How being a dad has changed me - Giroud

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has revealed how becoming a father three years ago has changed his outlook on life.
The French forward is a man transformed and he says that being so happy off the field helps him when he is on it too.
“My family and my friends are so important for me, so this is my balance today outside of football,” Giroud told Arsenal Player. “If I feel well in my life, I will be maybe more efficient on the pitch.
"Now I’m a dad it has helped me to grow up and be more mature. This is an important part of my personality and I’m someone who is maybe sensitive and I need the support of my family.
“I think if you ask them, they will tell you that I’m still the same guy but with a lot of [motivation to make] them proud of me when I step on the pitch. I’m a family man and I like to enjoy life like every single person, but most important for myself is to take care of your family and your friends." Giroud told Arsenal Player.
Life as a high-profile footballer comes with certain pressures and Giroud admits that can be tough for those around him.
“When I lose a game, I am very angry and it’s not easy for my family when I get back home - but I try to get back to my best level and make things change in a good way,” he said. "Obviously when you come back home and you see your children, you get the smile back.
“I didn’t forget where I came from, I can be more positive regarding the world around us. There are a lot of problems in the world and since I’m a dad I’ve always wanted to help children." The striker added.

Ospina remains a world class keeper - Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger has praised Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina after his side's 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain in France.
David Ospina kept Arsenal in the game on Tuesday night with a string of excellent saves to deny the likes of Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.
On Ospina's performances on Tuesday said: "I agree with you. In the decisive moments when he could have [conceded] a penalty, when at one down in the first half he came out with a good header.
"You know, I have two world-class goalkeepers, I will repeat that. I know we have enough games to give them games. But if you cannot play… you cannot keep as well two world-class goalkeepers that don’t get games.
on whether it will be hard to drop Ospina at against Hull City.
Look, we have the roles that the keepers know. And that’s why it’s important to have clear roles when the season starts and when that changes I inform them. But they know what the roles of the season are.
on whether it is a stated policy that Ospina will play Champions League…
I would not like to answer that question tonight, because we can always change our mind. He has the right to train, to stay in the Champions League games.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

 

 RESULTS

Tuesday, September 13

FC Basel 1 FT Ludogorets 1	Man. City Postponed Mönchengladbach
Bayern Munich 5 FT FC Rostov 0	PSV Eindhoven 0 FT Atlético Madrid 1
Barcelona 7 FT Celtic 0	Dynamo Kyiv 1 FT Napoli 2
Tuesday, September 13
Paris SG 1 FT Arsenal 1	Benfica 1 FT Besiktas 1
Wednesday, September 14
Tottenham 1 FT Monaco 2	Real Madrid 2 FT Sporting 1
Club Brugge 0 FT Leicester City 3	Juventus 0 FT Sevilla 0
Legia Warsaw 0 FT Dortmund 6	Man. City 4 FT Mönchengladbach 0
Lyon 3 FT Dinamo Zagreb 0	Porto 1 FT København 1
Bayer 2 FT CSKA Moscow 2

United legend says Pep is the 'Special One', not Mourinho

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has rendered another blow to Jose Mourinho by insisting rival manager Pep Guardiola is the ‘Special One’, and not the Portuguese
Mourinho prided himself as the ‘Special One’ upon his arrival in England in 2004, and has since lived with the nickname by Keane believes the title is better suited to Guardiola, and not Mourinho.
Both managers are the two most sought after managers in the world at the moment, and came face-to-face with each other when both sides clashed at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby on Saturday, with Guardiola taking the honours with a 2-1 win.
The former Barcelona coach only joined City this summer, and has already made visible changes to the team both on and off the pitch, including ostracizing senior players like Yaya Toure and Joe Hart, a development that has apparently pleased Keane.
Speaking after City brushed Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday at the Etihad, Keane said Guardiola is a coach he would rather not mess with and believes he is the real ‘Special One’.
“He said he’s a challenging coach - doesn’t look like he messes about,” Keane said on ITV.
“I wouldn’t like to mess with him.
“Two coaches in Manchester. Mourinho reckons he’s the special one, to me this guy (Guardiola) is.”
“We’ve seen City have good stats before and they take their foot off the gas a little bit, but I don’t think it will happen under this guy.”

Ranieri says Champions League song woke Mahrez up

Claudio Ranieri believes the Champions League has woken Riyad Mahrez after the Algerian put in a superb performance to earn the Foxes a comprehensive 3-0 win at Club Brugge in their debut in the Europe’s premier club competition.
Mahrez was the star on the night as his double saw Leicester start their European adventure with an impressive away win in Belgium.
The Algerian has had a rather underwhelming start to the Premier League season, having taken the league by storm last term and emerged as the best player but given his impressive display on Wednesday night, Ranieri has said his attacker was woken by the sound of the Champions League song.
“Maybe the music woke him up. Maybe he is very tired of dilly-ding dilly-dong and prefers the Champions League music. He was very good but I like him when he covers the zone very well,” Ranieri said.
Read also: Leicester begin Champions League campaign with big win
The former Chelsea boss also took the time to praise his team’s effort, especially after coming off a heavy defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League.
“It was important to show the reaction after the Liverpool defeat. This is an experience for and us we hope to go through the group and play again. We have played the first match, there are another five.
“It is historic, it was very important to start our story with a victory. We made a good match but it could have changed if they scored their chance at the beginning. With our first chance we scored.
“From that point they had control of the ball but we had control of the match and could counter. We played our style.”

