Frank Ribery is not for sale, says Rummenigge

Newcastle United moved within one point of third-placed Arsenal with a remarkable 2-0 win over Chelsea.

Papiss Cisse opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night by rifling a left-footed volley into the top corner midway through the first half.

The Senegalese striker second, and 13th in 12 games, was one of the goals of the season curling from the left flank with the outside of his boot over the helpless frame of Petr Cech.

For Alan Pardew, it was not only a welcome response to their 4-0 loss at Wigan Athletic but also his first win in London since arriving at Tyneside in December 2010.

The game began with Chelsea on the front foot. Fernando Torres was looking confident after his hat-trick against QPR on Sunday, and crossed intricately for Da…

Italy striker Luca Toni on Wednesday hit back at criticism over his performances for Italy at Euro 2008.

The Bayern Munich striker was expected to be amongst the leading scorers having been top scorer in Germany s Bundesliga with 24 goals, as well as hitting 15 goals for Italy.

However, Toni suffered a nightmare tournament, notably against France where he missed a number of good opportunities to score.

But he refuses to take the blame for Italy s Euro 2008 quarter-final exit.

In Italy I received a lot of criticism after the European Championships, because obviously people expected goals and I didn t score any, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

I thought I played well, but clearly it is easier to criticise me, someone who plays abroad, than so…

Verdict: Liverpool to win to nil

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Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from a shock defeat to Swansea in midweek when they face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday night. We make our prediction on the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield.

Liverpool

Even though Liverpool suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to bottom-placed Swansea City in the Premier League on Monday night, it was their first defeat in 19 games in all competitions. Jurgen Klopp’s team have also scored 15 goals in the past five matches but they’ll be wary of their poor recent history in the FA Cup. The Reds have been knocked out at the fourth round stage the past two seasons and they’ll be determined to ensure they don’t suffer another humiliation after losing 2-1…

Diego has issued a farewell message to Atletico Madrid fans, telling them that the club will always occupy a place in his heart.

The 27-year-old attacking midfielder moved to the Vicente Calderon on a season-long loan from Wolfsburg after falling out with coach Felix Magath, and played a key role in his side s Europa League triumph.

It had been unclear as to whether the switch would be made permanent, but Diego has hinted that he will not be spending another season with Atletico, following up on his parent club s previous admission.

Firstly, I want to thank all the fans of Atletico for all the support that they have given me, he said, according to Marca.

Everything has been very special to me and that was critical to my success as this club.

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Kevin-Prince Boateng urged Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi to join Napoli as a tribute to club and Argentina great Diego Maradona.

Maradona – arguably football s greatest ever player – died at the age of 60 after suffering heart failure last month.

Napoli renamed their stadium to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in honour of the 1986 World Cup winner, who guided the Serie A side to their only Scudetto triumphs in 1987 and 1990 after arriving from Barca in 1984.

Messi removed his Barca shirt to reveal a Newell s Old Boys jersey emblazoned with Maradona s famous number 10 after scoring in last month s 4-0 LaLiga rout of Osasuna.

But former Barca team-mate Boateng wants six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi – who has been heavily linked to Manchester City an…

Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata got the goals as Juventus beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

Juventus will take a narrow advantage into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Borussia Dortmund following a 2-1 victory in Turin.

This was the first meeting between the teams since the 1997 final, which Dortmund won 3-1 to snatch the trophy from then defending champions Juve, but it was the Serie A outfit who dictated play for the most part on Tuesday.

Carlos Tevez pounced on some clumsy goalkeeping from Roman Weidenfeller to give Juve a deserved lead in the 13th minute, and it was another defensive mishap that led to Dortmund s equaliser five minutes later.

Marco Reus stole in to penalise a Giorgio C…

Lionel Messi will never be able to match Diego Maradona as the greatest ever footballer as he lacks the World Cup winner s charisma, according to fellow Argentina great Gabriel Batistuta.

There has long been a debate over whether Messi has surpassed Maradona s status as arguably the best of all time, with the Barcelona man s lack of success at international level often seen to count against him.

But Batistuta Argentina s record goalscorer prior to Messi believes there is more to it than that, lauding Maradona for his personality as much as his skill.

For me, [Maradona] was the greatest of all, Batistuta told Corriere dello Sport.

Diego also represents Argentina in many things, not just football. He was the first player that took us to the stars, winning…

Ashley Young s resurgence under Louis van Gaal warrants an England call-up, according to his Manchester United team-mate Chris Smalling. 

Young was tipped to be one of the first out of the door when Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford in July but the 29-year-old has surprisingly been one of United s most consistent performers this season in the club s quest for UEFA Champions League football.

The 30-cap international winger played a key role in Saturday s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, earning a first-half penalty and setting up Marouane Fellaini for the match-winning goal as United all but secured a top-four finish in the Premier League.

And Smalling believes Roy Hodgson could do worse than selecting Young for the first time since 2013.

Ashley was terrific.…

I may be wrong but I think the ‘drinking culture’ in football is a predominantly British problem. The association of football with drinking copious amounts of beer doesn’t seem to happen across the rest of Europe.

Arrested

Earlier in the week Tottenham and England defender Ledley King was arrested for an alleged assault on a doorman at a London nightclub. King has apologised to his manager Harry Redknapp and the rest of the people at his club saying,

I sincerely regret that a night out with friends went too far. I have apologised to Harry and I fully appreciate that, as a professional footballer, I have a duty to behave in a responsible manner.

Harry Redknapp reacted angrily to the incident and talked abo…

Japanese and Saint-Etienne midfielder Daisuke Matsui has made a switch for Ligue 1 outfit Grenoble.

The 28 year-old, who has 17 caps to his name by Japan, will now ply his trade at the highest order of football in France with Grenoble.

The club, which is owned by Japanese investors, are placing their hope on Matsui rediscovering his old, which saw him pick up the award for most assists in the 2005/06 season, when he played for Le Mans.

The midfield player moved from Le Mans(from 2004 to 2008) to Saint-Etienne, where he had a mixed season, in and out of the team.

Matsui has signed a three-year deal with Grenoble and will represent his nation Japan, who have just qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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