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Sunday, April 22, 2012

La Liga

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelo Bielsa has dropped Iker Muniain on technical decision and brought in Gaizka Toquero to take over his place. Atletico Madrid Atletico president Enrique Cerezo believes their second leg clash against Valencia will be the most important match of the season for his club. Barcelona Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 42nd La Liga goal of the term to condemned Barcelona to their 1st home defeat following the visit of Real Madrid. Espanyol Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino believes he is quite different from his Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone, who has won titles in Argentina. Getafe Getafe manager Luis Garcia admits he is wary about facing the teams from below, as he believes that they can be more dangerous than others. Granada Granada coach Abel Resino reveals that he has been working on his team's mental preparation as excessive anxiety can be fatal against Getafe. Levante Arouna Kone scored his 14th Primera Division goal of the season as Levante registered their 4th away draw following the match against Sevilla. Malaga Malaga defender Sergio Fernandez believes concentration and second half performance will determined the outcome of their match against Osasuna. Osasuna Osasuna defender Marc Bertran declared that he is fit again and hopes to be selected for their clash against direct rivals for Europe, Malaga. Racing Santander Racing coach Alvaro Cervera insisted that no one at the club has thrown in the towel, even though they already have one foot in Segunda Liga. Rayo Vallecano Mate Bilic scored his third La Liga goal of the season to condemned Rayo to their ninth away defeat following the match against Sporting Gijon. Real Betis Real Betis coach Pepe Mel has reminded his team that a win over Valencia would finally allow them relax and turn their attention up the chart. Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 42nd La Liga goal of the term as Real Madrid registered their 14th away victory following the match at Barcelona. Real Mallorca Victor Casadesus scored his 8th La Liga goal of the season as Mallorca registered their 7th home victory following the match against Zaragoza. Real Sociedad Real Sociedad boss Philippe Montanier has stressed that what matters right now is beating direct rivals Villarreal and not his 'personal case'. Real Zaragoza Victor Casadesus scored his 8th La Liga goal of the season to condemned Zaragoza to their 12th away defeat following the match versus Mallorca. Sevilla Alvaro Negredo scored his 12th La Liga goal of the campaign as Sevilla registered their 4th home draw following the match against Levante. Sporting Gijon Mate Bilic scored his third La Liga goal of the season as Sporting Gijon registered their sixth home victory following the match against Rayo. Valencia Valencia coach Unai Emery said this is critical time of their campaign and has urged his side to be more effective in their remaining matches. Villarreal Villarreal's Giuseppe Rossi has confirmed that his knee operation has been a success and is now expected to face 7 months of rehabilitation.

