in charge.

"While I am president, I think it would be extremely difficult for Messi to leave the club, if not impossible," Rosell said.

Friday, 13 December 2013 12:30

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Higuain in tears as Napoli miss out on last 16

Napoli agonisingly missed out on a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Despite beating Arsenal 2-0 with goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon, the Italian side were eliminated after Borussia Dortmund defeated Marseille, meaning the Bundesliga outfit progressed top of Group F, with the Gunners finishing second by virtue of a superior goal difference.

And it was all too much for goal scorer Higuain, who could not hide is disappointment after the game.

"Not going through is incredible," he said. "It is an injustice, really.

"Going out with 12 points – winning four games in such an immensely difficult group with two sides as strong as Arsenal and Dortmund - when you see teams going through with only one or two wins, with six or seven points, it's disappointing.

"It cannot be anything else but bad luck because to win four games out of six and be eliminated is not something that happens often."

Thursday, December 12, 2013 12:00

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تقرير قناة الجزيرة عن عمر المومني

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Dzeko, Drogba, Eto'o, Toure and my cartoons

I was extremely happy to see my Goal.com cartoon " Elephants and Lions join Super Eagles in Brazil"
been shared and tweeted by famous players especially when they are the recent winners of the African Player of the Year. Didier Drogba the Ivorian star and the (2006-2009) player of the year first shared it with his Instagram.

http://instagram.com/p/g3y5-1OjIU/

Later on the Cameroonian lion and Chelsea star Samuel Eto'o (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010 African Player of the year) tweeted and shared it with his Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=574857622585535&set=pb.469664676438164.-2207520000.1386842607.&type=3&theater

Me and Eto'o had a brief reply on Twitter.

Yaya Toure the last winner of the African Player of the Year and also won it in 2011 retweeted it from Eto'o.

Manchester City Bosnian star Edin Dzeko months ago also shared one of my special cartoon on Bosnia's historical qualify to the World Cup.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614109271980466&set=pb.237510419640355.-2207520000.1386843245.&type=3&theater

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Hell freezes over! Galatasaray - Juventus clash abandoned

Galatasaray fans are famous for giving opposition teams a fiery reception in Istanbul, displaying banners reading 'Welcome To Hell'.

But the atmosphere was anything but hot on Tuesday night as a severe snowstorm struck, causing their Champions League clash with Juventus to be canceled.

The match has plenty riding on it, with second spot in Group B and a place in the knockout stages up for grabs for both sides.

But with Galatasaray needing to win and a point enough for Juventus to advance, the Italians might attempt to make the most of the frosty conditions.

The match is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 10:45

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Mirror image Moyes is Fergie 2.0

Sir Alex Ferguson may have given up the seat of power at Manchester United but his spirit lives on in the dugout through replacement David Moyes, according to Ryan Giggs.

The former Everton boss has endured an indifferent start to the Premier League season, though he has impressed in the Champions League group stages.

And when asked on Absolute Radio whether he had noticed big differences between the two Scots, Giggs replied: “No, not really. I think they're both quite similar.

“Of course the manager's come in to the champions, he doesn't want to change too much but he's going to want to put his own stamp on it.

“I think slowly over time, it will probably change a little, but at the moment, not a lot's changed.”

The rest of the Premier League will be left ruing Giggs' words if Moyes goes on to match Ferguson's astonishing record of success at Old Trafford.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013 12:21

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You’re fired! Villas-Boas hits back at Lord Alan Sugar

Andre Villas-Boas has angrily hit back at former Tottenham chairman Lord Alan Sugar after the 66-year-old claimed to be “baffled” by the Portuguese’s tactics at Spurs.

Star of television show ‘The Apprentice’ Lord Sugar also said he would be happy to see Sir Alex Ferguson come out of retirement and take over at White Hart Lane.

However, speaking after Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United Villas-Boas responded to Lord Sugar claiming he has an “agenda” before also lashing out at the media, demanding more respect.

Monday, December 2, 2013 11:45

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