Ronaldo emotional over Sporting CP win

Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed mixed feelings over Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over his boyhood club Sporting CP in Match Day 1 of the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo got the equalising goal before Alvaro Morata sealed victory at the death but the Portugal star confessed that he is a little bit hurt even in victory.
"It hurts a little to play against and score against them, but I represent my colours and they're those of Real Madrid," Ronaldo told UEFA.com
"This is a club that I love and is in my heart now but to play against Sporting, where I grew up, was difficult."
READ ALSO: Ronaldo launches attack on former Barca captain Xavi
It was common to see visiting teams cause Madrid such problems at the Bernabeu like Sporting CP did; Ronaldo, though, was not surprised.
"They were always going to come here with a game plan and they executed it very well. Their coach is a smart guy and he was going to make life difficult. Sporting almost beat us.
"We know we're the defending champions and that all sides want to beat Real Madrid. We're ready for that. We're going to do things correctly and with calm and with the belief we can win it again." Do that, and Madrid will become the first side to retain the competition in the UEFA Champions League era.

Ahmed Musa Has a Fight & The Other UCL Talking Points (1)

The Match Day 1 of the Group Stages of the UEFA Champions League has come and gone with the thrill and excitement of years past.
Here we bring you some of the interesting points from the games.

Ahmed Musa Has a Fight on His Hands
After scoring two super goals against Barcelona everyone thought Ahmed Musa was set to take the City of Leicester by storm.
Many bridges have been crossed from pre-season to real-season and the Nigerian now finds himself a regular bench warmer.
He can't start Premier League games and despite being Leicester's most experienced Champions League striker, he was left on the bench yet again in favour of recent Algerian recruit Islam Slimani - starting alongside Jamie Vardy.
Everyone knows Vardy is virtually untouchable. This leaves Musa, Slimani, Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa to fight for the other center-forward role in Leicester's duopoly.
Musa's other favoured role is the right-wing, but with a certain Riyadh Mahrez owning that spot... don't count on it.
READ ALSO: Football can be unfair sometimes – Morata
Renaissance or Relapse for English Teams
Between the years 2005 and 2012 English teams were amongst the most dominant in the Champions League.
That has changed drastically recently, despite huge financial gains, with sides from La Liga and the Bundesliga, in particular, stealing a march on their EPL rivals.
This year, with Man United and Chelsea conspicuously out of the competition the onus is on the quartet of Man City, Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham to redeem the English name.
Arsenal and City, both pre-scheduled to play on Tuesday night, did their best to save the queen.
City's 4-0 thumping of Monchengladbach was impressive as Arsenal's 1-1 away draw at PSG was commendable.
While not much can be made of Leicester's 3-0 trouncing of lowly Club Brugge, another French side, Monaco returned the English favour by beating Arsenal's North London rivals, Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
 In the circumstances there is a lot yet to do to convince the viewers that the English are truly back.

The Old Lady Fail to Get on their Feet
After five years of Calcio dominance, Juventus' summer transfer activities have been geared in one direction and one direction only; conquer Europe.
Despite the undesirable yet financially rewarding loss of Paul Pogba they have managed to make their squad look stronger in readiness for the task of matching the likes of Madrid.
A goalless draw at home to another Spanish side, Sevilla was sure not on the table when the budget of Lagos State was spent to acquire Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli.
The Bianconeri must now return to the barracks and strategize for a more successful foray.
Sevilla, on their part, now appear willing to put up some Champions League fight after three consecutive years of unprecedented Europa League success.
Atletico as Sturdy as Ever
If you were asked to predict a team that will seal a one-nil victory in the Champions League your answer won't fall far from La Liga side Atletico Madrid.
For years now under Diego Someone their greatest strength has been their ability to shut teams out and grind out narrow wins.
Despite the pretence of a 4-0 win in their last Liga game at the weekend against Celta De Vigo they went back to their typical habits, squeezing out a 1-0 win in the Netherlands against Dutch Champions PSV Eindhoven; the same opposition Atletico knocked out on penalties in the round of 16 last season.
 No surprises there.

