Sunday 8 March 2015

Being top doesn't mean anything yet, warns Pique

Despite his side having successfully overhauled Real Madrid in La Liga, the defender admits it is highly unlikely they will win every remaining match

Gerard Pique has warned his team-mates against the dangers of complacency after Barcelona moved top of La Liga on Sunday.

The Catalans routed Rayo Vallecano 6-1 at Camp Nou, courtesy of a hat-trick from Lionel Messi, two from Luis Suarez and a goal from the defender himself.

The result sees Luis Enrique's side climb above Real Madrid, who were beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, but Pique is adamant his side have achieved nothing yet.

"It's something we're not too concerned with," he told Canal Plus after the match. "We're top, but the league is very long. Being leaders doesn't mean we've won anything. It's the result of a long road which we hope won't come to an end yet.

"We started well, we had a break, but now we're back and we're fine. Now we're in good form. That's more important at the moment than being top.

"I'm sure we'll drop some more points during the rest of the season, but we must try to make sure we lose less and are top at the end of the season."

Barcelona face a trip to Eibar in the next game in six days' time

Barca Killing All Term

PRIMERA DIVISIÓN

March 8, 2015
• 12:00
• Camp Nou, Barcelona

Referee: Jesús Gil
• Attendance: 87151

BARCELONA

RAYO VALLECANO

Bueno 81'

BEST AND WORST PLAYER

Best Player

Goal Choice

L. Messi

BarcelonaPosition: Attacker

Fan Choice

L. Messi

BarcelonaPosition: Attacker

Worst Player

Goal Choice

Tito

Rayo VallecanoPosition: Defender

Fan Choice

Tito

Rayo VallecanoPosition: Defender

TEAM RATINGS

Barcelona

Rayo Vallecano

Substitutes

Messi goes level with Ronaldo in race for European Golden Shoe

The Argentine struck a hat-trick in Barcelona's destruction of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday and now has the same number of goals as his great rival

Lionel Messi 's hat-trick for Barcelona against Rayo Vallecano has seen him move level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 30 goals in the race for the European Golden Shoe.

The Argentine struck in the 56th, 63rd and 68th minutes - the second of these from a re-taken penalty - as Barca thrashed Rayo 6-1 at Camp Nou.

The victory saw Barcelona move to the top of La Liga, but also allowed Messi to go level with Ronaldo on goals scored in La Liga.

Messi now has 30 league strikes for the season (41 in all competitions) - 15 of which have arrived in 2015 alone.

Ronaldo is the current joint-holder of the European Golden Shoe, together with Luis Suarez - who also struck twice for Barcelona on Sunday.

The Portuguese has been Europe's top-scorer on three occasions, the same number as Messi.

Mourinho is not special, insists Luiz

The Brazilian is confident Paris Saint-Germain can recover in their Champions League tie with Chelsea and has approached the clash with a swipe at his former boss.

David Luiz has stoked up the tension surrounding Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League last 16 second-leg clash with Chelsea by claiming Jose Mourinho "is not special".

PSG travel to Stamford Bridge with the tie level at 1-1 following the first leg at the Parc des Princes last month but Chelsea hold a slight advantage courtesy of their away goal in the French capital.

Luiz left Chelsea for PSG in a €50 million move last June after one frustrating season under the stewardship of Mourinho, who has long been referred to as "the Special One".

But Luiz told a L'Equipe journalist: "He is special for you, not for me.

"I had some great moments at Chelsea and won a lot of titles. I was very happy.

"They are having a great season, defend well and have great players but above all I know my team. We will try to score there and play like we know how.

"We will have a good game plan and implement it the best way possible to achieve a great performance. Both can still qualify."

Luis Enrique: Suarez and Messi understanding is growing

The attacking duo combined to devastating effect in the rout of Rayo and the Barcelona boss says his side deserve to be top of the league

Luis Enrique believes Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi 's growing understanding has been key to Barcelona 's climb to the top of La Liga.

Barca took advantage of Real Madrid's defeat to Athletic Bilbao as they routed Rayo Vallecano 6-1 on Saturday, with Messi scoring another hat-trick while Suarez found the net twice.

Luis Enrique was left delighted by the combination play of the South American duo and feels his side have deservedly reached the top of the table.

"He has an understanding with Messi and Luis is giving us more every time," he told reporters after the match. "They have chemistry, and that's good for the team.

"We've earned our place in the table. We told the players there would be no easy ball, no peace. We knew it would be an awkward match.

