All behind Mourinho: Chelsea captain Terry
Ian WINROW, Agence France-Presse
John Terry insists the players must shoulder the blame for Chelsea’s disastrous start to the campaign and is adamant the dressing room is fully behind under-fire manager Jose Mourinho.
The Chelsea captain believes the responsibility for ending the club’s dismal start to the season lies with the players.
And he dismissed claims some players were no longer willing to fight for Mourinho as ridiculous, including weekend reports one unnamed player had said he would rather lose a game than win for the manager.
Terry, who will lead the side into the Champions League group game with Dinamo Kiev, said: “We've not played well enough, and we take that on the shoulders. We know where we are in the league and the Champions League group, and we know what we need to do to get out of it. That relies on us, as players, not the manager.
“It's going to take a dressing room that stays together, sticks together. What we've seen in the last two or three days, ridiculous stories about what's happening within the club and the dressing room.
“I can assure you the players are 100 percent behind the manager. We are together. Anyone who has been at the last three or four games can see the way we're playing is turning. Together is the most important thing: that we stay together in that dressing room."
Man City ease past Sevilla, into last 16
Kieran CANNING, Agence France-Presse
Manchester City secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare with a hugely impressive 3-1 win at Sevilla on Tuesday.
Early goals from Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho put the visitors in command.
Benoit Tremoulinas pulled a goal back for Sevilla, but Wilfried Bony restored City's two-goal cushion before half-time.
Borussia Moenchengladbach's 1-1 draw with Juventus in the other game in the group means City cannot now be caught by the Germans, or Sevilla due to their superior head-to-head record.
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Unlikely hero Nacho takes Madrid into last 16
Agence France-Presse
First-half substitute Nacho was the unlikely hero with the only goal of the game as Real Madrid beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 on Tuesday to seal their place in the Champions League last 16.
The defender had only been on the field for two minutes as an emergency left-back in place of the injured Marcelo when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up in the 35th minute to slot past stranded PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and score the only goal of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The result allowed Rafael Benitez's side to become one of the first teams to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds as they maintained their unbeaten record this season and inflicted a first defeat on PSG since Barcelona eliminated the French champions from this competition in April.
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Rooney ends Man Utd goal drought to down CSKA
Tom WILLIAMS, Agence France-Presse
Wayne Rooney ended Manchester United's goal drought with a 79th-minute winner as his side overcame CSKA Moscow 1-0 on Tuesday to close on the Champions League knockout phase.
United were on course to record a fourth consecutive goalless draw for the first time in their history as their scoreless run ticked into its 404th minute when under-fire skipper Rooney met Jesse Lingard's cushioned pass with a thumping header in front of the Stretford End.
Moments earlier, Chris Smalling had produced a goal-line clearance to thwart Seydou Doumbia and the two decisive moments contributed to a much-needed win that sent Louis van Gaal's side to the top of Group B with two games to play.
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Ex-Brazil soccer chief pleads not guilty in U.S. after extradition
Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Nate Raymond, Reuters
Former Brazilian soccer chief Jose Maria Marin pleaded not guilty to bribery charges in a U.S. court after being extradited on Tuesday from Switzerland in the corruption case that shook world soccer's governing body FIFA.
Marin, 83, who headed Brazil's preparations to host the 2014 World Cup while president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, had bail set at $15 million and a judge ordered him placed under house arrest.
He entered his plea through an interpreter before U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn, New York hours after arriving on a flight from Zurich, where police arrested him in May. Marin had agreed last week to the extradition.
Marin was among seven officials from global soccer body FIFA who were arrested after being indicted on U.S. charges, an affair that has scandalized the administration of the world's most popular sport and upset powerful commercial sponsors.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