Mourinho: I had a hard-time convincing Pogba to join us

Paul Pogba’s first words when he returned to Old Trafford was: “I am back home” but it wasn’t easy to convince him to sign for Manchester United a second time, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
The 23-year-old Frenchman joined the Old Trafford side this summer for a world record fee of £89.4m to become the most expensive footballer ever.
Mourinho revealed that he had to beat off competition from another top team whose manager was always in contact with the former Juventus forward. 
"Oh! It was hard to convince him," Mourinho told Goal, when asked how difficult it was to resign Pogba. "I had many [conversations] on the phone, lots of SMS.
"I think he was getting one in the morning from the manager from another big club and one in the afternoon from myself. I had to try hard to convince him to choose us instead of the other one."
Mourinho, 53, also mentioned that the 20-time English champions needs to return to the UEFA Champions League and the competition also needs Manchester United.
"The Champions League without Manchester United is not the Champions League and Manchester United without the Champions League is not Manchester United," he said. "So this is the first big step.
"But to get back to the Champions League we need to do well in the Premier League, so the first step is to recover the self-esteem, which I think we are doing."
Apart from Pogba, Mourinho also completed the signing of Sweden football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Armenia best player Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ivorian international Eric Bailly.

EPL I rejected a move to PSG – Wenger

Ahead of tonight UEFA Champions League match between Arsenal and PSG, Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he snubbed the advances of the Ligue 1 giants to stay at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger claims he has rejected offers to join Paris Saint-Germain because Arsenal have the qualities he loves in a club.
According to French publication, L’Equipe, the 66-year-old was wanted by Paris Saint German (PSG) in 2011, 2013 and 2014 but he was not moved by the huge wages thrown at him and the chance to return home.
When asked why he rejected a move to the French champions, Wenger replied: ‘Because I love where I am.
‘I know well the PSG owners but I feel always I remained loyal to Arsenal Football Club because I think it’s a club that has the qualities I love. And that’s why.
‘This is an important game but I don’t think it goes beyond two good sides playing against each other.
‘There’s no symbolism to it, no symbolic meaning to this match. We just want to pick up the three points.’
Wenger has been Arsenal manager since 1996 and it looks increasingly likely that he will retire with the Gunners.

Sunderland 0-3 Everton: Lukaku ends goals drought in style

Romelu Lukaku scored an 11-minute hat-trick to end his goals drought as Everton maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a win at Sunderland in the Premier League.
Since scoring twice in the FA Cup quarter-final against his former side Chelsea on 12 March, the 23-year-old had gone 1,139 minutes without a goal, despite 40 efforts.
He had not scored for his Club in 1,139 minutes but Lukaku’s 11-minute hat-trick was only what he and Everton deserved. Sunderland made the Blues fight, of course, but the visitors – and Lukaku – proved overpowering and the demolition reflected dominance that was established long before the finish. Joint second alongside Chelsea in the embryonic Premier League table is a solid start.
Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman made his first start of the season for the Toffees, having returned for his country in last week’s World Cup qualifier in Serbia. He was the only change to Ronald Koeman’s side. Inevitably, it was a highly-charged atmosphere at the Stadium of Light and an emotional minute’s applause for five-year-old Bradley Lowery in the fifth minute to acknowledge his brave battle with cancer only increased the volume and intensity.
Seeking their first win of the campaign, the Black Cats were suitably fired up and dangerous but it was the visitors who struck first.
The Belgium striker netted his first club goal since March with a header from Gerard Deulofeu's cross, then nodded home Yannick Bolasie's delivery.
Lukaku ensured three points for his side with a low finish after running clear. Jermain Defoe shot over for Sunderland, who are yet to win in the league under former Toffees manager David Moyes.
His previous hat-trick in the Premier League had been for West Bromwich Albion against Manchester United in Sir Alex Ferguson's final game as United manager. He almost made it four, too, firing narrowly over the bar as Sunderland’s resistance disintegrated in the face of Everton’s overwhelming attack, with Bolasie having a shot well-saved by Pickford who will have been relieved not to have conceded more in the end.
With only one point from the first four matches, only Stoke's inferior goal difference keeps Sunderland off the bottom of the table. The victory was Everton's third from their opening four games and they climb to third.

Iheanacho over the moon after putting Jose's men to sword

Manchester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho says he is happy with his performance in Saturday's Manchester City in a game the Citizens triumphed 2-1 at Old Trafford.
The Nigerian international who stood in for the suspended Sergio Aguero extending his fine form for City with a goal and an assists to hand Pep Guardiola his eighth vcitory over Jose Mourinho.
READ ALSO: Iheanacho Blasts Manchester City past United

Reacting to the electric perfomance by his team, Iheanacho in a post-match conference said: "Scoring the winner means the whole world to me because its a dream come true to play in a Manchester derby and to get the winning goal. So I'm happy for my team and for everyone.

"They really worked hard to get the victory today. I am also happy as well for the fans that came to support us." The youngster said.

On being at the right place at the right time following his simple tap-in from Kevin De Bryune's effort off the post, the U17 World Cup Champion added: "Yeah of course it was about being at the right place at the right time.
I didn't anticipate the shot because i did not think it was going to hist the post and come back but I'm happy it came off Kevin and i scored." Iheanacho added.
Iheanacho set up De Bryune for the opener with a flipping header to put the former Chelsea man one on one with De Gea before tapping home from close ranger for the second goal off the Belgian's effort that came off the post.