Serie A

AC Milan It was reported that AC Milan have won the race for Bayake Traore after the Nancy midfielder agreed to a three year contract at the San Siro. AS Roma Fabio Borini and Maarten Stekelenburg are in the Roma squad travelling to Turin, although it is not clear if they are fit to face Juventus. Atalanta Alejandro Gomez scored his fourth Serie A goal of the season to condemned Atalanta to their sixth away defeat following the match at Catania. Bologna Bologna boss Stefano Pioli thinks this could be a very unusual end to the season as the teams are set to play six games in the next 20 days. Cagliari Sebastian Giovinco scored his 12th Serie A goal of the season to condemned Cagliari to their 10th away defeat following the match versus Parma. Catania Alejandro Gomez scored his fourth Serie A goal of the season as Catania registered their ninth home win following the match against Atalanta. Cesena Cesena coach Mario Beretta are set to field Santana, Mutu and Malonga in attack against Palermo, while Iaquinta is not fit and is on the bench. Chievo Chievo Verona players failed to score for the second consecutive games to register their fifth home draw following the match against Udinese. Fiorentina Bad news for Fiorentina coach Delio Rossi after it was confirmed Stevan Jovetic will miss their match against Inter due to a muscle problem. Genoa Genoa coach Alberto Malesani is missing Belluschi and Moretti for the clash against Siena, while Antonelli and Constant are back in the squad. Inter Milan Coach Andrea Stramaccioni welcomes back Wesley Sneijder against Fiorentina and assures a player like him can never be a problem for Inter. Juventus Juventus coach Antonio Conte has revealed that striker Fabio Quagliarella could miss the match against Bologna due to upper thigh problem. Lazio Lazio coach Edy Reja has urged his team to stay focused against Lecce as it is a decisive match if they want to go to the Champions League. Lecce Lecce coach Serse Cosmi has warned Lazio that his side will be looking for the full three points, despite the Biancoceleste's top 3 status. Napoli Edinson Cavani scored his 20th Serie A goal of the campaign as Napoli registered their 8th home victory following the match against Novara. Novara Edinson Cavani scored his 20th Serie A goal of the campaign to condemned Novara to their 13th away defeat following the match against Napoli. Palermo Palermo head coach Bortolo Mutti is struggling with absenses, is likely to continue with his 3-5-2 formation for the match against Cesena. Parma Sebastian Giovinco scored his 12th Serie A goal of the season as Parma registered their 8th home victory following the match against Cagliari. Siena Siena head coach Giuseppe Sannino has dropped Marcelo Larrondo and Nicola Belmonte for the Bologna clash, but both could return on Wednesday. Udinese Udinese players failed to score for the second time in five games to register their sixth away draw following the match against Chievo Verona.

EPL

Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger bemoaned Arsenal's lack of sharpness against a Chelsea side that decided to 'lock the game up' after being held to a draw. Aston Villa Aston Villa head coach Alex McLeish was disappointed with the draw against Sunderland as he believes they had enough chances to win the game. Blackburn Coach Steve Kean praised the fighting spirit of his players after Blackburn Rovers boosted their survival prospects with victory over Norwich. Bolton Manager Owen Coyle admitted he was frustrated with the inconsistent play of his Bolton Wanderers side in their home draw with Swansea City. Chelsea Chelsea's interim boss Roberto Di Matteo felt his Blues side enjoyed the better chances in a disappointing draw with Arsenal at the Emirates. Everton David Moyes still feels any kind of a top-10 finish in the Premier League this term would represent a 'great' outcome for his Everton side. Fulham Martin Jol was delighted with the win over Wigan and believes Fulham deserved the 3 points, despite admitting that it was a difficult match. Liverpool Liverpool's rising young stars are helping keep more experienced players on their toes and Kenny Dalglish hopes that bodes well for the future. Manchester City Manager Roberto Mancini insists Manchester City did all they could to get striker Carlos Tevez back to the club after he went AWOL last year. Manchester United Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed defender Fabio will spend next season on loan to develop his game, probably in Portugal. Newcastle United Alan Pardew was full of praise for Newcastle after seeing them pick up a sixth straight win and put down a marker to their top-four rivals. Norwich City Manager Paul Lambert was disappointed with the way Norwich conceded the goals to Blackburn, but still hopes to finish the season on a high. Queens Park Rangers QPR coach Mark Hughes has praised the effort of his team against Spurs and believes it would have been travesty if they had not won the game. Stoke City Manager Tony Pulis admits his Stoke side paid the price for their failure to make the most of their chances as they went down at Newcastle. Sunderland Martin O'Neill does not believe he has many friends in football and felt Sunderland were denied a victory at Aston Villa by match officials. Swansea City Brendan Rodgers was impressed with his Swansea side and believes they were unfortunate not to thrash Bolton after only being held to a draw. Tottenham Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp rued the absence of strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha as his side failed to score in the defeat to QPR. West Brom Sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth feels West Brom would have to spend GBP30 million on players each year to break into the top 8. Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez was disappointed with the defeat to Fulham as he felt his team's performance was worthy of a point. Wolverhampton Terry Connor insists the pressures at the top and the bottom of the Premier League table are the same, as Wolves prepare to welcome Man City.