"The goal is to be there [top] when the season ends. I always say that defeats will keep happening, which is why we must be very careful.

"I don't talk about the others. Every game is difficult. Knowing how to manage it will be key."

Luis Enrique, who confirmed the absent Neymar had permission to be in Brazil for the weekend, also underlined that Messi remains first-choice penalty taker despite missing from the spot again on Sunday only to fire home after the referee ordered a re-take.

"The penalty depends on the feelings of the player. Leo Messi is first on the list. I see the same attitude in him as I see in the rest of the team," he added.

Yaya Toure convinced me to join Manchester City, admits Bony

The 26-year-old admits that the Cote d'Ivoire captain and his brother Kolo had plenty of great things to say about the Etihad Stadium

Wilfried Bony has revealed that Yaya Toure played a large part in convincing him to join Manchester City.

The 26-year-old striker sealed a £28 million (€39m) move to the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City in January as the Premier League champions looked to bolster their attacking options ahead of their title battle with Chelsea, and last-16 tie with Barcelona in the Champions League.

Bony completed his switch to City during Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign and the striker admits that talking to Yaya Toure, and his brother Kolo, paved the way for his transfer.

“I spoke a lot with Kolo and Yaya a lot because it was a massive move for me,” Bony told City’s official website.

“Kolo told me great things about his time at City, but mainly it was Yaya who was always talking to me and encouraging me to work hard and improve my game.

“More than anyone, Yaya told me that City was one of the greatest clubs in the world and said that if I had the opportunity to come here that I should take it with both hands – so I did.”

Bony scored the most Premier League goals of any player in 2014 but while Ivorian has not found the net in four appearances since joining City, he believes it is only a matter of time before that changes.

“When I first came to England there was big pressure because I was coming from Holland to the Premier League,” Bony said.

“At Swansea, I didn’t score in the first few games so there was more pressure again, but it’s just something you have to live with by improving and doing things better.

“This is a great move for me but I need to work hard, take my chances when they come along and it will get easier as I get to know my team-mates better and get a better understanding.

“I’ve only been here for two weeks so I’m just settling in, getting to know everyone better and they are getting to know me and what my strengths are, too.”

Caceres set for ankle op - Juventus

Uruguay defender Martin Caceres is to undergo surgery after fracturing a bone in his left ankle during training with Juventus on Sunday, the Serie A champions announced.

A statement from the Italian champions said Caceres had fractured the "malleolus bone in his ankle and will be operated on tomorrow (Monday), with a prognosis on his recovery time to be established afterwards."

Juventus, who hold an eight point lead over closest challengers Roma, will stretch their advantage to 11 points if they account for Sassuolo on Monday.

But less than four days after a 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal in Turin, coach Massimiliano Allegri warned over the danger of a Sassuolo side boasting the attacking talents of Simone Zaza and Domenico Berardi.

"Sassuolo are never an easy team to come up against and they're dangerous in open space, with three formidable front men," said Allegri.

"We have to improve, stop conceding and work on our focus, because we’re on the home straight."

Rodgers: Liverpool denied clear penalty against Blackburn

The Irishman felt Adam Lallana was tripped by Matt Kilgallon inside the box but nonetheless insisted that he is not overly worried by the prospect of a replay at Ewood Park

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was left frustrated as his side were denied a "clear penalty" during their goalless draw with Blackburn Rovers.

The Reds had a number of spot-kick appeals during the game at Anfield but the Irishman was particularly incensed by a perceived trip on Adam Lallana by Rovers captain Matt Kilgallon.

Indeed, Rodgers felt that referee Andre Marriner's decision to award a corner rather than a penalty had a massive bearing on the game, as it allowed to Gary Bowyer's side to maintain their defensive shape and claim a draw.

"I definitely thought we should have had one [penalty]," he told reporters.

"I thought that Adam Lallana's in the first half was a great move. He got his body between the man and the ball, and when he's gone to shoot he's been knocked over.

"I thought that was a clear penalty. The other ones are debatable but we probably needed that bit of luck to open the game up.

"If we'd scored in the opening 20 minutes then the spaces might have opened up a bit more."

Liverpool will now travel to Ewood Park for a replay as they look to book a place in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, but Rodgers was not too perturbed with the final outcome.

"To be honest, I'm not overly disappointed," he added. "Of course, we want to get through but we kept a clean sheet against a team who are dangerous, particularly from set-pieces and long balls into the box.

"In the main, we defended it well. We're still there to reach the semi-final and we want to do it but we'll have plenty of time to work with the team. It just wasn't to be."